Kitabı oku: «The Tycoon's Blackmailed Mistress», sayfa 2

She felt sick with the horror of it all. “I resent you asking, but, yes, it’s my husband’s baby.” His mocking words echoed in her mind. “Or should I say my late husband’s baby.”

“Did he know?”

It wasn’t any of Flynn’s business but she inclined her head anyway. Robert had been ecstatic, for which she was grateful, no matter what she was finding out about him now. She hadn’t wanted a child until things had improved between them, but somehow she must have missed taking her contraceptive pill one time and she’d fallen pregnant.

Naturally she’d been fearful at first, not because the child would go unloved, but because Monica and Robert loved in a smothering way. But she knew she was strong enough to keep that in check and she had even begun to welcome her pregnancy. Her baby would bring some happiness back into their lives.

And it still would, she told herself, feeling Flynn’s eyes burning into her.

Ignoring the pain of insult, she raised her chin. “Mr. Donovan, let me make one thing clear to you. I have no intention of looking for a surrogate father for my baby.” She paused for effect. “And even if I was, I’d never pick someone like you. My baby deserves more than someone with a checkbook for a heart.”

He walked toward her, his dark eyes without a glimmer of kindness. “Don’t presume to know me, lady. If that was my child growing in your belly you wouldn’t have a choice.” With those words, he stormed past her and out of the apartment.

Eyes misting over, Danielle just stood there as the door slammed behind him, a terrible ache in her breast, her thoughts in turmoil. Never in a million years would she have believed all this could be happening to her.

Yesterday morning she hadn’t even met Flynn Donovan. She’d assumed his letter about the money was a mistake. Now she’d been accused not only of cheating on her husband and abusing his money, but of being a calculating schemer who wanted nothing but a rich man to play father to her child. It was clear he had far from a high opinion of her.

Well, she didn’t have one of him, either. He may be one of the richest men in Australia but as far as she was concerned he could keep his money and his private jet and…and…

She swiped at her tears. What did it matter now, anyway? The way Flynn had stormed out of here left her in no doubt he wouldn’t be back. No, he’d be putting the debt collectors onto her now. They’d be hounding her like a pack of dogs after a bone.

She took a shaky breath. He needn’t bother. She’d find a way to pay the money back. How could she enjoy her independence knowing that her late husband had “stolen” the money, not just from Flynn but from Donovan Enterprises, as well?

And she had too much to lose if she didn’t.

Oh, God. Suddenly it hit her that the debt collectors would go talk to Monica. And if the older woman became aware of the loan, she would use it to get custody of the baby. Oh, dear God, she would. Danielle was never more certain of anything in her life. Her mother-in-law wanted…no, needed someone to replace her son…and who better than Robert’s unborn child?

And if Flynn Donovan believed she’d defaulted on the money, then Monica would, too, and could make a case for Danielle being an unfit mother, and probably with Flynn’s help. After all, how did she prove that it hadn’t been her signature? Her mother-in-law only needed a sympathetic judge…or a corrupt one.

Danielle’s heart squeezed so tightly with pain it felt as if it had wedged under her rib cage. She couldn’t take the risk of losing her child, no matter how slender.

Three

Life rarely took Flynn by surprise anymore, but when it did, he didn’t like it one bit. Danielle Ford was pregnant. Hell! He didn’t want to get involved with a pregnant woman. Anything could happen to a woman when she was pregnant.

It had happened to his mother.

He could still remember his mother’s voice calling to him where he’d been playing in the backyard under the mango tree with his friends Brant and Damien…. The same mango tree that still stood a few suburbs away from here. He’d come inside the house and found her on the floor, covered in blood.

“The baby’s coming,” she’d said, her face screwed up in pain. “Go get Auntie Rose.”

More terrified than he’d ever been in his five-year-old life, he’d run next door with his friends as fast as his little legs had allowed. After that it had been a whirl of people running and sirens screaming. And all the while, he’d stood in the background, watching his mother’s life slipping away…away from him.

He hated thinking about it, and as always he shut his mind off and pushed aside the past. He had to concentrate on the here and now, and that no longer included Danielle Ford. She could forget about the money she owed him. Forget about it and go find some other poor sucker to con with those “come-to-bed” eyes and that “give-me-your-money” mouth. As far as he was concerned, Danielle Ford no longer existed.

