He grunted. “There’s always office gossip. With what happened with Archie, and now this, I bet there’s lots of talk.”
She walked closer to his desk. “Some say you always work late. That you have your fingers in everything, and there’s no way anyone could get anything past you.”
Bennett cocked his head, his pulse starting to pound. “What are you getting at?”
“Some people are speculating that you could be behind the lost shipments.”
Anger and frustration geysered up inside him. He clenched his jaw, fighting for control.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? It would prove that you’re right to never trust anyone. That we’re all arseholes out to screw everyone over.”
Despite his angry words, her face stayed calm and serene, her sharp gaze on his features.
Bennett thrust to his feet. He refused to admit he felt some hurt in the anger. “That dickhead did a number on you, didn’t he, Hadley? You know what, keep your armor on. Stay distrusting and alone. Now get out.”
She didn’t move, instead she came closer.
“I’m not in the mood, Hadley.”
She ran her fingers along his desk. “I didn’t say I believed it.”
He stilled.
“I don’t trust easily, and yes, once upon a time I learned a soul-shattering lesson. Once, I let a man into my home, into my body, into my heart, but to him, I was just a means to an end. Despite that, I consider myself a good judge of character. I’ve seen manipulative assholes, I’ve seen evil assholes, and greedy, power-hungry assholes. I think sometimes you display some asshole tendencies, but you’d cut your arm off before you’d do business with an arms dealer and threaten your own company.”
Bennett’s chest felt frozen. He just looked at her.
She walked up to him. “People talk. It’s what people do. They like to connect dots and make up stupid theories. Social media and the press have just made it worse. People make judgments on the tiniest things, and they have no patience or intelligence to discover the truth.”
“What’s the truth here?” he asked.
“That you’re the good guy, Mr. Knightley. L’Orage is targeting you, but we will stop him.”
Bennett wanted her. So fucking badly. “I’m not always good.” Desire vibrated through him.
She smiled. “Oh, I believe that.”
He gripped her jaw. “Hadley…”
She closed the distance between them and kissed him.
Fuck.
Need rose up and choked him, gripping him with demanding claws.
He thrust his tongue into her mouth, and her arms slid around his neck. She moaned, her body pressing hard against his.
She moved against him, his cock responding. It was as though both of them were starved for contact.
All his emotion shifted, the anger giving way to hot need.
“I want you,” he growled.
She made a sound. “Maybe this is a good idea. To get it out of our system.”
Oh, she thought this was a one-shot deal? An itch to scratch?
Bullshit.