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Night had fallen by the time they left the restaurant, but Allison’s smile could have lit the sky. Zach waited for Riana to drive off in her Jag before he said, “I owe you, big time.”
Her smile grew wider, bringing out the dimple in her right cheek, but despite the Cheshire grin, she passed on the chance to gloat. “No you don’t. It was fun.”
Judging by the bounce in her step and her smile as they walk toward his car, Allison was telling the truth. She’d had fun. When was the last time—if ever—that he’d thought of work as ‘fun?’ It was a challenge to be met, a range of pinnacles to climb, each higher and harder than the last. But fun? And yet when Allison reached the passenger door and turned to face him, he felt a hint of an answering smile tug at his lips. He couldn’t deny that certain aspects of the evening had been … enjoyable.
It had been way too easy to let his gaze lock on hers, to brush his fingers over the back of her hand in a too casual to be casual gesture, to acknowledge the attraction he’d worked the past two months to ignore. Problem was, he didn’t know how he was supposed to go back to ignoring it, to putting those jolts of lightning back in the bottle. But maybe he didn’t have to.
Allison only had two days left at Knox Security. After that, they’d no longer be coworkers. She’d move on to another temp job, and he—he had way too much on his mind to even think of a serious relationship.
Who says it has to be serious? his libido argued slyly as they climbed into his car. The energy and excitement in her smile worked its way under his skin, buzzing with an awareness of how long it had been since he’d pursued any kind of relationship with a woman. And after all, Allison was all about fun, the kind of woman who might be open to something less than serious.
“I still say I owe you,” Zach said once he’d pulled the car out of the parking lot. “How did you know those details about Knox’s client list?”
“A few days ago, I ran copies of the company’s references for some sales packets. I was pretty sure I remembered most of the names … and well, the numbers were a bit of a guesstimate.”
“A guesstimate?”
“Okay, more of a guess, but hey, it worked, right?”
Zach felt any hint of a smile wiped clean away. No wonder he worked alone. He couldn’t risk his future success on someone else who might have “fun” guessing at facts and figures. What if Riana Collins had figured out that Allison was making up her information? Allison could have blown the whole deal.
And she could have refused to help at all, his conscience goaded. She’d bailed him out when he asked her to, so it was a little late to worry about her methods.
“Do you still think you owe me or have I negated that with my creative sales pitch?”
Zach glanced over, catching glimpses of Allison’s face in the passing streetlights like watching a flickering black-and-white television set. Only there was nothing old-fashioned or quaint about Allison. She was bold, confident, a high-definition type of woman. “The evening was still a success, thanks to you.”
“What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t help you out?”
What kind of girlfriend would she be? The kind to understand when he worked late at night, when he cancelled plans on the weekend, when he overlooked personal milestones for another professional stepping-stone? Or would she expect more—more of his time, more of his attention, more than he could give? Automatically, his hand tightened on the wheel. “Allie …”
“Relax, Zach. I was just kidding. I know you don’t do relationships.”
“Right.”
“You’re all about work.”
“I am …”
“You don’t have time to for play.”
“Well …”
“And you’d make a terrible boyfriend.”
Allison made that statement as he pulled into the underground parking garage at Knox. He found a spot next to her car, a lime-green VW bug, and cut the engine. She sat angled toward him, clearly expecting him to agree with everything she’d just said.
Which, he thought as he climbed from the car, was exactly what a smart man would do. Because everything she said was true. And yet when he met Allison on the other side of the car, he heard himself ask, “Is that another guesstimate?”
A puzzled frown touched her features. “What?”
“You’ve had a lot to say without knowing the facts.”
Allison’s eyes widened as he drew closer. She looked far more worried now than she had when he confronted her about bending the truth at dinner. “Well …”
“After all, we’ve never been on a real date.”
“Of course not.”
“And we’ve never kissed.”
“No, but—”
“Never slept together.”
A soft blush lit her cheeks. “Obviously not.”
She took a step back only to bump up against the car.
