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“Do you want to let Wilks get away with this?”
“Of course not. But, Alex, you don’t have to do this.”
“What are your other options?”
She grimaced. “I could ask my father for a loan.”
“You said you didn’t want your parents to find out. Will your father hand over a chunk of cash without asking why you need it?” He barely waited for her to shake her head before going for the closer. “I want you handling my party, Amanda. If you’re worrying about your finances, you’ll be distracted and you’ll give me less than one hundred percent.”
And she’d be less likely to fall in with his plans.
He wanted Amanda Crawford for more than just sex, although that played a large part. Her networking expertise was unparalleled. The woman knew how to work a room better than anyone he’d ever met. She was exactly who he needed by his side to build the powerful connections that brought in clients and put money in the bank. She’d be an asset to his career for as long as their affair lasted, and it wasn’t an ego trip to know he would be equally beneficial to hers. The fact that she wasn’t interested in a permanent relationship only enhanced the attraction.
He opened his checkbook. “How much do you need?”
She hesitated. “Are there strings attached to the loan? I mean, do you expect me to sleep with you?”
Full disclosure wouldn’t be in his best interest at this point. “When we share a bed it will be because you’re tired of fighting the chemistry between us, not because of misplaced gratitude.”
Her pupils expanded and her lips parted. “You sound convinced that will happen.”
“It will.”
“But you want something from me.”
Smart lady. “I could use your connections. You introduce me to potential clients and I’ll do the same for you.”
She inhaled deeply as if preparing to argue, but then shook her head and blew out a long, slow breath. “I can do that. But, Alex, I never took you for the knight-in-shining-armor type.”
Taken aback, he straightened. “I’m not.”
Her lips twitched into a small smile and her eyes sparkled as if she had a secret. “I don’t believe you.”
A corner of his brain urged him to accept her change in attitude and use it to get ahead in the game. “Believe whatever you want. Give me an amount.”
After a moment she did. He wrote the check and tore it out of the book. It was his job to get everything in writing, but discussing a repayment schedule would kill the deal faster than bleach killed germs. From everything he’d learned about her she would reimburse him. But if she didn’t, he wouldn’t miss a few thousand. And it wouldn’t be the first time a woman cost him.
“Pay me back when you can.”
Looking a little suspicious and a lot stunned, she took the check and business card. “That’s it? You’re just handing me money?”
“That’s it.”
“Thank you.”
And then she surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck. Her body bumped his. He hugged her back, learning the feel of her lean length pressed against him, her breasts on his chest, her warm, smooth cheek against his and her soft hair tickling his ear. His libido howled like a wolf, but there would be time for that later. He released her the moment she eased back on her heels.
“Thank you again, Alex. I don’t know what to say.”
Her scent lingered in his nostrils. “Say yes to dinner.”
She gasped, and her cheeks pinked.
“We never did get around to discussing the party,” he reminded her.
She nibbled her bottom lip and then nodded. “Yes. To dinner.”
Her measured tone said, “And only dinner.” He fully intended to change her mind. But not tonight.
Success would take patience. And strategy. Luckily, he excelled at both.
Amanda couldn’t believe she was nervous. But her damp palms were a dead giveaway. She pressed them to her flannel trousers.
Did Alex consider this a date? He’d certainly steered the dinner conversation away from planning his event, and he’d done so with such skill she hadn’t even realized it until the taxi ride back. Each time she’d tried to stay on task he’d eased the conversation from the topic to people or places they both knew—people who would be at his party. Tricky.
Would he try to kiss her good-night?
Would she stop him this time?
He’d shown her a side of himself today that was different from what she’d seen before. She’d always considered him more ruthless shark than noble rescuer. Now she wasn’t so sure she’d read him correctly.
Oh, please. Are you twenty-eight or eighteen?
As usual, Alex invaded her personal space the moment he entered her apartment. He stood with his hands in his coat pockets but close enough that she could see each blade of dark beard stubble and the fine lines in his lips. She yanked her gaze away from his mouth and tamped down the anticipation vibrating along her nerve endings. Her hands trembled as she unwound her scarf and hung it up along with her coat.
“Dinner was nice. Thank you.”
The hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant was new to her but apparently not to Alex, who had been welcomed by name and immediately shown to a table despite the line of customers waiting to be seated. He couldn’t have made a reservation because he couldn’t have known she’d accept his invitation. She hadn’t even known until the words had tumbled from her lips. And he couldn’t have called ahead because he hadn’t been out of her sight between her acceptance and their arrival at the family-run place.
“You’re welcome. It’s nice to share a meal with a woman who eats.”
She flushed. She’d definitely done an embarrassing amount of that by packing away a salad, veal parmesan, crusty bread, her chocolate gelato and then some of Alex’s pistachio.
“May I take your coat?”
“I’m not staying. Make the calls tomorrow morning and meet me for lunch to tell me what you’ve set up.”
She scrambled to claw through her surprise or dismay or whatever it was and recall her calendar. Her Monday was lamentably open. She had a couple of small events in the works, but nothing more urgent than Alex’s. “I could confirm by phone.”
“No.” Flat. Nonnegotiable. Bossy.
Her hackles rose, but she ignored them. “Where, then? My office?”
“Mine.” He pulled out his BlackBerry and punched a few buttons, then slid it back into his pocket. “I should be finished by twelve-thirty.”
His hand curved over her shoulder, strong and sure. The heat from his palm permeated her sweater. A shower of tingles rained down from the point of contact. He leaned closer. She caught her breath and swallowed the sudden rush of moisture to her mouth.
“You did a good job, Amanda. Your ideas thus far are top-notch. I’ll see you tomorrow.” His fingers tightened briefly and then he released her. She stood as still as a statue as he let himself out of the apartment.
