Tempting Adam

by Dorie Graham

  She lay with him in the sunshine, warm and satisfied and more relaxed than she could ever remember being. No thoughts of the past. No thoughts of the future. Only now, this moment existed.

  She smiled up at him. “Okay, flip over. It’s high time I examined this tattoo. I’ve only caught glimpses of it so far and it’s driving me to distraction.

  “You promised you wouldn’t make fun.”

  “I won’t. I love that you’re so confident in your masculinity that you can wear a rose on your ass.”

  Yes, this was exactly what she’d needed. A day of feasting and frolicking.

  Why hadn’t she thought of it sooner?

  “WHAT WAS I THINKING?” Lauren pressed her palms to her suddenly aching head and squeezed her eyes shut.

  Adam glanced at her from his spot behind the wheel as they raced back to Atlanta. “I’m sure it’s all fixable. You know how Elliot is prone to overdramatizing everything.”

  Anger boiled up inside her. “Don’t make light of this, Adam. We’re talking about my livelihood here. He said Bennett followed the director off the set, after yelling something about breach of contract.”

  She shoved her cell phone back into her bag, wishing she’d left it in the trunk and was still oblivious to the chaos that had ensued in her absence. “I should have been there.”

  “You couldn’t have known.”

  “I should never have let you talk me into taking the day off.”

  “You were exhausted. How do you know you would have made a difference if you’d been there?”

  “I would have reined Elliot in. I just never thought he’d argue with a client. He and Bennett have always gotten along—seen eye-to-eye on everything.”

  “Look, we’ll go right now to see Bennett—”

  “We won’t be doing anything. I’ll take care of this. You’ve done enough already.”

  “I can explain to Bennett—”

  “Damn it, Adam, will you just butt out? You can’t fix everyone else’s problems. Can’t you see where all your help has gotten me?”

  His eyes narrowed. “So, this is my fault?”

  “You and your great idea to play hooky.”

  “Up until you picked up that phone you were perfectly happy with it.”

  Her cheeks burned. While she basked naked in the sun, her business had nearly gone to ruin. “You don’t understand. We can’t lose that account.”

  “You don’t know that you have.”

  “If that commercial doesn’t air on time, which I don’t see how it can after today’s debacle, then we are in breach of contract and Bennett has every right to take his business elsewhere.” Her voice rose to an almost hysterical pitch.

  “Calm down.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down! Do you have any idea how much time and money we have tied up in that campaign?”

  “I’m just saying, it doesn’t make sense for Bennett to walk away. He’d be better off trying to resolve this with you than to start over from scratch elsewhere.”

  “He already walked away.”

  “People do things in the heat of the moment.”

  A dry laugh worked its way from her throat. “Don’t I know it.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Just that sometimes people do react to the heat of the moment.”

  “And then later regret it?”

  She lifted her chin. “Yes.”

  “Lauren—”

  “Don’t.” She held up her hand to stop him. “Just take me home.”

  What an idiot she’d been. How had she let him talk her into missing the shoot? She’d been thinking with the wrong body part, for sure. Well, she wouldn’t make this mistake twice. She folded her too-pink arms. She’d been burned in more than one way today.

  And she didn’t intend to let that happen again.

  12

  “WHERE IS RUSTY?” Adam slammed his truck door, then stomped over to where Manuel lifted a small pear tree from the back of his truck.

  “He…uh…had an errand to run. He’ll be back.”

  Adam’s already black mood darkened. He grabbed a second tree from the open bed. “You two were supposed to finish this job this morning. When is he getting back?”

  Manuel shrugged, keeping his eyes averted. “Don’t get angry, boss. I’m sure he’ll be here any minute.”

  “Chris and Eric are busy at Town Center. Guess that inspection at Cross Creek will have to wait. I promised we’d be out of here this afternoon.”

  “Mrs. Edington has already come out twice, asking how we’re doing. She’s planning some party tonight or something.”

