Sheer Decadence

“I deserve a break,” she muttered, stretching her muscles as she stood. A cup of tea sounded good, and maybe she’d drop by Meg’s office on the way back from the break room, see if her friend had any fun model gossip this morning.

The break room was a beige room with scuffed cabinets and absolutely zero decorative qualities. There was, however, always a ready supply of hot and cold beverages, the day’s copy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to read, and usually people with whom to shoot the breeze. All in all, a good source of procrastination.

Today, the coffee room’s inhabitants were female, with one notable exception.

Justin Hawthorne sat in a blue plastic chair amid five women, including Kate from HR; Steve’s personal secretary, Diane; a couple of ladies from accounting; and even sixty-seven-year-old Ms. Phipps, who kept casting wish-I-were-forty-years-younger glances in Justin’s direction.

The admiring glances Olivia could empathize with, but really, had Diane forgotten this was a place of business? When the curvy redhead asked Justin if she could have the issue of the AJC lying on the table in front of him, she managed to phrase the request in a breathless sultry tone that insinuated she wanted something much more. Instead of waiting for him to hand her the paper, she slowly leaned forward, brushing against him in a way Kate could have used as the what-not-to-do example in her sexual-harassment seminar.

Waggling his eyebrows, Justin said something in a low voice that caused Diane to laugh, and Olivia ground her teeth. Her annoyance was only heightened when she couldn’t help an admiring glance of her own. No man should look that good! His all-black attire today was a great foil for his light hair and bright eyes.

Basic black is back, and what could be sexier?

The man lounged in his chair like a sexy monarch surveying his coffee-scented kingdom. Or a sheikh with his harem. Olivia reached blankly for one of the mugs kept over the sink, but instead of seeing the cabinet in front of her, she envisioned herself in a flimsy costume of veils, summoned by Justin to—

“Morning.” His warm deep voice in her ear caused her to jump, and she clenched the handle of the blue mug to keep from dropping it.

“Justin! I didn’t notice you.” More accurately, she’d been too lost in her own torrid fantasies to see him stand up.

“Apparently.” He raised a dark blond brow. “Not very flattering, you realize.”

Olivia said nothing as she filled her mug with water. Was his teasing comment an invitation for her to appease his ego? Why would he need it when, as far as she could tell, the other women in the room had been generously feeding his self-esteem?

Sean’s parting words echoed in her mind. It wouldn’t be fair to the women of the world to limit myself to just one. Was Justin cut from the same cloth? Wanting that sixth woman’s attention when he already had the adoration of five, including a gorgeous redheaded secretary who was now glaring daggers at Olivia? Was that all the moment of sexual connection in her office yesterday had been about? For a few seconds, with his eyes on hers, he’d made her feel no one existed beyond the two of them, but maybe he would have behaved the same with any other woman.

Justin reached past Olivia to the coffeemaker, glancing over his shoulder at the female-inhabited table. “Did you want sugar in this, Ms. Phipps?”

“Two packets, please.”

As he stirred the sugar into the cup he’d just filled, Olivia sighed. It was much easier to maintain her cynical image of the man when he was enjoying Diane’s cleavage instead of doing a favor for the elderly Ms. Phipps.

Diane, however, wasn’t impressed with his small act of kindness. She left the room in an I’m-not-used-to-sharing-a-man’s-attention huff. The two women Olivia recognized from accounting followed behind, chatting as they walked, but they both shot wistful glances in Justin’s direction.

Seemingly oblivious, he handed Ms. Phipps her cup of coffee.

The older woman smiled. “Thank you, but I should be getting back to work now, too.”

“My loss,” Justin said with a rakish smile.

Olivia grabbed a single-serving bag of decaffeinated tea, wondering if he was a great guy who was kind to his elders, or if he was just so in the habit of flirting that he never turned it off.

After the small exodus of women, the only one remaining was Kate, who sidled closer to Justin and delicately cleared her throat. “So, um, about that dinner….”

“I’ll call you after the South Carolina trip,” Justin said. “You pick out the restaurant.”

