Chapter 4

Two days later, Miles was still furious. Without a last name, he had very little recourse to find Theresa. So he'd stewed all day on Sunday, but now that Monday had arrived, he knew where to find her. He went to St. Mark's pediatric intensive care unit and stopped at the nurses' station.

"Hi. I'm looking for Theresa."

"Last name?" she asked without looking up.

"Um…I'm not sure. I know this sounds weird, but I met her Saturday night."

That got the woman's attention. "You're looking for a patient you met Saturday night?"

He smiled. "No. A nurse. We met at the gala to benefit the hospital."

"Huh." She sat back in her chair and the wheels rolled farther. "I don't know a Theresa. Are you sure you have the right department?"

He swallowed his frustration. "I'm positive."

She shrugged. "Sorry. I don't know how to help you."

Miles leaned against the counter and offered a full-wattage smile. "Come on. Can't you check a schedule or something? I'm sure she's working today because she was off Saturday and Sunday. I'm not some lunatic. I want to say hi and return something she lost Saturday."

"I wish I could help." Another careless shrug.

Damn. What was he supposed to do—show up here every few hours to find her? He would look like a lunatic stalker. He turned to head back to the elevators, his mind racing to think of who he might know at the hospital who could help him when he saw Theresa's friend Angie.

"Angie," he called.

"Miles?" She walked up beside him and set a file on the counter. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Theresa."

"Oh."

"Oh," the nurse behind the counter yelled. "You're looking for Tess. I'm sorry I didn't pick up on that the first time. She's not on today."

Miles smiled at the woman and turned his attention to Angie. So much for Theresa working so much she wouldn't have time to go on a date. "Do me a favor?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. He scribbled his cell number on the back. "Give this to Theresa—Tess. Tell her I have her necklace."

Angie took the card. "Okay. Is there anything I can do?"

Her eyes were filled with sympathy, as if she was well aware of how her friend had played him.

"Why didn't she give me her real name?" Angie stepped back and tilted her head to get him to follow. They moved down the hallway a little, and she leaned against the wall. "Theresa is her real name. She goes by Tess. Very few people call her by her full name."

"Can you tell me why she snuck out of my hotel room in the middle of the night without a word?"

Angie gave him a sad smile. "That's for her to tell. Just understand that it's complicated." Something started beeping at her waist. "I have to go. I'll make sure she gets the message."

"Thanks." Miles stared as she hurried away. Angie's words didn't make him feel any better. Theresa's life was complicated? Hell of a code. With his luck, she was married.

He'd been down that road before, learned his lesson. The scandal had nearly killed his mother. His siblings still gave him grief over getting involved with a married woman. At the beginning, everything had been simple and easy. They'd messed around and had a good time. He'd thought he'd landed the perfect relationship—a steady woman in his bed who didn't expect anything more from him. She'd failed to mention she was married. He should've suspected when she never wanted to have the talk about where they were headed.

Of course, it had all changed when she wanted to leave her husband for him. As in to settle down with him and start a family, so she could have what her husband wouldn't give her. That was when he realized the relationship had become complicated.

He preferred simple.

Miles left the hospital and went to the office, still cranky about Theresa. Tess. Not that what name he used mattered, because he simply had to return her necklace and then they'd be done. But that would be a face-to-face interaction so he could ask why she lied and left. If all she'd wanted was to fuck, she could've said so.

As he neared his office, his secretary Eleanor stood. "Mr. Prescott, your sister would like to see you before lunch. Your other messages are on your desk."

"Did Sabrina say what she wanted?"

Eleanor leveled a look at him. His sister never left specifics. She just expected everyone to jump when she called. So although her message said to see her before lunch, what she meant was for him to come up as soon as he walked in. He set his briefcase on his desk, leafed through his messages, and then went to see Sabrina.

Outside her office, her secretary Lilah smiled at him. "Is she busy?" he asked.

"She said that as soon as you arrived you should go right in. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water?"

If drinks were being offered this wasn't going to be a quick meeting. "Coffee, please."

He strode through his sister's office door. It still felt weird to walk in here and see Sabrina instead of their father. It had been his office. Miles had spent quite a bit of time here when he was younger. He'd so desperately wanted his dad's approval that he'd tried to learn everything he could about software, but his heart was never in it.

The only thing he liked about computers was games, and his family wouldn't consider the gaming business. They were all about being productive.

"What's up, Sabrina?"

She looked up from her computer and gestured to a chair in front of her desk. "How was your weekend?"

"Fine." No way did she call him in here to chitchat.

"Mom says you met someone."

"Mom was wrong."

Sabrina arched a brow. "Do you ever plan on growing up?"

"Did you summon me just to give me a lecture?"

"No. I wanted to talk to you about a new project."

