Just before she whirled toward the door, she had the pleasure of seeing him completely dumbfounded. He sat staring up at her with blinking, uncomprehending eyes. She reached the door connecting the two rooms just as Faith turned off the taps in the shower. She closed the door behind her with emphasis.
Quickly she gathered her things together. She wasn’t about to spend the evening in the company of that man, even at the risk of hurting Faith’s feelings.
Faith stepped out of the bathroom clad only in her underwear. “Hailey, are you ready to French-braid my hair? You said we should do it before it dried too much.”
Inwardly Hailey groaned, but she answered brightly. “Of course I’m ready.”
She settled Faith on the bed and combed through the straight, wet strands. Sectioning it off, she began to weave the hair into two French braids that started close to Faith’s hairline and ended at two ribboned pigtails at her shoulders.
“Gee, it looks so neat. I wish I could learn to do it.”
“It’s almost impossible to do on oneself. I learned by doing Ellen’s hair.”
While still admiring her new hairdo in the mirror over the dresser, Faith said, “You’d better hurry and get ready. I don’t think Daddy likes having to wait.”
Hailey took Faith’s shoulders gently under her hands and turned the girl toward her. “Faith, would you be too terribly disappointed if I begged off tonight? I’m very tired and I need an evening at home to catch up on my laundry—things like that. You understand, don’t you?” When she could see that Faith didn’t understand and was about to object to the change in plans, she rushed on. “Besides, it’s been almost a week since your daddy has seen you. I think he’d enjoy an evening spent exclusively with you.”
Faith cast a quick glance toward the connecting door. “You really think so?”
“Yes. The two of you probably have a lot to talk about since you haven’t seen each other for several days.”
“I don’t know.” Faith didn’t sound at all convinced. “He likes talking to you, too. You’re closer to his age.”
If Hailey hadn’t been so shattered by what had happened just minutes before, she could have laughed at Faith’s naive observation. “I still think it would be better if I left now.”
Putting action to words, she got into her clothes. Picking up the dress she had planned on wearing to dinner and the oversized handbag she had taken to the pool, she went to the door. “Your father already knows I’m not coming with you.” It was a blatant lie, but if Tyler could use deceptive tactics, so could she. She knew he wouldn’t reveal her lie to Faith. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay,” Faith mumbled dispiritedly. Then she brightened and looked at Hailey hopefully. “Do you think Daddy will like my hair this way?” Her appeal was so pitiable that Hailey leaned down and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
“He’ll think you’re stunning. Have a good time, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Hailey didn’t breathe deeply until she was halfway home. Any second she expected to see the Lincoln looming up in her rear-view mirror, but apparently she had made good her escape. On the other hand, Tyler probably didn’t care if she went to dinner with them tonight or not. His romantic advances had been thwarted, and a man as virile as he certainly wouldn’t waste his time and trouble on anyone who put up a fight. He’d find a more cooperative woman.
Her hands were shaking as she let herself through the front door. Why should the thought of Tyler with another woman cloak her with a stifling depression? The idea of his kissing someone else with the same passion, touching someone else with the same familiarity as he had kissed and touched her, filled her with desperation.
Deciding to work it off and to salve her conscience for lying to Faith, she did her laundry, her hair, her nails, and paid bills. Stacking the sealed, stamped envelopes on the table near the door where she would see them in the morning and put them in the mailbox, she decided she might just as well go to bed. Her chores hadn’t rid her of her earlier depression.
Indeed they had only pointed out the tedium of her life. She found herself wondering where Tyler and Faith had eaten. Surely their dinner had been more exciting than her bowl of canned soup. What had Tyler said and done when he learned she had run out? Had he been irritated? Had he cared?
She was switching out the lamp on her bedside table when the telephone rang. Her heart jumped, skidded, then began beating wildly. Would it be—could it be—Tyler? Did she want to hear his voice? Denying that she did, she prayed that she would as she picked up the receiver.
“Hailey? Harmon here.”
She sagged with disappointment. “Hello, Harmon.”
“Sorry if I woke you up, but I just heard from the head honcho. He’s back from wherever he went and is on a rampage. He’s called a department heads’ meeting for eight o’clock tomorrow morning. Set your alarm an hour early. I’m advising everyone not to be late. I don’t think he’s in a forgiving mood.”
She swallowed. “D … do you know what got him upset?”
“Upset is putting it mildly. I only hope it wasn’t something I did that got him so bent out of shape. See you in the morning.”
