“Enough to show you around. Their offices are downstairs. We could have lunch in the café afterward. Give the bad weather time to subside. We wouldn’t want to risk you outside in the elements again,” he added with a cheeky grin, trying to deflect the concern he’d sensed.
“Oh, you aren’t funny. I don’t just fall every day. I was nervous about my new job. I misjudged my footing,” she shot back.
“Yeah, all I remember, the light turned green, and all of a sudden, I see nothing but a yellow umbrella dropping with arms and legs flailing in the air.” He smiled as he walked toward her, extending a hand toward the office door.
“I ruined my good-luck shoes.” She stepped in front of him, and he did the most foreign thing—he let the curls at the ends of her silky hair intertwine around his fingers as he placed his palm on her back.
“Lucky shoes, huh? They don’t seem overly lucky to me.” He reached out in front of her, opening his office door, and allowing her to walk through first. He let her soft, silky tresses filter through his fingers.
“I don’t know. I can’t say it was that bad of a morning. Especially since you weren’t the serial killer I suspected when you put me inside your car.” Again she spoke with that same unabated honesty.
“Serial killer?” he questioned.
“You grabbed me off the street and gave me no choice but to get inside your car. By my estimation, that’s every scary abduction movie ever made,” she said, walking in front of him into the main part of the office. He could hear Margaret’s quiet laughter at Lara’s words. He couldn’t help but laugh too. That had never occurred to him as he’d taken her off the street that morning.
“I thought the number one rule in any attempted kidnapping was to never get inside a stranger’s car?” he asked.
“I tried to get out. I slammed the same shoulder I fell on into the car door, but it didn’t open.” She gently patted the bruised side of her body.
He placed a hand on the small of her back, guiding her toward the elevator. He saw the quick look Margaret and Lara exchanged and the quietly mouthed thank-you Lara gave his assistant. “Is that what you were doing?”
She lifted her eyes and gave him a sideways glance. An exaggerated eye roll came next. “My getaway didn’t even register? Man, I need to work on my skills.”
He laughed solidly that time. His office was always quiet, but the complete silence of even the keyboards growing still registered after his outburst. He refused to turn back to gauge anyone’s reaction, keeping his focus on the enchanting beauty’s easygoing nature and honest dialogue. At the elevator, he pressed the call button and tossed out over his shoulder, “Cancel my morning and lunch appointment. Also, have her things delivered for me.”
“Already taken care of.”
“Call Lei, tell him to call me tonight.”
“Got it. Enjoy,” he heard Margaret say.
Chapter 5
Lara kept her smile in place, held her hands clasped tightly together in front of her, and worked at enjoying her surroundings. The uptight, angry man from this morning had disappeared and in his place was a super nice-looking gentleman intent on being kind to her. That had never happened before in her entire life. Men like Reed Prescott never paid any attention to women like her. The situation didn’t make any sense and that left her completely uncertain.
The elevator doors opened immediately, much like they had earlier this morning, and Reed held out a hand, allowing her to walk inside first. She stepped past him and stood to the side. Instead of entering and standing on the other side, Reed came to stand right beside her. His spicy cologne seemed to be the only thing her senses could focus on. The subtle scent fit the man perfectly. It was exotic and foreign to her. On the descent, she took a small step backward to lean against the side wall if only to give herself a little space. Reed Prescott radiated intensity and the move helped her gain some much needed perspective.
Her eyes scanned the back of his body. She found no flaws in his handsome profile or solid frame. He wore nicely tailored clothing that fit just well enough to see a strong hint of a muscular torso and pretty perfect butt. How had she ever thought he was an uppity, angry older man? He was actually the exact opposite in every way and that made her stomach knot. He was almost too good-looking for his own good and definitely too attractive for her unsettled heart.
Interestingly enough, he took a step backward and came to lean against the railing beside her. Thanks to Kade, Lara was normally able to find steady ground around ultra-good looking men. Her roommate always had his fair share of striking men around. Since Kade was such a hottie, he usually attracted that type of man to date.
As for her and her dating life? Not so much.
Super-handsome, straight men were never interested in her, but she found living vicariously through Kade was almost as good as having a man for her own. It took a lot of pressure off the dating game. In her limited life experience, gorgeous men where either gay or dated beauty contestants or model slash actresses. Someone with curves and big breasts. The kind of women that batted their eyelashes and looked like a trophy on the guy’s arm. She absolutely didn’t fit in any of those categories.
Kade’s life allowed her to admire from afar, but continue to be one hundred percent herself. Well, as much of herself as she ever let anyone else see. In public relations, she’d learned most professionals wore a certain air about them. She had mastered that skill by keeping her mouth shut unless she had an opportunity to make the conversation light, fun, and easy. That was where her true skillset came in. Divert, divert, divert all the time.
If Reed Prescott was on the highest floor of this high-rise and could salvage a huge faux pas like missing the first day of a new job, then she needed to keep things friendly between them and settle this anxiety raging through her body.