Miles rolled his eyes. His family had tried for years to get him to take on projects. Each one was designed to bring him deeper into the business. After the first two, he'd caught on and botched every one since. He'd thought at some point they'd learn.

"Don't you get it, Bree? I'm not like you and Brad. I don't want to run this empire. Isn't it enough that I have an office here? I do all of my work from this building even though I could do it from home."

"We both know you have that office because Dad made it a stipulation of you getting the job. Otherwise, you'd stay in your pajamas all day."

"Hah. Shows what you know. I don't sleep in pajamas."

She grimaced. "Not an image I need."

Lilah came in with his coffee. "Anything for you Ms. Prescott?"

"No, thank you, Lilah. Please hold all my calls."

"Don't bother, Lilah. We're about done." He didn't need to spend any more time being reminded that his dad forced him to work for the family or he'd be cut off. He'd been lucky to carve out a position he actually enjoyed.

"No we're not."

Lilah's gaze bounced back and forth between them. But, being the smart girl that she was, she backed quickly out of the room. Miles knew no calls would be saving him from this.

"You haven't even listened to what the project is."

"I'm not interested in working on the next round of office productivity software. I don't care how to make an office manager's life easy."

Sabrina laughed. "That's one way to sum up what we do."

"I've listened to it often enough."

"Remind me not to put you on the marketing team." She stood and came around her desk. "This is something totally unrelated to the office." She sat next to him. "Kind of."

That was enough to grab his attention. Sabrina had lived and breathed nothing but Prescott Workspace for as long as he could remember. She never did anything different.

"I want to start something new."

"You're leaving here?"

"Hell, no. Why would I do that? I run everything."

The look she gave him was so purely Sabrina that he laughed. "Then what is this something new you want to talk to me about?"

"I know you've worked hard over the past few years, figuring out how to spend our money."

He clenched his jaw. They never saw him as anything but a joke. As if he didn't hold the same college degree they had. The difference was that he'd enjoyed his college years while earning his degree instead of burying himself in becoming the next Warren Buffet.

"Lighten up. I'm kidding. I think you've done a great job, but I think we can do better."

"I can only work with the budget you give me."

"It's not the amount of money, it's how we utilize it. I'd like to start a charitable foundation in dad's name. Something of a legacy."

Miles almost let loose another laugh. Their dad had insisted Miles work for him, but it had been Miles's idea to handle the finances for the family's charitable contributions. His father hadn't been that philanthropic. Not until Miles had explained the tax benefits.

"You already have organizations coming to you routinely looking for a handout, right?"

He nodded. He probably spent a couple of hours a day returning phone calls and emails to hopeful groups.

"I want to take the money for the next couple of years, invest, and establish a foundation. Then set up grants and scholarships with formal processes for application."

"So now my word and my vetting of an organization isn't enough?"

"That's not what I'm saying at all. When you and Dad came up with this idea five years ago, it was his way of trying to keep you in line. No one actually expected you to be good at it."

He loved the rousing praise he received from his family. Made a person's heart swell.

"But you are good at it, Miles. That's my point. I think we're wasting you as a resource."

"Starting a charitable foundation isn't some easy task. You can't just hang a shingle and make it so."

"I know that. It's an idea. A damn good one, but not one I can execute. It would be all you."

He didn't like the sound of that. He enjoyed not being in charge of anything. Right now, there was no real way he could fuck up. He mostly wrote checks. Being in charge of a foundation was no different than running a corporation.

"I'll think about it." Having Sabrina's vote of confidence felt good.

"Don't take too long. I want to move on this as soon as possible. It'd be nice to be able to announce at the thirtieth-anniversary celebration."

And there was the catch. He should've known that Sabrina wouldn't just offer an opportunity for him to consider. It always came back to making Prescott Workspace look good.

"Give me some time."

He stood and left his sister's office thinking about Sabrina's offer. It was a huge task, one that would give him real responsibility.

The problem was he didn't know if he wanted it.

Tess staredat the business card in her hand. She couldn't believe Miles had come to the hospital to look for her. Angie had texted her Monday morning to let her know, and Tess had stopped by to grab the card and then kept it tucked in her purse for the last three days. She didn't know what to do.

That wasn't true. She needed to call him back so she could get Nina's necklace. But she didn't want to have the awkward conversation about why she'd left. Bottom line, he wasn't supposed to care.

Finally, she sucked it up and dialed, quietly praying for his voicemail.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Miles, it's Tess—Theresa. From last Saturday at St. Mark's gala?" She already felt foolish.

"I wondered if you were going to call."

"I had to work up to it."

An awkward silence hung between them.

"So, you have my necklace? It actually belongs to a friend."

"I do. It's quite beautiful. I also have the gift certificate I gave you."

"I told you that was too much."

"Why didn't you tell me your real name?"

