6
MATT SPENT THE BETTER part of Monday going over the preliminary specifications for the Singles Inc. job. The next time he had a meeting with Brayton and Andy, he intended to have his bases covered, so he went over every page, making notes along the way. Then he read it all again before he felt satisfied he’d gotten the gist of what they were looking for and a solid outline of discussion points and ideas. And when he was done he leaned back in his chair, rubbed his face in his hands and decided he needed a break, which for him meant heading back to the lab.
He loved the lab, the large project room used primarily to store their servers and test programs on various platforms. It was a quiet place where he could get away from the chatter and lose himself in his work. Slightly cooler than the outside offices, the temperature kept him alert in the afternoon when his energy dipped, and the hum of the PCs and servers created a soothing white noise that helped him think.
Since most programmers on staff were familiar enough with how their site designs would translate to other operating systems and browsers, the lab wasn’t used often, which meant Matt was often alone.
Long and rectangular, one end of the room held a coffee table, a couch and four stuffy chairs, old furniture from the Lake Tahoe cabin Brayton’s wife had remodeled. In the center was a large project table. The other side of the room was partitioned off to house the company servers, as well as shelves full of spare cords and boneyard equipment, broken, outdated and waiting for the annual recycling drive.
But Matt’s favorite spot was at the helm of the dozen or so Macs and PCs that lined the long wall. Over the vinyl tile flooring he could roll from workstation to workstation, whisking his chair back and forth, doing three things at once like Mr. Spock at the console of the starship Enterprise. In this room he got in his groove, trying an animated graphic on one PC while dicing through a digital photograph on another. Only a dozen computers could keep up with him when he got on a roll, and it was then when he felt the rush he used to feel back at the plate, back in the days when he hadn’t yet learned to appreciate the natural gifts he’d been given.
But Matt was luckier than most. When he’d blown his first career in baseball, he’d discovered another in photography and Web design, and being smarter than he’d been the first time around, he had no intention of taking this second chance for granted.
Taking his seat at the helm, he loaded Photoshop on one PC, then brought up Flash on another. He’d been working on a Web site for ErgoSystems, a local energy company in the East Bay, and given the new assignment on Singles Inc., he’d be turning this one over to Neil to complete. But before he did, he wanted to have the primary design in place. He’d just clicked to bring up the program from the server when he heard the door behind him and turned to see it was Adam.
“What brings you to this corner of the floor?” he asked.
“You, and a little information I thought you might be interested in.”
Adam stepped over to the couch and took a seat, lifting a basket of stress toys Hall kept on the coffee table before tossing his feet up. Sifting through the basket, he bypassed a number of small handheld massagers and squishy balls and pulled out a Slinky.
“Information?”
Eyeing the partition at the other end of the room, Adam asked, “We alone?” When Matt nodded, he went on, “I got a line on the Singles Inc. survey that put you and Carly together.”
That got Matt’s attention.
“What about it?”
“It seems one young and cocky programmer by the name of Brian Shanahan was overheard leaking the fact that he’d hacked into their databases last week.” Adam toyed with the Slinky in his hand, his expression practically smitten. “And, when pressed by yours truly, he told me everything he knew—confidentially, of course.”
“Of course.”
“When you suspected something fishy? You were right. Those survey results were the fine work of one Carly Abrams.”
“I knew it!” Matt said, slapping a hand to the table. “I could have bet money that survey was rigged.”
“Rigged by your new partner.”
“You wouldn’t kid me about this.”
Adam sobered and held up two fingers. “I swear this is no joke. I wouldn’t do that to you, pal.”
Matt shook his head, not certain whether to be relieved, angry or bewildered by the news.
On one hand, he was thankful those survey results hadn’t been for real. He’d been distracted by that prospect all weekend. Life was hard enough at the office trying to keep his interest in Carly strictly business.
On the other hand, what kind of man could turn down the perfect woman? Particularly a man who had ideas of having a family someday. Granted, now wasn’t the ideal time for him, but he knew that rarely did the right woman come along at exactly the right time. Usually it happened when a guy wasn’t looking. He’d gone over that scenario a dozen times, recalling oft-told stories of friends who’d been hit by Cupid’s arrow when they’d least expected. By Sunday afternoon Matt had nearly convinced himself Carly Abrams was the One and that he was starting off his week having to deal with the idea that his perfect mate might be standing in the way of his perfect career.
Now he didn’t have to. His initial instincts had been right on target. Carly was a woman he could definitely create some heat with, but that’s where their compatibility ended.
But that didn’t explain the situation.
He looked inquisitively at Adam. “What exactly did she do? And why?”
Adam’s smile widened. “Apparently, she discovered Hall had already picked you for the Singles Inc. project.”
“Is that true?”
Adam scoffed. “Come on. Did you really think they’d put just anyone on the biggest account we’ve acquired to date?”
Matt guessed not, and as it all sank in, it began to make more sense. He had been Hall’s number-one man since signing on with the firm, and these were the types of projects he’d been hired to take on.
