“Understood. Glad to hear it turned around for you. I’ve heard you have that effect on people.” It was actually one of the reasons Logan had been so interested in her for the position, but he wasn’t going to tell her that just yet.
“It’s a useful skill, I’ll admit.”
“How so?” He asked, trying to get her to open up a little more.
“When you’re managing people and projects, sometimes, well, most of the time, in my experience, those projects don’t go as you expect them to. To be successful, you’ve got to be able to rally the troops and get them to want to do it. Being able to get them to open up is a good start.”
“You passed the interview with flying colors, Samantha. You don’t have to try and sell yourself anymore.” Logan laughed. She sounded so serious and as much as this was an official business lunch, he found himself wanting to get to know more about her personally.
“Right. Sorry. I guess I just get carried away sometimes.” Samantha replied, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink. “And please, call me Sam.”
That was the second time she’d asked him to call her Sam. He made a mental note to lose the formality, as he’d advised her originally. Nodding his understanding, he continued. “Tell me a little about you. I know about your career with the company, but I don’t know much about you.”
“Let’s see if I can give you the watered down version. Born and raised in San Antonio. One brother, older. I graduated from high school with honors, went straight to college, graduated early by doubling up on some of my classes. That’s my entire life story in a nutshell.”
Ahhh. Ok. That was how she was going to play it.
“I’ve seen your resume. It’s rather impressive.” He liked the innocence that lit her eyes when she talked about herself. There was something about her vulnerability that intrigued him. However, this woman was a contradiction in itself because when it came to business, she was cool and confident.
~*~*~
“What about you? I haven’t seen your resume. Fill me in.” Sam countered, watching Logan closely to see his reaction to her turn of the tables. It wasn’t that she couldn’t talk about herself; it’s just she wasn’t all that comfortable with it.
And truth be told, she honestly did want to know more about this man. She’d be working for him, and if she could get a better understanding of what made him tick, she’d be able to determine the boundaries.
“My personal resume? Or the professional one?” He asked, his large, sexy hand curving around the glass of tea sitting in front of him.
Sam had been watching his hands for the last few minutes, trying her damnedest not to think about what they would feel like on her skin. When she’d brushed up against him as they were leaving XTX, she’d gotten a feel of his rock solid chest and she’d been flooded with totally inappropriate thoughts since then.
“Let’s start with the personal one.”
“I’ve got one brother also. We were raised by my grandfather since I was eight. Both of my parents were killed when I was young. Drunk driver.”
“I’m sorry.” Sam reacted on pure instinct. Knowing the man was probably close to forty, that was a very long time ago, but her heart suddenly ached for the eight year old Logan who had to go through that.
“Thanks. My grandfather was tough, but he loved me. I didn’t stray from my path. I graduated from high school, going straight to college. Had a fantastic time while I was there, but I did try to focus on my studies. I graduated and went to work for a competitor of XTX, working there for about seven years, and then I came here. Been here ever since.”
“And how long have you been with XTX?”
Logan smiled his crooked smile which nearly stole her breath.
“Are you trying to figure out how long I’ve been here, or how old I am?”
Sam laughed unexpectedly. Had she been trying to figure out how old he was? Probably.
“You got me.” She had to give him credit for reading between the lines. “Maybe both. So?”
“I’ve been with XTX for ten years now. So, how old does that make me?”
Sam did the math quickly in her head. She figured he was roughly around forty, based on the calculation, but she’d already guessed that. She just smiled back at him.
It didn’t matter how old he was or that he was probably close to ten years her senior. Well, it shouldn’t have mattered. She had no reason trying to determine if they were compatible. It wasn’t an option. He would be her boss if things continued to go the way they were going now.
“Well? I’m still waiting. I think you have it all figured out.” Logan pushed her, and Sam noted the mischievous look in his eye.
God, maybe this was an exceptionally bad idea.
“Doesn’t really matter, does it?” She quipped, a little harsher than she meant. “I don’t need to know how old you are to work for you.”
He seemed to let her frustration roll off of him when he said, “So, you’re planning to work for me?”
The anticipation she heard in his voice was a good sign, or so she thought.
“I’m leaning in that direction, sure. It just depends on this afternoon and what Jeff can tell me about the upcoming project. I’m qualified, I get that. I can do the work. It’s a big step for me though. I’m leaving my entire life to come up here for an undisclosed amount of time.”
That was only partly true. Her entire life consisted of XTX as it was, so not much would change except for her location. But he didn’t need to know that.
“As I mentioned before, this is certainly a long term option. We need you here, and I know you’re capable of doing the work. If you weren’t, I wouldn’t have asked for you specifically.”
Sam got the impression he was still trying to sell her the job, and he probably was. A little bit of disappointment crept through her. Part of her wanted him to try and convince her because he wanted her here, not just because she was the most qualified for the job.
“Why exactly did you ask for me?” Sam had to get the conversation back on safer ground. Work was safe.
She wanted to know what made him believe she was qualified for the job. Her resume spoke for itself, but she was pretty sure Logan wasn’t the type to rely on a one page bio to give him the information he needed to make this type of decision.
