by Jess Dee
He gave a brief nod. “You’re welcome.”
Lexi had spent several awkward moments in Adam’s company. This had to be the most uncomfortable one yet. She didn’t want to thank him and leave. She wanted him to press her down over the desk and fuck her thoroughly, just like he’d described. Sure, she didn’t want it in exchange for the money, but she wanted Adam. Wanted him with a ferocity that stunned her.
“So I guess this is it.” She gave him a half-smile.
“I guess it is.” He nodded in agreement.
“I should probably be going then.”
“You probably should.”
Well then, why were her legs not moving? “Goodbye, Mr. Riley.”
“Goodbye, Miss Tanner.”
She bit her lip, wanting to say something more but not sure what. Finally, she sighed, walked to the door and opened it.
She turned back to him. “Adam…” Her voice caught and trailed off as she saw his face. It looked haunted, overshadowed by a profound sadness the likes of which she hadn’t seen before—and working at POWS, she’d been witness to many sorrowful expressions.
She lost her track of thought.
“Yes, Lexi?” he prompted, his voice soft.
Somehow, she knew that was the last time she’d hear him call her name. “You…”
What could she say? She couldn’t intrude on his thoughts. “I…” In the end, the only thing that came to mind was a simple, “Thank you, Adam.”
The last thing she saw of him was a single, responsive nod of his head.
Chapter Seven
“Doesn’t anybody knock anymore?” Adam muttered as, five minutes after Lexi left, the door to his office opened yet again and Matt Brodie sauntered inside. Routine was routine. Why should it change now? Matt never knocked. He merely walked in and made himself comfortable—usually stopping at the glass cabinet to fix a drink first.
Adam checked his watch. Even by Matt’s standards, it was too early for a scotch.
Damn pity. He could use one himself. A double, straight up. He hadn’t meant to pitch that seduction line at Lexi. God help him, she’d stood there, a silhouette in the sunlight, her hair a halo of gold behind her, and he’d only been able to think about making love to her. He would have given his left arm to press her down on his desk and fuck her from behind, to plunge his dick into her repeatedly until she convulsed around him.
“Word is you’ve made another hefty donation to the hospital,” Matt said as he took a seat, stretched his legs out and rested his hands on his stomach.
“Word gets around quickly,” Adam answered noncommittally. His tone was a notch lower than he would have liked it and he cleared his throat.
“So it’s true?”
Adam nodded, not quite trusting his voice yet.
“Don’t you think you’ve given enough?”
“Don’t you think it’s none of your business?” Okay, that sounded more normal.
Long as he didn’t think of her naked ass, he’d be just fine.
“Hmm, let’s see. Financial director…five-figure donation…Riley Corporation?”
Matt scratched his chin. “Well, gosh and doggone it, I do believe it could be my business after all.”
Adam smirked, focusing on the man he viewed as a brother. “Yeah, yeah.
Whatever.”
“You want to tell me what’s going on? I thought we’d discussed this and decided not to donate any more to this particular cause.” His voice held no edge, just concern.
“No,” Adam answered, “we discussed it and you decided. I didn’t come to any kind of conclusion.”
“You’re too close to this one and you know it. You have no objectivity when it comes to dealing with this shit. The request should never have been handled by you, it should have been referred on to me.”
“Relax,” he placated, “it has been. Miss Tanner will be dealing directly with you from now on.”
Matt was not placated. “Why’d you take it on yourself to meet with the woman in the first place?”
Adam smiled ruefully. God knows he never should have met with Lexi, but some forces even an adult man couldn’t fight. “She made the appointment with Genevieve while I was away. I didn’t know what she wanted until the day of the meeting.”
Matt shook his head and stood. “It screws you up. Every time.” He opened the bar, and to Adam’s immense relief, pulled out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. “Here,” he said, placing a glass in front of Adam and half filling it with the tawny liquid. “Single malt, no ice. Yeah. It is a healthy serving. You look like you could use it.”
