“Right.” He reached into his desk drawer and produced a ticket. He slid it across the desk top. “There’s a lake. Pack a swimsuit.” His cock hardened at the thought of her in a bathing suit yet again, soaking wet. Or better yet, doing a midnight skinny dip. In his bed, not in the lake. “Friday at seven. Don’t be late. My grandfather would roll in his grave if I launched the wrong product.”
“You- you asshole!” She seethed. “You said no pressure!”
“The only pressure you should feel is the guilt I’ll lay heavy on you if I’m all alone in making this decision, stressed, overworked, with no assistant to help lighten the load. I’ll be sure to make that fact known if there’s a flop to explain.”
“You’re impossible.”
“If you’re thinking about backing out because you don’t want there to be two rooms, I can promise, the one bedroom is big enough…”
“No!” Lexi gasped. She swiped the ticket off the edge of his desk. She couldn’t look at him. She had her head angled toward the floor, but what he could see of her face was nearly purple. “Just so you know, you’re a terrible person, Mr. James. The worst of the worst. I want a lock for my door if it doesn’t have one already. If you try and enter my room at any given moment, I will be sure to mace you. I’ll buy one when we get there. And I want an extra five thousand for my work. You know, since a flop could be terribly stressful and if we fail, I’ll likely need to go to therapy for all the blame I’ll endure.”
Bravo. Curtis applauded her backbone, he really did. His cock shouted an echo of the same sentiment. He didn’t wish she’d just give up and admit that she wanted him. This was far, far more fun. He’d find out soon enough.
“I’ll be sure to give you the room with the lock. Don’t worry, mace is easily bought at the sporting stores. As for my door, I’ll be sure to leave it wide open. That way, if a bear happens into the cabin, it should devour me first.”
“Even in that scenario, you wouldn’t be the hero. The bear would try one sample bite and spit you right out. You’re rotten to the core. Not even a garbage eater would want to feast on your black insides.”
Lexi turned and stormed out of the room, snarling and muttering under her breath, probably death threats and something about buying a voodoo doll in his likeness.
CHAPTER 13
Lexi
“Here it is. My last will and testament. You also have my itinerary there, the rural land co-ordinates of the cabin, my flight details, and all the information I know about Curtis James.”
Sam set the huge brick of paperwork down on Lexi’s apartment sized glass table with a huff. “Come on, Lex. You don’t think he’s actually bringing you up there to murder you, do you? Not when the whole world knows you’re there?” She stared back incredulously, blinking her thick eyelashes. Sam had gorgeous dark brown eyes, a face that attracted all the wrong kind of male attention always, and the body to match.
“It’s just a precaution.”
Sam pulled the fridge open and began raiding it, pointedly ignoring her. It was just past eleven at night, way too late to be having a conversation debating the wisdom of getting on a plane the next morning with someone she was sure she hated. Or at least, sure she should hate.
“The only precaution you should be taking is packing extra condoms,” Sam muttered, her head in the fridge. She wriggled her denim-clad behind, which was propped up in the air, dramatically.
“Seriously, Sam. In case I never come back, at least you know where to send the search party.”
“Search and rescue, you mean. I have a feeling Mr. Hottie McHottington likes to keep them alive.” She emerged holding a block of cheese, peeled back the already opened wrapper, and took a bite straight off the edge. Lexi cringed inwardly. “Wouldn’t it be awesome if there was some secret sex room under the cabin?”
“No. No, it would not.”
“Come on! Are you serious? Your crazy hot, single, rich, gorgeous, sex on a stick boss wants to take you into the remote wilderness to some cozy little cabin and you’re wasting your time moaning to me about maybe getting murdered and making your will instead of picking out sexy outfits and tempting lingerie? What is wrong with you? Did you even buy any condoms?”
“Of course not,” Lexi snapped. “This is a business trip. Remind me how we’ve been friends since we were kids again.”
“First of all, we grew up down the block from each other. Second, because I’m awesome. You just had to be friends with me. Third, you called me over here at eleven at night, told me it was an emergency, and gave me your will. Like you really think something like this is going to happen. You’re just trying to distract yourself with scary thoughts so you don’t have to think about what it is you really want.”