Kate turned away from him and bent down to reach for her bag. “I’m sure you have a few things you could auction, and I have some connections. I’ll make some calls.” Her cheeks reddened when she caught his eyes laser focused in the direction of her ass. She exhaled and attempted to concentrate. “Open to page forty-nine,” she instructed, tossing a magazine in his direction.
He cocked his head at her and raised his brows.
She mentally berated herself as she watched Michael open the magazine after setting his—thank God—full cup of coffee down on Julia’s desk.
“Why do you have this?” His tan face darkened a touch as he looked down at the article, which proclaimed him sexiest businessman in Manhattan. He shook his head and tossed the magazine on the desk.
“I do my research on clients. I need to know their likes and dislikes.”
“You clearly know my dislikes well enough to throw them in my face. Literally.” His voice was growing edgy.
“Here’s the part of my plan that you’ll hate.” She drew in a nervous breath and closed the distance between the two of them until she was standing only a few feet away from him. “I think you could earn top dollar . . . and ensure a hundred percent attendance, maybe even increase the number of invites.”
“And how would we go about that?”
“I’m talking about auctioning a date with you. People would come just to see the elusive Michael Maddox put himself up for auction, and women would pay.” Stay confident. Don’t let him sense your fear. “I know this sounds crazy, but you have to think about the purpose—the long-term goal. Think of the money this could bring to your cause,” she implored, looking up at him as he stared back at her, his face unreadable. She watched as he reached for his coffee, his white shirt straining over the pull of his taut muscles.
“You’re right. It does sound crazy. Next idea.” His jaw was firm, his face resolute. He took a seat behind his sister’s desk, set the coffee in front of him, and rubbed his temples.
She stepped in front of the desk and crossed her arms. “Remember, this is for the veterans. Can you please swallow your pride for one night?” Remain bold. Don’t back down. Her inner voice was so at odds with her feelings it almost made her sick.
He ran his tongue over his bottom lip and clasped his hands on the desk. “If you did your research, you would know that I’m a private guy.”
Without thinking, she replied, “If you’re so private, then why do you get into relationships with models?” She tilted her head, defiance shimmering in her blue-green eyes.
He stood back up and walked with slow movements before stopping a foot shy of her. “I don’t do relationships, Miss Adams,” he said while angling his head and narrowing his eyes at her.
A flash of heat shot through her and straight to her groin. Just sex, huh? Well, this date auction should fit nicely in your wheelhouse, in that case. “I’m not asking you to marry someone. Just go on one date. One dinner.” She found herself walking back toward the table where she had stacked her belongings. Maybe she should go. Maybe she wouldn’t be able to work with him, after all. But what about Julia? No, she had to convince him. “Mr. Maddox—Michael—I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be pushy. I know this is a strange request for a man of your, um, stature, but I’m certain it will be the best way to maximize attendance while simultaneously increasing the money raised for your business venture.” She bit her lip and waited for a response.
His eyes softened a bit as his gaze studied her lips. “Hm. Maybe.”
“Really?” She pressed a hand to his firm chest, and her eyes widened when she realized what she’d just done.
His jaw tightened as he placed his hand over hers. “In what world does maybe mean yes?”
She exhaled, pulled her hand free from his, and took a large step back. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I was excited.”
She cleared her throat, waiting for him to speak, but he remained silent. “Michael, I promise everything will be perfect. Tasteful and sophisticated.”
He blew out a breath. “I’ve lost my damned mind.” He shook his head. “Fine,” he said with obvious hesitation.
“Great.” She clapped her hands together and tried to will away the embarrassment from her unprofessional touching just moments ago . . . “I was also wondering if you could ask one of the models or celebrities you know to be auctioned off as well. We need to cater to the men attending the event, too.”
“I can make a few calls. It’s short notice, but I’m sure I can find someone.” Although he was saying what she wanted, she could tell he looked uncomfortable. He began tugging at his tie, as though it were strangling him.
“Thank you.”
He nodded at her, but it was clear the whole idea of the auction pained him. “I have a meeting,” he said, before retrieving the coffee he’d set on Julia’s desk. “I should get going.”
“Thank you again for this opportunity.” She turned toward him in haste, almost knocking coffee onto his shirt. “Oh, God. I am dangerous, huh?”
“Yes. Yes, you are,” he responded with a husky voice.
***
“The location is perfect,” Kate said to Julia as they exited the hotel. “Now we just need everything else.”
Julia handed her car ticket to the valet and turned toward Kate. “I still can’t get over how you handled my brother this morning. I wish I had it on camera to watch over and over again. How you got him to not only agree to the event but to become a part of the auction is beyond me,” she said, pulling her thick, black hair up into a loose bun.
“I guess he realized that he needed to put the needs of his foundation ahead of his own desires.”
There was a muffled cough from Julie. She cleared her throat. “Any ideas on what we can auction? Aside from my brother?” Her lips quirked at the corners into a grin.
“I’m sure Michael has some artwork he could donate. Does he have season passes to any sporting events?”
“I can definitely access art, but I think I can even do you one better on the sports tickets. Michael and I are friends with a few of the Giants. Perhaps we can offer tickets and dinner with the players.”
