скачать книгу бесплатно
He hesitated.
“Nothing you say will leave this room, but I need to know how you’re perceived so that I can help you.”
“Your description of me was pretty accurate.” He stretched his long legs and sank farther into the plush chair.
“Not accurate enough. What do people get wrong about you?”
Jason frowned. “I didn’t come here for a counseling session.”
“Are you scared to tell me?”
His gaze pierced hers. “I’m not scared.”
“Are you afraid that I’ll think the same?”
“I’m not afraid either.”
“Then, tell me. What’s stopping you? You can trust me. What are they saying about your brand?”
“My brand?”
“Yes. Say you’re a car. What are people saying about it?”
“It’s cheap, comes from a bad lot. It has a good engine but nothing else.”
“And what do you want them to say?”
“I want to be a stellar model. You know, a BMW can break down and no one will say that it’s worthless, but I’m like a...a few mistakes and I’m no good and no one expects me to be.”
“Exactly, so you have to be clever. Because you don’t have the background, you have to create an image that is incorruptible, so that people can come up with excuses for you so that they’ll look good. You’re an easy target right now. We’ll change that.”
Before ending the session, Abby gave Jason some paperwork to complete and made an appointment for him to attend the next meeting of the local Chamber of Commerce. “You are to dress in business attire, and make sure you introduce yourself to at least three people and exchange business cards. Oh, and by the way, I’ll be the keynote speaker at the event. I’ll see you next week.”
“Isn’t it customary to shake hands at the end of a meeting?” Jason asked when Abby remained seated behind her desk.
“No, and in some countries the man waits for the woman to hold out her hand first.”
He held out his hand. “Fortunately, I’m not in one of those countries.”
Abby sighed, stood and took his hand. He shook it, then brought it to his lips. “I’m sorry about the handshake,” he said, his breath warm against her skin.
Abby swallowed, fighting to keep her tone neutral instead of breathless. “You’re forgiven.”
He kissed the back of her hand, then released her. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she said, the back of her hand feeling as if it were on fire. “And don’t kiss a woman’s hand like that unless you want to get into trouble.”
Jason only grinned, his eyes making it clear that he welcomed trouble and all its consequences.
* * *
Jason got in his car, then pumped his fist in the air. Thank you, Mom. Christmas had come sooner than he’d expected. He’d never imagined that the right woman for him would show up like this. She had intrigued him from the moment he laid eyes on her. Not because she was attractive, which she was, or smart, but she wasn’t afraid of him. That was the biggest turn-on. She’d boldly met his gaze, as if challenging him to see how far he would go. The handshake was nothing. He’d had to restrain himself from pulling her closer so that he could inhale her perfume and feel her body against his. He wanted to see what she was like when she wasn’t thinking of business. He wanted to make her think of something else. He now had a new goal.
His cell phone rang. He looked down at the number and grinned. “Right on time.”
“How did it go?” Beatrice asked. “Did you scare her away?”
“She doesn’t scare easily.”
“That’s good. So you’ll give her a chance?”
I plan to give her a lot of things. “Yes. You can pat yourself on the back. You were right. She’s just what I need.”
* * *
Abby had prepared herself for a number of things. But fierce attraction hadn’t been on her list. She’d assessed him well, but she hadn’t assessed him completely. He’d constantly caught her off guard, at one moment insulting her, then complimenting her in the same breath, not giving her a chance to know which it was or how to respond. Should she be pleased or offended? He knew more about his appearance than he was letting on. She wondered if he really thought he needed her services. He obviously didn’t seem to think he needed to change.
What she hated most was how he made her heart race—that he made her notice him as a man instead of as a client. She hadn’t felt that way in a long time. His behavior was nothing new. She’d been hit on by clients before, but he was different. She wouldn’t be able to brush him aside. She briefly glanced at her hand, still feeling the sensation of his skin against hers.
He was a lot bigger than she’d expected. Gruffer, too, but she wasn’t intimidated; she could already see him transformed.
He’d surprised her with his calm manner. She’d been ready for his temper, outrage, a cool superiority. But he’d displayed none of those traits. She’d learned early on that it was best to keep her distance. Her cool demeanor kept a safe wall between herself and her clients, but Jason Ward was quickly melting it. And she couldn’t let him. Abby knew she would have to push away any preconceived notions and see what he was really about if she was going to help him.
* * *
“So, what is he like?” Judith asked Abby the next day. “I was worried about you. I could hardly concentrate. How awful was he?”
Like I’d tell you. “I really shouldn’t discuss clients.”
“I do it all the time.” There was a moment of silence. “That difficult, huh?” she said with pity.
“He’s a fast learner.”
“Is that supposed to mean something?”
“Exactly what I said.”
“You know, if you don’t feel comfortable with him, you don’t have to do this. Just admit you can’t do it. There are other clients.”
But none like Jason Ward, Abby thought. She couldn’t wait to see him again. Because he was a challenge, nothing else. She’d seen his magnetism, and she would use it to keep a distance. She’d seen where her words bothered him; when she’d mentioned that women found him attractive, his gaze had gone hard. She’d have to figure out why. She was very curious. What was the key to unlocking the man behind the armor?
