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Maxwell clenched his jaw and drew a deep breath. “Send him in,” he bit out, snatching his finger away from the intercom button.
“But it’s not a…” Carmen’s response was lost on him. She turned toward Reese, her smile wavering as she shrugged in apology. “He’s really quite nice,” she offered.
Reese picked up her heavy briefcase and crossed the space that separated her from Carmen. She stood in front of Carmen’s desk. Reese’s right eyebrow rose speculatively. “He thinks I’m a man,” she stated more than asked, just the barest hint of amusement lacing her husky voice.
Carmen looked up at the striking woman, a tone of conspiracy in her response, “It appears so.”
Reese’s mouth curved into a grin. “May I go inside now?”
“Of course.” Carmen stood up. “Follow me, Ms. Delaware. Mr. Knight’s office is right down this corridor. I’m Carmen Valez, executive assistant in charge of East Coast operations and Mr. Knight’s personal assistant. My desk is back there also, I’m just covering for lunch.” They proceeded down the hall until they reached twin glass doors. Carmen placed her palm on the scanner and the doors slid open. Reese’s eyes widened in awe. She’d only seen that done on television and in the movies.
She dutifully followed Carmen down the acoustically sound-treated, semi-hushed hall. Futuristic offices and security cubicles to the left and right were closed off from the hallway traffic by huge Plexiglas panels. Behind these smoke-tinted panels, high-tech equipment, most of which she couldn’t even give a name to, occupied much of the space, expelling information to white-coated technicians and to others who looked no different from the video-game junkies who haunted the arcades.
What a group of nerds, she mused. She wondered if the mysterious Maxwell Knight was half as uninteresting.
Carmen stopped at the security panel and repeated the previous process. Upon entering the next corridor they turned left and Reese was instantly aware of the change in decor. There were no more glass walls. Heavy wood doors with gold-plated name tags had taken their place. Here was the suite of executive offices that ran M.K. Enterprises. “We call this the Black Forest because of all this oak,” jibed Carmen.
She slowed, then stopped in front of an intricately carved door. She tapped once and turned the knob. Stepping aside she opened the door for Reese to enter.
Maxwell wasn’t rude by nature, but this whole interview business had put him in a foul mood. He hadn’t put on his jacket and didn’t even bother to look up from his drafting table when the door opened.
“Have a seat, I’ll be with you in a minute,” he said with all the civility he could summon.
Reese’s eyes swept across the room to locate the southern preacher’s voice that seemed to emanate from the depths of a gospel standard.
Maxwell’s heightened senses, ever alert, caught the subtle, yet potent whiff of her African Musk body oil before she’d stepped completely across the threshold. Every muscle in his body tensed, as if sensing imminent danger.
He came from around the dividing wall and their worlds collided. Reese Delaware was not a man by any means. The reality slammed against his invisible wall, causing tiny fissures in the structure.
Reese stepped farther into the room, noting the infinitesimal look of surprise that widened the irises of his unusual eyes. This was no nerd. She used her warm, slow smile as a beacon, allowing it to cut a path directly to his outstretched hand.
“Reese Delaware,” she announced in a tone that seemed to stroke the tightened muscles of his body.
Husky, throaty, smoky, sultry. Her voice was all that and more. No. This definitely would not work.
“Ms. Delaware,” he responded, his body virtually vibrating from the pressure of her slender hand in his. She was the first to pull away.
“I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing.” He paused to gauge her reaction, and much to his chagrin he saw nothing.
She shot him a steady look from behind luminous amber eyes that seemed to whisper, “come to me.”
He cleared his throat, his own hot stare meeting hers. “I’m sure that everything there is to know about my company can be gleaned from our annual reports.”
Reese placed her briefcase at her feet, looked up at him from beneath heavy black lashes, then took a seat opposite his desk. With a deliberance that bordered on an “X” rating, she crossed her long legs. Her short, canary yellow skirt barely hit her mid-thigh. Max tore his gaze away.
“Let’s get right to the point,” she began, her low voice threading its way through his bloodstream. “You don’t want me here. You know it and I know it. I don’t have a problem with that, because I have a job to do, one which I take just as seriously as I’m sure you take yours. I intend to get my job done,’ she added, emphasizing each word with an almost musical cadence. “So—” she exhaled a long breath “—we can do this the easy way or we can do it the ugly way.” She flashed him a brilliant “Colgate” smile.
Damnit, he liked her. When was the last time that anyone, least of all a woman, told him just where to get off? However, these shaky emotions could be his undoing—and that couldn’t happen. Think with the head on top of your neck, buddy, he warned himself.
