Samantha.
Something twisted inside him. In less than ten days she would return to Vegas to wrap up everything. Then in another two weeks she would be out of his life and gone for good. He swallowed hard. There was nothing good about her going, he decided, dropping his gaze to the paperwork in front of him in case the others saw his thoughts.
The next agenda item jumped out at him.
Samantha’s replacement.
Dammit, he had to do this. It was time to bring to the table a list of suitable applications for her position. It was only fair he keep his family up-to-date. After all, the new applicant would be mainly working out of here now and he wanted everyone to—
Just then there was another tap at the door and Samantha stuck her head around it, then entered the room farther. “I’m sorry, Blake, but there’s an urgent message here for you from Mrs. Richardson. She wants you to call her back as soon as you can. It’s to do with her boutique.”
Here was the woman who was leaving him. The woman who could so easily walk away from what they had. Resentment rose in his chest and up his throat. He was tying himself up in knots for her and she was standing there looking so damn poised and polite.
And so damn beautiful.
Something snapped inside him right then. “I’m sure whatever Mrs. Richardson has to say can wait. Please keep any other messages for us until we finish this meeting,” he dismissed, hearing himself talk in that harsh tone like he was listening to someone else talk to her.
Samantha flinched, then went to leave but turned back and squared her shoulders, a rebuke in her eyes. “Of course, Mr. Jarrod,” she said primly and left the room with quiet dignity.
The door closed behind her.
All eyes were turned on him.
“I don’t think there was any need for that, Blake,” Guy said quietly.
Blake felt bad. If she hadn’t come in at that moment then he wouldn’t have verbally attacked her. It had been a reaction to her leaving him, not a reaction to her.
He looked at them. They were staring back at him with reproachful eyes that reminded him of Samantha. His mouth tightened. “I know, I know. I’ll apologize later.” He put thoughts of that to the side. “Now. Speaking of Samantha, as you know she’s leaving. I’m looking at other applicants and I think one of them will be eminently suitable to replace her.”
Guy arched a brow. “Can anyone replace her?”
“Guy,” Blake growled.
“Blake,” Melissa began, “don’t you think—”
“No, Melissa,” he said firmly, without being rude, knowing what she was going to say. “All of you listen to me. This is private between Samantha and myself. It’s none of your business. Now. Let’s talk about finding me a new assistant so that we can end this meeting and get on with other things.”
The tension in the air was palpable, but he ignored both it and the looks on their faces. He owed no one any explanation. Hell, what explanation could there be anyway?
Samantha wanted to leave.
Samantha was leaving.
And he hated himself for embarrassing her just now.
“I apologize, Samantha.”Samantha had heard him enter the office but she’d ignored him. Now she lifted her head to find Blake standing in front of her desk. Anger and hurt rioted inside her. She had to keep busy.
She rose to her feet and went to put some papers in the filing cabinet. “I’m glad I’m leaving now.”
“Don’t be like that.”
She spun around. “Like what, Blake? Standing up for myself?”
His eyes clouded over. “Look, I know I embarrassed you in front of the family. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.”
She lifted her chin. “I was only doing my job. I’m not a novice at this. The woman said it was urgent, and seeing that her proposal was on the agenda for the meeting, I assumed you’d want to know any important developments.”
“I know. And you’re right. You did the right thing.” His expression turned sincere. “You may not believe this, but the reason I snapped was because of you. I was angry because I had to bring up mention of your replacement. I don’t want a replacement. I want you.”
Her heart skipped a beat and she began to soften. She didn’t doubt him. She never doubted what he said. If he said something, he meant it. He wasn’t manipulating her. He’d accepted that she was leaving and he had nothing to lose by being honest. Why fight with him when time was so precious between them?
She thawed. “Oh, Blake.”
He came toward her and slipped his arms around her waist. “Forgive me for being a pig? The others know I feel bad. Their sympathy was all on your side, believe me.”
“Let’s forget it.” But it was nice to know his family had stuck up for her, especially against their big brother.
He lifted his hand and stroked her cheek. “Are you sure you don’t want to change your mind about leaving? It would be good between us.”
She drew a painful breath. “No, I can’t.” He wanted short-term. She wanted forever. And he wasn’t a forever type of guy.
His eyes shadowed with regret and he lowered his head and kissed her. She opened her mouth to him, knowing this was the only way she could let him inside herself.
The telephone rang just then and they both ignored it.
It stopped, then rang again.
She pulled back. “I should get that,” she said, and Blake nodded with a grimace.
It was Clarice.
