Vivian shifted, her fingers aching from gripping her arms too tight. His anger showed in every line of his tanned skin. But she refused to be intimidated. "I talk. But you have to realize you haven't asked me anything or any question I have to reply to. You do this all the time." she challenged back. She regretted the comment immediately, because he suddenly lurched forward, his calm demeanor gone in a single sharp blink of his eyes. "Explain what you mean by that," he commanded."I…No." Feeling her cheeks start to heat, Vivian lowered her gaze."You damn well will, Vivian" he countered harshly. "And you will do it right now!" "Why are you angry with me?" she queried hotly." You instructed me to go through the documents and I did. Did I do something wrong?"She knew damn well why he was angry and was trying to divert the subject, Scott recognised, narrowing his eyes as he swung his mind back to the night of the party. "What the hell do you think —?" he shot at her."I don't know!" H
Damn! The silent curse burned its way around his head in protest for letting this thing between them go this far. Two damn long weeks after that night and she was still here driving him crazy.A curse locked in his throat. Vivian Sanchez might not like him, but she lusted after him with a fever she was too inept to keep hidden, though he was equally certain that she was not aware that she was so transparent.She made him think of a living, breathing sexual grenade with the pin dangling halfway out—half precocious woman, half infuriating child. She heat him up like no woman had ever done, and he wanted her in his bed!Scott made a grab at the thread of this discussion. "Call Senator Adams "he instructed." Tell him I’m no longer interested in doing business with them.""Me—?" Vivian gasped."Why? But I don’t —" "And bring me some coffee," he cut over her protest and sat forward to "And remind Anne to tell the account manager that I will be out for two hours at lunch." "But…Scott please
What if she took Betty's advice—?Scott hated that thought. "Damn," he muttered, not liking what was rattling around inside him. Where was the guy who focused purely on business? The guy who barely noticed a woman unless she was stretched out naked on a bed?Perhaps that was it. He needed a woman. Sex, he named it. A long night of seething hot passion with the kind of woman who could appreciate what he could do for her without expecting the whole heavy emotional bit by return. He was not possessive. He was not even mildly demonstrative like Vivian had dared to suggest. If he touched her like she said he did, it was done with attention to polite good manners and respect. She was the one who’d misread the signals.Okay maybe that was a lie, but he wasn't excessively obvious about it as she claimed. —---------Senator Adams Griffin was at first stunned by Scott's decision to pull out of negotiations, then he grew increasingly more angry by Vivian's apologetic inability to give him answ
Vivian opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't find the right words so she closed it again. Scott shook his head." Yeah, that's what I thought.""Scott, you don't understand." "I think I do, Vivian. Just forget it." The car stopped and Vivian looked out the window. They were already at the cheesecake shop. She returned her gaze to Scott, but he wouldn't even look at her and she felt very bad. "Thanks for the ride." she said. "Good night." "Good night, Vivian." Vivian got out of the car and hurried into the shop, feeling even worse than she felt in the morning. Scott watched her as she walked away. Damn her, he thought. Damn her for making him feel this way and putting him in this constant state of confusion. Then he withdrew his phone and canceled his date with Olivia. —-------Jennifer Bennet stood in the foyer and stared at the front door as the ring of the doorbell echoed through her house.Seven o’clock. Right on the dot, she thought and rolled her eyes. It was time to
“I should be annoyed with both of you,” Janet Harper said, her smile erasing the reproach from her words. Leaning forward, she dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “But the two of you outing yourselves as a couple tonight has made my little dinner party the social event of the season.”Jennifer smiled, glancing up at Scott, “I told Scott he should at least give you some warning of who his plus one would be, but…” She tipped her head to the side and murmured, “The rumors are true about that stubborn nature of his.”“I find myself giving in to you way too often, though. My reputation might not survive it,” Scott replied, playing along. He squeezed her neck and brought her closer, brushing his lips over the side of her head.“Well, damn.” Janet said to her husband in an amused whisper. “Honey, I need you to take notes.”Beside Janet, her husband snorted lightly. “We’ve been married thirty-two years, darling. My hand is cramped.”Jennifer's laughter drew more gazes in their dire
Groaning, Jennifer turned from the mirror. It would’ve been so easy to stay in bed today and burrow under the covers. Just pretend that this wasn't happening. After all, that was her forte lately. Pretend to be in a relationship. Pretend to be in love with Scott McCall. Pretend she hadn’t just thrown all common sense and family loyalty out the window. She thought about what Emily had told her. Was she really telling the truth? Did Bruce really have some kind of history with Scott's sister? With a sigh, she glanced at the clock on her bedside table. Well, no time for breakfast, and she could grab coffee at the office. If traffic cooperated, she would just make her nine o’clock meeting with the event planners for Bennet Inc's huge annual holiday party.She took a quick shower and got dresses. Grabbing her coat and purse, she descended the steps, her mind already locked on the multiplying items on her to-do list today.“Jennifer.” a voice called. She halted at the front door, shooting
For the second time in the space of minutes, shock robbed Jennifer of speech. Icy fingers of astonishment and dread trailed down her spine.Bruce cocked his head to the side. “You believed I didn’t know about your little company all this time? Nothing gets by me. And as long as you were discreet, I didn’t see the harm in letting you dabble in business. It didn’t interfere with your responsibilities to this family. But now, your actions are jeopardizing us. If you don’t end it with Scott, I’ll ruin every business that has received money from you. And with my name and reputation, you know I could do it with just a whisper. Now, while you take some time to make your decision about who you’re giving your loyalty to, I’m going to insist you step back from your job at Bennet Inc. I’ve already asked Emily to take over some of your duties for the next few weeks. Consider it a leave of absence while you choose between a man you barely know and your family.”With that parting shot, he exited th
She hoped she didn't look horrible standing so close to him. Dressed in a dusky-lilac shift dress and a black satin jacket, with a lot of long legs showing and her ankles elevated by the four-inch heels on her shoes. Annoying and juvenile… those words began to ring in her head once again. Was he on his way to meet a woman? Was she tall and blonde and heart-stoppingly beautiful and screamingly intelligent and sophisticated? Just like the woman she'd seen with him the first day they met. Was he planning to bring her back to his place to make wildly passionate love with her while she went home to lay alone in her bed and— "Where—?" Her small chin jerked up and their eyes clashed; tiny prickles of attraction attacked her flesh."Excuse me?" she murmured blankly."I was asking where you are going for dinner," Scott enlightened dryly. "Oh. I don’t know," Vivian let slip before she could think about it, watched his eyebrows arch, felt a deep inner niggle at the slip. "I am meeting someon