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She leveled him with her gaze. “Of course you do.”
“But I’ll give you the other two. I do wear a lot of suits, and I guess my title is pretty fancy.” Of course, he was hoping his father would stop dangling the CEO title over his head just to keep him in line. The old man needed to go ahead and retire as promised.
Shondra looked him over. “Speaking of suits, it’s nice to see that you clean up well.”
Connor shifted in his seat under her intent stare. He suddenly felt like he was no longer in control of this situation. “Thanks.”
“So that oil-covered getup was just for my benefit?”
“Not exactly. I met you covered in oil because I really was working on the bottomhole assembly,” he answered.
“A man who’s not afraid to get his hands dirty—impressive. And, C.J.?”
“Connor James. C.J. is what the crew calls me when I’m on a rig. It helps them remember I’m just one of the team.”
Shondra nodded. “So I take it that I passed your little test, then?”
Connor simply smiled.
Shondra looked around, taking in the luxury interior of the private jet. “Then riding back to Houston with the company president must be my prize. What happens to those poor suckers who don’t pass? Do you throw them in the baggage hold?”
He found himself laughing yet again. He had to remind himself he was on a business trip, not a date.
“No, if you don’t pass, we just drop you in the ocean and let you swim for the border.”
“I guess I’d better be on my best behavior then. Sounds like you’re hard to please.”
“Maybe. But you don’t have anything to worry about. Your reputation and résumé are outstanding.”
“Yes, but that clearly wasn’t enough for you,” she said, referring to his little test. “Are you always so distrustful?”
“I wouldn’t say it’s a matter of trust. Just experience. Haven’t you met someone who looked perfect on paper but couldn’t live up to their own hype?”
Shondra nodded.
“Then you should understand. I like to rely on what I can see and hear for myself.”
And he was more than a little impressed with Shondra. She was even better in person than she was on paper. Not only did she have a genuine passion for her work, but she had a natural charm that had won over everyone she’d met on the rig. Himself especially.
It wasn’t unusual for him to pour on the charm to put his employees at ease, but he’d found himself going overboard with Shondra. Something about her made him react as a man first and employer second. He’d never let that happen before.
Meeting women came easy to Connor. Finding one that could hold his attention was nearly impossible. Once he weeded out the gold diggers, he was usually left with women who were either brainless or vapid.
It wasn’t lost on him that he was in the presence of that rare find who was intelligent, quick-witted and unfazed by money or position. And all that aside…she was hot.
He’d never dated a black woman, but that had more to do with opportunity than anything else. Everything about Shondra was sexy. From the husky tease of her voice to her fit and firm curves.
But there were obvious obstacles in his path. Not the least of which was that he was Shondra’s boss. He had to tread lightly, because if she didn’t share his attraction, he could find himself in the middle of a sexual harassment incident. His father would love that.
But he had a feeling that the attraction was mutual. At least that was the vibe he’d gotten when he’d been streaked in oil and wearing his work clothes. In that last moment before they’d said goodbye there was…something in the air between them.
She was in sassy mode now, using her acerbic wit to make him pay for trying to trick her. But earlier…there had definitely been some tension.
Maybe she had a thing for the working man. She’d already said she was impressed by a guy who wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.
Connor shifted uncomfortably in his seat again. Thankfully, Shondra’s attention was caught up with the flight attendant discussing their dinner options.
He had to pull it together. His father had made him promise that his phase of youthful rebellion was well in the past, and that Stewart Industries would be his only priority.
That made having his way with Shondra on the sofa bed to his left strictly off-limits.
He smiled at Shondra from across the table. Unfortunately, Connor had never been able to resist making his wicked thoughts a reality.
It was just a matter of time.
Shondra slipped into her condo and dropped her briefcase on the floor. This could be a problem. She was not supposed to have waking fantasies about buttoned-up blonds in expensive suits—especially when they turned up in the form of her boss.
Her taste normally ran to ranch hands and construction workers. There was something about a blue collar that she found very sexy. The bigger the muscles the better. Plus, it didn’t hurt that it was an easy way to get a rise out of her family.
But getting involved with Connor Stewart went way beyond subtle rebellion. Shondra got a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach when she thought about how her brothers would react. She’d like to hope that their feelings would have more to do with his family business than the fact that Connor was white, but she really couldn’t be sure.
