Game of Love

by Jeannie James

  “Oh, great.” Micki sighed. “You invade my workspace, disturb my work and insult my office. Am I supposed to be looking to you for approval?”

  “I wish you would. I could give you some great advice.” He grinned. “Perhaps a couple of snapshots of me in front of your in-basket, to remind you of my handsome face.” He walked toward her, looking around her office as he talked. “Pictures of us on my sailboat would definitely look good on the wall. We could take some next weekend if you’d like.” He leaned forward over her desk, his face disturbingly close to hers. “My phone number on your speed dial.”

  “Vamoose, buster.” She rolled her chair back, away from his overwhelming presence. “I’m not exactly sure what you’re doing here, but I am sure you’re not supposed to be flirting with the hired help.”

  “Well, as it so happens, I’m working here too.” Adam strolled over to the side of her desk and sat down, uninvited, in her vacant chair. “I bummed a job with your company.” He crossed his legs and looked at her expectantly.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You haven’t been returning my phone calls, Micki,” he said with a reproving look. “Why not?”

  Micki’s face burned bright red as she shuffled some paperwork, avoiding his eyes. “I’ve been busy,” she mumbled. “What with work and all.”

  “I see.” Adam sounded unconvinced. “Well, you wore down my patience. And I’ve been worried about you. I hate to think of you all alone in that depressing apartment of yours. I decided it would be easier to keep an eye on you if I made arrangements to see you every day.”

  Micki glared at him. “So you just called the president of the company and got a job here.”

  “That’s right.” Adam looked at her smugly, enjoying her response.

  “Doing what? Annoying the other employees?”

  “Actually, the board is thinking of making an acquisition or two and I’ve offered my expertise. For a slight fee, of course. I’m making a presentation this afternoon.”

  “Acquisitions, is it?” Micki looked suspicious. “I thought you just helped this company downsize.”

  “That was last year,” Adam explained imperturbably. “Last year is a long time ago in the business world. That’s the beauty of American capitalism. There’s always something new and exciting just waiting to happen.”

  “Adam, this is all quite fascinating, but I don’t have time for a lecture in economics today. You simply have to let me get my work done.”

  “All right.” He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, his hands on her desk. “Under one condition.”

  “One condition? What are you talking about? You have no right to demand conditions!”

  Adam breezed on as if she hadn’t spoken. “The condition is, you go out with me again. A restaurant. A sail. A restaurant and a sail. Your choice. I promise I won’t pressure you for more. Tonight works for me. Does it work for you?”

  “No.”

  “Tomorrow night, then.”

  “No.”

  “Then Saturday.” At her lack of response, he sighed. “Why not Micki? What is it? We had fun together on Sunday, didn’t we? Until things got too intense, that is.”

  At her continued silence, he added. “Relax, Micki. “I’m just asking you out on a date. I’m not giving you a life sentence. Or a death sentence for that matter. Romance doesn’t have to be deadly serious. It can be fun, too.” She looked at him uncertainly and he added, “Can’t you think of it like a game, Micki? The game of love.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “I believe I’ve told you, once I’ve found something I want, I go after it until I get it.” He gave her a determined nod of his head. “And I’ve decided I want you.”

  She shivered. “Don’t I have a say in any of this?”

  “Of course you do.” Adam waved off her objection. “But I think your reactions have proven you’re attracted to me.” She felt a blush creeping over her. After the way she’d thrown herself at him, he had every right to think that. “And we’ll take it slow. I promise. We don’t need to sleep together unless you’re sure you’re ready.” He gave her a charming smile, encouraging her.

  She shook her head. “My life is my own to work out the way I need to. I know you mean to help, but I don’t appreciate your interference.”

