“Ms. Costello, Mr. Langford will see you now,” Adam’s assistant, Mia, said, appearing from a door adjacent to the spacious lobby.
Melanie followed her through the door and down a wide corridor as a steady stream of employees flowed back and forth from one open workspace to the next. The entire office was abuzz with people, countless staff, an army of Adam’s choosing. She couldn’t fathom the luxury of that much help.
Mia rapped on a door and opened it for Melanie. Adam’s office was easily twice the size of Melanie’s apartment—a luxurious yet modern space that was, like Adam, handsome and impressive. He was seated behind a sleek, black desk, phone to his ear, his back turned to her.
“We have the computer and monitors set up for the interviews.” Mia pointed to a conference table on the far side of the room.
“Great. Thank you,” Melanie whispered, not wanting to disturb Adam. She was taking a seat when he spoke.
“Hi there.”
She glanced over at him. The instant their eyes connected, she was in trouble. It sent waves of attraction through her, which given the photos in the paper, only irritated her.
“Hi yourself.” She wished she could’ve hidden the biting tone of her voice, but it was impossible. Her annoyance over him staring at Julia’s miraculous butt wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It would take a blowtorch to remove that image from her head. “This shouldn’t last more than ninety minutes.” She powered on the computer in front of her. “This has a webcam, right?”
“Of course. This is state of the art. What computer doesn’t have a webcam?”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to insult your office equipment.”
“You okay? You seem agitated.” He grabbed that morning’s newspaper off his desk and walked it over to her. “You’ve seen this, right? This is exactly what you wanted, isn’t it? Everybody in the office was talking about it when I got to work. My dad called to tell me he loved it.”
Melanie folded her arms across her chest. “Yes, I saw. Well done. Maybe next time don’t get caught staring at her butt.”
“Is that what this is about? Didn’t like seeing that, huh?” Adam grinned like the damned Cheshire cat, taking a seat in the chair next to her. “Are you jealous?”
Melanie narrowed her focus, beyond perturbed by the question. “I’m trying to make you look like less of a womanizer, not more.”
“Oh, come on.” Adam shook his head, half laughing. “You can’t be serious. Any man in the world would’ve done what I did. Her ass is spectacular. There’s no harm in looking.”
A heavy sigh left her lips, even when she didn’t want him to see how much it bothered her. Did he have to use the word spectacular? It felt like a punch in the stomach. “Somehow I knew you would use the guy defense. I swear, men are so predictable sometimes. You see a pretty face and you just can’t control yourself.”
“Or a particularly attractive derriere, as the case may be.” He leaned back in the office chair, arching both of his eyebrows at her, clearly enjoying himself. Mischief sparked in his steely eyes, even more compelling than usual when complemented by his deep blue dress shirt, tailored to flaunt every glorious inch of his chest and shoulders.
“Don’t be cute. You have an interview to do in a minute. We can’t be talking about this right now.”
“Sure we can. They can wait. I want to know why this is bothering you.”
“And I don’t care to talk about it. You ended up in the newspaper with Julia. That’s all I can ask.”
The computer screen sprang to life, a grid of a dozen unfamiliar faces. The man in the upper right-hand corner waved. “Hello, Mr. Langford. Ms. Costello. I’ll be moderating the chat today. We’ll be ready to start in a few minutes.”
“Sounds great. We’re ready.” Melanie neatly arranged her notes and pen.
“Actually, we’re going to need about five minutes if that’s okay,” Adam said.
The moderator looked up from his desk. “Uh, sure, Mr. Langford. Just don’t make it any longer than that. The journalists joining us today are all on a tight schedule.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t hold you up.” Adam reached over and muted the computer. “I want to know why the photo bothers you so much. Or do I have to remind you that it was your idea to fix me up with Julia?”
She hadn’t been in close quarters with Adam like this in a week, and her mind and body were as conflicted as they could be. Everything about his physical presence—his smell, his hair, his hands—made her want to climb inside his shirt, while everything he was saying made her want to clasp her hand over his lips and tell him to shut the hell up. “Please stop reminding me that it was my idea. My brain can only take so much of this at one time.”