“James is very fond of you. So much so, I was almost inclined to see if the two of you were related.” He joked. “When I called him to see if he knew of anyone who would fit the qualifications, already knowing you would, he confirmed it. He mentioned you, and we discussed the accomplishments you’ve made thus far. They’re rather impressive.”
“Thank you.” At that moment, the waitress chose to interrupt them.
The woman was young, maybe early twenties and Sam didn’t miss the way she batted her eyelashes and bit her lower lip as she ogled Logan. It was the look that told him she was extremely interested and that if he asked for her phone number, she would probably already have it on a slip of paper in her pocket.
“Are you guys ready to order, or do you need a few more minutes.” The young lady asked, her voice soft and sexy as she eyed Logan, her eyelashes sheepishly fluttering.
Neither of them had looked at the menu, so Logan glanced over at Sam. “You ready?”
Sam didn’t hesitate as she rattled off her order, her eyes never leaving Logan’s. She wasn’t sure what made her stare back at him, but something deep inside of her felt threatened by the young woman with the perky breasts, blonde hair and big, blue eyes. Something so powerful she forgot for a single moment that she wasn’t on a date, but rather a casual, business lunch.
Something inside of Sam tingled, her thighs clinching tightly as he seemed to be eyeing her with as much heat as she was him.
“I’ll have the same.” Logan’s deep voice rumbled, sending shockwaves of electricity reverberating straight to her core. He never broke eye contact, and Sam was sure he could see her interest.
“I’ll put your order right in. If yo
u need anything else, my name is Heather.” The perky, young woman said sweetly, clearly oblivious to Logan’s lack of interest.
“Thank you, Heather.” Sam managed a professional tone, briefly glancing up at the other woman, before her eyes locked with Logan’s again.
A chill ran down her spine, physically making her tremble, as the thought of kissing Logan ran through her mind. Would sparks fly if he kissed her? She could almost feel the warmth of his lips on hers, and she fought to erase the inappropriate thought. Although it continued to teeter on the edge of her conscience.
“I take it you’ve been here before?” Logan asked, still holding her gaze.
“Sure. This chain is all over Texas. I’ve always liked it.” Ok break the eye contact Samantha. Take it back to safer ground. “So, where were we?”
Thankfully Logan picked right back up where they had left off.
“After talking to James, I discussed you with a few of the PMs in my office, and they had good things to say about you. Even Jeff offered up your name as a replacement for him. At that point, I was sold. I didn’t even need to hear the feedback I received from your team. You’re a very popular person within the company.”
Sam was embarrassed by his praise, but she did her best to keep her composure. She found she wanted this job more and more. Unfortunately, she also wanted this man.
“I’m glad to hear that. To know I’ve managed to build some strong relationships makes it all seem worthwhile. I enjoy working for XTX, and I think I’ll enjoy Dallas just as much as San Antonio.” If not more. She thought the last part, and was glad it hadn’t tumbled out of her mouth.
The remainder of the lunch went well, the two of them discussing more in depth what the priorities of the organization were and the overall objectives of the upcoming projects. By the end, Sam was ready to tell him yes, she would take the job, but she still wanted to talk to Jeff a little more. If for nothing else than to make Logan sweat a little.
The thought of him sweating nearly had her coming undone.
Sam offered to pay for her own meal, but Logan insisted, using the excuse that it was on the company. As they walked out to the car, she could almost feel his body heat as close as he seemed to be. Maybe it was her imagination.
Logan had been completely professional all through lunch. After all, she was the one with the devious thoughts that seemed to be wandering into unchartered territory. Sam had to get over the school girl crush she seemed to have developed and keep the relationship professional.
As they reached the car, Sam reached down to open the door at the same time Logan reached for the handle, and their fingers brushed lightly. The sparks that ignited between the two of them were instantaneous and almost visible to the naked eye.
Pulling back quickly, Sam managed to avoid his gaze. Her physical reaction to the boss was highly inappropriate, unprofessional and just plain wrong, but the heat that flamed around her threatened to turn her into a quivering mass of lust.
Maybe the best thing to do would be to refuse the job and go back to San Antonio as fast as she possibly could. Since that seemed a bit hasty, Sam hoped she could find a way to avoid him for the next few days. Some time to get her head on straight was what she needed and being within one hundred feet of him would make that nearly impossible.
As she slid into the car, Sam’s eyes met his once again, and she knew she had to stick to her plan. She wasn’t imagining the heat she saw this time. There was no way she could have predicted the storm of energy that ignited between the two of them, but she knew he felt it as much as she did. She’d seen that look on a man’s face before, and if she wasn’t mistaken, he wasn’t thinking about how well she would perform at the job. Neither was she.
That was the problem.
She let her hair drape her face as she broke eye contact, letting him shut the door. She avoided watching him as he moved to the driver’s side.
She truly needed to consider what she would be getting herself into if she accepted this job. This was her life. If she did something so stupid as to believe she could balance both her career and a man like Logan McCoy, she’d be setting herself up for failure.
