Isaac leaned back in his chair. “This is a good start and we have a lot more work to do, but I like what I’m hearing. Go ahead and flesh out your recommendations. I’ll need a complete analysis of each one, plus projections on how they’ll perform over the next two, five and ten years.”
He thought a moment. “I know a few people we can get in touch with to learn more about green technology, so you can put together a brief, but as for the diamond sector, you’re on your own.”
The food arrived, so Autumn powered off her tablet and stowed it in her bag.
“That’s fine. I can do all that,” she said, unfolding her napkin. “But I have one question.”
“What’s that?” he asked, licking his lips in anticipation of eating. Once he got some food into his stomach, maybe Autumn’s rejection wouldn’t hurt so much.
“How are you going to handle your attraction to me?”
Damn, but she was bold.
“I don’t know. Take a cold shower twice a day.” He shrugged, putting a forkful of scallops to his mouth.
He chewed and swallowed and paused. “Or maybe I’ll just imagine you as a frog.”
Autumn looked up from her plate and gasped. “Why a frog?”
“So I can kiss you and turn you into a princess.”
She rolled her eyes, but he could see the smile she tried to hide, and he realized she enjoyed their ease at flirting as much as he did.
Isaac checked the time on his phone and reeled backward with surprise. It was getting late, if one considered six-thirty late, and he had missed a text from Deshauna that they would be home soon. He ran his hand over his head, worried that they’d get there before he did.
“Listen. Something’s come up and I have to go.”
He heard the tone of his voice and knew his excuse was lame, but it couldn’t be helped.
Autumn put down her fork, her brow knit together with concern. “Is there anything wrong?”
“No, there’s just somewhere I have to be soon.” He reached for her hand and motioned to the waiter for the check. “I’m sorry to cut our evening short.” He looked down at her still-full plate. “You barely got to eat.”
Autumn pushed the food away. “It’s okay. I’ve actually got somewhere I need to be, as well.”
Now it was his turn to wonder if she was available or in a relationship, but he didn’t dare ask.
He helped Autumn on with her coat and his fingers brushed her soft curls. He only had a short time left with her and he wanted to make the most of it. So he put a hundred dollar bill under his wineglass, knowing it would more than cover the check.
They made their way through the now-crowded restaurant to the entrance and saw that the snow had picked up considerably.
Isaac put his hand on Autumn’s arm as she slipped on some gloves. “Where are you headed? It may be hard to get a cab now, especially in this weather. We can share one.”
She finished wrapping her scarf around her neck and hesitated, as if she were considering the idea. “I’m going downtown, how about you?”
He shook his head, hoping the restaurant’s dim lighting hid the disappointment in his eyes. “Uptown. Let’s walk one block over to a side street—it may be easier to get a cab there.”
She nodded in agreement and they both took deep breaths before Isaac opened the door.
The sidewalks were slick with ice and snow, but thankfully the wind was calm. Isaac immediately offered Autumn his arm to hold on to, but she refused and stuck her hands in her pockets. He wondered if she was upset about something. It was dark and snow was steadily falling, so it was hard to see her face.
A few yards later, she slipped rounding the corner. He grabbed on to her hand just in time, almost hitting the ground himself. This time when he tried to pull away, she didn’t let go.
They were about halfway up the block when Isaac spotted a place where they could wait for a cab without getting wetter than they already were.
He tightened his grip on Autumn’s hand and pulled her into the alcove of The Rose Garden florist shop. A sign on the door read Closed Until Further Notice. He guessed the owners wouldn’t mind if they loitered there awhile.
Isaac kept his back to the wall, positioning Autumn right in front of him to try to shield her from the cold as much as he could. He didn’t need a thermometer to know that it was at or below freezing outside. Although they’d only been outside a few minutes, their coats and hair already had a light dusting of snow.
“I’ve got a perfect view of the street here, so I can watch for a cab and keep you out of this nasty weather.”
“Thanks,” she said in a jittery voice. “I’m freezing.”
She started to shake her head side to side, but he reached out and cupped her face in his hands.
“Don’t do that,” he said. “All those snowflakes caught in your curls make you look like a princess.”
She lifted her chin, the tiny droplets of melting snow on her face seemed to glisten.
“How can this frog be a princess when she’s never been kissed?”
That was all Isaac needed to hear.
He sucked in a breath, not giving his mind time to think or to worry or to even care about tomorrow.
“I can take care of that right now,” he whispered.
He closed his eyes and slowly guided her face to his, relying on sense rather than sight to that first taste he knew he would never forget.
And Autumn did not disappoint. Her lips were soft and warm and surprisingly insistent upon his, and in the haze of their kisses, he felt her fingers on his chest, unbuttoning his coat. The shocking blast of cold made him lift his lips from hers. He gasped aloud, but it was quickly silenced by the mellow warmth of her body against his chest. He bit his lip, going rock hard as she snuggled against him.
His back muscles tensed under her roaming hands, the pleasure of her touch unfamiliar, and her fingers kneaded his flesh as if seeking answers. They stumbled against the alcove wall and he wove his hands in her hair, their breath intermingling in the cold air, eyes transfixed on each other. In their gaze, a message of truth. They knew what they both wanted, but there wasn’t much time.