  Adam looked taken aback and paused to consider her response. “I should have thought of that,” he said, as much to himself as to her. “I’m sorry if I was annoying, but I’m very, very interested in you.” He leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees. “Everything you do fascinates me. I really want to keep seeing you. And you like being around me, don’t you?” He was nodding his head slowly as he spoke, his voice mesmerizing, soft and seductive. Micki had to consciously stop her head from nodding along with his. “There’s no pressure, darling. We can—“

  “Oh no!” Jan’s voice intruded on the tableaux. Adam heaved a frustrated sigh and swung his head around. Jan stood in the doorway glaring accusingly at Adam. “What are you doing here? Not more downsizing!”

  Freed from the power of his gaze, Micki took a deep breath and gave silent thanks to Jan. One more minute of that talk and the good Lord knows what she’d have been saying yes to.

  “Not to fear, my dear.” Adam drawled. “The company is acquiring this time.” He straightened his shoulders and brushed an imaginary speck of lint off his lapel. “If you talk to me right, perhaps I can even increase the size of your personal kingdom.”

  “Bite your tongue! A fully staffed office? I’d die of shock. Besides, any acquisitions you’re involved in seem to mean that I lose more staff. Who, exactly, are we acquiring?”

  “Well, we’re not sure yet.”

  “Then who are we thinking of acquiring?”

  “Patience, my dear Jan. I promise I’ll tell you all about it over lunch. That is, if you can help me out with Micki here. I was just asking her on a date.”

  “Oh, hoo,” Jan laughed. “You want my help with that?”

  “And I was just saying no,” Micki added with no small amount of satisfaction. “No. No. No.”

  “What do you mean no?” Jan frowned at Adam. “What happened that weekend?”

  “Nothing happened that weekend,” Micki replied with dignity. “I can take care of myself.”

  “Micki never tells me a thing.” Jan looked sour.

  “We went sailing,” Adam replied to Jan as if Micki hadn’t spoken. “We went to a restaurant, we ended up at my house and then…” He paused for effect. “And then, absolutely nothing happened.”

  “Excuse me, but that’s our personal business.” Micki stood up and waved a finger at him. “Do you always discuss your personal life at the office?”

  “Oh my,” Jan responded to Adam. “That’s not like you at all.”

  They were talking around her as if she wasn’t there. “Not this again,” she complained. “Not the ‘Jan and Adam Show’. Are you two going to listen to me? Or am I going to have to leave this office?”

  “You’re telling me.” Adam looked at Jan with a chagrined expression. “My world- famous sex appeal failed me for the very first time. Darn near knocked the wind out of my sails.”

  “My office,” Micki muttered as she grabbed her notepad and blindly snatched some equipment off a nearby shelf. “My desk, my work. But I’m the one who ends up leaving.” She brushed by Jan without ceremony. “I certainly don’t think this is right.”

  “Boy, is she in a foul mood,” Adam observed to Jan. He shouted after Micki’s retreating back, “I’ll catch up to you after lunch.”

  “No rush.” Micki turned to give him a tightlipped smile. “In fact, sometime in the next millenium would be soon enough.”

  Adam gave her a cheery wave and turned back to Jan. “Now then, do you have any suggestions…”

  His voice faded as Micki turned the corner, still muttering to herself. Once safely out of earshot, she paused to take a couple of deep breaths and look at the paraphernalia she’d m
anaged to bring with her. Assorted PC parts, a screwdriver, one modem and several network cables. “What am I supposed to do with this junk? And what can I do to stay busy until they get out of my office?”

  There were a couple of terminals that needed to be set up in a conference room. Micki had been putting the work off as too time-consuming, hoping Jan could find someone else to pick up the slack. Now it seemed as good a way to fill the day as anything. Upgrading and connecting the terminals would take several hours and by then Adam should be gone.

  She was crawling under the table in the conference room, attaching a cable to an outlet when she saw black clad legs framed in the doorway across the room. She glared at them. The way the rich, smooth fabric draped across the muscled thighs, she had no doubt whose they were. She kept the legs in sight as she carefully backed up to the middle of the table, hoping to avoid being seen. The legs walked slowly around the room, stopped at her pile of tools, paused and gradually bent. She was still on her hands and knees, backing up to the far side of the table when Adam’s face came into view.

