His Challenging Lover (6 page)

Their eyes met. She looked over her shoulder at his handsome face and time froze. She could smell his aftershave, feel the heat of his body against her back which had nothing to do with the light wool of her fall coat. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t hear anything but the racing of her heart.

And then the sound of the elevator chimed, bringing her back from the fantasy she was having about him turning her around and kissing her. Voices broke through and the almost constantly ringing phones started to come back. She jerked away, taking several steps to put some distance between them. She looked at the floor as her trembling fingers buttoned up her coat.

“Thank you,” she whispered, taking her purse from his hands as well.

“My pleasure,” he came right back.

Then that hand was back! Right there in the center of her back. She thought that perhaps her entire nervous system started and ended in that exact spot where his hand was resting on her back because every cell in her body tingled, acutely aware of his touch.

“Where are we going?” she asked when they were out of the building and in the October sunshine. It was warmer than expected so she slipped her coat off of her shoulders, turning her face up to the sun.

“Would you rather eat at Antoine’s or Durango’s?” he asked, watching her as she absorbed the heat on her lovely face. “Or we could just jet off to Aruba so you could get more sunshine,” he teased.

Autumn’s eyes popped open and she looked up into his amused face. “Sorry,” she blushed. “I love October and the cooler temperatures but it’s still warm enough to enjoy the outdoors.”

“What’s your favorite season?” he asked, putting a hand on her back to guide her towards Antoine’s, one of the city’s most exclusive restaurants.

She realized immediately where they were heading and pulled back. “Would you mind if we went to Durango’s instead?”

“Sure. Why?” he asked, but they headed in the opposite direction for the more casual restaurant.

She bit her lip and admitted, “I’ve just wanted a burger for a long time.”

He laughed but they went inside the darker bar and restaurant. The owner immediately recognized them and seated them at one of the windows. “I have five new…”

“We can talk about those later. Let’s just relax and have lunch,” he suggested. And with that, they talked about everything but work and resumes. During the entire lunch while they downed greasy burgers and cheese topped fries, they talked like they had so long ago, as friends and people instead of combatants.

It was probably the nicest lunch she’d had in years, Autumn thought as she walked back to the office that afternoon.

Autumn glared at the man’s back, so angry she couldn’t even speak. She’d had fights with Xander before, but this was above and beyond. She couldn’t believe he was being this stubborn! Every one of these resumes would be an ideal candidate for his assistant. How could he have rejected all of them? Impossible!

Now she knew he was simply being unreasonable and that infuriated her even more than if he simply disagreed. He’d be wrong in this case. And in many cases, but that was different.

Oh! That man just….infuriated her!

How could he justify being so arbitrary?

Autumn walked back to her office and practically threw her stack of resumes onto her desk, uncaring that several other reports fell off the other side because of the force of her throw.

Mary came in behind her, eyes wide and her body language wary. “I guess your meeting didn’t go well?” she asked carefully.

“That’s an understatement!” she exclaimed, then tried to calm down by taking several deep breaths.

Mary tried to suppress a smile, but she was glad her boss had her back turned towards her because she didn’t think she was very successful. “So your meeting was with Xander, I take it?” she suggested, then took an involuntary step backwards when Autumn spun around, her eyes on fire.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

Autumn closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. “No, I’m sorry, Mary. I’ve been acting horribly lately and none of this is your fault. What’s worse, I’m taking it out on you and that’s not fair.” Autumn tried to calm down, but every time she pictured Xander in that conference room demanding more resumes. He wouldn’t even talk to some of these candidates and they were the best of the best!

“So what are you going to do next?”

Autumn was stumped. She’d gone to all of her sources three different times. There weren’t any other candidates out there! “I have no idea,” she said and fell backwards into her chair. “The man really is impossible.”

Mary put her hand over her mouth. “I think you said that already.”

Autumn chuckled but then glared teasingly at her assistant. “If you’re going to point out the obvious, I’m going to assign you as his assistant.”

Mary’s eyes widened and she backed up, her palms held outwards as if she were being held up at gunpoint. “Not that!” she begged. “Anything but that! Xander Thorpe is a hottie, but he’s also mean and irascible. I’d rather not have to deal with him on a daily basis.”

Autumn knew exactly what she meant. And it was an odd thing too because Xander hadn’t ever been this exacting before. She remembered him at lunch yesterday and she couldn’t believe he was the same man. She simply didn’t understand what had happened with all of his assistants. Why had they left so quickly and why was it so hard to find someone to take over? She couldn’t even promote someone into that position because no one wanted it.

Not that Xander would agree to have anyone already employed, she thought.

“If you have any suggestions, please let me know.”

