Every Road to You

by Phyllis Bourne

  Judging by the firm set of his jaw, he was unhappy with her.

  Again.

  Dark brown eyes drilled into hers before his gaze strayed to her legs and lingered as if he found their current position offensive.

  It wasn’t as if she’d invited him to her office, Tia thought. It was after business hours. They were her legs, atop her desk, and it was none of his business what she did with them.

  Still, she swung them down and slid her feet back into her pumps. As she did, Tia stole a moment to appreciate him—solely on his eye-candy appeal.

  Smooth, dark skin, dreamy brown eyes and a lean, fit body. Yum, she thought, fighting an urge to smack her lips. He’d eschewed yesterday’s suit and tie for a baseball cap, khakis and a black polo shirt, its short sleeves revealing strong, muscled arms. Nope. Her mind hadn’t exaggerated his attractiveness. Not at all.

  “Ethan, I didn’t expect to see you again,” she said.

  “I didn’t expect to have to return.”

  Tia rose from her desk. She definitely needed that tea now. “Well, I was just headed downstairs for a cup of tea. Can I bring one for you?”

  Tia wasn’t positive, but she thought she saw a lightning bolt split the storm clouds gathering above his head. The expression on his handsome face darkened to downright thunderous.

  “I don’t want any tea,” he said, every word laced with barely contained fury. “You and I need to talk. Right now.”

  Apparently, her mind hadn’t exaggerated his obnoxiousness either.

  Tia crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s been a long day. I’m tired, and I have a lot of work to do,” she said. “I spoke with Carol this morning, and she seemed perfectly fine to me. In fact, the more I talked to her, the more I realized you’re the one who needs to sit down and have a conversation with her. If you’d just listen to what she has to say, I’m sure it would put your mind at ease.”

  He took a step toward her, and she couldn’t help noticing his Yankees cap covered a fresh haircut, the sideburns giving it away. Underneath the brim, his brown eyes bored into hers with razor sharpness. “I can’t talk to my grandmother, Ms. Gray, and my mind definitely is not at ease, because she’s gone.”

  For a moment, his declaration made Tia nervous. Then she remembered how he’d gotten her all wound up over the jail thing, which turned out not to be a big deal at all.

  “She’s probably just out for the evening,” Tia said, careful not to mention Glenn. Something told her Carol hadn’t mentioned reuniting with an old boyfriend to her grandson.

  Tia could also see how Ethan’s overprotectiveness could drive his grandmother nuts. He was starting to prick her nerves, too.

  “Not out for the evening. Gone,” Ethan reiterated. “She took off on the back of some old geezer’s Harley to pursue some ludicrous list.”

  “She what?” Tia’s jaw dropped before the corners of her mouth tilted upward. She covered her lips with her fingertips to smother her first laugh of the day. “Well, good for Carol.”

  The man facing her made a sound low in his throat that sounded like a growl.

  “There’s nothing good or remotely funny about this situation,” he said. “Exactly what did you say to my grandmother this morning? Did you know she was planning to take off with some man?”

  Tia sighed. She should have gone down for that cup of tea. Too bad the tranquil blend didn’t come in double shots like espresso. “She didn’t mention going on a trip, but Carol is a grown woman. She doesn’t have to check in with me.” Or you.

  He reached into his pants pocket and retrieved a sheet of paper that looked as if it had been crumpled in his fist.

  “What do you know about this?” He held it out to her.

  Tia took the paper and smoothed it out against her flat stomach. It was a copy of the same list Carol had shown her this morning, only with red-ink notations and exclamation marks she assumed were added by Ethan.

  “Carol’s bucket list,” she said.

  “You don’t seem to be surprised by the items on it or the sheer lunacy of a woman her age pursuing them.”

  “She’s an adult.” Tia shrugged and handed it back to him. “And it’s none of my business.”

  Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve seen this list before, haven’t you?”

  “You should be talking to your grandmother.”

  “You have,” he said, answering his own question. “And why do I also think this whole bucket-list garbage was your idea in the first place?”

  Tia walked around her desk and plopped down in her chair. She looked up at Ethan, who was still glaring at her, nostrils flaring, waiting on an answer.

  “So what if your grandmother is off having some real fun for a change instead of filling her time with garden clubs and baking brownies for fund-raisers?”

  Bracing his arms on her desk, Ethan leaned forward. Close enough for Tia to pick up the notes of sandalwood in his aftershave when she inhaled. Crap attitude or not, the man smelled good.

  “It was a life she was perfectly happy with until you came along, putting stupid ideas like this bucket list into her head.”

  Tia rose from her chair and met his hard stare head-on. “You’re wrong. She wasn’t happy,” she said. “Carol was stuck in a boring existence and identity she didn’t know how to break out of, so if I indeed played a small part in helping her claim a more exciting life for herself, I’m thrilled.”

  If it were possible for a human head to explode, Tia suspected Ethan’s was on the brink of it. Still, she was on a roll and pressed on.

  “If you want my advice, I think you need to chill out and give her some much-needed space.”

