Passionate Proposals: Saying Yes to the Boss

Graham turned his attention to Georgia on the far side of the room. “Do you need a ride back to the office?” His tone was pointed, but she wasn’t surprised.

“I do.” She’d gotten what she wanted out of Sutton for now. Staying behind after this incident would be nothing but awkward for them both.

Moving quickly, she scooped up her big black purse and slung it over her shoulder. Not wanting to let things unravel with Sutton, she gave him one last smile before she followed Graham out of the office. “Can you have that check for the hospital sent by courier over to our offices?”

The irritation faded from Sutton’s eyes as he focused on her again. “I’ll have it taken care of.”

Turning, she caught Graham and Eve sharing a meaningful look. Interesting. She brushed past a stunned Eve on her way to meet Graham in the doorway. They were halfway to his car before he said anything to her.

“What was that about?” he asked.

She didn’t like the way he was addressing her, as though he’d caught her beneath Sutton’s desk. “I’ve got a better question,” she said, deflecting the discussion. “What exactly was that just now between you and Eve Winchester?”

Graham’s jaw stiffened, but he didn’t turn to look at her. Instead he held open the door to the parking garage. “That was nothing.”

Georgia laughed. She didn’t work much with Graham since he spent so much time at his law firm, but she knew enough to know he was lying. “Tell that to someone who believes you. Eve was watching you like a tasty meal. At least until you started calling her father ‘Dad.’”

Graham took a deep breath and pulled his keys from his pocket. “If Sutton is our father, then it doesn’t matter what you think you saw. This isn’t a V.C. Andrews novel. The odds are that Eve is my half sister, so end of story.”

He opened the car door and Georgia slipped inside. Once he got in and started the engine, she said, “Sutton seemed pretty adamant that he wasn’t your father.”

“Yes, well, did you expect otherwise?”

Georgia hesitated for a moment. That didn’t sound like Sutton’s style. Maybe he would lie by omission, but the way he insisted he wasn’t Graham’s father made her believe him. Her interactions with him had always been very direct. “I don’t know. I’ve never known him to lie. He usually gets his way without stooping to deceit.”

“You know him so well now, do you? How much time have you been spending here with him behind Carson’s back? He told me about the dirty old man’s offer. Have you changed your mind about accepting it?”

“No, I haven’t. We were talking business.” She refused to elaborate any further. It was none of his damn business what she was doing there anyway.

“I bet,” he snapped before shooting into traffic and tearing down the street. “Let me give you a word of advice about Carson. He doesn’t get involved with women very often. His last real relationship ended when the woman dumped him for a richer guy.”

Georgia didn’t know that. They hadn’t really discussed their dating history in depth. “Really?”

“Yes. He and Candy were even engaged when she decided to run off with some billionaire tech innovator. It was really hard on him.”

“Well, Carson and I are just—”

“I don’t care what you two are or aren’t,” Graham interrupted. “I just want you to know so you think long and hard about putting Carson through the same thing again.”

Georgia bit her tongue. She was about as far from leaving Carson for Sutton as she was from leaving him for Prince Harry. She wasn’t going to argue that point with Graham. She’d tell Carson what she was up to, but she didn’t think Graham could be trusted. Judging by the body language between him and Eve, he was compromised. Especially if Sutton wasn’t their father.

If either of them was going to be sleeping with the enemy, it was Graham.

Eight (#ub8468a74-c8d5-5d3b-989f-75eda576e9f2)

“Can we talk?” Carson caught Georgia as she went past him in the hallway.

“Let me grab something off the printer,” she said, “and then I’ll come by.”

Carson returned to his office. He was filled with nervous energy that wouldn’t let him sit. Instead he stood and looked out the window at the sprawling sights of downtown Chicago. The view he loved did little to soothe him. He’d been tied up in knots inside since Graham left his office earlier.