And now wasn’t the time to put Malcolm and Tyson’s progressive thinking to the test. Her family was grieving and everyone needed to pull together. This was Shondra’s opportunity to step up and prove she was her brothers’ equal.
She was a big girl. She could handle her libido. What mattered most was that she had a job to do. Two in fact, because the compliance work had to be done, and she wouldn’t sacrifice her professional reputation for an investigation that might not turn up anything.
When Harmon Braddock died, everything in Shondra’s world came to a halt. Their family hadn’t been perfect, but no one had expected it to be ripped apart by a devastating car accident. The past month had been like living inside a bubble. She watched the world like a bystander—no one could get in and she couldn’t get out.
As Shondra struggled to come to terms with her father’s death, her family got word that his crash may not have been an accident.
It shocked Shondra to think someone might have killed her father…but, somehow, the anonymous message rang true. Politicians couldn’t please everyone, so it was conceivable that Harmon Braddock had made some enemies during his climb from Senator Cayman’s legal counsel to congressman.
Shondra felt, in her heart, that Harmon Braddock had been a good man. And for many years he’d been popular with his constituents. But the family observed his gradual change as years passed. As his hours away from home grew, he became more the political stereotype, working more for corporate interest groups than for the people. It was this change that eventually forced Malcolm out of their father’s footsteps.
When Malcolm and their father became estranged, the Braddock family began to grow apart. And it broke Shondra’s heart that it took losing their father to reunite the family. In the past month they’d all begun to lean on each other again. Then, once more, things started unraveling.
First, her father’s assistant, Gloria Kingsley, had found a mysterious number on Harmon’s phone logs that traced back to Stewart Industries. Gloria had no knowledge or record of any official business between Harmon and SI. And what was up with Harmon’s credit card bill showing a plane ticket to Washington, D.C., on the day he died? Gloria always booked his travel. So why not this one? She received a call implying that Harmon had been murdered, which also tracked back to the multimillion-dollar oil company.
With these new events, Shondra found her purpose again. Investigating her father’s death brought her out of her bubble.
Finally she had something to do besides cry.
Realizing that she’d been standing in the foyer lost in a reverie, Shondra picked up her briefcase and headed for her bedroom.
Fueled by the thought of a relaxing bubble bath, Shondra picked up speed, only to come to a startled halt as her foot squished into a brown mess just inside her door.
“Lisa! Lisa, have you been bringing your dogs to the house again?”
Within a few seconds Lisa appeared in her doorway. “Oh shoot, I thought I’d found all of Muffin’s little presents. I’ll clean that up for you.”
Rolling her eyes, Shondra kicked off her flat sling-backs. “And you owe me a new pair of shoes. These are now yours.”
Lisa, now on her knees scrubbing at the stain, looked up incredulously through her veil of micro braids. “Are you kidding? It’s just a little dog poop. It cleans right off.”
“But the memory lingers. Girl, are your braids too tight? You promised me that you’d stop bringing those dogs to the house. You’re lucky I don’t charge you extra rent for all the cockadoos and peekachoos you have running around here.”
Lisa sat up. “They’re called cockapoos and peekapoos. And I had to bring Muffin here…just for the afternoon. The air conditioner at the shelter broke, and we each had to bring an animal home with us until it was fixed.”
Shondra sighed and stretched out on her bed. Her roommate and best friend since college was a little off. They’d both graduated with degrees in law, but late last year Lisa quit her job with a prominent Houston firm to “find her passion.” And for the past month, her passion had been walking dogs for a ritzy dog kennel downtown.
Shondra couldn’t relate. She’d known what she’d wanted to do for a living since she was five. But as long as Lisa made rent, who was she to judge?
“There. Looks like it never happened.” Lisa stood, brushing herself off. “How was your first business trip on the new job?”
Shondra sank back into her pillows. “It was really fun, actually. I got to fly back in the company jet with the president.”
“Of the United States?”
Shondra leveled a hard stare at her friend. “Of course not. Of Stewart Industries.”
Lisa ditched her cleaning supplies and sat on the corner of the bed. “Wow. Private jet, huh? Maybe I got out of law too soon.”
