“This week?” He glared daggers at her. “Heather, I never agreed to do a photo shoot this week or any other week.”
“What’s the big deal?” she asked. It was probably dangerous to try to bait him like this, but scheduling a photo shoot so soon was always going to be a risk.
“Photo shoots are for vain, narcissistic idiots.” His eyes narrowed. “What kind of photo shoot is this anyway? It’s not going to be one of those things where I have to take my clothes off, is it?”
“Tell you what... if I take my clothes off, will you do the photo shoot and whatever else I have planned this week?” she asked.
He stared at her, taken aback. “Say what now?”
An idea was forming in her head, and it was so crazy that she had to fight to not talk herself out of it. It was completely and totally inappropriate. She had never thought of anything so unprofessional in her life, but right now she was ready to try anything.
“I was thinking of making this interview process worth your while,” her voice a low, seductive purr. “If you agree to answer my questions, I’ll take off an item of clothing.”
“That is the most unprofessional thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”
She decided not to remind him that he had pleasured her several days ago right in this office. “Try to think of it like this—every time you reveal your soul by answering a question, I’ll be revealing my body.”
His blue eyes lit up for a moment, before he quickly narrowed them. “This is insane.”
“We don’t have to do it this way if you don’t want to,” she said.
He held up his hands. “Well... if you’re offering, and you feel completely comfortable with it. I’m not trying to pressure you into anything—”
Her laughter cut him off. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this flustered.”
“You haven’t seen yourself naked lately, have you?” he asked. “Because if you have, you’d understand. How am I supposed to answer questions with a beautiful half-naked woman in my office?”
“This is a one-time offer,” she said bluntly. “So, you can take it or leave it.”
“Lock the door,” he commanded.
She turned around, allowed herself a satisfied smile, and walked over to the door to make sure it was locked. Her heart pounded as she turned back to face him. This was so dangerous. Which was why she couldn’t resist doing it. Couldn’t resist him.
Simon had been right. The danger really was part of the thrill. And for two risk-taking people like them, inviting trouble was far too exciting to give up.
“BE GENTLE,” HE SAID as she walked back over to him.
She laughed, the sound sending his mind into a million different directions. Each thought making his stomach knot up with excitement and apprehension.
They could get into serious trouble for this. The board had warned them to keep their relationship discreet, and though his office door was now locked Heather taking her clothes off in his office was definitely a violation of some unwritten rules.
“What did you want to ask me first?” He kept his gaze locked on hers, needing her eyes to ground him into staying as professional as he could under the circumstances.
She leaned forward and turned on the tape recorder that he suddenly noticed was on his desk.
“I’m going to be recording everything,” she warned.
“Guess that means no swearing,” he said with a smile.
Heather cleared her throat, determination flashing in her eyes. “My first question is, when did you first realize you wanted to work in the tech industry? Was there an event in your childhood that inspired you?”
“You were the event, Heather,” he reminded her. “We had a computer lab at school and I became obsessed. But it wasn’t until you told me that I could do this for a living that I started to realize that my dreams had merit. They weren’t just childhood fantasies. You made me see that.”
The expression on her face softened. Gone was the rigid determination that had been etched in her features. What replaced it was a look of total adoration. Her eyes were huge, her demeanor luminous. She was the one person in his life who genuinely wanted him to succeed, not because she could get something of it but because she cared about him.