Yup. He sure could, and he did, bolting back a large mouthful. The scotch burned its way down his throat and settled in a warm puddle in his stomach.
Matt raised an eyebrow, poured himself a tot and sat back down. “So, what charity is it?”
“Siblings of kids with cancer.”
“Siblings?” Matt snorted. “You mean the healthy kids who get to live normal lives?”
“Nope, I mean the healthy kids whose normal lives get buggered up by cancer.”
Matt nodded and swirled his glass. “Point taken,” he acquiesced. “Tell me about it.”
He set his drink down. “It’s a good project, Matt. She’s looking at cancer from a whole different angle, one we’d…I’d never considered before.” He gave his partner a brief synopsis of the program. “She’ll do good things with the money. This wasn’t a mistake.”
“Got any information on it?”
Adam opened a drawer and handed him the proposal. “It’s all in there. Anything else you want to know, contact Lexi Tanner. Her details are on the cover sheet.”
Matt took a couple of minutes to browse through the document. Then he nodded. “It does look good. I still don’t think you should’ve gotten personally involved.”
Adam held back a cynical laugh. If Matt knew just how involved he’d gotten, he’d fall off his chair. “Listen, mate, quit worrying about this. It’s the right decision.”
“For the hospital maybe. Not for you.”
Adam rubbed a tired hand over his face. Was it really still morning? Seemed more like midnight.
“You know I’m right, Adam. The only time you get that look on your face is when you think about Timmy.”
For a moment neither man spoke. Matt’s words hung in the air between them.
Tension crackled up Adam’s spine and he threw back the rest of his drink. He barely tasted it. Pain cut through him, raw and unforgiving. It was about Timmy. It was always about Timmy.
Adam shook his head. “I think about him all the time.”
Matt nodded. “I know you do, mate.” His gentle tone only served to increase Adam’s pain. “Look, no worries. I’ll take care of the project from here on.” He gave him a nononsense glare. “You just stay out of it. Understood?”
“Don’t you have some work to do? Or some clients to harass?”
“Apparently, I have a whole new charity proposition to deal with.”
“Good, then why don’t you go take care of it and leave me in peace?”
Matt stood. “My leaving,” he said, his voice forceful yet compassionate, “is not going to give you peace. Only you can find that—when you’re ready to start looking.”
Chapter Eight
Friday afternoon found Lexi staring across her desk at Matt Brodie. They’d been together for about an hour and had managed to sort out most of the details pertaining to the Riley donation.
Over a week had passed since she’d seen Adam, and maybe forty-five seconds since she’d thought about him. The man occupied every inch of her head. Confusion about him etched its way through her heart. One minute she despised him and everything he stood for, the next she hungered for a glimpse of him. More than once she’d thought about the expression on his face when she’d turned from the door in his office to look at him.
She didn’t need the details to know Adam was hiding something utterly devastating, something traumatizing. Her in
stinctive reaction had been to soothe the hurt but Riley had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her. Offering him comfort would probably only have compounded the animosity of their already stormy relationship.
Dealing with Matt was a breeze compared to her interactions with Riley. Matt seemed like a decent man. He was good looking in a wholesome kind of a way with brown hair, brown eyes covered by slim, wire-framed glasses, and a quick smile that put her instantly at ease. Perhaps her comfort with him was compounded by the fact that he lacked the brute sexuality his partner exuded.
His no-nonsense manner made their business interactions a pleasure. In less than an hour, they’d decided that the donation would be made on a monthly basis for a year.
Thereafter they would assess the viability of the project and renegotiate funding. If the project was successful, Riley Corporation would continue to provide the necessary capital.
Lexi had given him a tour of the ward and the adjoining rooms that would be used for the project and introduced him to the staff members who would be participating in the program. They’d discussed a suitable salary for the soon-to-be appointed manager and identified a feasible commencement date. Now they sat ironing out the last few fine points of their contract.
