The Tycoon's Proposition Read online

  “Sometimes it takes losing something of great value for a man to realize what is really important after all. Have you considered this might be an opportunity for a reconciliation?”

  Terri could see where the doctor was going with this, but he would be wrong about the whole situation. Richard wasn’t having second thoughts. There was an entirely different reason why he’d claimed to still be married when he’d accepted a job down here.

  As for Terri, she couldn’t resurrect feelings that had been burned out of her. “Dr. Dominguez? Our marriage was over a long time ago. However I still care for him and want him to recover as soon as possible.”

  “I want that, too.”

  “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She left the floor and took the elevator to the foyer where she asked the receptionist to summon a taxi.

  Once back in her hotel room, she rang for room service and ordered dinner. When it arrived, she changed into her nightgown and ate in bed while she talked to her mother and Beth, updating them on Richard’s condition.

  Beth suggested Richard might have lied because it was the only way he could get the job. Maybe the Herrick Corporation had a rule about their employees being married if they wanted to work outside the U.S.

  It was a possibility Terri hadn’t thought of. Tomorrow she would visit Richard again, then go to the Herrick office and ask more questions. Right now what she craved was a good night’s sleep so she’d be better prepared to deal with the situation in the morning.

  But even though she was exhausted, it was hard to settle down. She turned on the television and watched several news programs in Spanish. With the help of her high school Spanish, she was able to figure out some of it. Then she switched to a movie dubbed in Spanish she’d already seen in English, and promptly fell asleep. The television was still on when she awakened at nine the next morning.

  Once she’d eaten breakfast in her room, she showered and dressed in another blouse and skirt. After she was ready, she left the hotel and climbed into one of the many taxis waiting out front.

  To her delight the temperature outside the hotel wasn’t as high as she would have supposed for July. In fact it felt much better here than in Atlanta where she’d changed planes.

  On her way to the hospital, she looked around to get better oriented. Guayaquil was a large South American port city. Its proximity to the ocean, plus the masses of dark haired people speaking Spanish made it a fascinating place to be. With so many beautiful women, she imagined Richard had been enjoying himself here. How sad to think he’d met with an accident that had almost cost him his life.

  She knew he liked to fish. Maybe he’d been out in a small boat with his spinning rod when it had happened. Had he gone alone? Was anyone else hurt?

  Terri was impatient for answers. But she would have to wait until his throat was healed enough to supply her with details.

  Hoping they’d given him something to help him sleep so he’d had a restful night, she hurried down the hospital corridor to his room. The door was ajar. When she peeked inside, she saw a younger doctor standing at the side of the bed unraveling the bandage that was wrapped around Richard’s forehead.

  He flashed her a broad smile. “Come in, Señora Jeppson. I’m Dr. Fortuna. We have been expecting you.”

  She did his bidding. Evidently Dr. Dominguez hadn’t informed the staff about Richard’s divorced status yet. “If your husband could talk, I’m sure he would tell you he is glad you are here. I have been checking his stitches. The cut under his chin shows no infection.”

  At that news, Terri was relieved. She sank down in the chair to watch. The bed had been raised so Richard was sitting up. His oxygen mask had been removed.

  In a minute she saw the top of his head. He’d always worn his dark hair marine style, very closely cropped. Since he’d been in South America, it appeared he’d let it grow. She could tell it was at least an inch or two longer now. Maybe even more.

  “Ah,” the doctor murmured with satisfaction as he removed the dressing. “Everything looks very good. No one would guess you had a cut there. Stay still while I put on a new dressing. If there’s no infection by tomorrow, you won’t have to wear the head wrap anymore.”

  Just hearing those words helped Terri to breathe a little easier. She could imagine Richard felt equally relieved. Confined like that, he had to be going out of his mind. In fact he would probably have ripped off the bandages by now if he’d been able to get at the gauze.

  “What about his burns, Doctor?”

  “They are much better. Tomorrow we will unwrap his hands and apply a dressing which will free his fingers. I am happy to say that he is breathing at ninety-five perfect capacity and no longer needs oxygen.”

  Thank goodness for that. “What about his shoulder?”

  “It was an anterior dislocation which is the most common. The surgeon performed a reduction. All your husband has to do now is wear this sling for three or four weeks and he will be fine. To his credit, he is in remarkable shape. Has he always worked out?”

  Richard?

  “Not since he played football in high school.”

  “Then he has been keeping a secret from you. You do not stay this solid without help.”

  Maybe he’d been going to a gym for the last eighteen months. She had no idea.

  “Is his throat really going to get better?”

  “In a few days it will be like new.”

  “I’m sorry I sound so impatient.”

  “That’s a wife’s prerogative.”

  Ignoring his comment she said, “I wish there were something I could do for him right now.”

  The doctor finished rewrapping his patient’s head, then lowered the bed so Richard was lying almost flat.

  “I can think of one thing.”

  “What?”

  “You could give his legs and feet a soothing massage with that lotion over on the table. It will relax his whole body and help him to sleep.”

