Savin' Me (5 page)

Up
was the first thing that came to
Erik’s mind as he stood and shook hands with Rusty. However,
despite his raunchy reputation, he wasn’t that crass, so he
responded in an appropriate manner. “Great.” Releasing Rusty’s
grip, he turned to Kat and smiled. “How are you this mornin’?”

She clutched a file folder to her chest with
her left hand while offering her right for a shake. Her smile was
tight, her demeanor stiff, obviously not as happy about this
meeting as him. “I’m good. Thanks for asking. And you?”

When he extended his hand, she gave him more
of a slap than a shake, and he bit the inside of his cheek to keep
from laughing. No prolonged touching on her part… He’d enjoy
working to change that.

“I’m fantastic, and I’m looking forward to
this.” He knew she caught his subtle innuendo by the spark of
irritation in her eyes. Rusty had turned his back, so Erik winked
and motioned for her to precede him into the conference room.

“Did the two of you have a chance to meet at
the open house?” Rusty asked.

Before Kat could reply, Erik said, “Oh yeah.
We’ve met.”

Kat’s eyes widened in alarm and panic crossed
her face as she pulled out a chair and took a seat.

Rusty had his back to Kat and Erik, digging
through one of the conference room’s built-in cabinets. “Great.
That makes this even easier. I thought I’d get you guys started,
then let her take over.”

Erik gave Kat a nefarious smile and took a
seat directly across from her. “Sounds good.”

Rusty gave up his search and turned to face
them. “I thought I had the Monteague portfolio in here, but I guess
it’s in my office.” Moving around the end of the table toward the
door, he glanced to Erik. “Kat’s a skilled account executive and
will be a great addition to your team.”

Kat cleared her throat and shifted in her
seat as a cute pink colored her neck and cheeks. Glancing to the
notepad in front of her, she said, “I’m sure Erik has a full
schedule. Why don’t we go ahead and get started?”

Erik leaned back in his chair, crossed his
legs at the ankles, and laced his hands over his stomach. “I’m
ready.”

His relaxed demeanor was the exact opposite
of Kat’s, and when she noticed Rusty exiting the room, her eyes
widened. “Aren’t you joining us?’

He paused and turned. “No. I need to get some
things ready for an afternoon meeting. I just wanted to make
introductions if you hadn’t already met.” He shifted his attention
to Erik. “I’ve got the utmost confidence in Kat. She’ll take good
care of you.”

Erik let the smile pushing at his mouth break
through, and said, “I have no doubt she will. I’m looking forward
to it.”

Looking slightly shell-shocked and definitely
rattled, Kat began taking slow, even breaths. Her transformation
was fascinating, and more than a little disconcerting, to watch. It
was as if each breath altered a part of her, causing the human Kat
to melt away and a cool, distant robotic version to appear.

When the transformation was complete, she
said, “I’ve gone over your past campaigns…”

He saw her mouth moving, but he was so off
balance by the whole I-am-Zen routine, he wasn’t able to follow the
monotone words coming out of her tight lips. In order to rein in
her control that quickly, she’d had to use the same technique many,
many times.

“…target audience and objective…”

Was it a defense mechanism she’d developed to
control her emotions after things had gone down the shitter at her
last job, or had she been doing this for years?

“…positioning in the marketplace…”

Whatever her reasons, he didn’t like this
cold, non-human version of Kat. He wanted his Kat back.

Wait… what? What in the fucking hell was this
“his Kat” shit?

With his mind bouncing around like a pinball,
it took him a minute to realize she was staring at him, waiting for
a response to her recitation. “Did I use too many big words and
confuse you?”

He started to smile at the crack, but then,
realizing she’d made a small joke, she pressed her lips together
and took another deep breath.

Jesus, this was absurd. It was time for him
to do a little cracking of his own to see if he could find the old
Kat again. “No, I’m with you. Go ahead.”

“Okay, let’s talk about your target.”

Erik tilted his head to the side and met her
gaze head on. “I thought I’d made that clear the other night.
You’re my target.”

