Normally, Phil’s antics irked her. But right now her mind was elsewhere—namely on Zach Halliday and Danver’s Pub and bathtubs—and she needed to get it back.
She followed Zach into her office and set her briefcase on the carpet. Sammi arrived with the coffee mugs and placed them on the desk. Zach pushed his hands into the pockets of his tan Dockers.
“Hold my calls,” Tess instructed her moon-eyed secretary.
Sammi left, closing the door.
Zach rocked back on his heels. “Alone at last.”
His deep voice whipped a fresh surge of arousal through her. Another time, another place—
“What do you want?”
He laughed. “Don’t get all high and mighty with me, Tess S. You’re the last person I expected to see when I entered that conference room, believe me.”
If Zach Halliday thought logic could appease her, he was mistaken. “You lied to me.”
“I lied?”
“About your name. Jack Halloran? What is that, your bar-hopping alias?”
He couldn’t even affect the grace to appear insulted. “Um, yeah, believe every word you’ve ever heard about me, Teresa . I’m a lazy, skirt-chasing sex machine. Compelling women to hit on me in bars and talk dirty on the phone is my pastime.”
At least he possessed a decent vocabulary. She strode to the front of her desk. “I didn’t know who you were then. If I had, considering our business meeting today, do you honestly believe I would have done that?”
“Which part? The bar or the phone call?”
“Both!” She shot a glance to the closed office door.
He strolled toward her. “I don’t know, Tess, because I don’t know you. I’d like to, though. We still on for Saturday night?”
“Be serious.” She backed against the desk.
“I am.”
“So am I. We can’t. I can’t. You’re a client.”
“Naw. Technically speaking, my father’s the client. For now. I only came to the meeting because he asked me to. You might say he compelled me to. Runs in the family.” He grinned.
Sure, laugh it up. Damn him and his sexy, charismatic smile. Zach Halliday wasn’t the one who’d made a colossal error in judgment. Fake name aside, he hadn’t tried to pass himself off as an entirely different person.
No, the man standing mere millimeters away, looking tickled and self-assured and far too yummy, was essentially the same hunk of burnin’ love she’d approached in Danver’s.
“It doesn’t matter.” She needed him to understand. “I don’t go up to strange men in bars. I don’t have phone sex.”
His brown eyes gleamed. “You could have fooled me.”
That was precisely what she had done—fooled him and herself. She wasn’t cut out for wild affairs. The fantasy appealed to her need for spontaneity, but the reality bit the big one. The artifice required to survive today’s meeting alone had wound her so tightly she felt ready to snap.
“I’m sorry if I led you on,” she mumbled.
“Don’t be.”
“I know my limitations. I can’t pretend to be someone I’m not.” Although, at this moment, if she could change that most exasperating detail about herself, she would. Zach’s intense gaze kept her nipples at attention, and his sensual voice moistened her sheer panties. She’d come like a banshee over the phone with the guy. Imagine the erotic delights in store if she actually slept with him.
His gaze focused on her mouth. “I have another fantasy, you know, about having sex on a desktop. Hot, messy and raunchy. Strange, now that I think about it, I realize I’ve never tried it.”
Her breathing quickened. What was the accursed man saying? That he wanted to try it now ?
“We’re in an interesting position here, Tess,” he said as mildly as if he hadn’t unleashed yet another tangle of arousing images in her mind. “L.G. is your boss, and, given your behavior during the meeting, I take it you want to impress him. I could help you out there.”
His gaze lowered to her suit jacket. Slowly, he raised a hand and brushed the
She followed Zach into her office and set her briefcase on the carpet. Sammi arrived with the coffee mugs and placed them on the desk. Zach pushed his hands into the pockets of his tan Dockers.
“Hold my calls,” Tess instructed her moon-eyed secretary.
Sammi left, closing the door.
Zach rocked back on his heels. “Alone at last.”
His deep voice whipped a fresh surge of arousal through her. Another time, another place—
“What do you want?”
He laughed. “Don’t get all high and mighty with me, Tess S. You’re the last person I expected to see when I entered that conference room, believe me.”
If Zach Halliday thought logic could appease her, he was mistaken. “You lied to me.”
“I lied?”
“About your name. Jack Halloran? What is that, your bar-hopping alias?”
He couldn’t even affect the grace to appear insulted. “Um, yeah, believe every word you’ve ever heard about me, Teresa . I’m a lazy, skirt-chasing sex machine. Compelling women to hit on me in bars and talk dirty on the phone is my pastime.”
At least he possessed a decent vocabulary. She strode to the front of her desk. “I didn’t know who you were then. If I had, considering our business meeting today, do you honestly believe I would have done that?”
“Which part? The bar or the phone call?”
“Both!” She shot a glance to the closed office door.
He strolled toward her. “I don’t know, Tess, because I don’t know you. I’d like to, though. We still on for Saturday night?”
“Be serious.” She backed against the desk.
“I am.”
“So am I. We can’t. I can’t. You’re a client.”
“Naw. Technically speaking, my father’s the client. For now. I only came to the meeting because he asked me to. You might say he compelled me to. Runs in the family.” He grinned.
Sure, laugh it up. Damn him and his sexy, charismatic smile. Zach Halliday wasn’t the one who’d made a colossal error in judgment. Fake name aside, he hadn’t tried to pass himself off as an entirely different person.
No, the man standing mere millimeters away, looking tickled and self-assured and far too yummy, was essentially the same hunk of burnin’ love she’d approached in Danver’s.
“It doesn’t matter.” She needed him to understand. “I don’t go up to strange men in bars. I don’t have phone sex.”
His brown eyes gleamed. “You could have fooled me.”
That was precisely what she had done—fooled him and herself. She wasn’t cut out for wild affairs. The fantasy appealed to her need for spontaneity, but the reality bit the big one. The artifice required to survive today’s meeting alone had wound her so tightly she felt ready to snap.
“I’m sorry if I led you on,” she mumbled.
“Don’t be.”
“I know my limitations. I can’t pretend to be someone I’m not.” Although, at this moment, if she could change that most exasperating detail about herself, she would. Zach’s intense gaze kept her nipples at attention, and his sensual voice moistened her sheer panties. She’d come like a banshee over the phone with the guy. Imagine the erotic delights in store if she actually slept with him.
His gaze focused on her mouth. “I have another fantasy, you know, about having sex on a desktop. Hot, messy and raunchy. Strange, now that I think about it, I realize I’ve never tried it.”
Her breathing quickened. What was the accursed man saying? That he wanted to try it now ?
“We’re in an interesting position here, Tess,” he said as mildly as if he hadn’t unleashed yet another tangle of arousing images in her mind. “L.G. is your boss, and, given your behavior during the meeting, I take it you want to impress him. I could help you out there.”
His gaze lowered to her suit jacket. Slowly, he raised a hand and brushed the
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