Five frustrating minutes of being stonewalled later, Anna replaced the receiver on her phone. Mr. Hunter was unavailable until further notice. What that meant, exactly, Anna had no idea, but she had the sinking feeling that wherever Nicole was, it was very possibly with him. And given her mood last night and her tendency to be outrageously impulsive, it didn’t augur well.
Darn Judd Wilson, she thought, and darn Charles, too. This was all their fault. Anna clenched her hands into fists and fought back the urge to scream. One by one she uncurled her fingers and released her fury on a pent-up breath, then reached for her phone and dialed Judd’s number. They needed to swing into damage control before all this blew up in their faces. He’d know what to do.
“It’s preposterous. What on earth is she thinking?”
Anna winced as Charles raged through the office on Monday afternoon after what had been an exceptionally stressful and long weekend waiting for his prodigal daughter to return home. She knew all the anger and tension couldn’t be good for him, but there was nothing she could do to calm him down when the bad news about Nicole kept pouring in. The latest update—that she’d turned up for work at the offices of Jackson Importers late that morning—had gone down like a lead balloon.
He continued his rant. “She isn’t thinking, that’s what. And she wonders why I gave the controlling interest in Wilson Wines to Judd.”
“She’s hurting, Charles. Give her time, she’ll come back.” Anna tried to soothe his anger but it was useless.
“Come back? I wouldn’t have her back. Not now that she’s working for that insufferable miscreant! I’ve a good mind to cut her out of my will completely after this.” Anna wanted to believe he was just blowing off steam, but she had a sinking feeling that he meant every word. Nothing made Charles angrier than what he perceived as disloyalty. No matter what excuse she offered, Anna was pretty sure that Charles wouldn’t be forgiving Nicole in a hurry.
“And what are we supposed to do in the meantime, hmm?” Charles continued. “We needed her here to help transition Judd into his duties. Now he’s dropped in at the deep end.”
“I’m sure I’ll cope.” Judd interrupted his father’s tirade. “I’m not completely unaware of how a business should be run nor am I unfamiliar with the wine industry.”
Anna looked at him and felt that familiar tug of attraction she’d fought all weekend to ignore. It was hard enough to resist him under normal circumstances, but over the past weekend, when Anna had felt that her whole world was collapsing around her, Judd had been a rock—stepping right in to make sure everything was taken care of. While Anna had been busy keeping Charles reined in and ensuring that his riled temper didn’t prevent him from keeping up with his medical treatments, Judd was the one who’d handled the reporters’ phone calls, coordinated with the company’s PR team and ensured that all Wilson Wines employees, particularly those who reported directly to Nicole, were reminded of the nondisclosure agreements they had signed.
He’d single-handedly kept the disaster from spiraling out of control. While Anna couldn’t help but be grateful to him, she was forced to admit to herself that it was entirely unfair how attractive he was when he was coolly, competently in charge.
Today he looked every inch the high-powered executive, wearing a navy suit and crisp white shirt with a patterned tie. He could have stepped off the pages of a men’s fashion magazine, and yet despite the polish, there was still that edge of visceral male that hovered about him.
“Anna?” Charles’s voice. “Are you paying attention?”
“S-sorry,” she stuttered. “I was woolgathering.”
Charles sighed heavily. “I need you to be on your game, young lady. Without Nicole here, I’m appointing you as Judd’s P.A. He’s going to need the support of someone who knows Wilson Wines from the ground up. You’re the only one I trust for that role.”
“His P.A.?” Her heart gave an uncomfortable lurch. “But what about you?”
“I’m sure you can draw on one of the girls from marketing to help me when I need it. That redhead who covers for you when you’re on holiday, she’ll do. It’s not as if I’m in here for full days, anyway … although I suppose that will have to change now Nicole’s gone.”
He suddenly slumped in his chair, his face gray. Anna rushed to his side.
“Are you all right? Do you need the doctor?”
Charles shook his head. “No, don’t fuss, Anna. I’m not sick. Not physically, anyway. It just isn’t right. I finally get Judd back and I lose Nicole.”
Anna fought the urge to tell him she’d tried to warn him that what he was doing would drive a wedge between himself and his daughter. She found consoling words instead to replace the ones that hung bitterly on the tip of her tongue.
“You haven’t lost her, she’ll be back before we know it, I’m sure.”
“In the meantime, you have us,” Judd commented. “And speaking of which, I think you should head home and rest and leave the running of the office to Anna and me. We can call you if anything arises that we can’t manage.”
Anna felt a burst of cold panic at the thought of her and Judd alone together in the office, but still, she found herself agreeing with him. Anything to see to Charles’s comfort. After the older man had been driven home by his new temporary P.A., Anna showed Judd into Nicole’s office. Charles had stipulated that he should work from there, and while a little voice inside of her had objected vociferously, she accepted the practicality of it. If Judd was to assume Nicole’s duties quickly, he needed information to be at his fingertips. Where better than in Nicole’s office?
It was lunchtime when he came out and over to Anna’s desk.
“I see Nicole had a trip planned to Nelson, leaving on Thursday. I thought Wilson Wines primarily imported from overseas markets.”
“We do, but Nicole campaigned to introduce several wines from New Zealand to our catalogue as well, with a view to distributing only to select wine sellers and collectors. She felt it was a strong counter to Jackson Importers’ ability to cut prices by dealing through the internet. This way we’d have top-quality wines but without the additional costs involved with importation.”
Judd nodded. “Makes good sense. So this project is still in its infancy?”
“Yes, she’s already visited a few North Island wineries. This week was to source specific wines from the top of the South Island.”
“You’ll need to change her tickets to my name and book a set for yourself, as well.”
“Me?”
A small frown creased between his eyebrows. “Why not?”
“I don’t usually do these trips. My role is more one of support here, at home.”
“I need you with me.”
“Surely you can—”
“Anna, you’re coming with me. We’re not departing until early evening on Thursday and will be returning to Auckland on Tuesday morning. The office can survive a few days without you.”
“But Charles—”
“Has a new P.A. now. Or had you forgotten that?”
Judd eyed Anna carefully. He hadn’t expected an opportunity to get her alone and to himself quite so quickly but he certainly wasn’t going to waste it. Getting her out from under his father’s roof and into his own bed had become a task he’d begun to relish. His sister’s display of pique had fallen right into his hands. He’d thank