  “Hello darling. How charming you look.”

  “Your cheerful hellos are beginning to wear a bit thin.” Micki sat back on her heels to glower at him properly and bumped her head on the top of the table. “Ouch! Now see what you’ve made me do?”

  “I’m sorry, darling.” Adam was instantly sympathetic. He held his hand out to her. “Come here. I can kiss it and make it better.”

  “Oh no you don’t. She backed away from him in a hurry and stood, dusting the knees of her pants. “Don’t you have a board meeting to go to?”

  “I already came and went. It’s the early bird that gets the worm and all that, you know. Although what I’d do with a worm is beyond me. At any rate, I’m free for the rest of the day.”

  “Lucky you,” she muttered. “But I happen to be busy.”

  “That’s perfect. I’d love to help.”

  “That’s quite all right.” She gave him a brief, mocking smile. “I work better alone.”

  “Can I hold your tools?”

  “No.”

  He picked up a cable and raised his eyebrow. “How do you know which end goes in where?”

  “It’s color-coded.” She snatched it away from him. “Will you leave me alone?”

  He examined her tools with interest. “So this is how a network analyst spends her time. I’ve always wondered.”

  “No.” She spoke with increasing irritation. “This is how a PC technician spends her time. Since I was forced out of my office this morning by the comedy team of Jan and Adam, I couldn’t get my real work done. This was the best I could do with the tools at hand.”

  “I’m sorry you felt you had to leave, but I needed to talk to Jan about you.”

  “Adam.” Her voice was sharp. “I really need to get some work done today and you’re in my way. Will you please either tell me what you’re doing here, or leave.”

  “Fair enough. I’d be pleased to tell you exactly why I’m here.” His face was serious as he glanced out the window, gathering his thoughts and turned back to her. “I dropped you off at your apartment that Sunday night and since then, you haven’t returned any of my phone calls. You didn’t answer the door when I came to visit. You didn’t acknowledge my flowers.” He took a breath. “Listen to me, Micki. I really want to see you again. I’m quite serious about this.”

  “Do you always get what you want?”

  “I hope so,” he said softly.

  “This isn’t a good idea. Adam.” Her serious tone matched his as she forced herself to meet his gaze. She ignored the powerful attraction shimmering from his deep blue eyes, ignored the deeply furrowed brow she was aching to smooth and made herself stay on track. “It was a mistake to go out on a date with you and it would be a mistake to keep seeing you. Truly. I’m doing okay on my own.”

  “I know you are.” His voice was gentle. “But are you so sure we can’t face these problems of yours together? I think you’ll find I’m a very good listener and an excellent problem-solver.”

  A bleak look entered her eyes. “It wouldn’t work. For awhile there, I thought you could help me, but I guess I’m just not ready.” She spoke earnestly, trying to make him understand. “It’s not your problem, Adam. It’s me.”

  She shuddered slightly, thinking of all she was missing by turning Adam down, then forced the thought into another compartment in her mind.

  “Well before you run away from me, at least take the time to get to know me. Please.”

  She shook her head.

  “Just friends,” he said encouragingly. “How about that? No pressure. Don’t you want a friend to see the sights with?” A hopeful lilt entered his voice. “They’ve got some great bands playing in Seattle this summer and wonderful outdoor restaurants. Beautiful beaches along Puget Sound. And the Pacific Ocean’s only a couple of hours away. Crab racing festivals. Kite flying competitions. I know all kinds of things you want to see and I know for a fact that you don’t always want to see them alone.”

  “Who told you that?” she demanded. “Jan?”

  “I suppose she might have mentioned it,” he conceded.

  “Drat Jan, anyway.”

  “I get lonely too, you know Micki. And tired of going places with people whose company I don’t always enjoy. Jan said you asked her to go with you to the SeaFair torchlight parade and she can’t make it. I’d like to go with you.”

  Oh God, he was convincing. If only he knew how much she wanted to say yes. She sighed. And she’d certainly found she didn’t enjoy going out by herself all the time. Sometimes it was just too lonely to be worth the bother.

