Mr One-Night Stand

‘The fact you need me to explain worries me.’

‘If this is about me holding a meeting without you, then I’m afraid there was no choice in that.’

‘There’s always a choice.’

She crossed her arms over her middle and saw his eyes fall briefly as the air-conditioned draught swept through the expanding V of her blue silk blouse. He might not believe in mixing business and pleasure, but his body certainly did.

Power rushed through her, upping her resolve as she asked, ‘How can you hold a meeting to discuss the future of our product development without me?’

He shifted in his seat, his hands coming up to clasp one another upon his lap, over his... She smiled inwardly.

‘It’s complicated, and I need to get back in there to get this wrapped up,’ he said. ‘I have a conference call shortly with the States.’

‘Okay, then, give me a high-level summary.’

He rolled his head on his shoulders, his tension evident. ‘It’s been brought to my attention that one of our competitors is about to go live with a product Tech-Incorp should have delivered first. We need to throw everything at it so we beat them to it.’

‘And you couldn’t wait until this afternoon to have your meeting?’

‘No. I want this dealt with before my call with the States and I want a press release drafted ASAP.’

‘My question remains—could it not have waited?’

‘Look, my head of marketing over there has been trying to reach me since seven last night—that’s how urgent this is. And had we not been—’

He broke off and a rising tide of anger within her had the word ‘fucking’ bursting from her lips.

His eyes flashed, a muscle moving in his jaw. ‘Yes.’

‘Then you wouldn’t have missed it?’

‘No.’

The atmosphere shifted. Memories of them entwined, of the passion that had seemed impossible to sate, were making the air practically crackle between them.

‘I need to get back in there.’

The raw edge to his voice, his obvious discomfort, made her want to push him that little bit more, and so, outwardly casual, she crossed one stocking-clad thigh over the other. His eyes traced the movement, just as she’d known they would.

‘Fair enough,’ she said, ‘but let this be a warning. If you treat me like a subordinate again, then this “relationship”...’ she gestured between them, the nail of one finger trailing down his front before returning to her own ‘...you and me, will get a whole lot more inconvenient than you first pitched it to be.’

His eyes blazed, his tongue brushing across his lower lip, and suddenly her own tongue felt too thick for her throat.

‘I k

now what I said, Jennifer.’

He shifted, one hand curving around her hip, and her skin buzzed uncontrollably beneath his touch. Don’t react, don’t react...

‘And I stand by it. It wasn’t the best start to our working relationship.’

She raised her chin and looked down at him, doing her damnedest to maintain her composure. But words weren’t forthcoming—not through the drunken haze of his touch.

‘What I should have added is that I don’t regret it one bit.’

Her breath caught at his honesty.

Did she regret it? If she was honest, did she wish they’d never gone there?