Then his tongue met flesh again, seared the inside of her mouth, and their lips moved together. They kissed and kissed, not devouring but savoring like a fine wine, not wanting it to end. This moment was as fragile as the snowflakes that swirled around them.
He felt her breasts rub against his chest, flaring his passions, and he yearned to touch them, but he didn’t want to open her coat and have her get cold.
Angling his hands under her coat and beneath her skirt, he molded his hands around her buttocks. His tongue licked the corners of her mouth almost delicately before taking a surprise plunge into her mouth. At the same time, he cupped her round behind, lifting her up and securing her firmly against him.
With a low moan into his mouth, she wrapped her legs around his waist and his fingers sank into her soft flesh. Her heat fanned invitingly against his trousers; his constrained penis thumped in the hopes that she’d let him in.
The sound of her panty hose ripping pushed him over the edge and he broke the kiss. Staring into her eyes, his torso involuntarily started to slowly pulse against her and into that coven of heat, as if there were no fabric there at all.
His pace steadily increased and she tightened her grip around his waist and found his lips again, an anchor point on which to suck and hold. With every hard and desperate grind of their bodies, she held on.
Oh, how she held on.
Isaac threw his head back against the wall, nearly losing his senses of time and place when out of the corner of his eye he saw a cab ambling down the road.
“Damn,” he muttered, releasing her.
He ran out to the curb, almost slipping on the ice, lifted
his right hand and waved.
“Taxi!” he shouted, breathing heavy, the flaps of his coat wide open.
He didn’t know whether to be happy or mad when the cabbie pulled over.
Isaac turned just in time to see Autumn smooth her hand over her coat. She picked up her tote bag and gingerly stepped onto the sidewalk. When she reached the cab, her breathing was steady.
“Are you okay?” he asked, touching her arm.
Autumn nodded but didn’t meet his eyes as he opened the door and she stepped into the taxi. A moment later, she was gone. As he trudged up the road to the subway, Isaac’s heart squeezed in his chest, wondering how he was going to face her in the morning.
Chapter 6
Autumn scowled at the stack of files on her desk. She hadn’t wanted to lug them to the restaurant last night, possibly inviting questions from Isaac, so she had double the number to go through today.
Thank God, it was Friday. She couldn’t wait to go home, open up a bottle of wine and not think about paperwork or the Paxton investigation for a while.
But she knew she wouldn’t be able to forget about last night.
She rose and closed the blinds against the sunlight streaming through the windows. When she turned, she saw that Isaac’s door was still closed, his office dark. It was after ten in the morning.
The doorman hadn’t called this morning, and when she inquired why, he told her that Isaac hadn’t gone out for his run, so there was no reason to contact her.
She almost asked him to go up and check on him, to see if he was there, but she didn’t want the man to be more suspicious than he probably was. Free money only worked for a while. Eventually he would start to ask her questions or, worse, tell Isaac that she was spying on him.
Autumn sat back at her desk and wrung her hands.
Where was he? She couldn’t help feeling something bad had happened to him.
She felt a pang of guilt remembering how he’d allowed her to take the first taxi. It was a sweet, chivalrous gesture, because she knew he had somewhere else to go, someone else waiting for him to arrive. When she looked back, he had already turned and was walking away, and there were no more cabs coming down the street.
Had he even made it home last night?
Calm down, she told herself. There must be a logical explanation for his absence. Perhaps he had a morning meeting with a client. She only hoped he wasn’t avoiding her, because she needed to talk to him about last night.
In the heat of the moment, they’d both forgotten about the real purpose of working together, which was to insure Eleanor Witterman became Paxton’s newest client.
And of course, while Isaac was kissing her senseless, the last thing on her mind was the investigation.
Sterling wouldn’t be too happy if he knew either. In fact, he’d probably fire both of them.
Autumn twisted a curl around her finger.
“That can’t happen,” she said aloud.
Felicia suddenly appeared in the doorway. “What can’t happen?” She stepped into the room and glanced around. “Who are you talking to?”
Autumn’s stomach clenched. “Myself. Haven’t you ever done that?”
“What? Talked to myself?” Felicia shook her head. “People might think I’m crazy.”
“Not if you’re telling the truth,” Autumn replied.
Felicia’s eyes narrowed. “Exactly what are you implying?”
“Nothing,” Autumn replied. “I’m only saying that talking to yourself doesn’t mean you’re crazy.”
Felicia looked Autumn up and down. “Humph,” she snapped. “That’s your opinion.”
If Autumn wasn’t the confident woman that she was, she might have felt like an ant under Felicia’s scrutiny. However, she knew that the woman had something to hide and she was determined to get past her obnoxious attitude to the facts.
Autumn folded her hands on her desk. “How can I help you? I’m sure you didn’t stop by my office for idle chitchat.”
“Good. You are starting to get to know me and how I work. I do have a purpose for being here.”
