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reservation at his remarks. Surprised but pleased. Even though he’d hoped she
would agree to his plan, part of him half expected her to tell him where to go
and how to get there. Yet she didn’t do that. She just stared at him silently.
He stared back, curious about what was going on behind those big brown eyes of
hers.
    “Did I shock you?” he said after a moment or two.
    “Yeah.” She nodded. “A little bit.”
    He was willing to bet it was a hell of a lot more than “a
little bit”. “Maybe I should have worked up to that a bit more.”
    “You think?” she said with a slight smile. “You know you
don’t say a lot, but when you do finally decide to speak, you get to the heart
of it, don’t you?”
    “Usually.”
    She tilted her head and nodded. “I see.”
    Reese was a man of few words, but for her he was wiling to
extend himself. “If it will make you feel better, we can take the long way
around this, but I personally prefer to skip the pleasantries and ask for what
I want.”
    “How does that normally work out for you?”
    He did his best to suppress his smile. “Pretty damn good.”
    “I bet.” Her big brown eyes twinkled with amusement. “I can
honestly say this was not the direction I was expecting the conversation to
veer to when you first brought me in here.”
    “I like to keep people guessing.”
    “And you do it so well.”
    “It’s a gift,” he said with a shrug. “So would you like
something to drink? Water or so—”
    “Were you serious about me putting on a one-woman show for
you?” she interrupted.
    “Completely.” He had never been more serious about anything
in his life.
    “Then I’m going to need something a little stronger than
water.”
    Stronger he could do. “What’s your poison?”
    “What do you have?”
    “Pretty much everything.” Reese reached back and picked up
the remote control. He aimed it at a different painting on a separate wall and
clicked the button that caused the artwork to slide to the side and unveil the
small bar he kept well-stocked. “The only thing I don’t have is lime or cola. I
have club soda though, if you want to dilute your drink.”
    “Oh my…wow.” She made her way over to the bar slowly with a
look of wonderment on her pretty brown face. She was staring like some women
did outside jewelry stores, all amazed and doe-eyed. He could tell just by the
way she was staring she was the type of woman who took pleasure in little
things. How could he not want to make all her fantasies come true? Charmed, he
watched her as she ran her fingers gently over the decanters and glassware.
When she was done, she turned to him and shook her head. “Dude, what’s with
this office?”
    “What do you mean?” He set the remote down and joined her at
the bar. “It’s nothing.”
    “It’s far from nothing. Come on, this place is completely
tricked out. I’ve been to homes that didn’t have this much flash.”
    “It’s the sliding painting. It gets everyone.”
    “For a security guard you have some serious swag.”
    “First…” He paused to pick up a bottle, his personal drink
of choice. “I’m not a security guard. And secondly, this isn’t my swag. It’s
just my office and it doesn’t represent me in any way, shape or form.”
    “Then who does it represent?”
    “Malachi. He’s the one who designed this office.” He tilted
the decanter toward her. “Bourbon.”
    “That’s fine. Straight up.”
    “Okay.” He liked woman who were no-frill drinkers. He pulled
the stopper out of the glass bottle then set it on the table before reaching
for a glass. “Bourbon it is.”
    “Wait a second. You said Malachi.” She held up a finger and
gestured around the room. “As in Malachi Sarraf, of Sarraf Enterprise. Owner of
the very building we’re standing in right now.”
    “The one and only,” he said as he poured two fingers of the
clear brown liquid into her glass. He filled a similar glass for himself before
recapping the