Lost and Found (10 page)

As she walked up the sidewalk,
Christian backed out of the driveway. He rolled down his window and
rested his arm on the door.

“
Hey, it’s my beautiful
housemate.”

She smiled. “Thank you for the
compliment.”

“
A package came for you
today. I set it by your door. A package from home.”

“
Thanks.” She noticed he
was dressed up and not wearing anything athletic. “You going
out?”

“
Yeah. The sister of one of
my teammate’s wives.” He rolled his eyes. “But, at least if this
goes good, I can drag her to that fundraising event tomorrow
night—unless you’ve reconsidered and would rather go with me than
my brother.”

Darcy laughed. “I’m just using him to
climb the corporate ladder.”

This time, Christian laughed. “I think
you’re already doing that. You got permanent employee status, not
temp status.”

Hadn’t she already found that
odd?

She gave him a wave. “Have a good
night.”

Christian held up his hand and crossed
his fingers. Then he gave her a wave and backed out of the driveway
and headed down the street.

The package Christian had said was by
her door was waiting for her. She recognized her father’s
handwriting immediately.

The anticipation of opening it
reminded her of Christmas morning. How her mother would make her
hold all her gifts on her lap while she took a picture.

She held the package to her
chest.

She missed her mother.

Darcy opened the door to her apartment
and walked inside. She sat down on the couch and held tight to the
box. She’d been mad for so long over finding out she was adopted
and then over her mother’s quick illness and death. But having met
some of the Kellers had made her miss what she’d had. And, though
it had been small, it had been her family.

Darcy opened the package and pulled
out the contents. Her father had added family pictures, college
transcripts, and important papers—such as her birth
certificate.

She let out a slow, steady breath.
She’d asked her father for the items before she’d secured the job
with Benson, Benson, and Hart. The pictures had been a bonus and
would look wonderful on her walls.

As she held the birth certificate in
her fingers, she thought about what a lie it was.

Her parents’ names were on that piece
of paper, but they hadn’t given birth to her. Someone else did, and
she wanted to know who.

She ran her hands over her face. Why
was she obsessing over this? Her parents loved her, and that should
be enough. But didn’t every adopted child want to know who and why
they were given up?

How would she know? She was the only
person she’d ever known who was adopted. And wouldn’t that have
been nice to have known as she was growing up.

Darcy ran her fingers over the print
on the official document. Born at Nashville General
Hospital.

She sat back on the couch. She’d come
full circle to where her life started. Now the man she had feelings
for was imbedded in the company that her investigator had sent her
to because someone there had something to do with her.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Were there two people at Benson,
Benson, and Hart who held a secret—her secret?

Time had slipped away, again, and Ed
sat in his office staring out over the river as the sun went
down.

The build in Georgia was going to be
extensive. The proposal they’d worked on all day would be right
there in Nashville. And he had to admit, to himself, that it was
going to be a delight to have Darcy there. In the week they’d
worked together, she had organized everything.

Of course, there was the obvious as
well…she’d done a job on him.

Ed loosened his tie and pulled it off.
He laid it on the desk. He looked up when he heard a tapping on the
door. Zach stood there, his own tie loose around his neck and his
suit coat draped over his arm.

“
Your aunt would like to
invite you to dinner.”

“
Is she
cooking?”

Zach laughed. “She hasn’t done much of
that since the boys moved away from home. Either she’s living large
or is in denial.”

Ed smiled. “I think that would be
nice.”

“
Darcy already left for the
night?”

“
Yes. She’ll be sleeping at
her desk soon enough, especially with the Georgia and Nashville
builds.”

“
You know,” he smiled,
“your aunt and I did a lot of late nights and trips away from the
office.”

Ed bit down on the inside of her
cheek. “You assume I hired Darcy for something other than her
ability to run my office.”

“
No. I just think there is
more there than her being just an assistant.”

That was something he didn’t want to
be obvious. He was having a hard enough time with that
himself.

“
I don’t think that would
be a very good idea.”

“
You can’t help fate. I
mean, she did run right into you, right?”

“
That doesn’t mean history
is going to repeat itself.”

Zach shrugged. “You never know.” He
turned to leave. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

It was late when Ed got home, and all
he wanted to do was climb into bed.

Dinner with Regan and Zach Benson was
always a treat, and Ed appreciated it when they spent time with
him. Zach had become a very important person in his life at just
the right time—a role model. He hoped that he’d been a role model
for their children.

Regan had wanted to hear, first hand,
about the new assistant. She was a bit too thrilled that he’d
“bumped into her” and then hired her.

Ed hoped he hadn’t given her any
reaction when she began planning a future for him and Darcy. The
truth was, though he’d had an undeniable attraction to her, he knew
it would wean off. If he’d been able to keep a woman, he’d be
married. But Ed Keller was all about his job, and that left very
little time for anything else.

His mother had said that the right
woman just hadn’t come around yet. His father said he was doing the
right thing by holding off. Zach had been something like forty by
the time he’d gotten married, and Ed thought he still was quite a
vibrant man in his sixties. Of course, age had never been an issue
with Ed. He’d been a hard worker and had climbed the corporate
ladder, rung by rung. He was already seated in the V.P. chair by
the time anyone knew he was Zach’s nephew. There was nothing anyone
could say. He’d started at the very bottom. In fact, he owed as
much of his success in life to his Uncle John for letting him get
his hands dirty on a lot of projects that no one else would take
on.