  “Then we’ll just have to get the job done.” Adam frowned. His day had been plenty full without having to pick up Rusty’s slack.

  With a shake of his head, he followed Manuel. Maybe the hard work would improve his temper. God knows, between Lauren and her brother, he needed to vent some of this frustration.

  Rusty showed up an hour later, his eyes wide as he spotted Adam. “Adam, hi. I didn’t know you would be stopping by.”

  Adam stood, wiping the dirt from his hands. “We had an agreement when you took this job.”

  “Right. I know. I’m sorry. It’s just that…”

  “It’s what?”

  The young man’s expression hardened. “I wish you hadn’t meddled in my business.”

  Adam stared at him, incredulous. “Meddled?”

  “Why’d you have to talk Sherry into going back to her old man? I’ve just come from trying to convince her to stay, but she said her dad’s increasing her allowance and letting her move into the garage apartment.”

  He stormed away a couple of steps, then stomped back. “She was perfectly happy until you butted in.”

  “You wanted her to leave.”

  “Well, maybe for a while, but…” Rusty’s shoulders sagged. “All of a sudden she’s so excited about going back and she’s talking about this guy from there and he’s calling, and she’s saying she hopes we can still be friends…it just doesn’t feel right—her leaving.”

  “Rusty, you can’t tell me you suddenly have feelings for this girl—”

  “What if I do? What would you know about it, anyway? It’s not like you’re some expert on love or anything.”

  Adam ground his teeth. What did he know about love? He had thought he and Lauren were headed in that direction, but now she wouldn’t give him the time of day. She wasn’t even returning his phone calls since yesterday.

  “Maybe you have a point. I’m no expert, for sure. But I’m willing to bet I know more than you think I do.”

  “Ha, how? When have you ever had a relationship that lasted more than a few weeks?”

  Anger simmered through Adam at Rusty’s insolent tone. Had he been such a bad role model? “I’ve got one pretty good relationship right now that’s lasted twenty some years.”

  “Ah, hell, Adam, I’m not talking about what you and Lauren have. I mean a real relationship—like between a man and a woman.”

  “And what are we?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Adam gazed steadily at him until the youth’s eyes widened.

  “You…and my sister?”

  “Since right before you got back.”

  Rusty’s eyes narrowed. “Well, that’s just great.”

  “It was until yesterday.”

  “Well, good. You might as well be miserable, too. It’s only fair.” He stalked off toward Manuel.

  Adam glared after him. He didn’t have time for this. “Manuel,” he called. “Can the two of you wind this up within the hour?”

  “Sure, boss. We’re just about done. You go on.”

  With a curt nod, Adam turned, then headed for his truck. Meddled? Is that what Rusty thought? Obviously, Lauren and her brother did not appreciate his help, even though he had meant well.

  So much for good intentions. It seemed all he’d managed to do was muck things up. Well, from now on, maybe they c
ould fix their own problems.

  “I’M SORRY, Ms. Bryant, Mr. Bennett is still in a meeting,” Bennett’s secretary recited across the phone line.

  Lauren sighed. “Will you please tell him I called…again?”

  “Certainly.”

  “When should I try him back?”

  “He’s booked for the rest of the day, but I will give him your message. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  Get him to call me back. Ask him to be merciful? “No. Thank you. I’ll try him back later.”

  Elliot peeked in through her open door as she disconnected. “Still no luck?”

  She shook her head, staring at the bills that had arrived in the day’s mail. She had another stack she’d just paid. They had to work this out soon.

  “I’m so sorry, doll. Guess I went a little too far. I’m going to fix it. You’ll see. But I have to say, that director didn’t know his—”

  “What’s done is done. I should have been there, so I’m as much to blame. We’ll find a way through this.”

  “It’s not the end of the world. We have other clients. Besides, I’m guessing Norma’s about ready to sign.”

  “Is she ready to come in for a presentation?”

