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* * *
The next morning was a gray, leaden day. Nick said he had a conference call with his San Francisco staff, so he rose and showered while Deidre snuggled in bed, missing his solid warmth. After Deidre had cleaned up, Nick lingered in the living room, sipping the coffee Deidre had made.
“I thought you needed to make a call at nine-thirty,” Deidre reminded him.
“I do,” he said, sitting down on the couch. “But I’ll give them a call and tell them I’m running a few minutes late.” He held out his arm and Deidre sat down next to him, her legs folded beneath her, her body curving into Nick’s embrace like a pea in a pod. To her, he looked—and smelled—every bit as wonderful as he had last night wearing his dark gray suit. This morning, he even had the added bonus of a slightly disreputable, sexy scruff on his jaw.
“What are you grinning about?” he murmured, running his fingers through the still-damp hair at her nape. She shivered at his touch.
“I was thinking you really look the part of a corporate cowboy this morning.”
“Is that a bad or good thing?”
“Oh...very good,” she assured him before their lips met in a kiss.
“Do you want me to fill you in on what the meeting is about today? You can come and listen, if you like,” he said a moment later, his forehead pressed against hers. “It wouldn’t hurt for you to slowly start to absorb some of this stuff. It doesn’t mean you have to do anything with it, but knowledge is always good, right?” he added when he leaned back and noticed her bewilderment.
“Right,” she admitted. “Why don’t you just fill me in?”
She listened with a tight focus while Nick gave the names and job titles of the people he would meet with this morning. Each man or woman was the president of a major DuBois global unit or subsidiary company. Deidre realized he was trying to begin to convey to her the overall structure of DuBois Enterprises. It began to dawn on her just how vast the corporation was.
“...real estate and development—Travis Moore, health and agricultural sciences—Emmit Chandis, media—Melanie Marcraft, and computer and space technology—Spencer Jones,” Deidre repeated back to him the major global units and their presidents a while later.
“Perfect score,” Nick said before he checked his watch. “I really should get going. All the aforementioned people are going to be waiting for me.” He glanced back at her as he stood. “If you want to learn more about DuBois Enterprises in general, why don’t you just check things out on your laptop? The website has a pretty good overview.”
Deidre stood along with him. “I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but I don’t own a laptap or iPad or anything remotely techy except for my cell phone.” She saw his slightly stunned expression and blushed. “See? What did I tell you? I’m the last person Lincoln should have ever considered to co-run his company. I’m a twenty-first-century dinosaur, according to Colleen.”
“I don’t think a qualifier for the position is how many pieces of personal technology you own,” Nick said.
“I should be getting the call pretty soon about the genetic testing,” she said quietly as he put on his coat, voicing a thought that had been haunting her all morning.
His expression sobered. It was the first time since they’d become intimate with one another that they’d mentioned the genetic testing out loud.
“Yeah. I know.”
The moment felt strained. Deidre was confused. Nick’s faith in her seemed to be growing by the hour, but he still was worried about what they’d discover in regard to her paternity. The awkward silence proved that.
He reached out suddenly and cradled the side of her head. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Another one?” she asked, laughing, thankful he’d broken the tension.
“It’s not a huge one. It’s really just an excuse for me to spend time with you this afternoon. Can I pick you up at around two?”
“Yes,” she whispered, ensnared by his eyes.
He kissed her softly and then deeply enough to make her toes curl in her slippers and her fingers grip at the lapel of his coat.
The second the front door shut, she already missed him.
* * *
Deidre ate a late breakfast and took a call from her brother Marc. He had a recommendation for an attorney who specialized in estate law and contested wills.
“His name is Mike Bonella, and he has a national reputation as being one of the best. Malone will know of him, and he won’t be so quick to try and take advantage of you if he knows you have Mike in your corner. Why don’t you give Mike a call? He’s very interested in speaking to you. Of course, in all honesty, there’s not an estate lawyer in the country who wouldn’t want to be retained for such a high-profile case,” Marc admitted wryly.
The shell of euphoria surrounding Deidre after her night and morning with Nick started to crack at Marc’s words. Reality started to leak in.
“Deidre? You okay?” Marc asked when she remained silent.
