Beyond Temptation - Brenda Jackson [28]
“You mean you want to get back to the meeting that wasn’t holding your attention anyway?” Bas said, rolling his eyes.
When Vanessa laughed, Morgan glared over at her. “Did I happen to mention that I was in Atlanta with Cameron a couple of weekends ago and he asked about you, Van?”
Morgan watched the amusement die on his cousin’s face, knowing he’d said something that would shut her up for a while. All it took was the mere mention of Cameron Cody’s name. Vanessa couldn’t stand the man.
“Okay, knock it off, all of you,” Chance said, taking the role as leader. “Let’s get back down to business. We have important things to discuss.”
An hour later when the meeting ended Morgan was the first to stand and head for the door. “Where’s the fire?” Bas called after him.
Morgan smiled as he kept walking. Oddly enough, he felt there was a fire. Every time he thought about Lena a part of him would erupt into a smoldering blaze. It didn’t take much effort to recall their walk on Sunday. Even though there had been other people around walking and jogging, there had been something pleasingly intimate about strolling beside Lena, talking to her, listening to her talk. And on those occasions when their arms would occasionally brush, he’d felt a sharp sensation all the way to his toes.
He checked his watch as he stepped onto the elevator. His smile widened. Lena would be receiving a package from him in about an hour and he hoped that she liked her gift.
…If you want a baby, too, then you’re going to have to find a man who’d be more than willing to get you pregnant….
Morgan’s words from yesterday still weighed heavily in Lena’s thoughts as she walked into her office. She would even admit that at one time she’d had thoughts of visiting a sperm bank. From a recent article she’d read in a magazine, more and more single professional women who were feeling the ticking of their biological clock were considering just that option. But of course being the ultra-traditional person she was, she had dissed the idea. She’d grown up in a home with both a loving father and mother and couldn’t see cheating a child out of a chance to have that as well. That reasoning always put her back at square one.
“Good afternoon, Lena.”
She smiled over at her secretary as she grabbed the mail off the table and began flipping through it. “And a good afternoon to you, Wendy. Did I get any calls?”
The woman, who was only a few years older, smiled back and said, “Not since the last time you checked earlier, but you did get a package. I put it on your desk.”
“Thanks, it’s probably those brochures I ordered last week,” Lena said, tossing the junk mail in a basket to get shredded while keeping hold of anything she considered important. “I’ll be in the back if you need me.”
Entering her office, Lena removed her jacket and then took the time to hang it in the closet before taking a seat behind her desk. She eyed the box sitting in the middle of it, immediately thinking it definitely wasn’t the brochures she had ordered. It was a beautiful gift box, wrapped in red satin-looking paper with a huge white bow.
She immediately pushed the button for Wendy.
“Yes, Lena?”
“Where did this box come from?”
“It was delivered to you today by a private courier.”
Lena lifted a brow as she studied the box. There wasn’t a card on the outside. “There’s not a card.”
“It’s probably inside the box. You know, one of those ploys to keep nosy secretaries from reading it. Not that I would do such a thing,” Wendy said, chuckling.
“So, you have no idea who sent it?” Lena asked.
“Don’t you?” was Wendy’s quick response. “It’s your box.”
Lena shook her head. “I don’t have a clue, but there’s only one way to find out.”
“Wait! You want me to call for the bomb squad?”
“Real cute, Wendy.” Lena chuckled as she hung up the phone thinking that her secretary was forever the comic, and Wendy’s comment made Lena see just how paranoid she was being about the box.
Deciding she had wasted enough time as it was, she reached out and began opening it, not surprised when Wendy