He hung up, and for a long moment Hailey didn’t even realize he had. Worriedly, she gnawed her bottom lip. Unlike the general manager of Serendipity, she knew what had made Tyler Scott angry. She only hoped none of her colleagues would find out.
It was a tense group that sat around the long, wide conference table in the room adjacent to Harmon’s office. Anxiety hung over them like a pall. Nancy had made coffee, but few were availing themselves of it. They were all executive-level employees, but they were nervous. It was unnerving that an employer who had remained a mystery for years had suddenly become actively involved in Serendipity’s daily operations. Didn’t he trust them to run the park anymore? Who had made a mistake? Was Tyler Scott going to fire them all this morning?
Tyler swept through the door and went directly to the head of the table, where no one had had the temerity to sit. Hailey kept her gaze on the American flag standing in the corner of the room, though out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tyler’s clothing and was surprised. She had expected a business suit. Instead he had on a pair of jeans and a sport shirt. The soft yellow color contrasted with his darkly tanned features and the shirt revealed the hard muscles that she was coming to know all too well. She swallowed around the lump in her throat and kept her eyes resolutely on the flag.
“Good morning,” he said with the enthusiasm of a judge saying, “You’ve been found guilty.” He was answered by a chorus of cautious replies.
“We have a problem,” he said as he slapped a thick folder of papers on the polished surface of the table. No one moved. “Serendipity is making me too much money.”
Twelve pairs of eyes swept the length of the table. Disbelief was registered on each face. When each had confirmed that he hadn’t heard incorrectly, all heads turned back to the man at the head of the table. He was smiling. The nervous laughter of relief rippled through the room.
“Thanks to all of you, Serendipity has done well this past season. I’ve made a hefty profit, which the IRS is ready to pounce on unless I turn it back into the company. I’m looking for ways to spend money,” he said, tossing the pencil he had been playing with onto the table and leaning back in his chair. “Get creative.”
“Do you mean ways to spend it in addition to the new rides we discussed, Mr. Scott?” the Director of Operations asked him timidly.
“You’re off the hook, Davis,” Tyler said, smiling. “For the benefit of you others I’ll announce the purchase of three new rides from a German company. They’ll be installed and ready to go by the opening of our next season. Davis and I have already taken care of that. Harrison,” he turned toward the Director of Grounds Maintenance, “we expect the rides to be delivered in January. As soon as they’re set up, you’ll landscape them. Check out the sites now, go over the plans for their layout, then start charting your landscaping. Order whatever you want. Be extravagant.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And in the meantime, embellish existing landscaping wherever you see fit.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay, let’s hear from some of you others.”
The Director of Personnel, whose sense of humor was well known, said, “We could all stand a raise.”
Everyone laughed, including Tyler. “You’ve got it. Fifteen percent, retroactive from the first of the season.” The audible gasp around the table was followed by spontaneous applause. Tyler managed to look humble. To the Director of Personnel, he said, “And raise the minimum wage, too. We want only the most able kids running our park. I’m willing to pay more to get them. Screen them carefully when you begin hiring next year.”
“Yes, sir.”
To Hailey’s vast relief, Tyler had studiously ignored her since opening the discussion. Now she came under the piercing scrutiny of his gray eyes. “We haven’t heard from you, Miss Ashton. Any ideas?”
She wasn’t about to cower under his incisive tone. She was ready for him. “Yes, Mr. Scott. I do have an idea.” He indicated with a wave of his hand that she was to continue. “From all the surveys my department takes, from every questionnaire it gets back, the main complaint concerns the long waiting lines for the most popular attractions.”
“We can’t help the waiting lines. It stands to reason that the better the attraction, the longer the line.”
“No, we can’t eliminate the lines, but we could alleviate the boredom.” She had everyone’s attention. “I suggest having a live band—country perhaps, or Dixieland—which would go from ride to ride entertaining the people standing in line. I’m talking about ten or twelve costumed musicians who could ride on a small wagon or even walk through the park. I’ve also thought that a clever magician could work the crowds, or maybe a fortune-teller. Someone who could easily banter with the public and hold their attention away from their long wait for the ride.”
“Where does one find such traveling troubadours these days?” Tyler asked. He propped his elbows on the table as he leveled his eyes on her. Was he thinking about her desertion last night?
“You have a live show department. I would think the band, magician, etc., would fall under its auspices.”
The director of that department shifted uncomfortably in his chair as all eyes in the room, including Tyler’s, swung to him. “What about it, Newell? Do you think you can get such acts together?”
“Yes, sir. I think it’s a good idea.”
“Consult with Miss Ashton before doing anything. I want her to be involved on the project.”
