by Tawny Taylor
Gabe was sitting in his chair watching her. She smiled at him, mouthing, “sorry.”
He shrugged his shoulders and lifted his fingertips to his nose then grinned.
A bolt of heat shot down to her crotch.
“…and you know the auction is scheduled for only two weeks from now.” Her mother continued. “What am I going to do? You have to help me.”
“Don’t worry. I’m doing everything I can. We’ll figure something out. Promise.”
“Okay. Well, I have to go. Bye, honey.”
“Bye, Mom.” She dropped the phone in the cradle. “You’re evil!” She gave him a playful pat on the stomach.
He caught her wrist. “What was that all about?”
“My mother. I told you about her house, didn’t I?”
His thumb stroked her wrist, the simple touch a huge distraction. She glanced down at his hand.
“You did. That’s right. Something about buying the house from the bank, right?”
“I was able to talk them into letting me buy it, but they gave me a set date, and if I don’t come up with the money, they will put it on the auction block.” She pulled her wrist free. It was simply too hard to concentrate when he was doing that thumb rubbing thing. “I’m running out of time. Fast.”
“How much money do you need?”
“One twenty-five.”
“Not bad for a four bedroom in Canton!”
“Yeah, it’s a steal. I can hardly afford to lose this opportunity, even if it hadn’t been my childhood home. But I’m having a hard time getting a mortgage. My credit’s shot, thanks to some really stupid mistakes I made about six months ago.” She looked down at her desk and slid a hand to her doodle pad. She swiped a pen out of the holder and started drawing little circles. “Sometimes I just don’t think.”
“I’ve made some stupid mistakes, too.”
“The perfect Gabe Ryan make a mistake? No way!” She looked up and caught a playful smile.
“You’d be surprised. Like I said, you don’t really know me. I’ve grown up since college.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Their gazes locked, and an awkward silence dropped between them. Her heart pounded in her ears. After a few rather long moments, she added, “Well, should we get something accomplished today?” Besides soaking my panties.
“Sure. I’ve got Michael digging up some facts on our competitors, I hope you don’t mind.”
Was he being straight with her? She studied him as he stood and rummaged through several folders on his desk. She really wanted to believe him, wanted to trust him. “No, not at all. For now, I guess we’re sharing both an office and an assistant.”
“For now.” He returned to his chair, cocking his head like a puppy. “What?”
Her neck flamed. “Sorry. Was I staring?”
“Yeah. Is something wrong?”
What wasn’t wrong? She couldn’t make up her mind about this guy. Her body had one notion—and only one! That was as puzzling as the rest of the situation. “I’m just not sure what to think about all of this. Only a few days ago, you were my worst enemy, and now…” What could she say about him? What was he? Almost her lover? The man she wished she could toss on the floor and ride like a wild stallion?
He gripped her upper arm, not hard. Just hard enough to capture her attention. “What, Fate? What am I to you?”
She shook her head. “I don’t—“
“Bullshit.” His gaze pummeled her, intense, relentless, fixed.
“What am I to you?” she asked, unable to tear her gaze from his.
“You’re the woman I’ve loved…for six years.”
Chapter 6
Sometimes, a simple three-word sentence can change your life.
Well, that was something he hadn’t thought to tell her, at least not yet. Still gripping her arm, Gabe waited, his breath caught somewhere between his lungs and his throat. Would she laugh in his face?
She didn’t laugh. She did something worse. “I didn’t…oh, my God…I, uh…”
“Pretty damn surprising, isn’t it?” he summed up for her, releasing her arm. “You thought I was a player, right? On to the next one after you dumped me, right?”
She shrugged and took a step backward. “Well, it’s been a long time. And we were so young.”
“Maybe. But not me. I loved you, Fate.”
She looked sick. Pale, weak, her shoulders slumped forward. She slid down in her chair. “I’m sorry.”
