“What you seem to fail to understand,” Roberts said, “is that when you devote so much of yourself to one thing for so long, you get a little tired of it being the only subject of conversation. Did you ever stop to think that I needed a break from it for a while?”
“No,” Jesse said frankly. “Because that would imply a level of personal connection, of which you have claimed to have none.”
Jesse saw Roberts’ eyes narrow, and she felt her stomach clench as his face took on a very predatory look.
“Next question,” he bit out through clenched teeth.
Jesse gulped and looked down at her notes to gather her thoughts. She had indeed deviated far from the original list of questions. Maybe it was time that she finally got back on track. She took a breath and readied herself for the rest of the interview.
Fortunately, the rest of the interview passed much more calmly. The questions were far more general, and fortunately, Roberts seemed to become much more agreeable as the questions veered away from a personal inquiry. Jesse took good notes, and she, too, calmed as the interview progressed.
Still, her mind lingered on his strong reaction to the more personal questions. She wondered why he had been so offended and could not shake her instinct that there was more to that story. Still, she knew she had already overstepped the bounds of the interview and was determined to finish it out in a more professional manner.
It didn’t help, though, that she found herself ever more attracted to the man in front of her as the interview progressed. It seemed that he was more than just a pretty face. He was very smart and knew how to get what he wanted. He had succeeded in his field not just due to his talent and money, but due to his intelligence. She could even tell that he was trying to push the interview his way, rather than let her lead it.
He was also obviously very dominant. It took a lot for Jesse to keep from letting him take charge. Several times, he had responded to her questions with questions of his own, and it took a lot for her to refocus it on him. She could see his power and dominance behind his eyes, and she had to admit that a large part of her wanted to succumb to him.
After all the questions had been answered, Jesse was mentally exhausted. Her nerves were still racing, and she was experiencing a measure of irritation from the earlier part of the interview. She put down her notebook and pen and turned off the recording device.
“That concludes our interview.” Jesse sighed, partly in relief and partly in frustration. “Thank you for giving us some of your time this morning.”
“My pleasure.” Roberts gave her a smile from across the table. “I have to admit, this whole experience was much more pleasant than I thought it would be.”
Jesse cocked her head.
“And why might that be?” she asked, genuinely curious.
“Well, to be plain,” Roberts said. “Primarily because I didn’t have to put up with Elaine Beck.”
Jesse couldn’t help releasing a short burst of laughter. She definitely shared the same feelings about dealing with Elaine.
“Do you two have a history?” Jesse asked, somewhat teasingly.
“Is this question going to be in the article?” Roberts raised his eyebrow.
“Oh no,” Jesse shook her head. “I’m sure I wouldn’t have a job here if Elaine’s name wound up in this article.”
“Well, then I guess it can’t hurt, to be honest.” Roberts shot her a devious smile. “She annoyed the living hell out of me.”
“Oh?” Jesse raised her eyebrows. “Do you interact with her often?”
“No, fortunately,” Roberts answered. “But she harasses me relentlessly. I have to give her my respect for being persistent and pushy, but to be honest, those are not traits that I particularly admire in a woman.”
Jesse felt a flicker of irritation.
“So what are traits that you admire in a woman?” she retorted, crossing her arms and tilting her head. Roberts smiled at her, and she saw his eyes travel up and down her form. She saw some kind of intent in his gaze and couldn’t deny the way her body slightly responded to the look.
“In truth?” Roberts spoke. “I prefer respect from everyone I interact with, regardless of their gender, and pushiness does not go over well with me.”
“Some would say that respect must be given before it can be received,” Jesse said, feeling her ire begin to rise again. Roberts raised a brow and looked her over once again. Jesse had to work hard not to shrink under his scrutiny.
“And some would say that respect must be demanded,” Roberts said, his voice taking on a darker tone.
For the first time, Jesse openly blushed, unable to contain her body’s attraction to him. She stood from her seat across the table.
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Roberts,” she said, holding out her hand for him to shake.
“Thank you,” he said, rising slowly. He took her hand in his and gently squeezed it in his own. He leaned closer to her.
“You can call me Hal,” he said.
“Thank you,” Jesse repeated, feeling her heart pound in her chest. “Hal.”
He smiled down at her, and Jesse felt her heart flutter.
“It was a pleasure, Jesse,” he said, her name rolling easily off his tongue. “I can’t wait to read the article.”
“I’m sure.” Jesse granted him a smile. She saw his bodyguard stand from the corner of her eye and turned toward the door to watch them leave.
As soon as they exited the room and were out of her line of sight, Jesse collapsed into her chair with a loud huff of air, relieved to finally be finished with that ordeal.
Chapter 8
Hal
Hal brooded as he and Adam made their way out of the building. That interview had not gone at all like he expected. He had been thrown off from the start when it wasn’t Elaine who was interviewing him, and then it seemed like he lost even more control as the interview went on. If there was one thing he relished in his life, it was control, and to know that he had lost it was a blow to his ego more than anything else.
