A Clandestine Corporate Affair

chapter Eleven

This was ridiculous.

It was four on Christmas Eve night, and Ana still hadn’t heard one word from her father about Christmas dinner the next day. She had called him half a dozen times this week, leaving messages, asking him to please call her back. She had even resorted to apologizing yet again about Sunday morning, and telling him how wrong she was.

That was yesterday, and he still hadn’t acknowledged her.

She looked at the clock, knowing Nathan would be there any minute, then she glanced at the phone, wondering if she had time to give him one more quick call.

Why? Why should she call him again? She already apologized and practically begged his forgiveness. Maybe he thought that making her spend Christmas alone was the ultimate punishment. Although she couldn’t see him passing on an opportunity to shower Max with gifts. Knowing him, he would wait until the absolute last second to pick up the phone and expect her to be at his beck and call. It was astounding that a man responsible for running a multi-billion-dollar corporation could exhibit such childish behavior. Well, she was sick of playing his games, and it was time he realized that. Nathan didn’t have any plans for dinner tomorrow and she would much rather spend the evening with him anyhow.

If her father didn’t call by the time Nathan got here and she made other plans, he would miss Max’s first Christmas.

Feeling only slightly guilty, she dropped her phone on the kitchen counter. She turned toward the open bottle of wine breathing on the table to pour herself a glass, but the doorbell chimed.

Four o’clock, right on time. Maybe she should think about giving Nathan a key, so he could let himself in from now on. She dashed for the door, and pulled it open.

“Merry Christmas!” Nathan said, grinning as he stepped inside.

Before he could even get his coat off, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. It wasn’t until she backed away that she noticed the ornately wrapped box in his hand. It was around the size of a shirt box, only thinner.

He handed it to her. “Do you have room for this under the tree?”

“Barely,” she said, nodding to the Christmas tree and the dozens of wrapped packages that had arrived earlier that day. “Did you buy out the entire store?”

“Close to it, I think.” He shrugged out of his coat and followed her into the living room, where she set the gift under the tree near the front. “Where’s Max?”

“Taking his afternoon nap. He should be up any minute. Would you like a glass of wine?”

“I’d love one.”

“So, you’re technically on holiday break?” she asked as they walked to the kitchen.

“I may stop into the office for a few hours between now and New Year’s to catch up on a few things, but my entire team is gone. My only other plans are to spend as much time as possible with you and Max.”

She poured two glasses of wine and handed him one. “I have a proposition for you.”

“Okay,” he said.

“How would you like to have Christmas dinner with your son this year?”

His brow wrinkled. “What’s wrong? Did something happen with your dad?”

“No. In fact, absolutely nothing has happened. He still hasn’t called me back. For all I know he isn’t going to. I’m tired of these silly little mind games. So I decided I would just make other plans.”

“And if he calls at the last minute, expecting you to come?”

“I’ll regretfully decline.”

“You’re sure about this?”

“Absolutely.” She rose up on her toes to kiss him. “There’s no one else in the world Max and I would rather spend the holiday with.”

He grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulled her against him. “In that case, I accept.”

“We’ll have to run to the grocery store after dinner. For a turkey and all the trimmings. I’ve never actually made one, but I’m sure I can find a recipe on the internet.”

“If we can even find a turkey. I imagine the stores will be pretty cleaned out by now.”

“Then we may have to settle for grilled cheese and tomato soup. That’s about all I have right now. My dad always sends me home with so many leftovers, I didn’t stop at the market this week.”

Nathan grinned down at her, smoothed her hair back and kissed her softly. “As long as I’m with you and Max, I really don’t care what we eat.”

That just might be the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. Even though it was last-minute, and she hadn’t had time to plan, she wanted to make their first Christmas together a special one.

From the baby monitor she heard Max beginning to wake up. “You want to get him while I look for recipes?”

He gave her one more sweet, bone-melting kiss, then went to get their son.

Ana spent the next hour online, discovering that not only was there a turkey recipe, there were about ten thousand! She chose one for turkey and stuffing that sounded tasty and looked fairly easy to pull off, then she assembled a shopping list of everything she would need, hoping that the stores wouldn’t be as cleaned out as Nathan had predicted. When she was finished they packed Max up and went to the diner for dinner, then stopped at the market on the way home. The small, privately owned organic place she usually went to was out of everything. They tried the larger commercially owned organic store a few miles away, but they too were cleaned out of all the holiday fixings.

