by Leanne Banks
“Good to see you, Donna,” Alex said then turned to Mallory. “If you’re considering buying here, it’s a great property.”
“Just looking,” Mallory said.
Donna shot Mallory a weak smile that was more of a wince. “I sold the penthouse to Alex.”
“Oh,” Mallory said, unable to keep the disappointment from her voice. If Alex mentioned it to her father…The elevator dinged its arrival to the street floor and the doors opened. “Donna, could you give me just a second to talk to Alex?”
“No problem,” Donna said. “I’ll wander around the lobby.”
Dressed in a perfectly cut black suit with a crisp white shirt and designer tie, Alex looked down at her expectantly. “You wanted to apologize for not getting back to me?” he said, more than asked.
“Sorry. I’ve been busy and I knew you would be, too,” she said, catching a whiff of his cologne.
“Shopping for a new condo,” he said.
“About that,” she said, lifting her index finger. “I would really appreciate it if you could keep that on the down low for me. Please,” she added.
“You don’t want your father to find out,” he said.
“At this rate, I’ll be lucky to get out of the house by age thirty.”
His lips twitched. “You could always get married.”
She rolled her eyes. “Ugh. You sound like him. Besides, think about it, what would you have done if your father insisted you get married at age twenty-five in order to move out of the house?”
“Point taken, but you’re female. My father would have done the same if he’d had daughters.”
“But you can’t really agree with the philosophy?” she asked, unable to believe he would share such a point of view. “You’re more modern and liberated than that, aren’t you?”
“In business, I am. I have to be. But my father is Greek. I was raised to protect women.”
She gave him a double take. “Protecting them? Is that what you call what you do?”
He threw back his head and laughed. “Let’s discuss this in the car. I can drop you off at home then go to my dull meeting where I have to deliver a speech.”
“If you’re the speaker, I’m sure it won’t be dull. You don’t need to take me home. Donna will drop me off at the mall where I parked my car.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “This sounds like a covert OP. I can drop you off at the mall. Before you say no, remember you owe me.”
“I don’t owe you,” she said, scowling.
“I helped you ditch your wannabe rock star ex-boyfriend.”
“He was never my boyfriend,” she told him. “Just a bad setup.”
“Yet you took a midnight swim with him and he describes the evening as very hot.”
“Probably because he doesn’t remember it. If you must know, he had too much to drink and I had to get home on my own.”
“I’m beginning to understand why your father wants to keep you locked up.”
Alex helped Mallory into his Tesla Roadster, noticing the diamond anklet dangling from her ankle. She wore sandals with heels and her toenails were painted a wicked frosty red. She had nice ankles and calves. Her hips were lush, her breasts even more lush. Her body was more womanly than that of any woman he’d dated, but there was something about her spirit, the sparkle in her personality that got his attention. Despite the fact that women often described him as charming, he’d been feeling old and cynical lately.
“You must exercise,” he said as he slid into the leather driver’s seat and nudged the car into gear.
“Yes. Why?”
“You have great legs,” he said, accelerating out of the condominium complex.
“Thank you,” she said and he heard a twinge of self-consciousness in her voice. “I walk and I’ve started doing Zumba and Pilates. Now back to the discussion about my father, I really would like your promise that you won’t discuss my visit to this complex with him.”
“I don’t see why he needs to know. You haven’t taken any action yet, have you?”
“No, but I hope to.” She skimmed her fingertip over the fine leather seat. “I wanted this car. It’s sporty and green. Once my father read that it goes from zero to one hundred in four seconds, he freaked out. I should have started out telling him I planned to get a motorcycle. Maybe then he would have agreed.”
Alex laughed. “You really are trying to drive him crazy, aren’t you?”
“Not at all. I just want to live my life.” She looked up at the roof. “Can we lower the top?” She glanced at him. “Or are you afraid of messing up your hair?”
He felt a jerk in his gut at the sexy challenge in her words. “I can handle it if you can,” he said and pressed the button to push back the roof.
Mallory lifted her head to the sun and tossed back her hair. The sun glinted on her creamy skin and his gaze slid lower to the hint of cleavage he saw in her V-neck blouse. Alex was beginning to get a peek at the wild streak her father had mentioned. He wondered how deep that streak went.
“What do you do with your time?” he asked.
“Plan charity events, volunteer at the hospital and the women’s shelter, visit friends, steal away to the beach when I can.” She hesitated. “I’ll tell you more if you promise not to tell my father.”
“You have my word as a gentleman.”
“I don’t often hear you described as a gentleman,” she said.
He threw her a sideways glance. “What do you hear?”
“Lady killer,” she said. “Player.”
“And what do you say?”
“I don’t know you well enough,” she said. “I just know I’m not in your league.”
He shot her another quick glance. “Why not?”
“I’m not a model or a player. I’m just—” She shrugged. “Me. Average.”
“You’re far from average.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, waving aside his compliment.
Her dismissal irritated him. “I gave you my word. Now tell me your secret.”
“I’m working on my master’s degree online.”