Not only was he going to be her boss, which made him totally off limits, Sam wasn’t sure she could handle the firestorm he ignited within her.
Damn, she was in big trouble here.
Chapter Seven
~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~
Exactly two months to the day had passed since Sam formally accepted the VP job. Thankfully, Jeff agreed to stay on for a few weeks after her official transition, and in that time, Sam had managed to shadow him while she gathered her bearings in the organization.
She reluctantly agreed to go to the happy hour they threw in his honor and Sam received a warm welcome from most of her new managers as they all said their final goodbyes to Jeff. Only one, a tenured manager named Tricia Shoenrock, didn’t seem quite so ecstatic about her arrival.
According to Deanna, Tricia believed she was a shoe in for the position, and when she wasn’t even considered, the woman turned bitter.
That night, Sam shared a couple of drinks with her new team, spent a little time talking to Deanna, and managed, thanks to a tremendous effort, to avoid Logan for the most part. Their only interaction had been when he insisted on buying her a drink when she was attempting to say her goodbyes, hoping to sneak out early and avoid him altogether. His tactics worked and she stayed, spending half an hour talking to him.
When she finally managed to call it a night, she’d been relieved when he didn’t walk her to her car. She wouldn’t have been able to control herself at that point and for the entire time she’d been in the Dallas office, she’d fought hard to put the needed space between them.
Outside of what was absolutely necessary, strictly business of course, Sam tried to do most of her communication with him via email. He wasn’t making any extra effort to have face to face contact with her either and that both disappointed and relieved her.
She did find it difficult not to try and catch a glimpse of him as he came into the office each morning. Her office was at the opposite end of the building from his, but from her desk, she could see the third floor landing, where most employees came and went. That was the only indulgence she would allow herself though.
After accepting the offer, XTX had done what they promised to do. They bought out her apartment lease in San Antonio, allowing Sam to select a nice, comparable apartment relatively close to the Dallas office.
She didn’t want to do something as final as buying a house just yet, at least not until she was convinced Dallas would be the right place for her, so she figured renting would be the best avenue to take. It probably wouldn’t take much convincing for her to make a final decision to stay in the area, but until that moment came, she wanted to play it safe.
After a couple of weeks, Sam had gotten into the groove of things, established her routines and ensured her projects were on track. Every Thursday she gave a project update to the impacted vice presidents who also reported to Logan.
Luckily, with all of the work that surrounded her, she didn’t have much free time and while she was avoiding Logan, she still had to report to him.
Since she utilized Deanna’s assistance when she could, it didn’t take long before the two of them developed a close relationship. They’d consistently gone to lunch at least twice a week for the last month. So when Deanna left Sam a voicemail the night before to meet her at her desk first thing, it didn’t surprise her.
“Hey, good morning.” Sam greeted the pretty blonde sitting at her desk as she approached.
“Hey. How are things going? I couldn’t reach you by phone, but I knew if I summoned you here, you would come.”
“I guess I’m easy like that.” Sam joked.
Samantha glanced over at Logan’s office, and she felt an intense sense of relief seeing that he wasn’t there yet. Most days they managed to only pass one another in the hall, or sit in the same room at one meeting or ano
ther for a limited amount of time. Since Sam still reflected on the lunch date they shared when she first arrived, she knew that given half a chance she would easily be distracted by him which was definitely not an option.
“He isn’t in yet.” Deanna stated, obviously noticing Sam eyeing the man’s office door. “He called to say that he would be a little late. He needed to pick something up for the party.”
“Party?” Sam hadn’t heard of anything, but she didn’t necessarily expect to. Although she had become a familiar face within the Dallas offices, it wasn’t as though she had been there for long. There were probably many events that had been scheduled prior to her arrival that she wasn’t invited to.
“Yes. We’re having a pool party at Logan’s house this afternoon. It starts at three o’clock, so we’re letting everyone go home early today.” Deanna stared back at Sam with a look that told her she was expected to make an appearance.
“That’s great. What’s the occasion?” Sam asked, not necessarily wanting to know what went on at Logan’s house after hours. The intrigue that came along with that thought scared the shit out of her.
“We all try to get together at least once a month and do something outside of the office. Logan says it builds relationships within the team. You’re invited.” Deanna said, a sweet smile on her face as she waited for Sam’s response.
“Well, I don’t know. I –“
“You what? You have other plans? Doubtful, especially considering it’s during working hours. You have to come. I’ll need someone to talk to.” Deanna wasn’t beyond pleading when it came to getting the office personnel to do what her boss wanted them to do, and Sam found herself on the other end of the woman’s kind hearted manipulations now.
“You can bring anyone you’d like. I’m bringing Tommy. I’d really like for you to meet him.”
Well, hell. How could she say no to that? Sam looked into the bright blue, begging eyes and found she couldn’t refuse Deanna’s sincerity. “Sure, I’ll be there. Can you send me directions to where it is?”
Club Destiny 1 Conviction Page 6
