His Instant Heir(20)

She tipped her head and studied him. Something he noticed she did when  she was weighing options. He hoped he measured up, and did his best to  look sincere. He thought he saw doubt and maybe some disappointment in  her eyes, so he furrowed his brow as he looked over at her.

"You look like you might punch me if I don't say yes," she said at last with a sad little half smile.

"That was me being sincere," he said. He wasn't even good at that. How  the hell did he think he was going to manage a commitment to her and to  his son? He was going to have to be in touch with his feelings and  express them. Or would he? His own father never had, and Dec had  scarcely known the man. He'd wanted to have fun with him, to have a  closer bond.                       
       
           



       

She shook her head and gave a little laugh. "You shouldn't look so fierce if you want people to think you are sincere."

"I can't help it. Ever since you walked into the conference room I  haven't felt blasé about a single thing. From the moment you came back  in to my life nothing has been normal."

"Uh, thanks?"

"I meant it as a compliment, but it's clear to see you didn't take it  that way. I'm not good at this type of conversation. Should I leave?"

She walked over to him, still holding little DJ on her hip, and put her  hand on his chest over his heart, where her head had rested earlier.  Even though he didn't know what he was doing, somehow he felt he was  bumbling his way through this. He was doing what he needed for her to  see that she was important to him.

"Don't leave. I'm so afraid that I'm giving you credit for trying harder  than you really are. I don't want to be stupid where you are concerned  again."

"Well, I don't want to go anywhere."

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes," he said.

She took a few tentative steps closer to him and he watched her trying  hard to pretend that he hadn't just made a huge leap forward in her  estimation.

* * *

The staff picnic at Infinity Games was held in mid-September. A lot of  people weren't too happy with Dec because they'd had to work harder and  longer than they ever had before. But everyone had heard the news,  thanks to the figures she'd forwarded to the staff, that all their  efforts were paying off and they were projected to be over their profit  targets. So the mood on the campus at the barbecue tents was pretty  upbeat.

"Davis actually smiled at me when he took his plate of food," Dec said  to her with a wry grin as the last of the group of staff moved on.

"He doesn't like you, but he told me yesterday he understood that the bottom line was important," Cari said.

She and Dec had the first shift at the hot-food tent. It was a catered  event but Infinity Games executive staff had always been the ones to  serve the food. She had started the tradition.

It had been a little over two weeks since the night in her office, and  they'd been on dates and really taken their time to get to know each  other. She still felt there were times when Dec was keeping part of  himself in reserve, but on the whole she was happy to have him in her  life. Emma and Jessi had thought she was nuts to have gone out with Dec.  But they'd both backed off when Cari had told them that he made her  happy. Which was mostly true. He also made her scared and paranoid and  neurotic. She didn't know why he was afraid of commitment and had done  her level best to be cool and not too clingy. But each day, as she fell a  little more in love with him, she had to fight her own instincts  harder.

"So this is the famous cyborg of Playtone Games."

At the sound of her sister's voice, Cari looked up, sensing Dec tense beside her.

"I don't even need an introduction to know that you are Jessi Chandler,"  Dec said, turning to greet her sister, who looked funky in her  minisundress that she'd teamed with a pair of combat boots.

"Jess, he prefers to go by Dec rather than cyborg," Cari said, going  over to give her sister a hug and whisper in her ear, "Be nice."

Jessi just gave her a wink. "Ah, trying to blend in with the humans?"

"Indeed. Is there a point to all of this?" Dec asked Jessi.

"Just wanted you to remember that the staff are people with lives and  jobs and had no part in anything that Gregory Chandler might have done  to Thomas Montrose," Jessi said.

"He's a fair man, Ms. Jessi," Frank said, coming up to the serving line. "Good afternoon, Mr. Dec, Ms. Cari."

"Hello, Frank," Cari said, starting to make a plate of food for the security guard.

"Really?" Jessi asked Frank.

"Yes. I know most of the staff were a little scared when he first showed  up, but he asks good questions, points out obvious improvements …  I  think most people are starting to like him."

Cari glanced over at Dec and saw that his skin was flushed and he looked  distinctly uncomfortable. Jessi didn't look too pleased either and gave  her a hard look that Cari couldn't really figure out.

"Thanks, Frank. Enjoy the picnic."

"I intend to," he said, walking away.

"You two are relieved from duty," Jessi said. She and her assistant Marcel walked behind the table and shooed Cari and Dec away.

Once they got out of earshot, Cari said, "Sorry about Jessi."

"It's okay. I get worse from Kell all the time. Want to grab a bite to eat before DJ gets here with your sister Emma?"                       
       
           



       

"Yes," she said. "You really made an impression on Frank."

Dec shrugged. "Six months ago I would have slated him for early  retirement and given him a package of benefits, but when I talked to him  I saw that he still had something to contribute here. The last thing he  wants is to be retired."

"I agree. He's smart and surprisingly strong for his age," Cari said.

"How do you know that?"

"He's the one who carried my new Louis XIV side table upstairs. That thing is heavy."

Dec laughed. "Why do you like that frilly furniture so much? It's not very businesslike."

"Yes, it is. And people like it. Shows I have personality," she said. "That I'm not just another boring corporate drone."

"They don't need to see your office to know that," Dec said, glancing  around them and then stealing a quick kiss. "Let's find a place to sit  down."

She followed him to the picnic tables and as they approached, two of the  game developers waved them over. She knew that Dec had been talking to  her staff, but as she sat next to him at the table she realized he'd  actually been integrating himself into the company. She didn't know if  that was because he was trying to make the transition smoother or if he  had another purpose.

But as she listened to the conversation flowing around her, she realized  that he was a part of this group. Since observing him at the trade show  a year and a half ago, she sensed that he'd changed. She wondered if it  was a permanent change or if this was just his way with takeovers. She  had no way of knowing for sure, she realized. She was just going to have  to decide if she trusted him or not.

And as he reached under the table to squeeze her thigh, giving her an  intimate smile, she knew that she already trusted him. She saw him now  as a man who knew how to be a part of something bigger than himself. A  man who understood that to have a successful future you had to build  something, not just tear up what existed. A man whom she was glad to  call her own.

* * *

Dec found a quiet spot out of the sun and away from the crowds at the  picnic. Late afternoon was waning into evening and soon to come was a  fireworks display and a band that would be performing as soon as dusk  fell. He'd spent the day surrounded by the staff of Infinity Games.  They'd all been friendly and made him feel like he was a part of the  team.

He knew he wasn't. He knew that in just under two more weeks when he  presented his findings to the board he was going to have to cut some of  them. And the thing was, he had the feeling they knew it, too. He had  never expected to care, he realized suddenly.

Takeovers weren't the place for someone who was empathetic and who  couldn't keep his eye on the finances. Never before had he struggled  with this, and he knew a certain blonde was to blame.

She kept expecting him to be better than he was and damn if he wasn't trying to live up to that.

But this wasn't him. He had made small talk all day long and smiled and  played volleyball. And he had just reached the saturation point of being  surrounded by people. He didn't want to feel vulnerable here. Business  was the one place in his life where he'd always been so calm, so cool,  able to keep moving forward.