In The Enemy's Embrace

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She trailed her fingers over dark, rich woods, oversize, comfortable furniture and shelves of books. On the wall was a photo of Nick’s brother, Chase, at the helm of a sailboat, and another one of him holding a trophy beside a race car. There were several poses of his parents, as well as pictures of beautiful Arabian horses that she knew for certain had come from Desert Rose stock.

For a guy who seemed to be all work and little play, the pictures on the walls painted him as a family man. There were none of the priceless, stuffy art pieces that a lot of wealthy people treasured. Instead, the paneling was adorned with images of his parents, his brother and the sleek Arabians he loved. Interesting.

She shoved a stray curl off her forehead. Her hair was still damp from her swim, so she’d pinned it in a loose knot on top of her head. She saw Nick’s gaze pass over her, saw his frown and could just imagine what he was thinking—that a barefoot woman in a short sundress wasn’t his idea of a businesswoman to be taken seriously.

But honestly. She wasn’t about to put on panty hose, a suit and heels just to listen to a business meeting over the speaker phone. This was one of the things that annoyed her—being judged by appearance.

Before she could get totally carried away putting thoughts in his head that, in all fairness, might not be there, he hung up the phone and leaned back in the chair.

“Change of plans. The CEO at Lusklow had an illness in the family to attend to.”

“Oh, I hope everything’s all right.”

“Yeah, me, too. They suspect his wife has cancer. He’s dropping everything and staying home with her until they get word.”

“I like him already.”

Nick raised a brow. “That surprises you—that a man would put his family ahead of business?”

“No. It doesn’t surprise me. I just said I liked that about him. The men in my family put their personal lives above business. It’s what I’m used to.”

She sat down on a leather chair, felt the dampness of her bathing suit seep through onto the back of her sundress. Great. Now she’d have to find a way to back out of the room without looking like a total dork.

“You’ll learn that I generally do business only with people I like and respect.”

“Are you saying if a company came to you with a surefire moneymaking proposition, no way to lose, and you didn’t like the major players, you’d turn down the opportunity?”

“Yes. There are plenty of deals out there.”

“Do you ever run into a situation where somebody doesn’t like you?”

“Sure. Same holds true. If we can’t get along, no sense mingling our business.”

Jessica wondered if that “we” was actually aimed at her. Heck, they could hardly sustain a truce for twelve hours. And they were already business partners.

That worried her. Was there room at the top of Coleman-Grayson for both of them? Their personalities were totally different from their fathers. Just because Jared Grayson and Randy Coleman meshed as a team didn’t mean Nick and Jessica would. Their fathers had formed a partnership based on like ideas—and had chosen each other.

Nick and Jessica were tossed into the arena by birth, not forethought.

All around, this could be a risky thing.

Though it was a risk Jessica was willing to take.

After graduation, she’d put off coming to work in Dallas, sure that she’d miss the ranch. But as her cousins got married and their wives became more active in the horse-ranching business, Jess had begun to feel out of the loop.

That was probably just the push she’d needed, because she’d realized immediately that working at Coleman-Grayson in the city appealed to a reckless, hungry side of her she’d always known was there but never fully trusted or given rein to.

She loved every facet of the corporate world she’d been introduced to so far.

Now if she could just get Nick Grayson to get with the program and give her more responsibility, she could set about sating that hunger.

First, though, she needed to finish putting the pieces of her charred life back in order. Starting with wheels. She’d promised her folks she’d stay at Nick’s for a couple of weeks. She wasn’t going to rely on him for transportation, too.

“Well, since the afternoon is so conveniently freed up, I think I’ll go change and call a cab to—”

“What do you need with a cab?” he interrupted. “I’ve got plenty of cars.”

She laughed. “That sounds really snooty. Cars plural. Shame on you.”

“What’s wrong with having more than one car?”

“Nothing, I guess. But since I don’t have even one at the moment, I need to hit the dealership and remedy that. Then I thought I’d drive by the apartment building and see if there’s anything left of my stuff.”

“First off, you should lease a car in the company’s name. So I’ll need to go with you.”

She kept a lid on her temper. It was an effort.

“You forget that I’m a board member and major stockholder. I think I can lease a car on my own signature. However, if you want to stand by my side and do your big-scary-guy scowling thing, that’s fine by me. It’ll save me from having to haggle so hard with the salesman.” There. She’d spoken pleasantly enough.

He ran a hand over his forehead, right where the crease showed his emotions, and spoke as though she hadn’t said a word. “Second, I don’t think you should go back to the apartment yet. I doubt the fire officials have finished going over the scene.”

“Strike two, Grayson.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m well past the age of being told what I can and can’t or should and shouldn’t do. We’ve covered this ground before, you and me, and it dismays me to have to repeat the lesson—every few minutes, I might add.”

He stared at her as though she’d grown an extra head. Then he shook his head and the corner of his lips twitched. “Did your cousins actually put up with this sass?”

She grinned. “Absolutely. So, hey. If royalty can get in line, so can you.”

He bowed like a commoner before a queen. “Very well, Ms. Coleman. I shall be out front by the car, awaiting your instructions.”