Uh, uh! Gabe Ryan didn’t appreciate pity, especially from Fate. He would rather have her hate him than pity him. Anger looked damn good on the woman. She wore it with such class and style. Shoving aside the sketch pad, he sat on her desktop. “For what? What are you apologizing for?”
“For the crappy way I treated you, I guess.”
He leaned closer, drawn by her cologne. The slight tang tickled his nose. It was damn sexy. Not at all the sticky sweet fragrance she’d worn years ago. “Don’t apologize for that. You did me a favor.”
“Really?” She sat a little taller, a small improvement, but an encouraging one.
“Sure. You set me straight.” He scooped up her sketch pad and flipped the pages, finding a caricature of himself with wild hair, blown up muscles, and a screw-the-world expression on his face. He wasn’t surprised she still saw him that way. “I know why you dumped me in college. I learned a lot about myself over the past six years. I’ve done a lot of growing up. Made a lot of changes. Done a lot of soul-searching.”
She tugged at the sketch pad, but not hard enough to wrestle it away from him. “You have?”
“Yep.”
“Then why did you act the way you did with me? Whenever we bumped into each other…you were such a jerk.”
He leaned closer, knowing he always got to her when he did that. “Was I?”
This was no exception. She bit her lip, a lip he knew tasted like honey. A lip he wished he could kiss right then… His cock hardened. ”I guess it was me.”
He released the pad, dropped his gaze to her chest, and visually feasted on the swell of two perfect tits bound in a black lace bra. “Sometimes we see what we expect to see.”
She stood and buttoned her shirt. Damn! He’d hoped she wouldn’t do that. That cleavage was simply too delicious to cover. “I don’t know. All of this is so much to take in.” She gripped her panties and pantyhose in her hand and headed toward the door. “What are you doing here now?”
Trying like hell to get you back in my bed where you belong. “My job.”
She leaned back against the door, and he briefly considered pinning her there, gripping that ass in his hands, and lifting her high, impaling her on his rock-hard cock.
“Then you are competing with me for the marketing position.”
He took a couple steps toward her. “No. I want to work together. I told you that.”
“But Duncan said they don’t need two managers.” Looking completely confused and flustered, not that he could blame her, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
He took another step closer. “Screw Duncan. I think if we do a good job together, he’ll keep us both. I know him. Know the way he ticks.”
“What about the other VP’s? You know them too?”
“Most of them.” He took another step closer, but stopped mere inches away. His arms ached to enclose her, keep her safe and warm. He wanted to take care of her, even though he knew her pride would never allow it. “You don’t need to worry, Fate. Trust me. Can you? You’ll keep your job, buy your mother’s house, and live happily ever after.”
She chuckled. “Yeah. Just like that. Sorry, Mr. Fantasy, but real life is never that simple—at least not my life.”
“But have you ever tried living by faith?” When she scoffed, he added, “Seriously.”
“Of course I have. And now I’m facing the consequences, like all grown-ups do.”
He shifted his weight forward, catching himself with outstretched arms, his palms flat on the door, on ei
ther side of her head. He inhaled her scent, and his cock tugged against his pants. “Really? Like when? What have you believed in? What do you believe in?”
She tipped her chin up. “Well, I believe in…in…myself.”
He let his arms bend, bringing his body closer to hers. “Yeah? That’s a start.”
She nodded. “It’s a hell of a start.” She shook her head. “Wait a minute! A start? What do you mean by that?”
He stooped a little, bringing his face in line with hers. Her mouth was so moist, so sweet, so close. “I’m not trying to insult you.”
“Since when did you get so deep, buddy? Last we dated, the deepest conversation we had was over whether to go for pizza or Chinese.”
“See? I have changed. I’m nothing like I was in college.”
“You’re trying too hard to convince me. Why are you doing this?” She rung her pantyhose in her hands, and he wondered if she’d be able to put them back on after she was done with them. Then again, she looked fantastic without them.
