5

Kelly swallowed hard as she heard Jack’s answer to her ‘proposal.’ She was relieved he was going along with it, but a tight ball of nerves had been growing in her stomach since she walked in the room and she felt that ball taking over her entire being.

Chad excused himself to return to his office with a look on his face that promised Jack would be grilled for details later. Kelly watched Jack out of the corner of her eye as she continued to talk to his aunt. She had seen Jack Sutton on occasion coming in and out of the building when she’d met Jennie for lunch and Jennie had told her he was handsome. But, handsome didn’t even begin to describe the man.

Jack was tall, about six foot three inches. He had dark brown hair that curled up at the edge of his collar. His eyes were a rich, deep brown, almost mahogany, and his face had chiseled features with a strong jaw. There wasn’t a damn thing about the man that didn’t sizzle.

He wore a suit, but even in that Kelly could see his body was hard and fit under it – his tall, lean form toned and strong. His intense gaze made Kelly’s breath go ragged. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be alone in the room with him if he had this kind of effect on her with his aunt and cousin with them.

Jack sat on the edge of his desk, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles in front of him, arms crossed over his chest. He watched her quietly while Kelly finished chatting with his aunt.

Kelly wrapped things up and ushered Aunt Mabry out the door by four o’clock as she made excuses about Jack needing to get back to work. She closed the door behind his aunt and turned to Jack. That’s when Kelly felt the ground fall out from under her and her world tilt on its axis.

Suddenly, she faced Jack Sutton. Kelly found herself feeling very shaken, to say the least. She looked up at Jack and realized that, in essence, she had just waltzed into his office and proposed.

“I can’t believe I did that,” Kelly began to pace frantically. She wrapped her arms around her waist and circled the room.

“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” she said and she began to feel like she might hyperventilate. She slid down onto the couch that sat along the longest wall in Jack’s office and tried to breath but ended up taking in huge gulps of air that felt as if they might choke her. For the first time since she came up with her hair-

brained scheme to get her hands on enough money to attend Yale Law School, the reality of what she had done hit her like a ton of bricks.

 

*

Jack studied Kelly as she began to fall apart in his office. She had been so cool and collected two minutes ago – so totally in control of the situation. Now he watched her crumble as if all the steel she seemed to have running through her veins moments ago was suddenly drained, leaving her frightened and panicked.

He smiled wryly as he watched his future wife burn a circle in his carpet. He suddenly felt back in control.

I guess it’s my turn to be the calm, cool, collected one.

The killer instincts he always felt when he walked into the board room or sat down at the negotiating table came back in full force. He crossed to Kelly and took both of her hands in his. He led her to the couch and let her sit down, then sat next to her. He spoke firmly and calmly.

“You did great. You had them completely fooled and you did great. I don’t know how Andrew did this on such short notice, but you were fantastic.” Jack started to rub her back in slow, soothing circles, hoping to calm her down so they could discuss the details of their newly made arrangement. Since Andrew hadn’t had time to give him a heads up, he had no idea how this was supposed to work out.

Jack continued to rub her back and he could hear her breathing begin to slow down and become more regular. Jack felt her body relax as her breathing returned to normal. “See,” he said, “that wasn’t so bad.”

Kelly nodded and gave him a weak smile. She took several more deep breaths. Jack watched as her expression moved from panicked to resolved.

“Ha! I did it. I knew I could,” Kelly said out loud.

Great, she’s got multiple personalities or she’s bipolar or something. Jack watched as Kelly’s emotions swung back and forth.

Then Kelly’s eyes went round and she sat up straighter. “Wait,” she said, “who’s Andrew?”