The possibility made Alex’s blood heat. Her next statement sent him into a tailspin again.
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“What doesn’t matter?” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. She sounded as if he’d done something wrong. In fact, she sounded downright disappointed.
“I can’t sleep with you now that it’s been said,” she announced gloomily, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at him.
“What—” Alex snapped his mouth shut. What good would it do to ask another question? Obviously she intended to drive him crazy, and obviously he wasn’t about to get lucky!
Wonder of wonders, she enlightened him.
“I know that you’re Alex Bradshaw, my new boss. I was trying to forget that long enough to—to—”
This time Alex remained unhelpful.
“Well, to get you out of my system,” she finished, trailing away to a whisper.
It was the self-disgust he recognized in her voice that made Alex mad. She wanted him—apparently enough to postpone her memory—but now that they both knew that she knew who he was, she couldn’t go through with it.
He had a feeling he knew why.
“I didn’t send those condom jokes to the factory,” Alex said. “And I didn’t know about the leaky roof, or the bad equipment.”
She lifted a skeptical eyebrow. “And the sick pay?”
“I planned to visit the factory next month. Chances are I would have noticed the outdated policies and made plans to change them.”
“Then why are you here now?” she asked sharply.
Alex glanced at the bed, then shifted his gaze to Brooke. Despite the gravity of the conversation, he found it hard to concentrate standing in the bedroom with her. Incredibly, painfully hard. “Let’s go into the living room, shall we?”
“Of course.” Keeping her arms folded, she marched into the living room.
He followed, taking a stand by the cold fireplace as she perched stiffly on the couch.
“I guess you’re going to fire me,” she said, sounding so certain of it that Alex almost smiled.
“That depends.”
“Here we go again. Look, I’m not going to compensate you by sleeping—”
“And I wouldn’t ask,” Alex interrupted in a hard voice. “When I mentioned compensation, I wasn’t thinking about sex.” Liar. He cleared his throat. “I need your help with something that concerns the factory.”
Still suspicious, she peered at him through a wisp of strawberry blonde hair. “What kind of help?”
“I need some information.”
“What makes you think I’d help you?”
“Because until you agree,” Alex countered softly, “I remain kidnapped.”
Her eyes rounded, then narrowed to glittering amber slits. “You were never actually kidnapped.” She flushed and looked away. “Well, maybe at first in the car when you thought I had a gun, but after that you could have left anytime you wanted to.”
“I know that and you know that, but it’s something the local authorities don’t know—until I inform them otherwise.”
“Elijah has a big mouth,” she muttered.
Sensing victory, Alex relaxed against the mantel. “Meanwhile, I’ll stay here. I was on my way to vacation in Hot Springs, but this will do nicely.”
“You’ll get bored,” Brooke stated rather smugly. “No TV, no radio, no phones...no one to harass.”
Alex leisurely drew the victory sign in the dust on the mantel top. She’d regained her sarcasm, which he thought was a good sign. Brooke without sarcasm was like a good party punch without the liquor.
Calmly and with more excitement than he’d felt about anything in a long time, he lit the fuse. “Oh, I don’t think I’ll get bored. As a matter of fact, I find your company very stimulating.”
“But I won’t be here,” she cried.
He looked at her, watching the light of comprehension dawn in her eyes. “Yes, you will.”
Chapter Eleven
He was bluffing. He had to be. Brooke couldn’t possibly continue to spend time around Alex Bradshaw without—without going stark raving mad. Look what he’d reduced her to already! Only moments ago she’d been on the verge of undermining her own self-imposed morals by jumping into the sack with him.
No, it just wouldn’t work.
“I can’t do what you asked,” she stated in a panicked voice she couldn’t control. “You—the—we—” His wolfish smile made her heart seize up like a locked engine.
“Don’t worry,” he drawled. “I’m not in the habit of forcing myself on an unwilling woman.”