And so it went for the next half hour. Every department—Wardrobe, General Maintenance, Advertising and Public Relations, Food and Beverage, Gifts and Souvenirs—was pressured for ways to improve, enlarge, and enhance.
Just before concluding the meeting, Tyler said, “Let’s go out with a bang. As you can see, I’m here to work.” He indicated his casual clothes. “I intend to go over every inch of the park before we close for the season. This last week of operation will be busy, especially this weekend. I want each of Serendipity’s guests to have a good time. Thank you for a successful season.”
Hailey was hoping to slip out of the conference room without attracting notice, but she was halted at the door. “Miss Ashton, I’d like to see you for a moment. Excuse me,” Tyler said, shouldering through the others on their way out. He clasped the upper part of her arm and ushered her through the door. “I’ll walk with you to the Guest Relations Office and we can talk on the way,” he said for the benefit of the others.
It was a half hour before opening and the only foot traffic on the paved walkways was an occasional employee scurrying to his post. The pavement was still wet from the overnight washing it had gotten from the maintenance men. The glory of the summer flowers in the well-tended beds was waning, but the chrysanthemums were brilliant in their shades of copper and gold.
Hailey was stonily silent as she marched at Tyler’s side, matching his long stride. She didn’t want to think about how well his tight-fitting jeans suited the hard length of his legs. Or how the morning breeze, a brisk harbinger of fall, ruffled the dark hair falling on his forehead.
“I want to check this out,” he said, taking her arm once again and leading her to the entrance of one of the attractions. It was an observation tower built to resemble a frontier stockade. It captured the flavor of historic Tennessee, but was thoroughly modernized, complete with an elevator.
“I have to get to work,” Hailey objected, pulling uselessly on her arm.
“You are at work,” Tyler growled. “Good morning,” he said to the young man operating the elevator, effectively cutting off Hailey’s chance to argue with him. The young man was dressed in a costume made to look like the fringed buckskins of a frontiersman.
“Good morning, Miss Ashton,” he said deferentially, recognizing her at once. He nodded politely to Tyler.
“Good morning, Randy,” she said, quickly reading his name tag.
“We’d like to go up on the platform, Randy,” Tyler said.
The young man cast a permission-seeking glance at Hailey. “It’s all right, Randy. This is Mr. Tyler Scott. He owns Serendipity.”
The boy’s face flooded with hot color. “Oh, yeah, sure. I … Sure,” he stammered. “It’s just you know, we’re not supposed to let anyone … I mean …”
“You did just fine,” Tyler assured him. “Now, may we go up? And please don’t let anyone else go up until we come down. We’re planning some innovations for next season.”
“Sure thing, Mr. Scott.”
Hailey knew she had been taken advantage of, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it without embarrassing herself, not to mention poor Randy. Docilely she preceded Tyler into the elevator.
“Any aversion to heights?” he asked as the elevator whisked them up.
“The only aversion I have is to overbearing men.”
“Then you couldn’t possibly be referring to me because I’m the epitome of charm.” He flashed her a devastating grin just as the doors to the elevator swished open. “Ladies first,” he said mockingly, bowing from the waist.
She stamped out ahead of him, only to be caught before she had taken more than three steps and pulled around to face him. “Okay, Hailey. This has gone far enough. What did you mean by that enigmatic question about baby-sitters last night before you so cowardly sneaked out?”
“I didn’t sneak,” she countered hotly. “And I’m not a coward.”
“No? I think using a child to wiggle out of a situation is cowardly.”
“Don’t talk to me about using people, Mr. Scott. I could take lessons from you.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“As if you didn’t know. Using compliments and kisses to get yourself a free baby-sitter.” There. She had said it. She raised her chin in triumph. Her victory was sweet and extremely short-lived. Tyler threw his head back and roared with laughter.
When it finally subsided, he looked down at her and said in a voice still rumbling with humor, “You have a very low opinion of yourself. A free baby-sitter? Is that what you thought I wanted you for?”
“Didn’t you?” she asked haughtily.
He shook his head and tightened his fingers around her shoulders. “No, Hailey. Why would I be concerned about paying a baby-sitter?”
“It’s not the money. It’s that Faith likes me. Your conscience doesn’t trouble you when you have to leave her, because you believe that I’ll be a substitute for you.”
“It’s true that I’m glad you two get along so well. I told you that you’re good for her and I meant it. If she despised you or vice versa, it would be harder for our relationship to flourish.”
“Our … ? We have no relationship. We won’t have one.”