He arrived with Adam in the parking garage in short order. The men exchanged no words as they both got in the car, and Adam pulled out of the garage and into the street. Hal looked out the window, his brows furrowed as his mind played over all that had just happened. At length, he heard Adam chuckle from the driver’s seat.
Ha turned to look over at him scathingly.
“Just what’s so funny?” Hal bit out, his irritation plain to see.
“Oh nothing,” Adam shrugged. “Just think it’s funny for you to get so worked up over some girl, that’s all.”
“I’m not worked up,” Hal spat, crossing his arms.
Adam shrugged.
“Sure, whatever you say,” Adam mused, his eyes steadily on the road in front of him.
Hal grunted. He knew Adam was right. Somehow, Jesse Clarke had managed to get under his skin, and he couldn’t keep from thinking of her. It certainly didn’t help that he found her extremely attractive, and he wondered if that was why she had been able to catch him off guard so easily.
Hal thought on it even as Adam pulled back up to his building. Hal got out of the car without a word to Adam and moved immediately into the doors. He was greeted by the sight of his personal secretary, Liza.
“Good morning,” she greeted him pleasantly. She was older than him, almost into her forties.
“Good morning,” Hal said. “Anything else on my agenda for the day?”
Liza looked down at a clipboard she held in her hand.
“Nope,” she answered easily.
“Perfect,” Hal grumbled.
“Rough interview?” Liza asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You could say that,” Hal answered as he moved down the hallway, removing his tie as he went.
“Well, I hope you feel better,” Liza called over her shoulder, as she, too, went about her business for the day.
Hel felt himself relax more and more as he strode down the hall. No, the interview hadn�
��t gone quite as he thought it would, but at least it was over. Now, he could move on with the rest of his day and the rest of his life.
Hal could hear Adam walking along beside him as he headed for his room and felt a surge of excitement as he mentally prepared for their workout. As well as being his head of security, Adam was his personal trainer.
Adam had not been very happy with Hal’s treatment of his body during the making of his film. Truth be told, Hal hadn’t been very happy with it, either. But now that it was over, Hal was back on track, eating well and working out to gain back all the muscle that he had lost during the making of the movie.
Hal changed into a T-shirt and a pair of shorts and then headed to his personal gym with Adam. The two started the workout with a fast couple of miles and then went on to work their legs. As they worked out, Hal’s mind cleared, but somehow Jesse Clarke stayed on his mind. It was slightly irritating, but even his irritation was eventually replaced by simple curiosity.
The men finished their workout and parted ways, each of them heading toward their own apartment dwellings within the large residential building. Upon entering his home, Hal headed straight for his bathroom and stripped off his sweat-soaked clothes, then hopped into his shower. He heated the water up to a nearly unbearable level and allowed his body to get used to it, releasing a sigh as he let the water work on his muscles. He washed his hair and his body and then turned the water cold. He ground his teeth as the water cooled off his overheated muscles. Then, he turned off the water and got out of the shower, dripping onto his soft mat.
He picked up a towel from the rack beside the shower and roughly ran it over his hair before wiping off the droplets that had accumulated on his body. Then, he hung the towel back up and moved back into his room.
Hal dressed in a pair of boxer briefs, jeans, and a T-shirt. He strode over to a chair in front of his window and sat down. He picked up his laptop from his desk and set it on his lap, opening it up. Immediately, he ran a search for Jesse Clarke on the website for The Edge. He quickly scanned her bio, taking in the information that he found on her. His eyes lingered on her picture. She smiled broadly, to the point that her eyes crinkled. Her blue-gray eyes seemed to shine with intelligence. Hal smiled slightly at the sight.
After reading her bio, Hal went on to read the work she had done for The Edge. He was disappointed to find that most of her articles were just pop culture garbage, though he had to admit that they were at the very least amusing. Her style was witty and sarcastic. Still, Hal had hoped for more depth from her for some reason.
Hal continued to peruse her page until he found links to some of her other work. Curious, he clicked on them and was much more pleased with what he found there. Just as he had suspected, she was capable of much more depth. She had written articles on real political issues, as well as topics such as climate change and environmental matters. She was highly expressive in her writing, and more than a little bold. She had a very distinct flavor. Hal knew that some people didn’t particularly care for that in a writer, especially for more corporate magazines or manufacturers.
Hal was somewhat relieved that she would be the one writing the article over his movie, and not Elaine. He did appreciate Elaine’s writing, but she had not written herself for years, and even when she wrote, it was in the same annoyingly persistent style in which she spoke. She had an elevated sense of self-importance, and it annoyed Hal to no end.
Jesse, on the other hand, seemed to strike him differently. Much like Elaine, she came off as confident and collected. Unlike, Elaine, though, Hal could see a sense of genuine innocence and curiosity in her eyes. Hal had no way to tell it, but he strongly suspected that Jesse had never really interviewed someone as famous as him before. She had done a good job of covering it up, but the more Hal thought about it, the more he was convinced that this was her first big-time interview.
Hal suddenly realized that this article would probably be very important for her career, and he felt somewhat ashamed of himself for his snarky attitude toward her when she asked questions that hit too close to home for him. In retrospect, he had answered all of her questions in a half-assed manner, and now she had to somehow create a quality article from them.
