Heart of Ice

by T. B. Markinson

  With that, Jack unbuttoned the top of her blouse, revealing the swell of her bosom. Talk about a declaration of war. Laurie remembered the sight all too well, and it was going to take every ounce of strength to concentrate on the game instead of staring at her portfolio manager’s cleavage.

  “Is that right?” Laurie chewed on the inside of her cheek, pretending to be unperturbed. “You really think I need your mercy?”

  “Stop stalling.” Jack motioned for Laurie to bring it.

  Laurie served, Jack whi ng the return. Though subtle, Laurie could have sworn the woman’s eyes flitted to her breasts at least twice during the interaction. With her cardigan o , the lacy outline of her bra showed through the thin silk of her blouse like it was made of cellophane. So, they were both boob girls. Good to know. Laurie tugged her shirt a bit lower and served again.

  This time Jack slammed the return back, her expression one of pure gloating. “Look at that. It’s my serve now, and I don’t intend to relinquish the honor again.”

  “We’ll see.” Laurie pursed her lips together. No way was she going to lose.

  The next point took several swings, and though Laurie fought valiantly, it ended in Jack’s favor. The annoying woman whooped like she’d scored the winning touchdown in a Super Bowl.

  “Lucky shot.” Laurie was aware that the sharpness of her tone could probably slice glass, but she didn’t care.

  “I didn’t peg you as a sore loser.” Jack spun the paddle in her hand, winding up for her serve.

  “Wouldn’t know. I’m not accustomed to losing.”

  “A first for everything.” It wasn’t the words so much as the little self-satisfied smirk that made Laurie want to tackle Jack to the ground and…

  Wow. Laurie gave her head a quick shake as the sharp pang of desire snapped her insides like an overstretched rubber band. It had taken only a split second for that mental image of the two of them on the floor to go all sorts of places she hadn’t expected it to. She was glad she hadn’t turned on more than a bare minimum of the lights, as she was sure she’d turned a dozen shades of red by now.

  “Ha!” Jack exclaimed as the ball Laurie had completely forgotten about sailed past her. Laurie curbed the impulse to stomp her foot and shout not fair. The o ce space might look like a daycare, but that didn’t mean she could act like a baby. Besides, looking distractingly sexy wasn’t technically against any ping-pong rules that Laurie was aware of.

  Pay attention, old girl.

  Even with her focus renewed, Jack won the next point, but Laurie got the following three. The banter between them ceased as the game neared the end. Both women hunched

  over the table, groaning and grunting as they hit and returned shots like professionals. It was war, all right—a battle to the death that neither one was willing to lose.

  Panting, and with sweat dripping from her brow, Laurie held the ball in the air. “I believe this is match point.”

  Jack, who barely seemed winded, rolled her eyes. “Not happening, princess.”

  Laurie held her paddle like a rifle. “I’ll have you know underlings have been shot for less, Dingle.”

  “Oh?” This time, Jack’s smirk was accompanied by a little dimple in her right cheek. Damn. “Did you have them executed for beating you or for calling you princess?”

  “How many times do I have to tell you?” Laurie hu ed. “I don’t lose. Not ever.”

  On that note, Laurie served. Jack lunged and returned the shot, but Laurie anticipated where it would land and swatted at the ball so hard it hit the table and propelled into a collection of Star Wars bobbleheads on a nearby shelf, knocking tiny replicas of Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and Princess Leia to the floor and smashing them to bits.

  Both stared dumbfounded at the sudden turn of events.

  “Maybe they won’t notice,” Laurie suggested, inching toward the plastic carnage.

  “Do you have any idea what they’re worth?” Jack’s face was ashen. “That’s a complete set, or it was. Last fall, a similar one sold at auction for over ten grand.”

  “Global energy, the tech sector, and collectibles? There really isn’t an investment market you don’t know something about, is there?” Laurie glanced around, looking for cameras.

  “Quick. Grab the broken pieces, and let’s get out of here.”

  As Laurie retrieved her cardigan, Jack swept the plastic shards onto a sheet of paper she’d taken from a copier tray.

