Her advertising ideas were especially good. She had a cousin in graphic design who could get them excellent rates for ad layouts, and she also knew someone who worked at a small paper in Virginia. Best of all, that newspaper represented patrons of the arts, people who were more likely to visit a bookstore and coffee shop a little out of the ordinary.
When she finished one thing, she went right to the next without waiting for direction. She didn’t complain she was tired or ask to take breaks. Just watching her study the computer screen while her fingers flew over the keys pushed his buttons in all the right ways.
Hours passed in a companionable blur. Somewhere along the way he stopped being concerned whether what he was doing was skirting the line of boss and employee and started seeing the incredible asset she could be to the company if she were given room to grow. That wasn’t even taking into consideration his personal feelings, which seemed to be rearing their head more and more.
Working made him happy and he definitely derived pleasure from the company’s success. But since Diana, he didn’t ever truly relax while he was at the store. As much as his job gratified him, he still looked over his shoulder at every turn. He’d never managed to shake the feeling that his past would come back to bite his ass.
Until tonight. Bouncing ideas back and forth with Kelly was the closest thing to true enjoyment he’d ever had in his office.
So far. Rectifying that would be her reward for making the night so much…well, fun.
Good God. Fun. Now there was a word he didn’t use that often.
Even sex wasn’t particularly fun to him. It was a way to release tension. He needed an escape valve or he’d blow. Literally and figuratively in this case. But Kelly made everything an adventure. He caught himself smiling more than once at her off-key humming and occasional wisecracks.
Just ather.
After a while, he turned off his computer and set it aside in favor of admiring her bare foot flexing in time to the beat.
So his new lover was a fan of hip-hop and spreadsheets and didn’t mind indulging his desire to watch.Orhis newly emerging need to give others that same thrill. Such a strange mix of contrasts in a woman had never seemed so appealing before.
“It’s past three a.m., Ms. Crossman. Think you’ve done your duty.”
“I’m almost done with this spreadsheet. I added another column. Your projected advertising expenses weren’t tabulating correctly so I did some tweaking. Wanna see?”
“I’d love to, but not now.” He rubbed his grainy eyes. Why the hell hadn’t he ever guessed how much was going on in that busy brain? “It’s late and I’m tired.”
“Oh, okay.” She frowned as she rose out of his chair. “I got kind of involved.”
“Yeah, you did.” Casually he adjusted his erection. She looked so studiously sexy in her glasses, with her hair all tousled from her wandering fingers. “I’ll look over what you came up with tomorrow.”
She nodded and took a couple steps toward the door. “Gotcha. I’ll just—”
“Sit on my lap.” He caught her wrist and tugged, overbalancing her so she landed right where he wanted her.
Her smile held more wariness than warmth. “Trying to confuse me, Galvin?”
“Sir, remember?” He spoke softly, his breath fluttering over her lips.
“Dream on.”
“Right now I’m more concerned with your dreams.” He combed her hair back from her face. “I’m at your command.”
She stared at him as if he’d just sprouted horns and a tail. “Um, excuse me, what?”
Spencer laughed. A genuine, no-holds-barred, belly-shaking laugh. “You’ve voiced some, ah, complaints about my performance. I’m also fully aware those complaints were expressed during a heated moment.”
“When I was pissed the fuck off, you mean?” she asked sweetly.
“Yes. When you were pissed the fuck off.” He cleared his throat. “And I’m also well aware you’ve come every time, sometimes in multiples. But that doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement.”
“Wow, that had to hurt.” She tipped her head to the side. “Though truthfully I wasn’t sure if you were pleading your case or about to ask for an apology.”
“No, we’re not apologizing. What was said was said. Goes both ways. And anyway, I don’t want to talk about last night. Or talk at all.”
She slid her hands over his chest.Allover his chest, so that his heart started beating in triple time. “Now you’re speaking my language.”
“You helped me, now I’m going to help you. Anything you want is yours for the asking.” He nibbled the side of her throat and inhaled her flirty scent. “Except my car.”