He would deny it if anyone claimed her words stunned him, but that was the truth. Did he really have a reputation for being a difficult boss? A workaholic? Apparently his family thought so or he wouldn’t be in this predicament right now. Were they right?
Before he could come up with a response to the line she’d drawn in the sand, she said good-night and coolly turned away from him, heading for her suite. Staring at her trim back and shapely butt, he was again speechless, but for a different reason. It could have something to do with nearly swallowing his tongue. The woman had a body that would make a man follow her anywhere. Any man but him.
He couldn’t decide whether to be angry at her audacity in challenging him, or in awe of her nerve and composure while doing it. She’d surprised him again and not in a good way. And another thing. Why had he pushed back so hard for her to stay tonight? She was right about the fact that the work could wait until tomorrow.
He refused to believe that it had anything to do with keeping her there so he wouldn’t be alone. Lonely. He was either tired or just being stupid and didn’t know which. Or maybe it was both. That wasn’t a riddle that had to be solved right now and he resolved to focus on what he could handle.
He absolutely could get someone to replace her.
* * *
The next morning, Justine got ready for work. Cal hadn’t fired her, although that was a technicality since she walked away before he could say much of anything. It was certainly possible that he’d fumed all night and was going to can her this morning—face-to-face. But she hoped not. She wanted to open her own yoga studio, and the dream was so close she could practically touch it.
She’d certainly thought it over all night and had no regrets about putting her foot down to keep him from walking all over her. If anyone knew how short life could be, it was her, and no way she was going to burn the candle at both ends for a paycheck. If he sent her packing she’d simply find another way to put together the rest of the money she needed.
And he was supposed to be on vacation, for Pete’s sake!
She looked at herself in the suite’s freestanding, full-length mirror. Her long hair fell past her shoulders, shiny and straight. For work she normally put it up for convenience, but she might not be working much longer. If a small part of her was using every female asset in her arsenal to get on the good side of her boss, well, so be it. That was, of course, presupposing Calhoun Hart even had a good side.
Her silky blouse was off-white, sleeveless and tucked into linen slacks that were long enough to graze the floor even in heels. No chance of showing any bare leg. Plus lightweight enough for this tropical island climate. And professional.
“I am woman. Hear me roar,” she said to her reflection. “Meow.”
With nerves jumping in her stomach, she exited her room and walked, head held high, as confidently as possible into the villa’s main living area. It was early, but Cal was already up. In his khaki shorts and flowered shirt he looked like a tourist. The white cast on his left leg had her heart twisting with sympathy, proof it had not stayed strong and in solidarity with last night’s rebellion.
“Good morning,” he said. “I ordered breakfast.”
Her gaze drifted to the covered dishes on the coffee table. There was an impressive number of them. “I should get to work.”
“You should eat something first. It’s the most important meal of the day.” He poured coffee from an insulated pitcher into a second mug in front of him. “It’s breakfast. Break fast. Fuel your body to maximize performance.”
It seemed as if he was pretending their difference of opinion had never happened, and that was just fine with her.
“I’d love some coffee. Thanks.” She sat in the club chair to his right.
“Cream? Sugar?” He met her gaze.
“No and no. Black is great.” She took the cup and saucer he held out.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked to eat and ordered a little of everything.”
“That’s getting to be a habit with you.” She was teasing. Sort of.
But this showing his nice side was turning into a disconcerting pattern. She’d prepared herself to deal with the driven workaholic from last night, not this softie who was hard-selling a well-balanced, nutritious meal. This guy made her feel feelings she wasn’t at all comfortable with.
“As habits go,” she said, “it’s not a bad one.”
“Full disclosure. It’s not entirely selfless, either.” He grinned suddenly. “A well-fed employee is a productive one.”
A smiling Cal looked younger, more carefree and less tense. And so handsome she could only stare at him. It was several moments before his words registered and the message was received. Employee. As in he was not going to terminate her. The weight of uncertainty lifted and she smiled back.
“I will be so productive that you won’t be able to keep up with me.”
“Is that a challenge, Miss Walker?” There was a gleam in his eyes now, a spark of competition.
“Absolutely.”
“Then you’re on. Eat up.”
Since he’d ordered a little of everything, she sampled it all. Omelet, eggs Benedict, oatmeal and all the trimmings. But the fruit...mango, papaya and pineapple—yum. They ate in silence.
“So you like Blackwater Lake?” Cal finished the last bite of food and set his empty plate on the coffee table.
“Very much. It’s beautiful.” She met his gaze. “But I already mentioned that. There’s a serenity about it. That sounds mystical and spiritual and I don’t mean to be woo-woo weird, but peacefulness is in the air.”
“That’s because you don’t have family there,” he said drily.
“I wish I did. My parents, brothers and sister all live in Texas. They were not happy when I broke the news about the company headquarters moving.”