  She was about to dump it into a wastebasket, but Laurie

  grabbed it from her, saying, “No, we need to take it with us, or someone will notice.”

  Giggling like schoolgirls sneaking out of their boarding school after curfew, they flew to the stairwell. They climbed three levels to the first door that Laurie’s badge would open and waited for the elevator to take them the rest of the way up.“So much for your grand idea,” Laurie said as she pushed the button for the twenty-fourth floor.

  “How was I supposed to know you’d break something?”

  Jack said, pouting.

  Laurie’s eyes landed on the woman’s lips, so full and inviting. Her chest was heaving now, too, as breathless as Laurie was from the escape. “Plan for every contingency.

  That’s my motto.”

  Jack caught her eyes with a steady look, making Laurie feel as though she were frozen in place. “And did you plan for every contingency?” she asked in a breathless whisper.

  Their bodies gravitated closer, as if drawn together by a force outside themselves. Had Laurie planned for this to happen? No. Had she realized she’d be mere inches away from making out with her portfolio manager in the elevator, she would’ve brought her emergency override key and stopped it between floors to give them the luxury of time.

  Too late now.

  Jack reached for her shoulder, Laurie’s body shuddering at the touch of the woman’s fingers against her paper-thin blouse. Their faces were so close Laurie could see the gentle flare of Jack’s nostrils as she breathed in and out, a rush of warmth tickling her skin with each exhale. But before their lips could make contact, the paper she’d been clutching slipped from her hand, and the bits of broken plastic scattered across the elevator floor.

  “Whoops.” Jack took the smallest of backward steps, looking as startled as Laurie felt by what had nearly happened between them. “I think they broke even more on impact. I’ll never be able to glue them together now.”

  “I’ll call Josh in security to take care of this mess. He’s on the weekend shift now, and he’s probably wanting to prove his worth to keep his job.”

  Laurie’s reasoning was clouded with longing, her blood hot as it coursed through her and urged her to act. A glance at the elevator controls revealed there were still a few floors to go. Not much time but maybe enough before either the elevator doors opened or she returned to her senses and was able to recall all the really compelling reasons why kissing a subordinate was a terrible idea. Jack closed her eyes. If there was even a single shred of doubt, it disappeared as the woman’s lips parted. Laurie leaned in. Jack’s eyes flew open.

  “I got it,” the woman blurted, kind of killing the mood.

  Laurie’s head spun at the sudden turn of events. Weren’t they supposed to be kissing? “Got what?”

  “The answer.” The sexy smirk was back, which was doing Laurie no favors under the circumstances. “The grand idea I promised you.”

  “Well, out with it,” Laurie directed with a hint of a growl.

  The idea of pulling an all-nighter together had started to sound pretty damn appealing.

  “Othonos bought a massive parcel in the Amazon rainforest but hasn’t developed it. Why?”

  “He’s probably waiting to cash in later.”

  “Sure, maybe.” Jack was definitely placating her and didn’t agree. “But I crunched some numbers earlier and found that his holdings include companies headed by women and people of color at a rate of twenty-seven percent more than expected.”

  “I’m still waiti
ng for you to come to the point, Dingle.”

  “Impact investing!” Jack’s eyes shone in triumph. “What do you think?”

  Brilliant. That was the word for it, all right. An obvious answer in retrospect. One of the best bits of advice Laurie had ever heard was to watch what a man does, not what he says. Outwardly, Othonos had all the swagger of a stereotypically macho Greek man. Toby had been fooled by it, thinking he understood the man completely. Laurie had to admit she’d been taken in as well. If she thought back to the research she’d done, all the evidence was there, yet never had she heard the term impact investor used in reference to the Greek. There was more going on with the man if you looked beneath the surface, and Jack had seen what no one else had. That’s what would give Emerson the edge and make them stand out from the crowd. And Jack had thought of it just in time.

  The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Laurie stepped away from Jack and, without looking back, headed down the hallway toward her o ce. “I guess it will do,” she called over her shoulder, “if that’s the best you’ve got.”

