A Clandestine Corporate Affair - By Michelle Celmer Page 0,30

he headed back to his office, if they were investigating Jordan, did that mean he was under investigation as well? But why would he be? He could count on one hand how many times he had actually been in the refinery, and the men who worked there were strangers to him. But if his relationship to Ana and Max were to get out, it could not only hurt his chances at the CEO position but cast doubt over him as well.

He was leaning toward the idea of making Max a permanent part of his life, but at this point it would undoubtedly complicate things. Ana hadn’t been pushing him to make any decisions, but he knew it was only a matter of time before she would expect an answer from him. They couldn’t go on living in limbo this way. Especially after what happened last night. Which, the more he thought about it, the more he realized what a mistake it probably was. It was clouding his judgement. Making him forget that there were other issues to think about, like whether or not he even deserved to be someone’s parent. What if he was destined to repeat his own parents’ mistakes? What if he turned out to be like his father, harsh and judgmental? Or, even worse, like his mother? Too absorbed in his own life to care that he had a vulnerable and confused kid desperate for his attention. And if he did lose the CEO position over this, or even his job, would he end up resentful and bitter?

If he could hold Ana off just another few months, until he’d had time to really consider what he was doing, at least until the CEO decision was made…

He’d left his cell phone on his desk, and when he got back to his office there were two missed calls. One from a number he didn’t recognize, and one from Ana. Neither left a message. Maybe Ana had decided that they needed to have that talk after all. He was half-tempted to wait and call her back later, until he considered the possibility that her call may have had something to do with their son. What if he was sick or injured? His pulse skipped at the thought.

He dialed her number and she answered on the second ring. In the background he could hear Max babbling happily, and the sudden gush of relief he experienced nearly knocked him back in his chair. In barely over a week, the little runt had managed to weasel his way into Nathan’s heart.

The question was, did he deserve Max’s love?

“You called?” he asked Ana.

“Yeah. Sorry to bother you while you’re working, but I had something I wanted to ask you. Have you got a minute?”

“Sure.”

“I sort of need a favor, but I want to say right up front that you are under absolutely no obligation to do this. I can ask Jenny. I just thought maybe you would want to do it instead.”

“Do what?”

“Babysit Max Saturday night. I was invited for a girls’ night out with Beth and some of our friends.”

“Babysit as in just him and me?”

“Yeah. I thought you might like to get some quality time together. I wouldn’t be leaving till seven-thirty, and he goes to bed at eight-thirty, so he’ll be asleep most of the time.”

The fact that she trusted him to be alone with Max rendered him speechless for several seconds.

“If you don’t want to—”

“It’s not that I don’t want to. I just…I’m a little surprised that you would ask me, considering my vast lack of experience with kids.”

“Well, Max adores you, and you know his bedtime routine. Besides, he’s pretty easygoing. I can’t imagine that he’ll give you any trouble. And if you do decide to be a permanent part of his life, you can’t keep coming over here and just visiting him forever. You’ll have to get used to being alone with him. Sometimes overnight.”

The idea both intrigued and made him nervous as hell. He would have to baby-proof his apartment, buy toys and baby furniture. With two extra bedrooms he definitely had the space. These just weren’t things he’d taken into consideration before.

“But like I said, if you’re not comfortable watching him, it’s okay. I don’t want you to think that I’m trying to push you into something you’re not ready for.”

“No, I’d like to do it,” he said, and realized, for all his doubts, he really did.

“Great! Can you be over at my place around seven-fifteen?