by Tawny Weber
But she knew.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she grabbed the phone and hit Redial. Her smile dimmed when she reached a recorded voice explaining that the number she was trying to reach didn’t exist.
Her lower lip in danger of hitting the pouting zone, Tessa slowly set the phone down and focused on the flowers again.
She was sure they were from Romeo. Because hey, clearly covert ops were right up his alley. She breathed in their scent, rubbing one petal of waxy silk between her fingers. The cynical part of her mind—the part that’d ruled most of her twenty-five years—warned that the flowers, like the phone call, were all a part of whatever game he was playing.
He’d thrown down the gauntlet at Livi’s engagement party, insisting that he wanted romance before they had sex. This was obviously a part of that romance scheme.
She could be irritated. Maybe she should be. But she wasn’t. She couldn’t even bring herself to pretend. Instead, Tessa turned off the lights and climbed into bed.
Then she drifted off to sleep with the heady floral scent wrapped around her, a dreamy smile on her face and thoughts of Romeo in her head.
* * *
TAPPING HIS CELL phone against his thigh, Gabriel wondered if Tessa liked the flowers. He tried to imagine her face when she opened the door. He knew he’d surprised her, but he wasn’t sure what would follow the surprise. Pleasure or cynicism? He wished he were there to watch.
And that, he realized, was the first time he’d ever wished to be somewhere else when he was on duty. It was definitely the first time he’d called a woman from halfway around the world.
And speaking of being halfway around the world, his time was upside down, too. Despite the rising heat of the morning sun, it was time to power down. He looked out over the desolate terrain, absentmindedly cataloging the differences between it and the high desert of the Mojave, where they’d spent the past month conducting nighttime urban-warfare training. This week they’d moved the training halfway around the world.
Given that command had sent them here to train for a week meant that things were quite likely about to get interesting. Gabriel had no concern over interesting assignments. He lived for those.
He was concerned about living through the next one, though, if last night was anything to go by. The men should be operating as a team by now. They’d been assigned together long enough, trained enough, that operations like this should be smooth and seamless. That last night’s session had been anything but was an issue.
More specifically, one member was an issue.
Gabriel’s shoulder twitched, as if it’d help shake off the nagging irritation that was riding him. He scanned the camp, noting that half the team was still milling about with the support personnel. His gaze landed on Jackrabbit for a long moment before he deliberately turned his back and headed for his tent.
As comfortable in the canvas room as he’d be in a hotel, Gabriel pulled the flap closed and stripped off his shirt. It was clean. He’d put it on after the shower he’d taken before calling Tessa. But it was too damned hot to sleep fully clothed.
He tossed it and the scrambled cell phone onto the small folding table next to his cot.
“Yo, Scavenger,” he said to the man on the opposite cot, whose face was buried in a weapons manual. “You ever heard of a Magic Eye picture book?”
“Yeah, there’s a series of them. Hidden picture books with 3D images made with stereograms.” Scavenger squinted at the ceiling. “I think my younger sister used to have a few. Probably still does. You want me to have her ship you one?”
“Thanks. But the last thing your sister shipped me was a box of cinnamon cookies that almost chipped my tooth and a doll stuffed with weeds and wearing a piece of her dress.”
Scavenger laughed and set down his book, then rolled on his side and propped himself up on one elbow.
“She’d read that cinnamon was an aphrodisiac, and I think the doll had some sort of love spell on it.” Still grinning, Scavenger arched his brows. “You didn’t eat any cookies while you were holding that doll, did you?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Gabriel had been pursued by some determined women in his life. But none so creative as Scavenger’s seventeen-year-old sister. “Those cookies were hard enough to be shot out of an AK-47.”
“She’s a lousy cook. The doll probably tasted better.” Scavenger pulled a face, then shrugged, dismissing his sister as only an older brother could. “So you want a book? I’ve got other sources if you’re worried about what she might hide in the pictures.”
Smirking, Gabriel dropped to his bunk to unlace his boots.
“You might want to be worried about a few other things, too,” Scavenger suggested.
Gabriel glanced up at the urgency coming through his friend’s quiet tone.
“I’m not worried.” Before the other man could launch into a lecture, Gabriel shook his head. “Believe me, I’m aware. It’ll work out.”
“He made deliberate missteps that put you in danger.”
Missteps like a throw that fell short by just enough to pull Gabriel off balance, unexplained static over his mic that cut off vital information and taking that building from the north instead of the south, forcing Gabriel to change trajectory at the last second.
“There’s no proof that those were deliberate. And the operation was a success.”
“There’s no guarantee the next one will be, though.”
“There’s never a guarantee.” He took an extra moment to make sure his boots were perfectly aligned under his cot, using the time to beat back the irritation still nagging at him. He didn’t know if Jackrabbit had been trying to make him look like an ass last night, or if the guy was trying to do serious damage.
When he straightened, he met Scavenger’s angry gaze with a calm look.
“Some teams take longer to build than others. Some trusts are harder to earn.” He thought of his call to Tessa. He was pretty sure he’d made a few more vital steps there tonight in earning her trust.
“How long?”