“I’m guessing Georgia,” Reed finally said into the quiet, giving her a sideways glance. He leaned back with his arms crossed over his chest.
“As your favorite place to eat peach cobbler?” she shot back, not understanding the question. He laughed more than just the chuckle he’d given earlier. The extraordinarily deep rich sound warmed her heart. Well, actually the warmth settled between her legs, but she ignored that part.
“No, not at all. Where you’re from.” He turned to fully face her now. Those arms were still crossed over his chest, showing more of a defined, sculpted body underneath that very expensive-looking dress shirt. He also wore cuff links. She didn’t even know people who wore such things with their clothing.
Maybe he was gay… And the thought blossomed until she almost groaned out loud at the realization. Of course he was, and she’d missed the signs because of her own attraction.
“I’m from North Carolina. Maplesville actually. Born and raised there. I went to college at Wake Forest.” Identifying his sexual orientation eased the turbulence taking root inside her.
His body language and the way he leaned forward into her personal space and stared at her like she was the only person on the planet that mattered weren’t mutual attraction signs. Instead, they were friendly gestures of a nice gay man. Nothing more.
She resisted the urge to laugh at the absurdity of her attraction. Guys like him, all polished and self-assured, were never straight, and if by some miracle they were, he wouldn’t be talking to her right now. She just wished she’d come to this conclusion a little faster to help salvage her already frayed nerves as well as her panties.
“What made you move here?” The elevator doors opened and Lara looked out to see the reception desk of Press International in front of her. She immediately stood to her full height and made sure her facial expressions were clear, not lingering on that last bit of self-dialog she’d just processed. She resisted the urge to rub her nervous palms down the front of her new dress.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, we’re here. Have you toured this floor?” he asked.
“No, just the conference rooms during the interview,” she replied
quietly, walking beside him toward the front desk.
“Mr. Prescott, do I need to inform Cooper of your arrival?” the receptionist asked. The younger woman focused entirely on Reed as he ushered Lara behind the desk toward a back door.
“No, we’re only here for a few minutes.” Reed pulled his wallet from the back pocket of his slacks and waved the leather in front of a card reader. She could hear the latches give way. Did he work for Press International? She racked her brain, trying to remember the details she’d Googled about the company before her interview. She’d been certain she’d met every director and senior manager listed on the website during the course of the multi-round interviewing process.
“This way. We’ll just do a quick run-through. You interviewed over there, correct?” he asked, pointing to the left.
“I believe so,” she said. Distracted, she looked around trying to gauge where they were in the building.
“Then let’s go this way. I suspect your office is down here.”
“I’m certain I don’t have an office. I’m just entry level.”
“I don’t think so. I understand you speak fluent Mandarin, is that correct?” he asked, glancing down at her as she walked stride for stride beside him. They were now in the inner workings of the office. A giant central square housed row after row of cubicles. Private offices lined the walls all around the room. Every person they passed had some sort of greeting for Reed and a friendly smile for her. He seemed to ignore them as she tried to see everything he showed her as well as acknowledge all the potential co-workers who passed by.
“Do you?” he asked, rounding the corner to the left, taking her along a back wall.
“I’m sorry what?” she asked when he waved a quick hand in front of her to grab her attention.
“You speak fluent Mandarin?”
“Yes, I do.” They were in a much smaller hallway now. With more traffic coming toward them, his hand went to the small of her back as he took a step in her direction. She hadn’t anticipated the move and bumped into him, stumbling a little on her feet. Both his hands landed on her hips to help steady her.
“Can’t have you falling again today. Quota filled,” he teased, easily turning her face bright red as the group passed by. He was behind her now. His hand reached out around her waist, crowding her as he brought her to a stop. “I believe this is yours.”
Her breath caught in her throat when he didn’t step back, instead brushing his body against her as he reached for the light switch by the door’s frame. She immediately stepped inside the vacant office, trying to get out from underneath his touch. He affected her. Made her too jittery. Her palms were clammy. She kept her back to him as she steadied her breath and ran her hands down the front of her dress, trying to find balance. Thank God he stayed back as she walked completely inside the office, giving her a moment to pull herself together.
When she felt on stable ground, she glanced back at him. He stood there, waiting, pointing a finger at her name plate on the door. “I understand you’re here to work with the Asian market. It’ll require discretion and late hours. You’d need an office for that.”
Something about the name plate brought her attention back to the here and now. The significance of where she stood settled in. She had an office. She turned, taking in everything about the small room. Wait until she told Kade about this one. She had a desk with a couple of chairs in front of it, and the same floor to ceiling windows she’d loved in Reed’s office. She ran a finger over the top of the desk as she walked to the window. Her smile couldn’t have gotten any bigger, and man, did she want to pull out her cell phone to snap a few pictures! The unprofessionalism of that act required she wait to do it in private tomorrow, but she would be snapping away the first chance she got.
“Reed?”
