Single Mom, Billionaire Boss Read online

  “Hey, Mom.” He sat beside her on her wine-colored sofa and studied her. She was fifty years old, with graying black hair, warm brown eyes and sculpted cheekbones. Even as pretty as she was, she had deep lines etched in her face. Her ill health had taken its toll, beating her up over the years. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine.” She smiled softly. “I missed you while you were gone. You’ve been so busy lately.”

  He shrugged. “I’m always busy.”

  “I know but more than usual.”

  “I’ve had a lot going on, but I’m home now and settling back into things.”

  “Things?”

  “Running the resort.”

  “Did Meagan start working at the stables yet?”

  “Yes.” His stomach tightened. Even while he was out of town, he’d thought about Meagan, consumed with the tension of becoming reacquainted with her. “This will be her third week.”

  “Three weeks?” Mom’s eyes went wide. “Why didn’t you tell me she’s been there that long?”

  “Because you’re just asking me about it now.” When his mother shot him a calculated look, he added, “And I’ve been gone for most of that time.”

  She nodded, accepting his explanation. But he knew the conversation wasn’t over. She wouldn’t let it go that easily. Besides, if he was too closemouthed, that might set off alarm bells, and the last thing he wanted was for his mother to figure out how Meagan was making him feel.

  He said, “Tom said that she’s doing a good job. That she works hard. I met her kid, too. She’s a sweet little girl. Oh, and Meagan asked me to thank you for convincing me to hire her.”

  “You told her the truth about why you hired her?”

  “I wasn’t going to lie and pretend that it was my idea.”

  “Are you being nice to her?”

  Because he didn’t know how else to respond, he said, “I’m treating her like any other employee.”

  “You better be.”

  “I just told you I am.” Except that none of his other employees left him reeling the way she did. He didn’t go to bed at night thinking about any of them. He was still imagining how it would feel to get close enough to Meagan to dance with her, to sweep her into his arms and spin her around.

  “Did you tell her about the day care? Did she enroll her daughter?”

  “Yes, she’s bringing her there.” He thought about how horribly Ivy had cried on that very first day. He hoped that he never had to see her bawl that way again. “I helped her get the child settled in.”

  “Really?” Mom seemed impressed. She even sat a little straighter, smoothing her broom-style skirt over her long, rickety legs. “I guess you really are being nice.”

  His heart went thick, heavy with emotion. “I’m not an ogre.” He cared about being a good person.

  “I know.” She patted his knee. “But you were just so angry about the embezzlement. I’d never seen you that ticked off before. Carrying around all of that negativity isn’t good for you.”

  “It isn’t good getting duped by someone, either. There’s no guarantee that she can be trusted.”

  “Has she given you a reason to believe that she would ever commit another crime?”

  “No.” But what the hell did he know, except that she was driving him mad? “She appears to be a nice girl, always saying how sorry she is. But I thought she was nice before I discovered that she ripped us off.”

  “Just keep giving her a chance, okay?”

  “I’m trying to give her the benefit of the doubt.” And it wasn’t just that. As deeply as Meagan was burrowing into his brain, he could barely concentrate on anything else.

  “Were you becoming friends with her before? Is that why you got so angry about what she did?”

  “Yes, that’s pretty much it.” That and how insanely attracted to her he’d been. And still was, he amended. But that was a secret he was keeping to himself.

  His mother peppered him with questions. “Do you think you’ll ever become friends with her again?”

  “I don’t know. It’s too early to know how it’ll pan out.” Nor did he want to think too deeply about that right now.

  “Did you tell her that I once knew her mother?”

  He squared his shoulders. “No.”

  “Why not?”

  Bloody hell. He was more than ready for this discussion to end. But Mom was gazing at him in that persistent way of hers, waiting for him to respond. “Because I don’t want her bugging you about it.”

  She rolled her eyes at his choice of words. “She wouldn’t be bugging me. I would be more than happy to discuss it with her.”

  “Yeah, well, I told her not to contact you, and she promised that she wouldn’t. You already got involved in this more than you should have.”

  “I got involved because I knew it was the right thing to do, and at some point I’d like to meet her.”

  “I’d rather that you didn’t.”

  Mom set her jaw. “You can’t stop me, Garrett. Sooner or later, I intend to meet her.”

  Rather than incite an argument, he said, “All right, we’ll see how it goes. But for now, just let me handle it.”

  He wanted to be in control of the situation, to deal with Meagan in his own way, however he could.

  Five

  After Garrett left his mom’s, he went for a ride, needing to unwind and enjoy the elements. The weather was refreshing, with a light breeze and the scent of the surf and sand in the air. The beach was relatively quiet, he noticed, but it usually was this time of year. Nonetheless, the resort still got plenty of business. His place was an LA hotspot, catering to a variety of clientele.

  He hadn’t seen Meagan at the barn when he’d saddled his horse and figured she was already gone for the day. He’d more or less planned it that way. He wanted this to be a stress-free ride, without the tension that being around her caused.