It was just a pity that spending the following weekend in Sydney at his apartment overlooking the million-dollar view of the Harbor Bridge and Opera House wouldn’t be enjoyable. Something was missing.

Or someone.

Dammit, he’d never let a woman get under his skin before. Not like this. He’d had women friends who’d tried every trick in the book to get him to marry them, but Danielle Ford had chosen a different way of getting his attention. Unfortunately for her it had the opposite effect to what she’d wanted. The one thing he wouldn’t let himself do was get involved with a pregnant woman.

Not that pregnant women weren’t beautiful. He’d seen some stunners in his time and thankfully none had been his responsibility, but he’d decided years ago he’d never put any woman’s life at risk with a pregnancy.

So why couldn’t he get this one woman out of his mind, especially since he hadn’t taken her to his bed?

Or perhaps it was because of that?

Yet she was only one woman. There were plenty of others to choose from. But those women would only have been a poor substitute for a sexy sorceress…a witch…but a cheat, he reminded himself.

He had to stop thinking about a certain long-legged, blue-eyed blonde stripped naked and in bed….

His bed…

He wasn’t surprised the following week after returning from a business lunch with the Lord Mayor when his personal assistant followed him into his office, an angry look on her middle-aged face. Connie rarely lost her cool. It was one of the things he appreciated about her. She kept calm under the most trying of circumstances.

Usually.

“This was delivered downstairs at reception,” she said tightly, slapping an envelope down on the desk in front of him. “It’s for you.”

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing, not sure what it was about. “And?”

A disapproving motherly look puckered her lips. “It’s from Mrs. Ford.”

“Danielle?” he said, tensing, and caught the suddenly watchful look in his assistant’s eyes at his slip of the tongue.

“Yes.”

He wondered what Danielle was up to now, even as mild surprise at Connie’s reaction filled him. “You didn’t like her?”

A soft look filled her eyes. “Of course I liked her, Flynn. She’s lovely. So well-mannered.” Then her expression tightened again as she shot him daggers. “You had better read the letter, that’s all I’m saying.”

Hiding his wariness, he merely inclined his head. “Thank you, Connie. Just leave it there.”

She looked as if she was going to say more, but then obviously knowing how far not to push him, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

For a moment Flynn just sat there, marshaling his thoughts. He stared at the open white envelope. His name had been written on it in a soft style that bespoke of femininity and charm. The uppercase initials of F and D fashioned with little curls tugged on something inside him, as if it were an echo of her voice wanting him.

God, he could still hear the throaty sound of her voice back in her kitchen when he’d been administering to her injuries.

Didn’t this woman know when to give up?

Never one to shirk anything unpleasant, he seized the envelope and pulled out the folded piece of paper inside. He began to read.

Dear Mr. Donovan,

Please find enclosed a check for one hundred dollars as first payment on the outstanding loan of two hundred thousand dollars that my late husband and I owe your company. I apologize if this is unacceptable, however due to my pregnancy I am unable to take a second job at this stage. Please take this as official notice that I will repay the loan as soon as I can.

Yours sincerely,

Danielle Ford.

Flynn threw the letter on his desk, his lips twisting at the word sincerely. No wonder Connie had been upset with him. Danielle’s words might have been businesslike in tone but it made him sound like an ogre who was insisting on his money, come hell or high water.

Obviously this was the way she worked. And now the pregnancy angle had added a whole new avenue to her manipulation skills. She’d certainly hit the jackpot with that one.

As for her “supposed” job, it was probably some sort of volunteer work she did once a month at the hospital. Something that made her look respectable without getting her pretty little hands dirty, he decided, tearing up the check and dropping the pieces in the wastepaper basket.

No doubt once he ignored this, they wouldn’t be hearing from her again. Her little ploy for sympathy would soon die a natural death once she realized he wasn’t about to come running with a magic wand in one hand and an unlimited checkbook in the other.

Then the same thing happened the following week. A check arrived, but without a letter this time.

“Another check,” Connie said tightly, slapping the envelope down in front of him, as if everything were his fault. She smacked another piece of paper on top of it and blurted, “And here’s my resignation.”

