Corporate Affair (19 page)

“Are you sure you just don’t want to leave Grace here at home?”

“Oh, Mom, I work all the time. I can take her. I don’t like to spend any more time away from her than I have to.”

“Well, I understand. I guess this man does too.”

“It’s a family company. I suppose that’s why.”

“Does this man have children as well?”

“No, he’s not married.”

“Is this the man I met a few days ago at your office?”

“Yes, yes it is,” said Jordan.

“Oh my,” said her mother in a different tone of voice. “Not married…”

“What?” asked Jordan. “What do you mean by that, Mom?”

At that moment, Aiden arrived and parked the car at the edge of the lawn. He got out of the car and proceeded up the walk to the front door.

Jordan’s mother said, “Are you going to answer the door?”

“Yes, yes…” Jordan was flustered, wondering whether this was such a good idea after all. She set her mug down on the counter and went to open the door.

“Hi,” said Aiden.

“Hi.” Jordan smiled shyly at him.

They stood for a moment in the door.

“Can I come in?”

“Oh, of course,” said Jordan. “This is so silly! I feel like a high school girl on a first date. Please, come in.”

He reached out for her, but she eluded his touch as she led the way into the kitchen. He was only able to brush her hand instead. She glanced back over her shoulder and flashed him a smile.

“Good to see you again, Mr. Stewart,” said Jordan’s mother.

“Nice to see you, too, Mrs. Fitzgerald.”

“I’m glad you were able to reach an agreement with my daughter about ChatDotCom. Is this the final step, then?”

Aiden nodded. “Yes, it is. We’re very happy to merge with Chat. Jordan handled it like a pro.”

“She is a pro,” said Mrs. Fitzgerald with a mother’s pride.

“We’ll be meeting with my father. His is the last signature needed. It’s a long drive for a day trip, so we’ll start back tomorrow morning. Jordan and her daughter are staying the night at my parents’ home.”

“Really!” Jordan’s mother gasped in surprise, and Jordan shot Aiden a startled look.

“I spoke to my mother this morning. She insists. Make no mistake about it; she’s used to doing this, with all the business associates my father’s brought home over the years!”

“Are you sure she’s prepared for a baby?”

“Mom…” protested Jordan, but her mother looked straight at Aiden.

Aiden laughed. “I told her about Grace. She’s looking forward to it.”

“I see,” said the older woman. “Well, please drive safely. Call me when you get there, Jordan.”

“I will.” Jordan picked up Grace’s bag and her own. Then she took her daughter and kissed her mother on the cheek. “Don’t worry.”

“This all seems rather unconventional to me,” her mother muttered.

“I’m ready,” Jordan said. Aiden gently slipped the bags off her arm and hoisted them onto his shoulder. “I’ll call later, Mom.”

“Nice to see you again,” said Aiden, and they were out the door.

Jordan handed him the keys as she got into the passenger seat. “You drive,” she said, “then I’ll be free to tend to Grace if she gets fussy on the trip.”

Once in the car, with Grace safely in her seat, Jordan let out a deep sigh. Aiden laughed as he turned the key in the ignition. “Your mother knows something’s going on.”

“Just drive.” Jordan, suddenly feeling awkward, stared straight ahead. The whole scene was so surreal. Heading out on the road, to a business meeting, with her baby. With a man she knew very little about—though she’d slept with him—and who continued to elicit wild emotional responses from her. It was all very confusing.

“You’re quiet,” said Aiden after a while. “What are you thinking about?”

Honesty was the only way to go, thought Jordan. She turned in her seat to look at him, his handsome profile, his strong hands relaxed as they rested on the steering wheel. It was his hands that caused her heart to leap just then. Looking at them, she could almost feel how they had traveled over her body, caressing, exploring, raising her to emotional and physical levels she had never gone before. A delicious tremor shivered through her, but she quelled it and tried to speak rationally and logically. “I look at you,” she said, starting slowly, “and I wonder, where did this man come from? Who is he and what is he doing in my life? When we’re together, it seems like I know you inside and out. It seems like you’re part of me—a really important part. But then I think of the reality, and the reality is that we’ve only known each other a few days. A few days, Aiden. It’s almost absurd. And it’s all tied up in the business, too. We hammered out a complex, multimillion-dollar business deal. Did we get caught up in the romance of it? Is that what this is? It’s so complicated.”

