Destination Wedding (Crimson Romance) (23 page)

“Come on, Lalita, you’ve never let your pride get in the way of company business before. Jeremy is perfect for the position. He’ll be flying to Singapore with you next week to get acquainted with our Asian operations on a personal basis.”

It wasn’t pride getting in the way, it was self-preservation. Jeremy was a potent distraction and she needed to stay focused, needed to remember who she was — or rather, who she was supposed to be.

“Yes, I am looking forward to getting to know the Asian operations on a
very personal basis
,” Jeremy’s last words were so low only Lalita could hear. The expectation in his eyes left no doubt he wasn’t speaking entirely about business.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have a conference call scheduled with some suppliers in Indonesia,” Lalita explained, heading for the door. The call wasn’t for another twenty minutes; however, she had to get out of her father’s office before she screamed. How could John appoint the one man who could get under her skin, and then send him back to Asia with her?

Five years was a long time but not long enough to erase the feel of Jeremy’s lips on hers — and on other parts of her body. Their encounter may have been brief, a shared drink, some dancing that had resulted in spontaneous combustion which had led them outside to his car where the flame had blazed into an inferno. Momentary aberration, but the effect had been long-lasting.

Not even glancing at her father, she hurried from the room.

• • •

Jeremy stared at the closed door for a moment. Lalita might pretend indifference to him but he could feel the tension in her body, even from a distance.

“I may be sending you to the same country as my daughter. However, I expect you to stay out of her bed,” the older man advised him.

“Sorry, sir?” Jeremy turned toward Lalita’s father. He could feel the blood drain from his face and his stomach took up residence in his left kneecap.

“I know about your little escapade with Lalita five years ago. I sent her to Asia to stop her making a colossal mistake. If Lalita is going to run this company one day, she needs to concentrate on business, not get distracted by … some guy. I believe she is more experienced now and able to resist your somewhat dubious charms.”

Jeremy was shocked. He had no idea John Evans was aware of his previous relationship with his daughter. By going to Asia with Lalita, was he being set up for a fall?

He’d come back to work at Evans because it would give him great exposure to the right people. When he started his own marketing company, he wanted his name known. Networking, and the fact that he had never been able to forget Lalita Evans. She was definitely a perk he wanted to take advantage of.

“What makes you think I’ll try to romance your daughter? Five years is a long time. I’ve moved on.” Jeremy chose his words with care. What he and Lalita had shared all those years ago could hardly be described as romance, more like mind-blowing passion.

“I saw the way you gawked at her a moment ago. I hired you because you are the best there is at what you do. But I will fire you in a heartbeat if you make a move on my daughter. The company has a strict no-fraternization policy. I suggest you memorize it before you get on the airplane with her. If I find out you have seduced Lalita, I won’t hesitate to let all my competitors and colleagues know you have been terminated for improper conduct. You would find it difficult to get any decent job in Europe after that.”

• • •

Lalita paced up and down in her temporary office. First task, get her breathing under control. Second task, Google “anti-charm potions” and see if there was some kind of concoction she could consume to give her a chance of resisting Jeremy. Third task, figure out how she was going to cope being in close confines with Jeremy Lakewood for weeks without jumping his bones.

Time may have moved the memories to the dark recesses of her mind, but it hadn’t dulled them. Even she wasn’t fool enough to believe she was immune to him. Maybe she should talk to her father. No, she was a grown woman, Director of Asian Operations at Evans International. She could handle one man for a few weeks.

It was just lust, after all. What else could it be? If her brain stayed in control and she shut off her body’s response to him it would be fine.

Back to task one.

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