“I can stop.” He stepped back and motioned toward her twisted nylons. “Are you going to put those things on so we can get back to work? We have a lot to do, remember?”
The muscles along her jaw tightened, and he swallowed a chuckle. It gave him so much pleasure setting her off. Bad, but fun. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to give that up completely. He could picture himself teasing her years from now, when they were old and gray, stationed in their respective Lazy Boys in front of the TV, watching round-the-clock game shows.
What a vision! Simple, maybe stupid, but that was all he wanted. A future with Fate, and a chance to grow old together.
And he knew in his gut he was at least two steps closer to it than he had been just a couple of days ago. Yep, things were going his way.
Before the end of next week, Fate Doherty would see things in a whole new light. Guaranteed!
She stomped out of the room, and he ruminated over the situation while she was gone. He wanted her. He loved her. She had no idea what she wanted, how great a catch he was.
What would make her appreciate him? Hmmm…
An idea started forming in the back of his head. What if? What if…she went out with another guy…? He hated the idea already, but he continued to follow the train of thought. It was best to play each idea out first before making a decision.
He could call it research. She’d learn what kind of guys were out there, and learn to appreciate him more.
The idea had merit. It could work. It could blow up in his face, too. But the reward was worth at least a little risk.
She returned, nylons in place. And panties, too, he assumed. A shame.
“I have an idea.”
She stiffened then sat at her desk. “What idea?”
“I think we should do a little investigating. Check out the competition. How about we pick a dating service and let them set us up on a date? See where their strengths and weaknesses are. It’s done in other industries, might help us find our slant. What do you say?”
She grimaced. “A date?”
“You can pick the service. You got a phone book? Let’s see what we can find.”
“I don’t know about this.” She spun her chair around and bent down to retrieve the Yellow Pages from a bottom shelf.
He leaned over a little to catch a glimpse of leg. Very nice. If they both lived to be one hundred, he’d never get enough of those legs. He prepared to right himself before she caught him. “Oh, come on! It’s for our company. What could possibly happen?” Oops. Too late.
She eyed him speculatively, but didn’t fight the smile blossoming over that perfect mouth. “The guy could be a lunatic.”
“What’s the chance of that? Slim to none? Hell, you work with a lunatic. We get along fine.”
She chuckled. “You have a point.”
He forced himself to look at the listings. “How about ‘Let’s do Lunch?’ That one sounds pretty tame.”
“Okay. I guess I can handle a lunch date.” She didn’t sound convinced.
He glanced up. She didn’t look thrilled either. Yep, this could definitely work to his benefit. “I’m sure they screen their applicants. You’ll be meeting in a public place. You never know, maybe you’ll even enjoy yourself.” She’d better not! I’ll kill the bastard.
She tipped her head. “I doubt it.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “So, are you okay with this? I mean, moments ago you told me you loved me. And we’ve been…well, you know.” Her cheeks turned a sexy shade of pink. The color washed down her neck and plunged below the V of her white shirt’s neckline. The image of those luscious breasts lying just beyond that opening shot through his mind and left his trousers snug around his hips.
Damn hard-on! He had one almost constantly when he was in the room with her.
“I’m fine.” He shifted in his chair. “For one, we’re doing this in the interest of work. Second, if you don’t share my feelings, then I can’t stake a claim to you, can I? And third, it’s only lunch. I doubt one lunch date will lead to much more than swapping small talk.” Damn better not! I’ll kill him. He better not touch her, look at her, admire her…poor schmuck. He doesn’t stand a chance.
She nodded. “That’s very big of you. I mean, we aren’t officially dating or anything, but we’ve done a lot recently…I mean, some guys would assume we’re dating. And they’d get jealous. Maybe you have grown up a little. I respect you for that.”
Hey, what’d you know! It’s working already. All right! He donned his version of Mr. Humble. “Well, I wasn’t trying to impress you or anything, but if I did, I’ll take it.”
