Eclipse of the Heart (12 page)

He stepped back before his hands could linger. She might be
uncomfortable sleeping in that clinging dress, but he knew he couldn't be
responsible for his behavior if he slid that dress down those slender hips, and
over those long legs.

She'd only be wearing panties, and he had an overwhelming
desire to see exactly what kind she had on.
A thong?
Silk bikinis?

The possibilities were endless, and each of them made his
blood pound. She looked girlish, lying there with her clothes and hair mussed.
And also as erotic as anything he'd ever seen. No mistress with exquisitely
practiced moves had ever looked as sexy.

Shit, he was getting into serious trouble here.

He forced his gaze away from the danger zone.

Walking swiftly, he moved through the apartment, barely looking
around, not wanting to invade her privacy. He noticed a normal amount of
clutter, the haphazard décor of occupants without extensive funding, and the
overall cleanliness.

He dropped her keys on the table in the small foyer.

The door closed quietly behind him, and he checked the lock.

Good. He was locked out.

Safe.
For the
moment.

***

The next morning, Logan was not surprised when Amanda
stormed through his office door.

"What happened last night?" she demanded.

He looked up from his computer. "You don't
remember?"

She glared at him. "Did you touch my breasts?"

"I wanted to," he admitted. "But I
didn't."

"My dress was open and my bra unhooked when I woke up
this morning."

"I did that," he said, "so you'd be
comfortable."

"You had no right to touch me." Her low voice
trembled slightly.

"Don't be such a prude. I didn't take advantage of
you."

"Did you get me drunk?"

"Absolutely not," he snapped. "I take offense
at that question. I don't need to get a woman drunk to seduce her, nor do I
enjoy spending time with drunks. "

She passed a hand over her forehead. "I have a bad
headache."

"Had you been drinking before I picked you up?"

Her gaze flickered away from him suddenly. "Not
much."

Mentally, he shrugged. She must have had too much if she
couldn't even remember. "I suggest,"
he
said, "that we agree that you don't have a head for liquor, and we carry
on with our day. I have plenty of work to do."

The reminder worked as he intended. She straightened her
shoulders, and turned to go.
But not without a final word.

"The date that wasn't a date was not a good idea."
She swept out the door.

Amanda spent a week traveling on business. A long, lonely
week filled with anonymous hotel rooms and long security lines. She worked hard
and was pleased with what she accomplished. Her only potential problem was the
Daily Eats deal. The due diligence work there was falling behind schedule.
She'd have to look into the delay when she got back to the office.

When she checked her email on the Monday of her return, the
first thing she saw was a message from Logan. The lick of pleasure at seeing
his name annoyed her. She did not enjoy feeling like a sophomore with a crush
on the football captain.

His message commanded her presence in his office as early as
possible on Monday morning, which she knew meant before the 9 a.m. staff
meeting. She made sure her notes were all in order, and knocked on his door at
8. The sound of his deep voice calling to enter made her shiver.

He was on the phone when she opened the door, but he waved
her in. He looked incredibly fresh this morning in a white button-down shirt,
red silk tie and his usual precision-cut hairstyle.  Even the cold tone of
voice he was using on the phone didn't detract from his appeal.

Amanda repressed a sigh. It really was a shame to have to
pass up the chance to get down and dirty with a guy like him. As much as she
tried not to think about it, she couldn't help wondering what he would be like
in bed. Would he focus all that intensity on her pleasure? Or was he more a
git
'
er
done and move on to the
next task kind of guy?

She didn't know why, but she was certain he would make some
sort of effort to ensure a woman's pleasure.
Though she
probably was crazy.
A guy who paid for sex didn't need to worry about a
woman's feelings.

He clicked off the phone. "Good morning." He
smiled at her and her heart turned over.
Whoa, that was
not good
.

"I have a couple things I need to discuss with
you," he said. "Please have a seat."

Okay, the pleasantries were over quickly with him. She'd need
to get used to that. She sat.

"That was Jeremy
Savin
,"
he said. "We're going to move forward on buying his software
company."

She nodded. It was a deal he'd assigned to her at the
beginning of last week. "It's a good opportunity," she said.

"Can you travel to Dallas on Monday and start
organizing the due diligence?"

"Are you going, too?"

He raised his eyebrows, as if surprised. "No. Dallas
Robotics is a small business. You can handle it."

Okay, so he wasn't that anxious for her company. She tried
to hide her chagrin at her egotistical assumption. She wouldn't make that
mistake again.

"Good." Her cheeriness sounded
fake
even to her.
"Anything else?"

"Yes." He captured her gaze. "I have to
attend the
Spensor
Museum's annual dinner for the
Board of Trustees tomorrow night. I think you should come with me."

Her mouth opened, but no words emerged. Did he spring these
surprises on purpose just to keep her off balance?

She found her tongue. "What kind of request is
that?"

His brows moved higher. "It wasn't a clear
statement?"

"No." She had to be firm on this issue if he was
going to make a habit of asking for her company at social events. "You
don't date," she said. "So it's not a date. I won't serve as an
escort. So it can't be that kind of assignation. So—" She shrugged.
"I'm baffled."

"You may consider it one of your job duties."

She stiffened and he immediately raised one hand. "With
no sexual obligation attached."

"Why don't you take your mistress?"

"I'm not filling that position right now," he said
coolly. "That's why I've added the social duties to your job
description."

"You can't just take over my evenings like that. What
if I have a date?"

"Do you?"

His keen eyes bored into hers, and she was unable to lie.

"No," she admitted. But she damn well would have
one next time he asked. In fact, she had to remember that the acquiring of a
boyfriend was her number one priority. Logan would have to back off then.