Aiden glanced over at her. He didn’t laugh or try to trivialize her concern. “I know there are a lot of unresolved issues we face, Jordan, but the one thing I am sure of is how I feel about you—about us. I know what you mean. I look at you and think, where did this woman come from? Was it chance? Was it fate? I feel like it was meant to be. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be so sure in my mind. I think the best way to handle it is to not over analyze. We can’t afford to panic. Let’s just enjoy this…this time.” He reached across the console and put his hand over hers. “Please, don’t panic. Don’t think too far ahead. Trust me.”

Jordan smiled bravely and lifted his hand, pressing it to her lips.

The trip went fast. Grace fell asleep soon after they were on the road. Jordan and Aiden talked about many things, from politics and their personal beliefs to silly trivia. Their laughter came easily and for most of the trip, Aiden drove with his left hand and held onto Jordan’s hand with his right.

Jordan’s heart beat faster as they neared the city of Portland. As Aiden talked about his childhood, sailing on Casco Bay, catching his own lobster, and spending summers camping with his friends on wild little islands, her mind wandered. She didn’t know exactly what to expect. They were making the trip, theoretically she knew, in order to sign the papers that would finalize the merger between ChatDotCom and Trade Winds. That merger would make her, Jordan Fitzgerald, CEO of the northern branch of the bigger company Trade Winds would become after the acquisition was complete. She looked forward to meeting Gordon Stewart, notable and foresighted businessman and founder and CEO of Trade Winds.

Yet, deep within her soul, Jordan knew there was another reason for the trip to Portland. A more personal reason. Aiden was bringing her home to meet his mother and father. While Gordon Stewart was indeed founder and CEO of Trade Winds and he’d just bought ChatDotCom from Gene Palmer, her boss and mentor, he was also Aiden Stewart’s father, and this was, to Jordan, the more important of his roles. She stared ahead as they drove, feeling Aiden’s fingers lightly caressing her own. Her mother had always said she would know when the right one came along.
You always know,
she had said.
Well,
Jordan thought,
the right one has come along. I know it.
A sudden, intense memory flashed in her mind’s eye and she saw herself lying in his arms, warm from his warmth, passionate with his passion, her skin against his skin, even their breathing synchronized. She wanted with all her heart to shout it out to all who would hear that she loved this man and he loved her. Yet there was a cloud over her happiness. Jordan knew that honesty was the cornerstone of love. It was the foundation that would support love through all kinds of trials and tribulations. And though she had not been dishonest with Aiden, she had not told him the whole truth about everything. For so long, she had maintained that the identity of Grace’s father was her business and her business only, but now she had met a man with whom she wanted to share everything forever. Now, her conscience told her, it was his business, too.

They drove over a bridge. As Jordan looked out her window, she could see the huge oil and fuel tanks along the shore of the bay.

“Have you ever been to Portland before?” asked Aiden as they proceeded along the highway that ran parallel to the water.

“No,” admitted Jordan. “I haven’t been north of Ogunquit.”

“Well, this is Commercial Street, where Trade Winds’ headquarters are. This was the wharf area, and from the late seventeen hundreds on, it was a bustling shipping hub for the whole Northeast. There’s still business that goes on here now, especially fishing and lobster wharves, federal and state buildings, a lot of retail, and some private companies like legal firms and Trade Winds. We recently bought one of the old warehouses and renovated it. Renovations were finished last summer, and we moved in just before winter. There it is. See? You can see it straight ahead. The tall brick building with the balcony overlooking the water.”