Lexi glanced at the notes she’d jotted down before Matt arrived. “The last matter on the agenda—keeping you informed of proceedings. Adam has requested that we send monthly rep—” Matt’s eyes widened in astonishment. “Is something wrong?”
“What did you just say?”
“I was talking about sending you monthly reports.”
“No, before that. Who did you say requested them?”
“Mr. Riley. Why?”
“You called him Adam.”
“Yes?”
“You called AJ Riley Adam.”
Lexi lifted her eyebrows in question.
Matt took off his glasses and grinned. “No one calls him Adam. I didn’t think anyone in Sydney even knew his first name.”
So. It was out of character for Riley to introduce himself as Adam? She tucked that little piece of information away to ponder over another time. “Would it make you more comfortable if I called him AJ? Or Mr. Riley?”
“Not at all,” Matt assured her, a strange gleam to his eyes. “I’m sorry, I’ve gone off track.” He put his glasses back on. “What were you saying about monthly reports?”
“Just that…Adam has requested we keep you up-to-date with them. I’d also like to invite you over from time to time to see the progress we’re making. If the children are up to it, possibly even have you meet some of them.”
“That sounds fine,” he said. “I’d quite like that. Once you’re officially up and running and the rooms are ready, we’ll be sending a photographer around to document the project. There’ll be a lot of public interest in this.”
“Perhaps on the opening day we can hold a small press conference? That will cover any media needs for both Riley Corporation and the hospital, and it will give the project some much-needed publicity. The more parents out there who are aware of it, the better.
Once the program begins, I won’t allow press or photographers into the offices. I won’t subject our kids to that.”
Matt nodded. “I wouldn’t expect you to.” He looked down at his own notes. “Any other issues to discuss?”
“None,” Lexi said. “How about you?”
“Nothing right now. If you think of anything, feel free to contact me at any time.”
“Thank you, and same here.” Lexi checked her watch. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to have to call an end to this meeting. I have a pressing matter that needs my attention.”
“Hospital work. I understand.”
“Good guess, but nope.” Lexi smiled. “This one’s much closer to home. My brother’s getting married on Sunday and it’s time for me to spend some quality sibling time with him.”
—
Lexi looked at Daniel and sighed in envy. Her brother had a permanent grin plastered on his face. He’d had it since Amy’d agreed to marry him. He’d also spent an inordinate amount of time hugging Lexi just because she was his sister. Sarah had left the room minutes earlier to escape being crushed in yet another brotherly embrace.
“Can you believe it?” he asked with one of his stupid smiles. “In less than an hour, I’ll be a married man.”
It was pretty hard to believe. Daniel’d always been a diehard bachelor, a nonbeliever in the whole commitment story. Today was his wedding day. Who’d ever have thought? Daniel Tanner—a groom. No question about it, he was a changed man. There was a sense of completion about him that hadn’t been there before his best friend accepted his proposal.
Lexi envied him. She wanted what he had—a lifelong commitment with the person he loved. Daniel’s life was full. Hers was not. No matter how busy or exciting her days were, her nights always stretched out long and empty, with no one to come home to at the end of the day. No one to talk to, to snuggle up to, to make love to. No one. Just her.
For a few hours with Adam, before she’d discovered his identity, she’d experienced a brief sense of the wholeness that Daniel now displayed. It wasn’t enough. It was gone before she’d even sniffed at it, and she wanted it back. Not with Riley, obviously. With someone who could still the loneliness in her. Someone who could fill up that emptiness.
“I bet she outdazzles the sun,” Daniel gushed.
Lexi stuck her finger in her mouth and made gagging noises. “God, you’re pathetic.
If I’d known you’d behave like this, I’d never have helped you in your plans to get Amy.”
For about the millionth time that day, Daniel picked her up and twirled her around.
