"Hmm. I think Heather's not the only one who has her eye on the lumberjack,” Terri giggled.
"Don't go getting carried away, you guys. Yes, he's good-looking. Very. But He's also stubborn, arrogant and—"
"Anyone I know?” a deep voice asked from behind them. Casey spun around to see one very handsome Alex Roy filling the doorway.
* * * *
"Alex? What the hell are you doing here?” Casey held out her hands, palms up, totally confused by his sudden appearance. Had he missed his flight and expected her to entertain him until he could catch another one? Wrong.
Or ... had he changed his mind? A flicker of hope pecked at Casey, but she cautioned herself not to get excited just yet.
"That's a surefire way to make a guy feel welcome,” he said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Well, gee. I didn't know I was welcoming you back,” Casey said, hitting him with her own brand of retort. Two could play at this game.
"I suppose not,” he said, his voice deep, smooth, and as intoxicating as it had been fourteen hours ago. He strolled into Sydnie's office and stopped a mere foot away from where Casey stood. A lazy smile tugged at one corner of his lips. “Sorry to intrude, ladies. I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."
Damn. He was even more handsome than she'd remembered. How could that be? And how the heck had she missed that amazing dimple in his left cheek when he smiled? Maybe it was because he hadn't done a lot of smiling yesterday. He'd been too busy trying to find a way to tell her, forget it.
"As a matter of fact we—"
"We're just finishing up,” Syd jumped in. She threw Casey a stern look that warned her not to blow it. “You must be Alex Roy."
"That's me."
"I'm Sydnie Riley, one of Casey's partners.” Syd came around from behind her desk and held out a hand to Alex. He accepted her gesture and the two shook hands like old friends.
"It's a pleasure, Sydnie."
"And this is Terri Alberry. She's the third partner in Studs for Hire.” Sydnie turned to Terri, her arms still loaded with manila files.
"Hey, Terri. This is a triple pleasure.” Alex winked and wasted no time in shaking Terri's hand.
"Great to meet you, Alex,” she said, shifting the stack of files from both arms to one. “That was a nice profile I read on you in Timber Home Living a while back. I bet business has been booming for you ever since."
"Well.” He shrugged. “It hasn't been too bad."
"I'm surprised you'd even be interested in Heather's crazy plans to—"
"So, what brings you down to the office on a Saturday morning, Alex?” Casey asked, interrupting Terri before she could run him off with any of her honesty.
"Actually, I was hoping I could talk to you. That is if I'm not too late."
"That depends on what it was you wanted to discuss,” Casey said firmly. She'd done her best to convince him last night to take the job, and he'd still turned her down flat. No way was she getting on her hands and knees now and begging.
Casey lifted her chin and caught a glimpse of Syd giving her her, don't blow it look, again. “Let's go to my office.” Casey took Alex by the arm and guided him from the room and out into the hallway.
As soon as they were through the door she let go, not wanting to give him, or herself for that matter, the decadent pleasure of a prolonged touch. The buttery softness of his leather jacket had invited her fingertips to explore and sparked the desire to run her hands across his chest, down his arms, and around to his back. Far too much temptation for her own good.
The spicy, outdoors scent she'd noticed yesterday still clung to his jacket and didn't help her resolve, either. Right about now she'd be happy to bury her face in the crook of his neck and inhale until delirium swept her away.
Whoa. Time to put some serious distance between them.
Opening her office door, she flicked on the lights. To keep herself busy, and to get some of that much needed distance, she crossed the room and opened the vertical blinds. The sun peeked through the gray October clouds, offering a ray of hope that maybe this was going to work out all right.
Taking a stand behind her desk, Casey put her hard, no-nonsense business facade firmly in place. Crossing her arms beneath her breasts, she waited. He'd made her sweat last night, now she'd make him do the same—at least for a while. Then, if he didn't relent like she prayed he would, maybe she'd reconsider and get down on her knees and beg.
"Nice office,” he said as he took his time inspecting her domain. “Sleek, yet sophisticated. Nice choice of colors. Butter cream, sage and rust with an Oriental flare. A fish tank to add tranquility. Even a green plant in a yellow pot. A lot of Feng Shui going on here."
"I'm thrilled you approve."
Alex chuckled. “Yeah. I can tell.” He hooked his thumbs in his jeans pockets and shifted his weight to one foot.
"So, what can I do for you this morning, Alex? Did you lose your way to the airport and need directions?” Casey knew that remark wasn't fair, and blamed the little devil on her shoulder for making her say it, but he'd walked out on her last night. He couldn't expect her to fall at his feet in gratitude since he'd come back. Well, that is, if, he'd come back. Knowing her luck, he probably was here for directions.
"You're not going to make this easy are you?” A heavy sigh escaped his lips.
"Easy? I'm not sure what you mean."
