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“Come in,” he said from the door a moment later.
She held out the invitations.
“I’ve sorted them. You’re on your own.”
“Come in,” he repeated, stepping back into the office.
Cath followed, annoyed.
“Trace, I have work to do.”
She tossed the envelopes on his desk, they fanned out. So much for sorting.
“I want you to go with me. I need a date, why not you?” he said easily.
“Find someone who cares,” she said.
“I have. Come with me.”
“Why me?” Cath asked.
“You’ll know the players, and we’ll have a good time together.”
“You don’t want to mix pleasure and work.”
“I need someone who knows the ins and outs of the business, who can also talk to Pacific Rim companies. We want to expand in that area as well. You’re the best qualified.”
She should stand resolute, but when he put it that way, he was right. McIntyre didn’t have the experience with the company. Thomas was in Europe. She was the best qualified. Why hadn’t he seen that before hiring McIntyre?
“Come on, Cath. At this season, I think it’s okay.”
She looked at him, unsure how to take the almost jovial nature of his tone.
“Aren’t you worried about gossip?”
“Honey, in another month the entire world will know we made a baby together. Maybe we should start giving hints.”
She knew it would be awkward once the news came out.
“I could always be reticent on who the father is,” she said.
“I want to shout it from the rooftops.”
She felt overwhelmed with his total enthusiasm. What would it be like to be married to a man who was so amazingly pro baby?
“All right, I’ll go with you—strictly as a business associate,” she said.
“Fine. Which is the first we should attend?”
He moved away from the door and leafed through the pile.
She took the cards from his hand and quickly made sure they were in order. “Temmings in three days—cocktails at the Fairmont right after work, so not so dressy.”
Thinking about the parties eased some of her anger at him for not telling her about Phillip McIntyre.
Had that been his plan? She wouldn’t put it past him. Trace hadn’t risen as high in the corporate world as he had at such a young age without being ruthless and focused. And canny.
As she walked back to her office, her hand brushed instinctively against her stomach where the baby grew. That was the most important thing in her life. If she had to focus on anything—career, personal relationships—all faded against the joy she’d have if she could hold her baby in her arms.
