The Tycoon's Proposition Read online

  “Carlos?” she said when they’d arrived at the foyer. “I have to check out. Since Mr. Herrick barely left his hospital bed, why don’t you two wait for me in the car?”

  “I was going to suggest it.”

  “Good. One more thing—he shouldn’t be using his voice at all. If he does, gag him!”

  Carlos laughed uninhibitedly before saying something to Ben in Spanish she couldn’t follow.

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw a smile curve Ben’s compelling mouth. With her heart skidding in reaction to his devastating male appeal, she rushed across the tiles to the front desk to pay her bill. The receptionist said the Herrick company had already taken care of it.

  Martha Shaw had already told her they would, but Terri felt she had to try. It didn’t seem right they paid for everything.

  Five minutes later she emerged from the hotel. Carlos stood next to the same kind of Land Rover that Parker had driven. As soon as he saw her, he opened the rear passenger door to help her inside.

  After she’d thanked him and they’d merged with the morning traffic, she had an idea.

  “Carlos? Mr. Herrick is on a special diet. When we come to a good supermarket, will you stop so I can buy the items he needs?”

  “Of course.”

  She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “Do you know if he has a video machine?” The other man nodded. “Then can you please drive us to a video shop, too. There are a couple of films I’d like to get.”

  “It’s impolite to pretend I’m not here,” Ben whispered.

  “As far as I’m concerned, you’re still the invisible man!”

  As it had done the other day, his body shook with laughter.

  “Mr. Herrick almost died in the accident and isn’t supposed to be talking yet, Carlos. I suggest we ignore him.”

  “She’s right, Ben. You let us take care of everything.”

  “Good grief. What have I done?” Even though he could only whisper, he’d said it in a mocking tone.

  His question went unanswered as Terri sat back, picking out some of the landmarks that were becoming familiar to her on this third trip south. They’d driven about ten miles when Carlos stopped near a shopping center.

  He looked over his shoulder. “I’ll go in with you.”

  “Good.”

  Terri got out of the back seat. Ben’s window had been lowered. “Is there anything else you want from the store besides food, Mr. Herrick? Don’t speak. Just nod or shake your head.”

  Because she’d leaned closer, a delightful flowery fragrance assailed him, electrifying all his senses. Her blue cotton sweater revealed enticing curves and creamy skin. He could hardly concentrate on her question. One of these days he would get her to call him by his first name.

  He finally had the presence of mind to shake his head.

  “We’ll be quick,” she assured him before joining Carlos. They headed for the market in the center of a cluster of other stores.

  His gaze narrowed on the mold of those long shapely legs beneath her cotton pants. She had to be five-seven, five-eight. The perfect height for him.

  By now every man in the parking area had caught sight of the attractive blond American. Her femininity stuck out a mile. How could he fault Parker for being entranced when so many male eyes followed Terri’s progress into the market?

  What in the hell could have possessed Richard Jeppson to roam when he had everything a man could desire waiting for him at home?

  Fifteen minutes later the subject of his thoughts returned to the car with her arms full of groceries. She had Carlos in tow with a couple of bags. He looked surprisingly domestic. A half smile broke out on Ben’s face. It would be a first for the man who was a confirmed bachelor.

  “You’re the only woman I’ve ever known who did her grocery shopping that fast,” Ben couldn’t help remarking. “Is that a midwestern trait?”

  “As a matter of fact it isn’t.” Her eyes flashed blue sparks. “But since you should be home in bed with your mouth bound, I sped things up.”

  The two men chuckled while Terri helped Carlos put all the groceries in the back. After she’d shut herself inside, they were off.

  “Okay, Carlos. Now that I’m a captive audience, tell me what Mr. Herrick does down in this part of the world. I thought most Texans were into cattle and oil.”

  “Ben doesn’t exactly run true to form.”

  “So I’ve noticed.”

  “It might be easier to show you than try to explain. We’ll be joining the coastal road any minute now. After we’ve been on it about twenty more miles, you’ll see an amazing sight.”

  “You’ve aroused my curiosity. While I’m waiting with bated breath, I think it’s time for everyone to have a snack.”

  She turned around and rummaged in the sacks until she found what she was looking for. “Two cold colas for me and you, Carlos, and a can of delicious vegetable juice for you, Mr. Herrick. According to Carlos, it’s just like the V-8 juice sold in the States.”

  She popped the tab, then leaned forward to hand it to Ben. “Before you complain that it isn’t T-bone steak, just remember you were being fed through a tube an hour ago.”

  “I’d like to forget,” he whispered before drinking thirstily.

  A powerfully built man like him would be ravenous for anything he could tolerate right now. It was a good thing she’d bought a large supply of food and drinks.

  “When we get to your condo, I’ll fix you some soup. For dessert, you can have ice cream. I bought chocolate, vanilla, mocha and orange sherbet.”

  Pulling the tab on the cola, she handed a drink to Carlos. In the process, she noticed Ben had already drained his juice.

  “I can see that just keeping you from the edge of starvation is going to be a huge project.” After taking the empty can away she said, “How about some peach nectar?”

