Daddy and Daughters

“Two. A month or so over, maybe. I have the file at the office. I can look up their birth date in the morning, if you like. Mrs. Hunter made it clear that they were yours and she had not told you of their birth. We thought you would be here for the funeral and the reading of the will. Actually, we haven’t read the will yet. Two-year-olds don’t understand much, and she left everything she had to them, with you as trustee. We can go over all that when you get here.”

“And where are the twins now?” Jared asked, the enormity of the situation gradually sinking in. He was a father. He had two daughters he’d never met who now looked to him for everything. God, he knew nothing about being a parent. He focused on Cassandra, feeling like she was the only solid, real thing in a world suddenly spinning out of control. Her calm demeanor soothed him. Her downcast eyes had him wondering what she was thinking.

“We didn’t want them to go into foster care, so one of the receptionists at the office agreed to watch them. She has children of her own and is good with kids. But this has gone on longer than we anticipated.”

“I’ll see if I can get a red-eye out tonight and be in your office first thing in the morning.” Jared hung up the phone.

“I’ll call the airlines right away,” Helen said from the doorway.

“You heard?” he asked.

“Enough to know you have to get back there. Are the twins yours?”

“Apparently. The age fits. MaryEllen told him they were mine. She left everything to them with me as trustee. Damn! What a mess. I can’t believe she didn’t tell me.”

“Well, I can. Would you have gone along with her opening a branch office if you had known?” Helen asked dryly.

Shaking his head, Jared looked at her. “What do I know about twins? About little kids?” He rubbed his eyes, his gut churning.

“For one thing, you’ll need someone to accompany you,” Cassandra said. She knew a lot about children, more than she wanted. “Toddlers are a handful. An inexperienced person would be hard-pressed to manage one on a plane—much less twins. Those little girls will be upset with all the changes, and probably missing their mother, which could make them even more fretful.”

Both Jared and Helen stared at her.

“I assumed you would be bringing them home with you,” Cassandra said, looking from one to the other.

“If they’re mine, I’ll have no choice.”

Cassandra nodded. Twins. She smiled gently. She remembered the little boys she’d cared for when she’d been sixteen. What imps they’d been. Whether from being twins or being normal rambunctious boys, she never knew. But they sure kept her busy.

“Any other words of wisdom?” Jared asked.

She gave a small shrug. “I’ve been around kids. If you haven’t, you might not know what to expect.”

Jared couldn’t believe it. This epitome of a career-track businesswoman around kids? She wasn’t married, was she? He tried to remember the interview two years ago. He had been more interested in her credentials than her marital status. But he was certain she was single. “When were you around kids, in another life?”

She nodded. A life she had hoped to leave behind once she graduated from college. The past two years had been great, no children demanding attention or to fall for and then have to give up. She had her way to make in the world and relished her position at Hunter Associates. Children didn’t figure in her plans.

“She’s right, Jared. You will need help. You would with even a single child,” Helen said. “I’ll see if I can find someone to go with you. You’ll need to hire a nanny or housekeeper, though it’s quite late to get anyone on such short notice.”

“Do the best you can. And see what kind of nonstop flight you can get to New York tonight.”

Cassandra rose. “Do you want to hear my recommendations on GlobalNet while you’re waiting? I could get started on some of the ideas while you’re in New York, if you approve.”

Business first, last and always, Jared thought tightly. Just like MaryEllen. “Show me what you have.” He spread out the computer printout and began to read.

Forty-five minutes later Jared leaned back. He rubbed his eyes with forefinger and thumb, then stretched to get rid of the kinks in his back. That Scotch sounded better and better.

The work Cassandra had done was solid, just as she’d said. Interestingly, she gave credit to the entire team she headed, but he knew everyone acted under her direction. She was good at her job—he’d suspected she would be when he hired her two years ago, nearly a year after MaryEllen had moved to New York.

“So we go?” she asked, a tremor of excitement in her voice, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

“We go. Good job.” He believed in giving praise where it was due.

She smiled. Jared felt the jolt to his toes. Her face seemed to glow with the offhand praise. Her eyes sparkled, and for the first time he wondered what she would look like without her glasses. What would she look like with her hair down, swirling softly around her face? What would she look like wearing something frilly and feminine? Before he could pursue the image, Helen stuck her head in.

“Got you two seats on the eleven-thirty flight tonight. But no help as of yet. Every agency I called said they’d look into it. One called back with a possible for next week. Nothing for today. And they’re closing now, so I don’t expect any answers before tomorrow.”

