Married to His Business / Six-Month Mistress: Married to His Business

So where did people keep their phone books, anyway…

By the time she entered the bar of the Timber Lake Inn that evening, Kendall had accepted the fact that it, like everything else in the establishment, would be cozy. Sure enough, it was. Like the rest of the hotel, it was pine-paneled with hardwood floors and Native American rugs, but the lighting was lower than in the other public rooms, softer and more golden, and very… Well, there was just no way around it. Romantic.

Matthias was right. This wasn’t the sort of hotel any businessman in his right mind would use for business functions. Nevertheless, she was confident Stephen DeGallo had his reasons for using it. Besides trying to lull Kendall into a false sense of security, which Matthias had implied—hah—was the case. Or to lull her into anything else, either. For all she knew, the Timber Lake Inn was the only hotel in Lake Tahoe that had had any openings when Stephen scheduled the orientation. And the fact that Lake Tahoe itself was such a cozy, romantic destination that was kind of an odd choice for a business orientation had nothing to do with anything. It was centrally located, that was all.

She shook the thought almost literally out of her head and smoothed her hand one final time over the chocolate-brown trousers and cream-colored shirt she’d donned for the evening. Stephen had said the evening would be casual, and what she had on was casual attire. It was. Even if it was the same kind of thing she’d worn to work every day when she was with Matthias. Ah, working for Matthias, she quickly corrected herself. And the reason she’d wound her hair up into its usual workplace bun and put on her usual workplace glasses wasn’t because she was trying to overcompensate for the cozy, romantic environment. It wasn’t. It was because she just hadn’t felt like going to any trouble. She had low-maintenance hair. So sue her. And even though she didn’t need her glasses all the time, what with the low lighting and everything, she figured she’d need them.

So there.

She scanned the bar for a group of people who looked as if they were training for new careers, but saw only couples at a handful of tables here and there. Cozy couples. Romantic couples. In fact, one couple was being so romantic Kendall wanted to yell, “Jeez, people, get a room!” Glancing down at her watch, she realized she was a little early, so maybe she was the first member of the OmniTech orientation group to arrive. Then a movement in the corner of the room—the farthest corner—and the darkest corner, she couldn’t help noticing—caught her eye, and she realized it was Stephen DeGallo, waving at her.

She lifted a hand in return and made her way in that direction, picking her way through the tables as she looked around for anyone else who might be joining him. And somehow, she refrained from muttering, Jeez, people, get a room as she passed by the overly demonstrative couple. Nor did she toss a glass of ice water over them, which was another thought she hadn’t quite been able to quell.

“Kendall,” Stephen said warmly when she was within earshot. “Great to see you again. Glad you made it in one piece.”

“It’s great to be here, Stephen,” she said as she extended her hand in greeting. “Thanks again for giving me this opportunity. I’m very excited about working for OmniTech.”

He grasped her hand in both of his, not really shaking it, per se, just holding it for perhaps a moment longer than was necessary, something that made her think about Matthias’s warning again. Which she immediately pushed out of her brain. Stephen was just being friendly. And she was just being overly sensitive, thanks to Matthias’s ridiculous ideas about Stephen only wanting her because of her ties to Barton Limited. This was what happened when you were employed by a workaholic for so many years. You forgot that normal people could be casual and friendly, even in professional situations.

And Stephen’s smile did put Kendall immediately at ease. Although he wasn’t a handsome man, he was by no means unattractive. He was slim and fit, and was dressed according to his own edict—casually—in a pair of softly faded blue jeans and a white polo shirt. His blue eyes held intelligence and good humor, and his dark blond hair was just beginning to go gray, threaded here and there with bits of silver. What he lacked in handsomeness, he more than made up for in charisma. He was just one of those people who had a gift for taking charge of a situation without being overbearing, and making people feel better that he had.

Kendall had done her homework after his offer of employment, so she knew quite a bit about him. In many ways, he was as devoted to his company as Matthias was to Barton Limited, but where Matthias’s extracurricular and social activities all still seemed to involve his work, Stephen DeGallo was a man who enjoyed his leisure time. He was a champion yachtsman and active in a charitable foundation he had started ten years ago that mentored gifted, but underprivileged high school students.

He was not just a good businessman, but a good guy, Kendall had discovered. And her admiration of him was due to both.

She seated herself in the chair he held out for her, folding her elbows on the table and weaving her fingers lightly together. Then she gave him her most businesslike smile. “Am I the first to arrive?” she asked, even though the answer was obvious.

“Actually,” Stephen said as he folded himself into the chair opposite hers, “right now, you’re the only one who’s here.”

Kendall told herself she just imagined the note of vague discomfort she thought she heard in his voice. More of Matthias’s influence on her nerves, she was sure. Still, it was odd that no one else had arrived yet.

“Don’t tell me I’m the only one who got here on time,” she said.

“No, of course not,” he told her. “The others just aren’t scheduled to arrive until Wednesday.”

Wednesday? Kendall thought. That was two whole days away. “Oh,” she said, the word sounding more disappointed than she’d intended.

“The others are training for management positions,” he said by way of an explanation. “You’re the only VP candidate this time around. So I thought it would be nice if the two of us could have a couple of days where I could go over some of the policies and procedures that won’t be pertinent to everyone else’s training.”