Brooke leaped to her feet, her fists clenched. Her heart had started beating again, and now it clattered painfully against her rib cage. She chose to ignore his emphasis on unwilling. She knew the description didn’t apply to her, and after her mortifying come-on in the bedroom, Alex knew it, too. “That’s a laugh! You’re forcing me to spy on my own people. Isn’t that what you’re making me do?”
“I think you owe me.”
“Owe you?” Brooke nearly bit her tongue as she spat the words at him, words he’d delivered in a hard-edged business-like tone she’d never heard him use until now. “Kidnapping you was an honest mistake.” She curled her lip. “Believe me, if I had known who you really were, I wouldn’t have come within a hundred feet of you!”
“That’s another thing,” he said with a casualness that made her want to shove him up the chimney. “Before yesterday you’d never met me, yet you believe everything you’ve heard about me. I think it would only be fair of you to give me the opportunity to change your mind.”
Brooke’s laugh reeked with scorn. “Oh, you’re getting off to a great start by blackmailing me into doing your dirty work. What’s this all about, anyway? Did you discover a case of missing paper clips or something equally bogus? Starting out with a new crew would save you millions, wouldn’t it? There are a lot of workers close to retirement.” When he frowned, she added smugly, “ A ha! You didn’t think we’d find out? We’ve heard the rumors about your plan to clean house.”
“I own the factory. If I wanted to ‘clean house,’ I wouldn’t have to have an excuse.”
“But if you had an excuse, it would be just peachy, wouldn’t it? Think what a relief that would be for your conscience!”
“You’re blowing this all out of proportion. I’m here on a tip from a former employee.”
Brooke lifted a taunting brow. “About the missing paper clips?”
“No, it’s not about missing paper clips,” he snapped impatiently. “It’s about someone stealing millions of dollars from the factory.” His eyes, now as frosty as her own, locked with hers. “Did you know Daisy Pelinsky?”
“Daisy? The secretary who recently retired?” Brooke gasped at his grim nod. “That sweet little old lady wouldn’t steal a pencil, much less millions of dollars!”
“So you trust her implicitly?” he persisted.
Brooke nodded so hard her hair flung forward. She shoved it away. “Yes, I do. She’s worked there for years. Surely you can’t honestly believe she’s the—”
“She’s the source of the tip, and she didn’t retire, she was fired. If we can find out who fired her, then we’ve probably got our first clue.”
Dazed by his news, Brooke sank back down onto the lumpy sofa. If Alex was right and someone was embezzling from the factory, then whoever it was should be caught and punished. “We all just assumed she’d taken an early retirement,” she mused out loud.
“Who has the power to fire her?”
She blinked and focused on Alex. “The plant manager, and I suppose any of the supervisors could file a complaint against her.” A chill shimmered down her spine. “Didn’t Daisy tell you who was responsible?”
Alex shook his head. “I tried to get in touch with her, but her phone had been disconnected. The fax only said that I should check it out.”
“Don’t you monitor the financial records from your end?”
“Whoever it is has covered their tracks well.” His slight hesitation had her tensing for more bad news. “If we can’t find anything on our own, I’ll have to bring in an auditor.”
She gave a shaky sigh of relief. “Oh, I thought you were about to say you’d have to shut the factory down.”
“That’s a possibility.”
Brooke froze, thinking of the hundreds of people who depended on their jobs. People with families. Single mothers with kids. Husbands and wives who both worked at the factory. Even a week without pay could mean the difference between eating and starving. And last but not least, her own job. She paid for Dee’s college tuition, the mortgage on the house, and basically all of the household expenses on her salary.
Dry-mouthed, she asked, “What kind of time frame are you talking about?”
He shrugged. “Anywhere from a few days to a month.”
Slowly, she closed her eyes. No wonder he looked so grim, she thought. Shutting down the factory would cost him more millions aside from the millions he might have already lost. But while his bank account might suffer a blow, Brooke doubted he would have to worry about starving, or losing his home as so many others would—including herself. She’d mortgaged her home to help offset the cost of Dee’s college education.