He groaned and rubbed his palm across his jaw. Casey's salivary glands kicked into overtime. What would the texture of his skin feel like next to hers? Rough? Smooth? Amazing?
"Okay. Let's do ourselves a favor,” he said, slamming the brakes on her carnal thoughts, “and forget the games. I'm going to cut right to the chase."
"Cut to the chase?” Casey's heart stumbled in her chest. What was he cutting to the chase about? He'd already turned down the job. Had she missed something? Was he going to insist on being reimbursed for the trip out here?
"About what?” she asked with caution.
"First off, I'd like to apologize for last night."
Bam. She hadn't expected that one. “Apologize? What exactly are you apologizing for? Turning down the job? Walking out without so much as a goodbye? Male arrogance?” She shrugged and planted her hands on her hips.
As much as she hated him refusing the job, he'd had every right—and he'd had a valid reason. As a business person she understood all too well that sometimes saying no, no matter how hard, was the right course to take.
He just wasn't supposed to say no to her. It had hurt her ego and her pride.
A short-clipped laugh escaped his throat, and he shook his head. “To all of the above. Things didn't end between us on the best note last night."
"Best note?” Casey narrowed her eyes and studied Alex. A man coming to her and apologizing, for whatever reason, was a rare commodity. How was she supposed to handle this one? Business school hadn't offered Understanding the Male Psyche 101 in their curriculum. She was on her own.
"There was a misunderstanding between us,” he said, raking his fingers through his hair. “I was expecting the Gridmore job to be ... something it wasn't. And you expected me to be already on board when I got here. When we both realized differently, we got defensive."
"Defensive? I don't know what you're talking about. I never get defensive.” Joy. The guy knew how to read her. Or else he was a pro at knowing what buttons to push to make a woman forget who was right and who was wrong.
Alex quirked a brow. “Never? Last night you did. And you're doing it now.” He nodded at her, indicating her rigid body language.
Irked, Casey dropped her arms to her sides. He was right. As a partner in Studs for Hire she expected herself to be a professional and handle situations like this accordingly.
For cryin’ out loud, she'd been in business long enough to know that sometimes you had to cut your losses and move on to the next deal, or you didn't survive. Yet, it wasn't every day she found herself drooling over a man who wore flannel and looked like he
should be chopping down trees, not designing magnificent homes with them.
"Case?” There was a flicker of something in his eyes. Hope, maybe? Hmm. He did say there'd been a misunderstanding between them.
Her intuition kicked in, and if it was anywhere close to being right, he was going to give her another shot. This was no time to be stubborn. For the good of her friends, and their business, she'd swallow her pride—this time.
"Apology accepted.” As Casey said the words, the tension in her body melted away.
"Then let's start out on a new note, shall we?"
"Okay.” She took a deep breath. “I'm game. Let me begin by offering you something. Beer? Wine?” She moved across the room. “A job,” she mumbled only loud enough for her own ears.
"Beer and wine? At the office? I take it you gals don't just work around here.” He took off his coat and tossed it onto the couch. The two shirts he wore, a thermal under his usual flannel, made him look even more rugged.
"Work seems like all we do around here. That's why we pride ourselves on how well we stock our refrigerators.” Casey opened the small fridge she kept hidden away in her office closet and showed off the full shelves.
"You weren't kidding about well-stocked."
"Life is short. A girl's got to sneak in some fun once in a while."
"Yeah.” His eyes turned smoky, exuding a hunger for some of that fun she'd been talking about. He cleared his throat and looked away. “Thanks for the offer. Maybe some other time."
Some other time? Could that be constituted as a rain check? She'd take it. Walking back around to the front of her desk, she leaned against its oak surface.
"Now, I'd like to offer a couple of apologies."
"Oh?” He splayed his hands on his lean hips.
"I shouldn't have allowed my emotions to get involved yesterday. This is business. I make it a rule not to let personal issues cloud my business judgment. Unfortunately I disregarded that. I'm sorry."
"It's understandable. You've got a lot at stake here."
Casey sighed. “Yes, well. That's an understatement."
"Business not going like you'd hoped?"
"Oh, no. That's not it at all. Business is good. But like I mentioned last night, we've invested a lot of time and money into this venture. None of us want to lose it. We're three single women with no one to support us if things go awry. It's a little scary to know that right now we're all one job away from destitution."
"Ah, the stresses of the ambitious entrepreneur. There's a lot of perks to owning your own business, but a lot of down sides, too. The pressure. The financial worries. Employee issues."
"Speaking from experience?"
"Well, I've had my share of trials and tribulations. Who hasn't?"
"True. I'm sorry about not being up front with you about what Heather wants. I did sort of lure you out here without much information."
"Sort of? I had no clue."
"Would you have come if I had told you Heather wanted to turn her home into Elvisland?"