  “I think I’ll hold out for the ice cream.”

  “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m asking yes and no questions. All you have to do is nod or shake your head.”

  Once again she could see his shoulders shake with laughter. Apparently it was contagious because Carlos burst into rich laughter, too. After the ordeal Ben had lived through, she was glad he seemed to be through the worst of his misery.

  Having done all she could do for the moment, Terri sat back to drink her cola.

  “Carlos? How long did it take you to realize Mr. Herrick was missing?”

  The other man’s dark eyes looked at her through the rearview mirror. “The last time Ben and I talked was on Monday. He told me he’d be in Miami until the end of the week finishing up some important business.

  “I can always reach him on his cell phone. However nothing came up that needed his input, so I had no idea he’d been in an accident until a sister at the hospital phoned me last night.”

  Obviously Ben hadn’t told Carlos where he was going before he planned to fly to Miami. Terri shuddered to realize he could have died and no one would have had any idea.

  “It didn’t happen, so don’t think about it,” Ben whispered. Even from the front seat where he couldn’t see her, he had the ability to read her mind.

  There was still a lot she didn’t know about the circumstances leading up to Richard’s death. Ben held all the answers. But until he could really speak without it hurting his throat, she would have to be patient.

  “If you’re through, Carlos, I’ll take your can.”

  He handed it to her. She put it in the nearest sack with the others. As she sat back, another thought came to her.

  “Do you have your cell phone? I’m afraid I forgot to cancel my flight.”

  “We took care of it while you were paying your bill,” Carlos responded.

  “Thank you. As for my bill, it had already been taken care of. Thank you, Mr. Herrick. That was very generous of you.”

  “We do it for family members if they have to come in an emergency.”

  After that remark, there was nothing to do but ta
ke in the scenery. Having come from a landlocked state in the U.S., being able to see the ocean in the distance as you drove along always provided a thrill.

  The traffic was heavy even after they’d left the suburbs and residential areas behind. A loaded freight train ran parallel to their car, coming between them and the coast. A few more miles and the highway veered left, separating them from the train as they rose to a higher elevation.

  At first she assumed they were headed inland. Then the car negotiated a curve, which took them south once more. That’s when a vista opened up.

  In the far distance Terri saw what looked like another huge city bordering an inlet of the ocean. In the middle was an island where a mammoth building rose at least twenty stories above the water. It had to be some kind of fabulous resort.

  She grabbed the map the hotel had given her, positive this city wasn’t on it. Sure enough when she searched the section south of Guayaquil, this place was nowhere to be found. How could that be?

  Her head came up. “Did you know th—” But she never finished her sentence because she suddenly realized her mistake.

  Closer now, she could see that this city was a giant shipyard. It was much bigger than the naval one she’d seen on the East Coast with her parents when she and Beth were a lot younger. Her gaze took in the building which wasn’t quite as far away now.

  “Good heavens—that’s a ship! It’s the most enormous thing I’ve ever seen in my life! I’m sure it’s longer than a couple of aircraft carriers.”

  “Four to be exact,” Carlos explained.

  “You’re kidding!” she cried. “I’ve been on one. They’re about a thousand feet long.”

  “That’s right. The Spirit of Atlantis is twenty-three stories tall from its main deck, 4100 feet long and 700 feet wide, almost three times the width of say, the Kitty Hawk.”

  She could hardly take it in. A ship close to a mile long…

  “What is it? Ecuador’s secret weapon?”

  Both men laughed again.

  “Seriously,” she said. “Was it built for their military or something?”

  “Not exactly,” came Ben’s whisper.

  Carlos made a turn that took them closer to the water’s edge. “You’re looking at the floating city of the future. It was built by an American entrepreneur who along with other businessmen have brought prosperity to this country by offering employment to thousands of locals over the last few years.

  “When the Atlantis sets sail on its maiden voyage next week, the shipyard will remain for the building and repair of other ships.”

  Terri shook her head.

  A floating city…

  The mind that had conceived anything this spectacular had to be some sort of genius. Naturally such a project would provide a boost to any country’s economy.

  “No wonder this captured my ex-husband’s imagination. Were there many people hired from the States to work on it?”

  “Several thousand. Many more thousands from the U.S. and other countries will be staffing it.”

  Her gaze switched to the maze of buildings, train tracks and giant cranes. As she scanned the busy scenes going on around her, she noticed one of the floating docks where she saw several oil tankers with the words Herrick emblazoned.

  Terri sat forward. “My ex-husband was a glazier. How did he come to be hired by Mr. Herrick?”

  She intercepted a private glance between Ben and Carlos before the latter said, “He wasn’t hired by him.”

  “Then how come the Herrick Corporation called to tell me Richard was in the hospital?”

  At this juncture they’d arrived at a pier. Carlos pulled to a stop, then turned around to look at her with a thoroughly puzzled expression.

  “You really didn’t know all this is Ben’s brainchild?”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “NO,” TERRI murmured. Yet she couldn’t honestly say she was surprised. From the first moment she’d looked into the stranger’s eyes, she’d felt there was something magnetic about him. Something that set him apart from other men.