“Wow. That might fetch an even higher price than Michael.” Kate laughed and followed Julia toward the red Ferrari that pulled up to the curb.
Julia tipped the valet before getting behind the wheel. “Looks like we’ll need to work all weekend.” She shifted gears and pulled onto the road. “But there’s no reason why we shouldn’t go out and celebrate. How about drinks tomorrow night? You like to dance? There’s a place I go to all the time.”
Kate wondered if it was the club where she had met Michael, just last night. “That sounds good. I have somewhere I need to go tomorrow after work, but I’d love to go out and dance later.”
“Great.”
“Thank you for this opportunity. I believe in what you guys are doing with this foundation.” She took in a deep breath and glanced out the window. “I’m always so nervous about my brother’s safety. Every time he reports for another tour of duty, I feel sick.”
“I can totally relate.”
“My stepmom stopped functioning when my little brother joined the military.”
“Is that why she turned the company over to you?”
Kate nodded. “Basically.” An image of her father flittered to her mind, and she remembered she still needed to call him back. But what would she say? She didn’t feel like arguing with him about a potential move to Charlotte.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you in the morning.” Julia pulled up in front of Kate’s hotel.
“Have a good night.” Kate got out of the car and headed for her room, eager to change into her jogging clothes. On a glorious day like today, the serene streets of Charlotte would be a pleasant change from the Upper East Side in Manhattan. And perhaps her run would help free her from the stress that had seeped into her body over the last week. But would she able to outrun her feelings of sexual desire for Micha
el Maddox?
Her feet hit the pavement ten minutes later, and she found herself running faster than normal. Adrenaline burned through her.
An hour later, Kate came to the conclusion that she was losing her mind. Her skin prickled with concern as she rounded the next corner of the street. She slowed down to a walking pace before stopping outright.
Was someone watching her?
Of course the idea was crazy.
But she had the feeling that she wasn’t safe.
She looked around the street. Everyone seemed normal. Her heartbeat elevated a notch as her phone vibrated against her arm. She unstrapped her phone and looked down at the text.
No words—just an image.
An image of her standing on the street looking around. Looking scared.
Her pulse climaxed to an unimaginable speed. Her jaw edged open.
What the hell? She gulped back the fear that trickled through her body. She spun around in circles, knowing that now she looked crazy.
But there was nothing for her to see. No one across the street looked like they had just snapped a photo of her.
It had to be a joke, right? Or was someone trying to scare her into leaving Charlotte? Maybe one of the dismissed event planners had discovered she was hired and was jealous? Her number wasn’t hard to access. It was her business cell phone, the same one she used as her personal line.
She forced herself to believe her theory was credible and that such a prankster was not too dangerous. And she decided she wouldn’t feed into whatever sick pleasure her mystery texter might get out of watching her look scared.
She tucked her phone back in the music case and strapped it to her arm. She refused to let some idiot rile her any further, and so she took off with an easy paced jog.
She ran, ignoring the alarm bells that jangled in her belly. And she kept running—running until the fear melted away.
Chapter Four
Kate tried to act normal around Julia as they worked, to mask the nervous energy that weighed her down. She was pretty sure that Julia hadn’t noticed a thing. Perhaps I’ve missed my calling. I should’ve been an actress.
“This is going to be doable.” Julia looked up from her tablet. She shook her head, seeming a little amazed. “So, what do we have, officially?”
Kate opened her notepad. “Ten pieces of art. Box tickets to the Giants. Dinner with two Giant’s players. And your sailboat . . . but I still don’t think you should give that away.” Kate looked up at Julia.
Julia shrugged her shoulders. “I can always buy a new one.”
Rich people. God bless them.
“So, do you have a boyfriend?”
“I don’t have time to date. Every time I try the whole relationship thing, it doesn’t seem to last.” Kate perched her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands.
“Was there anyone who ever really got to you?”
Right now your brother certainly has. Michael was rich, but not entitled. Generous, but not for exposure. Handsome, but—well, no buts to that. The man was appealing to her in so many ways. He was from humble origins, he’d served their country, he was a do-gooder, a genius beyond compare, and totally off limits. She never dated clients, regardless of the numerous attempts made. Even when her clients were good-looking, she never thought about them beyond the needs of the job. So why was she fantasizing about how Michael would look in a tux?
Julia snapped her fingers in front of Kate. “You okay? You thinking about some guy?” She smirked.
Kate contemplated an appropriate response but didn’t have to come up with one. Instead, her phone rang. She reached into her purse and fished it out. She looked down at the screen and sighed. She still hadn’t spoken with her dad. A twinge of guilt poked at her stomach as she slid the phone back in her bag.
“Not going to answer?”
“Just my dad. I’ll call him later.” Kate fidgeted with her notepad and pen and attempted to refocus, but she found herself unable to slide the mask back on.
It was getting harder to silence the pain that was seeping into her body.
***
“You’re here.”
Kate looked up at the cab driver and then out the window to the graveyard. “Could you wait here? I won’t be long.” She lifted the long-stemmed, red roses from her lap and opened the door.