His head snapped up. “Your what?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “What the—Why?”

She straightened her slim shoulders, color coming into her cheeks. “I’m afraid I can’t work for you anymore, Flynn. Not like this.”

He exhaled an impatient sigh and leaned back in his chair. This was Danielle Ford’s fault. Damn her. And damn Danielle’s flashing blue eyes, those enticing lips above the intimate underside of a chin that more often than not was raised in the air at him.

“So you’re going to throw away five years of working for me because some…” he hesitated to say lady “…woman owes me money?”

“Yes.”

From his experience he knew females were often unpredictable, but he’d never actually thought of Connie that way. She’d been his right-hand man, always on top of things, never one to pull these kinds of tricks.

“She’s not worth it, you know.”

Connie met his gaze levelly. “I think she is. She’s a real lady, Flynn. Classy. She deserves better than this.”

No, Danielle was just good at fooling people, though he had to admit that not many people fooled Connie. And that just went to prove that his assistant wasn’t infallible.

“She owes me a great deal of money,” he pointed out.

Connie continued to stand her ground. “I’m sure she had her reasons.”

His mouth thinned with derision. “That means she spent a great deal of money, or hadn’t you thought of that?”

“I don’t care. A pregnant woman shouldn’t have to worry about getting a second job to pay the bills.”

“Then maybe she shouldn’t have borrowed the money in the first place.”

Her expression was resolute. “That may be so, but she’s genuinely trying to pay the money back now.” A wave of concern crossed her face. “Look, her husband is dead, she’s pregnant and she has a debt that is obviously weighing heavily on her. It could affect her health.”

“No,” he growled. He wasn’t going to have that on his shoulders.

Connie hesitated for a second, then a determined look filled her eyes. “Flynn, I never told you this before but I was pregnant once.”

His brows met in a frown. They’d never discussed her private life. She worked long hours at times and had never complained, so he assumed she lived alone.

“You never mentioned being married.”

“I wasn’t.” Her eyes didn’t waver from his. “I hope that doesn’t change how you think of me.”

“That’s a fool thing to say,” he said brusquely. “Of course it doesn’t make a bloody difference.”

Her features relaxed with slight relief. “Thank you,” she murmured, but there was inner pain flickering at the back of her eyes. “Let me tell you a little about my baby. I lost him before he was born. You see, I’d been in poor health for some years, I had no family and the man I loved had left town before he even knew I was pregnant. I thought I was too proud to accept charity, but when you lose your baby…” her voice grew slightly shaky “…when that baby no longer warms your womb and you have nothing in your arms to hold…” She took another breath. “Accepting charity suddenly looks the better option.”

The world briefly shifted out of focus as memories of his mother rose to the surface again.

Then he looked at his PA. To think Connie had gone through a similar thing…

His mouth firmed with purpose. “Put your resignation away, Connie. I’ll go see her.”

Of course, he couldn’t just drop everything right there and then, but a few hours later after moving a mountain of paperwork, he eventually left to go see Danielle, the loan contract tucked inside his jacket. He knew he was playing right into her hands by coming to see her, but how to tell his PA that? The first check and accompanying letter had been a brilliant idea, but the second check was sheer stubbornness. It was obvious Danielle was determined to get his attention.

And he was equally determined not to give it. Not in the way she wanted, anyway.

Still, she wouldn’t be complaining too loudly once he’d finished talking. He was about to officially cancel the loan, thereby letting her walk away with two hundred thousand of his dollars. Not a bad day’s work for some.

However the first thing he saw when he turned his sports Mercedes into her street was the reckless idiot in a red sedan who cut across the road and slammed on his brakes in front of her building.

Flynn swore as he pulled up behind the car and turned off the engine.

Bloody hell! Danielle was in that car. In the passenger seat. He’d recognize her profile anywhere.

And then he saw the young thug in the driver’s seat next to her, his tattooed arm leaning out the window. Fear for her safety chilled his blood. The young man looked as if he’d just got out of prison, and the vehicle as if it had been driven by one too many drunks. The trunk of the car had a huge scratch down the middle and the back left-hand side had a dent in it the size of Kakadu National Park. There was a For Sale sign on its back window.

