“Elle,” Brock said. “Are you okay?”
Not really, she thought, but rose from the bed and opened the door. He looked down at her in concern. “If you’re getting sick this often, you should see a doctor,” he said.
“Well, you have to admit it’s been a rough twenty-four hours for me.” She gazed at him, hard. “Why did you go ahead and announce our marriage when I’d already told you no?”
“Because I’m thinking of our child. Our child deserves the best I can give him or her, and I believe a real man doesn’t shirk his responsibilities.”
Like her father had. Elle had to admit she had never wanted the cloak of shame for her child that she had worn for most of her life. How many times had she been asked about her father and been forced to reply that she didn’t have one? “This is too fast.”
Brock’s jaw tightened. “It can’t happen fast enough, as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “When news of your pregnancy hits, I want you wearing a wedding band and living in my home.”
She frowned, feeling her stomach turn. “Is this all about image?”
“No,” Brock said. “It’s about doing the right thing for everyone concerned. I want you and our baby protected.” He sighed. “You’re right. This is fast, but it’s necessary. If you were dreaming of a big church wedding, that’s going to be difficult to pull off.”
“I never pictured a big, fussy wedding for myself. Whenever I thought about it—and it wasn’t often—I always thought a small beach wedding would be beautiful,” she said. “But that wouldn’t work now, so—”
“Yes, it can,” he said, meeting her gaze. “I can make that happen. Would you like a new dress, and flowers?”
“No, it’s not necessary,” she demurred, looking away, feeling confused by his consideration.
“Let’s schedule this for a week from now. Ask someone you trust to go dress shopping with you, and choose some flowers. You can put it on my card.”
“No, I—”
“I insist,” he said, taking her hand.
Compelled by his tone, she met his gaze again.
“We’re making a big commitment, Elle. It may not be what we’d planned, but it’s going to work out. There’s no reason for you to be miserable during the process.”
But what about him? she wondered. He may be pushing forward on marrying her, but what were his real feelings? Especially since he knew she’d betrayed him for her grandfather. He still didn’t know about her mother’s treatments, and she found herself reluctant to tell him. Would he think it was just an excuse? Would he think she had tried to extract information from him in bed when in truth, falling for Brock and going to bed with him had never been part of the plan?
“How can we possibly make this work? With my family background and yours?” she asked.
“You and I will make it work,” he said. “We have good motivation.”
“But what about how I leaked company secrets?” she asked.
“That’s in the past,” he said firmly, his jaw locked. “We need to take care of the present and look toward the future.”
Elle heard his words but his hard expression made her wonder if he would ever be able to truly forgive her.
Exiting the elevator in the Powell Street office of Maddox Communications on Monday, Brock felt a sense of responsibility hit him, as it often did. It was hard to believe, but even the seven-story Beaux Arts building built in 1910 would have been demolished by the wrecking ball if not for his father’s determination to restore it. These days, the reception area looked totally different than it had during James’s heyday. Continuing his father’s tradition of embracing modern technology, Brock had arranged for two seventy-inch plasma screens to sit on either side of the reception desk, showing videos and commercials produced by Maddox Communications.
Nodding to the receptionist, Brock walked down the hallway, noting Elle’s empty desk outside his office. He hadn’t needed to fire her or ask her to resign. She’d known she wouldn’t be welcome in the office any longer. He felt a twinge of longing followed quickly by a blast of impatience with himself. From the first day she’d begun working for him, Elle had inspired a strange combination of emotions inside him.
If he’d been smarter, perhaps he wouldn’t have allowed himself to get involved with her so easily. But she was smart and warm, and her sultry blue eyes had distracted him after his fiancée had left him wondering if he should even try to get involved in a serious relationship with a woman. When they’d given in to their impulses, she hadn’t asked him for more. That had only made him ravenous for her.