She sucked in a quick breath and glanced at
the conference room’s open door before grabbing her pen and
scratching notes. “Target… boat buyers.” Keeping her gaze on the
paper in front of her, she said, “Okay, let’s talk about your
objectives. Obviously, to sell more boats—”

“That’s one of them. But it’s certainly not
the one I’m thinking about at the moment.”

At his suggestive tone, she gripped the pen
so tightly he could almost hear the thing squeal in pain. He
figured the notes being etched into the paper this time had to do
with personal directives of where he could go, rather than the
direction of his business. Damn, it was so wrong to yank her chain
this way, but the more annoyed she got, the hotter he got.

After another deep breath, she said, “Okay,
let’s talk about positioning.”

Seeing this as his homerun opportunity, he
waited to answer until she glanced at him to verify he’d heard the
question. When she did, he locked gazes with her and allowed every
ounce of desire pumping through his veins to show. “Positioning?”
He rested his forearms on the table and leaned toward her. “I would
love to talk positioning with you. Better yet, how about I show
you?”

The pulse in her neck fluttered and her
breathing grew choppy. He felt guilty for pushing her like this
when she was so obviously uncomfortable around him, but he couldn’t
stop. It was rare to find someone who matched his intensity—both in
and out of the bedroom—and he wanted to break through this damned
shell she’d created and see that fire again.

The fact that he wanted to see it outside the
realm of sex should have been another warning flag, but fuck it,
heeding warnings didn’t seem to top his priority list today.

Leaning back from the table to give the
illusion of more space between them, he said, “Why don’t you come
with me to the plant? You can see how things work firsthand, see
the finished product.”

Kat’s eyes widened. “I—”

“That’s a great idea.”

In unison, Kat and Erik whipped their head to
Rusty as he swung through the conference room door. Gesturing to
the portfolio tucked under his arm, he said, “This has all the old
brochures and magazine ads. But pictures in brochures don’t do
justice to Erik’s operation. Do you have anything else scheduled
this morning?”

Panic flashed in Kat’s eyes, but that fucking
mask dropped right back into place, quickly concealing her
emotions.

Before she could voice the protests he knew
was coming, Erik said, “Better yet… you probably wouldn’t be
comfortable walking around the plant in your suit and high heels.”
But he so wanted to see her in those heels… and nothing else…
later. “Why don’t we go this afternoon? That way you can change
into more comfortable clothes.”

Translated:
That way you won’t be able to
use work as an excuse to rush back, and maybe I can convince you to
have dinner with me.

“That’s even better,” Rusty said as he dumped
the portfolio on the conference room table, then stuck his fist out
to Erik for a knuckle bump. “Erik, good to see you.”

As Rusty hustled out of the conference room,
Kat dropped her head onto crossed arms on the table. The heaving of
her shoulders let him know she was back to the heavy breathing, but
he had the feeling this time she was thinking
I’m-so-pissed
rather than
I-am-Zen.

He stood and made his way around the table,
then wrapped his fingers over her shoulders and began massaging the
tension out of them. Leaning over, he whispered in her ear, “Does
three o’clock work for you?”

She lifted her head and muttered, “Like it
matters if it does or not.”

Only an idiot would laugh, so he bit his lip
and, sounding as sincere as possible, said, “Of course it matters.
Is three-thirty better?”

He wasn’t certain, but he thought she mumbled
“bastard” along with “Three is fine.”

***

Kat stopped dead in her tracks on the marina
catwalk and stared in disbelief. “What the hell is that?”

Erik tried to look innocent, but it was a
wasted attempt. She’d bet he couldn’t squeeze an ounce of innocence
from his entire body. “It’s my boat.”

She ignored the obvious and focused on the
creature sitting on the bow of the boat. The one with the wagging
tail and tongue flopping out of the corner of its mouth. “What’s
that thing
on
the boat?”

“Little Bit.”

She narrowed her eyes and leaned in for a
closer look. “Little bit of what?”

Erik laughed as he knelt and rubbed the
creature’s head. “They said at the pound he was a little bit of
everything, so that’s what I named him. Little Bit.”

“You have a dog?”

He twisted his head around to look at her.
“Why does that shock you?”

