A Cowboy in Disguise (3 page)

“Please tell me dinner will be easier than the rest of the day was,” Scott said with a little laugh.

Alexandra noticed his tired and yet still smiling face, and wondered if his patience ever ran thin. Maybe with the life of leisure he’d led, he never took anything seriously. He’d been pretty beaten up by the day, but the stress didn’t seem to get to him the way it did to her. She thought to ask him how he’d liked his first day in her office, and then thought better of it.

After looking at him, she had to harden her heart and fast or they’d wind up sliding into small talk, which was a far too personal possibility considering their encounter that morning on the side of the road. Already she was having a hard time not staring into the depths of his eyes in the seductive candlelight. It was no wonder he was so adept at the playboy lifestyle. He came naturally equipped.

“We have a lot of information to go over, Mr. Falconer. I trust you’ve had a chance to read through my proposal?” Alexandra was suddenly more eager than ever to get down to business. If at all possible, she wanted to get through with the meal and the business discussion—immediately.

“Read it cover to cover,” Scott answered. “We would never have made this shortlist if anyone else had written that submittal, you know. You intuitively knew just how to give that client what it needed. That’s rare.”

Alexandra was taken aback by the compliment and hoped it didn’t show on her face. She cursed herself for being so susceptible to a kind word. She wasn’t usually, but the compliment had seemed so genuine and personal coming from him. And from his confident tone, she might actually be fooled into believing he knew something about business after all. After talking with Sarah, she’d imagined he hadn’t closed a deal on his own in his life.

“Well, I’m glad you agree with my approach,” she finally said. “It should make pulling together the presentation that much easier.” She spoke with a higher degree of aloofness than she felt, and politely took another bite of salad.

•

Scott sat back and chewed thoughtfully on a bread stick. The lady sure didn’t know how to take a compliment with any warmth. He’d changed her flat tire, done serious damage to his wardrobe and his reputation as a sharp dresser, was thrilled when she turned out to be Alex—hell, he’d even paid her a professional compliment, which he never ever did unless it came highly deserved. And here she sat, treating him as if he made her smooth, creamy skin crawl.

“Look,” he soothed. “I know this project is your baby, okay? And believe me, I know how a good executive feels about a project like that. But, here’s the deal, Alex—”

“Alexandra,” she corrected and then grimaced immediately as if she wished she hadn’t. Their conversation was strained enough as it was.

“Fine. Alexandra. Rio Safari International has narrowed the shortlist down to three firms, including ours. Your proposal got us where we are. There’s no doubt about that. But, the other two firms have done work for Rio in the past and you know one of them has a CEO who’s married to the niece of some Rio VP or something like that. The other firm’s CFO goes golfing every other Saturday with Rio’s COO.”

“But, David says you also have a personal connection. Seems we might need it.” Alexandra smiled coolly at him. “So what exactly is your useful connection anyway?”

“I have several. Unfortunately, I also know the CEO.”

“Ha!” Alexandra gloated. “So we have them trumped. At least as far as hierarchy goes.”

He knew what she was thinking. That maybe his presence really did have merit after all. That she’d have to wait and hope he really could bring something to the table other than just a huge helping of glory hog.

“Let’s hope.”

Scott smiled back at her, wondering if her sudden cordial attitude was a setup for her next verbal sting. Either way, he sure wasn’t going to let on exactly how he had come to know Rio Safari’s CEO, Mac Stevens or how tenuous that situation might be. That story was too far in his past to dig up now, and somehow Scott cared what Alexandra thought and how she might judge him by his past ties.

Alexandra slid an outline in front of him. “I’ve started drafting up an approach for the presentation. Here, take a look at it. It’s something to start with at least. They’re giving us forty-five minutes to speak and another forty-five for Q&A at the end.” She calmly took a sip of coffee, but the excitement of the deal was all over her expression. “Oh, and I’ve already warned the graphics department that we’ll need at least a week fully dedicated. You know, poster boards, animations and all that. We’ll blow their socks off.”

Scott laughed out loud. That wall of ice she’d placed between them had finally melted away, he thought. “You’re way ahead of me. And here I just wanted to get familiar with you and the office this week and hit the ground running next week. What was I thinking sleeping on the job like that?” He laughed again.

“Well, we’ve only got three weeks to pull this thing together. It’ll be tight—” A small vertical stress line appeared above Alexandra’s nose as she watched the look of surprise he knew must be plastered across his face. She had the look of someone who sensed bad news coming.

“I’m sorry, Alex. David must not have found time to tell you before you left the office. They’ve bumped the presentation date back two weeks. You and I have a trip to Colorado next week. Rio is asking all three competitors to come there for a little skiing at their private lodge. You know it’s just political schmoozing, though. A chance to see who they like better.” Scott saw that ice wall spring up again before he’d even finished his sentence.

“Well then, I suppose I’d better ask Sarah to make our travel arrangements, hadn’t I, Mr. Falconer?”

•

Alexandra bit down hard on her fork.

How could David have kept this information from her? She should have been the next to know. It was only right. But instead the new guy was privy to information before she was, and she herself had written the proposal! Humiliating is what it was. She could feel the position of prestige she’d fought for start to slip away and suddenly her dinner salad turned over in her stomach. How could she have begun to like this man … even a little?