“Would it help if I apologized to them and did a PowerPoint presentation to lay out my reasons for relocating?”
“So it wasn’t about being closer to your brothers and sister?”
“My parents are still in Dallas, too. So it wasn’t an easy decision.” Absently he kneaded his left knee, as if the muscles hurt. “There’s still a large dependence on fossil fuels, but renewable energy is the future. It’s my gut feeling that overseeing it from Blackwater Lake is the best way to go.”
She wouldn’t be with Hart Energy much longer and his commitment to its future made her a little sad about that. But that was his dream and she had one of her own.
“I can’t eat another bite.” She set her not quite empty plate on the table beside his. “And it’s time for me to get to work.”
“I left a list of what I need on your desk.” His mouth twitched, the only sign that he was thinking about their disagreement.
She stood and nodded. “I’ll get right on it.”
Moving away from the power of her boss’s aura was a relief, and Justine buried herself in the familiarity of work. Reports, spreadsheets, phone calls and research meant she didn’t have to think about the way a smile transformed his face, or how his teasing made her laugh. In the last few years laughter had been a stranger in her world. Changing that started with being her own boss, not bonding with her current one.
Four hours later, Justine was paying a price for burying herself in work. Her whole body was stiff and every muscle ached. Last night’s mutiny hadn’t been only about principle. Working long hours taxed her physically, and her leg needed regular stretching out to keep it from painful cramping.
She straightened in her chair and carefully stood, but couldn’t suppress a wince of discomfort.
“Are you in pain?” Cal’s voice was sharp, but that didn’t hide a note of concern.
She’d thought he was engrossed in work and it surprised her that he’d noticed. That didn’t mean she was comfortable with the fact th
at he had.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“Don’t do that.” He looked and sounded even more annoyed, if possible. “You don’t have to be superwoman.”
To atone for pushing back against a fourteen-hour day. He didn’t say the words, but they still hovered in the air.
“I’m not pretending to be anything. I really am fine. It’s just that if I sit for long periods of time, my leg gets stiff and a little uncomfortable.”
“I assumed you were kidding about competing work output.”
“Yeah, but I also said I work hard while on the clock,” she said.
“I appreciate the effort, but you should have said something.” Now he sounded ticked off at himself.
“I just did. A fifteen-minute break to stretch it out will do the trick. In physical therapy after the accident, I learned techniques to take care of it. I’ll be back shortly—more alert and productive than ever. And most important, it’s relaxing. I’m used to this happening and know exactly what to do.” She half turned, intending to disappear into her room to do what she needed to in order to loosen up the muscles.
“Don’t leave on my account,” he said. “In fact, I might need some of those techniques myself after this cast comes off.”
Justine knew better than most that he had a point about life after his broken bone healed. Learning yoga during her physical rehabilitation literally got her back on her feet. The experience came really close to saving her life and the lesson was so profound, it changed her life. Or rather, her career goals. The dream to open her own yoga studio was conceived through her intense need to pay it forward and help others the way she’d been helped. How could she say no to this injured man?
“Okay,” she finally said. “Just remember you asked for it.”
She moved to a large area not far from the open French doors leading to the patio. She breathed deeply of the humid, tropical air, then released it. Turning, she saw that Cal was watching her closely, and her heart jumped. It was prudent to pretend that hadn’t happened.
She kicked off her shoes and stood barefoot, facing him. “Normally for a session I wear stretchy yoga pants, so I’ll have to wing it in this outfit.”
“Do you want to change?”
“I only have a fifteen-minute break,” she said to the man who’d gone to battle for more work hours. “It won’t be a problem.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to show you the tree pose.”
“A tree doesn’t immediately make one think of stretching,” he mused. “Sounds a little like an oxymoron to me.”
“Movements don’t have to be sweeping and dramatic to make a big difference,” she pointed out. “Just stand straight, shifting your weight to your legs and feet. Then bring your right foot up to your left inner thigh. In the beginning it can be challenging to find balance so it’s all right to place your foot on the calf instead.”
“And then?”
“Hold the pose and breathe.”
“And this does what, exactly?”
“Strengthens your legs and back. Standing straight improves posture and works out the kinks from sitting at a desk for long periods of time.”
“That sounded remarkably like a dig. Is it supposed to make me feel guilty?”
“Not unless it’s working.” She switched legs and grinned at him.
“Does that tree pose also turn a person sassy and sarcastic?”
“Just a happy side effect,” she said serenely.
“Hmm. And you were preaching it as a relaxation technique.”
“Indulging sass and sarcasm can be very relaxing.” She finished the pose and had both feet on the floor. “Next we have the triangle pose.”
“Sounds intriguing.”
She ignored that and continued her running commentary. “This opens your chest and improves balance. Widen your stance and turn your right foot to the side, keeping your heel in line with the center of the left foot. Reach one arm out to the side, bend and touch the other to your extended foot. Again, hold and breathe. Repeat on the other side.”