Samantha looked at Blake as she listened. Then, “Yes, I passed the message on, Mrs. Richardson.”
Blake’s mouth tightened and he held his hand out for the phone. “What’s the problem, Clarice?” he said, after she handed it to him. There was a pause as he listened. “Look, I’m pretty busy right now.” He winked at Samantha and her heart soared with love.
Another pause.
“It was discussed at a meeting this morning. My brother, Trevor, is going to work with you on this.” He listened. “Yes. Fine.” He hung up, shook his head at it, then kissed Samantha quickly. “I need to go see Trevor and fill him in before Clarice gets to him. Unfortunately I’m not sure he knows what he’s coming up against with that woman.”
Samantha considered him. “You really worry about your brothers and sisters, don’t you?”
“Yes, I suppose I do.”
She went up on her toes and kissed him briefly. He looked a little surprised as he turned and left the office. He was a good brother, she decided, her heart beating with love for him.
And a good man.
Eleven
Just before lunch, Melissa popped into the office as Blake was discussing a letter with Samantha. “I’ve booked you in for a spa treatment with me at four, Samantha. You need some major pampering.”
Samantha blinked. “Oh, but—”“No arguments. I don’t give many massages these days but I’ve decided to give you one.” Melissa smiled slyly at her big brother. “Anyway it’s Blake’s treat.”
Blake lifted his brows. “What is it with my sisters bullying me?” Then he smiled at Samantha. “Keep the appointment.”
“Okay, thanks.” Samantha smiled at Melissa. “And thank you, too, Melissa.”
“You’re very welcome. See you at four.” Melissa started to leave then stopped to consider her big brother. “It would do you good to have one, too, Blake.” Her face lit with mischief. “You could share with Samantha. I’ll even throw in a bottle of chilled champagne and some chocolate truffles. It’s quite decadent.”
“Not right now, thanks. I’ve got a lot to do.”
“And that’s exactly why you should have a massage.”
“Soon.”
“I’ll keep you to that.”
After she left, Samantha looked at Blake. “I wish you could come with me.”
Heat lurked in the back of his eyes. “So do I, but I’ve got that meeting in town this afternoon.”
His look warmed her through as she tilted her head. “You don’t realize, do you?”
“What?”
“That you said sisters before.”
Not sister and half sister.
Sisters.
Something flickered across his face, then he shrugged. “Yeah, well, don’t make a big deal out of it.” He went back into his office and Samantha went back to work, but she felt he’d made a big step in his relationship with his family and she was pleased for them all.
At four, Samantha walked over to the Tranquility Spa. Just stepping into a place that exemplified sophistication and sheer indulgence in a mountain setting relaxed her. It was gorgeous.
Melissa was waiting for her and led her to one of the treatment rooms that had serene music playing in the background. “I’ll leave you to take off your clothes. Then slide under that sheet there and lie facedown on the bed. It’s heated. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Samantha did as suggested and five minutes later, Melissa came back. “Good. Now I think a gentle massage should do the trick.” There was the sound of her moving about. “Hmm, I’ll have to be careful with your head. How is it, by the way?”
Samantha appreciated that Melissa remembered her injury. “Much better, thanks. It’s healing well.”
“I’m pleased. It could have been so much worse.” Melissa started to rub oil on Samantha’s back. “I hear Blake was quite upset about it.”
“He blamed himself because he insisted I go with him for a drive.”
“My brother’s deep at times.”
“I know.” Samantha groaned as Melissa began long strokes to help soften the muscles.
“Am I hurting you?”
“No, not at all. It’s exquisite.”
Melissa laughed. “There’s nothing like a massage.” She continued working wonders, finding the right spots with unerring accuracy. Then, “Blake was pretty hard on you in the conference room today.”
Samantha was glad she was lying on the bed with her face turned to the other side. “He apologized later.”
“I knew he would. He’s a man who knows when he’s in the wrong.”
“A rare boss,” Samantha said, trying to make light of it.
“And a rare man.”
“Right on both counts,” Samantha just had to agree, then gave a little moan of pleasure as the massaging reached the base of her neck. She hadn’t realized how badly she needed this.
Conversation ceased for a bit, before Melissa said, “I think Blake might be getting used to Erica.”
Samantha wasn’t surprised by the comment. “So you noticed that he said sisters, did you?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Erica’s really nice.”
“I love her already.” Genuine warmth filled Melissa’s voice. “It’s like we’re full sisters, not half sisters. We connected together right from the start.”
“You’ve been really great at welcoming her into the family, Melissa. Erica must have appreciated that, especially when it came to the cool attitudes of her brothers.”