"No.” Alex stepped forward, shortening the distance between them to mere inches. His gaze settled on hers, and he held her captive without even laying a hand on her. The tantalizing warmth of his body beckoned, making her tingle for the feel of his touch.
Damn. How was she supposed to focus on Elvis when her hormones were crying, begging for release with Alex? Maybe they should go ahead and sleep together? That way she could satisfy her Alex fetish and get on with the job Heather hired her to do.
"Even though it wasn't right,” he drawled, “to be honest, I don't blame you."
"Blame me?” Casey asked, feeling a little breathless. The man had such a knack for throwing her brain off kilter.
Yes. Sleeping together, and soon, strictly for the pleasure—no attachments, sounded like a damn fine idea.
"What Heather wants ... isn't exactly your run of the mill architectural project.” Alex swept a lock of her hair off her shoulder and caressed the strands between his fingers.
Hell, why wait? She should lock her office door and refuse to let him out until he'd ravaged her on her ultra-suede couch.
"There isn't an architect in their right mind, myself included, who wouldn't run like hell from a job like this."
Casey swallowed hard. “And are you in your right mind? Or can I hope your appearance means you've lost all sense and are here for more than an apology?"
"Oh ... I'm here for more.” The sienna brown of his eyes darkened again, this time almost matching the black stripes running through the neutral tones of his shirt.
Casey's insides fluttered at his silent suggestion. Her heart pounded in her chest. Pushing herself up from her desk, the high heels of her black boots put her and Alex almost nose to nose. At this close angle there was no missing every detail, no matter how tiny, on his handsome face. From the small crescent-shaped scar below his left temple, to the whiskers peppering his chin, the guy was all eye candy.
"And that more would be...?” she asked, teasing her bottom lip between her teeth. Maybe she was being a little too bold here, but then she'd never been very good at restraint.
"To tell you..."
"Yes?” Casey watched, mesmerized as a muscle worked at his jaw.
"I'll take the job."
Job? What job? Casey struggled to refocus her mind from the image of Alex wearing nothing but a smile, to one of blueprints and two by fours. Crap. The way she was acting, putting a sexual spin on his every action, his every word, you'd think she'd never had sex before in her life.
"Heather is ready to start,” he continued, his tone sounding more businesslike. “I want to get the job done and be back in Denver by the middle of December."
Reality kicked at Casey. He wanted? What the hell was going on? She had the terrible feeling she'd missed out on something—again. Probably because she was busy lusting and not paying attention. The Taboos of Office Foreplay was another non-existent college course she could put to use right about now.
"Wait a minute. I'm confused,” she said, shaking her head. Feeling the need for some space, she circled around behind her desk. “Last night you wanted nothing to do with this. You were worried about your reputation. Now?"
"To be honest, I still am."
"Then why? What changed your mind?"
"Does it matter? I've agreed to do the job. I thought you'd be happy."
Yippee-ki yay. Casey was ecstatic, but she knew how to read between the lines, too. There was a lot he wasn't saying. She'd better keep her fingers crossed that whatever had changed his mind was enough to keep him for the duration. Alex leaving her high-and-dry wasn't an option.
"I'm pleased, yes,” she said, opting to play it cool. Not to mention relieved, thankful, and willing to bequeath her first born to him. Of course, she wouldn't mind Alex being the father of that first born. “And I have your word you'll see this project through to the end?"
"To the end.” He gazed at her with rock-solid intention, making her think he wasn't just referring to the job.
"All right,” she said a little breathless. Cripes, she needed to get focused—work focused that is. “Then we'd better get started."
"There's one condition we need to agree upon first,” he said, holding up a hand.
Casey's back stiffened. Now what? And men thought women were difficult. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion and a tickle bit of dread.
"Condition? What condition?"
"I have to insist on no publicity."
"What? I can't do that!” Casey said, incredulous. She came out from behind her desk, ready to argue that he asked for too much. Fortunately she had the fortitude to keep about two feet, four inches between them. But damn. It wasn't enough. She backed up a couple steps.
"Why not?” he asked.
"I'll give you two big reasons."
"And those are?” He crossed his arms and waited.
"Well, for one, Heather is a publicity hound. She thrives on it, lives for it. Mark my words. She's already planning
on letting the universe know she has her own private Elvis museum. People from all over the world fly in for her Elvis conventions. It'll be impossible to keep it quiet."
"What's reason number two? As if I really want, or need to know,” he grumbled.
"Studs is counting on the publicity, Alex. We're like minnows competing against sharks for Omaha's business. We're the new kids on the block. A job like this can do more for us than thousands of dollars worth of advertising. You of all people should understand that.” Casey held her breath. Somehow she had to convince him to give at least a little ground.
James, Sherry - [Studs For Hire 02] Page 7