“And is that one relaxing?” There was a slight edge to his voice.
“Are you asking whether or not I feel a zinger coming on?”
“Not really.” He shrugged. “I sort of figured that was a given. I’m actually getting used to it.”
“Bracing yourself is not a relaxed way to be. For your own well-being, pay attention.”
“Right.”
“You’re a skeptic now, but let’s see how you feel when that cast comes off and one calf is half the size of the other because the muscles are atrophied from not being used.”
“Have you got a move for that?”
“As a matter of fact...warrior one.”
“Battle?” One of his eyebrows rose. “Seriously? I am actually more than a little skeptical of that being relaxing. Or helpful.”
“Watch and learn, little grasshopper.” She gave him a smirk. “This is for power and strength in the body. Stand straight, then move your left leg backward. Bend your right knee and turn your left foot slightly inward. Then raise your arms above you, stretching as high as you can, feeling that stretch into your fingertips. Hold and breathe. Again, repeat on the other side.”
Justine lost herself in the pose, concentrating on her breathing and stretching. When she was finished, she felt refreshed and ready to resume working. The technique never failed to relax her. But one look at Cal told her the yoga lesson had the opposite effect on him.
His mouth was pulled tight and there was tension in the line of his jaw. But the expression in his eyes threw her completely off balance. Since her husband had died in the car accident, no man had looked at her the way Cal was now. As if he wanted her more than his next breath.
Chapter Three
There wasn’t enough yoga in the whole world to make Cal relax after watching Justine stretch like that. Reaching up lengthened the lines of her body, showed off the toned muscles and put her spectacular curves on mouth-watering display. The lady had a limp and, in spite of that, she was lithe, limber and luscious. And he felt as if his whole body hurt from trying to pretend he hadn’t noticed any of that.
The worst part was that he had no one to blame but himself. She’d warned him. He did ask for it. “Don’t leave on my account,” he muttered under his breath, thoroughly disgusted with himself. “ I might need some of those techniques myself after this cast comes off.”
The thoughts he’d been having ever since were inappropriate. He might be a workaholic, but he wasn’t a pig.
Thank goodness she was done for the day. He didn’t push the overtime issue again. No one could say he wasn’t capable of learning. She’d been dismissed at quitting time but he continued to work. At least, he was trying. But after starting to read a technical report for the fourth time, he was about to throw in the towel. His mind kept wandering to the vision of that silky blouse outlining her breasts. The only thing sexier would be seeing her naked.
“Damn it.” He rubbed his thigh and mentally smacked himself for more inappropriate thoughts.
What was it about her that was turning him into a hormone-overdosed teenager? Whether she was in the room with him or not, the place just felt different.
He glanced out the open French doors and saw her sitting by the pool in a patio chair, her back to him. Come to think of it, she’d been out there for a while. And as far as he could tell, she hadn’t moved.
“None of my business. She’s off the clock.” He started at the beginning of the report. Again.
Almost immediately his attention wandered back outside to Justine’s trim, straight back. She’d changed from work clothes into cotton pants and a tank top for her foray into doing absolutely nothing. Although he recognized the fact that it was a beautiful setting—the
crystal clear pool, wicker furniture with brightly colored cushions and the pristine white sand in front of the sea. The sun was setting and turning the underside of the wispy clouds orange, gold and purple. But she continued to do absolutely nothing, and that had him acutely curious.
He grabbed the crutches resting beside him and pulled himself up, then propped them beneath his arms and hobbled outside. There was an empty chair beside her and he lowered himself into it.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Not working.” She looked at him. “And neither are you, apparently.”
“I’m taking a break.” Ha. “So, seriously, what are you doing?”
“I’m looking at the sand, the ocean and that spectacular sunset.”
“I don’t mean this in a bad way—”
“Have you ever noticed that when someone says that, whatever comes next will not be positive reinforcement? It will be disapproving.”
Guilty, he thought, then barreled ahead anyway. “You’ve been looking at the view for a really long time.”
“It’s worth spending a lot of time on taking it all in.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s stunning. The beauty of nature fills up my soul.”
“Considering the length of your examination, can one assume your soul was that empty?”
The corners of her mouth curved up. “I’m filling the reserve tank. For tomorrow. You should try it.”
“So you think my soul is a quart low?”
“Judging by the defensiveness of your tone, I’d say that’s a very good possibility.”
“Are you always this mystical?” he asked.
“Are you always this nosy?” she countered.
“Maybe.”
“That’s a lot of negative energy. Why don’t you take in that magnificent view and think peaceful, healing thoughts?”
“What if I don’t—”
“Just give it a try,” she suggested.
“Okay.” He set the crutches on the cement patio beside him and rested his injured leg on the chair’s matching ottoman.
His by Christmas Page 3