If Only You Knew Page 8

  He walked over to the bed and sat beside her. "Nobody strong-arms me. I make my own decisions, and I have decided to marry you."

  "I know, but I still feel as if I pushed you into this."

  "You couldn't push me if you tried." He sat up straight, shoulders back and chest out. "I'm tough. I'm the man. I can handle you, woman," he said with a smirk on his face.

  "You can handle me? You can handle me!" She had him flat on his back in seconds. Kneeling on the mattress beside his prone body with his tie in her hand, she added, "No, babe. You handle meat. You handle a basketball. You don't handle me."

  "Let go of my tie."

  "No. Not until you say 'I do not handle Anna May.' "

  She saw a mischievous gleam appear in his eyes before her world was turned upside down, and it was she who was flat on her back.

  "I don't believe I can say that in all honesty. It seems to me that I handle you quite well."

  "That's what you think." She placed her hand beneath his jacket, then ran her fingers along his side, smiling in satisfaction when he jerked away from her tormenting hands. "It's rough being ticklish, isn't it, tough guy?"

  "That's it. You've done it now."

  Despite her speed and sometimes sneaky tactics she'd learned from wrestling with her brothers, his strength was too much for her. The sound of their harsh breathing filled the room. Her hands were held firmly beside her head. She could feel the mattress with the backs of her hands. His chest leaning slightly against hers. The teasing atmosphere which had surrounded them earlier gave way to a more serious mood as they became aware of their position and each other.

  Her heart, racing from their impromptu wrestling match, kicked into high gear as he lowered his head. Her lips parted with anticipation and her eyes closed.

  His kiss was like the warm spring sun after a long, cold winter. He teased her lips, softly brushing and stroking until everything around her faded away except him. She felt need rushing through her body, sharp and relentless. The feeling grew stronger as his kisses became more demanding.

  "Anna May?" The sound of her mother's voice broke through the sensuous wave of emotions like a bucket of cold water.

  Ric straightened and sat on the side of the bed.

  "Yes, ma'am," she replied taking Ric's outstretched hand and sitting up as her mother's footsteps became louder.

  "Anna May, where's the ..." Her mother's voice trailed off when she walked into the room. Her gaze traveled from one to the other, then a knowing smile appeared on her face. "Nice shade of lipstick, Ric."

  Chapter 6

  Long after he'd left Anna May's house, Ric stared into the darkness of the night out of the window of his den, listening to the harsh growl of the wind. His control was slipping. Control, he was beginning to realize, was the one thing that he couldn't afford to lose around Anna May.

  Who knew what would have happened between them today if her mother hadn't interrupted when she did? He would have liked to believe that he would've remained in control of the situation, but he wasn't so sure. He wanted Anna May, and from the way she'd responded to him, she wanted him in return.

  If this mutual attraction had occurred with another woman, he would have approached the situation like he had in the past and arranged to have a discreet affair if the woman was willing. But he'd make it clear from the beginning that an affair was as far as the relationship would go. Up until last summer this arrangement had worked. Last summer, when he'd realized that his longtime friend, buddy, pal—Anna May—was a desirable and sexy woman. From then on, no other woman had appealed to him. Not that he hadn't dated, he had. But when it came time to develop a deeper relationship, he hadn't been tempted to take the next step. He wanted Anna May, and he couldn't let himself have her.

  A phase he'd called it at the time, but his desire for her wasn't showing any sign of diminishing. The kiss they'd shared today aroused lust and passion. It shouldn't have. Hell, she wasn't even dressed for seduction. In her old sweater and corduroy pants, she reminded him of the Anna May of his college years. Young, impulsive, and looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. She was not the type of woman who usually attracted his attention.

  Not only had she aroused his desire but feelings that he'd never shared with another woman. Tenderness and possessiveness. And all from the taste of her lips. What was he going to feel when they made love?

  That was his problem, he thought. He wasn't going to make love to her. They were going to have sex, share a mutual release of sexual tension to produce the child she wanted. By the time their child was born, he would have gotten over this phase. He and Anna May would hopefully still be friends, and the two of them could go back to their lives with no complications.

  But even as the thought crossed his mind, a little voice inside him kept saying, "It's not going to work that way."

  Heavy gray clouds hovered over the city, obscuring the view of the Atlanta skyline. Occasionally the weak winter sun would peek through a break in the clouds. Pedestrians dressed in heavy wool coats rushed to their destinations, battling with the wind tunnel effect created by the towering buildings around them.

  Ric noticed none of these things as he prepared to see his younger brother for the first time. As he read the report, he wondered if his brother even knew he existed. Knowing his mother and stepfather, he seriously doubted it

  "Mr. Justice, Warren's here to see you," his secretary announced crisply.

  "Thank you, Mrs. Jones. Send him in."

  "I hear congratulations are in order." Warren Morgan walked into Ric's office, closing the door behind him.

  Ric continued to look over the report in front of him and replied, "Oh?"

  Sitting in the leather chair on the other side of Ric's desk, Warren studied his boss, careful to keep his curiosity in check. "The word is you've changed the beneficiary on several of your benefits. Adding your future wife's name."