“And not to belabor the subject,” she continued, “but I’m not the least bit interested in your company, Mr. Knight.” She paused for effect. “I’m interested in you.”
Maxwell gave her a long, hard look. “Humph,” he chuckled. “You seem pretty sure of yourself, Ms. Delaware.”
“Call me Reese, since we’ll be working so closely together. And yes, I am very sure of myself. I have to be in this business—Max.” She saw the nerve jump beneath his right eye and mentally ticked off a point for herself. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down for a minute. If he got the slightest inclination that he could railroad her, or intimidate her, this whole trip would be for nothing, just as he’d said. She had no intention of returning the ten-thousand-dollar advance. The money had been a lifesaver. Had it not been for the windfall, she’d probably be looking for someplace else to live. At least her apartment was secure for the time being. If only the other holes in her life could be filled as easily.
Maxwell turned away from her, took a seat behind his desk and proceeded to review the stack of documents in front of him. He didn’t bother to look up when he next spoke. “I hope, Reese, that you’re as talented at making yourself invisible as you claim you are at your job.” He signed a document, put it to the side and continued, “I don’t want to be hovered over, interrupted when I’m designing, or followed to the men’s room.”
She bit down on the inside of her lip to keep from laughing.
Suddenly he looked up, and she was assaulted once again by the allure of his eyes. She swallowed, cocked a brow and met his gaze head on.
“I was informed,” he continued in that voice that could make a good girl do wicked things, “by the Board that you’d be with me for the next two months.”
“I have that long to complete my story and hand it in,” she corrected. “I’m sure I’ll finish before then so that we can get out of each other’s way as soon as possible.”
The tiny corner of his mouth lifted, indicating the bare beginnings of a smile. “I hope you have your passport in order. After leaving the Los Angeles offices, I’ll be heading to Tokyo.”
“I’m aware of that. I was given your itinerary. Actually, I’m looking forward to the next six weeks.” She smiled that slow, burning smile again and he felt his insides begin to smolder.
Maxwell stood and shoved his hands into his pants pockets, partly in dismissal, but mostly because he didn’t know how his body would react if he touched her again.
Her eyes challenged his. She straightened her shoulders. “What time do you come in?”
Even a simple question sounded suggestive coming out of that mouth of hers, Maxwell thought, annoyed.
“I’m in the office by eight.”
“Then I guess that’s when we’ll see each other again.” She bent to retrieve her briefcase. “It was a pleasure to finally meet you Max. I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.”
“Take the elevator directly to your right,” Maxwell instructed, ignoring the pseudo-friendly overture. “Security on board will see you out.”
Without another word, she turned and strolled out of the office, her hips swaying to a slow, erotic beat that only she could hear.
Alone now in his office, Maxwell could hear the rapid beating of his heart, feel the throb that pulsed between his muscular thighs, smell the scent of her that had settled over him like morning dew. This isn’t going to work, he realized, and the sooner that was understood the better. Maxwell strode across the room, slung his hand into his pants pockets and stood in front of the window. He’d find out how much her advance was and write a check to whomever. The quicker Reese Delaware was out of his way and his life, the better for everyone.
For several seconds, unobserved, Reese stood on the opposite side of Maxwell’s door, concentrating on breathing and getting her legs to stop trembling. Briefly she shut her eyes, and took a deep, calming breath.
That was more than just animal magnetism in there, Reese realized as she pushed the button for the elevator. Whatever thing that connected them and virtually lit up the room with electricity was something so powerful, it frightened her with its force.
Sure, she’d been turned on by men before and relished the thrill of watching them when she played “the game.” This was no game—and whatever it was, she couldn’t let it interfere with what she’d come to do. She would not. Getting at the truth was what drove her. It was what woke her up in the morning. If she couldn’t find it or have it in her own life—she’d be damned if she wouldn’t uncover it in everyone else’s.
The elevator slowly descended. Reese exited and strolled out into the sprawling complex of the Plaza. For now, she would put thoughts of Maxwell Knight aside. She’d deal with him tomorrow. What she needed was a good night’s sleep so that she’d be sharp enough to duel with him toe to toe.
But sleep was not to come. For the first time in three years, the nightmares began again.
Chapter 2
The following morning, Reese took special care in preparing for what she knew would be a day of confrontation.
She’d barely slept two hours the entire night. She’d tossed, turned, leaped up in a sweat, dozed and began the process again.
Her hands were shaking when she attempted to stroke her lashes with mascara. “Must be those five cups of coffee you drank in less than an hour,” she muttered to her reflection, attempting to smile.
Pressing her lips together, she shut her eyes and hung her head, bracing herself with her palms against the cool white porcelain sink. Her head pounded.
