Mr Destiny (18 page)

He'd make her an offer she couldn't refuse.

A life of leisure in exchange for the photos.

She wouldn't turn him down.

Her accepting his offer would also be additional insurance that she'd never use the photos against him—even if she kept a
copy of the disc on the sly.

Bite the hand that fed her?

Not likely.

One of the most important lessons he'd learned from his father was that loyalty always went to the highest bidder. With Carla,
he'd make it a point always to be the highest bidder.

He was, after all, wildly attracted to her.

He even admired her spunk.

No one had ever dared to stand up to him before, much less threaten him. The challenge he would face in keeping a spirited
woman like Carla under control turned him on immensely—almost as much as her willingness to participate in the games he liked
to play in the bedroom.

Bedroom games.

Harold squirmed in his seat, the urge to see Carla again quickly overtaking him.

If he devoted his entire Saturday to the brief he was working on for his client, bedroom games wouldn't be out of the question
for Sunday evening.

I'll call her tomorrow afternoon.

He had her private cell phone number. He'd surprise her and ask her to have dinner with him. Take her to dinner in one of
the fanciest restaurants Chicago had to offer.

She'd boasted she'd caught her big fish.

Well, he could set the bait on his hook, too.

He'd give her a glimpse of the type of life she'd have with a man who had the power and money to give her anything she wanted.
After dinner, he'd
invite
her back to his luxury hotel suite, reminding her that if she stuck with him, there'd be no more greedy pimps and seedy hotel
rooms in her future.

With a little luck and a lot of charm, he'd reel Carla in
hooker
, line, and sinker.

Harold chuckled to himself over his little play on words, then pushed back from his chair. He headed for the writing desk
across the room and the mountain of paperwork that needed his attention.

Yes, Carla had taught him one very valuable lesson.

His flirting-with-danger call-girl days were over.

Soon there'd be no need for dumpy motel rooms.

No need for random ladies of the night, either.

He'd have a proper wife at home where she belonged.

Even better, he'd have a sexy mistress waiting to satisfy each and every one of his bad-boy needs.

Eve looked up from her computer. “What are you doing back home? I thought you were going to the gallery after you met Grace
at the airport.”

Kate didn't say a word. She walked into Eve's bedroom and fell face-first on Eve's bed with a loud groan.

“Oh,” Eve said. “I guess that means Grace took your calling off the wedding even worse than you expected.”

Kate sat back up. “You mean the wedding Harold is moving
up?
The one he's convinced Gram we should have as soon as he gets back from Chicago in two weeks?”

“What?” Eve's hand slid off her mouse. She turned all the way around in her chair to face Kate.

“You heard me,” Kate said, getting angry all over again. “Harold called Gram in Paris, telling her we'd had a quarrel and
that he was worried the pressure was getting to me. He sucked poor Gram right in. He said he thought we should go ahead and
get married as soon as he got back from Chicago. He even talked Gram into being his partner in crime, asking her to tell me
we were meeting Margaret at the Waldorf for afternoon tea. He intends to walk in and surprise me and ask me to marry him right
then and there.”

“And you didn't tell Grace you've decided you aren't going to marry Harold at all?”

Kate let out a long sigh. “No. And I do feel awful about it. But you know Gram. She's my personal travel agent when it comes
to guilt trips. She'd do everything in her power over the next two weeks to persuade me to change my mind and marry Harold.”

“And you always have been a bit of a pushover,” Eve mentioned.

Kate bounced off the bed. “Not this time, Eve.” She stood in the middle of the room, hands defiantly on her hips. “But I am
going to that afternoon tea, you can be sure of that. And when Harold waltzes in to surprise me, I'm going to yell ‘surprise’
at the top of my lungs, hand him his tacky megacarat ring, and march right out of his arrogant, insufferable, damn boring
life.”

Eve giggled behind her hand. “You wouldn't.”

“You watch me!”

Eve blinked. “You mean
I'm
invited to the tea, too?”

“Tea? What about tea?”

Kate turned around to find Alex standing behind her.

“Well, look who finally came up for air,” Kate said.

Alex grinned. “Guilty as charged. You know what they say about makeup sex.”

“No,” Eve said innocently. “What do they say?”

Alex ignored Eve and looked back at Kate. “Please tell me the tea you're talking about is in direct relationship to the tea
leaves
read by a certain Petrocelli grandmother.”

“Not even close,” Kate said. “The grandmother didn't have clue who I was.”

“Oh, well, expecting her to know who you were was a bit of a stretch even for a psychic,” Alex said. “What did Tony say when
you told him you called off the wedding?”

Kate hesitated. “I didn't tell him.”

“Kate! You said you were going to tell Tony you were finished with Harold.”

“No, Alex,” Kate said. ”
You
said I was going to tell Tony I had called off the wedding.
I
didn't feel like arguing with you about it.”

“Well, I hope you're proud of yourself,” Alex huffed. “You missed the perfect opportunity to make a connection with a really
great guy.”

Oh, we definitely made a connection.

Kate decided to keep the kiss to herself.

“Forget about Tony,” Kate said. “Harold's sudden interest in tea is my main concern right now.”

Alex looked confused. “Harold's suddenly taken up tea-leaf reading?”