“Why do you fight it, Hailey?” He shook his head affectionately. “At the risk of infuriating you further, I’ll tell you that I asked Harmon about you. Not in a way that would arouse his curiosity,” he hastened to add when he felt her back stiffening. “I wanted to know about the other men in your life. He told me there had been no small number of men in park-related jobs who had tried to thaw the cold hauteur of Miss Ashton, but as far as he knew, none had succeeded. Even Harmon, married as he is, got a wistful look on his face when he spoke of you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You see? That’s what I’m talking about. Why is it ridiculous?”
“Because men don’t think of me that way. I’m not the type.”
He smiled tenderly. “Oh, you’re the type all right. Why can’t you believe that I want you for the woman you are without attaching some lurid motivation to it? First it was sexual harassment that might cost you your job. Now it’s using you to provide a companion for my daughter. What outrageous accusations, Hailey.”
He wrapped his arms around her and moved close, pressing her between the solid wall and his unyielding body. “The only thing I want to use you for is to slake this desire I have for you. And I want you to use me in the same way.”
For a second, she was caught up in the seductive power of his gray eyes. She wanted to believe him. The loneliness she had suffered last night had been almost too much to bear. While he’d been away, she had missed him. Even though they had battled every time they saw each other, she had missed not seeing him, not hearing his voice. She wanted him in her life, yet … She straightened and said firmly, “I’m still your employee.”
“Yes, you are. And you have the most beautiful breasts of anyone on the payroll.”
“What—”
“I was looking at them just this morning down the length of that conference table while someone was rattling on about something—the wardrobe department, I think. Anyway, I was thinking about how they look when we’re—”
“Tyler—”
“Kissing. They’re beautifully shaped. Full and round—”
“Tyler!”
“White and dusky—”
“Please,” she groaned.
“I’m going to keep talking like this until you kiss me. And when I touch them—”
She went up on tiptoes and pressed his lips with hers. He opened his mouth, sent his tongue on an erotic venture between her lips, and pulled her inexorably closer to his hard frame. He kissed her with a passion that, in his opinion, had been cruelly left unsatisfied the day before.
Hailey didn’t combat the need within her to kiss him back. She strained against him in a way that would have shocked her only weeks ago. Under the soothing strokes of his hands between her blazer and her blouse, she moved invitingly.
“We’ll continue this discussion after dinner at your house tonight,” Tyler said between the kisses he was showering on her mouth. “I’ll bring the steaks and wine. You provide everything else. Eight o’clock?”
“Yes,” she sighed, unable at that point to refuse him anything.
Trancelike, she rode down with him in the elevator. He tucked a telltale curl behind her ear seconds before the doors came open. Randy was waiting for them anxiously. “Everything okay up there?”
“Everything was perfect,” Tyler said, slanting a knowing glance at Hailey.
“Thanks,” Randy said as they walked away from him.
“I’m on my way to Sanders’s office, Miss Ashton, if you should need me,” Tyler said loud enough for Randy to hear.
“Thank you, Mr. Scott.”
He turned away, only to stop, snap his fingers, and call back to her. “Oh, Miss Ashton?”
“Yes?”
He came up to her, put his mouth directly next to her ear and whispered, “I meant what I said about your breasts.”
She found herself studying that part of her anatomy as she stepped out of the shower late that evening. Looking at her reflection in the full-length mirror on the back of her bathroom door, she decided that her shape wasn’t too bad for a woman her age. Her slimness, which she had cursed in adolescence, she now looked on as a blessing. Her slender figure took years off her age.
All day she had been in a state of anticipation, looking forward to her dinner with Tyler. He hadn’t quite convinced her that his motives for wanting to seduce her had nothing to do with either her work or his daughter. She smiled as she slipped into her underwear. Was it possible she was looking forward to more of his convincing?
Whether she was or not, she certainly had chosen a seductive outfit for their dinner, she thought as she stepped into black silk pants and pulled on an open-weave knit top. She knew she wore black well. It contrasted with her vibrant hair and fair complexion. Tonight she decided to forget her usual inhibitions and see what happened. She let her hair dry naturally and put large gold loops in her ears. Her fragrance was subtle but undeniably there. Beneath the revealing knit top, she wore a black, lace-trimmed camisole.
Not bad, she thought, eyeing herself critically in the mirror one more time. Certainly a departure from the prim and proper, competent, no-nonsense Miss Ashton.
But what would Tyler think of her? As she went through the house, checking last-minute details, she wondered at her rapid heartbeat and the catch in her throat each time she thought of the night to come. She hadn’t had all that much experience with men. Could she trust him to mean what he said? Did he find her beautiful? Desirable? Sexy?