  “I called her after the fiasco yesterday. Thought I might be able to soothe over the bad news with a little good news. The message on her voice mail says they’re out of town, but they’ll be back in a couple of days and I have a really good feeling about that account.

  “I know her. I know what she likes and I’m telling you, she’s going to flip over that men-in-uniform campaign. If I do say so myself, the whole hero-worship angle will have the women flocking to the store opening in droves. I know just the models to use.”

  “Well, you keep working on that. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

  He nodded, then left. With a groan, she dropped her head to her folded arms. In spite of her long weekend, she’d never felt more drained. Why did life have to be so hard?

  KAMIRA SET a steaming cup of tea before Lauren. “Drink up. It’ll help you relax.”

  Lauren glared at her. “That’s a dirty word.”

  “Tea?”

  “Relax.”

  With a shake of her head, Kamira sank onto the sofa beside her. “You can’t let what happened the other day get you down. Things always have a way of working out for the best. Maybe you’re better off without that bagel account.”

  “I’ve left half a dozen messages over the past two days and Bennett hasn’t returned one call.”

  “Maybe he just needs some time to cool off.”

  “Well, I’m heading over there tomorrow and I’m not leaving until he sees me.”

  “You go get him, girl.”

  Lauren raised her teacup. “I’ll grovel, if need be. He just has to give us a second chance.”

  “How could he say no to you? It’ll work out.”

  “Right.” She took a long swallow of the warm brew, letting it soothe the tightness in her throat.

  She could do it. She could convince Bennett to let them reshoot the commercial. And she’d be sure to be there this time to see that all went well.

  “You’ve got that other big account you’re working. That looks good, doesn’t it?” Kamira asked.

  “I don’t know. It’s hard to say.”

  “Well, you said this lingerie woman would sign if she decided she liked you. And if she cut her trip short to help you out with Adam, she must like you.”

  Lauren closed her eyes against the memory of Adam’s heated gaze as she stood before him in the merry widow. She’d do better to remember how he’d coerced her into abandoning her real duties. Blinking, she refocused on her current situation.

  “I guess so, but getting her to talk business is complicated. Elliot says we have to let her come to it on her own. The trouble is that she doesn’t ever seem to want to discuss it.”

  “Well, they’re going to have to make a decision soon to advertise their store opening, right?”

  “Yeah. They really need to get on the ball.”

  “They’d be fools not to give their business to Entice. It’s like the two were meant to work together. I think you should just quit worrying. They’re bound to sign with you. I just can’t see how you could work so hard and it not pay off. That would be too unfair.”

  Frowning, Lauren sipped more of the tea. She wouldn’t comment on the unfairness of the world. She’d get too depressed if she did.

  “Enough about me and my troubles. What’s up with you these days?” she asked Kamira.

  Her housemate was quiet a moment, then she sighed. “Greg and I broke up.”

  Guilt filled Lauren. Here she’d been dwelling on her own misery, when Kamira was dealing with a breakup. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay, really. I’m cool with it.”

  “You are? So, tell me what happened.”

  “Well, I liked your idea about the cookbook, but when I stopped by with a can of whipped cream, he wasn’t so enthusiastic.”

  “Really?”

  “He was a little put out. Actually, he was a lot put out.”

  “You’re kidding. I thought all guys went for that stuff. Was it just the whipped cream maybe? Could he have a food allergy, or maybe he just doesn’t like the stuff.”

  “No. He said he didn’t know I was into kinky sex and if that was what I wanted, I should look for it elsewhere.”

  “No way.”

  “Yes. So I took my whipped cream and I left.”

  “I’m so sorry. I should never have suggested it.”

  “It was a fantastic idea. I have been wanting to try something like that ever since you showed me your cookbook. I think it’s wonderful that you and Adam have that kind of relationship.”

  “Had.”

  “Aw, hon, you can’t just end it like that.”