  C H A P T E R T E N

  JACK SAT ACROSS FROM LAURIE AT THE CONFERENCE TABLE IN THE

  corner o ce, waiting as her boss dialed Andy’s number on the speakerphone. Several hours had passed since their excursion to the fourteenth floor. They’d been working nonstop. Jack had lost track of the hour, but outside the massive windows, the sky was dark and lights had come on in many of the surrounding o ce buildings.

  “Who’s the expert on impact investing?” Laurie tossed the question out loudly so that Andy could hear her over the staticky connection.

  On the other end of the line, Andy sneezed and blew his nose pitifully, making a noise that sounded like a honking goose. Even so, he was trying so hard to be a team player that Jack felt sorry for him. The clicking of a keyboard sounded through the speaker, followed by more massive explosions of nose blowing. Only when it seemed clear that Andy wouldn’t be able to answer did Jack speak up.

  “Paige McGovern.” Jack pulled up the woman’s profile on her laptop and scooted it over to Laurie.

  Laurie skimmed the details, and she tapped a fingernail against one of her teeth, drawing Jack’s attention. Had those hands been on her hours before, their lips so close to tasting the other? Yet here they sat, engrossed in work as if it had

  never happened, even as every movement Laurie made stirred Jack’s desire.

  Damn it.

  Why had Jack’s inspiration about impact lending struck right when it did? It was the worst possible timing. Well, not from a business perspective, of course, and it did mean she’d won the bet fair and square. But she was certain Laurie had been about to kiss her. She’d known it at the time—and God, how she’d wanted Laurie to do it, too—but that hadn’t been enough to stop her from blurting it out like she’d temporarily lost control over her own mouth.

  Then again, maybe being struck by that particular lightning bolt had saved Jack’s hide in the long run. Sleeping with your boss was bad news. Hell, making out with your boss was, too, but who was she kidding if she tried to say they would’ve stopped with a kiss? No way. Laurie had already tried to fire her once because of the night they’d spent together in the hotel. Probably the only saving grace that time was Jack hadn’t known whom she was fucking.

  This time, she could hardly claim innocence, and Laurie had said she never loses. When it came to which of them would bear the brunt of the blame for a second encounter, Jack wasn’t stupid.

  Her attention was brought back to the present when Laurie pushed her laptop toward her and spoke. “Perfect.

  Who do we send?”

  “Send where?” Andy’s voice crackled over the phone, either from a poor connection or because he was unwrapping a cough lozenge.

  Jack breathed in deeply and moved to stand. “I guess that will be me.”

  “Why you? I need you here,” Laurie responded with a scowl. “Andy, pack your bag and head to Hanscom.”

  “But, Emerson keeps its plane at Logan airport, and I’ll need Toby’s approval”—a loud sneeze interrupted him mid-sentence—“to take the corporate jet.”

  Laurie waved her hand in the air to cut him o , perhaps forgetting he couldn’t see her. “The company plane is o -

  limits. I don’t want Toby looped in on this yet, but Bonnie had a private lease. You’ll take that one.”

  “Are you sure? I’m never the one sent on important errands.”

  “Exactly. If I send you, it won’t trigger any alarm bells for Toby. I know we’re all on the same team, etcetera, etcetera, but my stepson is a loose cannon. Until I know he’s fully on board with me taking the lead with Othonos, I’d prefer to keep the details of our strategy under wraps so he can’t bungle anything. You’ll stay at my apartment in Midtown so there’s no paper trail for a hotel. If Toby does happen to catch wind of it, he’ll probably think I’m sending you to New York for a dozen black and white cookies from Russ and Daughters.”

  “Those are good,” Andy opined.

  “They’re my favorite, and it’s exactly the kind of wasteful extravagance Toby would partake in himself. It’s one of the reasons the company’s teetering on the edge instead of prospering as it did under Bonnie’s management. That man’s sole focus is making it known what a big shot he is. So unlike his mother.”

  “I can be packed and on my way to Hanscom in an hour,”

  Andy said before dissolving into a fit of coughing.

  “But Laurie,” Jack whispered, cringing at each burst of hacking. “Andy’s sick. I should go.”