That made sense, Kendall thought.

“But first, a drink,” he said, motioning to a waiter who had been hovering within range. “What would you like? I discovered a wonderful California pinot noir recently that’s absolutely delightful.”

“Thanks,” Kendall told him, “but I’ll just have a bottle of sparkling water.”

He threw her a look of mock effrontery. “But we’re celebrating your joining the OmniTech team,” he objected.

“Which is why I ordered sparkling water,” she said with a smile.

He smiled back, dipping his head forward in acknowledgment. “Then I’ll have the same,” he told the waiter. “Now then,” he added as their server departed, “I thought we could spend much of tonight talking about how—”

“Stephen DeGallo!”

Kendall flinched at the sound of the booming, all-too-familiar voice, but managed to otherwise keep her irritation in check. Well, enough that no one would notice it, anyway. Though she had to admit that Stephen didn’t look any happier about the interruption than she was. Nevertheless, good businessman—and guy—that he was, he smiled as he rose to greet Matthias. Kendall turned in her chair to acknowledge her former employer, but remained seated, hoping that small act of discourtesy would illustrate her pique in a way that wasn’t quite as impolite as other actions might have been. Actions like, oh…Kendall didn’t know. Tripping him as he strode past her to shake Stephen’s hand. Calling him a big poophead. Stuff like that.

She noticed Stephen didn’t grasp Matthias’s hand in both of his the way he had hers—in fact, he gave Matthias’s one, two, three firm, manly shakes and released it. Then again, Matthias was a rival, so naturally, Stephen’s greeting to him wouldn’t be as familiar as his to Kendall had been. Similarly, it was understandable why Stephen’s posture, too, with Matthias would be more assertive, more straightforward, more businesslike, than it had been with Kendall. Wouldn’t it?

Yeah. Sure. Of course.

“Matthias Barton,” Stephen greeted him. “Long time, no see. What have you been up to?”

“Besides competing with you for the Perkins contract?” Matthias replied. “Not much.”

Well, he’d recently lost his personal assistant of five years, Kendall thought irritably. Or so she’d heard. That was kind of major.

As if he’d read her mind, Matthias turned to her then and feigned tremendous surprise—though, Kendall thought, not very well.

“Why, Kendall Scarborough,” he said with overblown amazement. “What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you since…” He pretended to search his memory banks—again, not exactly an Academy Award-winning performance—then snapped his fingers. “Since you gave me your two weeks’ notice to go work for some fly-by-night company.”

She sighed wearily. “Well, except for this afternoon in my room, when you offered me my job back.”

Now Stephen was the one to look surprised, Kendall noted. Only his was obviously genuine. Then he smiled, and looked at Matthias again. “Really?” he asked the other man.

Matthias looked a little uncomfortable now, and this time, he wasn’t pretending. “It was just a formality,” he said. “I always offer my exes the chance to come back, once they come to their senses and realize what a mistake they made, leaving Barton Limited.”

Kendall couldn’t prevent the snort of laughter that escaped her at that. Yeah, right. Matthias had the longest memory of anyone she’d ever met, and he never forgot a slight—real or imagined. If someone elected to leave the company for any reason, he had that person’s personnel file expunged within the hour, as if they never existed. And he certainly never went looking for that person to offer them an opportunity to return.

Not until this afternoon, anyway, she reminded herself.

But the only reason he’d come looking for her, she further told herself, was because he hadn’t known how to program his new BlackBerry. The offer to take her back had obviously been off-the-cuff, and had doubtless been extended for the same reason. He thought she was the only one who knew how to program one of those things. He didn’t realize anyone could do it for him. Well, anyone except Matthias Barton.

“Well, Barton,” Stephen said now, “had you appreciated Kendall’s possibilities, the way I do, then maybe you wouldn’t have lost her in the first place.”

Kendall started to smile at that, then stopped. Something about the way Stephen had said it made it sound kind of unprofessional. Just what had he meant by possibilities? That was kind of a strange word to use. Why not abilities? Or talents? Or expertise?Possibilities made it sound as though he considered her a blank slate or unformed mass that he could turn into whatever he wanted.

“I assure you, DeGallo,” Matthias replied, “that Kendall was one of my most prized possessions at Barton Limited. I hope you realize what an asset she’ll be to OmniTech.”

All right, Kendall thought. That did it. Forget about blank slates and unformed masses. Matthias had just made her sound like a new computer system. Possession? Asset? Just who did he think he was?

“Prized possession?” she echoed indignantly.

Matthias looked down at her and must have realized immediately from both her voice and her expression—and, most likely, the quick drop in temperature among the small group—what a colossal gaffe he’d just made. “Uh…” he began eloquently.

“If that’s the case,” she continued while he was still off balance, “then you better go over my operating instructions while you’re here. I wouldn’t want Stephen to think he acquired a defective machine.”

The look Matthias gave her then was almost convincingly distressed. Almost. “Kendall, that’s not—”

This time his words were cut off by Stephen’s light, good-natured laughter. “Sounds to me like she works just fine,” he said. “In fact, this particular model is promising to work better than I initially hoped.”