Eclipse of the Heart (13 page)

She started to shake her head, but he continued. "I
like you, Amanda, but I don't want to commit career suicide over you."

"I understand. But I want you to know there is no
personal relationship between Logan Winter and me." She forced a smile.
"Whatever you may have heard, I am definitely not the type of woman he
would be interested in."

Was that clear enough? She could hardly state that she was
not a prostitute.

Josh took a sip of water.
"How about
this?
Let's go to your event as friends and see what develops.
Fair enough?"

Amanda nodded vigorously in relief. That would be perfect.
She wouldn't have to be worried about any lover-like moves from him, and he
wouldn't have to feel that his job might be in jeopardy.

She was able to focus on the staff meeting with her full
attention.  Then she had a meeting with the general counsel about some
legal issues with one of the deals she was working on. So when she made it back
to her office, she almost groaned out load at the sight of Phoebe Cattus
standing at the window of her office.

"Excuse me," Amanda said, with more hostility than
she'd intended. "Did we have an appointment?"

Phoebe shrugged. As always, she was dressed on the edge of
sluttish. Her skirt was a little too high, her neckline a little too low. Her
bangs looked as sharp as the spikes of an iron fence.

"Getting a little pretentious, are we?" Phoebe
leaned back against the credenza.

"If it's pretentious to expect common courtesy,"
Amanda shot back, "then yes, I am. I repeat
,
do
we have an appointment?"

"Chill."
Phoebe rolled
her eyes. "I guess your little plot isn't working out so well, huh?"

"My little plot?"
Amanda
laughed, hoping it didn't sound forced. "You'll have to fill me in on
that."

Phoebe tossed her head. "Everyone knows. You've been
more than obvious."

Amanda thumped her
iPad
down on
her desk. "If you don't have any Winter Enterprises business to discuss,
please excuse me. I have
work
to do." She sat
down in her chair, noticing that the email to Daily Eats that she'd been
working on before the staff meeting was open on her computer. That seemed a
long time ago.

The general counsel had advised her to wait before
commenting on the delays at Daily Eats. They didn't want to appear to be
harassing Mrs. Molloy, given her serious illness.

Phoebe sauntered over to the desk, eying Amanda's desktop.
"Logan Winter has only one use for women, you know."

"You could be right." Amanda clicked off her email
to forestall Phoebe's nosiness. "He's given me an excellent job here as
Director of Entrepreneurial Services. I appreciate it."

"That cover story is not working." Phoebe bared
her teeth in what she might have thought was a smile. "Everyone knows why
he really hired you."

"Is it personal experience that makes you so bitter, or
lack of it?" Amanda could have bitten off her tongue. She knew better than
to engage in a catfight.

Phoebe leaned down to hiss in Amanda's face. "You think
you're so clever. But you'll come to the same end as all his other whores. See
if you don't!"

On that triumphant note, she whirled around and sailed out
of the room.

Amanda resisted the urge to throw something after the bitch.
She knew Phoebe wanted to make trouble. What she didn't know was why.

Logan tried to relax in the back of the limousine as he rode
downtown to Amanda's apartment on the night of the museum benefit. The
excitement buzzing through him was surprising, as he had no intention of
sleeping with her tonight. He did have every expectation of frustration as he
denied himself the opportunity to try to get her in his bed.  He still
needed to maintain his hands-off policy tonight.

Sighing, he punched the elevator button in the lobby of her
building. He was determined to reel her in slowly. He saw the wariness in her
eyes every time she looked at him, but also the interest. She wanted to accept
the lure, but she was nervous enough to snap the line and take off if he pushed
too hard.

He had no doubt that she possessed a great deal of strength
and determination. It would take twice as long to win her back if she bolted
once.

When Amanda opened the door, pleasure zapped him again. Her
simple dress, unlike the frumpy suits she wore at work, hugged her curves in a
delightful way. Mentally, he saluted Rosie.

"You didn't need to come up," she said, pulling
her coat around her.

Logan's hands moved automatically to smooth the coat over
her shoulders. When she lifted her hair out of the collar, her scent teased
him. He had to grab hold of his control to prevent himself from leaning over
and pressing his lips to the back of her neck.

She turned her key in the lock, and he touched the back of
her waist to guide her to the elevator. Even through the thick wool of her
coat, the touch inflamed him.

Outside the lobby, Felipe waited by the car to open the
door. Logan followed her in, sliding too close to her. What had happened to his
resolve to maintain a cool distance? He forced his hands to relax, and to
remain in his lap.

She crossed her long legs, slanting them to one side. Did
she know that drove him crazy? He glanced at her face, but she was staring out
the window at the traffic rushing by. As far as he could tell, she barely knew
he was sitting beside her.

The evening only deteriorated from there.

The museum buzzed with a large crowd, and Logan saw many
acquaintances. These people were colleagues, more than friends. So it wasn't
surprising that, as soon as he checked their coats, he saw the other men
checking out Amanda. He wasn't the only one impressed with her appearance, and
that presented him with an unexpected problem.

Although no one, least of all, him, discussed the nature of
the companions he brought to business events, the men in his business circle
were savvy guys. They all knew, at a glance, the type of woman each of them had
on his arm.

His paid escorts were women who appeared out of nowhere, and
disappeared without a trace when he was done with them.

They weren't somebody's college classmate, or sister, or
ex-wife.

So now, these men thought Amanda was another in a long line
of his hired escorts. He saw their eyes slide over her too boldly, as if she,
being paid for her presence, didn't have the right to full respect. They
wouldn't look at another man's wife that way. Oh, they'd check her out.
But subtly.
Not in the blatant manner in which they were
ogling Amanda.