“And while I might be a bad boyfriend, there are some things I’m very good at.”
He stepped closer, trapping her against the hood of the car, but Allison didn’t try to escape. He moved slowly, giving her time to protest but not so slowly as to give himself time to wonder what the hell he thought he was doing. He lowered his head, his gaze on her softly parted lips, but there was something else …
That dimple, the one that teased him whenever she smiled. She wasn’t smiling now, but Zach couldn’t resist brushing his lips against the spot as if the heated touch might somehow bring out the tiny indentation. He followed the subtle curve of her cheekbone toward her ear and the tender skin below her jaw.
Allison’s breath caught as her head tilted back. She whispered his name and Zach couldn’t deny the plea in her voice or his own need to really kiss her. Giving in, he slanted his mouth over hers, her lips soft and yielding beneath his own. She tasted like the Cajun barbecue sauce she’d dipped her chicken skewers into at dinner, a mix of spices made hotter by their kiss, and he couldn’t get enough. Allison raised her arms, but instead of pushing him away, she ran one hand through his hair while the other wrapped around his tie, pulling him closer …
Desire pulsed through his veins, and the hands he’d placed on Allison’s hips drifted into more dangerous territory. He didn’t know how far over the line they would have landed if not for the beep of a car alarm several rows away.
The sound rang like a wake-up call to Zach’s common sense. He was in a parking lot with Allison pressed up against his car like a would-be hood ornament. And not just any parking lot, but the parking lot at work where any fellow employee or—worse—his boss could walk by.
Lifting his head, he sucked in a much needed breath. “Allison—”
“We have to stop,” she said, ducking away before he had a chance to protest. Her skin was flushed, her lips swollen from his kiss, her chest rising and falling rapidly, and it took every bit of self-control Zach had not to pull her back into his arms. “I mean, this is crazy. We’re at work! I only have a few days left here and …”
“A few days,” Zach echoed when Allison’s words trailed away.
“Yes. Tuesday is my last day.” The awareness shining in her eyes revealed all they weren’t saying.
In a few days, Allison would no longer be a Knox employee. All the red lights that had him pounding on the brakes a second ago suddenly turned green … “Allison, don’t take this the wrong way, but I can’t wait until you’re gone.”
Chapter Three
“You’re here early.”
Zach looked away from his computer screen as his boss, Daryl Evans, walked into his office. “It’s almost seven.”
Not early by Zach’s way of thinking. Maybe it was being born and raised in Phoenix, but he’d always believed morning was the best part of the day. Except during the worst heat of the summer months, dawn offered crisp, refreshing air and the kiss of cool dew on the grass. Brief moments of respite before the scorching afternoons.
That was how he felt about arriving at the office during those early hours, too. He liked the peace and quiet before the chaos of the workday began. Once eight o’clock rolled around, the silence was broken by ringing phones, beeping computers, and the chatter of his fellow employees going about their jobs. He liked that part, too. The energy and the noise and the occasionally hectic atmosphere. But he needed the soothing quiet first. Kind of like enjoying a cup of herbal tea before taking a straight shot of espresso.
Lately, though, Daryl had a habit of dropping in. Not just in the mornings, but at various times throughout the week. And that kind of interruption Zach didn’t like.
Daryl was a good man, but Zach worked best alone. He didn’t need anyone checking up on him any more than he needed weekly status meetings or the slaps on the back so many of his fellow employees craved. He didn’t need anyone to tell him how important a client was or to do his best on an imperative sales proposal. He knew; he had his own ambition and drive to answer to, and they were harder taskmasters than any boss could ever be.
“Obviously, I’m not the only one ready to get a jump-start on the day,” Zach pointed out.
“At least I went home last night.”
“So did I.”
“And stayed there how long before coming back to work? Don’t bother to lie,” Daryl warned. “I’ll check the cameras if I have to—one of the benefits of working for a company that sells security systems.”
