Jada laughed for the first time that day. It felt good. “And what’s the other thing? Am I having your baby, too?”
“A splendid idea. I’m in need of an heir. And perhaps a spare, too.”
Jada grinned, but it soon faded as she recognized a hint of sincerity behind his playful words. Awkward. She didn’t know what to say.
Sullivan broke in. “So we have an idea.”
“That’s right,” Ian said. “And I hope you’re amenable to it. We have the resources to straighten this thing out. You’re vulnerable in your position as an ord ... well, I mean ... a reg ...”
“I’m not offended if you call me a regular, normal person, you know. It’s what I am. It’s what most of us are. I’m not ashamed of being like nearly everyone else,” Jada said.
Was that a blush creeping up Ian’s neck? “I didn’t mean it that way. I would never think you had anything to be ashamed of. You’re splendid as you are. You’re not ordinary, or regular, in fact. That’s why I didn’t say it. I meant to say that dealing with this situation isn’t your responsibility. It’s—”
“Now, I’m offended. This debacle affects me, so working it out is just as much my responsibility as it is yours. Or are you saying I don’t have what it takes to—”
“God, no, that’s not it at all. I’m sure you’re perfectly capable of—”
“So then I don’t see why you think I can’t—”
“I’m not saying that, Jada. What I was saying was ... hell. I can’t remember now.”
Sullivan burst out laughing, going so far as to slap his knee. Ian scowled and Jada joined him. Sullivan laughed harder than ever.
They waited Sullivan out and when he caught his breath, he dabbed at the corners of his eyes with a monogrammed silk handkerchief. He looked at Ian. “I haven’t seen you that befuddled in I don’t know how long. Jada, if you can do that over and over again, I’ll pay you six figures and give you a corner office with a view of the park.”
Jada didn’t respond to his ridiculous offer. She raised her chin and spoke to Ian instead. “So what is it you were going to suggest I do about this mess?”
Ian took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. The billionaire in him took charge. “I think you should stay out of sight for a while, until we get everything straightened out.”
“Oh. Well,” Jada said, “that’s actually not a bad idea. I could stay in a hotel or something, I guess.”
“That wouldn’t be ideal. It’s a huge news item and someone would give you away sooner or later. My suggestion, and what I’m offering, is that you stay in a secure location. You could stay at one of my properties. I think you might enjoy the lake cabin.”
Jada nearly dropped her mug. Was he serious? “You want to put me up at your house? Well, your cabin or whatever? That’s so ... I don’t know. It sounds—”
“Believe me,” Sullivan interrupted, “you’ll love the lake cabin. It’s beautiful out there. And no one could get to you. You’d be safe and sound while we work this out. Think of it as an unplanned vacation.”
“How long are you talking about my staying there? I have a job, you know.”
“We know,” Ian said with such surety that it unnerved her, making her wonder what else they knew about her. Undoubtedly, more than she knew about them. “We might have this whole thing straightened out by morning. Impossible to guess. We can deal with other issues as they arise.”
They made it sound so reasonable, that she should just suddenly decide to up and go out to some remote cabin all by herself to get away from reporters who wanted to hound her to death. It was so bizarre, it almost made sense.
“Would there be someone at the cabin with me? Like a caretaker or something?”
“Yes, of course. There’s staff and security. You’d be quite safe, I promise, and well taken care of,” Ian said.
Cathy returned to the office. She came over to Jada and handed her a cell phone.
“What’s this for?” she asked. It was a nice phone, top of the line from what she could tell.
“It’s for you,” Ian said. “So you can talk to your family in peace. This is one of our company phones we provide for executives. The press won’t be able to find you on that.”
“That’s so thoughtful.” Jada eyed the phone in wonder. Gee, mention something around here and a genie assistant shows up magically handing over technological wanders. She could get used to that kind of service. “Thanks. I appreciate it. I’ll return it, of course, when—”
“No worries. So what do you say to the lake cabin? Would you like to go? You’d certainly make us feel better, knowing you’re protected,” Ian said.
A warm, fuzzy feeling spread through her chest. It was nice, the protective way Ian treated her. She was accustomed to taking care of herself, and of Marina, too. It was strange to consider letting someone else take charge. It was seductive, allowing a sexy, rich man to take over. For once, just relaxing and going with the flow.
She should fight the fuzzies. She knew it. Fight the fuzzies. Fight them.
Nope, wasn’t happening. She liked the phone. She liked the idea of spending time at a lake cabin. She liked the billionaire who was watching her with confident expectation on his manly face.
“Wait,” she said, “I forgot about Ms. Kitty. I can’t leave her home alone.”
“Miss Kitty is ...” Ian raised a shaped brow.
“My cat. And it’s Ms., pronounced Miz, not Miss, Kitty.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be sexist.”
“Ha! No, it’s just that Miss Kitty would be the name of that madame on that old television show and I’d never name my cat after a madame. That would be weird.”
“Miss Kitty wasn’t a madame,” Sullivan interjected. “She dated Matt Dillon.”
“You have to read between the lines,” Jada said. “An unmarried woman in the 1800’s, owns the only drinking establishment in town. Of course she would have had to offer up basic entertainment to the cowboys. That’s how it was done.”
“I don’t see how you come to that conclusion,” Ian said, blue eyes twinkling mightily.
“It’s understood. That’s all I’m saying. Television writers back then, they couldn’t come right out and say it, so they had to imply.”
Ian glanced at Sullivan. “An interesting conjecture. My grandfather loved that show and I would imagine he’d have taken an interest in your theory.”
Sullivan shook his head. “Miss Kitty was no hooker.”
“I didn’t say she was a working girl, not like that,” Jada said. “Like you said, she was hooking up with the sheriff, probably in exchange for him looking the other way in regards to her illega
l prostitution racket.”
Ian chuckled.
Sullivan scratched his chin. “Still don’t see it.”
“Miss Kitty’s second profession aside,” Ian said, “can we get back to what’s important? Jada, you have a cat. Can your sister look after her while you’re gone?”
“No. Ms. Kitty doesn’t like Marina. Or anyone else, really. She’s anti-social.”
“No problem. We’ll send someone out to pick her up and they’ll bring her to the lake cabin to stay with you.”
Wow. That was easy, Jada thought. “I guess that might work, but she’ll probably hide from them. I should go myself, anyway. I’ll need to pack some clothes and things.”
“Not a good idea,” Ian said. “They’ll have people watching your house. You can get with Cathy, tell her your sizes and she’ll get some clothes out to you. Everything else you might need will be provided.”
“Okay, but I have to have my laptop. I’ve got some work to do this weekend.”
“Just tell Cathy where it is and you’ll have it along with Ms. Kitty,” Ian said.
Simple. Problem solved, billionaire style. Jada gave a passing thought to how Marina would react when told about this meeting. Poor girl. She’d die of jealousy. Jada would have to hold back some of the details for Marina’s own good.
“Well, I guess I don’t have any other objections then. I’m putting myself in your hands, so to speak. I think I’ve lost my mind, by the way,” Jada said.
“It’s going to be okay.” Ian leaned in her direction. “This will be sorted out soon. I promise.”
She believed him. She didn’t know why, and she didn’t care that it didn’t make any sense. She believed this man. If he said he’d do something, she had no doubt he would.
“Okay then. Thanks,” she said, feeling awkward and overwhelmed.
“No thanks necessary.” Ian stood up. “Cathy, Sullivan, I trust you’ll take care of the details and make sure my wife gets everything she needs.” He held out his hand to Jada.
She stood and shook his hand. Another buzz. Too bad she was leaving already.