Naked Attraction

“That’s very old-fashioned.”

“Hmm. Believe what you will. And I don’t blame you in the least for not wanting to take a more critical look at Ellie. After all, you’ve had to work with her, and besides—unlike her—you’re nice, so you want to give her the benefit of the doubt, as her coworker. My point is she’s just not soft and womanly like her mama. I think those feminists turned her off men in college.”

Robby winced. “Times have changed, Daddy Eddie.”

“That’s what I keep saying!” Daddy Eddie exploded.

“Ellie’s more modern,” Robby admitted. “I’ll give you that. Still, it doesn’t mean she’s never going to meet somebody special.”

“When?”

“She’s not even thirty.”

“By the time her mama was thirty, she’d had four kids!”

The defense was starting to sound lame. “True, but nowadays, a lot of women wait longer.”

Daddy Eddie squinted, looking wounded and betrayed. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d taken a fancy to her, yourself, given the way you come to her defense like some knight in shining armor.”

“I’m not defending her,” Robby vowed. “I admit she’s a little tough.” When he thought about some of Ellie’s more aggressive moments, he wasn’t sure that was necessarily a bad thing, either. “Look, can we talk about something other than Ellie? Let’s not ruin our meal, okay?”

“You’re finished eating, anyway,” countered Daddy Eddie. “And Ellie’s the main problem we have today, so she must be dealt with.” Glancing down, he shook his head, now reading from the paper once more. “‘Showing she can put her money where her mouth is, Ms. Lee is now running the most interesting promotional campaign in the history of the polling business, a move that may well have those at Lee Polls eating their hearts out.’”

Since she’d broken his heart, Robby figured she might as well eat it, too. Again, he said nothing as Daddy Eddie read Ellie’s game plan, saying she meant to use her polling skills to find a man.

“Can you imagine?” Daddy Eddie implored, gasping in astonishment.

“No,” Robby admitted grimly.

“This proves my point. Love is nothing to her. Nothing! Why, she’d actually run a poll to find a mate, when we both know that the decision about a life partner is the most important in the world. Classic Ellie,” Daddy Eddie declared.

More than he knew. Ellie wasn’t just striking at the heart of Lee Polls, but at her ex-lover, too. And ending the affair sure hadn’t crimped her style. Every morning, when he looked in the mirror, Robby knew he was worse for wear. His hair was getting streaked with gray and the fine lines around his eyes had deepened, turning into crevices and lending him a weatherworn appearance.

Without Ellie reminding him to eat, he’d lost a few pounds, too, and he was starting to look gaunt. Since he wasn’t going to see Ellie at the office, he was letting his stubble grow, only shaving every other day. He’d always hated shaving, anyway.

Ellie, by contrast, looked better than ever. In the picture in the paper, she was wearing a beautiful rust-colored suit he didn’t recognize, probably bought for the occasion. Although, no matter what she put on, she looked stunning. Her gray-blue eyes bespoke a strange timelessness, and she had a habit of staring, as if she wasn’t at all inclined to blink. Often, when he looked at her, Robby had to force himself to finally look away.

Her body was just as captivating, communicating something eternal. She was tall and long-waisted, in good health, but never muscular, made of sloping curves. Her face was a near-perfect oval, but with a wide forehead, making her look as brainy as heck. In terms of dress, she had the sexy librarian thing down pat.

“Robby?”

He blinked, then damned himself for drifting once more into what he called “the Ellie zone.” Often, he’d start thinking about her, only to glance up, look at a clock and realize a full hour had passed. “Huh?”

“I said they’re not making men like they used to,” Daddy Eddie continued. “I don’t have to tell you that. Do I, Robby?” Before Robby could respond, the man started in once more. “I mean, these fellows I’m talking about, that my little girl used to date in college…why, they’d never even fished or hiked. I ask you, what kind of a fellow can’t make his own fish flies?”

“I make mine, so I couldn’t say.”

“Exactly.”

Frequently, Daddy Eddie implied Robby would have made a perfect match for Ellie. However, if he suspected the truth, the man would change his tune in a heartbeat. In fact, Robby’s backside would be chock-full of buckshot.

As if reading his mind, Daddy Eddie continued, “And you can sure as hell bet those boys couldn’t shoot a gun. What kind of woman would want a man who can’t shoot straight?”

That was probably a dangling double entendre, but Robby didn’t take the bait. Instead, he abruptly changed the subject. While conversing with Daddy Eddie, one often had to revert to non sequiturs. “I don’t really know how to bring this up,” Robby said, “but I need to take a few days off.”

“Don’t we all,” crooned Daddy Eddie.

“Sorry you’ve felt compelled to come back to work, sir,” Robby managed. “I do feel bad about it.” Suddenly, temper rose inside him. “And dammit,” he added, “I’m sorry about the way business is going, Daddy Eddie. I really am. I know you hoped I’d be able to step up to the plate.”

“Well, Ellie’s got us by the kahunas, son. Mostly because she’s female.”

There was some truth in it. Some clients had left because she was playing the underdog. Otherwise, her leaving had thrown Robby completely off his game, which didn’t help. He felt as deflated as an old birthday balloon. Lee Polls just wasn’t the same without her.

Daddy Eddie heaved a sigh. “That’s the hell of it, isn’t it? Women always have the upper hand. No matter what. And that’s the first thing any red-blooded male has to understand about the fairer sex. They rule the world.”

“But we have to pretend we do,” Robby agreed ruefully, not fully agreeing with Daddy Eddie’s point, but having heard this lecture many times.

“Well, maybe you should go on vacation.”

That was a surprise. “I should?”

Daddy Eddie nodded decisively. “Yes, indeed. You haven’t taken a day off since my witchlike daughter so rudely left town.” He shook his head in consternation. “She didn’t even give two-weeks’ notice. Or clean her desk.” He eyed Robby. “You and I had to do that, and I know, firsthand, she was raised with better manners than that.”

“I just need a couple days.”

“Take all the time you want.”

“Pardon me for saying so, but why are you trying to get rid of me now?”

Daddy Eddie eyed the newspaper article with a malicious glint in the gaze. “I’d like to be left to my own devices for a few days.”

“Great.” Long ago, Robby had learned not to trust Daddy Eddie. “What do you have up your sleeve?”

“My plan is still formulating.”

“I can’t wait to hear.” Daddy Eddie could fight just as hard as Ellie. She’d gotten all the man’s worst genes. Now God only knew what was brewing in the old coot’s devious mind. “Maybe I’d better stick around.”

“Oh, you know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Ellie.”

“Not lethally,” Robby agreed. “That being the case, why don’t you share your diabolical plot?”

“Oh, no,” Daddy Eddie said with a sudden, soft chuckle that didn’t bode well in Robby’s humble opinion. “You need to clear your head, so you’d better go on vacation. In fact, why don’t you take the rest of the day off to organize your things?”

Hearing a ruckus behind him, and feeling half glad for the interruption, Robby glanced over his shoulder toward the door, just in time to see Max Sweeney cross the threshold. In a heartbeat, blind fury claimed Robby and pure killer instinct took over.

Daddy Eddie’s attention sharpened, too. “Bastard,” he muttered simply.

“That guy always makes me see red.”