“What’s so bad about that?”
“My father wants me to get married.” She lifted her hand. “Take this exit for the mall, please. Oh, and my other secret is that I’m learning to play golf. Now that’s funny.”
“I’d like to see it.”
She shook her head. “No, no. You probably have a handicap of something outrageously good, like ten.”
“Nine, but who’s counting,” he said.
She laughed and shook her head again. “I’m sure you are.” She glanced outside the window. “I’m parked near Saks. The white BMW.”
He pulled beside the brand-new model luxury car. “That’s not a shabby ride,” he said.
Opening the door, Mallory turned to stroke the leather seat. “But it’s not a Tesla,” she cooed.
Amused by her enthusiasm for his car, he couldn’t help wondering about her enthusiasm in bed with the right man who could inspire her.
She leaned toward him. “Now, remember you promised you wouldn’t discuss any of this with my father.”
“I won’t say anything.”
Her lips lifted in a broad smile so genuine that it distracted him. “Thanks,” she said. “I’ll see you around.” She got out of the car.
“Wait,” he called after her.
Turning back, she leaned into the car. “What?”
“Meet me for lunch,” he said.
She met his gaze for several seconds of silence then wrinkled her brow in confusion. “Why?”
Alex’s usually glib tongue failed him for a half-beat. “Because I’d like to see you again.”
“Aren’t you involved with someone?”
“No. I broke up with her.”
Mallory’s eyes softened. “Poor girl.”
“Poor girl? What about me?”
She waved her hand. “You’re the heartless player.”
“Even players need friends,” he sai
d, trying to remember the last time he’d had to work this hard to persuade a woman to join him for lunch, for Pete’s sake.
She looked at him thoughtfully. “So you’d like me to be your friend.” She sighed. “I’ll think about it.”
Damn it. Negotiations were over. Time for hardball. “Lunch, Wednesday, one o’clock at the Village Restaurant,” he said in a voice that brooked no argument.
Her eyes widened in surprise. Her mouth formed a soft O. “Okay,” she said. “See you there.”
He watched her whirl around, her hips moving in a mesmerizing rhythm as she sashayed to her white BMW. He hadn’t realized that Mallory James could be such a firecracker.
If he was going to help poor Edwin find Mallory a husband, he needed to get some more questions answered. Mentally going through his list of acquaintances, he dismissed the first few men as contenders. Whoever he recommended for Mallory would need to be able to stay one step ahead of her. Otherwise, she would leave him eating her dust.
Two
Alex adjusted his tie as he returned to his office after a series of meetings that had begun at seven this morning. His conscientious assistant, Emma Weatherfield, greeted him with messages. “Three calls from Miss Renfro,” she said in a low voice.
He nodded because he’d expected as much after he’d broken off with Chloe last week. “I’ll take care of it.”
Emma nodded, keeping her expression neutral. That was one of the many qualities he liked about his young assistant. She was a master of discretion.
“Ralph Murphy called. I asked him the purpose for his call and he wanted to know if Megalos-De Luca was still acquiring any additional luxury properties.”
Alex’s interest inched upward. If Ralph, a minor competitor, was calling him, then maybe he wanted to sell. Alex smelled a bargain. “I’ll call him before I take lunch. Anything else?”
Emma flipped through the message slips. “Rita Kendall wants you to attend a benefit with her, and Tabitha Bennet wants to meet you for drinks on Thursday. Chad in marketing wants five minutes with you to get an opinion on a new idea.” She paused. “Oh, and Mallory James called because she can’t make lunch today. She sends her apologies.”
Alex stared at Emma in disbelief. “Mallory ditched our lunch date?” He had women practically crawling over broken glass to be with him and Mallory had blown him off. His temper prickled. “Did she leave an alternate day? Did she offer an excuse?”
Emma gave him a blank look and glanced at the message again, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, sir. She was only on the line for a moment and was very polite, but—”
He waved his hand. “Never mind.” He took the messages and turned toward his office then stopped abruptly. “On second thought, get Mallory’s cell number and find out what her schedule is for the next few days, day and night.”
Mallory had been certain Alex Megalos would forget about her after she canceled their lunch meeting. After all there was always a line of ready and willing females begging for his attention. Mallory knew better than to spend any more time with him. He was too seductive and she was too susceptible. He might as well have been the most decadent chocolate she’d never tasted. Truth told, he was the perfect man for an exciting fling, but he’d said he wanted to be friends. It wouldn’t take much time with him for her to turn into a pining sap again.
Stunned when he called and left a message on her cell, she procrastinated in responding, not sure what to say. Between her undercover classwork for her online master’s degree, her charity obligations and quest to move out of the house, she was too busy for Alex, anyway. He was the kind of man who would take up a lot of space in a woman’s life.
She’d agreed to fill in as head greeter for a charity event organized by one of her friends on Saturday night. As guests entered the ballroom event with music flowing from a popular jazz band, Mallory checked off reservations and directed staff to guide the guests to assigned tables.