Lara recognized the voice and turned to see Cooper, the senior executive director who would be her new boss, standing there. She stood back, letting the men have their moment as she again looked at every corner of the small room. She’d need pictures for the wall and maybe a couple of plants. People brought things like that into their offices, right? The hand that extended in front of her caught her attention, and she looked over to see both men staring at her. She’d completely missed what they were saying. She automatically stuck out her hand to grip Cooper’s.
“He introduced himself to you.” Reed filled in the gap of what she hadn’t paid attention too, but the words confused her. They’d spent hours together during the long interviewing process.
“I’m Lara Hunter, your new hire.” The stunned silence had her questioning her own memory. She interviewed with this man and he also offered her the job; she was almost positive. Reed gave Cooper a good-natured whack on the back, laughing a little bit.
“It’s all right. I did that, too.”
“I’m sorry, Lara. You always wore your hair up. Excuse my absent mind,” he said, actually shaking her hand this time. “Are you starting today? I thought we moved that back twenty-four hours.”
“We’re still giving her a day to recover,” Reed answered for her.
“I’m glad to see nothing too tragic kept you away,” Cooper offered. There was no mistaking the assessment he gave as they included her in the conversation.
“We’re touring, Cooper,” Reed said, leaving the office first. Lara quietly followed behind.
“I’ll see you in the morning. Thank you for understanding,” she said to Cooper. She tried for gracious, but his continued stare made her slightly uncomfortable. When he didn’t answer right away, she turned back slightly, glancing over her shoulder and he was still there staring after them.
“Absolutely,” Cooper finally responded and lifted a hand. His grin broadened.
~~~
Reed found himself drawing out their tour. He took Lara around the building, showing her the different eateries as well as the shopping area and the row of bars on the back side of the building. He never let them stay too long in one place. It seemed everywhere they went, he knew someone, but he decided he liked this game of her not understanding his place in the mix of things.
Initially, he’d been completely enchanted with Lara, almost knocked off his feet with her natural charm and unexpected beauty. As time wore on and her defenses lowered, he found he liked her as a person. He enjoyed their time together immensely. Both were new experiences for him.
As they walked, she loosened up. Became more of what he considered might be her true self. He found her to be a funny, animated, and smart young woman. He liked those qualities more than he was willing to admit. He may actually like her personality more than the sway of her hips or the glove she called a dress. Through the entire tour, he never missed an opportunity to walk a step or two behind that perfectly shaped ass.
“You know a lot about Press International,” she said and glanced over her shoulder. He quickly averted his eyes, hoping not to be caught leering. He guessed that was probably as close as she was likely to come to straight out asking him how he knew so much about the company.
“It’s hard not to, they’re an impressive company. You never answered my question from earlier,” he dodged casually, guiding her back to the escalators with a point of his finger. His favorite restaurant in this building was on the first floor.
“What was that?” she asked, slowing for him to catch up. She didn’t press him any further. He liked that. He let his hand linger at the small of her back, his fingers gently caressing the seam of her dress as he came to stand beside her. If she noticed his touch, she never let him know.
“What made you move to Dallas?” he asked, leaning back against the railing.
“My roommate got a job here. I’d just finished my graduate work and thought it might be a good change of pace. I haven’t regretted the move for a minute. Where to now?” she asked at the end of the escalator.
“To the right, at the end of the hall.” Reed guided her to the café, and he looked down at his Rolex. It was 12:45 in the afternoon, later than he rea
lized. He needed to step up his game and begin the reel-in stage of this little infatuation he’d developed.
Now focused on the prize at the end, he placed a bet with himself. Could he have her in bed by tonight? Maybe, but probably not. He saw her as more of a morals and ethics kind of woman. She’d want a dinner first, maybe dancing. He’d have to gently seduce her into doing the naughty. So no, not tonight. That realization had his dick extremely pissed off since he’d maintained a solid hard-on for the last two hours. He didn’t let that deter him. She’d be worth the wait. He gave himself a seventy-two hour window, and then he planned to have these exact high heels digging into his ass.
“You’re from here, aren’t you? At least from Texas.” He didn’t answer that question either. He never got personal and certainly didn’t ever talk about his childhood. The circles he ran in knew his background, but not too many were brave enough to bring it up to his face.
“Was it a hard question?” she teased, her pretty face smiled up to him. Something about those amber eyes reached out and struck him dumb anytime they turned his way. Her question was completely forgotten, and he readjusted his goal. Forget the shoes, he wanted those perfect eyes open, staring up at him when she came. Just her looking at him as he bucked into her body. He bit his lip, thinking about the possibility. His gaze lowered to her thick, full hair. It was long enough to wrap around his fist, give her a little tug when necessary. His dick turned up a notch, actually aching with anticipation.
“What did you do different with your face?” he asked, his voice husky even to him. He watched as his question turned her cheeks a soft shade of red.
Had he ever seen anyone blush before?
“I just have a young face. My roommate does this knot with my hair and I usually try for darker makeup. It’s supposed to be more dramatic—make me look a little more experienced, but the woman who brought the clothes had different ideas.”
Chasing Happy (Texas Desires #1) Page 5
