“These exhibits are skewed. I’m positive of it.” His eyes darkened. “I’ll log in to the system and then you can show me where you pulled your numbers.”
For the next hour they worked side by side, going over the figures in the exhibits. In the end the contract was wrong, but to Holly’s relief, it hadn’t been her fault. The numbers on one of the source files had been transposed. After printing a revised copy, Finn signed it. Holly used his personal assistant’s scanner to email the contract to the designated party.
“Thanks for the assistance.” Finn slipped the hard copy back into the envelope. “Sorry to take up so much of your evening and for causing you to miss dinner.” He glanced at his Rolex. “We’ll have to remedy that.”
“That’s okay. It’s not a big deal.”
“I insist on dinner.” He stood and then moved around the desk. “You did me a big favor tonight by helping with the contract.” His gaze dipped to her lips before quickly returning to her face. The corners of his mouth lifted into a sexy smile. “And I’d like to show you how thankful I am for the help with meeting that deadline.”
Oh, he definitely had more than dinner on his mind. The thought sent a new wave of nervous tremors through her stomach. She glanced away. Her initial inclination was to turn him down. Her experience with men was less than impressive. But did that mean she had to live in solitude?
What was wrong with a little company? A little laughter and perhaps flirting? And maybe a little more. Her gaze met his once more. It’d all be fine as long as neither of them had any expectations. After all, it wasn’t like it would ever happen again.
“Dinner sounds good.”
“Great.” He made a brief phone call and then turned to her. “It’s all arranged. I’ll just drop this envelope on Clara’s desk and then we’ll be off.”
A little voice inside Holly said to be cautious. Finn Lockwood wasn’t just any man and she knew nothing of his world. But another part of her was drawn to him like a moth to a flame—and boy, was he hot.
The sizzling tension smoldered between them as they quietly rode down in the elevator. When they stepped into the parking garage beneath the building there was a sleek black town car waiting for them. A driver immediately alighted and opened the door for them.
Holly climbed in first, followed by Finn. When he joined her, his muscular leg brushed against hers. Her stomach shivered with excitement. When their hands came to rest side by side on the leather seat, neither pulled away. It felt as though the interior of the car was statically charged. Every nerve ending tingled with anticipation.
As the car eased into the Friday evening traffic, she glanced over at Finn. She was surprised to find him staring back at her. Her heart thump-thumped, loud and fast.
“Where to, sir?” the driver asked.
“The penthouse.” Finn’s darkened gaze returned to Holly. “I thought we would dine in. Unless, of course, you have something else in mind.”
She had something on her mind, but it wasn’t food. Perhaps she had been spending too much time working these days because there had to be a reasonable explanation for her lack of common sense. Because all she could think about was how much she longed to press her lips to his.
CHAPTER ONE
Seven weeks later...
BAH, HUMBUG...
Finn Lockwood didn’t care if the saying was cliché. It was how he felt. Even though this was the first week after Thanksgiving, the holiday festivities were in full swing. He wanted no part of having a holly jolly Christmas. Even though he’d turned off the speakers in his office, the music still crept down the hallway, taunting him with its joyous melody.
He did his utmost to block out the mocking words. Instead, he focused on the stack of papers awaiting his signature. He was so close to being out of here—out of the office—out of New York City.
“I just love this.” His longtime assistant, Clara, strode into his office with a hefty stack of papers.
“Love what? The endless phone calls and this mess of paperwork?”
“Um, no.” Color filled her cheeks as she placed the papers on his desk. “I meant this song, ‘Home for the Holidays.’ It puts me in a warm fuzzy mood.”