Alexandra’s darkening mood was apparently not lost on Scott. “I think I’d better get back to my hotel,” he said with excellent timing. “And pray I have another shirt.”

Scott paid for the dinner and handed Alexandra her coat.

“I’ll get the expense code for this project for you. I hope you put our dinners on the company credit card,” Alexandra said.

“Most definitely. I’m all business.” He gave Alexandra what he probably hoped was his most winsome grin.

Alexandra grimaced at his comment as she pushed open the restaurant door. They walked without speaking to the parking lot. What more could she possibly have to say to Scott Falconer? All she wanted to do was go home and forget about the day. But as they reached the parking lot, they were just in time to notice a set of flashing amber lights far off down the street in front of them. As they watched, a rumbling tow truck disappeared around the corner with Scott’s car rolling helplessly behind.

“I’m almost glad it was a rental, considering the day it’s seen. I miss my pickup.” He sounded truly weary for the first time. “Think Sarah can work her magic and get the car out of impound tomorrow? And maybe even return it to the rental place for me?”

“Sure.”

Alexandra felt the impulse to be kind rush through her in spite of her frustration. Calm, collected Alexandra Hunter—and here she was with her emotions on a roller coaster just because of a man. One minute she wanted to dislike him and thought she might. The next minute his gaze sent tingles racing through her. Maybe she should make him walk? Or call a taxi for him?

“Hop in. I’ll give you a ride.”

“I was hoping you’d ask,” he said with a sigh. “I really didn’t feel like waiting for a cab.”

As they drove along, Scott watched the stars out the passenger window. “It’s beautiful tonight. Not as beautiful or clear as the sky where I grew up, though.”

“Boston or Paris?”

He turned away from the window and laughed so hard he almost choked. “Try Montana.”

“Montana?” Alexandra shot back at him. She knew her face flushed red. Sarah was going to be in so much trouble when she got hold of her … Then Alexandra glanced over at Scott and saw the start of a five o’clock shadow, a gaping hole in his jacket sleeve, and black goo smeared up and down the entire front of his shirt. Two of his knuckles were scraped and bloody from one tire-changing incident or another, and a chunk of dark brown hair sprouted up awkwardly from his head like a weird antenna.

“Now you’re laughing at me?” Scott asked in amazement. “I’ll have you know that Montana is a very nice place to be raised.”

Alexandra wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “No, no. It’s not that at all. I think you should look in the mirror, Mr. Falconer. You’re a complete mess.” He certainly was hard to hate.

“I can’t bear to look at myself,” Scott said while he watched her long legs move to work the pedals as the hem of her dress crept up higher on her thighs.

She was aware of where his gaze went. She knew her eyes looked softer in the faded light and her black dress shifted over a figure he had to know he shouldn’t be noticing in a business colleague. She wasn’t oblivious.

“You should also know,” she continued, “that your reputation has far outdone you.” If he wasn’t the jet-setting type, she suspected everything else Sarah had said was false, too. Listening to gossip should have been beneath her—just one of the many imperfections she was trying to work on.

“Is that a good thing or are you disappointed?” he asked.

“Well, I’d say it’s definitely a good thing. Rumors of your reputation aren’t exactly anything I’d want to live up to. I hear you’ve kept company with questionable royalty and assorted celebrities. You’ve had quite the obscene life of privilege and leisure—what with all that flitting back and forth between Paris and Boston.” She shot him an amused look. “I think I’ll have to let you know what else I hear along the way.”

“You know, I think I’ve heard that rumor about a princess in Paris or something. Never happened. I was raised in Montana, worked my way through college and worked some more to get here. That’s about all. Pretty uneventful. I’m just your average cowboy.”

Alexandra snorted at his description of himself. The last thing she would call this particular senior vice president was a cowboy. She laughed again and imagined him rounding up cattle on horseback wearing one of his expensive suits, his briefcase hanging over the saddle.

“So you’ve worked in the industry for a while?” She really was curious now.

“Ever since I graduated from the university. I majored in business and finance, but somehow it got parlayed into a marketing career over the years.”

“I know how that tends to happen.”

She was pretty sure Scott wasn’t sure how to read her after she quit talking. After all, one minute she was cutting him down to the quick with excessive politeness, and the next she’d gone all soft on him. She’d actually laughed.

He apparently decided to venture out on a limb.

“Alex, look,” he said in a gentle tone. “I’m sorry for whatever it was I did wrong. We obviously got off to a bad start somehow, but I really admire your work and I really, really don’t have any designs on your position or your project.”

Alexandra stopped the car in front of his hotel. “No, I’m the one who should be sorry. I can get too protective of my work, and after all I’d heard about you, I just thought—”

“That I was horning in on your territory?” he finished.

“Exactly,” she conceded.

“Why is this project so important to you? I’ve seen dedication, but not like this.”

She paused and looked straight ahead. “It’s all I have.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have food to put on the table and bills to pay just like everyone else. Except in my case, there’s no one to fall back on if I fail.”

“What about your parents?”

“No longer living.” She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “But enough of that.”

She waited to see if he’d pry or not. Seconds ticked by.

“So what do you think now? Friends?” he asked at length.

“Oh, friendly colleagues at the very least.” She smiled. “Good night, Scott.”

She saw it in his eyes—he hadn’t missed that she’d finally called him by his first name and he liked it. And neither of them missed the connection in their gaze that lasted just a heartbeat longer than necessary.