Felicia dropped her hands, slowly sat down and crossed her legs, like a beauty-pageant wannabe practicing how to be graceful.
“I understand you are working with Isaac on the Witterman pitch.”
“That’s correct. In fact, we had a dinner meeting last night to talk strategy.”
Felicia’s eyes darkened suspiciously. “Why dinner? You couldn’t meet here at the office?”
“No, Isaac was in meetings all day and that was the only time he could get together.”
“Well!” she exclaimed. “Sounds like someone needs a seminar on time management!”
“I’d love one, but I don’t have time for it,” Autumn replied with a giggle.
But Felicia wasn’t smiling and Autumn’s face burned with embarrassment.
She cleared her throat. “So what about the project?”
Felicia moved her chair closer to the desk. “I want you to keep a very close eye on Isaac,” she revealed. Her voice dropped down to almost a whisper. “There has been some talk among the employees and something isn’t right.”
Autumn held back a laugh. She couldn’t believe her ears. Felicia actually wanted her to spy on Isaac.
“But you’re the director of human resources. Why not just come out and ask him yourself?”
“Because he reports to my father, that’s why, who adores him and thinks the world of him. He’d be really upset if I did anything like that.”
“I see. Well, I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with this. I mean, I just started at Paxton. What possible repercussions can I expect to my career here?”
Felicia sat back, her eyes widening. “Why, absolutely none at all,” she insisted, sounding appalled at the question. “You have nothing to worry about. All you need to do is watch for anything improper that you find that could hurt the company, and report it to me first, not my father.”
Autumn hesitated. Had Sterling told Felicia that she was really a private investigator? Was that what this was all about?
“I don’t know about this. I’m an analyst, not a private eye.”
Felicia exhaled impatiently. “I know that, Autumn. That’s why you’re perfect. You can actually discover any wrongdoing.”
Autumn blew out a breath, inwardly relieved that her cover seemed to be still intact. “And you expect me to go behind your father’s back with any information and come straight to you.”
Felicia nodded. “Maybe you won’t find anything. But if you do, I want to know about it first.”
She pointed her finger at Autumn. “One more thing. If you try to hide anything you find out, you’ll get a chance to see firsthand just how brutal life at Paxton can really be.”
When Felicia left, Autumn wanted to laugh at her attempt to frighten her, but instead she threaded her hands through her curls. Now she was working for Sterling and Felicia against Isaac, and neither of them knew about the other.
* * *
Isaac clutched the paper bag that held his deli sandwich and a bag of salt-and-vinegar chips that he always ate when he was having a particularly stressful day and strode into the Paxton Building.
It was nearly one o’clock and his stomach was grumbling as if it hadn’t had food to churn in weeks. After a morning chock-full of off-site meetings, all he wanted to do was eat and catch up on email.
Riding up in the elevator, a part of him hoped Autumn was still at lunch. Isaac didn’t want to avoid her, not that he could anyway. Quite the contrary. He just needed more time to figure out how to handle what could turn out to be an uncomfortable situation.
If she wanted an explanation of why he kissed her, he couldn’t give her one. If she wanted an apology, he couldn’t give her that eit
her. He sure as hell wasn’t sorry he kissed her. He was only sorry that their kiss had to end so abruptly.
On the executive floor, he walked down the hallway to his office a little slower than usual and then, deciding he was acting silly, resumed his normal pace.
Autumn’s door was open, but from his vantage point he couldn’t tell if she was there. But he knew that she could see him through the little glass window. That’s how Felicia had spied on him, before she’d tried to seduce him just weeks earlier.
Isaac clenched his jaw in disgust at the memory. How long had Felicia been watching him?
He dug his key out of his pocket and took a deep breath to relax, thankful that the room where Felicia had tried to destroy him was now occupied by a woman from which he welcomed seduction.
“Hey, stranger,” she called out. “Are you okay?”
Isaac’s heart leaped in surprise. Instead of being upset, her cheerful voice sounded like she was glad he was there.
“Yeah,” he grunted, fumbling with the keys. “Give me a second to unload this stuff.”
Opening the door, he flipped on the light, hung up his coat and carefully put his lunch and laptop bag on his desk. Then he walked into Autumn’s office, hesitating only a moment before shutting the door. Whatever was about to transpire between them, he didn’t want anyone to hear or see. As far as anyone knew, they were simply discussing business.
Isaac pulled out the chair in front of her desk and sat down. His eyes traced her lips as she wiped her mouth.
“Tough morning?” she asked, replacing the plastic top over a container of half-eaten salad.
“Tough clients,” he said and sighed, stretching his legs out in front of him. “I think investment banking is the only business in the world where the customer isn’t always right, but that doesn’t make telling them when they’re wrong any easier.”
Autumn poked a straw into a bottle of mineral water and nodded. “But all is forgiven when the money starts rolling in, right?”
He shrugged. “So far I’ve been lucky.”
Autumn stood and walked around the desk. She tossed the salad container into the trash and he watched as she slowly walked around the desk. Her pale pink suit wasn’t skintight but was perfectly tailored to complement her hourglass shape.
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