No kiss? She stared at the closed door. She wasn’t disappointed he hadn’t attempted to kiss her good-night.
She wasn’t.
This was business. Only business. And that was a good thing. Exactly what she wanted. She didn’t have room for complicated relationships in her life at the moment, especially not with a finance attorney who probably thought she was a complete idiot for getting herself into her current predicament. She’d bet the trust fund she wouldn’t come into until she turned thirty that Alexander Harper never made stupid mistakes with his money.
Tension poured from her muscles like sand through a broken hourglass. She headed for her bedroom, shed her clothes and took a long, hot shower. She conditioned her hair and shaved everything that needed shaving. She’d had to give up waxing to save the salon costs and because she was too much of a wimp to wax herself at home. She had a half-used waxing kit in the vanity cabinet as proof of her cowardice.
But the antsy feeling wouldn’t leave her alone. Wrapped in a lavender towel, she padded into the bedroom, snatched up the phone and dialed Julia’s new number. Her friend answered before the second ring.
“Moving pretty fast for a pregnant lady, aren’t you?”
Julia laughed. “You’re just lucky I had the receiver parked on my mountainous belly. You sound out of sorts. What’s the matter?”
She and Julia had known each other too long to miss the nuances in each other’s voices. Julia heard Amanda’s distress as clearly as Amanda heard her friend’s happiness. “Go ahead and have me committed.”
“Why? Are you dating Curtis again?”
“If I were that stupid I’d commit myself.” She took a deep breath and confessed in a rush, “I agreed to plan an event for Alex Harper.”
“And that’s bad because…?”
“You know why.”
“He’s in hot pursuit. Yes, it’s so tragic when a handsome, intelligent, wealthy guy wants you.”
“Hey!”
“Amanda, you two can’t keep your eyes off each other when you’re in the same room. Max thinks Alex is a great guy. And I know you need someone to boost your confidence after that jerk Curtis. I say go for it—the party and anything else Alex is offering.”
So much for her friend talking her off the celibacysucks ledge. “You know my goal. Get my life back on track and make a success of my business before I hit thirty.”
“And come into all that money.”
“I have to prove I can make a success of my business before then. Otherwise, my parents will just think Granddad’s money bailed me out.”
“Amanda, that’s two years away. One brief affair is not going to set back your schedule.”
“Says the woman who ended up pregnant after a very brief one-night stand.”
“Ooh. You only fight dirty when you’re running scared. Just remember Alex isn’t the forever type.”
“No kidding.” She couldn’t keep the sarcasm from her voice.
“In fact, he’s quite a hound dog. Take precautions. You can’t be celibate forever.”
With her track record it would probably be her best option. “Why not?”
“Besides the obvious—that sex is fantastic with the right partner?”
Well, yes, there was that. “He’s not the right person.”
“You don’t know that. Give the man points for persistence and reward his efforts already. Watching you dance around each other is exhausting me, and my poor, pregnant body is already on a hormonal roller coaster without watching all that longing in your eyes. Do him already.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re not helping.”
“Yes, I am. You’re just not willing to admit I’m giving sage advice.”
Admit to her newlywed and now aggressively matchmaking friend that she was attracted to Alex Harper?
Amanda would rather walk naked through Times Square.
At twelve-twenty-six the next day Amanda pushed open the heavy gold-stenciled glass door of Harper & Associates.
Alex’s firm epitomized the affluent type of client Amanda longed for. Perhaps, she thought, she should consider targeting more corporate clients instead of focusing primarily on private affairs.
Her D&G pumps sank into the thick carpeting as she crossed to the cherry reception desk that had been polished to a mirror shine. A twenty-something blonde greeted her with a face and a toothy smile worthy of a beauty queen. “Good afternoon. May I help you?”
Amanda smiled back. “Amanda Crawford for Alex Harper.”
“One moment please.” She swiveled away and spoke quietly into a headset before turning back. “His assistant will be right with you. Would you care for a beverage?”
A stiff shot of something to calm her nerves would be good. “No, thank you.”
“There she is now,” the receptionist said, drawing Amanda’s attention to a compact, midforties brunette charging down a wide corridor in her direction.
“Ms. Crawford? I’m Moira Newton. I’ll take you to Mr. Harper’s private waiting area.”
Amanda followed her into a room that reeked money, from the wainscoting to the clean-cut lines of the leather and cherry furniture to the original artwork on the walls. If a room could instill a client’s confidence in its owner, then this one would.
“Alex will be with you momentarily. May I get you anything while you wait?”
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
“I’ll take your coat.”
Amanda shrugged off the garment, handed it over and sank into a deep wing chair tucked in the corner.
Moira hung her coat in a small closet hidden by the paneling, then sat behind a desk that fronted the remainder of her work space, which was discreetly concealed in a large alcove.
Moments later the muted timbre of Alex’s voice scattered the butterflies that had been resting in Amanda’s stomach. A door on the far wall opened and a harassed-looking, balding man stepped through, followed by Alex. As yet unnoticed, she drank Alex in as the men said their good-byes.
From the aggressive angle of his jaw to the straight set of his shoulders, Alex radiated self-assurance. His black tailored suit accentuated his height and athletic build, and his white shirt brought out his olive complexion. His dark hair swooped back from the side part, the ends covering his collar at his nape. Traditional, conservative clothing and furnishings, but the deliberately in-need-of-a-trim hairstyle hinted at a rebellious side. And her rebellious side snapped to attention.
Business only.
The client left. Alex turned and nailed her to the chair with his direct gaze. “Hello, Amanda.”
How did he unsettle her with nothing more than a slow perusal and a hello? She had to work on shutting down that reaction.