  "It seems personal information is reported freely in this company," Ric responded with a hint of steel in his voice.

  Warren smiling inwardly at Ric's response. It was exactly what he expected. "No. Human resources is in my department, and I get the information. So when's the day?"

  "Tomorrow—and I'd appreciate it if you'd keep this to yourself. Anna May wants to keep the ceremony restricted to family and close friends."

  "You got it. So what do you think of Wilson and Wilson?" he asked noticing the report on his desk.

  Closing the report, Ric leaned back in his chair. "I think I'll wait to hear Wilson's pitch before I make up my mind."

  Warren raised a brow in surprise. Usually Ric made his decisions well in advance. Presentations were almost always a formality and rarely had one changed his mind. "Were the reports incomplete?" he asked.

  "No, the reports were in-depth. I want to see how Adam Wilson operates in person." He wanted to see how his little brother turned out. Was he a cold bastard like his father? No report could give him that information.

  "Why is Adam Wilson any different? Is there something I should know about him?"

  "Wilson isn't any different from any other owner on the brink of financial ruin."

  "Then why the change?"

  "Morgan, change is sometimes good. It keeps everyone guessing."

  "Are you trying to keep Wilson guessing?"

  The intercom buzzed, and Mrs. Jones announced Adam Wilson's arrival.

  Although he hadn't seen his brother in years, he would have recognized Adam Wilson as his brother among hundreds of strangers on the street. His mother's features were prominent in his brother from his mocha brown skin, high and sharply defined cheeks, to the dimple in his chin which appeared when he smiled. Like he did now.

  "Mr. Justice, I'm Adam Wilson."

  Ric walked from around his desk and shook his brother's hand. They stood eye to eye. He thought he saw a flicker of recognition in his brown eyes. Eyes the same shade as his own. Adam had been a baby when they'd last seen each other. There was no way he would know
him.

  "Good to meet you, Mr. Wilson. This is Warren Morgan, my business manager."

  "Mr. Morgan," Adam said offering his hand.

  "Shall we begin?" Ric gestured toward the conference table.

  Risk taker was the impression Ric developed of Adam Wilson as he listened to his presentation. The business plan he'd developed was solid, well researched, and a calculated risk. It was the type of plan Ric had devised many times in his career.

  "You have a good plan for Wilson and Wilson," Ric said when Adam asked for questions. "However, what's to keep your company from experiencing the same problems later on?"

  "It's no secret that Wilson and Wilson is in a financial bind," Adam responded meeting Ric's gaze with a determined gaze of his own. "Our equipment is outdated, and the company hasn't changed as the market has changed. I've reorganized my company to reflect the change in market. In addition ..."

  He was good, very good, Ric thought as Adam explained the changes he'd made at Wilson and Wilson. Unlike some who thought they could hide their company's problems, Adam brought them out in the open and disclosed his solutions.

  An hour later when Adam Wilson left, Ric and Warren sat at the conference table.

  "There's no doubt about it. Wilson will turn his company around if he's given enough time," Warren said.

  "Yes, but would an outright buyout be profitable for the company rather than two-year financing?"

  "Either way the company would make money, but I got the feeling that Wilson is attached to the company."

  "We'll deal with that should the situation arise. I want to see if the deal with the city of Atlanta comes through for him."

  "You want to keep him waiting that long?"

  "He doesn't have another offer on the table. We can wait."

  "Okay. You know if I didn't know you were an only child, I'd swear you two were related."

  Ric raised a single brow. "Oh?"

  "It would be funny for you to suddenly have a wife and a brother."

  "Yes, that would be funny," Ric replied being careful to keep his face expressionless.

  With a shake of his head, Warren rose from his chair. "I'll keep you posted on Wilson. Oh, and congratulations on your upcoming marriage." With that he left Ric's office.

  Ric rose and walked to the large windows behind his desk. Gray clouds raced across the sky. The tops of the buildings were hidden beneath them.

  Control. Finally he had the upper hand, not his stepfather. He had the power and control to save or destroy the business Evan Wilson had built. The urge was strong within him to systematically destroy Wilson and Wilson. If Adam Wilson had been like his father, Ric wouldn't have hesitated to do just that, but his gut feeling told him Adam was different from his father.

  He'd give Adam a chance to prove himself like he would any other businessman. Judge him on his own merit, not for the sins of his father. As he watched the clouds move across the sky, he wondered if anyone else would notice the family resemblance between him and Adam. He was definitely going to make sure Anna May didn't get wind of it. Her soft heart would try to make a Kodak moment between them. Make them a family. He definitely didn't need family.

  Evan Wilson wielded his power the old-fashioned way, through intimidation. Which was why he was able to bully his way past his son's temporary secretary and into his old office. Adam had transferred his old secretary when he caught her giving him confidential files a month ago.

  Adam had agreed to take over Wilson and Wilson only if he took early retirement and resigned as president Evan had balked at first. He'd run the company for thirty years. He was the one to build the company from the ground up. His father had been content to stay a small-sized company, but it was he who had expanded and made it one of the most powerful black-owned companies in the Southeast. And his son wanted him totally out of the day-to-day operations of Wilson and Wilson before he'd consider joining the company.

