The Seduction Request

“You missed me? That would explain why you stopped calling. Never once visited. Yeah, you sure seemed broken up about it.”

“Your parents came out to visit me. You could have come with them.”

She’d wanted to. It had torn her to pieces to watch her parents leave, knowing they would see Matt. Knowing how badly she’d wanted to see him, too. And knowing it just wasn’t an option. Not if her heart was ever going to heal. “I don’t remember getting an invitation.”

“You were always welcome.”

“Oh, was it one of those mind-reading things us women are supposed to be able to do? I probably should have told you, I was absent the day they taught that in home economics.”

Matt gave her a scrutinizing look. “I don’t remember you being this cynical.”

“I’m being realistic.” The phone on her desk rang and she turned to snatch it up. Her mood plummeted even lower when she answered the phone and recognized the voice on the other end.

“Emily, dear,” Alex’s mother said sharply. “I need to speak with my son.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Marlette, but Alex stepped out for the afternoon.” And tomorrow afternoon, and the one after that.

“This is the third time I’ve called this week. Haven’t you been giving him my messages?”

Emily hated this. She hated lying to save Alex’s rear end time and time again. “He’s been so busy, he probably just forgot to get back to you.”

Busy slathering on the suntan oil and sipping exotic fruit drinks, she wanted to add. He hadn’t answered his cell phone or responded to the dozens of pages she’d sent the past three days. She was no stranger to the pressures of a demanding, critical family and understood his need to escape. But without his participation, she wouldn’t be able to hold his life together for him much longer.

“Could you please let my son know that the accountant will be out next Wednesday at nine sharp for the quarterly audit and I expect him to be there.” The woman’s tone was so bitterly cold, Emily was sure she could feel icicles forming on her ear.

“I’ll pass the message along, Mrs.—”

There was a click, then the line went dead.

“Nice to talk to you, too,” she mumbled as she dropped the phone back in the cradle. If she didn’t know the woman better, she might have taken the harsh treatment personally. But Alex’s mother regarded everyone, including her own family, with equal contempt.

Emily turned to find Matt leaning against the door, hands tucked loosely in his jeans pockets, watching her.

She gave him her best exasperated look. “Are you still here?”

His grin widened until the hint of a dimple dented his left cheek, raising the boyish-charm-level tenfold. “I haven’t asked you out to dinner yet.”

“Dinner? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“It’s the least I can do.”

She handed Matt the binder. “Goodbye, Conway.”

He took it, and something warm in his expression, a glint in his eyes, had shivers crawling up her spine.

He opened the door. “When can I expect an estimate?”

“Give me a week.” Maybe by then she would have shaken off this nagging attraction.

“I have one more question,” he said.

“I won’t go out to lunch with you either.”

He grinned and her insides flipped. “How certain can I be that Marlette will complete the job if I accept your bid?”

His question threw her for a moment, then she recognized, like any good businessman, he’d done some digging. Not that he’d have to dig very deep. Marlette’s financial difficulties were common knowledge among competing nurseries, several of whom had lowballed them out of many a contract this season. She hadn’t yet figured out how, but as low as Marlette kept their bids, there was always someone lower. Though she hoped she was wrong, she was beginning to suspect they had a rogue employee on the loose.

One more thing she didn’t have time to worry about.

“This could be the account to save our butts,” she said. “If we win the bid, we’ll come through for you. You have my word.”

“That’s good enough for me.” Emily’s honesty impressed Matt. And what he hadn’t mentioned was that Marlette was the only company bidding. He didn’t often let sentimentality edge its way into his business dealings, especially with his investors so shaky about the venture, but in this case he was making an exception. Emily was obviously working hard to pull the company into the black. He admired her determination.

Not to mention that this was about the only way she’d let him within a hundred yards of her.

“I look forward to doing business with you.” He held out a hand for her to shake. She hesitated a second, then gripped his hand firmly.

Nothing fluffy about that handshake. She was all business, and it was over so quickly he barely had time to relish her soft skin against his fingers.

The phone rang again. She turned to pick it up, and after a pause snapped, “Where in the hell have you been, Alex? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days. Mildred has been all over my back.”

The mysterious boyfriend, no doubt.

She listened for a minute, and Matt could swear he heard music over the line. Something Caribbean.

“Hold on, Alex.” She cupped a hand over the mouthpiece and turned to Matt. “I need to take this.”

“Can I give you a bit of advice?” he asked.

She looked to the door, gave an exasperated sigh, then nodded.

“You’ll get nowhere in business cleaning up someone else’s mess.” With an image of her perplexed expression etched into his mind, he walked out, grinning to himself. Tugging his keys from his pocket, he headed out to the parking lot.

He was wearing her down. As hard as she was working to seem irritated, he could sense her relaxing, letting her guard down. He could also sense her conflict. She wanted to like him, but she was afraid to trust him. It wouldn’t be much longer before he had her hooked, and in the meantime, he was enjoying the hell out of himself. For the first time in months he was focused on something other than getting the restaurant built and it was a welcome relief. He would even consider leaving the construction company to its own devices for a day if he could spend the time with Emily.

He thought of the lake up at the cottage where they’d spent so many summer afternoons and wondered if she still liked to fish. Or they could drive to Metro Park, rent bikes and ride the trails. Hell, they could sit on the hood of his car and talk all day for all he cared. As long as he was with her. And maybe, if things went well he could invite her back to his hotel room….

The direction of his thoughts startled him. Taking Emily back to his hotel for…well, whatever they might end up doing, was out of the question. For now. Pushing too hard, too fast, would only drive her away. He had to remind himself, he was doing this for Ty and his parents. If this Alex person was really into something shady, it was imperative Matt not screw this up.

He’d already decided to take Ty’s advice and concentrate on being her friend.

Three

The air drifting in the front window, thick and sticky and tinged with the scent of summer rain, zapped the last of Emily’s energy. She stretched out on her love seat, waiting for the pizza guy, relieved the day was almost over. As badly as it had begun, when she was convinced things couldn’t get much worse, they had.

Alex, it would seem, was having so much fun he’d decided to extend his vacation another few days. She’d tried to explain how difficult it had been holding it together at work lately and he came back with his typical, “Don’t worry about it, Em. It’ll all work itself out.”

He didn’t have to face twenty-five employees, not to mention the fifteen or so college kids they hired every spring and summer, knowing it might only be a matter of weeks before they were out of a job. Though he was her good friend and she loved him to death, acting as a human shield between him and his mother was getting old.