His brother’s tale of the meeting with Sutton and Georgia’s unexpected presence had left him with a number of questions. He wasn’t sure he would like the answers. The dread in his stomach felt so familiar. He didn’t want to believe what Graham implied about Georgia, and he fought to reserve judgment no matter how badly his instincts wanted to react. Then again, he’d felt the same way when he’d started hearing the rumors about his ex-fiancée, Candy, stepping out with another man. He hadn’t wanted to believe it at first and yet the nagging ache in his gut couldn’t be ignored.

Breaking off their engagement hadn’t really bothered him. If Carson were honest with himself, he hadn’t been in love with Candy Stratton. She had been convenient—everything he thought a good wife should be. He didn’t have the time to look around forever, so he’d decided to move forward with her.

What had gutted him, though, was why Candy left him. He’d done well for himself. He and his brothers had crawled their way up from an unremarkable start in life to be some of the wealthiest and most successful businessmen in Chicago. Carson was painfully aware that he wasn’t from a good family. That he was a bastard, unclaimed by his father. He already had a daily battle shoring up his feelings of self-worth and adequacy.

What he didn’t need was a woman ditching him for a man who had all the things he lacked. For a while he’d wondered if he’d ever be enough. He had a ton of money, but not enough for Candy. He was very successful, but not successful enough for his father to be proud and step forward to claim his son. No matter how hard he worked, it never seemed like enough.

He’d hoped he could be enough for Georgia. A lot had changed since his engagement—he was wiser, older and even more successful. And yet it felt the same. Would it be that much worse if Georgia ditched him for his own father?

“You wanted to speak with me?”

Carson turned to find Georgia at the threshold. “Yes. Please come in. Shut the door and have a seat.”

Georgia narrowed her gaze at him for a moment before complying. “Is this about yesterday?” she asked, sitting down.

Carson took a seat behind his desk and sighed. “Maybe. I had a discussion with Graham this morning that wasn’t very encouraging, but I’d like to hear your version of events.”

“It’s not a version of events. Graham has no idea what he walked in on.”

“What did he walk in on?” After the way his brother described it, he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to hear it from her own lips. The thought of her getting involved with his father was enough to make him want to punch a hole through his office wall.

“Nothing more than a little corporate espionage.”

Carson’s brow shot up. “What?”

“Listen,” Georgia said, sitting forward in her seat. “With everything going on between Newport Corporation and Elite Industries, I decided it was a good idea to keep the lines of communication open. If Sutton thought I was still considering his offer, I might be able to get some information from him that could help you. There’s nothing more to it than that.”

Carson breathed a deep sigh of relief. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath for so long. He tried to suppress the doubts in his mind that Candy had left behind. There was no real reason to doubt Georgia. He needed to at least try to hear her out and see if he could trust her. “Really?”

Georgia got up from her seat. She rounded his desk and settled into his lap. She ran her fingers through his hair and looked down at him with her pale gray eyes. “Yes, really. Would you like to know what I’ve found out so far?”

She already had information? That was faster than he expected. At the same time, the weight of her firm, round behind in his lap was sending his thoughts in another direction. He settled for resting a hand on her bare knee and stroking her soft skin. “Sure, tell me.”

“Well, first I secured a large donation from Elite for the children’s hospital. Sutton will be having a check sent over by courier this week.”

Carson couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. He wrapped his arms around Georgia and pulled her soft body tight against his own. She was an amazing woman, and for some reason, she wanted to be with him. “Really?”

“Yep. I don’t think his pride will let him donate less than seven figures so he can always have top billing on the list of corporate sponsors. I also have some interesting personal information about Sutton that you and your brothers might need to know.”

Personal information? “Like what?” he asked.

“Graham wasn’t there long enough to notice this, but I was. I think Sutton is sick.”

“Sick? That old bastard is too mean to get sick. The germs are repelled by him.”

Georgia didn’t smile at his joke. “I’m serious, Carson. I’m not talking about him having a cold here. He was coughing up blood. He’s lost weight. He looks terrible. He does a good job trying to hide it, but I really think something is wrong with him.”