  The only reason he'd agreed to step down as president was that he was sure his son would see the error of his ways and beg him to come back. He was a reasonable man, and he wouldn't let his own son beg for his help for long.

  But Adam hadn't begged him to come back in the nine months since he'd left. In fact, he had all but threatened to have him barred from entering the doors of the company if he caught him in his office again. Evan smiled to himself as he sat behind the desk that was once his, savoring the power and control that came with the tide of owner. He had made and destroyed men's careers with a single telephone call. It was that kind of power that he missed the most.

  With the desk key he had duplicated before giving the original to Adam, Evan unlocked the old maple desk. Taking his time, he removed several folders. He'd had his former secretary get a copy of Adam's schedule for the day, and he knew Adam was to be in a meeting out of the building for several hours. He would have felt better if he knew exactly where Adam went, but Adam's new secretary had no idea where the meeting was to take place.

  Looking over the balance sheet, Evan smiled in satisfaction. His boy was making money but not enough to make up for the last few years of debt the company had acquired. He could have told him not to upgrade the equipment, and he would have definitely not given the employees a raise when the company was losing money.

  Lucky. His boy was lucky, Evan thought as he flipped through the pages in the folder. Luck could get you only so far in business. The past few years had been hard on the company's bottom line, but he'd worked his way out of the red in the past, and he was sure he could do it in the future.

  He glanced at page after page of financial data. Soon his son would come to him for help. Soon he would be in power once more. His smile crumpled when he came to the last page. His blood ran cold, then a chilling rage enveloped him as he read and reread the words on the page.

  There was no way in hell he would let his company be bought out by the Justice Company. He'd burn it to the ground, like he'd done years ago, before he allowed anyone—especially Trevor Justice's bastard—to get his hands on Wilson and Wilson. Taking the page out of the folder, he slowly and methodically began tearing the page into tiny pieces.

  Adam Wilson came to an abrupt stop when he saw his father sitting behind his desk. "What are you doing here, Dad?"

  "It seems as if I didn't get here fast enough," he said sarcastically. "What the hell are you doing even talking with people at the Justice Company?"

  "What I do with the company doesn't concern you anymore. I bought you out," Adam said sternly as he walked into his office.

  "If you think I'm going to let my own son sell out to a Justice, you can think again," Evan yelled.

  "The company doesn't belong to you. It belongs to me, and I will do what I think is best. You don't have any say in the way the company is run. You gave up that right when you retired."

  His father rose from the chair, his eyes narrowed with rage. "I won't let you sell my company to Ric Justice. I'll destroy this place with my bare hands first."

  Adam kept his expression blank. He'd learned over the years that it was best to keep a cool head when dealing with his father. "What has he done to you?"

  "He's a low-class, do-nothing bastard like his father was before him."

  Adam laughed mockingly. "That 'do nothing' is worth hundreds of millions."

  Evan slammed his hand on the desk. "I'd rather go bankrupt than to see a Justice with any part of Wilson and Wilson."

  "You mean you would put all of our employees on the street before getting help from the Justice Company? Is keeping your pride intact worth the livelihood of thousands of families?"

  "Look, boy. I'm telling you—don't have anything to do with him."

  "And I'm telling you I'll do whatever it takes to make this company profitable. Even deal with the Justice Company." Adam walked to the door and held it open. "Now, Dad, it's time for you to leave." His tone was unyielding and determined.

  Blood rushed to his father's face. With his jaw clenched, Evan Wilson stalked to the do
or. "I'm warning you, Adam. I don't want you even talking to the Justice Company."

  Adam met the fiery brown gaze of his father with a determined one of his own. "Goodbye, Dad."

  His father marched out of the office. Adam closed the door quietly behind him before walking to his desk. Four manila folders lay open on top of the desk. He put his briefcase on top of the desk, then quickly scanned the contents of the folders.

  Surface information, he thought, as he gathered the papers, strictly surface information. Important documents were stored in the newly installed safe in the wall behind his desk. He and the security managers were the only people in the company who knew of the safe's existence. A few months after his retirement, his father had shown his inability to voluntarily stay out of the company. The safe was just one of the precautionary measures Adam had taken to ensure that his father couldn't get his hands on the wrong information.

  Adam sat in the chair and opened his briefcase. The presentation he'd prepared for Ric Justice was on top of the pile. His company's financial situation had been disclosed in great detail during the hour-long meeting. Ric Justice kept his opinion of the plan he'd presented to himself. He understood how Ric got the name Ice Man. His control and the icy edge of his voice made him feel as if he'd been thrust into the frozen tundra of Alaska with only a suit jacket for protection.

  But he could handle whatever the Ice Man dished out as long as he invested in his company. Hiding the fact that his company needed capital was an impossibility, but with the proposed improvements he and his employees had come up with, Wilson and Wilson would be out of debt in the next year and extremely profitable the following year. All he had to do was convince Ric to invest in his company.

  Ric Justice's business savvy wasn't the only reason he'd sought him out. Finding a copy of Ric's birth certificate among his mother's papers had been a shock. He had a brother. A brother he'd never known existed until his mother's death a few months ago.