As the last of the guests arrived, she tidied up the greeter table and tossed out the trash, still undecided whether she would remain much longer. She was tired and she needed to begin work on a research paper.
Glancing at the crowd of people and the beautiful display of flowers, she wavered in indecision.
“Room for one more?” a smooth male voice asked from behind her.
Fighting the havoc that his all too familiar voice wreaked on her nervous system, she whirled around. “Alex,” she said in surprise.
Dressed in a dark suit that turned his eyes a shade of emerald, he pointed to the sheaf of paper on the table. “Isn’t my name on the list?”
“Well, yes, but—” She’d noticed his name, but she’d assumed he wouldn’t attend. Alex’s name was always on the guest lists for these events. He was a high-profile businessman and bachelor. Every hostess wanted him at her party. She swallowed over a nervous lump in her throat and glanced at the seating chart. “There are two reserved seats on a front table just left of center. Will that work?” She waved toward the staff escort.
“As long as you join me,” he said.
Surprised, she glanced behind him, searching for a woman. “You don’t have a date?”
“I was hoping you would take pity on me,” he said, but he reminded her of a sly wolf ready to raid the henhouse.
She gave an involuntary shiver of response. “I hadn’t decided if I was going to stay for the entire event.”
“Then I’ll decide for you,” he said and took her hand in his.
Mallory stuttered in response but was so caught off guard she couldn’t produce an audible refusal. As Alex led her to the front table, she felt hundreds of eyes trained on her and Alex. Alex may have been accustomed to this kind of attention, but she was not. She quickly took the seat he pulled out for her.
The combination of the rhythm and blues band playing sexy songs of want and longing, the warm flickering candlelight and the close proximity of Alex’s chair to hers created a sensual atmosphere. Two glasses of wine appeared for them in no time.
He lifted his glass and tilted it toward her. “To time together,” he said. “Finally.”
He stretched out his long legs and she felt the brush of his leg against hers underneath the table. He glanced at her again with those lady-killer green eyes of his and her chest tightened. She instinctively rubbed her throat and saw his glance fell to her neck and then to her breasts before he met her gaze again.
“You like this band?” he asked.
Forcing her gaze from his, she looked up at the stage and nodded. “The music is moody and the lyrics are—” She searched for the right description.
“Sexy.”
The way he muttered the single word made her whip her head around to look at him. He was staring at her, studying her, considering her. She felt a rush of heat and took a quick sip of wine. “Yes,” she said. “Do you like them?”
“Yes. Looks like the dancing has started. Let’s go,” he said and stood.
She blinked at him and remained seated. “Um.”
He bent down and whispered in her ear. “Come on, we can talk better on the dance floor.”
Confused, she followed him and slid into his arms. Why did they need to talk? she wondered. For that matter, why did they need to be together at all?
“How is your online class going?”
“Good, so far,” she said, catching a whiff of his yummy cologne. “But I need to begin a research paper. That’s why I was considering leaving early tonight.”
“I’m glad I caught you,” he said with a hint of predatory gleam in his eyes. “You’re a difficult woman to catch. Do you treat all men like me? Blow off lunch dates, don’t return calls…”
Embarrassed and then contrite that she’d been rude, she shook her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be inconsiderate. I just didn’t take your invitation seri—” She broke off as his eyes narrowed and she realized her apology wasn’t helping.
“You didn’t take me seriously?” he echoed, incredulous. “Don
’t turn all polite on me now.”
She sighed. “Well, you’re such a flirt. I just didn’t believe you.”
“No wonder no man can get close to you. Is that one of your requirements? That whoever you date can’t flirt? Sounds boring as hell to me.”
“I didn’t say that. It’s that you flirt with every woman. I wouldn’t want someone so important to me flirting with every other woman on the planet.”
“Does that mean you want someone with very little sexual drive or appeal?”
“I didn’t say that, either. Of course, I want a man with a strong sex drive. I just prefer that his drive be focused on me,” she managed to say, but felt her face flaming. “But that’s not all. He also needs to be intelligent and liberated enough to encourage me to do what I want to do.”
He nodded. “You say you want someone you can walk over, but the truth is you want a challenge. I bet if a man played golf with you and took it easy on you that you’d be furious.”
Surprised he’d nailed her personality so easily, she felt another twist of confusion. “This discussion is insane. I’m not looking for a long-term relationship right now, anyway. Just like you aren’t,” she added for good measure.
“That’s where you’re wrong. When the right woman comes along, I’ll seal the deal immediately in every physical, legal and emotional way imaginable.”
A shiver passed through her at his possessive tone and she couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to be the right woman for Alex. Underneath all his charm, could he ever be truly devoted to one woman?
Mallory caught herself. She was insane to even be thinking about his right woman. Heaven knew, it wasn’t her. Her thought patterns just proved she needed to create some distance between her and Alex.
She glanced at her watch. “I should help the hostess with the extra collections. You don’t mind, do you?”
“If I did?” he said.
“Then because this is for charity, you would be a gracious gentleman and allow me to help the hostess,” she said firmly.