It had been three years since she’d had the nightmares. The headaches had all but disappeared. She no longer had to take the prescription medication for the pain; over-the-counter painkillers worked just fine. Until last night. The pain had gotten so intense, she’d had to call her physician in Chicago to phone in a prescription to the all-night drugstore.
She tasted salt in the corner of her mouth. She opened her eyes to see the tears slide slowly down her cheeks. “Not again,” she whispered. “Please not again.”
Maxwell knotted his silk tie and clipped it to his blue pin-striped shirt with a gold clasp bearing his initials: MJK. He took a final look in the mirror, his reflection bringing to the forefront his mixed ancestry. He peered a bit closer and brushed his finger across his left eyebrow where a martial arts mishap had left its mark.
He breathed heavily and shrugged into his jacket. The look of the corporate executive never suited him, but he also realized that it was all part of the facade. Although he always felt more comfortable in jeans, sneakers, and a sweatshirt, he’d always done what was necessary to fit in. Thinking that perhaps by doing so, he’d avoid the extra looks, the questions that had dogged him most of his life.
Maxwell was never ashamed of his mixed Japanese and African-American heritage. For the most part, his exotic looks acted as a magnet, drawing people to him. It was the questions, raised eyebrows, and murmurs of feigned understanding that bugged him the most. He couldn’t answer the questions about his natural mother. He never knew her. According to James Knight, his father, his mother Suki had been killed in Japan shortly after his birth. James had married his stepmother, Claudia, some months later. And since Maxwell could not answer the questions about his Japanese mother, he’d created a picture of her to assuage the missing link of his life.
Over time, he’d gradually built up a wall around himself, keeping people and questions at bay. Yet there was a part of him that believed there was more to the story than his father cared to divulge.
He shook his head, scattering his ruminating. Now was not the time to indulge in things he could not change. So he continued to walk the line between being black and being Japanese, hoping that one day the two worlds would somehow meld into one.
Leaving his bedroom, he collected his keys and briefcase and walked out into the warm, early summer morning to face his day and the probing of Reese Delaware, a day he’d spent years trying to avoid.
Reese was already seated in the reception area when he got off the elevator. She was so engrossed in typing something onto her laptop computer, she didn’t even look up, apparently unaware of his arrival. For a moment, he was glad to see her in her bright lime green linen suit. She wore her hair differently, he noted. Her shoulder-length tresses were pulled away from her face and neck and piled on top of her head in a tumble of jet black curls.
Then, just as quickly as the moment of joy had filled him, it was replaced with the realization that her only purpose was to dig into his life. His smooth brow creased into a frown. Loudly, he cleared his throat. Her head snapped up. Their eyes connected and the charge popped back and forth between them.
“Good morning. Glad to see you’re an early riser,” he greeted. He turned abruptly and strode down the hall to his office, his gait smooth and measured.
Reese took an exasperated breath and snapped her laptop shut. Collecting her things from the seat next to her, she rose and followed him down the corridor to his office. “Why did you come in through the peon entrance? You do have a private elevator,” Reese queried in a taunting note, quickening her pace.
Maxwell pressed his palm on the scanner and stepped beyond the opened doors. “I’m in the habit of taking a quick run through of my facilities before I settle in for the day, if you must know, Ms. Delaware,” he grumbled in a caustic tone. He opened the door to his office.
“I have a very full day today, Ms. Delaware.”
“Are we back to formalities so soon?” she retorted, closing the door behind her.
He turned toward her, and his heart slammed hard against his chest. “Habit,” he offered, knowing that his real reason was the threat of intimacy. Calling her by her first name personalized her, softened her, took her from being a prying journalist to a breathtaking woman. A situation he had no intention of indulging.
Reese shrugged. “Suit yourself, Max.” Meandering across the room, she took real note of her milieu. Maxwell Knight surrounded himself with an eclectic blend of Asian and African art.
His desk was of black lacquer, embossed with intricate jade and gold carvings along its edges. To the far left was a low wooden table surrounded by four pillows covered in brilliant African prints of oranges, golds and bronzes. Above the arrangement, hanging on the wall were two frightening looking swords, with black and gold handles and blades crafted from the finest steel. They glistened menacingly in the sunlight. On the opposite wall, beyond the partition that housed his drafting table, was an enormous wall unit of black lacquer and glass that encased an array of hand-carved statues and artifacts, including a set of African counting sticks. And then there was the bookcase that contained volume upon volume of every imaginable type of literature. Yes, Maxwell Knight was a very interesting man indeed, but it would take all of her skills and whatever else she needed to crack through the veneer he’d painted over himself.