"I introduced myself to Mr. Baldwin as Theresa, which is my name. I just never corrected you. I go by Tess because it's short and simple." She flipped his business card between her fingers.

"If all you wanted was a one-night stand, why not say so? Sneaking out is pretty immature," he teased.

Tess swallowed hard. Being called out stung, even if he was joking. "I had a great time. I really did. I thought it would be awkward to explain."

"Explain what? That you're married?"

"God, no. My life is very full and busy right now." She paused with a guilty thought. "Are you?"

"I've never been married. Totally single. You're so busy that when I came to the hospital on Monday, they told me you weren't working. So you had Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off."

Did he expect her to explain her whole life right now? Their night together was supposed to have been complication-free. "The hospital isn't my only job. Would you like me to pick up the necklace?"

"I think you owe me a real explanation. Face-to-face."

"I just said I'm busy. You're treating me like I'm a jerk, which maybe I am because I snuck out of your room without saying goodbye. So why would you want to spend more time with me?"

"Because I don't think you want to be a jerk. And I had a great time, too. I'll bring you the necklace if you have coffee with me."

His bargaining raised her hackles. It was too reminiscent of her ex. "I'm supposed to let you blackmail me into a coffee date? Over some knock-off necklace I could just replace?"

"Blackmail is harsh. If the lure of coffee and time with me isn't enough, I'm not going to force it. And while I'm no expert, I've spent enough time around the real thing to know that your friend's necklace is no fake."

She was going to kill Nina for lying to her. Unless Miles was lying to get her to agree. Crap. Now her brain hurt. She needed to get this over with. She ran her schedule through her head. Between her regular shifts and the extra home healthcare hours she took on, her week was full. "I'm working tomorrow night. Stop by the hospital around nine, and maybe I can have coffee."

"No maybes. I'll bring some magical coffee so you won't be able to refuse."

"It's not about the coffee. And I'm not looking for a reason not to meet. I can usually take a break. But I can't dictate when shit's going to hit the fan. It's not like I can look at a baby and say, ‘Sorry I know you're not breathing right now, but I'm on break.'"

He chuckled, which just infuriated her.

"What is so funny?"

"Us. This whole crappy conversation is the exact opposite of everything we had Saturday night. I want to talk. Okay, Tess?"

Her regular name sounded foreign coming from him. She liked being Theresa to him. As Theresa, she could be open and fun and forward. As Tess, she was her usual, guarded, safe self.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'll see you tomorrow."

She disconnected and couldn't put her finger on how she felt. Messed up was the best way to describe it. She'd spent days thinking about him and what a good time she'd had. And it hadn't just been the sex. She'd been able to talk with him, and the conversation had had nothing to do with her kids or work. They'd talked about movies and books and wine, of all things. Of course, that had been a short-lived conversation because she drank the cheap stuff and he didn't really like wine.

But it had been adult conversation. With Miles, she could pretend her baggage didn't exist.

Until now. Tomorrow night, she'd lay out that baggage so he would understand why she'd snuck out—in order to preserve what the night had been.

Then he'd get it and move on back to his normal life.

Tess did her best to put Miles out of her mind, but she couldn't. While making sure the kids had their stuff packed for William's house for the weekend and getting them to day camp that morning, Miles had lurked in the back of her thoughts. She was now into her ninth hour of work, and all she could think about was that in three hours she would see him again.

The thought made her a little nauseated. She had never been good at letting a guy down. Not that she'd had tons of experience. And coming face-to-face with a guy she'd blown off was horrible. She didn't know what to say to him. They'd had a fabulous night together. What guy wasn't happy with that?

She stood at the nurses' station, letting her thoughts get away from her. For once, when she wanted work to be crazy, it was an utterly quiet night. Angie rolled her chair over from the other side of the desk. "Why are you letting this guy twist you up? What's the big deal?" Angie asked.

Tess took a deep breath and released it slowly. "I don't know how to do this. I tried telling him my life is too busy for dating, and he wanted to have coffee anyway. I don't want to be a bitch, but what do I say?"

Angie leaned her elbows on the desk. "Why exactly can't you date?"

"I have three kids who require a ton of supervision and chauffeuring. I have to cook and clean and help with homework. And I work two jobs, one of which involves twelve-hour shifts."

"You make yourself sound like a cross between a martyr and an old woman. You get off work by ten tonight. You could go for drinks. On your home healthcare days, you make time to meet your friends at Sunny's for coffee. You could do that for a guy. And what happens if you skip mopping your floor one week in order to have a real date? Will the world fall apart?"

Angie didn't get it. "It's just so much all the time. I don't know how to fit something else in."

"Bullshit."

"What?"

"You're scared. You don't want to start a relationship because you might fall for the guy. It might go somewhere, and then your kids will see you as an actual woman, not the maniac robot you tend to be."

