Not the Boss's Baby

“I missed you,” he breathed in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her.

She took in his clean scent, her body responding to his touch. How different was this from Neil telling her he missed her the day before? Chadwick wasn’t all talk. He followed up everything he said with actions.

“Me, too.” Now that she knew exactly what was underneath that suit jacket, she couldn’t stop running her hands over the muscles of his back. “I’ve never wanted Monday to get here so fast.”

“Hmmm” was all he replied as he took another kiss from her. “When can I see you again?”

She gave him a look that was supposed to be stern. It must not have come across the way she intended it to, because he cracked a goofy grin. “This doesn’t count?”

“You know what I mean.”

She did. When could they spend another night wrapped in each other’s arms? She wanted to say tonight. Right now. They could leave work and not come back until much, much later.

That wasn’t an option.

“What are we going to do? I hate breaking the rules.”

“You wrote the rule.”

“That makes it even worse.”

Instead of looking disgruntled with her, his grin turned positively wicked. “Look, I know this is a problem. But I’m working on a solution.”

“Oh?”

“It’s in process.” She must have given him a look because he squeezed her a little tighter. “Trust me.”

She stared into his eyes, wanting nothing more than to go back to Saturday night. Or even Sunday morning.

But reality was impossible to ignore. “If you need any help solving things, you just let me know.”

“Done. When’s your doctor’s appointment?”

She touched the cleanly shaven line of his chin. “Friday next week.”

“You want me to come with you?”

Love. The word floated up to the top of her consciousness, unbidden. That’s what this was—love. Even if she hadn’t said the exact word, she felt it with all of her heart.

Her throat closed up as tears threatened. Oh, God, she was in love with Chadwick Beaumont. It was both the best thing that had ever happened to her and one hell of a big problem.

He ran his finger under her chin again—much like he had the week before—and smiled down at her. “You all right?”

“I am. You wouldn’t mind coming with me?”

“I’ve recently discovered that it’s good to get out of the office every so often. I’d love to accompany you.”

She had to swallow past the lump in her throat.

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

She leaned her head against his shoulder, loving the solid, strong way he felt against her. “I hope you get that solution figured out soon.”

“I won’t fail you, Serena.” He sounded so serious about it that she had no choice but to believe him. To hope that whatever he was planning would work. “Now, I believe I have time tonight to have a business dinner with my assistant, don’t I? We can discuss my schedule in a little more...detail.”

How could she say no to that? It was a business-professional activity, after all. “I believe we can make that happen.”

“So,” Chadwick said, pulling back and leading her toward the couch. “Tell me about your weekend.”

“Funny about that.” Sitting on the couch, her head against his shoulder, she related what had happened with Neil.

“You want me to take care of it?”

The way he said it—sounding much like he had when he’d nearly started a fight with his brother at the gala—made her smile. It should have been him being something of a Neanderthal male. As it was, it made her feel...secure.

“No, I think he got the message. He’s not getting anything out of me or this company.”

She then told Chadwick how she was thinking of moving to a new place and making a clean break with the past.

He got an odd look on his face as she talked. She knew that look—he was thinking.

“Got a solution to this problem yet?”

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her—not the heated kiss from earlier, but something that was softer, gentler. Then he touched his forehead to hers. “You’ll be the first to know.”

That lump moved up in her throat again. She knew he’d keep his promise.

But what would it cost him?

* * *

“Mr. Beaumont.” Serena’s voice over the intercom sounded...different. Like she was being strangled.

“Yes?” He looked at Bob Larsen sitting across the desk from him, who froze mid-pitch. It wasn’t like Serena to interrupt a meeting without a damn good reason.

There was a tortured pause. “Mrs. Beaumont is here to see you.”

Stark panic flooded Chadwick’s system. There were only a few women who went by that name and all of the options were less than pleasant. Blindly, he chose the least offensive option. “My mother?”

“Mrs. Helen Beaumont is here to see you.”

Oh, hell.

Chadwick locked eyes with Bob. Sure, he and Bob had worked together for a long time, and yes, Chadwick’s never-ending divorce was probably watercooler fodder, but Chadwick had worked hard to keep his personal drama and business life separate.

Until now.

“One moment,” he managed to get out before he shut the intercom off. “Bob...”

“Yeah, we can pick this up later.” Bob was hastily gathering his things and heading for the door. “Um...good luck?”

“Thanks.” Chadwick was going to need a lot more than luck.

What was Helen doing there? She’d never come to the office when they were semi happily married. He hadn’t talked to her without lawyers present in over a year. He couldn’t imagine she wanted to reconcile. But what else would bring her there?

He knew one thing—he had to play this right. He could not give her something to use against him. He took a second to straighten his tie before he opened his door.

Helen Beaumont was not sitting in the waiting chairs across from Serena’s desk. Instead, she was standing at one of the side windows, staring out at the brewery campus. Or maybe at nothing at all.

She was so thin he could almost see through her, like she was a shadow instead of an actual woman. She wore a high-waisted skirt that clung to her frame, and a silk blouse topped with a fur stole. Diamonds—ones he’d paid for—covered her fingers and ears. She wasn’t the same woman he’d married eight years before.

He looked at Serena, who was as white as notebook paper. Serena gave him a panicked little shrug. So she didn’t have any idea what Helen was doing there, either.

“Helen.” In good faith, he couldn’t say it was nice to see her. So he didn’t. “Shall we talk in my office?”

She pivoted on her five-inch heels and tried to kill him with a glare. “Chadwick.” Her eyes cut to Serena. “I don’t concern myself with what servants might hear.”

Chadwick tried his best not to show a reaction. “Fine. To what do I owe the honor of a visit?”

“Don’t be snide, Chadwick. It doesn’t suit you.” She looked down her nose at him, which was quite a feat given that she was a good eight inches shorter than he was. “My lawyer said you were going to make a new offer—the kind of offer you’ve refused to make for the last year.”

Damn it. His lawyers were going to find themselves short one influential client for jumping the gun. Floating a trial balloon was different than telling Helen he had an offer. He hadn’t even had the time to contact AllBev’s negotiating team yet, for crying out loud. There was no offer until the company was sold.