“You were given that job before they even came up with the survey idea, according to what Brian heard. And Carly wanted it, too.” He slipped the Slinky back and forth between his hands. “She figured the only way to make sure she got the project was to cheat her way in.”
Matt’s eyes narrowed. “That’s the same thing she’d accused me of trying to do last week.”
“Ah, deflect the guilty by blaming the innocent. Clever.”
“And she almost had me, too.” Matt leaned back and propped his feet on a spare chair. “Are you sure this is all true?” he asked. “Where did you say you heard this?”
“Right from the horse’s mouth…Rocky.”
“No way!”
“Though it is just Brian’s word, I don’t know why he’d lie about something like that.”
Matt would have taken the opportunity to agree with his friend, but he was too distracted by this new information—most notably, what he should do about it. There was no way he’d see this project to completion letting Carly think she’d gotten one over on everyone. And he knew for a fact that’s exactly what she thought. She’d been smooth as cream in the meeting with Andy and Hall, practically serenading them with her charm and wit.
Annoyance burned in his gut. If those two only knew what she’d done, they’d bounce her off the job quicker than one of his fastballs. And if he was the jerk she thought he was, he’d be the first in line to tell them.
But he wasn’t.
He was better than that. But just because he had no intention of ratting her out didn’t mean he’d let her get away with it. She’d screwed with him and this project, and a move like that deserved some sort of payback.
And Matt had just the thing in mind.
Carly Abrams wanted everyone to think the two of them were compatible. Then that’s exactly what she’d get.
STOP BY THE LAB when you get a chance. Matt.
Carly held the sticky note she’d found on her computer as she walked down the long aisle tow
ard the lab. Matt had all but disappeared recently, and she’d been on the cusp of worrying that this working relationship would fall flat before it got started. Matt wasn’t considered much of a team player and he especially hadn’t come across warm and cozy over the idea of working with her. The note at her desk had lifted her spirits and given her hope that even if she wasn’t his first choice for a partner, he’d at least planned to work with her on this.
She pushed open the door to the lab, and he greeted her with a wide grin that tipped her off balance. For a short beat she felt compelled to stand and stare.
The sight was nearly awe-inspiring, those gunmetal-gray eyes tipped up at the corners and those sinful lips curved into a smile. She wondered how anyone could deny him when he beamed like that and she found it a shame he didn’t show this side more often. A look that powerful got a man anything he wanted—but to her knowledge, he never put it to use around here.
Which was a good thing for her. When Matt was around, she already had a habit of forgetting her name; she didn’t need a regular dose of this charm obliterating her senses completely.
“Come on over,” he said. “I’ve got some samples for you to look at.” He was sitting in front of a PC, and as she stepped toward him, he grabbed a chair and wheeled it up to his side. “I took the new Singles Inc. logo and have been testing it against different color schemes. I’m curious to know which one you think we should go with.”
He began hitting keys on the PCs to bring up the sample Web pages so they could view them side by side, and while he tinkered with one, she took the seat he’d offered, using the motion to scoot slightly away. It was bad enough he looked so good, he smelled good, too, and if she intended to keep her mind on business, a little distance would be in order.
Unfortunately, Matt didn’t share the same concern. After bringing up three screens to his left, he made his way toward her, leaning over to click into the Macintosh at her right. His thigh grazed her knee, the sensation of that simple touch splaying like sparks through her. She was about to scoot away farther, but he placed a casual hand on the back of her chair and reached over to the next PC, flashing one hard, molded chest squarely into view.
Her mouth watered. He’d unbuttoned his shirt just far enough to show off a dusting of chest hair, and she clasped white knuckles to the arms of her chair so her hands wouldn’t act on the impulses shooting through her head. Bent over like this, it would take nothing to sink her fingers into that dark, shiny hair, grab a hand to his jaw and devour him in one needy gulp. And she was almost desperate enough for excitement to do it. Without a doubt, Matt Jacobs would be a thrill, the mere thought halting the breath in her lungs.
He had sculpted biceps, muscles twisting in hills and valleys down those hard, rugged arms. For a fleeting second she wondered how they’d feel wrapped around her naked body. Carly had a fantasy about being bound and taken by a warrior lover, and those arms filled every corner of it. She imagined them holding her firm, keeping her captive and forcing her to accept the delicious sensations until she grew mad with desire, her writhing body no match for the force of his will. He’d torture her with that sensual mouth, invade her with his thrusting cock and silence her screams of delight with his hot, probing tongue. And then, only when she was fully spent and utterly—
“So what do you think?”
She jumped. “Huh?”
He gave her a curious look. “Earth to Carly. Did I lose you to something more interesting than our Web site?”
Absolutely.
“Oh. No.” She giggled like a preteen. “I was just thinking about something.” Clearing her throat, she released her hands from the chair and adjusted in her seat, hoping the motion might ease the throbbing that had propped up between her thighs. “Let me see,” she said, gradually returning to reality and the six computer screens in front of her.
She pointed to one. “I think the red one is very sexy.” Then she pointed to another. “But that olive-green makes a nice contrast to the logo.”