“It’s never too late, my friend,” Shondra said hopefully.
“Nope,” Lisa finally said, shaking her head so her braids rattled. “It’s better to be happy than rich.”
Shondra grinned. “You know, it doesn’t have to be either-or. Is dog walking really making you happy?”
Lisa shrugged. “I’m not saying I’ll be doing this for the rest of my life. I’m still searching. I just think you can’t make your mind up about something until you’ve tried it.”
Shondra knew her friend was talking about careers, but she couldn’t help applying that theory to her love life. Despite it being against her better judgment, or maybe because of it, over the course of the week, Shondra found herself looking around the office for Connor.
Part of her had hoped they would be running into each other regularly, but no such luck. By Thursday evening Shondra had convinced herself that this was fate’s way of telling her to keep her head down and focus on the tasks at hand.
Which was why Connor caught her completely off guard when he called her at home.
“I’d like to take you out to dinner tomorrow night,” he said.
Shondra’s jaw dropped as she fumbled to find something to say. “Um, to talk about business?”
She heard his warm laugh and could just picture those white teeth glinting. “Not really.”
Say no, she coached herself. “No…problem. Pick me up at eight.”
Chapter 2
Shondra paced the foyer at a quarter to eight.
“Sit down,” Lisa called from the living room sofa in front of their large arched window. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you this nervous before a date.”
“Probably because I’m making a big mistake,” she muttered to herself.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Inhaling another deep breath, she tried to make herself relax. No, this dinner didn’t have to mean anything more than a meal between colleagues. Besides, it was another opportunity to find out more about the company and the man she worked for.
So, she reassured herself, this was not a blatantly reckless act designed to indulge her carnal desires. This was a necessary step in her investigation.
Shondra bit her lip. It was a stretch, but God forbid she had to explain herself, it might fly.
“He’s here.” Lisa slammed her bowl of spicy Szechuan chicken on the coffee table. “Girrrl, you didn’t tell me this guy is loa-ded.”
Shondra snapped to attention. “I—I—how can you tell?”
“In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never dated a guy who drove anything better than rusty pickups or ten-year-old sedans. Your last guy was so broke, he would show up in a cab and then make you pay. Now all of a sudden, this one shows up driving a Bugatti Veyron.”
“A whatty what?”
“Uh, how about a sports car worth over a million dollars.”
Sheesh! “How come you know what that is?”
“Because I have time to live in the world instead of working sixty hours a week like you.”
The doorbell rang and Shondra waved Lisa away. But her roommate hovered behind her, still eating her dinner as she watched Shondra like a movie of the week.
“Hi, Connor. Did you have trouble finding my place?”
He stepped into the foyer wearing khakis and a navy blazer with a blue-striped shirt, open at the collar to show off his tan. “Not at all.”
Lisa shuffled behind her and Shondra rushed to introduce them. “Connor, this is my roommate, Lisa.”
He reached out to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you, Lisa.” His lady-killer smile was in full force and Lisa squeaked in return.
Shondra thought her friend was going to drop her bowl and lick Connor’s face. She turned to Shondra with envy in her eyes and mouthed the words “I hate you.” Then Lisa batted her eyelashes comically in Connor’s direction. “You two have fun,” she called over her shoulder, twisting her hips as she headed down the hallway, fanning herself.
Aside from being embarrassing, her friend’s spectacle got rid of the last of Shondra’s nerves. She met Connor’s ice-blue gaze and the two of them cracked up laughing.
He escorted her out to his car—a stunning combination of midnight and cobalt blues—and Shondra didn’t have to be an expert to know that this wasn’t a car just anyone drove. Her gaze slid over the sexy, rounded curves like silk.
“Okay, now you’re just showing off,” she said as he opened the door for her.
Rounding the car, he slid in beside her. “Damn right. Is it working?”
“I don’t know.” Shondra shrugged to appear casual, taking in the earthy clay-colored leather interior. A stunning mix of chrome and black, the steering wheel and console stood out in the finely crafted luxury surrounding her. She wouldn’t admit she was impressed. “I would think a guy like you wouldn’t have to work so hard.”
Connor pulled off with the attention-grabbing rev of a powerful engine. He winked at her. “No one ever has to work hard. But some of us don’t know any other way.”