  Now she understood Captain Ortiz’s words.

  Mr. Herrick is a very important man. If the press had found out he was missing, it would have caused a great uproar.

  “To be honest, Carlos, my ex-husband and I never communicated after our divorce. I had no idea he’d made the decision to work outside the U.S. The call from Houston came as a total surprise.”

  “As did the call I received from the hospital,” Carlos remarked in a subdued tone.

  Terri could well imagine the other man’s shock. “After Mr. Herrick’s horrifying ordeal, he ought to be resting. Where is his condo from here?”

  “I live on the Atlantis. Shall we go?” Ben whispered hoarsely before climbing out of the car.

  While Terri digested that amazing revelation, she rushed to gather up some of the grocery bags. Carlos took care of her suitcase and the other sacks.

  Dozens of dock workers hailed Ben. While he chatted with those who’d gathered around, no doubt because of the sling he was wearing, another man rushed forward to assist Terri with the groceries. The whole time she felt Ben’s unwavering gaze as she was helped into a tender, one of dozens of boats that were used to ferry workers out to the huge ship.

  In a moment he followed, refusing help from anyone. When he moved in her direction with that swift male agility she could only admire, her heart began pounding in outrageous fashion. In a few seconds he’d sat down on the banquette-type seat opposite her.

  Carlos got in last with his load. After he’d placed everything on the floor, he handed out the life preservers. While Terri fastened hers, he helped Ben with his. Then he donned one himself and walked to the rear of the boat where a seaman revved the motor. He reversed at a wake-less speed to clear the other boats. Soon they were zooming away from the pier.

  Terri had always adored the ocean, that unmistakable smell of salt in the air you could never get enough of. Today the water reflected a deep blue, causing the mammoth ship to stand out like bright white chalk on a new blackboard.

  Through holes in the drifting clouds, the late-morning sun beat down on them. But there was a refreshing breeze which filmed their hot skin with a fine mist of sea spray.

  Ben’s black-brown hair curled at the tips, partially hiding the dressing at his hairline from view. The one under his chin was hardly noticeable. He looked disgustingly healthy for someone who’d had such a recent brush with death.

  When he’d said he could use her help for a few days, she’d never dreamed it meant living on the water. The closer they drew to their destination, the more she marveled at such a massive feat of engineering.

  “It’s so fabulous, I’m speechless,” she said when her eyes finally met his.

  A smile hovered around his sensuous lips. The man’s arresting looks made it difficult to concentrate on anything else. She smothered a groan.

  By the time they reached a center landing which led inside one of the ship’s lower decks on the portside, Terri realized they had to be in very deep water. There wouldn’t be that many natural harbors in the world that could handle anything this colossal.

  She shuddered to think Richard had lost his life somewhere out here. Was it even possible to find him at these depths? Terri didn’t honestly hold out any hope of his body being recovered.

  In an unexpected move, Ben put a hand on her arm. “Don’t think about it right now. I’ll explain everything later when we’re alone.”

  He always seemed to be on her wavelength. She nodded without looking at him. When he relinquished his hold, Carlos was standing by to gather their preservers and help her out of the tender into the ship. Several Hispanic stewards helped with the groceries and her suitcase.

  She smiled at Carlos. “Aren’t you coming with us?”

  He shook his head. “I have work to do, but I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.”

  “Thank you for all your help.”

  “Amen to that,” Ben added.

>   “It was my pleasure.” He nodded to them both before getting back in the tender.

  Once inside the ship, it felt like Terri had entered a hotel complete with rooms, stairways, corridors and elevators. Ben clasped her elbow and guided her along the hallway several hundred feet before unlocking the door to what was a small, private elevator.

  “Just set the bags and suitcase on the floor,” he instructed the stewards whose navy and white uniforms looked smart and professional.

  After thanking them for their help, he pushed a button and the door closed. Terri stood breathlessly close to the man who’d been haunting her dreams for the last few nights.

  When she started to feel a little dizzy, she was tempted to put a hand on his arm for support. It was hard to tell if it was his nearness or the speed of the elevator that had produced the strange sensation. Luckily they reached their destination before she made a complete fool of herself and fell against him.

  Terri expected the elevator door to open into another corridor. But as she was coming to find out, nothing had been as it seemed from the moment she’d heard the message about Richard on her answering machine.

  In this case, the elevator served as the front door to a home like the kind you drooled over in an architectural magazine. She might as well have stepped into some heavenly villa on one of the Greek Islands. Rounded archways and white walls with area rugs and furnishings provided splashes of vivid color.

  They stood in a stunning foyer. “How beautiful!”

  “Let me show you around.”

  She took one look at his drawn features and shook her head. “I can do that myself. You’re pale. Leave everything in the elevator,” she said when he made a move to pick up her suitcase. “I’ll get it. Right now you need to lie down. Let’s go.”

  He studied her for a moment before starting down the hall on her right. The whole place was air-conditioned, bringing blessed cool to the interior.

  “In there is the guest bedroom.”

  She followed him past that room to his bedroom, another spacious haven done in the same decor.

  “While you’re in the bathroom, I’ll turn down your bed.”