“So what next?” Jared murmured, his eyes closed. He longed for that Scotch more than ever. Maybe he’d have time to get home, shower and have one before he had to leave for the airport. How much work did he absolutely have to get through before leaving? His employees were competent. He could delegate everything until he returned from New York. The looming problem with the twins overshadowed the normal business routine.

“Maybe Cassandra can go with you. She said she knows kids,” Helen suggested.

“What?” Cassandra shook her head, a look of sheer horror on her face. “No way. I swore once I grew up I would never get involved baby-sitting children again. I don’t want to spend even an hour watching other people’s kids!”

Jared and Helen stared at her vehemence. She took a deep breath, knowing she’d overreacted. But she was adamant—she had watched her last child. She was a businesswoman. Hadn’t Jared just praised her work? Given her the go-ahead on the GlobalNet project? She had better things to do than baby-sit the boss’s children.

“You wouldn’t be watching them, precisely,” Helen said placatingly. “Just helping Jared with them on the return flight. He needs your expertise.”

Cassandra shook her head. The old feeling of helplessness began to rise. Why did everyone expect her to be the nurturer? What about her own needs? When would someone look to see what she wanted, needed, to feel complete? To feel valued? She was more than a competent baby-sitter—and had the degrees to prove it.

Jared narrowed his eyes. “Sounds like the best suggestion I’ve heard so far. It’ll just be a short jaunt to New York. We’ll discuss GlobalNet on the flight over. You can give me pointers on watching twins on the flight back. Consider it part of your job.”

“It’s not part of my job.” Cassandra faced him, her hands fisted in her lap. She dare not cross the line with her boss, but she had to stand up for herself. She didn’t want to be thought of as a baby-sitter just because she was a woman.

For a moment Jared was struck by the sparkle in her dark eyes, the challenging tilt of her rounded chin. Slowly he said, “There’s a clause in your job description that includes other tasks as assigned. I need help, doesn’t look like anyone else is available. As of now, consider this as another task assigned.”

“You’re his secretary, can’t you go?” Cassandra turned to Helen, her plea obvious.

“Afraid not. I have an invalid mother I care for. I can’t leave her alone overnight. Besides, I don’t know any more about children than Jared.”

“I was hired as a marketing analyst, not a nanny,” Cassandra protested, swinging to Jared.

He smiled sardonically, anger edging him. “I believe in utilizing all experiences of my employees. Consider yourself indispensable for this assignment.”

“I protest.” She said it firmly, yet deep inside she knew it wouldn’t matter. Jared wasn’t listening.

“It’s settled. Meet me at the airport in time for the flight. Helen, give her the details. I’m heading home.” He caught her eye and narrowed his. “Don’t be late!”

Cassandra watched him leave, the unfairness of it all striking her. She met the sympathy in Helen’s gaze.

“He needs your help. You said you know something about kids, he hasn’t a clue. It’s just overnight, Cassandra,” the older woman said.

“I’m always the one stuck with children. For years, it was always, ‘Leave them with Cassandra’. Working here was my chance to leave that behind,” she said wryly, rising. “Guess that was wishful thinking.” She took a deep breath. Trying to look on the bright side of things, she wandered to her desk. Casting her mind back, she tried to picture the needs and abilities of toddlers. It really hadn’t been that long since she’d been in charge of little children. She could certainly handle a cross-country flight.

And she’d have Jared’s attention on the flight to New York. Maybe she could discuss some of her other ideas with him. Looking for the silver lining, she swept folders into her briefcase and headed home to pack.

Four hours later Jared leaned back on his sofa watching the clock on the mantel. In ten minutes he had to leave for the airport. He’d had a Scotch, but it had done nothing to ease the turmoil. Sleeping had been out of the question—he’d been afraid he wouldn’t wake up in time for the flight. He’d sleep on the plane. It would have to do. He considered the situation once again, trying to make some sense of it.

Oddly, his thoughts kept returning to Cassandra Bowles. For the two years she’d worked for him, he’d barely noticed her. She’d done her job well, already had one promotion behind her. Recently she’d been assigned as project manager for the GlobalNet account. Accomplished, proficient, professional—all desirable attributes for a career-minded woman. Her surprising outburst this afternoon startled him. Jared liked things to make sense, to follow a logical pattern—and that hadn’t. She was usually enthusiastic and agreeable, and her refusal had been surprising and unusual. A mere suggestion to accompany him on the trip to see to the children, help bring them to San Francisco, and she’d just about exploded. He wondered why.