“Sure,” he replied, turning up the volume so that Sinatra’s croon belted in her ears.
Kate exited the cab and stared ahead of her at the graveyard. She wandered through the maze of headstones. “Where are you?”
Her breath caught in her throat when she finally found it. Surprise flickered across her face at the sight of fresh white tulips nuzzled against the headstone.
Who else was here? Her eyebrows pinched together as she leaned down and rested the roses alongside the tulips. “Hi, Mom.” She traced her fingers over the name Elizabeth and kissed her fingers before bringing them back to touch the cool, arched rock.
She studied the second date on the headstone. September 9th.
Today. The day her mom had given birth to her.
“I love you, Mom,” she whispered.
***
“You look fantastic.” Kate slid into a circular booth in the VIP area of the club. It was a different nightclub than the one Kate had visited just a few nights earlier—far more exclusive and upscale. But what else should she expect of millionaires?
Julia smoothed a hand over her short, black sequined dress, and smiled. “It’s my go-to. I love your dress, though. Super-hot. Glad my brother’s not here to see you in that. He has a weakness for gorgeous women, as you have probably heard.”
Kate almost choked on her Cosmo. “So, um, did Michael find a woman to auction off at the fundraiser?” Hm. That kind of sounds weird to say.
Julia reached for her drink. “Yes. Thank God we found someone on such short notice. You ever heard of Jamie Landon?”
“She’s a model, right?” Kate wondered if she was one of the women on Michael’s laundry list of sultry New York models.
Julia nodded. “I hate her. Horrible bitch. Probably dated Michael, too.” She shrugged. “Should get a good price, though, which is all that matters.”
“I’m surprised he goes by Michael, even by you,” Kate found herself saying.
“His Marine buddies called him Mike. He was always Mike when he was in the military, and I think it’s too hard for him to go by that name now. He’s different since he came home. A lot of people come back different.” Julia stared into her drink and paused. “I—I lost someone close to me, because of that. He didn’t die in the military—he died because he couldn’t handle being out of the military. When injured in Iraq, it forced him to try and figure out what to do with his life. He wound up drinking, and then one day died in a car wreck. I was only in college when it happened. Michael was still in the Marines. I think his death was what inspired Michael’s project. He wanted to set up a program that would help veterans find balance in the world as civilians.”
Kate leaned forward, listening to Julia with her complete attention, allowing the music to fade into white noise. “I’m so sorry.” She wasn’t sure what else to say. She had never been good at dealing with tragedy. Look at her own life.
“I’m sorry to be laying this on you.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut. Then, with a shake of her head, she flashed her blue eyes open, and her normal calm exterior was back. “Come on. We should be celebrating.” She lifted her drink into the air. “Cheers to you defeating my stubborn brother.”
“Um. Okay. You sure you’re all right?”
“Yes. Of course.” She clinked her glass against Kate’s and tossed back the last of her drink in one, long gulp. “Let’s get shots.”
Kate watched as Julia rose with perfect balance upon her black strappy Manolos and headed toward the bar. Somehow, Kate could not imagine the refined and sophisticated Julia doing shots. But after the emotional day she’d suffered . . . why the hel
l not?
When Kate approached the bar, she found Julia engaged in conversation with a guy whose appearance was a little too pretty for her taste. His gel-spiked, coppery blonde hair and his waxed eyebrows screamed metrosexual. He was in khaki pants and a crisp, button-up top—Armani or something ostentatious enough to match his gold Rolex. Kate, of course, preferred a more rugged man. A man more like—don’t think his name.
Julia was leaning in toward him, her hand resting on his chest. Her eyes shifted from the man to Kate. “Kate, this is my friend James. James, this is Kate. She’s the miracle worker who managed to convince Michael to hold the fundraiser. I expect you’ll be there next weekend?”
James reached for Kate’s hand and plastered a sexy smile to his face. “So nice to meet you,” he said with a smooth voice.
“Kate, James is an investor, like Michael. He has deep pockets, so be sure to woo him next weekend.”
“I don’t think she’ll have to try hard to woo me.” His hazel eyes stared deep into hers before wandering south, toward her cleavage.
Kate had the sudden desire to hide behind her hands. She was never one to wear revealing clothing, but the sapphire blue, strapless panel dress she had chosen to wear was a bit snug today.
“You feel like dancing?” he asked, reaching for her hand.
Kate looked to Julia, who encouraged her with a nod and smile. “What about our shots?”
“Here,” Julia said, handing her a shot of tequila. They downed the gold liquid, and both winced. “Now go have fun. I’ll be out there soon.” Julia waved her away.
James led Kate through the crowd of men and women, who all looked like they had stepped out of a fashion magazine. But the dance floor was even more impressive than the people. It was surrounded by dozens upon dozens of gorgeous strands of crystal, which dangled in thick, glinting rows. She brushed against them as James reached for her waist and pulled her tight against him, his erection pressing thick and obvious against her thigh. She placed her hands on his chest, attempting to put some distance between them. She had no interest in grinding. She looked over at Julia standing by the bar.
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