She was what oldtimers called ‘stuck between a rock and a hard place.’ If she agreed to spy on her own people and they found out, they’d never forgive her. Plus, there was always the possibility her efforts would be in vain.
But if she refused to even try...Brooke shuddered to think of the consequences. Not only would she be a criminal if Alex forged ahead with his threat to press charges against her, she would be jobless and possibly responsible for hundreds of others who would be jobless.
“What do you want me to do?” she heard herself asking without her usual cutting-edge sarcasm. His smile almost warmed her heart—until she remembered his threat.
“Would your presence at the factory today generate any suspicion?”
Brooke shook her head. “Sometimes I drop in on Saturdays for a quick check.” She didn’t add that she often filled in for other women who couldn’t get weekend care for their children.
“See if you can get Daisy’s file. There should be a copy of her termination letter.”
“Yeah, right. If someone fired her but wants everyone to think she retired, do you honestly believe they’d leave that kind of evidence?”
“Good point, but pick it up anyway. She might have left a forwarding address or a clue or something.”
She flushed at his admiring look. “I’ll pick up some food while I’m out. Do you want me to go by and pick up your things from the hotel?”
“I’m not sure that would be a good idea,” Alex mused dryly. “If they’re looking for me, they might have someone watching my room.”
He would have to remind her of the threat hanging over her head, Brooke grumbled, scowling as she retrieved her jacket and Hugo from the bedroom. She’d ‘borrowed’ the model from the test lab and needed to return it before Monday. There would be hell to pay if Brandy, who tested the condoms at random, discovered it gone.
When she emerged from the bedroom, she glared at him. “Anything else, your highness?”
He grinned at her sarcasm. “I wouldn’t mind a change of clothing, if you can manage it without looking too suspicious.” As he spoke, he pulled out his wallet and extracted a couple of bills.
Brooke’s eyes widened at the amount he placed in her hand. “Alex, if I start brandishing hundred dollar bills around town, they’ll not only arrest me, they’ll think I robbed the...bank.” Her words trailed away when she noticed he’d gone still. Slowly, she looked at him.
“Say it again,” he commanded softly.
“Um, what?” Brooke’s mind was suddenly blank. What had she been saying? And what had she said to make him look at her as if...as if he’d like to smear her on a Ritz cracker and swallow her whole?
“My name. Say my name again.”
Oh, God. She had called him by his first name, Brooke realized with an inward groan. Quickly, she tried to undo the damage. “It was a slip of the tongue. You’re my boss—”
“I don’t care,” he interrupted roughly. “Right now I’m on vacation, and you’re not at work. Let’s forget the boss/employee thing, okay?”
“Not okay.” Brooke’s chin shot up. “Because I’m not likely to forget who you are, and there’s that little matter of my job hanging in the balance if I don’t do what you say.”
“I’m not the reason your job’s in jeopardy.”
With a rolling of her eyes, Brooke drawled, “Oh, right. How could I be so stupid? You wouldn’t have to fire me. I just wouldn’t be able to come to work because I’d be in jail. And of course, that wouldn’t be your fault, now would it?”
She should have remembered that she was within snatching distance, and snatch her he did—smack against his chest and nose to nose. Her body reacted like a nymphomaniac’s after a long abstinence: instantly hard nipples and a dampness between her legs.
“I have the damnedest reaction to your temper,” he growled in a husky voice that turned the dampness to a stream.
She tried to squirm free, but only succeeded in rubbing her super-sensitive nipples against his shirt, and the rough denim of her shorts against that other sensitive area of her body.
Swallowing, Brooke stared into his heated gaze and made a valiant attempt to tone down the sarcasm. “I’ll have to remember that.”
His hot gaze dropped to her lips. “That would be a shame.”