The salad of three varieties of lettuce, black olives, cherry tomatoes, and artichoke hearts was chilling in the refrigerator. The foil-wrapped potatoes were baking in the oven while their trimmings of sour cream, chives, and bacon bits had already been arranged on a tray. Chocolate mousse was firming in par-fait glasses.
Everything was ready. Except for Hailey. She was a jumble of nerves. So much so that she jumped when she heard his car door slam and his quick tread on the decking.
Taking three deep breaths, and hoping that her hair wouldn’t riot out of control too soon, she went to let him in. The look on his face when she opened the door should have dispelled her qualms. His jaw dropped open and his eyes traveled her length several times before coming to rest on her face. He didn’t speak until each feature had been properly admired.
“You look ravishing. Come to think of it, that’s a terrific idea. Let’s skip dinner and I’ll ravish you right now.”
She laughed nervously and placed a hand at the base of her throat to still the palpitation there. “You’re dripping something.”
He looked down at the pan he was carrying in one hand. “Oops, sorry.” He pushed past her and went through the louvered doors into the kitchen. “I’ve had the chef at the hotel marinating these steaks for me all day.” He set the aluminum pan with its foil covering on the counter top and turned to her.
“Faith?” she asked softly.
“Isn’t coming. Tonight is strictly rated ‘adults only.’”
“Oh.” She was ashamed of feeling so glad that they would be alone.
His brows lowered over his sultry eyes. “Come here.” His voice was gentle—soft, but commanding.
As one hypnotized, Hailey walked to him. His hands stroked up the bare expanse of her arms, slipped under the sleeves of her top, and massaged her shoulders. “I like your hair that way,” he said.
“Give it about an hour. It’ll start going nineteen different directions. It’s wild.”
“I like savagery,” he teased. “I’m feeling dangerously primitive myself right now.” His voice was husky as he drew her closer. His hands moved to her back. Gifted fingers kneaded her spine. With the slightest pressure to the small of her back, he pulled her to him by slow degrees until their bodies met. She gasped as his virility seared like a brand through their clothes.
“See what you do to me?” He tilted his head downward and took her mouth under his.
Her mouth was a warm dark cave that his tongue explored with sensual leisure. It stroked the roof of her mouth, her teeth, the inside of her lips, until her breath was coming in short, light gasps. He was merciless, relentless. His hands slid under her hips, cradling them in his palms and bringing her against him.
A throbbing ache began to build deep inside her and she moved with him, knowing instinctively that he could relieve this wonderful ailment. Fitting herself more surely against him, she was awed at how perfectly the softness of her body cushioned the hardness of his.
He emitted a harsh cry as he tore his mouth from hers and buried his face in the hollow of her neck. His breathing was sporadic. “Hailey,” he said in a low groan. “If you keep that up we might just as well forget the steaks and the wine and whatever you’ve prepared.” His tongue flirted with the gold loop in her ear before his teeth captured her earlobe. His hands moved up from her waist and around her ribs to coast lightly over the sides of her breasts. “What do you say?”
It was hard to say anything. His mouth was working its magic on her ear. Her body was hot where it touched his. “I think,” she started in a gruff voice, then cleared her throat, and continued. “I think that we should behave in a civilized manner and have our dinner as planned.”
He sighed. Pulling away from her, he kissed her quickly on the mouth. “You’re right. Can you cook as well as you can kiss?”
She laughed and looked at him coyly. “I’ve never had anyone compare the skills.”
He swatted her bottom and said, “Well if your culinary talents come anywhere close to your … ah … other accomplishments, I’m in for a feast. I hope you didn’t bother preparing a dessert. I already know what I’m having.” His eyes toured her rapaciously.
“I left the wine in the car in an ice bucket. I’ll go get it while you turn on the broiler.”
He left her and for a moment she stood disoriented and trembling. When she tried to move, her legs felt wobbly—a side effect of the weakness his hands and mouth induced each time he touched her. She could feel the silly grin on her face, feel the joy bubbling inside her chest, feel the happiness welling up in her until it came out as a tuneless humming song while she lifted the juicy, dripping steaks onto the grill.
Tyler was feeling just as happy, she noted when she heard him laughing as he came through the front door. So hearty was his laugh that her curiosity was piqued, and she peered over the barroom door.
Her grin disappeared. Her bubble of happiness burst painfully. The song died on her lips.
The red-haired woman clinging to Tyler’s arm let her eyes dance around the room until she sighted Hailey. “Hello, big sister,” she called gaily.
“Hello, Ellen.”