Bachelor Unforgiving

He heard the pause, which lasted a little too long to suit him. Now he was the one getting annoyed. “Look, Kara. My time is precious and right now you’re wasting it. Will you be able to meet me for dinner tomorrow or not?” Virgil snapped.

“Yes, I’m available for a business dinner tomorrow,” Kara snapped back.

“Good. My administrative assistant will call you later today with details as to where we will meet.”

“Fine.”

“Goodbye.”

When Kara heard the click in her ear, she leaned back in her chair, and she clicked off her own phone. “And goodbye to you, too, Mr. Obnoxious.” Of course he hadn’t heard her comment but it still felt good making it.

A business dinner? Why couldn’t he just add her to his schedule? He couldn’t be that busy. She guessed that in a way she should be grateful. He probably would not have agreed to meet with her at all if she hadn’t told him about the telephone call she’d received from his father. Matthew had made it clear he expected them to work together, grudgingly or otherwise. She had no problem doing so but couldn’t speak for Virgil.

Kara sighed deeply. It was obvious he was being difficult already. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to do an image makeover on an unenthusiastic client. She couldn’t let that be a deterrent to what needed to be done. She had a job to do and she intended to do it.

* * *

Arriving early, Virgil chose a table in the back of the Goldenrod Restaurant mainly for two reasons. First, the table sat beside a huge window and on a clear day you could see the mountain peaks of Chimney Rock. And, second, the location gave him a good view of the restaurant’s entrance. For some reason he wanted to see Kara before she saw him.

No one had to tell him that he hadn’t been pleasant yesterday while talking to her on the phone. She had a tendency to bring out the worst in him and she had been the last person he’d wanted to converse with, business or otherwise. And then for her to mention his father had called her, literally reminding him he had to toe the line, had annoyed the hell out of him.

If Virgil didn’t know better, he would think his father was trying to play his hand at matchmaking. After all, his parents had liked Kara a lot. But he did know better because the one thing Matthew Bougard didn’t do was play games. His father was too no-nonsense for that. The only reason his dad had insisted on hiring Kara was because she was the best and had a stellar track record to prove it.

Virgil saw Kara the moment she walked into the restaurant and knew his biggest challenge would be her. If he hadn’t known Kara and had glanced up and seen her for the first time, he would have had the same reaction he noticed several men in the restaurant having now. Kara Goshay wasn’t just a beautiful woman, she was downright striking. Her entrance into any room drew stares from both men and women.

She was wearing an olive-green pencil skirt with a matching jacket and white blouse. Probably on any other person the colors would look drab, but on Kara they looked stunning. The skirt emphasized every single curve of her body as well as her long, gorgeous legs. Her hair was neatly tied up in a knot and he thought the style highlighted the gracefulness of her neck and the long, dark lashes fanning her eyes.

He thought now the same thing he did the very first time he’d ever laid eyes on her. She was a woman about whom fantasies—the hot and steamy kind—were made. Evidently others thought so, as well, and Virgil couldn’t help noticing several men shift in their seats, probably wondering if they would get the opportunity to meet her. Get to know her better. And that, Virgil thought, was the kicker. He already knew Kara, better than most. Knew more than he wanted to remember knowing. Like how she looked underneath her outfit, the location of that half-moon tattoo and all about that little mole on her backside.

He knew where those long legs began and especially where they ended. And he was well aware of those curves—intimately. Every single one of them. And the firm breasts under her blouse...he knew them, too. Very well. He knew how they felt in a man’s hand and how they tasted in his mouth.

She glanced over in his direction and their gazes met, then held much too long to suit him. He sighed deeply and wished he could break the connection and look away, focus his attention on something or someone else, but he couldn’t. He could only sit there and stare at the woman now walking toward him. Stare and remember. However, for some reason he wasn’t thinking about what had torn them apart, but his mind was remembering things they’d done together, especially in the bedroom. After a hard day at work, the bedroom—either his or hers—had been their playground. And they’d played a lot. He could vividly remember all the positions they’d tried, the games they’d played and the talks they’d had. Sexual chemistry had a way of overpowering them whenever they were together, and heaven help him, he was feeling it now with every step she took toward him.