  Hot and sexy tension, he thought. No, he didn’t need that today.

  He took his horse along the shore, and everything went splendidly until he spotted another lone figure coming toward him, also on horseback.

  From this distance, he couldn’t be sure who it was. But his radar went off, anyway. Something told him it was Meagan. A feeling. A gut instinct.

  As the horse and rider came closer, his intuition was confirmed. It was Meagan, and she was riding Ho-Dad.

  When they were close enough to look into each other’s eyes, they both reined their mounts to a stop. While he battled the feelings he’d been trying to avoid, tiny tendrils of hair escaped from her braid and fluttered around her face.

  “You did it,” he said, congratulating her. “You’re riding again.”

  She nodded and smiled. “Yes, and it’s been wonderful, more therapeutic than I imagined. I started last week.”

  During the time he was gone? Had she done that deliberately or had it just happened that way? He wasn’t going to ask, not at the risk of making it sound more important than it was. Instead he inquired, “How often have you been out?”

  “Nearly every day. Ivy is doing so well at the day care I either bring her early or keep her a little later, so I can ride.”

  “You and Ho-Dad make a good pair.”

  “You said that we would.”

  “And I was right.” But damn if she wasn’t killing him. When she leaned forward, patting the side of the gelding’s neck, her button-down blouse gaped a bit in front, exposing a hint of flesh. “Have you gone into the hills yet?”

  She shook her head and settled back into her seat. “I’ve been sticking to the beach. But I’ve been tempted to make my way up there.”

  “You should.”

  “Which trails do you think are the best?”

  He motioned to the area just east of
the stables. “If I were you, I’d go that way. It’s nice and wide, and there’s a plateau at the top, where you can picnic or relax or whatever.”

  “That’s in the direction where you live,” she replied, pointing out the obvious.

  “Yes, but the road leading to my house is private.” He tried not to fixate on her mouth. But he got lost in his own stupidity and wondered what kissing her would be like. Her lips looked soft and shiny, like she was wearing a glossy balm on them. Maybe one of those flavored kinds? “No one has access to that part of the property except me.”

  “I can see why you chose such an isolated area to build your house, with how active your work life is. You’re around people at the hotel all the time.”

  And now he was on the beach with her, a woman he still didn’t know if he could trust. “Are you going to head into the hills today?”

  “I don’t think I have time. I’ve already been out for a while, so I’ll need to get back to the day care and pick up Ivy soon. Maybe I’ll go into the hills tomorrow.”

  He took a moment to think, to get his mental bearings. Would it be a mistake to offer to accompany her? Or would it be a good way to get to know her better, to figure out who and what she really was?

  He decided to make the offer. He had a right to gauge her sincerity, to pick her brain and see where it led.

  “If you want some company, I can be your guide,” he said.

  She hesitated. Then she asked, “You’d do that for me?”

  “Sure,” he replied, even though he would be doing it for himself. “We can try to be friends, can’t we?” Or at least have the illusion of friendship, he thought. For now, he didn’t know if forming a genuine truce with her was possible.

  Her gaze locked gently onto his. “That would be nice. And different from before, with the way I deceived you when you thought we were becoming friends.”

  He almost felt guilty for deceiving her this time. But he couldn’t just jump into trusting her that easily. Nor could he keep fantasizing about kissing her. Whatever conclusions he came to about her character, the rest of it would be strictly platonic.

  “What time of the day would be better for you?” he asked. “Morning or afternoon? I’m open to either.”

  “Let’s do morning. I can meet you at the stables a few hours before I start my shift.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”

  “Thank you, Garrett. I’m looking forward to it.” She said goodbye and headed back to the barn.

  He kept going, riding along the shore, hoping that building a “friendship” with her wasn’t going to be a mistake.

  * * *

  Meagan rode with Garrett the next morning, trying to keep from staring at him. He was riding the same horse she’d seen him on yesterday—a muscular gelding, shiny and black. Both horse and man looked strong and handsome.

  The air was crisp at this early hour. Garrett was dressed for the weather, with a rugged jacket over his shirt. Meagan had a jacket on, too. Later, it was supposed to warm up.

  He took her on the trails that led toward the plateau he’d told her about. They barely talked on the way. Mostly, they just absorbed the scenery—dirt and brush and rocks, along with flowering weeds shooting up through the ground, creating colorful patches of prettiness.

  When they reached the plateau, she gasped at the sight. It was an open field, as beautiful as could as be, with scattered grass and plush ground cover in various shades of green. There were trees, too, branching their way to the sky.

  “This is incredible,” she said. It was like being in a whole other dimension. In one direction, she could see the ocean far below. In the other, she sighted the resort and the city that surrounded it.

  He watched her as she took it all in. “Do you want to dismount? Maybe kick back awhile?”

  Meagan nodded. She could stay here forever.

  They tied up their horses, and he spread a gray-and-maroon blanket on the ground.