She smiled. Damn, did she have a great smile! It was a traffic stopper for sure. She could do movies.
Maybe they’d make a movie or two later… He’d never made home porn before, but he had a video recorder. He wondered if she’d play along. Her naked on film…
There went that hard-on again!
“Have you ever been in a movie?” He jotted down the dating service’s phone number so he could call from his cell. Assuming the service had caller ID, he didn’t want them to see where he was calling from.
“No, why?” She looked up at him, her face the picture of curiosity.
“Just wondering. You have a great smile.”
That sexy pink color washed over her face and neck again. He longed to open that shirt to see where the blush ended. Someday he’d find out. Someday soon. “Really?”
He nodded then went back to his desk to retrieve his cell phone. “Shall we?”
“Okay.” She swept up her own, and they each dialed the number and booked an appointment. She punched the call button on her phone long before he did. “Well?”
“My appointment’s at six tonight. You?”
“Five-thirty.”
He glanced at his watch. “We have a couple hours. Do you want to get some other parts of the presentation under way? Maybe we could do the boring parts—advertising budget. Stuff like that.”
“Sure.” She motioned for him to join her at her desk.
He slipped into his chair and leaned forward, resting elbows on her desk. His chin fell into his palms.
God, she was gorgeous.
Polished, sexy, with an air about her. Evidently, he wasn’t the only one who’d done some growing up in the past six years. Her taste in clothes, cologne—and hopefully men—had all matured.
Classy. The woman was classy.
He couldn’t wait to strip her of all that sophistication and find the gritty, sexy dynamo hiding below the surface. She’d thank him someday. He was sure of it.
Could they possibly take up where they’d left off a little while ago? He scooted his chair closer and leaned a bit, putting his face within inches of hers as he’d done before.
What the heck, it worked once.
“What are you doing?” She smiled.
He donned his most innocent expression—or so he hoped. “What? I’m waiting.”
“Waiting for what?”
This time, she leaned closer, but didn’t touch him. It was sheer torture having her so close. She was chewing gum. He could smell the mint.
“Just waiting for you to get the budget file. What did you think?”
Her mouth was so close her breath dried his lips. Damn it! She was teasing him back…and he loved it! A smile pulled at his mouth.
She jerked back and studied him with keen eyes. “You’re full of shit, you walking hard-on.”
He laughed. “Guilty as charged, but only with you.” Was that another blush he saw coloring her cheeks?
“Liar.” A hand lifted, and she palmed her own face before tucking a stray ringlet behind her ear.
He longed to set those glorious curls free—and the woman who possessed them, too. “Are you feeling okay? Still hung over?”
“Yeah. I think that’s it.”
He didn’t believe that for a minute. Nope. She was hot and bothered. Because of him.
A knock sounded at the door, and he turned to see who was there. Fate called out, “Come in.”
Duncan stepped into the room.
What the hell was he doing here?
“Good afternoon. How’s it going?”
Fate turned pristine white before his eyes. All that sexy pink vanished. “Good, sir.”
Duncan nodded and looked to Gabe. “I need to speak with you. In my office. Five minutes.”
“Okay.” When Duncan left, closing the door behind him, he knew without a doubt what was coming. An ugly knot settled in his gut. “I’ll be right back.” He stood. Somehow, he had to convince Duncan he needed more time.
“What do you think it is?” She watched him walk to the door, not once letting her gaze stray. She looked worried, and he didn’t have the heart to tell her she should be.
“I probably did something stupid and pissed off the brass again. I’ll let you know when I get back.”
She stood and was next to him in a heartbeat. Her hand settled on his arm. “You’ll tell me if it’s about me, right? If they want to fire me. I need to know.”
“I’ll tell you. Promise.” What a stupid ass he was! He couldn’t tell her that. For one, because he wouldn’t let it happen. End of story.
A very pleasing look settled over her face. It was an odd mixture of emotions, but what he thought he saw on the surface was something resembling trust.