Mary’s lips compressed for a long moment before she finally took a breath and suggested, “I think it’s time for a shopping trip. You haven’t gotten any new shoes in a long time. Why don’t you go out and treat yourself.”

Autumn’s eyes dropped down to her feet and she examined her black shoes. They were still a good pair of shoes, but they could stand to be replaced. The edges were worn away a bit and the heel was starting to wear down.

Besides, shoe shopping really did make her feel much better. It was completely superficial, but she truly felt better when she was wearing a good pair of shoes. A pair that went with her outfit, but even better, a pair of shoes that brought her entire outfit together so it was perfect.

Autumn smiled and stood up. “I think that’s a great idea,” she said. “And you’re right. Shoe shopping really does make me feel better.”

“That’s the spirit!” she said, clapping her hands together, relieved that her boss was going to go out and get some fresh air. The tension in the office because of the war between these two had become so thick it could be cut with a dull knife. “Go have some fun. And don’t come back until you feel better. I’ll take care of everything around here.”

Autumn grabbed her purse but left her coat. It was a beautiful, sunny day and it had warmed up enough so a coat wasn’t necessary. She loved these gorgeous fall afternoons when the sun was shining, the skies were crystal blue and the humidity was so low that her hair didn’t go flat. In other words, a perfect shopping day!

“I’ll see you a bit later,” she said, checking to make sure her phone was on in case an emergency came up and she needed to rush back.

Autumn walked out of the office, feeling better than she had in a long time. There was something about buying a good pair of shoes, or even the anticipation of finding the perfect pair, that made her breathe a little easier, feel much more free.

Xander watched with clenched jaw as Autumn walked out of the office. She had a spring in her step and a smile on her face. Since they’d both been yelling at each other, that could only mean one thing. She was going out with a guy.

He wanted to slam his fist into something and actually had to restrain himself when his brother Ash walked up to him. “Hey, I need your help on something.”

Xander turned to face Ash – who took one look at his older brother and stopped, actually taking a step backwards and holding out his hands. “What did I do?” he asked, trying to understand his brother’s current mood.

Xander took a breath and shook his head. “Nothing. Sorry. What do you need?” he asked.

“This woman, I think…” and the two of them walked into Xander’s office to discuss a legal matter. When they were finished, Ash stood up and pounded his brother on his back. “Was that Autumn heading out, looking so happy?” he asked.

Xander’s mood took a dive once again. “What of it?” he demanded.

“Just that she’s been looking pretty miserable lately. Any idea what’s going on?”

Xander’s stomach twisted. If other people were noticing that Autumn was upset, he must have been really tough on her. He rubbed his forehead, wishing he could do something to clear the air between the two of them. It was a constant battle to keep his hands off of her. But the only way he knew to keep her talking to him was to reject all of her candidates. He was being an ass though. He had to relent.

He picked up the stack of resumes one more time and looked through the candidates. “She’s trying to find me a new assistant,” Xander explained.

Ash nodded his head, but he didn’t really understand. “So you pissed her off?”

Xander pulled three resumes out of the stack of twenty that he and Autumn had reviewed in the past two days. “Yes. I’ve been pretty annoying.” And then he thought of her bright, shining face when she’d left a moment ago and he felt that gut-punch again.

“So she must be off shoe shopping again, eh?”

Xander’s eyes snapped up to his youngest brother’s, confusion in his eyes. “Shoe shopping?” he repeated.

Ash shrugged. “Sure. Anytime she’s really upset, or you’ve just annoyed her to the point where she’s reached the limit of her patience, she goes shoe shopping. By the time she gets back to the office, everything is all better and she’s smiling again.” Ash punched Xander on the arm as he walked quickly out the door. “At least until she has to deal with you again, that is.”

Xander stood there in the middle of his office, almost light-headed from the relief he was feeling. Ash was right. That smile and the hop in her step were more likely due to her going out and hitting the shops. It probably didn’t have anything to do with her having a date with anyone!

He threw back his head and laughed, feeling awesome all of a sudden.

But when his relief was finished, he was still grinning, but he also knew he’d have to make things right again. He’d been pretty horrible to her this morning. And most likely, very unreasonable.

Grabbing his suit coat, he walked quickly out of his office. “I’ll be back in a while, Tilly,” he said to the woman who jerked in fright now every time he spoke to her. He might have some areas to patch up with her as well. She wasn’t the brightest bulb in the package, but she wasn’t as bad as how he’d been treating her. Or maybe she was just nervous because he was always arguing with Autumn, her boss while she was working here.

Once he was out on the street, he walked quickly, his eyes scanning the people walking on the sidewalk and looking into the various stores, trying to find Autumn. He caught her just as she was walking into the big department store on the next block. He picked up his pace and caught up with her as she was entering the shoe department.