Matt returned his arm to the back of her chair. “My thoughts exactly.” Then, giving her a wink, he added, “Maybe we really are as compatible as everyone thinks.”
She blinked. “Who, me and you?”
“Yes, me and you.”
There was a look in his eyes she didn’t know what to do with, serious yet playful, maybe a bit sultry. She wasn’t sure if it was real or her imagination cutting in thanks to his nearness, but it definitely seemed as if something was lurking in his gaze.
“Well, I told you that survey can’t be counted on for much,” she tried.
He rolled his chair a little closer.
“Funny thing about that. I’ve been talking to Terry Haynes—the programmer over at Singles Inc. I asked him for a small favor.”
She held her breath. “A favor?”
“Yeah. I asked him to run our surveys using all our answers. You know, just to dispel all the chatter going around about you and me.”
She gulped. “And?”
“And our percentage went up. Ninety-one percent when all was said and done.”
Guilt lodged in her throat, causing her to choke out a cough. “That’s hard to believe.” She swallowed the hoarseness from her voice. “There must have been a mistake.”
He inched closer until the arms of their chairs were touching. “I’m beginning to think the mistake is you and I ignoring the obvious.”
She tried to nudge her chair away, but all the strength had drained from her legs. “Come again?”
Those gray eyes darkened, and the playfulness that had been there a moment ago turned into something smoky. With his chair as close as it could get, he bent in to narrow the gap between them, putting her nerves on red alert.
“You forget that I saw a couple of your answers to the survey.” He dropped his eyes to her lips. “I don’t think you were toying with Hall when you answered those questions on sex.” Then he dropped them lower. “I think you were telling the truth.”
She dug her fingers into her chair.
He inched closer.
“I think you and I might really be perfect for each other. Don’t you?”
“It’s only a silly survey,” she squeaked.
One corner of his mouth cocked into a smile. “I don’t think there’s anything silly about this heat between us. I think we might do ourselves justice by seeing where it goes.”
His brow arched and then twitched as he waited for her answer, but Carly was tongue-tied.
She really should object, knowing what she knew about the survey. A decent woman would. But as much as she tried to deny it, with Matt she didn’t want to be decent. She wanted to be delightfully bad. Because no matter how wrong he was about the results, there was one thing she couldn’t deny: she hadn’t lied on all the questions.
When it came to the section on sex, she and Matt truly had been the perfect match.
Her pulse revved up a few RPMs, leaving her fighting for air in the little space between them. He’d closed in on her, placing that delectable body on dangerous ground. His lids grew heavy, his gaze trailing a heated path down her chin, over her shoulder and across her breasts. He seemed to be gathering ideas along the way, and an ache in her chest begged to know each and every one.
“What did you have in mind?” she asked, not recognizing the low voice that seemed to come from her throat.
That playful look came back to his eyes. “Maybe we should go lock the door, rip our clothes off and see exactly how compatible we really are.”
“Are you kidding?”
That hadn’t been a scoff so much as a confirmation. With his rugged scent drugging her thoughts, his breath tickling the edge of her neck and those muscled arms twitching with anticipation, she was seriously considering doing this.
And why not? It was only sex. Wild, kinky, in-the-office-during-business-hours sex. The kind she’d been dreaming about since she’d realized she had a sex drive. For ages she’d been waiting for something exciting to happen to he
r, and now that it had, she’d forever kick herself if she dared turn it down.
His fingers touched her chin and she nearly collapsed from the jolt that ran through her. He’d tipped his head toward her and now his lips were on the verge of touching hers, whetting her appetite for the smorgasbord of pleasure she knew this man could offer.
So what if the survey was a sham? The speeding thrill whipping through her was entirely real. After years of yawn-inducing sex, she had a real man at her fingertips. A dark, fiery man. The kind that scorched the air around her, soaked her wet with just a look and set her body ablaze.
This was the breathless life she’d been waiting for, and all she had to do was pucker up and take it.
Cupping her cheek, he brushed his thumb over her lips, and when he acknowledged that he hadn’t been kidding, she opened her mouth and drew it inside, stroking her tongue against his flesh to mirror what she’d like to do to other parts of his body.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. His body froze. And the playful look in his eyes disappeared.
Flashing a glance that screamed Yes! she circled her tongue around his thumb, then slowly sucked it down until her lips met the pad of his palm. Then she reversed the motion, easing back and dragging her tongue along the flesh all the way. His fingers caressed her cheek, but his eyes never left her mouth. They stayed captivated by her, and she knew by the look in them he’d gone hard as a rock. She could feel it in the stillness of the moment.
She was driving him crazy. He’d gone rigid as stone, not a muscle in his body moving as she stroked and sucked, the air getting hotter with every taste.
She loved this feeling of power, knowing that she was toying with something that could erupt with an intensity she’d only sensed in her dreams. He was fixated on her, the room devoid of everything but her lips making unspoken promises of undeniable pleasure.
And just when she began to consider moving on to better things, he cupped her face with both hands, shot out an expletive and crushed his mouth to hers.
7
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