Intimate Seduction - Brenda Jackson [15]
“Why are you here so early?” he asked as his brother shut the door and eased down in the chair across from his desk.
“Jocelyn has a doctor’s appointment later today, so I thought I’d come in early and get a few things done before I have to leave.”
Donovan nodded. It was hard to believe how things had changed for Bas since getting married. There used to be a time when the Steele Corporation was more than a company to Bas; it had been his lifeline. Bas had been the last Steele brother to come work for SC. Of the four of them, it had been Bas who’d given their parents the most grief while growing up, especially during his teen years. Bas and the old man used to butt heads all the time, mainly because trouble had a way of finding Bas at every turn.
Now Bas was a happily married man with a baby on the way.
“Everything’s okay with Jocelyn and the baby?” Donovan asked.
Bas smiled. “Yes, everything is fine. Since she’s due next month, the doctors are now seeing her each week.”
“And you still don’t want to know if you’re having a boy or girl?” Donovan asked, then took a sip of his coffee.
“Nope. We’ll find out soon enough.”
Donovan nodded. That was the same attitude his other brother Morgan and his wife, Lena, had taken. Lena was due to deliver a month or so after Jocelyn.
“All we know is that it’s one big baby. No triplets for us,” Bas added jokingly. Donovan understood the punch line. Their cousin Cheyenne had given birth to triplets nearly nine months ago. The first multiple birth ever recorded in the Steele family.
His conversation with Bas easily shifted into details about the race that past weekend. Everyone was happy about Bron’s win and the positive exposure it had given SC. It was good advertising dollars at work.
“Do you know what our meeting this morning with Chance is about?” Donovan asked, knowing if anyone knew it would be Bas. As company troubleshooter, he kept well informed of anything and everything that happened at SC.
Bas shrugged. “Chance will tell you everything you need to know soon enough.”
Donovan rolled his eyes, wondering why he’d even bothered to ask. When it came to sharing SC’s business with anyone, Bas always developed a case of locked lips.
“Well, I’d better get to my own office. I have a lot to do,” Bas said standing.
Donovan inwardly smiled. It would be just like Bas to put distance between them for fear of him trying to pump him for more information.
“Okay, then. I’ll see you at the meeting,” he said when Bas turned to leave. Donovan lifted a brow wondering what suddenly had Bas so nervous.
Natalie sipped her coffee trying to decide when would be the best time to call Donovan Steele. She and her aunt had worked on the schedules, and after shifting a couple of customers from Friday to Thursday—with their consent, of course—they had come up with a workable solution to accommodate Mr. Steele’s request.
She was working on the inside today, from the office set up in her aunt’s home, doing payroll and ordering supplies, and had been, for the time being, successful in talking her aunt into taking it easy and getting some rest.
Checking the clock on the wall once again, she figured Mr. Steele should be in his office by now and decided to give his business number a try. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the phone, glanced at the business card her aunt had attached to his file, and punched in the numbers. It didn’t take long for his secretary to answer.
“The Steele Corporation. Donovan Steele’s office. May I help you?”
“Yes, may I speak with Mr. Steele?”
“Who may I say is calling, please?”
“Natalie Ford.”
“Please hold on, Ms. Ford.”
Natalie pushed away from the desk to glance out the window, trying to get her mind off the fact that in a few moments she would be hearing the sound of Donovan Steele’s voice again. Maybe she was suffering from a case of concentrating too much on work and not enough on the opposite sex. Why else would the sight of a good-looking man with a sexy voice have her mind flipping around