He swore again. Why on earth would she get into a car with such a man? She didn’t belong there. It made his skin crawl just to see her sitting inside it.

And why buy that piece of garbage? She lived in a lavish penthouse apartment for God’s sake, with a mesmerizing view of the marina and the vast Timor Sea beyond that. A view that even the most jaded would appreciate.

And then he figured out what she was really up to. She’d known he’d come here this afternoon and had somehow planned this, waiting in the afternoon heat and humidity, wanting him to feel sorry for her over the car and her condition. She’d probably counted on charming her way into his life. His nostrils flared with fury. She had about as much chance of that as of it snowing here in Darwin.

He was about to start the engine and go back to the office when he remembered his promise to Connie. If he went back now without speaking to Danielle, the older woman would hand in her notice. And then it would take too much time and trouble to find anyone half as efficient, let alone that he’d darn well miss her around the office.

Just then Danielle opened the car door and started to get out of the vehicle. Against his will, his pulse shifted upward when he glimpsed a pair of slim ankles encased in pretty white sandals more suited to getting out of a Mercedes than a run-down wreck. But it was the other car door being flung open and the jerky way the driver got out of the car that suddenly drew his attention.

Something was going on here.

Something not right.

Instinct told him this wasn’t part of Danielle’s plan.

Danielle had just been for the ride of her life. Not only was her stomach still trying to catch up from where “Turbo” had left it back there on a lonely stretch of the Stuart Highway, but her heart was still in her mouth. Living up to his name, he’d scared her half to death by crossing the other side of the road then coming to a screaming stop in front of her building.

Holding on to her stomach, she took a breath and opened the car door. Nothing would make her buy this car now, no matter how cheap. Her dear mother had always said you got what you paid for, and Danielle wasn’t about to use some of her precious savings just to drive her baby around in a bomb like this one. She’d rather catch the bus into the city center the way she did now, where she worked three days a week helping Angie in the boutique. Of course, once she had the baby she’d need to stop at the day-care center before and after work.

“I’m sorry, but this really isn’t what I’m looking for.” She pushed herself off the passenger seat, wanting to get out of the car and away from this man who was making her uneasy.

He hopped out of the driver’s side and looked at her over the roof of the car as she got to her feet. “I could probably take a couple of hundred off the price,” he said, desperation growing in his tone.

She didn’t want to think what he needed the money for. There was something about him that didn’t sit well now. Heavens, she’d been a fool to get in the car with him, no matter that Angie said he was a friend of a friend.

“It’s really not what I’m after, Turbo,” she said in a placating tone.

“But you said—”

“The lady said she’s not interested.” A hard male voice came out of nowhere, and Danielle’s gaze flew to the man standing a few feet away on the footpath. She sucked in a sharp breath, her heart hammering foolishly for one brief second. Flynn Donovan stood there, looking as if he wanted to do someone harm.

And that someone was probably her.

Turbo spun around, his mouth closing when he saw Flynn. All at once the young man appeared even skinnier and shorter, especially up against Flynn’s well-muscled body dressed in a gray business suit.

Funny, but she actually felt sorry for Turbo then. The tattoos, the pierced nose and the missing tooth were merely a front so that people wouldn’t notice his acne and too-thin body.

Flynn took a step closer and any suspicions she had about Turbo being up to no good disappeared under Flynn’s intimidating stance. She glowered at him. Couldn’t he see the younger man was nothing more than skin and bones?

“Flynn, don’t—”

“Forget it, lady,” Turbo interjected, his eyes wide with fright as he jumped in his car, gunned the engine and sped off, leaving behind a trail of exhaust smoke that sickened her in the humid tropical air.

But Danielle ignored it and glared at Flynn. “There was no need for that.”

Reciprocating anger flared in those dark eyes. “Of course there was.”

She bristled, half-afraid he was right but not willing to admit she’d acted foolishly. Not when she’d been trying so hard to do this all by herself.

Her chin tilted. “I could have handled him.”

He arched a brow. “Really? It may have escaped your notice but you’re pregnant.”

“I know a man’s weak parts as well as the next woman.”

“Obviously.” His mocking gaze traveled down the length of her floral shirt and white capri pants to the white sandals on her feet. For all his anger, she felt as if he’d just whispered kisses all down her body, right down to the tips of her toes.