He watched with a mixture of amusement and interest as she walked by several shoes, picking them up, examining one, flexing another, sticking her finger inside and doing something. A salesperson approached her and she looked longingly at two different pairs of shoes, one black and one red. But she walked over to the discount shoe rack and picked up a pair of sexy, black heels. They weren’t as hot as the ones she had looked at a moment ago, but they were nice enough. He stayed in the background, but worked his way over to the sales desk, ensuring that he kept out of her line of sight. When the sales clerk was coming back with the shoes she’d selected in her size, Xander pulled him over. “Bring her the shoes in her size she’d been looking at several minutes ago, okay?” he asked.

The salesperson looked him up and down, then smiled, acknowledging the hand-tailored suit and Indian cotton shirts. Salespeople the world over knew how to pick up the signals of a wealthy customer and cater to them. This one was no exception.

He quickly delivered the originally requested shoes, but then went back to get the other pairs in Autumn’s size. While Xander waited, he picked up several other shoes that he thought she might like, plus a few others that he personally liked. Handing all of them to the salesclerk, he piled the man high with the shoes, telling him to bring all of them in her size as well.

Then Xander sat down in one of the chairs and watched as Autumn tried on each pair of shoes. He could tell by the expression on her face which ones she liked and which she didn’t like. The salesperson was perfect, telling her that he didn’t have anything else to do so he didn’t mind getting her shoes in the various sizes “just for fun” was what he said.

Each time Autumn tried on a new pair, if she liked it, Xander would signal to the salesperson to put them in one pile. If she didn’t like the shoe, the clerk put them in another pile. It was the best lunchtime break he’d had in a long, long time. Well, besides the lunch he’d spent with her at Durango’s yesterday. She’d been so fun and free, talking about everything and anything. He’d enjoyed just looking at her smiling face.

In the end, she purchased her discounted, black shoes and walked out of the store, still feeling pretty good. When she was out of sight, Xander walked up to the salesclerk and handed him his credit card. Put all the others in the ‘like’ pile on this credit card and have them sent to this address,” he told the man who looked like he had just about won the lottery today due to the commission he’d earn on this shoe extravaganza.

On the way out, he picked up a box of pretty chocolates, thinking they might go a ways towards soothing Tilly’s panic every time he asked her for something. As the cashier was ringing up that purchase, he saw another box of chocolates. This one was bigger, more elaborate and he immediately thought of Autumn. “Can you wrap that box up,” he said to the cashier. “Have them sent to this address?” he told her, handing him another business card. On the back, he wrote Autumn’s name and her extension, just in case.

“Thanks,” and he smiled, walking out of the store with the smaller box of chocolates, feeling much better. Autumn loved shoes, but she was a huge fan of chocolates too.

Back in her office, Autumn pulled her old shoes off and slid her feet into the new ones, loving the way the supple leather enclosed her foot. She stood up and walked around her office, making sure that they still felt good while she was on the carpeting. Smiling, she walked down the hallway, a definite perk in her step. She wasn’t even going to tackle the problem of trying to find new candidates for Xander today. She felt too good and she didn’t want to spoil the mood. She’d figure something out tomorrow, she told herself as she slowly whittled down her workload that had been piling up over the past few days since she’d spent so much time trying to find Xander a new assistant.

She sighed as the tension left her body with each step and felt wonderful. She stayed on the opposite end of the hallway from Xander, not wanting to ruin this good mood by running into him and having him demand more resumes. Resumes which she didn’t have right now, since she was purposely ignoring his problem.

When she came back to her office an hour later, she noticed a strange look on Mary’s face. “What’s up?” Autumn asked, her hand resting on the doorknob to her office. “And why is my office door closed?”

Mary smiled weakly, then shrugged. “I didn’t know what to do with all of them, so I just stacked them in your office,” she explained.

“Stacked what up?” Autumn asked, confused.

“All the boxes.”

Autumn still didn’t understand. “Did an order come in that didn’t fit in the storage room?” she asked, pushing open the door. And then she just stopped.

Her office wasn’t filled, but there were definitely a lot of boxes on her desk. Bags with about ten different boxes. Shoe boxes! And a huge box of chocolates sat on the corner of her desk.

“What’s all this?” Autumn asked, wondering what kind of mistake had been made. “Where did all of these come from?”

She opened one box and saw the red, suede shoes she’d absolutely loved earlier this afternoon. “Oh my!” she gasped. Opening the next one, she saw the black ones with the zipper on the size. Box after box revealed all the beautiful shoes that she’d tried on earlier. “I didn’t buy these,” she whispered, her voice completely gone as her heart beat frantically. “At least, I don’t think I did,” she said. She pulled her receipt out of the smaller bag and looked. Sure enough, there was only one pair of shoes on that receipt.