Tess opened her mouth to argue, but Angie had known her a long time. Not quite as long as the New Beginnings divorcees, but close.

"I don't know what I'm doing, and you're right. It's scary."

Angie smiled and waved her to the other side of the desk. "Come here."

Tess sat in the chair beside Angie.

"I know you wouldn't think to do this because you're so closed off on the idea of dating Miles, but I think he's just what you need for getting back into the groove."

"Do what?"

Angie pulled out her phone and started typing and scrolling. "After he stopped by with his card, I checked him out. Online, of course, and all as part of my duty as your friend." She handed Tess her phone. "This guy comes from a big money family. Computers and shit, but he's like the goof off."

Tess looked at the phone where Miles stared up at her from the screen. "What is this?"

"Social media. You can look at pretty much everything everyone is up to based on what they post. This guy's Instagram is filled with pictures of him partying. He's not looking to move in and be a dad to your kids. He's out for a good time."

Tess handed Angie her phone back. "And we did."

"Who made the rule that it could only be a one-time deal?"

"Because more than one time leads to feelings and expectations, and then before you know it, you're in deep."

Angie tapped her thigh. "Not him. Never married, and a different woman in every post. As long as you can control yourself, I think you might've found a safe one."

Tess wheeled away on her chair and went back to work. While she would never actively pray for an emergency, she kind of hoped for one. All the kids slept peacefully and she finished her charts. She'd skipped a break earlier to have time with Miles when he showed without having to admit to him her night was almost done.

When the elevator dinged, she assumed a parent was returning to spend the night. Then a cup of coffee was waved in front of her face. She looked up, and Miles smiled at her.

"You brought coffee?"

"I told you I would. You and Angie said hospital coffee sucks, and I didn't know if you'd be able to leave to get something better." He pointed to a tray holding five more cups. "I brought enough to share, but I didn't know how many nurses would be here."

Angie swooped in. The girl had a nose for coffee. "Hey, Miles."

"Angie," he said with a nod. "I brought coffee."

"For me?"

"For whoever wants some."

Angie grabbed a cup and winked at Tess. The friendly gesture did nothing to settle her nerves. Although Miles didn't look angry, she knew he might be. Their phone conversation hadn't gone well.

"Is this an okay time for your break?" Miles asked.

"Yeah." She stood and slipped her phone into her pocket. "Let's go out here."

She grabbed her cup and led him down the hall past the elevators to a bank of couches. She sat on the edge of one and sipped from the cup. Damn, this is good coffee. He settled beside her, close enough to touch.

"So…" she said, not knowing where to start or what he expected.

"Why did you sneak out?"

She scooted forward and set her cup on the table in front of them. "Like I said, I don't get out much. I wasn't totally honest about the reasons. I let you believe it was all work, and while that's part of it, the other part is that I have three kids. I don't have time for a relationship."

"Kids? That's your big secret? But you're single, right?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't lie about that. I've been divorced for years."

"I can work with that." He slid farther back in the couch and spread his arms out on the back.

Huh? Is he hard of hearing?"There's nothing to work with, Miles. I'm sorry I wasn't up-front about only looking for one night, but that's all it can be."

"Why?"

"I work two jobs. I'm here on the weekends when my kids are with their dad, like now. By the time I get home, all I can do is collapse in bed before starting all over. The other weekends, I'm with my kids."

He moved forward again, and she didn't like the look on his face. Like a man on a mission. "What about during the week?"

"While the kids are in camp or school, I do home healthcare work for extra money because it works around their schedules. Then I drive them everywhere they need to be and help with homework and all the really boring stuff someone like you doesn't want to hear about."

He continued to stare, his warm brown eyes inviting. "Everyone has some free time."

She took out her phone and pulled up her calendar. "Look." She pointed to the screen where she had her schedule and all of the kids' activities color coded. "This is my life."

He took the phone and scrolled through the calendar. Tess thought she'd finally convinced him. Her calendar would scare off the hardiest of men.

"Lunch on Monday then?" he asked, returning her phone.

"What?"

"According to your master calendar, you're free for lunch on Monday." He stared at her, waiting for a response.

She had none. Looking at the calendar, she realized he was right. Nothing was scheduled for midday on Monday. Normally, she did housework then. Angie's words echoed in her head. The world wouldn't collapse if the floor wasn't mopped. Miles waited expectantly. "Don't you have to work Monday?"

"I have a flexible schedule. Even a tyrant like my sister would admit I deserve to eat a meal." His seductive smile shot through her. Then he stood. "You have my number. Pick a place, any place, and I'll meet you. On your schedule."

She looked up at him. "Why?" she asked quietly.

"Because we both deserve more than one night." He turned to leave but then paused, reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out an envelope. "Your friend's necklace," he said and handed it to her. "I'll see you Monday."