Embraced by Love by Suzanne Brockmann Page A

Josie switched on the coffee-maker and started measuring the water and grounds, Cooper sat heavily in a chair at the kitchen table.
    “I may have to mainline that stuff to keep coherent,” he said.
    She turned toward him. “Then maybe we should wait to talk,” she said. “We could take a nap first. I could use some sleep myself.”
    “Isn’t Fenderson waiting for your decision?”
    Josie shook her head. “I told them I needed an extra day,” she said. “I have until tomorrow, but then they’re going to approach another software company.”
    “I think I’d feel better if we talked now,” Cooper said. He smiled tiredly. “Come on, O Queen of Negotiators, hit me with the deal. What concessions are you willing to make to me in order to get this contract with Fenderson?”
    “I’m willing to concede the whole ball of wax,” Josie said. “If you really don’t want me to take the contract, Cooper, I won’t.”
    Cooper reached out to adjust a pair of ceramic airplane salt and pepper shakers that were in the center of the table. “You’ll concede,” he repeated. “But not happily.” He looked up at Josie, but she had turned and was pouring the water into the coffee-maker.
    “No,” she said quietly, her back still to him. “Not happily.”
    “What else did you come up with?” he asked. “There’s an awful lot of room between all and nothing. A creative thinker like you surely came up with at least one alternative plan.”
    “I’ll expand my staff,” she said, turning to face him. “I’ll hire a senior level programmer and two personal assistants.”
    “That won’t do a hell of a lot of good unless you actually learn to delegate,” Cooper said.
    Josie sat down across the table from him. Dressed in her jeans and T-shirt she looked like a college student, not a company president. She held out her hand, and Cooper took it. Her fingers were slender and cool compared to his. His hand dwarfed hers, enveloping her with his warmth and strength.
    “I’ll learn to delegate if it kills me,” she said.
    He laughed, but his eyes were sad. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
    “I’ll still ultimately be responsible for the project,” she said.
    “That’s also what I’m afraid of,” Cooper said. “Even if you do manage to delegate some of your work, you’ll be hovering around the office, worrying about whether or not it’s getting done properly.”
    He sighed, and Josie could see the weariness in his eyes. It was more than physical fatigue, and that frightened her. The words she had spoken just yesterday to David Chase came back to haunt her. Was Cooper finally getting tired of her?
    “What if you put good old Dave in charge of the entire project?” he asked.
    But she was already shaking her head. “It wouldn’t make any difference,” she said. “It’s still my company, Coop. It’s still my butt that’s on the line if something goes wrong.”
    “There
are
people who own companies who have nothing to do with the day-to-day operations,” Cooper said. “It could be a sweet deal, babe. You could put someone else in charge, then spend all your time eating bonbons, watching soap operas and collecting your dividend checks.”
    “Bonbons, huh?” Josie said with a weak smile. “That’s not really my style.”
    “Even if I’m the one who’s feeding them to you?”
    She pulled her hand free. “Cooper, I know you don’t understand why I worry so much about the company—”
    “You’re right,” he said. “I don’t. You’ve built this amazing thing out of nothing, Josie. It was tough going for a while there, but now the company is healthy, it’s expanding. It’s time to stop worrying.”
    “It’s not that easy—”
    “It should be.”
    “But it’s not.” The tears were back in her eyes. “I keep thinking, what if we get sued? What if we miss our deadlines and our clients stop using our services? What if—”
    “What if you continue to succeed, and you end up richer than