  “I’ll do it.”

  “Excellent. I am sure your husband is looking forward to such a lovely wife ministering to his needs.”

  The doctor was mistaken on that score, but she was equally certain Richard craved any relief from the pain that he could get. If a massage would help, she was only too glad to provide it.

  “Tomorrow we will put him in the shower for the first time. That will make him feel really good, too.”

  Terri had no doubt of it and thanked him.

  “I’m impressed with the wonderful care you’re getting,” she said after the doctor had left the room. “Tomorrow you’ll be stripped of all these bandages. I know you can’t wait. Until then I’ll do as he suggested and try to bring you some comfort.”

  She moved over to the table and picked up the lotion, and then walked to the end of the bed. After pulling out the sheet to expose his left leg to the knee, she squirted a mound of the cream in her palm to begin the rubdown.

  But when she started to work the lotion into his skin, her hands froze.

  Dear God.

  This man wasn’t Richard!

  The burnished, hard-muscled leg did not belong to her ex-husband! Richard’s legs were shorter, bulkier, hairier; his foot was wider, not as long.

  Terri began to tremble. She removed her hands and hurried to the door to turn on the overhead light.

  Without hesitation she rushed to his side and bent over him so she could peer into his eyes.

  Pain-filled gray eyes stared back at her between dark lashes. There was a frantic urgency in his look she could feel to her bones.

  “You poor man,” she whispered in a shaky voice. “All this time everyone has thought you were my ex-husband. No wonder you’ve been so upset.”

  He let out a moan which she took for a yes.

  Her eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry it took me this long to discover the truth. Last evening when I arrived, Dr. Dominguez told me they were keeping the light off in here so you could sleep. If I’d been able to look into
your eyes, I would have known immediately you weren’t Richard.

  “The fisherman who brought you in said you called out my name. That means you knew Richard. I assume you were friends or colleagues. Were you both in the accident?”

  The stranger lifted his head enough to nod, but it was clearly a strain. Nevertheless it meant he understood her English.

  “Lie still,” she begged. “Please don’t exert yourself. Obviously you have family and friends looking for you. They must be in agony wondering where you are.

  “I’ll alert the staff right now, then I’ll leave and go straight to the police to find out if the Herrick company or someone else has put out a missing persons report for you. I suppose it’s possible Richard was taken to another hospital in the city.”

  This time the stranger shook his head.

  She was trying to understand. “If he’s not at a hospital, do you know where he is?”

  He nodded again, but the strain on him had taken its toll. His eyelids closed. The unidentified man had to be in grueling pain. She could feel it.

  “That’s all right. You sleep while I’m gone. I swear I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  She covered his leg and tucked the sheet in place. Then she put the lotion on the table. After turning off the light, she grabbed her purse and tore out of the room.

  To her relief the same doctor happened to be at the nursing station down the hall. She took him aside and told him what she’d discovered. He looked shocked and said he’d immediately notify the staff as well as the head of the hospital.

  Within a half hour she’d told the same story to Captain Ortiz, an officer at the main police station in Guayaquil. He knew nothing about an accident at sea and proceeded to ask a lot of questions. She gave him a full description of her ex-husband. As for the stranger lying in the hospital bed, there was less to tell about him.

  The captain said he would send another officer to the hospital to interview the doctors who were taking care of him. If the police could find the fisherman who’d brought him in, it would answer a lot of questions. At some point he would get back to her either at the hospital or the hotel.

  Terri in turn said she would find out where her ex-husband was living. The bandaged stranger had indicated that Richard wasn’t in a hospital. That had to mean he hadn’t been badly hurt in the accident and was convalescing at his apartment or wherever it was that he lived. If she found him first, she would phone the captain right away. He agreed that it sounded like the best plan of action.

  After agreeing to stay in close touch, Terri left the police station for the Herrick head office. The taxi driver knew the name and drove her to the heart of the city where he deposited her in front of a complex of buildings, one of which housed the company in question.

  A Latin beauty sat at the main reception. When Terri told her she needed some information about one of the employees who worked for the Herrick Corporation, the woman told her she couldn’t give out confidential information.

  However as soon as Terri mentioned Martha Shaw, Mr. Creighton Herrick’s secretary, her tone changed. The woman made a quick phone call before looking up Richard’s record on the computer. She gave Terri his address, but there was no phone number listed.

  After thanking the receptionist, Terri asked her to call for a taxi. Once that was done, she went outside to wait.

  When the driver pulled up in front and she showed him the address, he told her it was located twenty-five miles south of the city and would take close to an hour to get there.

  Terri didn’t care about that. She climbed in the back seat and handed him fifty dollars to cover the round-trip. Then she told him to step on it.

  He smiled before starting up the taxi to merge with the other cars. The drive turned out to take fifty minutes in the early-afternoon traffic. By the time they reached the city limits, she could tell that the barrios in the outskirts were more run-down.