Not a week on the job and he already had a date. Now why isn’t that surprising? The only surprise was that his plans were with fresh-faced Kate and not Diane, who stood a better chance at holding her own with a man in Justin’s league. Trying to look like something other than a disapproving eavesdropper, Olivia set her mug in the microwave.

Kate bounced out of the room with the enthusiasm of a teenager who’d just been asked to the prom, and Olivia almost winced on the poor girl’s behalf. When Olivia had been younger, she’d worn her heart on her sleeve in much the same way…but after it had been broken a few times, she’d moved it for safekeeping.

Instead of also leaving now that his admirers had gone, Justin leaned against the counter. She watched the microwave, willing it to beep. Thursday, when she’d be trapped in the car with him, was plenty soon enough to be alone with him. She pondered the possibility of his becoming less sexy between now and then. Was there a polite, logical way to insist he didn’t wear black?

Probably not.

TRYING NOT TO BE too obvious, Justin studied his beautiful co-worker. Her gray eyes were frosty today, with no hint of the molten silver desire he’d seen—and felt—yesterday in her office. He wanted to cajole her into a more receptive mood, to prove the woman he’d seen glimpses of was in there somewhere.

“How’s your day going, Liv?” He assumed she went by the office nickname, but, personally, he didn’t think it suited her.

The more lyrical Olivia fit perfectly—as did the navy turtleneck and long tailored skirt she wore. There was a sexy contrast between how little skin was revealed and how boldly the lush curves of her body were delineated. Stopping short of a noticeable leer, he discreetly traced those curves with his gaze, wishing it were with his hands instead.

“Fine.” She dipped her tea bag in her mug. “Busy.”

Not a woman of many words.

Licking her lips, she took a step forward to go around him. “I should be getting back to my office.”

The scent of her light floral perfume and the warmer fragrance of her body wafted over him. “You smell incredible.”

She froze, spine rigid, her only movement the now double-time dunking of her tea. If he didn’t know better, he’d say her expression was hurt. He was willing to admit that yesterday, when he’d commented on her figure, his words had come out wrong, but now he could only conclude that the lady didn’t take flattery well. She ducked her head, and her long wavy hair fell over her shoulder in a dark curtain, partially obscuring her face.

“I meant it in the complimentary sense,” he said.

“Yes. I know.”

“I thought women liked it when men notice personal details and comment.”

“Maybe some do.” She looked up then, her eyes steely. “Personally, I’ve had my fill of handsome charmers with ulterior motives.”

“Now hold on a second.” Noticing the way her skirt hugged her tight perfect derriere wasn’t a motive. He’d get back to that handsome and charming part later. “I—”

“I apologize.” She exhaled, her shoulders rounding. “You said something kind, and I was rude.”

More defensive than rude, and her eyes reflected a vulnerability that seemed an odd reaction to a comment on her perfume.

Justin told himself to end this exchange and forget it ever happened. After the responsibilities of the last few years, responsibilities that unofficially ended tomorrow night, he’d earned the right to uncomplicated fun. Olivia’s changing moods and mixed signals screamed complications.

A man with any brains would ask Diane out when he got back from South Carolina. He’d been caught off guard by Kate’s dinner invitation and reflexively said yes, but she seemed like a sweet kid who needed an equally sweet boyfriend. Justin was looking for something a little less lasting—simple, clear-cut, adult enjoyment.

He looked into Olivia’s soft gray eyes, and desire tightened his body. Too bad he didn’t think the offer of no-strings fun would appeal to her.

“Maybe I should be the one apologizing,” he said, “if my remarks were too personal for the workplace.”

“No, I overreacted. I’ve been…never mind. Maybe you really are a nice guy.”

“Just ‘maybe’?” he teased, giving her a look of mock-indignation.

She laughed, and the husky sound affected him even more viscerally than when he’d overheard it yesterday, because this time he’d won it from her. Her open, welcoming expression was unexpected and transformed her from attractive to so sexy his breath caught.

He held the door open, and as she passed by, she tossed one last smile over her shoulder. “I really am sorry if I’ve been curt. I’m glad we’re going to be working together, Justin.”