Read Online Conflict of Interest by Allyson Lindt - Free Book Online

time she thought about the day before, heat flooded her. She tried to hide her reaction by glancing at her watch before she acknowledged him. That had been physical, this was business. They had both agreed. She could do this.
    Right?
    He took a seat on the arm of her chair, and she resisted the urge to lean into him. Now wasn’t the time, especially not in public. The trouble she’d get in if anyone knew she was intimate with a client—whether or not it was impacting her work. She scooted away, trying to mask it under the disguise of studying his wardrobe. He wore jeans with more holes than fabric and an Iron Maiden shirt that looked like he’d buffed his car with it.
    The professional side of her climbed back into control. She pursed her lips. “What are you wearing?”
    “Clothes.” He stood and offered her a hand.
    She bit back a sigh at the familiar touch, pulling away as soon as was polite.
    A tiny frown crossed his face and then vanished again. “Thing about places like this, they tend to frown on nudity.”
    Places like this. One of the nicest restaurants in town. After spending hours the night before poring over Scott’s past—which seemed to start abruptly nine years ago, and she hadn’t figured out yet why he didn’t have a childhood—she’d realized he really didn’t have issues with the media or negative press except when it came to how he held himself professionally in public. Big surprise. He tended to offend people at trade shows, piss people off in interviews, and draw all the wrong crowds in hospitality suites.
    She’d asked him to meet her here because the city’s upper crust held their business lunches here. It was always a good place to point out how they behaved and see how her apprentice showed up without coaching so she knew how much work she had left to do.
    Some of the other groups waiting for tables—she’d been told at least forty-five minutes, and these men who were supposedly on their lunch hour were mingling and waiting anyway—were glancing at them and frowning as they muttered to each other.
    Maybe she should have at least warned him what kind of a place this was. Those jeans were horrible. It was a good thing there wasn’t a dress code. But this was what she’d needed to see.
    She forced her smile to remain pleasant. “They put my name on their list. I guess we have a little while to wait still.”
    Scott looked her over, dark eyes lingering on her face for a moment. The corner of his mouth pulled up. “Your hair still looks better down.”
    He turned away before she could reply, which was fine with her. It gave her a chance to hide the flush on her cheeks. She hadn’t left it down for him. She just hadn’t had time to pull it back that morning. She tucked a strand behind her ear and suppressed a growl when she realized he was making his way to the hostess’ podium.
    “Scott.” She tried to keep her voice low, but threatening. “What are you doing?”
    He glanced at her. “You really should have called ahead.” He turned back to the brunette, who was studying her nails. “Becca, how’s my favorite girl?” His greeting carried through the lobby, drawing more than a few nearby glances.
    Kenzie resisted the urge to find a plant to hide behind. What was he doing?
    “Hey, hon.” Becca’s demeanor shifted in an instant when she saw him. Her shoulders straightened, and she stopped leaning on the nearby wall. “Haven’t seen you in a while. You look good.”
    Kenzie pursed her lips and watched the exchange in silence, realization dawning on her. He knew the woman, but how?
    “You know how it goes.” Scott leaned in on his arm and rested his weight on the podium. “My boss is an asshole slave driver.”
    Becca giggled—actually tittered and covered her mouth with her fingertips while Kenzie bit back a gag—and grabbed two menus from their hiding spot. “Your table is ready if you are.”
    “Always.” Scott’s smile was warm and genuine.
    Amazement