  “Un-freaking-believable.” Ethan then muttered something about fruit loops. He threw his hands in the air and began pacing a path in front of her desk. “After all the trouble you’ve caused, you’re still dishing out more of your awful advice. Lady, you need to stick to hairdos and mud packs.”

  “M-my advice isn’t awful,” she sputtered. This time it was her own head in danger of spontaneously combusting.

  He stopped midpace. “My seventy-four-year-old grandmother is planning to jump out of a plane. All because of you.”

  Skydiving sounded a heck of a lot better than gluing Popsicle sticks on crafts day at the senior citizens’ center, she fought the urge to point out. It would only escalate an already tense conversation into an ugly game of tit for tat, which wouldn’t resolve anything.

  Tia stood. Reaching across the desk, she placed her hand on his forearm. A pulse of awareness shot through her at the feel of his bare skin beneath her hand, its intensity increasing to a throb as her fingertips grazed the ropes of sinewy muscle.

  Their gazes connected. Ethan’s hard, dark eyes softened, and in that instant, Tia could have spent the rest of the day just staring into them.

  She’d only meant the touch as a conciliatory gesture, but something passed between them. Something hot. It made Tia wish he’d stormed into her office for an entirely different reason, locking the door behind him as she presented him with her own list. A sizzling-sex bucket list.

  The sound of Ethan clearing his throat broke the spell, and Tia snatched her hand away. He looked down at where she’d touched him and back to her face. By then, his eyes had recouped their steely edge, making her wonder if she’d imagined the brief encounter.

  Of course she had, Tia thought. Work and worrying about her family’s business had dominated her time, and she’d neglected her social life to the point of nonexistence. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been out on a date, and as a result, her mind was playing tricks on her.

  Rubbing the hand still tingling from the momentary contact, Tia snapped her mind back to the topic. Hopefully, her traitorous body would follow its lead.

  “Try putting yourself in your
grandmother’s shoes,” she began. “Would you want to spend your golden years living the life everyone expects or having the time of your life?”

  He continued to stare at her, his expression unreadable, and Tia hoped she’d been convincing enough for him to at least consider the question.

  She held her breath waiting on his answer, until finally, Ethan opened his mouth to speak.

  “Is that the load of bull you pedal to your clients?” He chuckled, but there was no humor in the sound. “You’re good, lady, I’ll give you that much. You should be the lawyer.”

  The man had depleted her supply of patience, and she was tapping into her reserves. “If you’d just try listening...”

  “Don’t even try shoveling more of that time-of-your-life shit my way,” he said, resuming his pacing in front of her desk. “In fact, since you love advice so much, I’ve got some for you.”

  Tia returned to her chair. “I’d be interested in hearing what you have to say because I understand the importance of listening to someone else’s input on a subject.” Unlike you, she resisted the temptation to add.

  Maybe if she led by example, she could manage to get through to him. Tia didn’t have to deal with him on a regular basis, thank God, but Carol did, and it might make her friend’s life easier.

  Again, Ethan placed his palms flat on her desk and leaned forward.

  Tia inhaled the faint scent of sandalwood and struggled not to squirm in her chair.

  “I’d advise you to pack a bag, Ms. Gray, because I’m going after my grandmother and you’re coming with me.”

  Tia opened her mouth and closed it a few times in what must have looked like the perfect impersonation of a beached fish gasping for air.

  “You’re joking, right?” she finally said.

  Ethan glanced at his watch. “I’ll give you an hour to toss a few things in a bag. Then you can either meet me at my grandmother’s or I can come get you.”

  He picked up the notepad on her desk and scribbled some numbers on it. “Here’s my mobile number,” he said, as if it was a done deal.

  “I don’t need your phone number, because my answer is no. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  He crossed his arms across his chest and the same dark eyes she was lost in earlier glinted in a way Tia knew didn’t bode well for her.

  “I’m not asking,” he said matter-of-factly. “Your accompanying me isn’t optional.”

  She bristled at the direct order. Deciding she could show him better than she could tell him, she turned to her desktop computer and clicked on a file folder containing résumés Max had compiled for her review. She had work to do.

  Her longtime assistant had weeded the hundred applicants for the manager’s position at Espresso Sanctuary’s Charlotte spa down to the top ten candidates, five of which she’d select to interview personally.

  A few minutes passed, and she glanced up from her monitor.

  “You still here?”

  He looked at his watch again and the corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk. “You’re wasting valuable packing time.”

  “You’re the one wasting time. My time,” Tia explained. “I told you no, and I meant it.”

  She inclined her head toward the door. “Please see yourself out.”

  To her amazement, he plopped down in the chair facing her desk. “The way I see it, you have one of two choices.” His tone was cool and detached. “You can help me track down my grandmother and bring her back home where she belongs, or first thing tomorrow morning, I’ll file a lawsuit against you, Espresso Cosmetics, Espresso Sanctuary and anyone else I can think of connected to you or this place.”

  Tia’s head snapped up. He was bluffing. He had to be.

  He snorted. “Got a dog? I’ll sue it, too.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t have grounds,” she said.

  Ethan shrugged. “Not now, but by the time I get to the courthouse, I’ll have a laundry list of them.”

