"Was she doing it just to needle you?" Dec asked.
"Probably. She gets under my skin."
"I know what you mean," Dec muttered under his breath.
"Woman troubles? I didn't even think you were dating anyone," Allan said.
"I might be dating," he said as the conference room door opened after a brief knock before he could say anything else. He glanced up to see Cari standing there. Her straight hair was pulled back in the high ponytail she habitually wore it in, with the fringe of bangs falling straight on her forehead. Her blue eyes looked quizzical.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I needed to talk to you about a staff meeting."
"Glad to have the interruption. Do you know my cousin Allan?"
"I do not," she said, stepping forward to shake Allan's hand.
"You seem less hostile than your sister," Allan said.
"I try," Cari said with a wry grin. "She's not overly fond of you either."
"I was totally aware of it, since she is usually scowling when I walk into a room." Allan let go of her hand. "You don't look anything like your sisters," he said.
"I know. They used to tell me I was adopted when we were little," she said.
"And I really was," Dec interjected. "We have so much in common."
Dec noticed Allan's glance flicking between him and Cari. "Interesting," his cousin commented.
"What's interesting?" Cari asked, looking slightly confused.
"Nothing," Allan said.
Dec stepped toward his cousin. "Allan, don't you have to leave?"
"Not yet," Allan said. "I'm here to observe, remember?"
The situation wasn't ideal in Dec's mind. He didn't want his cousin watching him and Cari together. But he knew there was no way he was getting Allan out of here short of throwing him out.
* * *
Cari had hoped not to see Dec's cousin, but it served to remind her of the other players in this game. It was hard not to look at the entire situation the way she did when they were building a game. It was easier to think of Allan as an adversary that had to either be swayed to join her team or destroyed.
In her mind she'd clothed herself in armor and a shield before coming down to the conference room and she was very glad she had. She realized that she had to keep the "dating" part of her life under very careful control. There was something about Dec and this entire thing that made her wish the timing was different.
Would she have been able to save Infinity if she'd sought Dec out when she'd first learned she was pregnant instead of waiting? She doubted it. Families didn't end feuds just because of marriages or heirs. World War I had certainly proved that, she thought.
"What can I help you with?" Dec asked Cari, breaking into her thoughts.
"It's the staff. They are all so anxious. I'm going to hold a general staff meeting this afternoon and I'd like to give them some information to ease their fears," she said.
"What are your ideas?" he asked.
"I'd like to have a hard target for your reduction. Just something like twenty percent of staff or thirty percent off the bottom line for expenses. Something concrete for the staff to know that if they work at it then they will be safe."
Allan leaned forward and looked up at her. "Sit down, Cari."
She sat down on the other side of the table from him.
"Do you really think knowing that will help the staff?" Allan asked.
"Yes. My group is really good at meeting financial targets. We all know reductions need to be made and by going to the staff in the past I've been able to achieve them. I want to make this transition easier on them. Right now if you looked at our efficiency, you'd see that in one day we're off track. They are all worried."
"Well, we don't have a hard target in reductions yet," Dec said. "I'm still gathering information to take back to Allan."
"I'm the CFO," Allan said.
"I know," Cari said. "We believe in knowing our enemy. And according to Jessi you have cloven hooves and a tail."
"She's the devilish one," Allan said.
Cari bit her lip to keep from smiling. Her sister and Allan didn't get along at all. "What kind of reductions in expense would make you comfortable?"
Dec glanced at Allan. There seemed to be some sort of unspoken communication going on between the men. She leaned back in her chair and noted that Dec was the more attractive of the two men. Sure, Allan had those California outdoorsy good looks, but he didn't affect her the way that Dec did. As she studied Dec, she noticed the tiny scar underneath his left eye that she hadn't noticed before.
And his mouth … Well, she'd done a lot of thinking about that full mouth and the way his lips felt pressed against hers. The way he opened his mouth and thrust his tongue into hers. From their very first kiss, she'd noted how he tasted good.
"Will that work, Cari?"
Damn. She'd been daydreaming and she'd missed something important. So now she either had to pretend she agreed with whatever they'd just discussed or admit she wasn't paying attention. Being a blonde, she'd always felt at a disadvantage in discussions like this because people assumed she didn't get it. That she wasn't as smart as everyone else, and now she'd just acted like a fool and proved it.
"Let me see what you've worked out," she said.
Dec nodded and passed her the legal pad on which he and Allan had jotted some numbers down, and as she studied it she saw that if her division could move firmly into a 20 percent profit margin, then no one would have to be cut from the operational group.
"I can work with that," she said. It would mean long hours and getting their games in early. In fact, as she stared at the numbers she had an idea that might do more than save jobs. It might give Playtone a reason to keep Infinity in business.
"Glad to hear it. That's a very aggressive number," Allan said. "I don't know many divisions of any gaming company that could do it."
Dec spoke before Cari could reply. "Well, you haven't seen Cari in action. I've spent the past two days listening to every staff member tell me she's the best boss they've ever had. I think they'd kill themselves to please her."
Cari rolled her eyes. "He's exaggerating. It's just that I'm empathetic."
"It's more than that," Dec said. "There's something special about you."
She felt her cheeks heat up with a blush and shook her head. There was that glimmer in Dec's eyes that had nothing to do with her business acumen and everything to do with the bond between them. And whether it lasted or not, she realized there was always going to be that strong attraction between them.
"Well, I don't know about that. But I will do my best," she said, standing up to leave.
"I'll see you for dinner," Dec said.
"I'm looking forward to it," she said, smiling at him before turning and walking away.
She hoped that Allan would see a woman who was confident and knew what she was doing instead of a bundle of nerves who might have bitten off more than she could chew. Even the metaphorical armor she was mentally wearing felt tattered, but more from the inside than from any outer blows. It was going to be hard to keep these two parts of their lives separate.
Because she wasn't used to separating her emotions from any of her decisions. And Dec was certainly a man who made her feel emotional.
Eight
Dec ordered a dinner from his favorite restaurant for delivery at seven. Since the first evening they'd eaten together in Cari's office almost two weeks ago, it had become his favorite time of the day. Most of the staff was still present, but as he approached Cari's office he noted that her assistant was gone. He stood in the doorway watching her sitting on the floor with DJ.
DJ noticed him in the doorway, rolled onto all fours and crawled over to him.
"Uh, hello, Dec."
"What are you trying to teach him?" Dec asked, putting the take-out food on the credenza and reaching down to pick up his son. He felt that kick in the chest again from the thought that this was his progeny. He hugged DJ and the boy smiled up at him and made a grab for his nose. "Mamama."
"No," Dec said. "Dada."
"Mamama," DJ said.
"He's stubborn, must get that from-"
"Watch it, buddy," Cari said, getting to her feet.
"I was going to say me," Dec said, carrying DJ over to the desk where she had set his carrier. "Is he sitting here while we eat?"
"Yes. I have some yogurt in my fridge for him. Do you feel comfortable getting him settled?"