Her hands balled into fists. “Mr. Donovan, just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I’m helpless.”

“Glad to hear it,” he taunted.

She squared her shoulders. “Oh, I get it. You’re one of those men who can’t help but interfere in a woman’s business. Well, I’d appreciate it if you’d stay out of mine in the future.”

“Oh, I intend to.” He started walking toward her, a dark glitter in his eyes. “After this.”

She watched him warily. “What are you doing?”

Another two strides and he had her by the arm. “Getting you off the road before you get run over,” he muttered, then started leading her back toward the building. “Or is that considered interfering, too?”

She was about to reply with something equally sarcastic, but all at once a funny feeling washed over her. Her head began to swim and, just as she reached the footpath, she felt the blood drain from her face and her knees turn weak. She clutched at Flynn with her other hand. God, she felt strange. Very, very strange. It must be the heat.

Suddenly both fear and panic that she’d done something to hurt the baby came crushing down on top of her. She took deep, calming breaths. No, she and the baby would be all right. It’ll pass in a moment or two. She only had to wait.

“Danielle?” he said sharply.

She moistened dry lips. “I’m okay. I feel a little faint, that’s all.”

He muffled something under his breath.

“I should be fine now,” she said in a small voice, and pushed herself away from him, but was unsteady on her feet.

He swore again and slipped his arms around her waist. “Let’s get you upstairs.”

Swinging her up in his arms, he punched in the security code he’d memorized from his last visit to the luxurious penthouse and headed inside to the coolness of the building. The elevator was available and he strode over plush carpet and into it, the lump of fear in his throat almost strangling him.

It was her he should strangle, he decided, as she rested her cheek on his shoulder, the soft fragrance of her perfume surrounding his nostrils. She didn’t make a murmur.

Once inside her air-conditioned apartment, he laid her down on the leather couch in the living room, noting the faint sheen of perspiration covering her soft, almost translucent skin.

“Stay there,” he grated, and headed for the telephone.

She lifted her head off the cushion. “What are you doing?”

He began punching in the first digits of the phone number. “Calling my doctor.”

“What? Don’t you dare!” She started to sit up, and he slammed the phone down and strode back to her side.

“You need medical attention,” he growled, helping her to sit up fully. She was so light, even with the baby growing inside her.

The baby! Alarm rocketed through him again until he saw some color had returned to her cheeks.

“It was the smell of the exhaust fumes, that’s all,” she said, brushing some blond strands out of her eyes.

Powerful relief filled him, followed by a burst of irritation. How could she take this so casually? He hated to think what may have happened if he hadn’t decided to come here today. No one would have heard her screams if that thug had roughed her up a little.

Or a lot.

He straightened, then impaled her with a stare. “You were taking your life in your hands with that idiot back there.”

The pink in her cheeks reddened defensively. “His name was given to me by a friend.”

His lip curled. “Terrific. The police will know exactly where to go after they find your mutilated body in Darwin Harbor. That’s if the crocodiles don’t get you first.”

“Ever thought about writing bedtime books for children?” she mocked, sounding almost back to normal, if there even was such a thing as normal for her. She was the most ambiguous woman he’d ever met.

And he was in no mood to appreciate a sense of humor right now. “People don’t always go around with Murderer tattooed on their foreheads.”

She stirred uneasily, her beautiful face clouding over. “I wouldn’t have gone with him if I’d really felt threatened. I have my baby to protect.”

Flynn’s eyes were drawn to where her hand rested on her stomach. He swallowed tightly, his gaze moving up and resting back on her face as he squashed the urge to pull her into his arms.

“That guy wouldn’t have taken no for an answer,” he reiterated, knowing that if he got her in his arms he would shake her first. Then kiss her.

Fear came and went in her eyes. “I know that now.”

Some of the tension eased out of his shoulders but he still couldn’t let go of the suspicion that she’d do something foolish.

“Why are you here, Flynn?”

Absorbed in his angry thoughts, it was the sound of his name on her lips that broke through to him.

But it was her words that reminded him of the paperwork inside his jacket…Reminded him that she’d do almost anything to get his attention. This was all about getting her own way. She was definitely high maintenance—in more ways than one.