He could plan out the greatest builds
and help build skyscrapers from drawing to grand opening. He had
all the tools. There wasn’t a job on the site that Ed Keller hadn’t
done himself.

That’s what had humored Regan the
most. How could Ed do every job in an organization as big as
Benson, Benson, and Hart and not be able to find a girl? But one
had bumped right into him, and he’d hired her. That was an act of
commitment right there! If Ed couldn’t make life work so that he’d
have a little love in there, his aunt figured the next best thing
would be for it to just “happen” along—and it had.

But Ed didn’t want those kinds of
complications in the workplace. He didn’t fancy dating his
assistant. For one, if they dated and things didn’t work out, then
he was back in the same boat he was in a week ago. And on the other
hand, if they did work out, it would be awkward and again…he’d end
up back where he was a week ago when Darcy decided to go home and
raise babies.

Ed fixed his pillows, laced his hands
under his head, and laid back.

He’d gone too far with that last
thought. Babies.

Tomorrow would certainly be a
challenge. His entire family would be at that fundraiser. Each and
every one of them knew how he met Darcy, and it must have been just
a little obvious that there were sparks between them. Well, sparks
could be extinguished as well as a blazing fire.

Ed shifted in his bed to get
comfortable. A plan brewed in his head.

Distance. That’s what he needed from
Darcy—distance.

He’d send the car for her tomorrow.
Christian would be at the fundraiser, and Darcy McCary was plenty
comfortable with his brother, though that piece of information
clawed at him. But, if he was going to keep some space between
them, this would be the perfect opportunity.

Yes, if he didn’t show up to the
fundraiser with Darcy on his arm, and she came as only an
employee—alone, they’d all have to leave alone this silly notion of
fate happening again.

Darcy looked in the mirror and smiled.
The black cocktail dress she’d brought with her to Tennessee looked
nice. She’d gone out and bought a new pair of high heels, using the
money her father had sent her, as well as a pair of cheap, but
fancy earrings.

Her hair was pulled back to the base
of her neck and rolled into a low bun. This showed off the earrings
even better.

By all accounts, she figured she was
ready for the evening with the Keller family—and Ed.

Butterflies fought for space in her
stomach. Certainly they wouldn’t stay all night. At some point, it
would all ease.

This time the knock at the door was
expected. However, when she opened it and only the driver was
there—that part was not expected.

“
Mr. Keller has sent me to
take you to the fundraiser.”

“
Oh, and is he in the
car?”

“
No, Ma’am. He will not be
joining us this evening.”

Darcy felt her jaw click she’d
clenched it so tightly. He wasn’t going to go? Was this some kind
of joke?

The thought raced through her mind
that she wasn’t going either then. Why do this alone? This wasn’t
her family, or her organization, or…

She looked around the small apartment
as she turned to pick up her purse and her shawl. The house had
furniture. Her kitchen had been stocked. Most of all, she had a
place to live.

Ed Keller might have done some of
that, but the Keller family did the rest. She needed to go and
thank them.

Darcy sucked in a deep breath of
courage and turned to leave with the driver.

Darcy tried to pay attention to where
she was being taken. The single-woman-in-a-big-city sense took over
when she realized she was at the mercy of the driver.

It shouldn’t have surprised her when
he turned into the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. When the driver opened
the door for her to exit the car, another man was there to escort
her into the Victorian Theater.

As they approached, she could hear the
live music flow from the room, which was already filled with
people.

Those butterflies in her stomach must
have multiplied. But she’d been taught by her mother to take
control of a room by walking into it with your head held high—no
matter what your insides were doing.

Darcy lifted her chin, tucked her
purse under her arm, and walked through the doors.

She looked around the room for someone
who was familiar to her. After all, she knew some of the Kellers.
At least one of them had to be there, right?

“
Darcy, you look
beautiful.”

She recognized the voice. When she
turned, there stood Christian holding two flutes of
champagne.

“
Christian, it’s nice to
see you dressed,” she laughed.

“
But admit it. I rock a
towel.”

She felt the heat rise in her
cheeks.

He nodded his head to the waiter
carrying another tray of champagne flutes. The man turned back to
them, and Darcy took one from the tray.

“
Where’s your date?”
Christian asked.

Darcy forced a smile. “The driver
picked me up and said Mr. Keller wouldn’t be joining us this
evening.”

“
He what?” Christian’s
brows drew together and his lips pursed.

It was obvious Ed had still been
expected.

“
Well, you certainly won’t
be alone. C’mon.”

Darcy followed Christian through the
crowd of people to a table near the dance floor and stage. The
table was nearly full, and she assumed this was the Keller family.
Immediately she recognized John and Arianna. Zach sat next to John,
but there was an empty chair to his side.

“
Everyone, I want you to
meet Darcy, Ed’s loyal assistant,” he announced and then added,
under his breath, “Though he doesn’t deserve it.” Everyone stood
up. Christian set his drink on the table and handed the other to a
blonde woman to his right.

“
Darcy, let me introduce
you around.” He took her arm and began to lead her around the
table. “My father, Carlos. My mother, Madeline.” Each of them shook
her hand and greeted her. “My grandparents, Emily and Allen
Keller.”