Virgil was beginning to see that suggesting a business dinner might not have been a smart thing to do. He should have found a way to work her into his workday schedule. He tried not to notice how her hand was clutching a leather briefcase—the same one he’d given her for her birthday. He was surprised she still had it. He could remember the night he’d given it to her and how she had thanked him. Just remembering how she’d thanked him made his lower body ache.

Of its own accord his gaze lowered to her legs again, and he couldn’t help but remember the last time they’d made love. And how those same legs had flanked him, locked him between her thighs while she rode him hard. Damn. That should be the last thing he was remembering. What he should be thinking about was how Kara had caused him so much misery and pain.

With the latter thought flaming through his brain, he stood to pull out her chair for her, pasted a smile on his face and said in a tight voice, “Kara. Glad you could make it.”

“Thanks,” Kara said once she was seated across from him. She immediately picked up on his mood and knew it wasn’t good. Just her luck it would be a carryover from yesterday.

She glanced around. “Nice place.”

At least he hadn’t chosen someplace where they’d dined before as a couple. This restaurant had recently opened and was part of the new development on this side of town. Since taking office as mayor of Charlotte, Morgan Steele had kept his campaign promise to grow the city by attracting new businesses and major corporations. While driving here she’d passed a huge medical technology complex as well as several communications firms.

But it wasn’t the town or the restaurant she was focusing on right now. It was Virgil. And he was staring at her. “Is something wrong?” she asked him.

“No. Why do you ask?”

She shrugged. If he hadn’t realized he’d been staring then she wouldn’t be the one to enlighten him. “No reason.”

Kara averted her eyes, looking down at the menu that had been placed in front of her. Moments later she glanced back up at him. “If it’s okay with you, we can skip the meal and just discuss my action plan.”

He frowned. “No, it’s not okay with me. I skipped lunch and I’m hungry. Have you eaten something already?”

“No. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

She could give him a list but decided the less he knew the better. “There’s no problem, Virgil. I just don’t want to take up any more of your time than necessary.”

Virgil’s penetrating stare deepened. “Trust me, Kara. You won’t take up my time, mainly because I wouldn’t let you.”

He caught the glare in her eyes as she stared at him and it didn’t bother him one way or another to know she was irritated with him. In a way, it should. She had a job to do and he was well aware that his unpleasant attitude wasn’t making it easy for her. But then why should he make anything easy for her?

Sighing deeply, he placed his menu down. Hadn’t he decided last week that he needed to move on, and in order to do that he had to get beyond all this anger he had for her? He looked over at her. “Kara?”

She glanced over at him. “Yes?”

“That apology you made six months ago. I accept it.”

For a minute she didn’t say anything but continued to stare at him. “I’m curious as to why you’ve decided to accept it now,” she finally said.

He shrugged. “That shouldn’t be so hard to figure out. We need to work together.”

“And can we try to be friends?”

“No, I wouldn’t go that far. I doubt we’ll ever be friends. Forgiving does not mean forgetting.”

She narrowed her gaze at him. “Then why bother?”

“Do you prefer I not accept your apology?”

She rolled her eyes. “Do whatever you want to do, Virgil. I don’t care anymore.”

He really didn’t care that she didn’t care. “Now that I’ve accepted your apology, let’s decide what we’re having for dinner.”

* * *

After giving the waiter her order, Kara took a sip of her ice water. While Virgil was telling the waiter what he wanted for dinner, she took time to think about his acceptance of her apology.

Did he honestly assume she believed just saying he accepted her apology meant his attitude toward her would change? She knew better and like she’d told him, she really didn’t care.

So why are you letting it bother you if you don’t care? a voice inside her head asked.

“So how are things going at the office, Kara?”

The sound of his husky voice intruded into her thoughts. Why was he asking her that as if he really cared? However, since he was making an attempt to be civil, she would tell him. “Everything is going fine. Cassandra no longer works for me. She and Eric moved to San Diego to be closer to his family. That way she could get help with the baby.”