He smiled unpleasantly. “I’ve come to give you something.”

She blinked warily. “You have?”

He took the contract out of his jacket and tossed it onto the sofa next to her. “Consider the loan paid in full. You no longer owe me two hundred thousand dollars.”

For one moment something flashed in her eyes, before she quickly looked confused. “I don’t understand.”

He watched her with cynicism. He’d seen her eyes lit up with what he suspected was satisfaction. “Of course you do. Your letter…the checks…the run-down car…were all a bid for sympathy to get my attention and win me over. Why not just admit it?”

Her eyes flared wide. “What?”

“I’m one step ahead of you.” He glanced pointedly at the paperwork. “Go on, pick it up and take a look. It’s the contract. You can rip it up or burn it. Do what you will for all I care, but let’s just cut our losses and get on with our lives. Separately.”

Her delicious mouth opened and closed. Then, as if pretending she couldn’t believe it, she looked down at the paper next to her and slowly picked it up. Her hands shook slightly and Flynn pushed aside a stab of guilt. They shook because he knew what she was about. He was probably the first man to so quickly see through her beautiful exterior to the hard core of selfishness beneath. Pregnant or not, this beauty intended to have it all.

Suddenly her head lifted and a deep anger bounced around in her blue eyes, surprising him.

“My God! I’m doing everything in my power to pay back the loan, and not only do you throw my effort back in my face but you accuse me of subterfuge.”

Oh, she was convincing, but her actions spoke louder than words. She was angry because he’d caught her out. Her wealthy appetite was never more apparent than now, here in her expensive apartment.

He gave her a sweeping glance. “I know women.”

She made a choking sound. “What a colossal ego you have.”

“Then tell me how wrong I am about you,” he said bluntly. “Tell me how you can afford an apartment like this—” he jerked his head at their swish surroundings “—yet not a decent car?”

A look of discomfort crossed her beautiful face before she tossed him a look full of sarcasm. “What? You mean you don’t already know everything about my finances?”

She was as guilty as hell and disgust flooded through him. She cried poor yet could afford to move into this? Perhaps he needed to get a new report done on her, and not just her business affairs this time.

“No doubt you have a lover or ex-lover paying most of your bills. What’s the matter? Did you overspend and now he won’t buy you a new car? Too bad.”

“Think what you like,” she said coolly.

“Oh, I will.”

She flung him a look of intense dislike. “By the way, you can take your offer and…” Without warning, her voice wobbled and she blinked rapidly.

“Yes?” he taunted.

She cleared her throat. “Mr. Donovan, no matter what you say, I intend to pay the loan back, even if it takes me a lifetime.”

He felt a flash of admiration, until he remembered this was just another ploy to trick him into believing she had integrity. She’d fooled Robert Ford at first, too.

All at once he wondered how far she would go in her quest to live the good life. How mercenary could she be? Would she take a new car if he offered it? He rather liked the idea of proving himself right. And dammit, he wasn’t a charity but he couldn’t bear to think of her pregnant self in a vehicle like he’d just seen. There would be no smooth ride in that thing.

He smiled with derision. If there was one thing she was used to it was a smooth ride, he decided, watching her sit back on the sofa like the lady of leisure she was, the contract casually resting on her lap.

Pushing aside his fanciful thoughts, he briefly glanced at his watch, noting the time. He had a half hour to get back to his office to meet with a visiting dignitary from overseas. What he really felt like doing was getting on his yacht and going for a sail along the coastline, letting the majestic view and cool sea breeze ease the tension out of his body. A tension that one woman had put there.

And still did.

He strode toward the door, but as he reached for the handle he suddenly pictured Danielle fainting. And what if she couldn’t get up? She’d have to crawl to the telephone. Perhaps she’d be unable to do even that.

He opened the door then turned to look at her over his shoulder. “Do yourself a favor and get a cell phone.” His gaze slid down to her stomach then back up again. “You never know when you’ll need it.”

Apprehension wavered in her eyes, then one of her eyebrows rose mockingly. “Gee, I wonder what pregnant women did before cell phones.”

The muscles at the back of his neck bunched together as he glared at her. “Good question,” he rasped, and shut the door on the way out.