Gabriel shrugged, shucking his fatigues. Not bothering to pull back the blanket, he dropped to the cot wearing just his shorts, hoping the generator-operated cooling unit would keep them from boiling at noon.
“He’s not going to stop unless someone makes him,” Scavenger said, holding tight to the subject like a dog with a bone. “He can’t take the fact that you’re better than he is at his own rating, and every other thing. He’s totally tweaked over the fact that he’s being shown up by an NCO.”
“He’s pissed because he outranks me but can’t outgun me?” Gabriel gave a humorless laugh. “So if I go the OTC route, get my officer training and commission, he’ll be okay that I can kick his ass at every single thing?”
“Probably not okay with it. But he’d quit fucking with you.”
Crossing his hands behind his head, Gabriel let his mind wander back to Tessa. She was starting to relax with him. He’d never looked for that in a woman before, but it was seriously appealing. Because a relaxed Tessa was an open Tessa.
“What’re you going to do about it?”
“Do about what?” Gabriel glanced over to see Scavenger’s intense frown.
“Jackrabbit’s games.”
Nothing that would mess with the team. The team was family; it was everything. But Gabriel wasn’t going to say that to Scavenger. Not while the guy was in such an ass-kicking mood.
“I’ll watch my ass,” he promised instead.
“Fine,” Scavenger said, his tone ripe with frustration. “But if he pulls any crap again, you’d better report him.”
Closing his eyes as if he were heading for sleep, Gabriel grunted. Hopefully Scavenger would take the sound as agreement. But he wouldn’t be reporting anyone. Irish had enough on his plate with the wedding c
oming up and a baby that looked like a bunch of squiggly lines. The last thing he needed was being stuck refereeing a pissing match.
Gabriel tried to set it all aside and slide into sleep. But it wasn’t until he let his mind drift to Tessa, to imagining her face when she’d found her flowers, that he was able to relax.
Crazy, since relaxing was the last thing that ever came to mind when he thought of her.
8
“SO GOOD OF you to join us, Tessa.”
At Jared’s sarcastic welcome, Tessa deliberately slowed her rush into his office to a saunter, but kept her own snarky rejoinder to herself. Just because she was in a vile mood didn’t give her reason to take it out on anyone else.
“Sorry I’m running late,” she said with a saccharine-sweet smile of her own. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to antagonize him. At least, not yet.
She’d actually been here on time, but she had been waylaid by their receptionist-slash-intern, who’d wanted to compliment her on her great shoes, then had whispered the news that she’d overheard Jared calling their accountant for an audit of the books.
She figured she’d see if that little fact came up in the course of the meeting and what the reasoning was. And then she’d decide if she wanted to antagonize him.
“Since you’re finally here, why don’t we get started,” Jared said, moving to take his place behind the chrome-and-glass workstation that served as his desk. Or as Maeve liked to call it, his command center. Because he always took command when he sat at it. From his trendy blond hairstyle to his five-hundred-dollar suit to the glossy shine of his shoes, Jared thrived on images. Since Tessa did, too, she knew how important those props were and didn’t begrudge him. At least, not until he tried to use them on her.
It wasn’t until Tessa reached the desk that she realized that they weren’t the only two people here.
“Hey, Maeve,” she said in surprise. Maeve was usually a woman who was difficult to overlook.
“Hey, Tess,” Maeve said from where she’d slumped in a chrome-and-leather chair, her head resting on the edge of the backrest and her legs sprawled out in front of her. The redhead’s complexion was a delicate shade of green, clashing with her magenta sweatshirt.
“You look like hell,” Tessa observed, ignoring Jared’s gesture that she take the matching chair so they could begin the meeting. Instead, she dumped her satchel in the chair, then laid the back of her hand on Maeve’s forehead. “You’re sick. Why are you in here if you’re sick?”
“Captain Bligh here commanded my presence.”
Tessa turned accusing eyes on Jared.
“You hauled her in here when she’s sick? What the hell, Welch? What’s so important that this meeting had to be held today?”
And more important, could he justify blowing her chances of seeing Romeo today? With Livi’s wedding countdown heading into days now instead of weeks, there was a good possibility that he’d show up soon. She’d never spent this much time thinking about a man as she had Gabriel. She’d never wanted to see one as much as she did him. And Jared’s little meeting was delaying that.
She pursed her lips as she looked at her business partner’s face. She and Maeve had been trying to nail down what Jared was up to, but for the past two weeks, that’d been a whole lot of nothing. No more questionable behavior; no more suspicious work hours. He’d been back to business as usual. It would have been easy to write her previous misgivings off to an overactive imagination.
Except she knew better.
“I appreciate you both coming in. There are a few things I’d like to discuss.”
Tessa glanced at Maeve, feeling better when she saw the other woman had opened her eyes to give him a narrow look.
“Then hurry up and discuss so I can go home,” Maeve suggested.
“Of course.” And off he went, for the next twenty minutes, outlining where the magazine stood with subscribers, online views and advertising dollars and a couple of marketing angles he wanted input on.