  She looked again into his persuasive blue eyes. “Just friends?” she asked tentatively.

  “I promise.” His face lightened, as if he was now completely assured of her response.

  “And no more questions,” she demanded. “I don’t want to have to pour out my life story to you every time I turn around.”

  He nodded reluctantly. “All right. No more questions. But if you ever want to talk, remember I’ll always be there to listen.”

  She laughed softly. “You’re a hard man to turn down.”

  “Good.” He quirked an eyebrow. “But I will need something in exchange.”

  “What’s that?” She demanded, immediately suspicious.

  “No more prickles.” He gave an uncharacteristically hesitant smile. “I really like you Micki. But it’s hard to be friends when you always have your defenses up. Can’t you just relax?”

  “Am I really that prickly?”

  “Oh yes.” He nodded his head vigorously. “Sweet, of course. And daring and fun. But very, very prickly.”

  “I don’t mean to be.” She sighed. “I just get so nervous around you. It’s like you’re trying to rearrange my life for me.”

  “I’m not. You can trust me, Micki.”

  Four more months in Seattle, she thought to herself. And there was so much she hadn’t seen yet. Besides, there was no denying that Adam was good company. “All right.” She took a deep breath and held out her hand. “Friends it is. I promise too.”

  “Well, all right, then.” His large hand enfolded hers in a warm clasp. She started at the shock of his touch, but he just shook it briskly, looking smug. “It’s a done deal. I have tickets to some jazz bands this Thursday. They’re playing outdoors on the waterfront. It should be a great show.”

  “You already have the tickets?” She narrowed her eyes as she watched his expression change. “You just had your way with me again, didn’t you? You gave me your “I’m a sad, lost little boy’ song and dance routine and you got your own way.”

  He grinned in self-satisfaction. “No prickles, remember? You promised.”

  “Oh, man.” She glared at him. “I can’t believe I fell for this.”

  “We’ll have a good time,” he said encouragingly. “Jazz on Thursday. Where should we go on the weekend? The Space Needle? A Mariners baseball game?”

 
“Once you start, you’re hard to stop, aren’t you. Adam in control.”

  “I do like to get my way,” he agreed. “This will be fun, Micki. Tell me what you want.”

  “Well…” Against her better judgment, Micki smiled at him. “I wouldn’t mind a parasail.”

  “A what?”

  “Parasailing.” Her face grew animated. “You strap into what looks like a parachute and they use a boat to tow you up in the air around Puget Sound. It looks like you’re flying. I’ve always wanted to try that. Just think of the view!”

  Adam looked doubtful. “And after you’re up in the air, just exactly how do you get down?”

  “I think you’re supposed to wear a swimsuit, so they can land you in the water.”

  Adam smiled at her enthusiasm. “I suppose no sport can be all bad if you have to take your clothes off,” he said philosophically.

  “Just friends,” she said sharply, as much to remind him as to remind herself.

  He held up his hands as if to ward her off. “Of course. Sorry. Parasailing. Just friends.”

  Chapter Ten

  “I love fairs.” Micki bit happily into a wisp of cotton candy, letting the sweet sugar crystals melt in her mouth. “If I could buy this kind of food at a store, I’d eat it every day for breakfast.”

  Adam shuddered. “How can you stand that horrid, pink fluff?”

  “It’s good!” She offered him a bite of her sugary cone in a show of generosity, which Adam refused with a reflexive grimace.

  “In the past few months we’ve been seeing each other, I don’t know when you’ve amazed me more.” He sat back, brushing the sleeves of his shirt, as if concerned that stray strands of sugar might have invaded the fibers. “Strawberry shortcake. Onion burgers. Curly fries. And now popcorn and cotton candy, both at the same time. Don’t you ever stop eating?”

  “Not at a fair.” Micki swallowed a handful of popcorn and explained the obvious. “The entire point of going to a fair is to eat until you burst.”