“Because… well… that makes you…
domesticated.”

“What?” Amusement crinkled his face, but his
tone was guarded.

“Yeah, and getting him from the pound is
nice.”

He stood and turned to face her. “You don’t
think I’m nice?”

“No.”

He cocked his head to the side and all traces
of amusement melted away.

“No! I mean, oh, hell.” She rubbed her hand
across her forehead and took a deep breath. “It’s just that getting
him from the pound is a nice-guy move. I need you to keep being a
jerk.”

“That night at dinner, you mentioned
volunteering at the animal shelter. You said there were tons of
animals there that needed good homes.”

He remembered that?

“When Steve started talking about getting a
dog, I told him to check it out. I went with him, and as soon as I
saw LB, I knew I had to have him.” He glanced at the dog and smiled
affectionately. “He’s so u-g-l-y, I was afraid no one else would
adopt him.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Did you just spell
ugly so you wouldn’t hurt the dog’s feelings?”

He smiled shyly and lifted a shoulder. “He’s
pretty smart.”

She slid her gaze to the brown, black, and
white dog with a long snout, ears that stood straight up, and a
long, slender body. He was ugly. But he was also kind of cute… in
an ugly sort of way. And, based on the way his big, brown eyes
tracked every move Erik made, he adored his master.

Damn, damn, damn. Not only did Erik get a dog
from the shelter—one of the nicest things a person could do in her
book—he got the ugly one. She barely managed to keep from stomping
her foot as she harrumphed in frustration. Talk about unfair.

“And what do you mean ‘keep being a
jerk?'”

Her irritation had almost escaped, but she
snatched it back like a lifeline. As long as she stayed angry, she
could maintain her emotional distance. If she maintained her
distance, she could keep this unconventional meeting focused on
business. “Yeah, remember how you manipulated things this morning?
That was being a jerk.” She glanced around and said, “Why are we at
the marina? It appears you expect me to get on that boat.”

His grin was quick and fleeting. “By the time
I drive ten miles up the south side of the river, cross the
connector and bridge, then drive the eight miles back down this
side, it takes me thirty minutes to get here from the plant. I can
go from one side of the river to the other, by boat, in less than
half that time. Plus, it’s a beautiful day. Why not take advantage
of it?”

“I’m supposed to be working.” And this fell
under the category of fun.

“You are working,” Erik said, jumping on to
the boat with practiced ease. “What better way to learn about boats
than to ride on one?” He extended his hand. “Give me your hand, and
I’ll help you climb aboard.”

She chewed her bottom lip and considered the
wisdom of trying to “climb aboard” without his help. Accept his
hand and suffer the cruel and unusual punishment of touching him
for the second time today? Or—she glanced down her sundress to her
sandals—make a go of it on her own and risk taking a swim?

“Take my hand, Kat. I won’t bite.” A
seductive smile that mirrored his easy drawl slid across his lips.
“Unless you want me to.”

Unwilling to be outdone—or undone—by him, she
ignored her curling toes and the warming in her belly and took his
hand. His large, strong hand that completely enveloped hers. She
silently cursed the universe for putting her in this position,
knowing this brief encounter couldn’t and wouldn’t go any further
than this one magnificent touch.

As she struggled to gracefully maneuver over
the boat's railing, she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me we were
going on a boat? When you said ‘wear something comfortable’ I
didn’t know you meant a bathing suit and flip-flops.” With both
feet firmly planted on the boat’s deck, she shook her hand free of
his.

He took her laptop bag and purse and stashed
them inside a hatch. “Would you have agreed to come with me if I’d
told you?”

“I wouldn’t have agreed to come with you, at
all, if I hadn’t felt forced.”

The jerk had the audacity to smile. And not
just any smile, but one capable of melting right through her armor.
“Then I guess it’s my lucky day.” Reducing the wattage on the
smile, he said, “I’m sorry for manipulating you. But I do think
seeing the plant will help you get a better feel for our operation
and the high quality boats we manufacture.” He moved a step closer.
“I’ll make it up to you, if you’ll let me.”

Oh, no. Uh-uh… absolutely not.
“Nope,
no making up necessary.”