Zach was tempted to find out if his boss really would check the security footage, but then he thought about what Daryl might see—Zach leaving the parking garage with Allison or worse, Zach returning to the parking garage and kissing Allison. And while Knox didn’t have a policy against relationships in the work place, Zach had never been tempted to engage in an office romance. It hadn’t been worth running the risk that his boss might think Zach had something other than work on his mind.
The truth definitely seemed like a better option. Or at least a limited version of the truth. “I left around five-thirty for a dinner meeting. Came back at around eight—” kissed Allison for a few minutes that could have easily gone on forever “—to go over the revised blueprints for that new office complex in Peoria. By the time I checked to see what time it was, it was almost midnight. I did go home, but I was too wired to get much sleep, so I came back around six.”
“How did the meeting with James Collins go?”
“He had to cancel,” Zach admitted. “But I met with Riana.”
“I see.”
The words were noncommittal, but Zach heard everything his boss wasn’t saying. Riana might call for a meeting, but James made all the executive decisions. Until Zach could swing another meeting with the man himself, the coveted contract would remain out of reach. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he hurdled his way past Riana’s seductive roadblocks, but he was quickly running out of time and patience.
What were the odds that the biggest contact of his career would be up for bid only two weeks before the board made their decision about the biggest promotion of his career?
If he didn’t get the Collins account …
Zach shook the thought away. When he got the Collins account, he’d be a shoo-in for the promotion.
“The cancer research benefit is tonight. Riana is on the planning committee for the event, and she assured me her father will be there.” He hated black-tie events, and a crowded ballroom wouldn’t be the place to press James Collins for a time and date to present his proposal for the new jewelry stores, but at least Zach would have another chance to meet the man face to face.
Daryl nodded as he glanced around the office.
“So, what’s on your mind?” Zach asked, straight to the point and with the hope the other man would respond in kind.
The slow perusal of his office couldn’t be anything but a stall tactic. The place hadn’t changed since Zach moved in five years ago. The large wooden desk took up most of the space in the middle of the room with a file cabinet in one corner and a trailing philodendron on a plant stand in the other. The plant stayed alive as long as it had only because the cleaning people watered once a week.
No pictures, no mementos, no trophies adorned the beige walls. He kept his personal life—such as it was—separate from work and liked it that way.
Except for last night when the two had combined in an explosive kiss. He had to be crazy to even contemplate dating Allison, and yet he’d done more than think about it, hadn’t he? His final comment the night before intimated he was ready and willing to start … something.
He’d never been one for relationships, at least nothing serious. His career came first, and he preferred women who felt the same drive to succeed as he did. And while Allison was as beautiful, as smart, as clever as any of the women he’d dated in the past, she didn’t fit the “work first” mold. She didn’t fit any mold, he’d come to realize the night before. She was adventurous rather than ambitious, more interested in grabbing hold of the moment than reaching toward the future. A woman who would always keep a man on his toes, always keep him interested—
“It’s about the Collins proposal.”
Daryl’s comment snapped Zach’s attention back where it should have been in the first place. What was wrong with him? He’d never had trouble keeping his mind off a woman when it mattered. Never. And he refused to let it happen now.
Meeting his boss’s gaze, he said, “Riana said Knox is in the running for the contract based on our initial numbers. That’s what got us through the door, but our proposal will be what slams it shut on the rest of the competition.” And the board would have no choice but to offer him the promotion.
Silence followed his statement. Hardly a ringing endorsement from his boss. Not that Zach needed that kind of encouragement, but did Daryl really think he would blow this chance?
“You know how important this presentation is to me.”
“It’s important to the whole company, Zach,” his boss shot back, reminding Zach of criticisms he’d heard before.
Not a team player…. Doesn’t work well with others …
Damn right he didn’t! He worked hard, and he wasn’t about to let anyone else drag him down.
Still, he took a deep breath and said, “I know. But you don’t have to worry. I’ve got this one.”
Zach knew it wouldn’t look good to get too cocky, but if he showed any kind of weakness, Daryl—for all his mild-mannered attitude and scholarly looks—would move in for the kill. He’d pull the Collins account out from beneath Zach before he could say—
“I think you need help this time.”