  “You’re right. Andy, stop at the drug store on the way, and buy one of everything in the cold remedy aisle. I want you well and ready to meet Paige McGovern at nine o’clock.”

  Jack glanced at the watch on her wrist. “It’s after six now.

  He’ll never make it to New York in three hours.”

  “I meant nine in the morning. How cruel a task master do you think I am?” Laurie scolded, but there was a pleased glint in her eyes.

  Jack could tell she enjoyed knowing her reputation as the type of hard-ass who would expect an underling to race to New York at supersonic speed was intact.

  Laurie leaned closer to the phone. “Andy, that means you have only a few hours to cram as much information into your head about McGovern and impact lending as you can. I’m counting on you to convince this Paige woman to join our team. By the time you wake, you’ll have the low and high o ers. If I were you, I’d land her someplace in the middle.”

  “Got it.” There was a pause and then throat clearing, but this time, it didn’t sound like illness as much as uncertainty.

  “Uh, Laurie, about the cookies.”

  “What cookies?”

  “The black and whites from Russ and Daughters. Did you want me to bring those back?”

  She tilted her head at the phone and gave it a look like she’d probably use on a small and not very bright child. “Did I not say they’re my favorite?”

  “Well, yes,” Andy mumbled. “But then you said it was wasteful, so I wasn’t sure if—”

  “I said it would be wasteful to send you there just for that.

  Pay attention.” Laurie shook her head, as if despairing of ever having Andy fully trained, then gave Jack a thoughtful look. “Oh, and another thing. Throw in a dozen everything bagels and a large container of cream cheese.”

  “You got it,” he said as Laurie disconnected the call.

  Laurie regarded Jack for a moment without speaking. The look sparked with such intensity that it seemed to burn its

  way to Jack’s core, quickening her pulse and causing her body to tingle. “I assume that’s okay with you?”

  “What is?” Jack swallowed hard, suddenly feeling tongue-tied. “You mean sending Andy to New York?”

  “No, the everything bagels. You had them earlier. I assumed.”

  “They’re… uh,” Jack stumbled over her words, trying to figure out what was happening. Had Laurie actually as
ked her for a bagel order? Nothing in her life experience had prepared her for how to respond when the woman you’d almost made out with in the elevator, who was also your boss and had a reputation for eating employees alive, o ered you a dozen fresh New York City bagels. None of it computed.

  Jack felt like a robot whose circuits had overloaded, and she expected if she looked in a mirror, smoke would start pouring out of her ears. “They’re fine. Thank you.”

  “Good. I’d hate to call him back to change the order. It would confuse him.”

  Poor Andy. Jack didn’t envy the man’s mission. It wasn’t like Paige McGovern would be an eager audience, dying to get onto Laurie’s team. Impact investing, with its focus on creating social benefits as well as monetary returns, was a very di erent segment of the financial world than what Laurie’s company represented. Laurie’s harsh reputation, while beneficial in more traditional sectors, was diametrically opposed to the belief that making money should factor in social, cultural, and environmental costs and benefits for all instead of the privileged few.

  At first brush, Jack thought Laurie’s choice of sending Andy was a huge error in judgment. Andy wasn’t a killer. He didn’t have stats at the ready. He was sweet with a goofy smile.

  Then it struck Jack. That was exactly why Laurie had sent him. Paige would be taken in by Andy’s vulnerability, his sad

  puppy-dog expression, letting down her defenses so that Andy could tempt her with numbers that’d make Paige salivate. Even if impact investing was her bread and butter, she was still an investor, and if she understood how many billions she could put into play, Paige would be an e ng moron not to take Laurie up on the chance.

  With a renewed sense of purpose, Jack and Laurie launched back into their work as the hours flew by.

  Technically, Jack’s stroke of brilliance had earned her the right to clock out at midnight, but when the hour rolled around, she had no thoughts of quitting. Her stomach, however, disagreed.

  Jack pressed a hand to her belly to mask the worst of the rumbling noises. “Was there anything other than bagels in the break room that I might’ve missed, some sort of special stash you keep hidden?”