“What’s on our agenda?” She took a seat, and pulled a notepad from her briefcase.
“I have a meeting with the R & D techs—the Research and Development technicians,” he corrected, noting the puzzled look on her exquisite face, “at ten.”
“Will you be discussing the computer chip?”
“Yes, it’s part of the meeting,” he answered tersely, avoiding her steady amber gaze.
Reese nodded and made a note. “Will it be a problem if I bring a tape recorder into the meeting?”
Maxwell’s head snapped in her direction. “I don’t recall inviting you, nor do I recall your asking to attend.”
“Consider it asked,” she tossed back, glaring at him.
“Fine,” he conceded on a growl deep in his throat. “But tape recording is out of the question and if I ask you to leave the room, I expect that you will—without a problem.”
She flashed a coy smile. “Do I appear to be the type of woman to cause problems?” Languorously she crossed her long legs.
Yes, his mind screamed, and you know it. “I really wouldn’t know that, Ms. Delaware, now would I?”
“Well, Max, we’ll just have to find out, now won’t we? In the meantime,” she continued, not giving him a chance to recover, “I’d like to get started with some background information.” She leaned down and reached into her bag to retrieve her recorder, and in doing so, gave Max a brief glimpse of the half-moons that strained against the fabric of her V-cut jacket.
He clenched his jaw and turned away.
Reese straightened and placed the recorder on the desk that separated them. Leaning slightly forward, she depressed the record button.
“I always find it best if the subjects ignore the machine and just talk as thoughts come to them.” She took a breath. “Why don’t we start from the present and work our way backward. I think I’d like to open the story with the excitement surrounding your development of the computer chip and its impact in the marketplace. From there, we can delve into the man that made it all happen.”
While she spoke, Maxwell was transfixed. Suddenly, he viewed her as the seasoned professional that she purported herself to be. She was poised, articulate and direct. Gone was the femme fatale who used her charm to keep men nipping at her heels. She knew when to play and when not to. He liked that.
With less reluctance than he’d anticipated, Maxwell took his seat behind his desk, leaned back, and waited, crossing his arms over his taut belly.
“How soon will the chip be ready for the consumer?” she began. “And how will it all come about?”
In measured tones, Maxwell laid out the future plans for the company he’d built from scratch. “In less than six months, M.K. Enterprises will be put in direct competition with the computer giants that have dominated the computer-chip industry for decades. The speed and software adaptability of the chip will revamp everything we understand computers to be today. We are braced at the threshold of an exciting new era…”
As Reese listened to Maxwell talk in that mesmerizing voice, it was the first time she saw him actually animated. The cool control, almost imperceptible movements were gone. He spoke with his hands, his eyes, his body. The excitement and pride rang through the melodic timbre of his rich baritone. He exuded a raw energy that was contagious. She became entranced, captivated by the magic of his dream.
While he talked and looked into her eyes, he believed, if only for the moment, that she was listening to him, interested in him as a man and not just someone from whom something could be gained. For his entire life, women were with him because of his looks, schoolmates hung around because of his brains, business associates befriended him because of what it could do for them by association. In the dojo he was simply feared for his mastery of the arts. He didn’t want her to know him. Intimacy only brought him pain. His experience with Victoria Davenport proved that.
The sound of the recorder shutting off broke the spell.
Reese blinked several times as if awakening from a dream. Maxwell cleared his throat and slowly brought his hands up to steeple in front of his mouth. Reese watched the subtle transformation, almost as if someone else had replaced the man she was so briefly introduced to. She was more intrigued than ever.
“I need to get ready for my meeting,” he said. “Would you like something to eat or drink in the meantime? I could have Carmen get something for you, if you’re hungry.”
Was that a hint of gentle concern she heard in his voice, or was she only hoping? “I think I’ve had my fill of coffee for the day,” she said with a forced smile, recalling her sleepless night. “But some orange juice would be great if you have it.”
“You didn’t sleep well,” he stated, surprising her with his astute observation. “And you have the beginnings of a headache.”
“What makes you say that?” She watched him rise from his seat and come around to stand behind her.
He placed the balls of his thumbs at her temple and slowly began to rotate them, emitting just the slightest bit of pressure. She almost gasped out loud when the heat of his touch burned through the pain, stripping it away.
“Just relax,” he crooned. “Close your eyes. This will only take a moment,” he added in a hypnotic cadence. He shut his eyes when a piece of his wall crumbled at his feet.
The sensations that rippled through her sent rivers of soothing warmth floating through her body. Unable to resist, her eyes slid closed of their own volition. Inch by inch she felt her body relax, unwind and purr with delight.
