compared to the way a pair of well-worn denim jeans hugged his lean hips and emphasized rock-hard thighs. The T-shirt he wore left his tanned and muscled forearms bare, and Claire’s pulse quickened as she remembered those arms tracing up her bare ribcage.
The woman stood on tiptoe and whispered something into Helmut’s ear. He chuckled. The bright glow in his eyes as he talked to his date answered all of Claire’s doubts. Clearly, they knew each other well. Claire’s stomach churned at the thought of all of the sexual fantasies she’d been nurturing the past week. He had been making a fool of her—and of his pretty little girlfriend. She stiffened her spine and raised her chin a notch. The girlfriend was none of Claire’s business, and as of now, Helmut was nothing but business to her.
Before she could rip her eyes away from the pair, Helmut spotted her. His eyes darkened as he caught her gaze. Claire’s blood boiled at the thinly veiled desire she saw in his eyes. How dare he look at her like that, here, in front of his whole office and his date. She turned sharply on one heel and stalked into the suite’s private restroom, closing the door behind her with a snap.
Fool. Wimp. Claire stared at her own image in the bathroom mirror. You are fearless in the face of television cameras, an auditorium full of stockholders, or a boardroom full of men twice your age. But you are a complete coward when faced with one lone man.
A speaker in the ceiling announced that the backup pitcher had just taken the mound. Time to get back to her own party. Claire flushed the empty toilet and ran the sink water briefly, for effect, and then lifted her head high and stepped out of the bathroom.
Most of the people had returned to their seats or found spots along the wall of windows overlooking the field, and no one paid any attention to Claire as she slipped out the door and back into the now-empty hallway.
Helmut leaned lazily against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and eyes narrowed at the brunette standing in front of him talking. Claire paused mid-step. There was no way to walk past him without being noticed. Maybe he would ignore her. She schooled her features into a polite mask and started to walk past.
“Claire—”
Claire startled as Helmut’s hand touched her sleeve. In his eyes, Claire saw a low simmer that sent a thrill straight to her core. She forced her lips into a polite smile.
“Helmut. You had a nice turnout,” she said, indicating the door she just stepped out of.
His lips quirked. “I would like you to meet someone.”
Claire gritted her teeth as he put one arm around the woman’s shoulder. “Claire Sheffield, this is my sister Kelsie.”
Claire’s jaw dropped at the word “sister”. Was he kidding? The brunette—Kelsie—extended a hand and cocked her head to one side as she studied Claire.
“It’s an honor, to meet you in person Mrs. Sheffield. We studied Arachnava last semester in my business strategy course. Your accomplishments there were awesome!”
Claire reeled from the unexpected fan-girl attitude. This girl was Helmut’s sister? “Um, great. Are you a, um, student then?”
“I’m majoring in English Lit at the University of Florida, minoring in finance. I’m thinking of going for an MBA. I mean, academia isn’t that exciting, and there aren’t a lot of other job opportunities in my field.”
Claire smiled and nodded, her mind racing. When Kelsie paused in her rambling monologue to catch her breath, Claire arched one eyebrow at Helmut. “You go to school in Florida. What brings you to Chicago?”
Kelsie crossed her arms across her abdomen. “I, uh, road trip,” she mumbled.
Helmut chuckled nervously. “Don’t you miss the impulsive college days when you could just drop everything and hit the road for the weekend?”
“Heh. Some days,” Claire admitted. The pair were covering up something, but she didn’t feel comfortable prying. “Speaking of which, I am here
The woman stood on tiptoe and whispered something into Helmut’s ear. He chuckled. The bright glow in his eyes as he talked to his date answered all of Claire’s doubts. Clearly, they knew each other well. Claire’s stomach churned at the thought of all of the sexual fantasies she’d been nurturing the past week. He had been making a fool of her—and of his pretty little girlfriend. She stiffened her spine and raised her chin a notch. The girlfriend was none of Claire’s business, and as of now, Helmut was nothing but business to her.
Before she could rip her eyes away from the pair, Helmut spotted her. His eyes darkened as he caught her gaze. Claire’s blood boiled at the thinly veiled desire she saw in his eyes. How dare he look at her like that, here, in front of his whole office and his date. She turned sharply on one heel and stalked into the suite’s private restroom, closing the door behind her with a snap.
Fool. Wimp. Claire stared at her own image in the bathroom mirror. You are fearless in the face of television cameras, an auditorium full of stockholders, or a boardroom full of men twice your age. But you are a complete coward when faced with one lone man.
A speaker in the ceiling announced that the backup pitcher had just taken the mound. Time to get back to her own party. Claire flushed the empty toilet and ran the sink water briefly, for effect, and then lifted her head high and stepped out of the bathroom.
Most of the people had returned to their seats or found spots along the wall of windows overlooking the field, and no one paid any attention to Claire as she slipped out the door and back into the now-empty hallway.
Helmut leaned lazily against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and eyes narrowed at the brunette standing in front of him talking. Claire paused mid-step. There was no way to walk past him without being noticed. Maybe he would ignore her. She schooled her features into a polite mask and started to walk past.
“Claire—”
Claire startled as Helmut’s hand touched her sleeve. In his eyes, Claire saw a low simmer that sent a thrill straight to her core. She forced her lips into a polite smile.
“Helmut. You had a nice turnout,” she said, indicating the door she just stepped out of.
His lips quirked. “I would like you to meet someone.”
Claire gritted her teeth as he put one arm around the woman’s shoulder. “Claire Sheffield, this is my sister Kelsie.”
Claire’s jaw dropped at the word “sister”. Was he kidding? The brunette—Kelsie—extended a hand and cocked her head to one side as she studied Claire.
“It’s an honor, to meet you in person Mrs. Sheffield. We studied Arachnava last semester in my business strategy course. Your accomplishments there were awesome!”
Claire reeled from the unexpected fan-girl attitude. This girl was Helmut’s sister? “Um, great. Are you a, um, student then?”
“I’m majoring in English Lit at the University of Florida, minoring in finance. I’m thinking of going for an MBA. I mean, academia isn’t that exciting, and there aren’t a lot of other job opportunities in my field.”
Claire smiled and nodded, her mind racing. When Kelsie paused in her rambling monologue to catch her breath, Claire arched one eyebrow at Helmut. “You go to school in Florida. What brings you to Chicago?”
Kelsie crossed her arms across her abdomen. “I, uh, road trip,” she mumbled.
Helmut chuckled nervously. “Don’t you miss the impulsive college days when you could just drop everything and hit the road for the weekend?”
“Heh. Some days,” Claire admitted. The pair were covering up something, but she didn’t feel comfortable prying. “Speaking of which, I am here
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