All He Really Needs(56)

“I want to be totally honest with you.” He turned around to face her. His hands were propped on his hips, his jeans slung low with the top button undone. His head was slightly ducked, so she almost couldn’t read his expression. “I don’t have any intention of staying on as CEO for Cain Enterprises.”

“I know. You never claimed you did.”

He let out a faint groan of frustration. “No. I mean, I’ve never really had any intention of even working at Cain Enterprises. I’ve been trying to get away from it since I accepted the job when I was twenty-four. The only reason I even took the job is because my father threatened to cut me off if I didn’t work for Cain Enterprises for at least a decade.”

“Yes.” Again she cupped his cheek. “I know. It doesn’t take a genius to see that you’re not really happy at Cain Enterprises. You clearly don’t fit there. That’s why—”

But before she could admit to knowing about Hope2O, he cut her off. “No, it’s more than that. It’s not just that I don’t want to work for Cain Enterprises.” His expression still looked so miserable. “It’s that I have other plans entirely. Things I’ve put on hold for the better part of a decade because—”

Finally, she couldn’t take anymore of it and she pressed her fingers to his mouth. “I know.”

“You—”

“I know about Hope2O.”

“—don’t… Wait.” His eyes scanned her face. “You know about Hope2O? How could you possibly know?” He took a step back, his expression suspicious. “How did you find out? Did Dalton know?”

“Relax.” It was all she could do not to chuckle at his open skepticism. “It’s nothing nefarious. Sharlene knows. She told me.” He was still eyeing her suspiciously, so she quickly explained about the conversation she and Sharlene had had while he’d been off looking for the photos.

The tension seemed to drain out of him as she spoke. Finally he said, “You’re not mad?”

“I found out you’re generous and charitable. I learned you’re doing great things to help all of mankind. Why would that make me mad?”

Worried, yes, because this was the kind of man he was. The kind who worried that his good deeds would be held against him.

“Some women would be angry that I misled them.”

“You never misled me. You’re just very guarded. There’s a difference.”

“Well, you say that now. You might feel differently when you’ve had time to think it over. After all, you started dating a rich man who was in line to inherit hundreds of millions of dollars. Not a man who works for an international aid organization.”

“You can’t honestly believe I was dating you for the money. That’s not the kind of relationship we had anyway.”

He shot her an odd look at that. “No. I don’t suppose it is.”

There was a note of finality in his voice, like he’d reached some sort of decision. Whatever it was, she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear more. She couldn’t take any more glimpses into his soul. She already felt as though she’d flown too close to the sun.





Fourteen


Maybe he was an idiot, but he didn’t figure out something was wrong with Sydney until after they’d already checked out of the hotel and he’d driven her back to her little bungalow in Montrose. As much as he wasn’t looking forward to confronting his parents, he knew he had to talk to them and had just assumed that he and Sydney would go as soon as they left the hotel. However, once he saw her clothes, he knew that wasn’t an option. Dirt from his car was smeared across the back of her pale slacks and tan sweater. He’d thought he kept his car pretty clean, but apparently he was going to have to talk to the car care service he used.

Sydney was so quiet on the drive to her neighborhood that he had to wonder if something was wrong. When he pulled up in front of the house, Sydney said, “I’ll just be a minute. You can wait in the car if you’d like.”

“No, I’ll come in,” he said, not realizing at first that maybe she’d been asking him not to come in.

She opened the front door and gestured him through. It led straight into a small living room, with an office off to the right and the kitchen straight ahead.

“Help yourself to a drink,” she said, hurrying past the kitchen and gesturing toward the refrigerator. She darted into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her, leaving him standing in the living room staring blankly at the door through which she’d retreated, wondering what was up. She normally wasn’t shy. She’d dressed and undressed in front of him countless times in the past four months. So why had she shut him out of the bedroom? Was she mad about the whole sleeping-with-her-boss thing?