  “You ended your relationship over a can of whipped cream. I think it makes perfect sense to end mine over the possible collapse of my business.”

  “Is it really that serious?”

  “It feels like it is.”

  “But, Lauren, you do have a tendency to expect the worst. Realistically, will losing this one account put you under?”

  The old anxiety rose in Lauren. She glared at Kamira. “Expecting the worst prepares you for the worst.”

  Kamira sighed. “But can you really blame Adam?”

  All the anger and hurt from the last couple of days crowded in on Lauren. “His work ethic and mine don’t jive. Obviously, he wasn’t good for me. I was right in the first place. I don’t have time for that kind of distraction.”

  The tightness in her throat swelled to an unbearable ache. She blinked back unwanted moisture in her eyes.

  I will not cry.

  “You should think about it, Lauren. I wouldn’t toss aside what you two have over this. It isn’t as though he deliberately sabotaged your agency.”

  Lauren sat in brooding silence. She was still too angry to think straight. Her emotions were all in a tangle. Was Kamira right? Was she unrealistically blaming Adam? God, she missed the simpler times they’d shared. She missed having him to lean on when times were rough.

  Had her fears cost her her best friend?

  Desperate to change the subject, she asked, “What’s that cute little Mark up to?”

  Nala, Kamira’s cat, took that moment to spring onto the couch between them. She preened a moment as Kamira stroked her back. “Well, actually, we had a very interesting conversation right after Greg and I broke up.”

  “Really? What kind of conversation?”

  Kamira’s eyes rounded. “One about how he has a thing for older women.”

  “I knew it! So?”

  “So, what?”

  “So, you and Mark?”

  Kamira petted the cat one last time, then sank back into the soft cushions. “He’s so young.”

  “He’s twenty-two. It isn’t as though you’d be breaking any laws.”

  “No, but�
��”

  “And he’s a really great guy, who seems awfully interested in you.”

  “He is very mature for his age. I’ll give him that.”

  “So?”

  Kamira laughed and somehow the sound lifted some of Lauren’s tension. “I’m thinking about it. Don’t pressure me. I really will give it some thought.”

  ADAM SWUNG. The tennis ball connected with the sweet spot on his racket. God, it felt good to hit something.

  The yellow speck sailed across the net. Brad Chambers lunged. He missed. The ball touched down neatly within bounds, ending the match.

  “You’re killing me today, Morely. How about a re-match?” Brad stepped to the net and offered his hand.

  Adam grasped the man’s hand in a hardy shake. “You don’t know how badly I needed this, but I really have to get back to work. How about next week?”

  “Sure. I’ll give you a call. That’ll give me some time to work on my backhand.”

  They gathered their belongings, then headed for the locker room. Chambers mopped the sweat from his forehead as they walked. “Clyde Morris told me you hooked him up with a great gal who does advertising.”

  Adam blew out a breath. Would Lauren say he was meddling if he kept sending business her way? “That’s right.”

  “Well, business has been a little off at those dry cleaners I’ve got. Do you think she could help?”

  For a moment Adam walked with him in silence. In spite of the fact he was still mad at her, he still cared about Lauren and her business. Damn, he still cared a lot about her. If only the woman wasn’t so stubborn.

  He blew out a breath. He still saw red when he thought of how she blamed him for her current predicament. If he was at all responsible for Entice’s woes, though, maybe this was one way to help make it up to her. She probably didn’t deserve it, but he’d never been the vindictive type.

  Besides, she was nothing if not professional. She did her job well.

  Finally, he turned to Chambers. “Yeah, she can help.”

  LAUREN STARED at the large fish tank in Bennett’s reception area. She had been to the offices here before, but had never had the chance to study their aquatic decor in such minute detail. Half a dozen fish in various colors, a small fake scuba diver and seven varieties of plants—some fake, some real—filled the small tank. A bright-blue fish darted from behind some waving greenery.