At first, Tessa only listened with half an ear while thinking about Romeo. With the wedding just around the corner, they were guaranteed an entire week in each other’s company. A month ago, she’d have figured that was just enough time to seduce him past his silly romance idea, have her wild way with his body a few dozen times and finally get him out of her system.
But now she wasn’t so sure she wanted him out of her system. Or that he’d leave even if she tried to boot him. Swinging her leg, she admired the way the light glinted off her patent leather T-straps and mentally pictured herself wearing just the shoes, stockings and Romeo’s hands.
Then Jared’s words caught her undivided attention.
“We’ll need to sideline a few of these new ideas of yours, Tessa. Flirting with life is all well and good, but our focus is on the singles scene. Let’s stay focused.”
Tessa wanted to growl. She’d worked hard outlining those ideas, making sure each one tied into the singles scene enough to fit their demographic. Jared and Maeve had both agreed that they were a great idea to test out over the next quarter. Tessa figured it was her chance to prove—to herself if nobody else—that she was a solid writer. She gave Jared the evil eye as he continued his spiel. Why was he sidelining her ideas?
“So.” He wound up with that big, friendly smile that always convinced clients to book double their advertising space. “That about sums it up. Are you on board, ladies?”
The only thing she was on board with was the idea of throwing a tantrum over his suggestions. Since all that’d do would be to put Jared’s back up, she tried to swallow the string of cuss words clogging her throat.
“Why the changes?” Maeve asked from her slump, not opening her eyes.
“Changes?” His expression as innocent as a Boy Scout, Jared spread his fingers wide as if to ask whatever could she mean. Tessa was sorry Maeve was feeling so lousy, because this really was a great performance that she was missing.
“Changes,” Tessa said, finally managing a friendly tone. “Everything you’ve mentioned today indicates a change in strategy for the magazine from the direction we agreed to earlier this year. Why?”
“Why don’t you skip the bullshit and give us the bottom line while you’re at it?” Maeve suggested, shifting to sit cross-legged. She planted her elbows on her knees, her chin on her fists, and waited.
Tessa was so relieved she wanted to lean over and kiss the other woman. But she really didn’t want whatever bug Maeve was brewing. Instead, she arched one brow at the redhead. Exultation filled her when she got a slight nod in return. It was time to confront Jared and find out what he’d been up to.
“Bottom line?” he asked, his tone dripping with innocence.
“Yes, the bottom line. Explain what you’ve been sneaking around doing.” With a steely look, Tessa added, “While you’re at it, you can explain why you called for an audit of our finances, too.”
Maeve hissed like a scalded cat, but Tessa kept her eyes locked on Jared. He looked perfectly at ease, his smile mellow and his eyes calm. But they’d worked together long enough, and she knew men well enough, that she could see the tells. His gaze shifted just a little, focusing on her ear instead of her eyes. He kept rubbing his finger over the edge of his desk, and his pulse was bouncing against his throat like a jackhammer.
“Yes, explain,” Maeve said, her nails drumming an angry beat on his desk.
“Okay, well, as you know the magazine is growing at an impressive rate. Impressive enough to catch the eye of some big names. I was approached with an offer.”
Tessa’s stomach pitched when he named a huge publishing conglomerate. She subscribed to a number of their magazines. Maybe she should be flattered that they wanted the magazine. But without Flirtatious, what would she do? What where the odds of finding another job that would hire her to write sexy articles abo
ut flirting?
Tessa resisted the urge to follow Maeve’s lead and press her fingers against her eyelids to stop the pressure pounding there.
“What did they offer?”
He named an amount that made Tessa blink. With that kind of money, she wouldn’t have to worry about what to do for at least a year, maybe longer.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” she asked faintly.
“In part because it was only an initial offer. It’s a good one, but I think we can get more.” His eyes wide with studied innocence, Jared lifted his palms. “Before I brought it to the two of you, I wanted to do some research, run a few projections. Based on a few things they’d mentioned and looking into their holdings, I was able to analyze the direction they’ll likely take if they buy Flirtatious. Once I knew that, I realized that if we initiated the changes and brought in a couple more big advertising accounts, we could ask at least three times what they’d offered.”
She tried to process what it all meant. That was obviously a lot of money, but she’d be out of work. She wouldn’t have to find new ways to recycle the same topics, but those topics—flirting, the games between the sexes, presenting a pretty picture—were more than just themes. They were who she was.
“The bottom line is that you want to sell Flirtatious,” Maeve said in a tight voice.
“The bottom line is we have an opportunity to sell it,” he countered. “A very lucrative one. We’d be stupid to not consider it.”
Her lower lip wanted to tremble, but Tessa held it firm. She knew he hadn’t set out to hurt them. She realized that he was only looking out for what was best for the company. But, dammit, she felt as though everything important in her life was slipping away and she couldn’t do a thing to stop it.
“What’s your plan?” Maeve asked quietly. Her eyes were bloodshot and she seemed a little shell-shocked, but Tessa could see her mind already working.
“First off, we update the format and freshen the look of the magazine, the e-zine and all our social networks. That’d be on you, Maeve. I’ll focus on finessing some new advertisers and fine-tuning the proposal.”