Without another thought, Hal went back to The Edge’s website. He scrolled through Jesse’s information until he found her number. He picked up his cell phone from his desk and dialed the number, then had only to wait.
Chapter 9
Jesse
Jesse sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She rewound her recording again, jotting down notes from the interview she had conducted with Roberts. She wanted to record every nuance of his response in her article to give it the authentic feel that it deserved.
It was hard, though, to focus on writing an excellent article when her mind kept wandering back to the interview, and the intense memory of being in the same space as one of the most rich and famous men in the world. It certainly didn’t make it any easier that he was incredibly attractive. His face was clean-shaven, and his dark auburn hair had the slightest wave. Of course, she had seen this all on screen before, but seeing it in real life gave it a whole other dimension of absolute attractiveness.
Neither could the screen truly capture the depth of his green eyes or the power in his voice. It was one thing when you knew he was reading lines off a script, but when he was delivering his own, authentic responses, it was even more potent. He carried himself with absolute authority, not just the cockiness that most movie stars had about them. It was as if he was truly the ruler of his own fate. Jesse supposed that in reality, he actually was. She didn’t think he had to answer to anyone at all in his life.
Jesse, however, did, and she was horribly stressed by this whole article. She knew that if she let Elaine down with this piece, she would likely never get another chance to do something so important again, even if she did manage to keep her job. She tried desperately to focus her mind and keep from being distracted by the memory of Roberts. Still, she found it incredibly hard when a subtle hint of his scent lingered on her dress …
Jesse was suddenly wrenched out of her thoughts when the landline on her desk began to ring. Her first response was confusion. Usually, if people needed to contact her, they would send an email, or call her cell phone. It was very seldom that this phone actually rang. Jesse settled herself down. It was probably just someone who needed a call to be transferred.
Jesse picked up the phone and answered with the usual company line.
“This is The Edge; I’m Jesse Clarke. How can I help you?” she spoke into the phone with manufactured cheeriness.
“Hello, Miss Clarke,” Jesse heard a smooth, familiar voice respond from the other end of the phone, and she felt her stomach clench. “This is Hal Roberts. We had an interview earlier today.”
Jesse felt a rush of confusion and anxiety. What could he possibly be calling about?
“Yes,” she finally managed to respond. “And thank you once again for sparing your time. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“There might be,” Roberts said, and Jesse listened intently. “You see, it strikes me that I wasn’t very … amenable during our interview today.”
Jesse’s mind whirled at the statement. She had no idea what to say but knew she had to at least say something.
“Well, we here are just grateful that you granted us an interview in the first place,” Jesse said honestly, glad that she was able to come up with such a diplomatic response.
“Well, grateful or not,” Roberts continued, “I feel that I spoke to you disrespectfully, and I would like to make it up to you by taking you out to lunch, so we can have a more in-depth conversation in a less formal setting about the movie and all of my involvements in it. You can, then, of course, feel free to include any of that conversation in your article.”
Jesse couldn’t believe her ears. Hal Roberts had just asked her out to lunch. Granted, for an article, but he had certainly asked her to lunch.
“I ass
ure you that isn’t necessary,” Jesse said, unwilling to believe that his offer was legitimate.
“Well, in that case, it would be my pleasure to take you out,” he said smoothly. “Please, I insist.”
Jesse was quiet for a long time. The idea of having an interview with him was nerve-wracking enough. Having lunch with him would be downright horrifying. She seriously entertained the idea of simply turning him down. She certainly had enough material to write the article already.
Another part of her, though, acknowledged the fact that he had skirted around all of her more personal questions, and that as it stood, her article would be very lacking in the depth she had originally sought out. Maybe, if she went to this lunch with him, she could get the answers she had actually wanted in the first place.
A part of Jesse, though, was suspicious that this was all just a ruse. It did seem very wild to her that such a famous man would be so intent on supplementing answers for a small-time journalist. She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips.
“Do you really mean this?” Jesse asked over the phone, her tone hard and unyielding. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I can’t afford to waste my time if we’re going to basically have the same thing happen as before.”
“I am absolutely serious,” Roberts said from across the line. “I assure you that I will do my utmost to answer any questions that you might ask of me in a sincere and in-depth manner. And I will not speak to you as disrespectfully as I did this morning.”
Jesse was quiet for a moment as she processed his words. The nervous part of her rebelled against the very idea. The professional part of her insisted that this needed to happen to fully write the best article possible. And yet another part of her was equal parts nervous and excited to see him again. That part, she hurried to stifle before it got her into deeper trouble than she was already in.
Jesse wondered vaguely if she should tell Elaine about this development, but she decided against it, not at all eager to involve her boss any more than was absolutely necessary. She was also more than a little afraid that Elaine would disapprove of this meeting on the whole and try to keep her from going. And Jesse had to admit that in the deepest parts of her, she truly wanted to go.
Bedroom Rodeo: A Billionaire Romance Page 39