“Why—” Brooke prudently bit her tongue. Instead, she reminded him in a raspy voice that betrayed her own arousal. “The factory closes at noon on Saturdays. I should get going.”
He brought his mouth temptingly close to hers. “Hurry back...I’m hungry.”
“Then I’ll bring plenty of...food,” Brooke emphasized, praying her jelly-legs would hold her when he finally let her go. His deep, rumbling chuckle told her he hadn’t missed her hint.
Finally, she was free. She wasted no time getting to the door and away from her hunky new boss.
“Oh, and grab a box of condoms while you’re at the factory.”
A box of condoms? Sliding to a wobbly halt in the doorway, Brooke stumbled around and gaped at him. The nerve of the man! While she didn’t deny he...tempted her, that didn’t mean that she was willing to compromise her integrity to—
“I might as well inspect the merchandise while I’m here,” he added, his expression far too innocent to be real.
“Oh.” Red-faced, Brooke slammed out the door, mumbling names beneath her breath that probably would have made him blush to hear.
****
Still chuckling over the expression on her face, Alex watched from the window as she climbed into the Pinto and started the engine. She peeled the tires and kicked grass and gravel from the wheels as she pulled onto the road.
She’d gone a few yards when he saw the red glare of her brake lights. Even from this distance, Alex could see her lips moving when she emerged from the Pinto and stomped a few feet behind the car. She leaned over and picked something up, then marched back to the car.
His chuckles turned to belly-rolling laughter when he realized she was putting the errant hubcap back onto the wheel of her car.
Brooke Welch. Sexy, feisty, and single, she was the most exciting thing to happen to him in a long time. His lips twitched in self-amusement.
He turned from the window, feeling on top of the world. And why wouldn’t he be? He was on vacation, and he hadn’t suffered a headache in over twelve hours. True, his factory could be in trouble, but he felt confident he would discover the culprit before too long—with Brooke’s help. So he had exaggerated about a few things, like the audit and the factory closing, and the amount of money he believed to be involved. He seriously doubted someone could embezzle millions without arousing a single suspicion.
But what harm could it do to add a little motiva
tion?
This way Brooke could feel like a true heroine and soothe her guilty conscience for spying on her people. Her people. Alex smiled. Brooke was loyal and fierce, and not just about her family, he mused. It appeared her loyalty extended to her job, as well, which pleased him immensely.
Maybe...just maybe Gloria wasn’t the last of her kind. Alex grinned and shook his head. No, Brooke and Gloria were not alike. Gloria was slow to anger and possessed a vivid imagination that drove Alex to distraction. She was loyal like Brooke, true, but she lacked Brooke’s fierce energy and adventurous spirit.
The gravity of his thought surprised Alex, as did the pang of longing he felt. Was it more than just a raging lust he felt for Brooke? He shook his head, reminding himself that he hardly knew her.
But if he wasn’t feeling more than lust, then why was he already missing her?
Bemused, Alex pushed his chaotic thoughts about Brooke aside for the moment and reached into his boot for his cell phone. It was time to call his over-imaginative secretary and straighten out this nonsense. He’d leave it to her to contact the authorities and ask her to stress the fact that he wanted to remain incognito in Quicksilver. Maybe having to explain her embarrassing mistake would teach her not to jump to conclusions next time.
Of course, he had no intention of letting Brooke know about the call or that they would no longer be looking for him. At least he wouldn’t tell her right away.
For as long as he could, he would use whatever underhanded means necessary to keep her coming back to the cabin.
Alex flipped the cell phone open and pushed the power button. He swore when it began to beep and flash LOW BATTERY across the tiny screen.
The charger was in his briefcase. At the hotel. In Quicksilver. In a room that might be under surveillance.
Damn.
He had intended to let Gloria and his family know that he was all right and having the time of his life. Not only would they be worried sick. As supervisor at his factory and a possible suspect, Brooke might be being watched.
A Perfect Fit Page 9