Jordan let her gaze follow the direction of his pointing finger. She saw the large, solid brick building rising up over the working wharfs on either side. Large white letters attached high up on the street side of the building read “Trade Winds.” The roofline dropped a story on the bay side of the building. The lower roof was ringed with a wrought iron railing, and Jordan could see chairs and umbrellaed tables.

“I’ll just drive down to the ferry at the end of the street so you can get a feel for the area. This is called the Old Port, and it’s a real tourist place. Kind of high end with a lot of good restaurants and retail. Portland is famous as a foodie town,” explained Aiden as he drove along the bustling street. “And see there, just next to the lobster wharf? See those long blue buildings? That’s Chandler’s Wharf. That’s where I live.”

“You do?” Jordan craned her neck to get a good look as they drove by. “I can see why you said you have a cheap commute! And short, too.”

Aiden swung the car around in the parking lot at the end of the street. “Ready to meet my father and put this thing to bed?” he asked her. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.

Jordan let out a big sigh. She squeezed his hand. “Yes, I’m ready. I am. Let’s go.” It was all overwhelming, she thought. Suddenly, she felt more like a pawn than a player in this game, this merger between two powerful New England families. Where did she fit in, anyway? She looked across the console at Aiden. He drove on, his noble, patrician profile intent on the busy main street. It was confusing, she thought as she looked at him. Sometimes she felt so close to this man, as though she could trust him with her life, so sure of their love that she would follow him anywhere. And then, in the blink of an eye, she could feel so alone, so detached, so forgotten. He was an owner, after all; she would be an employee. Well, she would just play this out. Right now, it was okay. Right now she would bury any doubt that threatened to rise up in her mind and quell her happiness. She would bury the doubt and play along, do her job, provide for her daughter and her family. Things would become clear as time went on. She hoped.

Aiden turned left into the large parking lot, cut diagonally across, and pulled into a parking space marked by a little sign that bore his name.

“Here we are,” he said. From the back seat Grace let out a high pitched squeal as she felt the car come to a stop.

Jordan laughed. “And not a moment too soon!” she said, opening her door.

The salt air washed over her like a soothing balm. She took a deep breath, savoring the scent of the ocean. Seagulls circled the working lobster docks on either side, calling and scolding. She had not been seaside in so long, she had forgotten how charming and calming it was.

“This is beautiful,” she said sincerely.

“It is,” agreed Aiden. He opened the back door of the Jeep, and Jordan reached in, freeing Grace from her confinement in the car seat. Cradling the baby against her hip, she rummaged in the diaper bag and located a bottle. Grace took it eagerly.

“I’m not exactly dressed for a business meeting,” she said.

“You look, ah, good enough to eat to me.” Aiden winked at her as he wrapped her and her baby in his strong arms and kissed her on the mouth. “I know you’re nervous,” he said. “Don’t be. Everything is fine. My father huffs and puffs, but he’s a good man, and besides, the hard part is done.”

She smiled at him. “Lead the way!” she said bravely. Aiden smiled and ran his fingers through his hair. Here, in his own element, with the sea breeze playing with his wayward hair, his eyes seemed to sparkle. He was sexier than ever. Jordan felt her stomach leap, and her heart fluttered in her chest as she followed him into the building.

There was a small desk, behind which sat a heavy-set, uniformed guard who stood as they came through the door.

“Good morning, Mr. Stewart,” said the guard.

“Hey, Ray,” Aiden greeted him, smiling, then glanced at his watch. “Is my father back from lunch yet?”

“I don’t think he went out today. He’s expecting you. He’s called down here about six times!”

Aiden laughed. “Give him a call and tell him we’re on our way up.”

“Will do.” The guard grinned as he picked up the phone.

Aiden guided Jordan, still carrying Grace on her hip, to the elevator. Once inside, he set them on their way to the third floor. “Hm,” he said, “I’ve always fantasized about elevators, but you seem to have an appendage.”