his watch, clearly dismissing her from his mind. She shook her head and walked the perimeter of the room. The suite was spacious and well appointed, the main room divided into two different areas.
A loveseat and two wingback chairs were placed around a cherry wood coffee table. A dining room table with six chairs sat closer to the window. There was a desk in one corner near the window with a laptop computer set up on it.
“I’m going to be in a meeting.”
“Who is the meeting with?”
“Tobias Jenner—he’s in charge of my East Coast operation.”
“Regular spelling on both names?” she asked, her thumbs moving over the keyboard on her BlackBerry.
“Yes. He’s worked with me for over fifteen years. I don’t think he’s blackmailing me.”
As soon as he affirmed the spelling she sent the name to Anna with a request for more info. Anna could find all the details on anyone in less than five minutes. She was pure magic with her computer.
“Blackmail is a crime of passion. This is someone who knows you.”
“Tobias isn’t the blackmailer.”
She noticed he didn’t say the blackmailer was a stranger. She tucked that away for later examination. She also noted the missing fingertip on his right hand. She wanted to know more about it and made a mental note to investigate. “You sound confident.”
“I am.”
“I’m not. I can’t guard you unless I have all the information available.”
He tipped his head to the side, studying her. She fought to stand still and appear as he wanted to see her, but she realized she’d just let him see a chink in her armor. Just let him glimpse something that wasn’t part of her super-model image.
He walked closer to her and she stood her ground. She backed down for no one. Pride was one of her greatest strengths—and her biggest weakness. It was why she suspected things hadn’t worked out with Perry. Ah, hell, she wasn’t going to get into that right now.
“Do you trust Alonzo?” she asked.
“As much as I trust anyone,” he said.
“You’re not Confucius, so stop talking in riddles. This room is secure as long as you stay away from the window. I’ll check out this Mr. Jenner and then escort him in here.”
“You’re not in charge,” he said. “And I’ve got it all over Confucius.”
“So says you, and until Sam pulls me off the job, I am in charge.”
He crossed the room like he owned it, which she guessed he sort of did. His stride was long and his body language aggressive. He didn’t stop until barely an inch separated them. His aftershave was outdoorsy and spicy and she tried to pretend she didn’t like it, but lying went against the grain. Even white lies to herself.
She wished she could say that meeting him in person had made him seem less attractive. In person he exuded an animal magnetism that made her very aware of her femininity and angry that he didn’t want her on the job, because she wanted to be with him. Not necessarily to work.
He put both hands on the door on either side of her head and leaned in. “I don’t take orders.”
“You give them?” she asked, trying to keep her wits about her. He was a distraction that she didn’t need. The sheer physicality of him was so different from Perry’s urbane smoothness. Daniel was raw, masculine—delicious, she thought. She put her hand on his sternum and pushed—he didn’t budge. She could force the issue but she didn’t, wanting to see how this would play out.
Instead he leaned closer, sinking his lower body against hers. “If you want to stay with me, alternative arrangements can be made.”
“That’s sexual harassment,” she said.
His left hand caressed the side of her face, following the line of her neck to the base, where he rested his thumb over her pulse.
“Only if I said you could have the job if you sleep with me. I’m saying don’t work for me but be my lover.”
“I’m not really into being a rich man’s plaything.”
“Why not?”
“Because I