A Cinderella Affair. A.C. Arthur
no idea why he’d said that. It was a blatant contradiction to what Camille had told him just before walking away.
“She changed her mind?”
“Who is she?”
Trent and Max spoke simultaneously and Linc chuckled. “Give him a second to get his bearings, guys. He looks like he’s had a pretty eventful dinner.”
Normally Adam and Max tended to side against the two older Donovans. Tonight it seemed that all three of them were against him. He didn’t miss the unspoken words that had the other Donovan men watching him carefully. “What’s up? She’s Randolph Davis’s daughter just like she said. And she’s not entirely sold on the idea of getting rid of her father’s house. But I plan to change her mind,” he said decisively.
It was Max’s turn to frown this time. “How do you plan to do that? She looked quite decided when she left the conference room. I don’t know why you even offered to put her up for the night. Meeting with her again tomorrow is most likely not going to change anything.”
Adam swore and the three pair of eyes that were already watching him closely moved in on him.
“We’re not meeting with her tomorrow?” Max asked.
“Yes. We are.” Adam stood. He hadn’t gotten around to setting a time and place for tomorrow because he’d been so into the simple conversation he and Camille were having. She’d been the one to bring up business and she’d been the one to end their evening. He hadn’t been given much of an opportunity to say anything and at this moment that was really pissing him off.
“Camille Davis. Her name sounds familiar,” Linc said as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin.
“You may have heard of her company, CK Davis Designs,” Adam said absently. He went to the small bar on the other side of the office and fixed himself a drink. His mind whirled with all the things he hadn’t had a chance to say to Camille. He’d already decided he was going to say his piece, and since he was putting her up in this hotel for the night, she was going to go through with their meeting tomorrow. She wouldn’t be happy to hear that but he didn’t rightfully care. This was business. He should never have let the personal interfere, no matter how desirable and totally kissable she appeared.
“She’s the C.K. Davis? That’s a multi-million-dollar company. Her stocks are through the roof and the winter line she’s debuting in a couple of weeks is reputed to be her best yet. She’s a definite powerhouse in the fashion industry.” Max had stood and was now pacing the floor. “She’ll never sell that house. She doesn’t need the money so there’s no reason for her to sell. At least the stepmother is greedy so we have something to work with there, but the daughter is going to be trouble.”
“Calm down, Max.” Adam took a long swallow of his brandy. “I’m going to close this deal.”
“If she’s a designer and she’s rich I could probably dig up some dirt on her. That’ll make her cooperate.”
Adam tossed Trent a searing look. “Don’t you dare! Your secret security skills are not required in this instance.” Trent always wanted to investigate somebody. He was an ex-Navy Seal and therefore tended to look at every situation as if it were a military deployment.
Trent shrugged. “I’m just trying to help.”
“Investigating someone’s personal life is not helping,” Adam argued.
“Funny, you didn’t always feel that way,” Linc added.
Adam sighed. “That was different. You were sleeping with Jade and she was staying in our parents’ house. We had a right to know everything about her.”
Linc stood. “No. I had a right to know everything about her, not you.”
Max interrupted. “For crying out loud, you and Jade are happily married. Can we please try to focus on the matter at hand?”
Adam turned to Max. “We could focus on our business matters if you hadn’t brought them into the mix. You know how they are.”
“Hey, we’re family,” Linc objected. “Whether or not we’re all in the same business doesn’t matter. If one needs help that’s what the rest of us are here for.”
“But I don’t need any help,” Adam insisted.
Linc crossed the room and placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “If you’re going to try and convince a woman to change her mind you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
“I usually don’t have any problems where women are concerned,” Adam said absently.
Linc grinned. “Then that tells me that this is an unusual woman. In which case you might need more than our help.”
Adam didn’t need anything but to see Camille Davis one more time.
Not in that way, he convinced himself.
He only wanted to tell her about the meeting tomorrow. At least that was the reason he’d taken the elevator to the tenth floor instead of the fifteenth where his room was.
He knocked on the door determined to get this over with as quickly as possible. And then she answered.
“Hello.”
Her voice seemed small now that they were face to face. In the restaurant there had been plenty of background noise so he’d had no problem hearing her. She still wore the slacks and blouse she had on earlier but she’d taken off the jacket. The chocolaty brown skin of her bare arms showed and he had to take a deep breath before speaking.
“Hi.” To his own ears his voice didn’t sound as confident as he would have liked so he looked over her shoulders for a momentary reprieve. “If you’re not busy I need to speak with you for a moment.”
Camille wasn’t busy. In fact, she was just enjoying a minor pity party before he’d knocked. The moment she’d closed that door behind her an hour earlier she’d been hit with the biggest wave of disappointment she’d ever felt. She’d acted rude and selfishly to Adam Donovan, a man who had been nothing but nice to her since she’d crashed his meeting.
She’d plopped down onto the couch, unable to enjoy the luxurious room he’d secured for her because she couldn’t get past the ill feelings towards his business deal and all that it stood for. He wanted to buy her father’s house, to take away the last memory she’d ever have of what being loved felt like.
That was the reason she did not want to sell the house but she couldn’t tell Adam Donovan that. He’d never understand. He had a great family who apparently loved him very much. He couldn’t possibly relate to her holding on to a piece of property as a way of staying connected to her father.
She’d already resigned herself to apologizing to him but thought she would at least have until tomorrow morning when she’d managed to secure herself a new outfit and a good night’s rest first. But he was here so there was no better time like the present.
“No. I’m not busy at all. Come on in.” Stepping to the side she allowed him entrance and inhaled the scent of his cologne as he walked by. With an inward groan she berated herself for once more entertaining the silly notion that she could be attracted to a man like him.
“We didn’t get a chance to talk about what time would be good for you to meet tomorrow,” Adam began as soon as he was in the sitting area of her room.
“I know,” she started to say then felt herself fidgeting and pushed her hands behind her back so he wouldn’t glimpse her nervousness. “First, I should apologize for the way I left earlier. It was rude and unprofessional.”
Adam looked shocked for a moment, then gave a half smile. “It’s okay. I’ve been told I can be a bit pushy at times. I apologize if I offended you.”
“Oh, no.” Camille shook her head quickly. “You didn’t offend me. I mean, I shouldn’t have