JACKED (11 page)

As she neared the gate she saw him. At six foot four, he was easy to spot. She felt her breathing change. It always did when she was near him, but today it was even worse because the expression he wore was dark, furious. His blue eyes bored into her as she approached.

“I called you. Twice.”

Emma’s mouth went dry. Will’s temper was legendary. She’d never experienced it, but had heard enough from the other women in the office to worry about provoking him. She must have turned her ringer off. It would be better to avoid an explanation. She didn’t want to admit to sloshing coffee down her front, or not checking calls. “Is there a problem?”

“Give me your suitcase,” he said.

Emma glanced down at her luggage. To her dismay the cuff of the stained shirt poked out from the zipper. For a split second, Emma imagined Will tugging the dirty shirt out and holding it up in the middle of the crowded terminal.

“I can do it myself,” she said hastily.

Will shook his head. His eyes still held a certain threat of anger and Emma wished she’d answered the phone. She wished she hadn’t splurged on the coffee. She also wished she’d dodged the throng of tourists that had practically mowed her down and caused the spill in the first place. Now she was going to have to spend a four-hour flight next to Will while he was in his most prickly mood.

Emma followed Will down the jetway and onto the plane. Only first class passengers were seated and many were drinking cocktails. He ushered her to a window seat and ordered two glasses of champagne. It was only two in the afternoon, but Emma didn’t dare argue with the scowling Will. Maybe a glass of champagne would tame his foul mood.

When the drinks arrived, Will took a swallow and exhaled deeply.

Sitting close to him made her senses go into overdrive. They shared an armrest and his muscular arm was just a fraction of an inch from hers. She could smell expensive aftershave. His eyes had flecks of copper, something she’d never noticed before. The delicate champagne flute looked tiny in his massive hand. His shoulders spanned more than the width of the first class seat. Josephine, Will’s office manager, told her he rose at five to lift weights for an hour and a half every morning, and when he didn’t burn off some of his energy working out he was a snarling terror in the office. Emma could almost see the beast barely restrained just beneath the surface as he sat beside her. Will had just a thin layer of civilized male, a veneer of courtesy and manners that concealed a primitive power.

He twirled his glass and stared into the depths. “There was an accident at the entrance to the airport,” he said quietly.

“You’re upset because it delayed you?”

Will drained the glass and held it out to the flight attendant. A moment later she returned with a fresh glass. Emma blinked in surprise as he took a large swallow. She’d attended countless business lunches with him and just as many dinners, and never had she seen him touch a drop. Now it seemed he was well on his way to getting drunk and they hadn’t even taken off.

He went on. “A white truck just like yours was flipped over. They were using the Jaws of Life. I expect you to answer your phone by the second ring, Em.”

He’d never chastised her before and a scorching heat crawled along her shoulders. She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“And don’t call me sir. Traffic was almost at a standstill and it took forever to get close enough to see that it wasn’t you.”

Emma stared at him. His anger was because he thought she had been in an accident. A flutter of something she couldn’t name hovered inside her. A tiny hope that maybe her boss, or rather her former boss, held her in some regard. He squashed the tiny yearning with a glare.

“I need you for this trip. I’ve been planning it all summer. If you’re in the local ICU it puts a crimp in my plans.” Will reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small pouch and set it on her tray table. “While you’re with me you’ll wear this ring. If anyone asks you any personal questions, do your best not to answer. Always refer to me as your fiancé.”

Emma’s heart drummed in her chest. Slowly she opened the drawstrings and slipped the ring out. Once before, on a trip to Atlanta, he’d introduced her as his girlfriend. The client’s wife had been sending him suggestive texts and Emma was there as much to support Will in the transaction as to act as a decoy. The ring tumbled out of the pouch and Emma wondered if another trophy wife was trying to make moves on Will. Who could blame the poor woman? Will was gorgeous. If she were some old fart’s wife she’d send a few naughty texts his way too. She held up the ring and gazed at it.

“It’s an emerald cut,” he said.

“I thought emeralds were green.”

The look he gave her made her wilt. “It’s a
diamond
in an
emerald
cut. Put it on.”

Emma slid it onto her finger and tilted her hand back and forth to catch the light.

A couple took the seats behind them, and while Emma admired the ring she heard the woman from the bathroom, the newlywed, talking to her husband. They chattered excitedly about being upgraded to first class since they were honeymooners. She giggled when the flight attendant offered them champagne.

Emma stole a glance at Will. “So we’re engaged now? Is that it? Who’s hitting on you this time?” The champagne made her brave. She’d never asked him something so forward.

Will smiled. “Maybe the ring is to keep the client from hitting on
you
.”

Emma bit her lip. “Who’s the client?”

“Don’t worry about it.

“Please don’t tell me it’s Judge Barnes.”

Will stared. “No. It’s not. Did Fred make a move on you?”

Emma took a sip of her champagne. “Senator Arnold?”

Will narrowed his eyes. “How many of my clients are hitting on you?”