  She stood off to the side. “You came prepared.”

  He shrugged, smiled. “What kind of Cheyenne would I be if I didn’t keep a blanket handy?”

  “Well, I’m glad we’re here, getting to do this.” She was overwhelmed with him actually wanting to attempt a friendship with her. Between the beauty of the land and being here with him, she felt like she was floating. It was odd, though, how tangible he suddenly seemed. Even the tiny crow’s-feet around his eyes jumped out at her. She suspected they were mostly frown lines, even if they appeared when he smiled, too.

  They sat across from each other. They both had water bottles they’d packed. She sipped from hers while he took a larger swig from his.

  “I never asked you about your trip,” she said. “How did it go?”

  “It was productive. I had meetings and luncheons and those sorts of things. It’s good to be back, though. What did you do while I was gone, besides work? And ride,” he added.

  “That was about it.” She paused to refine her answer. “I also went shopping with Candy and a friend of hers for Candy’s wedding dress. She and my brother set the date for three months from now.”

  “Three months?” Garrett shook his head. “What’s the hurry?”

  “They’re just anxious to make it official. They’ve been engaged for two years, but they’ve been waiting for me, so I could be part of it.”

  “We have lots of nuptials here, at the resort, with on-site event planners who handle the details. Typically, it takes about fourteen months to plan a wedding. The quickest one we’ve ever done was for Jake. He was in a bit of a rush because of the baby, but it turned out beautifully. They exchanged their vows on the beach.”

  Meagan glanced toward the ocean, picturing the bride’s veil billowing in the wind. “Who did he marry?”

  “Her name is Carol. She’s his personal assistant, so he’s always been really reliant on her. He just never expected to fall in love with her and certainly not to the degree he did.”

  “I heard that Jake was a party boy. That he was really wild and that he dated models and actresses and heiresses. Or that’s what people at the accounting firm used to say about him.”

  “That’s true. He played around a lot. But he’s different now that he’s with Carol. He’s a great husband, and he’s going to be a wonderful father, too.”

  “Were you his best man?” In her mind’s eye, Meagan saw him in a sleek black tux, his hair combed straight back, his posture tall and straight.

  “Yes, me and Max. We both stood up for him.”

  “People at the firm used to gossip about you and Max, too.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Garrett stretched out his legs. “What sorts of things did they say?”

  “Max was painted as a bit of a mystery. Supersmart but sort of offbeat and reclusive, too. He was rumored to have lots of lovers, except that he didn’t show them off the way Jake did. I think that was part of why people thought he was a mystery, with him keeping his women to himself.”

  “And me?” Garrett asked, his gaze boring into hers. “How was I portrayed?”

  She toyed with a corner of the blanket, unnerved by the deep, dark way he was looking at her. “They said that you were the toughest of the three, hard-edged and difficult to get to know.” She twisted the material. “I envisioned you as being really ruthless. But you weren’t like that when I met you.”

  “I do have a hard-edged side.” His voice went rough. “But it’s not as bad as they made it sound. Or at least I don’t think it is.”

  “Maybe you just confuse people.”

  “Do I confuse you?”

  “Sometimes.” She was feeling that way right now. But it was different for her, given their history.

  Garrett drank more of his water. Meagan was getting thirsty again, too. Or maybe she was feeling the need to do what he di
d. Either way, she took a sip.

  “So what was the rest of the gossip about me?” he asked.

  She put down her bottle. “What do you mean?”

  “Did they mention my love life? Did they have an opinion on that?”

  Her pulse jumped at the line of questioning. “As far as I know, it was never discussed.” But she wished it had been. Oh, how she wished. “I’m not sure why no one ever brought it up.”

  “I don’t know whether to be relieved or offended by their lack of interest.”

  “I think it just makes you even more of a mystery than Max.” She quickly added, “Not that it’s anyone’s business who either of you date.” Even if she longed for answers, even if she hoped that he would reveal more about who he was.

  But he didn’t say a word, leaving her to her own devices.

  “I started seeing Neil when I was nineteen,” she said, giving him a bit of insight into who she was beyond what he already knew. “I had other boyfriends before him, but he was my first serious relationship. The only man I’ve ever been with.”

  “You mean slept with?”

  She nodded, and, suddenly, there was a shift in the air between them. Garrett started roaming his gaze over her, checking her out from the top of her head to the tips of her plain and simple boots.

  He was making her much too warm. She even removed her jacket. He took off his, too. Then they just sat there, steeped in the awareness of each other.

  Until he asked, “What was it about Neil that you were attracted to?”

  That was a loaded question, she thought. But she answered it the best she could. “I was young and insecure, and he was bold and adventurous. In some ways, he reminded me of my dad. That sounds so clichéd, but that’s how he affected me. Only, unlike my father, Neil treated me like I mattered. Or he did in the beginning, anyway. Later, he expected more out of me than was right.” She expelled a shaky breath. “Like asking me to commit a crime.”