Barry’s neck took on a ruddy hue, and he tugged at the white collar of his shirt. “It’s, uh, complicated.”
“I’m an intelligent man, and Amber has an honors degree.”
Barry’s gaze flicked to Amber, and she could have sworn she saw panic in its depths.
“I’d really rather discuss-”
“The balance,” said Royce.
Barry drew a terse breath. “At the moment, the account is overdrawn.”
There were ten full seconds of frozen silence.
Stephanie entered the room from the kitchen, stopping short as she took in the trio.
“Say again?” Royce widened his stance.
“There’s been…That is…” This time when Barry glanced at Amber, he seemed to be pleading for help. There was no help she could give him. She didn’t have a clue what was going on.
Royce’s voice went dangerously low. “Why didn’t you transfer something from corporate?”
Barry tugged at his collar again. “The China deal.”
“What about the China deal?” Royce asked carefully. “Was the transfer held up?”
Barry swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing, voice turning to a raspy squeak. “The paperwork. From Cheng Li. It didn’t make the deadline.”
Stephanie’s eyes went wide, while Royce cocked his head, brows creasing. “They assured me the fax would go through.”
“It did. But…well…”
Royce crossed his arms over his chest.
“Our acknowledgment,” said Barry. “The time zone difference.”
“You didn’t send the acknowledgment?”
“End of day. Chicago time.”
“You missed the deadline?” Royce’s voice was harsh with disbelief.
“I’ve been trying to fix it for thirty-six hours.”
Royce took a step forward. “You missed a fifty-million-dollar deadline?”
Barry’s mouth opened, but nothing came out.
“And you didn’t call me?” Royce’s voice was incredulous now.
“I was trying to fix-”
“Yesterday,” Royce all but shouted, index finger jabbing in Barry’s direction. “Yesterday, I could have called Jared at his hotel. Today, he’s on a sailboat somewhere in the South Pacific. You have…” Royce raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t even know how much money you’ve lost.”
“I-”
“What in the hell happened?”
“It was the time zones. Technology. The language barrier.”
“You are so fired.”
Amber’s gaze caught Stephanie’s. She felt desperate for an exit. She didn’t want to witness Royce’s anger, Barry’s humiliation. She wanted to be far, far away from this disturbing situation.
“You’re done, Barry,” Royce confirmed to the silent man.
Barry hesitated a beat longer. Then his shoulders dropped. The fight went out of him, and he turned for the door.
The room seemed to boom with silence as Barry’s footsteps receded and the car pulled away outside.
Stephanie took a few hesitant steps toward her brother. “Royce?”
“Cancel his credit cards,” Royce commanded. “Wake up someone from IT and change the computer passwords. And have security reset the codes on the building.”
“What are we going to do?” Stephanie asked in a whisper.
Royce’s hands curled into fists at his sides. He looked to Amber. “I have to call Beijing. If we don’t fix this, the domino effect could be catastrophic.”
Amber nodded. “Just tell me what you need.”
“Can we talk to Jared?” asked Stephanie.
Royce shook his head. “Not a chance. Not for a week at least.”
Six
Amber hung up the phone after their fifth call to China, her expression somber as Royce’s mood.
“That’s it.” He voiced his defeat out loud.
“Are you sure?”
“Can you think of anything else?”
She shook her head.
He slipped the phone from her hands, setting it on the end table next to the sofa in the living room. The deadline was the deadline, and they hadn’t been able to penetrate the Chinese bureaucracy to make their case to Cheng Li. The deal was canceled.
It was nearly 3:00 a.m. Only a few lights burned in the house, and Stephanie had headed to her own ranch an hour ago. Amber tipped her head back on the gold sofa cushion, closing her eyes. She’d struggled through translations for hours on end, and the strain was showing in her pale complexion.
Royce gave in to the temptation to smooth a lock of hair from her cheek. “You okay?”
“Just sorry I couldn’t help.”
He dropped his hand back down. “You did help.”
She opened her eyes. “How so?”
“I understand now what is and isn’t possible.”
“Nothing’s possible.”
“Apparently not.”
She blinked her dark lashes, and her hand covered his. “How bad is it?”
He rested his own head against the sofa back. “It’ll play havoc with our cash flow. We may have to sell off some of our companies. But, to start off, I’m going to have to call the division heads to keep them from panicking. Firing Barry was a significant move.”
“Will they be angry?”
He shrugged. “That’s the least of my worries.”
Amber didn’t answer, and Royce was content to sit in silence. He turned his hand, palm up, wrapping it around her smaller one. For some reason, it gave him comfort. Simply sitting here quietly, with her by his side, made the problems seem less daunting.
Her hand went limp in his, and he turned to gaze at her closed eyes and even breathing. She was astonishingly beautiful-smooth skin, delicate nose, high cheekbones and lustrous, golden hair that made a man want to bury his face against it.
He felt a shot of pity for the hapless Hargrove. Imagine having Amber in your grasp then having her disappear? Not that the man wasn’t better off. Royce glanced at the portrait of his parents on their wedding day. He usually put it away while he was at the ranch, unable to bear the look of unbridled adoration on his father’s face.
And that’s the way it would have been with Amber, too. Her husband would have gone completely stupid and helpless with longing, only to have her change her mind and move on. Poor, pathetic Hargrove. He wouldn’t have known what hit him.
Royce extricated his hand from hers, shifting to the edge of the couch, positioning himself to lift her into his arms.
“Amber?” he whispered softly, sliding one arm around her back and the other beneath her knees.
She mumbled something unintelligible, but her head tipped to rest against his shoulder. He lifted her up, and she stayed sleeping, even as he adjusted her slight body in his arms.
She weighed less than nothing. She was also soft and her scent appealing. There was something completely right about the scent of a beautiful woman, particularly this beautiful woman, fresh, like wildflowers, he supposed, but sweeter, more compelling.
He moved his nose toward her hair, guessing it was her shampoo. Hard to tell, really. He mounted the staircase, taking his time, reluctant to arrive at her room where he’d have to put her down.
His imagination wandered to that moment. Should he help her undress? Slip her between the sheets in her underwear? Would a gentleman wake her up or leave her in her clothes? Never having been a gentleman, Royce wasn’t sure.
This had to be the first time he’d put a woman to bed without immediate plans to join her. He couldn’t help a self-deprecating smile. It figured. He also couldn’t remember a moment in his life when he’d been more eager to join a woman in bed.
He pushed open her door, carefully easing her through the opening. Then he crossed to the queen-size, brass bed and leaned down, laying her gently on top of the comforter.
She moaned her contentment, and his longing ratcheted up a notch. Their faces were only inches apart, his arm around her back, the other cradling her bare legs. He knew he had to leave her, but try as he might, he couldn’t get his body to cooperate.