“What?” Zach stood so quickly his chair rolled back and bounced off the wall behind him. Daryl hadn’t taken the account away, but this was almost as bad. “You can’t—” Zach checked the response when he saw the steely determination behind his boss’s wire-rimmed glasses.
Starting over and trying for a reasonable tone despite the frustration pounding through his veins, he said, “Look, Daryl, this has been my baby from the beginning. I’ve spent months working on this. For another salesman to come in now—”
“I never said it had to be another salesperson. One of the sales assistants can work with you.”
Zach swallowed a derisive snort. The wanna-be salesmen were just as bad, if not worse. Scheming and striving to get ahead, to get where he was!
“Or an administrative assistant, someone to help with the details of putting the presentation together,” Daryl suggested when Zach didn’t jump at the sales assistant idea.
An admin. He still didn’t like it. He worked alone—always had, always would. But his boss wasn’t backing down on this, and if he had to have someone looking over his shoulder, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about them trying to take credit for all the hard work he’d already done.
“All right,” he conceded. “If you think it will help.”
“Great,” Daryl announced with a broad smile as if he hadn’t railroaded Zach into the idea. “I have the perfect person in mind. Allison Warner.”
“Allie—Allison?” Zach choked out her name, grateful he hadn’t sat back down yet, or he would have popped back up like something had bitten him in the ass. “But she’s—”
“She’s what?”
A half a dozen descriptions came to mind, none of them the least bit appropriate. “She’s a temp. She’s only working here another two days. After that, she’s supposed to be …”
Available.
“Leaving,” he finished weakly.
“I know. It’s perfect timing. Martha will be back, so we won’t need Allison as a receptionist anymore. From what she’s said, she doesn’t have another temp assignment yet, so I’m sure she’ll be eager to stay on. It’s a chance for advancement that could lead to a permanent position here.”
Permanent. Sweat broke out on the back of Zach’s neck at the thought of seeing Allison day after day. The past two months had been bad enough, and that was before he’d kissed her.
How was he supposed to work with her now that he knew the softness of her skin? The taste of her kiss?
He’d deal with it, Zach thought grimly. He’d never had trouble focusing on work before and that wouldn’t change, even if it meant working with Allison Warner.
I can’t wait until you’re gone.
The line might not have been the most romantic Allison had ever heard, yet every time Zach’s voice echoed in her thoughts, tiny quivers seemed to shoot out along every nerve ending. She couldn’t hear the words without picturing the intensity in his gaze or remembering the hunger in his touch. She’d been right about one thing—Zach Wilder certainly knew how to kiss.
He’d surprised her by starting with an almost innocent touch. But it wasn’t just any kiss on the cheek. It was like those ridiculously small, bite-sized candy bars. One was supposed to satisfy a sweet craving, yet only left her wanting more, more, more.
But the question was, had she been wrong about everything else? She’d been so sure that Zach was an all work, all the time kind of guy. Yet he’d been the one to suggest … what, exactly? A relationship? Or merely the chance to finish what they’d started in the parking garage?
Allison didn’t know. Like a refrain from a long-forgotten song—she couldn’t remember the rest of the verses, so that one line kept playing over and over and over again. Even though it was killing her that she’d have to wait to find the answer, she respected Zach’s decision. After the complete personal and professional disaster that was her ex-boyfriend, the last thing Allison wanted was an office romance.
So, it was with the hope that the next few days would fly by that Allison walked into the office Friday morning. As she slid her purse into the desk drawer, a masculine voice called out, “Hey, Allison. Daryl wants to see you in his office.”
She glanced over her shoulder with a puzzled frown. “Why would he want to see me?”
Brett Mitchell, one of Knox’s sales assistants, grinned. “Who wouldn’t want to see you? Always makes my day.”
“Hmm, you try kissing up to Martha like that?”
“Are you kidding?” Brett gave a mock shiver. “That woman is scary.”
“You only say that because she can see right through your act. You can’t charm everyone all the time.”