Logan found himself, when introducing her, emphasizing her
position at his company, as if he could pound home the fact that she was a
professional businesswoman. He didn't want anyone to make the wrong assumption
about her.

Partly because she didn't deserve it.
Partly because he knew that after he'd bedded her, and it was time to move on,
she would need these contacts that she could make through him. The contacts
would be worthless if his business associates thought she was his paid escort.

Although he wouldn't fire her when their association ended,
he thought Amanda would not want to stick around his company when their affair
had played itself out. She had too much pride.

Therefore, she would need to find another job. He was
determined to help her when that time arrived.

With that in mind, he introduced her to Steve Watkins, a
venture capitalist with a young firm.
The kind of guy who
could use someone like Amanda when she needed a job.

Watkins shook her hand, holding on a little too long. He
dropped one heavy eyelid in Logan's direction. "Not quite your usual
style,
is she?" he said with a hearty guffaw.

Amanda stepped back like she'd been scalded.

"You're mistaken, Watkins," Logan said firmly.
"Ms. Thompson is a valued employee, with a degree from the Wharton School,
and several years of excellent experience."

"Sure, sure."
Watkins
dropped another wink. "I can be discreet. Hey, if you're done with that
hot little chick you had last time I saw you, I think I'll look her up.
Trixie
,
right?"

Logan bit back a harsh retort. Could the man be any
clumsier? But a confrontation would only make the situation worse.

"Like I said, you're mistaken. And I happen to know
that
Trixie
is only interested in intelligent
men." Touching Amanda's arm, Logan turned her away. "Please excuse
us."

He dropped his hand from her arm abruptly. He had to stop
touching her in public. Such personal behavior would only encourage people to
think she was his mistress.

Biting back a curse, he moved several inches away from her.
All the effort he'd put into subtly getting her used to his touch was going to
be wasted.

She looked at the space that had opened between them, and
then raised her eyes to his.
"A change in tactics?"

"I don't want them to think you're…what you're
not."

"They all think I'm a hooker." She pressed her
lips together.

"Not you."

"Then who?"

"My companion.
Any attractive woman who is with me."
The words ate
into him, biting him with the ugliness of what he'd done. He'd conditioned
people to believe that any woman who was with him was a whore.

"You
never
dated—regular
women?"

"I told you. I don't date, and I don't do
relationships." Despite everything, he needed to be clear on that. No
matter how badly he desired her, he wouldn't lie to get what he wanted. When she
came to his bed, she would do so in the full knowledge that it was only sex
between them.

"I don't have any trouble believing you don't do
relationships, Logan." She gestured to the room full of people.
"Clearly, you've convinced the world of that, as well."

That couldn't be helped. He was unable to feel emotions. He
refused to feel emotions. Therefore, it was only fair of him to make sure that
women in his company understood that.

He had also learned that women would pursue him for his
financial success, regardless of whether he could feel anything for them.
Or whether they, in fact, had any feelings for him.

So he was doubly cautious. It was better all around if he
treated sex like any other commodity.
An arms-length
transaction, where each party knew exactly what he or she was getting.
Or not getting.

He caught the eye of a waiter who promptly approached them
with a tray of sushi. Right behind him was another distraction. Logan was
grateful for the reprieve.

"Hey, there's someone I want you to meet." He
waved over a petite blonde dressed in a fire-engine red suit.
She click-clacked toward them in a pair of tall heels that barely
brought her to average height.

"Amanda," he said, "I'd like you to meet
Patrice Collins. Patrice, this is Amanda
Thompson. 
She has the job you used to have."

At his side, Amanda made a funny noise, like a smothered
gasp, and Logan knew instantly that Amanda thought Patrice was someone who'd
shared his bed.

"Director of Entrepreneurial Ventures," he
injected smoothly. "Patrice, Amanda is taking to the job as well as you
did."

Patrice looked at Amanda, her blue eyes hostile. She did not
extend her hand. "Lovely." The single word dropped into the
conversational pool and sank like a stone. She turned her gaze to Logan.

"Will you be attending the Cabot's Christmas Ball next
weekend?"

Logan nodded, but refused to be drawn into a topic that was
designed to exclude Amanda.

"We've been looking at a company you investigated a few
years back," he said. "Daily Eats."

Patrice sniffed. "You must have forgotten that I told
you it was a dog of a company. Surely no one would recommend buying them?"
She glanced at Amanda with barely tinged contempt.

"They have an excellent cash flow, a strong strategic
direction, and good management," Amanda said coolly. "Perhaps the
situation has changed since you looked at them."

Amanda raised her chin, and the coolness in her tone
suggested that Patrice had failed to adequately assess the company.

Logan had to press his lips together to hide a smile.

"Patrice," he said, "I'm sure you recall they
weren't interested in selling a few years ago. Now they are. Different
circumstances make them more appealing today."

Patrice's nostrils pinched with displeasure. "I see my
husband over there." She emphasized the word 'husband', as if she wanted
to point out the difference between her and Amanda.

Logan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He should have
remembered that Patrice had once made a pass at him. Apparently, he hadn't
steered her away as diplomatically as he'd thought.

"I need to discuss something with him." Patrice
tottered off.

"
Ick
."
Amanda shook her head. "I don't think I'd like being a paid
companion."

"Patrice never was, as far as I know."

"Maybe that's why she was so unpleasant, then."

Logan looked down at her, raising his brows. Did she realize
she sounded almost—jealous? He'd seen too many catfights not to recognize the
signs. But he hoped he was mistaken tonight, because he didn't want Amanda to
start developing feelings for him.

"I think we should call it a night," he said,
automatically reaching for her, before he remembered the 'no touching' rule and
pulled back. Damn, this was going to be difficult.

"Good," Amanda answered. "If you're sure you
don't need to stay."