“I’ll be fine,” she said, but she already knew that was a lie.
Chapter 4 (#ulink_c86dc426-564f-5eca-93fe-cbef7c03cd84)
Jason stared at his reflection in the full-length mirror. It had been a long time since he’d cared about how he looked, but Abby had changed his mind. He wasn’t into wearing a double-breasted suit or matching finely crafted leather shoes. The casual merino wool slacks and pressed silk shirt and tie would have to do. He wanted to make sure he made the right impression.
Unfortunately, things didn’t quite turn out the way he wanted. The Chamber of Commerce meeting was being held in one of the main office buildings downtown, and due to a major water break, traffic had to be rerouted. Although he had left with plenty of time to spare, deciding to take himself instead of using his driver, Jason found himself walking into the meeting forty-five minutes late. Abby was just finishing her presentation when he entered, and did not acknowledge him. She closed her speech and took a seat up front. Jason sat patiently through the next two presenters, then when everyone was dismissed to spend the rest of the time networking, he hastily made his way over to where Abby was sitting.
“Sorry I was late,” he said. “There was a major water problem and parking was limited and...”
“That doesn’t matter now. Just shake hands and be nice.” She turned to leave.
“I’m sorry I missed your presentation.”
“I told you it doesn’t matter.”
“But you’re angry.”
She folded her arms. “I’m disappointed. Would you have been late if you had an appointment with the president?”
“What?” Jason paused, wondering what she was up to. “If you had been the president, I hope your secret service men would have made arrangements for your guests to be escorted through the mess outside, so they wouldn’t have...”
Abby glanced around the room. “All of these other people made it on time. You know why? Because they checked before they left, and added enough time, so they would make it. Isn’t that right, Mr. Brant?” She turned and spoke to a slimy-looking gentleman standing just behind her.
“It sure is. I checked my phone and GPS to make sure I’d get here on time. I wasn’t going to miss your presentation for nothing,” he said, his eyes raking over Abby’s body in a way that made Jason grit his teeth.
Look, but don’t touch, Jason thought, sizing the man up just in case he had to make himself clear.
When Jason didn’t reply, the other man continued. “A fine woman like her deserves to be the focus of a man’s attention. Isn’t that right, Abby?”
Abby laughed a little nervously, but Jason could tell she felt uncomfortable. “Mr. Brant, that’s not—”
“I mean, if I could get just a few minutes alone with...”
Jason’s temper snapped. That was as much as he could take. “I need to see you outside for a moment.”
“Jason, it’s okay.”
“Now.” His gaze never left the man.
Abby grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the door. “Jason, I have to talk to you.”
He glared at the man, then let her lead him outside. “What?” he asked, once they were in the hall.
“Congratulations. You have just failed your first test.”
“Test? I thought we weren’t doing tests anymore.”
“You can’t, but I can. I’m the teacher, remember?”
He rested a hand against the wall behind her. “Yes, I remember.”
“Nicholas Brant is a dear friend of mine.”
“You mean what happened in there was an act?” he asked, doing his best to rein in his temper.
“Yes,” Abby said in a clipped tone. “I wanted to see what you would do. How you would respond.”
“How was I supposed to respond?”
“With more tact. Not so aggressive. You looked like you wanted to slug him.”
“I did.” He sighed, hating that he’d disappointed her when today had meant so much to him. He’d wanted to make a good impression, but he kept failing. First, missing her presentation and now, this. “I didn’t like how he was treating you.”
“And that’s not the problem,” Abby said, softening her tone, as though he were a wayward child she wanted to correct. “You could have just led me away.” She smiled briefly. “However, the look you gave him was eloquent enough.”
He drummed his fingers against the wall with irritation. “That sounds like something from out of a textbook, not real life. What would you have done if you were me?”
She paused. “If I were you?”
“Yes. What would you have done if you saw a beautiful woman you were attracted to being disrespected by another man?”
Abby opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and shook her head. “That’s not a fair question.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s hypothetical. What really happened in there was about a man who was embarrassed about being late, who was annoyed that he had to come here in the first place and who wanted to handle his frustration by throwing some punches.”
Jason narrowed his gaze. “I thought you knew me better than that.”
Abby licked her lips. “I do.”
He watched the motion with interest, wishing he could moisten them some more for her. “Then why would you discount the fact that I’m attracted to you?”
“How you feel about me is not the issue here.”
“How come?”
Abby licked her lips again. He groaned inwardly, wishing she’d stop doing that. “Do I make you nervous?”
“You make me angry.”
He sighed, wanting so badly to kiss her, he had to grip his hand into a fist. “I’m sorry I missed your presentation,” he said with sincerity. “I won’t do that next time.”
“Don’t worry, there won’t be a next time. Right now you need to focus on smiling and shaking hands.”
He caught and held her gaze. “The only hand I want to hold is yours.”
“Jason.”
His gaze dropped to her lips. He wanted to do more than hold her hand. “Don’t pretend you don’t feel it, too.” He met her eyes, seeing the sizzling awareness in her gaze that mirrored his. “From the first moment, I knew you were the one.”
She shook her head. “I can’t risk it.”
“What?”
“Anything more than a personal relationship with you.” She shook her head again. “I mean professional.”