  Eventually he pulled up in front of a small three-story apartment called the Mirador. There was no landscaping to speak of, and a cluster of little children played on the stairs. She asked him to stay put while she went to the door. In case Richard wasn’t there, she needed to be sure she had a ride back into town.

  The driver nodded and reached for a magazine to read.

  Number ten put Richard on the second floor. She stepped past the curious children to find his apartment, then knocked. When there was no answer she knocked again.

  “Richard?” she called out. “It’s Terri. If you can hear me, let me know. I heard about the accident and have flown all this way to see you.”

  Still nothing.

  Afraid he could be inside unable to get up and answer the door, she turned the handle, hoping he might have left it unlocked.

  “Aiyee!” she heard a woman scream.

  Terri didn’t know who was more frightened.

  Through the opening in the door, which the chain guard allowed, she saw a woman probably much younger than Terri’s twenty-seven years. With long black hair and liquid-brown eyes, Terri could well understand her ex-husband’s attraction.

  The woman stood there wearing Richard’s yellow robe, looking very pretty and very pregnant.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “BUENOS tardes.” Terri spoke first. “Habla Ingles?”

  The other woman shook her head without the slightest hint of welcome in her expression.

  At this point Terri had only her two years of Spanish to rely on. “Por favor, donde esta Richard?” Heavens! It had been so long since high school, she couldn’t remember if she was supposed to use Estar or Ser.

  The woman responded too fast. Terri couldn’t follow.

  She tried again. “Quiero hablar con Richard.”

  There was another spate of unintelligible words before the woman shut the door in Terri’s face.

  If Richard had been inside, Terri was positive he would have come out to see what was going on.

  The fact that his lover seemed to be angry rather than in despair, led Terri to believe Richard had to be all right. In fact, the fiery woman was probably expecting him home later in the day and couldn’t believe some strange American woman had appeared at the door unannounced and unwanted.

  Only jealousy could have prompted her to behave in such a rude manner. It was more than possible Richard had never told this woman about Terri. Certainly he’d never expected to see his ex-wife again. Especially not down here in Guayaquil, which was about as far from Lead, South Dakota, as you could get.

  Terri hurried back to the taxi and they left for the city. En route she asked the driver to drop her off at an upscale department store near the San Lorenzo Hospital. She needed to make a few purchases.

  Assuming for the moment Richard was out of danger, Terri’s thoughts converged on the stranger who’d been lying in a hospital bed since he’d been rescued. The painful desperation in his beautiful gray eyes would haunt her for a long time to come.

  How frightening it must have been to wake up in an unfamiliar place, unable to talk while everyone around him thought he was someone else!

  He probably had a wife who was out of her mind with grief because he was missing. Until a relative or friend came to claim him, Terri would stay with him and encourage him to get better. It was the least she could do.

  An hour and a half later she rushed inside the hospital with her arms loaded. After taking the elevator, she hurried down the hall of his floor where various helpers were serving dinner to the patients who could eat.

  She stopped at the nursing station long enough to be offered a tray of food for herself, then she breezed into his room with her packages.

  “Hi!” she called out in a soft voice, not wanting to jar him. As he lifted his left hand in greeting, her dinner arrived. She put everything down on the floor, then reached for the tray and drew the chair next to him so she could be seated.

  “I was gone a lot longer than I’d intended. First off I went to the police station and explained the situation. Then I took
a taxi to the Herrick office. I’ve been so busy I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast. Now I’m starving.

  “I hope you don’t mind my eating in front of you. If the smell makes you nauseous, put up your hand and I’ll eat out in the hall.”

  He made no gesture, so she had to believe it was all right.

  “Earlier when you told me you knew where Richard was, I asked the receptionist at the Herrick office to give me his address. It took a little doing, but she finally complied. From there I took another taxi out to his apartment to see if he was there, and found a woman in residence. Judging by her pregnant condition, it seems Richard’s been living with her for a long time.”

  More indecipherable sounds came out of the stranger.

  “She wasn’t in the least happy to see me at the door. I tried out my Spanish on her, but she spoke too fast for me to understand. Later I’ll try to get in touch with Richard through someone at the office who knows him personally. In the meantime, I’m anxious to help you in any way I can.”

  The chicken and beans tasted good. So did the fruit juice which was an interesting blend of peach and something else, maybe mango.

  After she’d drained the glass she said, “There’s a Captain Ortiz at the police station who’s working on your case. He hadn’t heard of any accident at sea. However with the information I’ve given him, he said he’ll come up with some answers soon and hopefully find out who you are.

  “If we don’t hear from him in the next few hours, I’ll call him before I leave. In case there’s no news, I have an idea.

  “Since the doctor said they’d be removing the bandages on your hands in the morning, maybe with my help you could write your name or your home phone number on a piece of paper. That is, if it doesn’t hurt too much.

  “Depending on your mobility, you might even be able to write down a word that will tell me Richard’s location. One way or another we’ll unravel this mystery.”

  She finished the rest of her chicken, then put the tray over on the table. Eager to do something to bring a little pleasure to the man who’d been through so much suffering, she turned to him.