They packed Max back up into the car and tried the national grocery chain store next. Though it was packed to the gills with last-minute shoppers, they hit pay dirt in the meat department. Not only did they have turkeys, but they were already thawed, which she had learned online often took days. The only problem was the smallest they had was twenty-six pounds.

“We’re going to be eating turkey for a month,” Nathan said, dropping it in their cart.

Probably, but she didn’t care. She probably wouldn’t have even cared if they never found a turkey. Spending the evening with him and Max, shopping together as a family, was more than she ever could have hoped for.

They hit the produce department next, and she was relieved to find that they carried organic versions of most of the items she needed. They picked up three different varieties of pies in the bakery department, plus the bread they would need for the stuffing. By the time they got in the checkout line—which had to be twenty carts long—their shopping cart was practically overflowing. They stood in line discussing their plans for the next day, and by the time their things were rung up and bagged, it was way past Max’s bedtime. He fell asleep in the car on the way home, and Ana got him into bed while Nathan brought in the groceries and got his overnight bag from the trunk of his car.

He offered to help her put everything away, but she shooed him out of the kitchen and insisted he go watch TV. When he snuck back into the kitchen half an hour later for a beer, he was dressed in flannel pajama bottoms. And nothing else.

Arms folded, she looked him up and down. “Are you trying to lure me out of here?”

He grinned. “Is it working?”

She licked her lips. “If I didn’t have about a million things to do…”

He gave her a quick kiss. “Actually, it was too warm with the fire going. But if you’re not finished in here soon, I may have to take you against your will.”

After he was back to watching TV, Ana put the rest of the groceries away and prepared things for the following morning, thinking how absolutely perfect the evening had been. Almost too perfect, just like the last time.

Everything seemed to be going really well then, too, and out of the blue he’d dumped her. Maybe if she knew for sure why he had done it then, she wouldn’t worry now. Or maybe she should stop being paranoid and be thankful for this second chance.

It was past eleven when she shut off the kitchen light and headed out into the living room. The television was still on, but Nathan was lying on the couch asleep. She grabbed the remote from the coffee table and switched it off. Though they should probably get to bed so she could get up early to start the preparations for dinner, she had this sudden, soul-deep need to be close to him.

She undressed and dropped her clothes in a pile on the floor then climbed on the couch, straddling Nathan’s thighs. He must have really been out cold because he didn’t even budge. She considered gently shaking him awake, but wondered how far she could go, what it would take to wake him in other, more fun ways.

She leaned over, pressed her lips to his hard stomach, trailing kisses down until she reached the waist of his pajamas. She stopped to check his face, but his eyes were still closed. Other parts of him, however, were waking up. She hooked her fingers under his waistband and eased it down, and he didn’t even stir. Leaning over him, she first teased the tip of his erection with her tongue, and when that got her no response, she took him in her mouth.

She heard a moan, then felt his hands on her head, his fingers tunneling through her hair. That was more like it, she thought, taking him in even deeper.

She sat back, and Nathan smiled up at her with heavy-lidded eyes. “At first I thought I was dreaming,” he said. “It’s not often a man wakes up to find a gorgeous naked woman on top of him.”

She grinned. “Well then, maybe I should do it more often.”

“I could get used to that.” He cupped her face, pulled her down for a slow, deep kiss. He stroked her bare shoulders and her back, sliding his hands down to cup her behind, then he tugged her forward, bucking upward, so that his erection rubbed her just right. She dug her nails into his shoulders, moaned against his lips. With one slow, deep thrust he was inside her.

It felt so damned good, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. Then it hit her. No condom.

Damn it, damn it, damn it.

He was moving inside of her as she slowly rode him, no barriers, nothing to come between them, feeling so close to him, so connected. She didn’t want to stop. But intercourse without a condom, even if they stopped and put one on now, was like playing Russian roulette. And she had the proof of that sleeping down the hallway. But her period was due in two days, so the chances that she would conceive were pretty slim.

But that wasn’t a decision she had any right to make alone.

She pushed herself up, bracing her hands on Nathan’s chest. “We have to stop.”

He groaned an objection, thrusting upward. “No we don’t.”

“We forgot to use a condom.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

He laughed lightly, stroking his hands up her sides, cupping her breasts as he thrust upward once, then twice, making her crazy with need. “Did you honestly think I wouldn’t notice?”

“You don’t care?”

“I was going suggest we grab one, but I thought I would be polite and satisfy you first.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s how I conceived Max.”

