Rule's Addiction (The House of Rule 3)

Overall, she was more than pleased with her appearance. Nobody could accuse her of going out of her way with different clothes or a dramatic change in hair or make-up.

But what would Garrett think? She’d bet her bottom dollar that he’d notice.

Now all she had to do was sit back and wait.

She didn’t have long to wait. Five seconds later, Garrett walked out of his office toward the coffee-room. He didn’t once look toward her. But a couple of minutes later, on his way back through, he glanced her way, then came to an immediate halt, a scowl blazing across his features. Holding his coffee cup suspended halfway to his lips, his body stilled as he narrowed his eyes on her. His gaze ran up to the top of her head and then down her torso where she sat behind her desk, coming to a silent, screaming halt at her breasts.

Finally, lifting his eyes back to hers, he didn’t speak for a long moment.

“Good morning,” she said as calmly as she could manage, knowing that her ploy had worked—and he hadn’t even seen her shoes yet.

His expression turned steely, his body held in rigid lines. He took a drink of his coffee and then finally spoke, as if he had something to be pissed about. “I’ve got a meeting with a real estate developer from the Keys in about half an hour. Show him in when he gets here.”

With that, he turned away, walked into his office and slammed the door with a deafening crack.

****

Twenty minutes later, the real estate developer was escorted into her office by the front desk clerk. The girl had been here for several years now and was pretty much Maria’s right arm when it came to running the hotel. The young woman had a dreamy look on her face, and when Maria looked into the newcomer’s eyes, she could definitely see why.

Maria stood to her feet with a smile for the man and quietly dismissed the dazed employee. “Thanks, Beth.”

After another long stare, the girl finally turned around and went back to her station.

Maria came around her desk and held her hand out just as she heard a faint click of a door. “I’m Maria Alvarez,” she said simply with a professional smile of welcome.

He reached out and his hand swallowed her smaller one. “Maximo Villareal,” he responded with a masculine smile before leaning slightly forward and saying in a more intimate tone, “you can call me Max.” Without releasing her hand, he broke into fluent Spanish, “If you’re an example of the women in Miami, I’m going to have to visit more often.”

With a hint of a blush that she couldn’t for the life of herself control, she dipped her head graciously and replied, “Gracias, Senor.”

A harsh, booming voice came from Garrett’s office door. “Villareal, you want to do business with the Rule Corporation or not? I don’t have all fucking day to wait while you loiter with the employees.”

Shock hit Maria hard, sliding through her veins at Garrett’s rough announcement. Max slowly released her hand and turned to face the other man, his smile dropping, his eyes turning speculative. As he held Garrett’s eyes, he switched to English and asked, “So, it’s that way, is it?”

Garrett replied at once, his teeth gritted in a punitive clench. “Yeah, it is.”

Maria felt almost speechless, but evidently, her brain wasn’t quite yet incapacitated. “No, it’s not.”

Garrett turned to her with a pissed, pointed gaze that screamed retribution if she dared argue with him. “Yeah, it damned well is.”

She felt a stroke of temper and dared. “No, it damned well isn’t,” she began arguing heatedly, but all at once, she realized his eyes had fallen to her shoes, undoubtedly noticing the effect they had on the length of her legs underneath her basic clothing. Her blood heated as his hands balled into fists and his shoulders seemed to grow a mile wide, his smoldering, accusatory gaze lifting back to hers. What the hell had she done? How smart could it be to tweak a tiger’s tail? Well—it was done now.

“We’ll discuss it later,” he snapped out, and then turned to the other man. “Shall we?” he asked, holding out a hand, indicating his office.

The businessman followed Garrett into his inner sanctum, the door clicking closed behind them, and Maria slowly let out her breath, not even realizing that she’d been holding it for the last few seconds.

Recognizing right away that she didn’t want to be anywhere close by when their meeting was over, she decided that now would be as good a time as any to make her rounds of the hotel.

****

Two hours later, Maria was walking back through the main lobby when she saw Garrett come from the back office area. Even with the distance that separated them, she could see that his eyes were sharp and focused only on her. He pointed to her and then tilted his head with an arrogant jerk, indicating that he wanted her presence at his side, pronto. Without waiting to see if she followed, he turned around and walked back through to the offices, obviously expecting her immediate compliance.