“Did I ever thank you for your help? I couldn’t have done it alone, you know.” Did he ever thank her? More like, did he ever stop thanking her?
“Oh please,” Lexi brushed him off, “I’ve seen the way Amy looks at you now. You could have sent her a text message telling her you love her and she would have fallen for you.”
He grinned again. “Yeah, still. A bit of gentle nudging was a lot more effective. Who knows, Lex, maybe one day I can return the favor.”
Lexi’s smile faded. “Yeah, who knows? Maybe one day you can.” If Daniel could find a woman he wanted to make a lifelong commitment to, surely there was someone out there for her? Her mind flashed on Riley’s sculpted chest. Someone who didn’t make her feel like a common call girl every time he saw her.
Lexi stood with her mother and sister as the newlyweds posed for photographs.
“I can’t believe Daniel didn’t insist on taking the pictures himself,” Lexi whispered in wonder.
“I can’t believe he can take his eyes off Amy long enough to look at a camera, never mind take a picture.” Sarah chuckled.
“It wasn’t so long ago that you were the one who couldn’t drag your eyes off Steven,” Molly, their mother, said with affection, and they all turned to watch Sarah’s husband in his desperate attempt to catch their four-year-old son, Benjamin, before he knocked yet another glass off the pristine tables in the reception hall.
The guests trickled in, and Daniel and Amy smiled for the last few shots before turning to greet everyone. The band played softly in the background and waiters walked around with platters of canapés and other tasty morsels to tide the crowds over until dinner.
Lexi accepted the congratulations and kisses of ten thousand well-wishers before finally taking her seat at her table along with Sarah and her family. After Daniel and Amy danced the first dance, other family members and guests rose to join them on the floor.
Lexi grabbed her nephew’s hand. “Come on, Benny. It’s time to dance.”
“I don’t know how,” he told her, in all his four-year-old’s innocence.
“It’s easy, I’ll show you. Just stand on my feet and I’ll lead you around.”
Ben stared at her feet with mistrust. “I don’t know, Lekth,” he said. “Thothe shoeth look vewy high.”
<
br /> She laughed. Her heels were a little higher than usual but they looked good and that was what mattered. “Don’t worry, just hold tight and I promise you won’t fall.”
In minutes, she was laughing with her nephew as they tried a series of dance steps, looking for a suitable one for a woman of nearly six-feet and a boy who barely reached her hips. Finally, she surrendered to the inevitable and picked Ben up, hugging him tight while she swayed them from side to side.
As Daniel and Amy joined them, Ben tugged at her arm and lisped, “Lex, why is that man staring at you?”
“What man, sweetheart?” Three pairs of eyes turned to look in the direction Ben pointed.
Her stomach lurched as she found the man. His gaze froze her movements, and her heart pounded in her chest. What was he doing here? He looked yummy enough to eat, dressed in a tux and crisp white shirt that showed off his tanned skin and contrasted sharply with his black hair. Lexi swore to herself. Dammit, what happened to the air whenever he was around?
“It’s AJ,” Daniel said.
“You know him?” Lexi asked, astounded.
“Yep. He came to the exhibition, bought a few of the photos. We’ve become quite good friends since. We run together about three times a week.”
“He’s hot,” Amy observed, “in a cold kind of a way.” She placed a placating hand on Daniel’s arm. “Don’t panic, Tanner. He doesn’t hold a candle to you.”
“He’d better not,” Daniel huffed and Lexi moved discreetly out of their way as her brother dipped his head toward Amy’s.
“Who ith he?” Ben asked, unaware of the acute discomfort the man stirred in her.
“Just a man.” A man who threw her world off centre. A man who made her feel as glorious as the rising sun and smaller than the tiniest flea. A man who seemed to turn up every time she came to terms with not seeing him again.
“Well, why’s he staring at you?” Ben lisped.
Why was he staring? He’d made it clear he wanted nothing more to do with her by dismissing her from his life and sending Matt to deal with her instead.