“So are you saying it’s too late? The damage is already done?” He said it so casually, as if they were talking about the weather. She figured he would be at least marginally concerned at this point, but he kept up those slow, deep thrusts.

“My period is due soon, so odds are pretty good that I’m not even fertile, but there’s always that million-to-one chance.”

“Are you opposed to the idea of having another baby?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Then let’s not worry about it.”

Well, if he wasn’t going to worry, if he was comfortable with the consequences…

Nathan tugged her back down to him, kissed away the last of her doubts, his hands, his mouth making her crazy, until she was so close…

He caught her face in his hands and looked in her eyes. “I love you, Ana.”

Those four, simple words drove her over the edge, and Nathan was right behind her. After, she tucked her head under his chin, limp and relaxed, and Nathan held her.

It was hard to believe how much had changed in only a few weeks. It felt too good to be true. In a way she almost wished she would conceive, then he would have to stay with her.

As quickly as the thought formed, she knew how wrong it was. And dangerous. Not to mention untrue. Besides, why would she even think that she needed a way to trap him? He said he loved her, that he didn’t care if she got pregnant again. Everything was perfect.

And if it was so perfect, why this feeling of unease? And if she loved him, why hadn’t she said so?



Nathan woke to the aroma of fresh coffee.

It was barely 8:00 a.m., but Ana’s side of the bed was empty. He rolled onto his back and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Last night on the couch had been pretty incredible. He used to believe that she was too passionate to be good for him, that she would make him lose control. What he hadn’t understood, but what was becoming clear now, was that she was exactly what he needed. The passion he felt for her was like a vent for all the pent-up negative energy. She kept him centered.

She was the one who would save him, the one he could depend on to keep him in line. She would teach him to be a good father. To Max, and maybe to another baby. Right now, the possibilities seemed endless. And all he knew for sure was that he needed to move forward.

He rolled out of bed wondering if Max was up yet. He couldn’t wait to see his face as he opened all of his gifts.

He tugged on his pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt, then went looking for Ana. The Christmas tree lights were on, and holiday music was playing softly in the living room. She was in the kitchen, wearing pink flannel pajamas, an apron tied around her waist, washing dishes by hand. The turkey was already stuffed and resting in a pan on the stove.

When she saw him she smiled. “Merry Christmas.”

“Good morning. I smell coffee.”

She gestured to the coffeemaker with her elbow. “I just made a fresh pot.”

He walked behind her, looping his arms around her waist, and kissed her cheek. “How long have you been up?”

“Since six. I wanted to get the turkey ready to go in the oven before Max woke up.”

He watched over her shoulder. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“You could pour us some coffee while I finish these dishes. I heard Max stirring, so he should be up any minute now.”

As if on cue, they heard a screech from the baby monitor.

“On second thought,” Ana said, “why don’t you get him and I’ll pour the coffee?”

When he got to Max’s room, he was standing in his crib, clutching the railing. He squealed happily when he saw Nathan.

“Merry Christmas, Max. Are you ready to open presents?” He lifted him out of his crib, quickly changed his diaper—which even he had to admit he was getting pretty good at—and carried him out to the living room. Ana was waiting with their coffee and milk for Max. Nathan sat on the couch, and Max curled up in his lap to drink his bottle.

Just as they got settled Ana’s cell phone started to ring. She rolled her eyes and said, “Ugh. It’s my dad.”

“You don’t have to answer it,” Nathan said.

“No. I refuse to play that game with him.” She snatched it up off the table and flipped it open. “Hello, Dad.”

She listened for several seconds, then said, “I’ve been calling all week. When I didn’t hear back I assumed you weren’t having dinner this year and I made other plans.” Another pause, then she said, “No, I will not change my plans. I have a stuffed turkey waiting to go in the oven.”

Nathan could hear her father in full rant clear through the phone.

“I regret that the food will go to waste. If you had called me back and let me know—” More yelling from his end. “No I am not trying to be difficult. I just can’t—” She lifted the phone away from her ear, snapped it shut and shook her head. “He hung up on me. Apparently dinner was at three.”

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She shrugged and tossed her phone onto the table. “It’s his loss. He needs us more than we need him.”

She was right. They were a family now. Her father had become the odd man out. And Nathan couldn’t help feeling a twisted sense of satisfaction over that. Professionally, Ana’s father was at the top of his game, respected and feared. Personally, he was a miserable excuse for a human being.

“So,” Ana said, smiling at Nathan and Max, “Who wants to open presents?”