"Fine."
He looked like he
was fighting a smile. "We'll consider that settled."

"I'll do it once." She gave him a level gaze.
"But I don't want this socializing to be a permanent part of my
duties."

"Don't be foolish. You'll make excellent contacts. I
don't attend these events for pleasure myself. You could take a lesson from
me."

Damn. He was right.

But she didn't trust him.

However, she could plainly see that arguing with him was not
going to work. She'd have to handle each "request" as it appeared.

She began to rise.

"Sit down." He waved an impatient hand. "I
have a favor to ask."

"Another one?"
She
perched on the edge of the chair.

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't push me. It's about
Rosie."

Rosie? She hadn't expected that.

Logan rubbed the frown mark between his eyes. "I'm
stuck with her until my regular assistant recovers from her surgery."

"Stuck with her?" Where was he going with this?

"It's complicated," he said impatiently. "We
don't need to go into the details. But the fact is that she's not cut out for
the business world."

No, that was obvious.

"Do you know what she really wants to do?" Logan
continued.

"Her dream is to design her own fashion line."
That wasn't a secret.

"Exactly."

"You want me to help her write a business plan?"

He laughed. "No, that would be an impossible task. What
I need is much easier. She needs to develop some more mainstream
fashions."

"Why? Many designers have an avant-garde approach like
Rosie does.
Fashionistas
don't want the same old same
old."

"Agreed.
But she's too far out
on the edge. She'll never get financial backing until she tones it down."

"Okay." Amanda shrugged. "How does that
affect me?"

"I thought you could let her make you some
clothes."

"What?" She jumped out of her chair. "There
is nothing wrong with my clothes."

He frowned. "It's not about you, Amanda. This is about
Rosie."

She glared at him.
A master manipulator.
She had to give him credit.

Dropping both hands on his desk, she leaned over it.
"Don't treat me like a fool."

He met her gaze. "Are you always this paranoid?"

Damn. Insecurity crept over her. She could feel its
insidious poison. She'd never had fancy clothes. The few items she'd purchased
since getting this job had been picked specifically because they made her look
dowdy.

If she were going to go out with him in the evening to
expand her business contacts, she would need new clothes. No question about
that. Was she looking a gift horse in the mouth?

"If I agree," she said, "you have to allow
Rosie free rein and pay for all her supplies." At a bare minimum, Rosie
would benefit from the scheme.

"Done."
Rising, he
gestured to the door. "Why don't you go on and tell Rosie the terms? I'll
cover her bills. The only stipulation is that she has to have something ready
for you for the
Spensor
event tomorrow night."

Amanda huffed out. His easy acquiescence told her she hadn't
bargained hard enough.

But her annoyance was swept away in Rosie's exuberance.
Rosie ran around her desk and threw herself at Amanda, squealing with delight.

"Thank you. Thank you." She stepped back, beaming.
"I didn't know if you'd agree."

"Agree?" Amanda stopped at the corner of the desk.
"Did you already know about this idea?"

Rosie nodded. "Logan asked me last week."

"Bastard," Amanda muttered. "He set me
up."

Rosie drew a sketch pad out of her desk drawer. "What
do you mean?"

"If I hadn't agreed when he asked me, he would have
told me how disappointed you'd be."

Rosie's eyes widened. "I
would
have been disappointed."

"Never mind."
Amanda
sighed.

"Logan told me you needed a cocktail dress for tomorrow
night. I've been thinking it over and I have some ideas."

"Don't go crazy. I have to look professional at all
times. The only reason I'm going with him to these evening events is so I can
make more contacts."

"Yeah, whatever."
Rosie
waved a hand tipped with five fingernails each painted a different color, none
of them pretty. "But we
gotta
jazz it up a bit.
We need to get rid of your office nickname one way or another."

"I won't be wearing the clothes you make here at the
office."

Rosie tilted her head. "Logan said a complete wardrobe.
He wants to see as much as possible of what I can do before he starts thinking
who might back me."

Amanda groaned. "I don't want an entire custom-made
wardrobe."

"Of course not.
He made me
promise I'd take you shopping. In fact, that's what we'll have to do for
tomorrow night. There's no time for me to sew something for you."

"Fiend."
But Amanda
couldn't be too angry in the face of Rosie's excitement.

"No question." Rosie shot her an unrepentant grin.
"But there's no reason why we can't take advantage of his generosity. Meet
me here at five this afternoon, and we'll start shopping."

Amanda made her way to the conference room, her thoughts
whirling. She really didn't have time for wardrobe building. But she'd be
foolish to pass up this opportunity. If she had to attend certain events with
Logan, she didn't delude herself about the clothing demands. She would not be
comfortable wearing the clothes she already owned. Plus, she couldn't deprive
Rosie of this opportunity to showcase her work.

And if those reasons weren't good enough, she only had to
think about the moniker 'hump a frump'. One way or another, that had to go.

She squashed the little imp in her brain who tried to tell
her that Rosie's funky look would never translate well into sophisticated
evening clothes.
Or the other imp that whispered that Logan
would never invest in a fashion line.
Dallas Robotics was more his kind
of company.

The conference room was empty, except for Josh.
Excellent.
A second weapon.
Because if she didn't figure out a way to get Logan to back off,
her body was going to betray her.

She approached with a smile. "Just the man I wanted to
see."

"Sounds good already."
Josh grinned and waved to the seat next to him. "What's up?"

"I have tickets to a benefit for the American Lung
Association a week from Friday night. Would you care to join me?"

Something flickered in his eyes.
Surprise?
Wariness?

"I'd love to go with you, Amanda, but–" He paused
for a second before meeting her gaze. "The rumor mill says you're, uh,
dating
Winter
."