“No,” Eve blurted out. “Harold's inviting Grace and Margaret to afternoon tea in two weeks for Kate's surprise wedding.”

Alex's hands were on her hips now. “Kate Anderson, don't you dare tell me you let Harold talk you into…”

“Don't be ridiculous,” Kate said.

When she finished repeating everything she'd already told Eve—including the part about what she intended to do when Harold
arrived for his afternoon tea—Alex slumped down on Eve's bed, shaking her head in amazement.

“Clue Deficit Disorder,” Alex said. “That has to be Harold's problem. How else could he possibly have believed you would go
along with a surprise wedding?”

“Well,” Eve mentioned again, “Kate always has been a bit of a pushover.”

Kate frowned at her.

Eve mouthed, “Sorry.”

Kate looked back at Alex. “Enough about me. I could use some good news today. Tell us about
you.
I take it things are A-okay with you and John?”

“I'm going back home,” Alex said, not really answering the question. “That's why I'm here. I came to give you back your key
and pick up my things.”

Kate sent her a suspicious look. “But?”

“I'll just go get my things now,” Alex said.

“Oh, no you don't,” Kate said. She grabbed Alex by the arm as she started through the door, pulling her back into Eve's bedroom.
“Something's wrong, or you'd be telling us every new position you and John tried last night, and you know it.”

Alex walked back over and plopped down on Eve's bed.

“The only new position I'm interested in right now is CEO,” she said. “But I don't want my marriage to fall apart, either.
That's why I gave in and agreed to John's idea of the perfect compromise.”

“Excuse me?” Kate said. “Did I really just hear the words ‘gave in’ and ‘agreed’ come out of
your
mouth?”

“I'm so excited!” Eve said, clapping her hands. “Alex is going to have a baby, and I'm going to be an aunt.”

Kate kept looking at Alex. “Is that true, Alex?”

“Yes and no,” Alex said. “Yes, John and I are going to have a child. No,
I'm
not having it.”

“You're adopting?” Kate and Eve said in unison.

Alex got up from the bed and headed out of the room.

Kate and Eve followed right along behind her.

She walked over to the far end of the living room where she'd left her already-packed suitcase, picked up her purse sitting
on top of it, and pulled out her keys.

When Alex started taking Kate's key off her key ring, Kate said, “Well? We're waiting, Alex.
Are
you and John adopting a baby?”

“No,” Alex said flatly. “John is going to have his child with the help of a surrogate.”

What!

“But, but,” Kate stuttered. “That's so, so… wrong. You have to know that, Alex. Surrogates have babies for people who aren't
capable of having children themselves.”

“And that would be John,” Alex said, the look in her eyes daring Kate to disagree. “Besides, why am I any different from male
executives? Someone else has their children, and no one bats an eye. Just because I'm a
female
executive doesn't mean I shouldn't have the same option.”

“Who are you trying to convince, Alex? Me? Or are you trying to convince yourself?” Kate shook her head, still in disbelief.
“And I wouldn't count on finding a surrogate willing to have John's child just because his wife can't take time off from her
career to start a family.”

“Are you really that naïve?” Alex shoved the key in Kate's hand. “Money talks, Kate. Count on it.”

“Maybe John is just trying to prove a point,” Kate said. “Maybe he's counting on you being sane enough to realize how ludicrous
him having a child with a surrogate really is.”

Alex shook her head. “John wouldn't do that. He really wants a child. Now. And I really don't understand why you think this
is such a ludicrous idea. What if John had been married before? What if he already had children with someone else? Do you
think I would love his children any less because
I
didn't bring them into the world myself? Of course I wouldn't. I'll love this child like my own because it
will
be John's.”

Kate shook her head again. “You are so full of crap, Alex, and you damn well know it.”

Alex's chin jutted forward. “Maybe I am. But I can't afford to take time off to have a child when I'm so close to making senior
executive. And I'll lose John if we don't start a family as soon as possible. This way, John gets what he wants. I get what
I want. And once the surrogate has the baby, the three of us will live happily ever after.”

“Until you have to explain to little John or Alex Jr. that you were too busy to bring him or her into the world yourself,”
Kate said. “You'd better set aside some extra cash in addition to that college fund, Alex. The poor kid is going to need it
for a lifetime of intensive therapy.”

“Don't lecture me, Kate.”

“Don't mess with Mother Nature, Alex.”

The shrill sound of the doorbell ended the face-off.

T
he young man standing in the hallway, when Kate opened her apartment door, had on a helmet and a bright orange vest that had
CYCLE IT written across the front.

“Delivery for Kate Anderson,” he said. “The old guy downstairs said it was okay to come up.”

Kate reached for her purse on the table by the door. She gave him a five-dollar bill in exchange for the large box he handed
over. She pushed the door shut with her elbow, dropped her purse back on the table, and stood staring at the familiar pink
logo written in fancy script across the top of the box.

Alex was the first to follow her to the door. “What's that?”

“My punishment for not telling Gram the truth,” Kate said. She looked at Alex and sighed. “This would actually be funny if
it weren't happening to me.”

“Life,” Alex mused. “We're born naked, wet, and hungry, then things get worse.”

“Save that speech for the baby you
aren't
willing to have yourself because you're too busy,” Kate said.