“Did you know,” Tessa said in a voice rising higher with each word, “that Stone Hudson is the owner of Hudson Broadcasting Corporation?”
Indie jerked upright then fixed her friend with a narrowed gaze. “Get outta here.” Tessa was a flighty one but this story took the cake.
“No, it’s true,” she said, her eyes wide. “Look.”
As she pointed to the screen Indie’s eyes followed her finger. Wikipedia. And the heading read. “Gladstone ‘Stone’ Hudson, chairman and CEO, Hudson Broadcasting Corporation". And there, staring back at her, was the face of the man she was busily planning to catch.
“Well, hot damn.” The words escaped her in a whisper that was breathless with disbelief. Who would have thought…
“You know, we should have put two and two together,” Tessa said, still staring at the screen. “I’ve heard the name Stone Hudson before. Why didn’t it come to me that it could be him?”
Indie gave a snort. “Probably because you wouldn’t think that, of all the people in the world, it would be a billionaire who would slam into my car. How many billionaires do you know?”
“None.”
“Me neither. And that’s why you wouldn’t expect…” Indie’s voice trailed off as another thought came to her. “Now that I think of it, his car seemed pretty darned expensive. All black, sports car type, with a funny-looking symbol like a crown with three points.”
Tessa gave her an incredulous stare. “A trident?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“A Maserati,” Tessa said with a gasp. “He ran into you with his Maserati. Do you have any idea how much those cars cost?”
Indie shrugged.
“You’re looking at about two hundred thousand, easy.”
“Good to know.” Indie folded her arms across her chest and nodded, momentarily lost in thought. Then, with a sigh of resignation, she walked back to the armchair and picked up her list. She walked over to the garbage can in the corner and began to rip the paper, dropping the slivers into the bin.
“Well,” she said with a wry smile, “there goes Plan A.”
Tessa whipped around and stared at her. “What are you doing?”
“Getting rid of my list of ways to attract Stone Hudson. It was hard enough coming up with ideas to catch a regular guy. What hope would I have with a billionaire?”
“Are you crazy, Indie? He’s the only man you like and he’s single. We have to keep going.”
Indie shook her head. “That’s where you and I are different, Tessa. You’re a dreamer. I’m practical. And I know I don’t have the chance of a snowball in Hades with a man like Stone Hudson. Heck, I probably wouldn’t have a chance with him even if he were a regular guy. Who am I kidding?” She dropped the last scrap of paper into the bin, patted her hands together in finality then walked back to the armchair where she flopped down.
So much for finding a man in thirty days. Correction – twenty-nine. She might as well practice pursing her lips so she’d be ready when it was time to kiss the fourteen million dollars goodbye. Oh, well…
“Indiana Moon Lane, I can’t believe you, the great granddaughter of a Mohawk Chief, are behaving like this. Shame on you.” Tessa marched over to where Indie sat, pretty much ignoring her, and swatted her on the arm.
“Hey, you.” Indie jerked back and rubbed the wounded limb. “Settle down, squirt.”
“I will,” Tessa said in a huff, “as soon as you get your act together and we start planning again. Now, it’s…" she glanced at the clock on the wall, “…three minutes before two and we have to figure out a way to reach this man before the day is out. We need to get an appointment and fast.”
“All right." Indie got up and strolled over to the desk. She picked up the phone. “You want an appointment, I’ll get an appointment. Where we go from there, that’s anybody’s guess.” She flipped open her notebook with Stone’s number, picked up the phone and dialed. It began to ring and she held her breath.
“Hello.” His voice was the same deep mellow timbre she remembered from the day before. It sent a delicious shiver up her spine.
Indie grimaced. This was not the time to turn into a girly girl, swooning at the sound of a man’s voice. She was above that sort of thing. Upset with herself, she spoke through clenched teeth. “This is Indie Lane,” she began then realizing she was sounding angry and, of course, he wouldn’t understand why, she released her breath, forcing herself to relax. “This is Indie,” she said again. “We met yesterday-”
“Yes, of course,” he said, his voice carrying a hint of surprise. “Indiana Moon lane. I was just about to call you.”
That made Indie straighten up. “You were?”
“Yes. But I cut you off. What were you calling about?”
“No, you go ahead,” Indie said quickly. Maybe he had a good reason to call her. Right now her reason for calling him seemed just a little bit lame. I’d like an appointment with you to see how I can trap you into marriage. He’d call for the straitjacket right away.
“I wonder if you would meet with me tomorrow to discuss a possible opportunity…if you’re interested, that is.” He cleared his throat. “Of course, I don’t know your situation but I’m looking for a project manager to take over the operations of a charity I run in South Africa. You struck me as the right person for the job.”
“Oh, is that right?” Indie couldn’t keep a touch of sarcasm out of her voice. Why had he thought that? Because she looked strong and tough…for a woman?
“There’s an aura about you,” he said, “something I can’t explain. All I can say is, I sense that you’ll love those orphans and give them the affection only a true loving spirit can.”
Orphans. He’d said orphans. And if there was one thing that pulled her heartstrings and made her spring into action it was the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of orphaned kids. Stone Hudson had read her like a wide-open book – after just one very brief meeting.