“Ouch. That hurts, especially since I plan on making a career based on my charm,” he said with a wink as he backed down the hall.
Allison shook her head at the younger man’s antics, but her smile fell away as she considered the message he’d relayed. Why would Daryl Evans ask to see her? Before taking leave for her surgery, Martha had introduced Allison to Knox’s division president. With his wire-rimmed glasses and his brown hair graying slightly at the temples, he’d reminded Allison of a college professor. He smiled at her in the mornings and asked for things like coffee and files and copies rather than demanding them, which was nice and not always the case.
But beyond transferring calls, setting up video conferences and handling some light administrative tasks, she’d had little contact with Daryl. Certainly nothing that merited a closed-door meeting. Maybe he just wanted to say goodbye and wish her luck on her next job. Despite the positive thought, Allison’s steps slowed on the patterned carpet as she walked down the corridor to his office. While she didn’t technically work for Knox Security, a performance review would be turned in to the temp agency. Those reviews had always been favorable in the past, and Allison had expected this one to be as well until now.
She’d done a good job, hadn’t made any major mistakes … until she kissed Zach Wilder last night. Was that the reason? Had someone seen them in the parking garage? Heat crept to her face at the thought of someone having witnessed that kiss.
But it had been after eight by the time Zach dropped her at her car. No one would have been around that late. The meeting had to be about something else. Convinced of that, Allison gave Daryl Evans’s door a quick knock and walked inside.
“Good morning, Daryl. Brett said—”
Her words lodged in her throat. Zach stood across from Daryl’s desk, a frown on his too handsome face. Certainty crashed into a world of doubt. “Zach …”
His well-controlled nod didn’t do much to ease her nerves. “Allison.”
Searching his gaze, Allison didn’t know what she was looking for, but she knew she didn’t find it in the remote, businesslike mask he wore. Any sign of the man who’d kissed her last night was completely gone. She should have expected it, but the loss hit harder than anticipated, like something incredible had just slipped though her hands. Which was crazy. She barely knew Zach. Her feelings were nothing more than a silly crush, and she’d have no trouble letting go.
None at all.
“Brett said you wanted to see me.”
“Have a seat.”
As Allison sank into the soft chair, she realized Zach must have sat there only moments earlier. The leather cushion still held the heat from his body, a warmth that enveloped her along with the hint of Zach’s aftershave. The combination had her body playing tricks on her—her lips started to tingle, her stomach muscles trembled, and her bones threatened to melt into a weak puddle.
A movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. Zach, crossing his arms over his chest. Zach, strong, solid, irretractable …
The memory of another meeting she’d walked into—ignorant and blind—crowded her thoughts until she felt claustrophobic, trapped in her own skin. Allison sucked in a deep gulp of air and forced the memory of Kevin aside until she once again had room to breathe, to think.
Let it go. Just … forget all about it. All of it.
If her time in New York taught her anything, it was to hold her head high even in the worst of situations. She hammered some steel back into her spine and sat up straight, ready to face whatever this meeting held in store. But even with her gaze fixed intently on her boss, her peripheral vision was suddenly twenty-twenty. She could see the cool blue of Zach’s shirt, the tanned, leanly muscled forearms revealed by the rolled up cuffs, the narrow black leather belt around his flat abs, the crisp cut to the long line of his slate gray trousers.
She could even see the tension working his jaw and feel it coming off him in waves. Not so different from the masculine energy he’d barely held in check when she broke away from their kiss …
“Tuesday is your last day under contract with Knox Security.”
Allison started at Daryl’s words. “Yes, that’s right.”
He leaned back in his chair and studied her from across the polished expanse of his cherry desk. “You’ll be pleased to know that Knox has extended that contract. Not as our receptionist, though. This will be a step up.”
A step up. How could Daryl know she’d taken the short-term temp jobs as a way to avoid stepping up? She didn’t want to climb the corporate ladder again. She’d learned the hard way that the higher you rise, the farther you fall. “Daryl, thank you. But—”