  “Frivolous ones,” Tia countered. “You’d be laughed out of any courtroom.”

  A bead of sweat rolled down Tia’s back. She didn’t like the direction this conversation was moving or the confident look on his face. She couldn’t believe a short time ago she’d been battling the urge to drag him across her desk and find out if he could make more than her hand tingle.

  “Do you really want to chance it?” he asked. “Word is Espresso Cosmetics’ finances are on life support. Can your family’s business afford the expense of a lawsuit, even a frivolous one? Not to mention the time and negative publicity.”

  No. They couldn’t, Tia silently answered.

  “Since I rarely ask a question I don’t already know the answer to, I’ll take your silence as a no,” he said. “I’ll also assume you’ll be ready to go in—” he picked up the small silver clock on her desk “—fifty-five minutes.”

  If it were just her and Espresso to consider, Tia would have caved in to his demands. However, there was Carol, and after the tender care the older woman had administered to Tia’s ailing mother and the compassion she’d shown their entire family, there was no way she’d betray her.

  Not even if it meant losing everything.

  “I don’t like threats, and I won’t help you ruin Carol’s happiness.”

  “Have it your way, Ms. Gray.” He rose from the chair. “Either I see you this evening or I’ll see you in court.”

  For the second time in two days, Tia found herself staring at his broad back as he strode out of her office. Again, his body language exuded confidence she’d follow his orders.

  Only this time, she wouldn’t.

  She turned her attention to the phone, contemplating her next move. She needed to contact the head of Espresso’s legal department to let him know what was potentially going down. That could be handled with a phone call.

  However, she’d also need to drive down to her father’s Brentwood home to tell him in person, and Victor Gray definitely wouldn’t want to hear the company was on the brink of being dragged into a messy legal entanglement all because of her.

  The phone rang, startling Tia, and she snatched it up. To her surprise, Carol was on the other end of the line.

  She sounded happy. Her joy cemented Tia’s decision not to play a role in Ethan’s attempts to ruin it. Still, she had to warn her friend what was headed her way.

  “Just FYI, your grandson has gone absolutely ballistic,” Tia said.

  “I’m calling from my new mobile phone, otherwise I’m sure I’d be getting an earful from Ethan right now,” Carol said.

  “Even worse, he’s planning to come after you, and he tried to coerce me to join him.”

  “He’s supposed to be in Hawaii, but I figured something like that might be going on. It’s why I called,” Carol said. “I need to ask a huge favor of you.”

  Tia listened as her friend rattled off what sounded more like an outlandish scheme than a favor. True, Ethan’s boorishness was out of control, and he’d indeed crossed the line with his ultimatum. But there was no way she could do it.

  Carol was right. The man deserved to be taught a much-needed lesson. Still, it wasn’t Tia’s place to dish it out.

  Or was it?

  Chapter 4

  Ethan swiped his thumb across the phone screen, ending the brief call.

  So Tia had changed her mind.

  He’d expected it, along with her call, having backed the woman into a corner.

  Ethan ignored the twinge of conscience at his tactics. He wouldn’t have really filed a lawsuit, but Tia didn’t have to know that. Besides, she was right. His case would be shaky at best, and a judge would toss it and him out on his ass.

  Ethan sighed. He could track down his grandmother and her new biker boyfriend solo, but he’d need Tia to convince
his stubborn grandmother to abandon this foolish trip and come home.

  Tossing the overnight bag he’d originally packed as a carry-on for his Hawaii trip into his car trunk, he backed his Audi out of the attached garage of his Craftsman-style home.

  Tia had asked him to pick her up at her place, and he’d agreed. Having assumed she lived in or near her family’s palatial home inside an exclusive gated community south of the city, the address she’d rattled off surprised him. Anyone who read the business section of the newspaper knew revenues at Espresso Cosmetics were off, way off, but the Grays’ personal wealth remained intact and well into the millions.

  It wasn’t the first time Ethan had been stunned by her today. The sight of those incredibly long legs of hers perched on her desktop popped into his head, sending the blood from his brain rushing to his cock.

  Then it hit him. How in the hell was he going to endure being in the tight confines of his car with her—and those gorgeous gams?

  Ethan gripped the steering wheel with both hands as he navigated the roads leading to her condo. He’d handle it like a grown man in total control. So what if he was physically attracted to Tia?

  Thanks to his grandmother’s computer trail, he had an idea of where she and her so-called boyfriend were headed and estimated catching up to them in a day, two at the most.

  After Tia helped him talk Carol into coming home and returning to her senses, their dealings would be over, and he’d still have plenty of time to enjoy his vacation.

  Ethan flexed his fingers against the wheel, the tension between his shoulder blades easing. He switched on the satellite radio and flicked through the sports stations until he came across one airing the Yankees game.

  “You’ve got your game plan. Just stick to it,” he muttered aloud, turning up the game. “The woman may be good-looking, but she’s not irresistible.”

  Twenty minutes later, he pulled into a vacant parking space in front of the garden-style condo and checked the address. It was the right one; however, Tia wasn’t standing outside her door waiting as she’d said she would be when he arrived.