She gently hung up the phone as apprehension spread through her. Her situation was getting worse.
****
At eleven o’clock the next morning, Jenna’s extension rang. That phone rarely rang, as all her work correspondence was done through email. And now it had rung two days in a row. She had no protocol for answering it and worried it was the bill collector again. She looked around and hoped no one could overhear her.
She picked it up and stated her name. “Jenna Hardin.”
“Miss Hardin?” a smooth, female voice questioned.
“This is she.” Jenna could be smooth also. Maybe the collectors were trying something different, having a woman call her this time instead of a man. She stiffened her shoulders and prepared for the verbal attack she was going to give back.
“This is Pam in Mr. Bennett’s office. Mr. David Bennett. He’d like to see you for a minute if you can spare the time.”
Fear and confusion hit Jenna. That name. David Bennett. It was starting to scare the crap out of her. It never had before. It had made her uneasy, sure. How could it not, when his dark, intent stare somehow always managed to find her? But his name had never scared the crap out of her before. But then again, she never had bill collectors calling her at work. And she had never thrown out a flirty little smile and teased that she wanted to be his wife. Her insides clenched at the thought. No doubt about it, she needed to learn how to rein in her freaking mouth before it got her in serious trouble.
An arrow of fear slid down her spine when she thought about them finding out she had bill collectors on her butt. The worst place an employee with financial problems could work was in accounting. It just wasn’t conducive to good business. She knew that. That was basic business procedure.
But it really didn’t make sense that this would be about her collection troubles. David Bennett was too high up and important to handle a matter as small as this would be in the scheme of things. No doubt about it, he was the man in charge, even though her checks were stamped with the name Charles Bennett. Someone else from human resources should be doing the dirty work.
But what else could he possibly want with her? Realistically, she knew her teasing comment couldn’t be it. Could it?
She swallowed hard and answered the woman on the other line. “Yes, ma’am. When would be convenient?”
“Would now be too much trouble?”
“Now?”
“If you can’t get away, I’ll relay the message to Mr. Bennett, and we can set up a better time.”
Jenna thought frantically. She could go now, she just didn’t want to. She was scared to go. Whatever he wanted, it couldn’t be good.
Apprehension tightened her stomach in knots of stress. One thing she knew for sure, she didn’t want to wait. Today was Friday. There was no way she wanted to wait until Monday to find out what this was all about. The waiting would kill her. She would stress out so much it would make her ill.
“I can come now. Wh-where?”
“Executive corridor, fifth door on your right. See you in a minute.”
Jenna was left holding the receiver when the other woman hung up.
Nerves were eating her alive, and she quickly stood to her feet, moving toward mahogany row. She attempted to give herself a pep talk. It was best to get this over with. It was probably nothing, just some minor little glitch.
She walked quickly down the corridor until she came to the fifth door on the right. It stood open, and she peeked in and saw a slender woman of about fifty manning the desk outside another office. Jenna tapped lightly, and when the woman looked up and smiled, she walked inside.
“Miss Hardin, Mr. Bennett is expecting you. This way please.” The older woman stood, and swiftly walked across the carpeted room and knocked briefly. Jenna heard a harsh bark to enter from the inside, and the woman opened the door.
“Jenna Hardin to see you, sir.” She smiled at Jenna and stepped back for her to enter.
Chapter Three
When Jenna entered the room, two things happened simultaneously. The secretary closed the door with a firm click, and Jenna looked up and saw the man behind the desk. She heard the door shut her in at the same time she recognized the blistering scowl directed at her. Dear God, she was about to get fired. Her face blanched white, and she froze in the act of moving into the room.
David saw the fear hit the girl full force at the same time as an uncomfortable arrow of arousal hit him in the groin. Damn it! He needed to keep this professional. He didn’t need a goddamn boner fucking with his brain right now.
His eyes wandered up and down her length as he focused on what it was about her that kept screwing with his head. And his body. She was only of medium height, and she wasn’t reed thin like so many of the women he dated. This girl was full of curves. He figured she probably hated the fifteen or so extra pounds that clung to her frame. But, Jesus Christ, he didn’t. She was curvy, no question about it. Her tits were large and full and bouncy, and his fingers itched to sink into her hips and hold her as he slid between her thighs. He knew the ride would be a soft one. He’d fantasized about it more than a few times. He fought to bring his brain back into order and focused on the strained look in her eyes. “Sit down.” The arousal hardened his vocal chords and he grimaced when he heard the bark in his voice and saw her jerk in reaction.
Jenna stumbled to a chair in front of his desk, and collapsed into it. Her legs had barely held her up they were shaking so violently. Her hands gripped the arms of the chair and she couldn’t meet his eyes. She focused on the gold pen on the desk in front of him and tried to slow her breathing.
“I’m David Bennett.” His announcement was unnecessary and blanched any remaining color from her face as she tried to respond.
“Y-yes, sir.” Her voice shook as she lifted her face to his and tried to hold his eyes with hers. He wasn’t smiling, and his face was harsh and almost satanic, except for those dark, liquid filled eyes that held a beauty and depth that swallowed her whole. He was probably mid-thirties, she remembered how tall he was, and his shoulders filled out his dress shirt in a way that had her breath catching again. Really, Jenna? You’re about to get fired and you’re thinking about his shoulders?
The jacket of his suit was casually tossed on the couch a few feet away, and he had loosened his tie already and rolled up his sleeves to reveal thick wrists and muscled forearms glistening with dark hair. His face wore what looked to be a perpetual scowl, and try as she might, Jenna’s eyes dropped away from his.
“You overheard a private conversation, Miss Hardin.” His voice blasted her, and she nodded slightly in acknowledgment. “I guess I don’t need to tell you to keep it to yourself?”
Jenna knew he was waiting for her to respond, but she was too relieved by his opening gambit to speak yet. She had prayed this had nothing to do with her finances, and everything to do with making sure she didn’t repeat what she had inadvertently heard. “I h-haven’t told anyone. I won’t.”
“Thank you.” He picked up the pen and tapped it on the desk and Jenna sat still without saying a word while he continued to watch her with those penetrating eyes. Finally, he spoke again. “What you heard was accurate. I need a wife.”
He stopped speaking and Jenna knew she needed to say something, anything. She took a deep breath and reminded herself if she played this right she could be back at her desk inside of five minutes. “Why—why do you need a wife?” She was curious, but the relief she felt was too new to wonder much about his reasons and this strange conversation they were having. She looked back into his dark eyes and felt that damn impetuosity that always got her in trouble rearing its silly head. “Tired of doing your own laundry?”
He didn’t even crack a smile and a scary premonition slinked through her system.
He continued to watch her until finally he spoke. “I need a wife for stability. To solidify a persona of family values, to imply a conservative bent that people might otherwise miss if they are on the outside of my life
looking in.” He punched the words out, then questioned softly, “Know anyone that could help me out with that?”
This guy needed help finding a wife? That in itself was impossible to believe. Her blood pulsed quickly through her veins as her mouth went dry and speech became almost impossible. Please don’t let this go where she thought it was going.
She tried to calm her nerves so she could answer his question and get the hell out. “N-no. I’m new to Cincinnati. I don’t have many girlfriends here yet.” She began to stand. She needed out of this room before he said anymore. “I’m sorry I can’t help you—”
“Sit down.” The demand was sharp.
She sat, her tummy clenching and the butterflies churning.
He continued to tap the pen on his desk as he contemplated her. “What about you?” Tap, tap, tap. “Did you mean what you said in the break room?” Tap, tap, tap. “You want to apply for the job?”