Her mouth went dry. Some of his clients had made some pretty strong advances, but she could see that this wasn’t the time or place to bring it up. She wanted Will to see her as competent, not some weakling who needed him to run interference. When she graduated from college in December she planned on returning to Kendalia to run her family’s ranch. She didn’t anticipate needing a regular job, but if she did she might need a reference one day. This weekend was about leaving his firm on a good note.

She pushed the glass of champagne away. The plane hadn’t even gotten off the ground and she had almost messed up again by mentioning the lecherous clients. Instead of answering she shrugged. Took the Fifth.

“It’s neither of them. Drink your champagne and quit worrying. You just do what you always do. Sit beside me at dinner tonight. Be your usual sweet, classy self—my redheaded distraction while I get the guy on the ropes and finish him.”

She nodded even though she liked to think she did a lot more than simply provide a distraction. It irked her that he didn’t notice how she finessed meetings so the client was ready—no, make that eager—to sign by the time the meal was over and coffee arrived.

“It’s Donald Tobin, by the way,” he said.

She shuddered. She’d forgotten about that one. Mr. Tobin had once asked her if she wanted to go to Vegas with him and get lucky. Once he’d tried to corner her in the supply closet and if Josephine hadn’t walked in right behind him, fire in her eyes, she might have had a real problem on her hands.

Will lifted his glass to hide his smile. The champagne was beginning to relax him. The weekend was unfolding just as he’d imagined, with the exception of the accident on the highway. When he’d seen a white Chevy truck, just like Emma’s, flipped over, all he could imagine was her—his girl, hurt inside. There were a dozen emergency vehicles and firemen trying to get the driver out. He’d told himself that there were thousands of white trucks on the road. It couldn’t be her. And he’d been right. Thank God.

Tonight he would need to take her to bed. To have her. Finally. Originally he’d planned on taking it slowly and seducing her
tomorrow
night, but the sight of the white truck mangled on the side of the road had shaken him. He needed to have her naked, to sink into her softness to calm himself. The champagne was helping, but sex with Em would help even more.

It had been a while since he’d had a woman and that was Emma’s fault too. Ever since she’d walked into his office in mid-June, he could think of nothing but her. His policy of staying away from employees was no longer an issue since her contract was up. It was convenient. He could have a weekend with her, get her out of his system and move on, just as she too would move on and finish her last semester of school.

About twenty minutes after the plane was in the air Will felt a soft weight settle on his shoulder. Emma had fallen asleep and rested her head against him. He set the copy of
Forbes
aside and leaned back in the seat. He closed his eyes. The feel of her against him made his blood heat. It was ridiculous how the smallest touch from her made his body respond. Sometimes it was just a shy look that would be enough to send lust coursing through his veins, derailing his thoughts.

When she’d first arrived at the office to take over the workload of an assistant out on maternity leave, she’d come wearing Keds and khakis. Anyone else he would have fired immediately, but Emma drew him from the first moment. An electric energy flowed between them that he was certain everyone around felt. At the end of her first day he called her into his office and handed her his credit card, told her to buy at least ten outfits:  skirts, blazers, numerous pairs of modest heels—no less than one inch, no greater than two—and any tops or accessories she wanted.

He convinced her to have her hair done as well. The red hair was gorgeous, but if she wore it loose all summer long he would do nothing but imagine her lying in his bed, her copper tresses cast across his pillows. He also didn’t want his clients eyeing her and possibly imagining her naked in
their
beds. Apparently some of them had been doing just that.

Emma was oblivious to her effect on men. Her innocence made her seem younger than her twenty-four years. She told him once she’d spent several years away from school, tending her grandmother who had Lou Gehrig’s disease. The woman passed away in the spring. She had been Emma’s only relative. Since the entire caretaking responsibilities rested on her shoulders she must have missed out on the all partying that most of her peers had done.

The plane’s engines droned on, making him tired as well. He gave in to the urge to take a long look at her while she slept next to him. His gaze started at her feet, clad in a pair of ballet flats. Simple, but classy. Her slacks looked like Brooks Brothers, a houndstooth pair that fitted her curves beautifully, and finally a blouse that molded her full breasts to his satisfaction. He’d given her fifteen hundred dollars to spend for the trip, and she’d clearly bought some lovely, tasteful things.

Emma’s scent, an alluring floral fragrance, made it difficult to rest. Each time he dozed off he had lurid dreams of her. A half hour before landing he gave up and simply sat back, relishing the feel of her pressed against him.

A pocket of turbulence made Emma wake and when she realized she rested against his shoulder, she jerked away. “I’m so terribly sorry,” she stammered.

“Don’t be.”

Emma gazed at him in surprise. His tone was different from when he chastised her for not answering her phone. Thank goodness that was over. Maybe there was some hope for a pleasant couple of days together.

The plane landed in the midst of a thunderstorm, sheets of rain streaming down the windows. After the plane taxied to the gate, the flight attendant announced some connecting flights and said their plane would be continuing to Honolulu. Cheers erupted from some passengers.

Behind them the newlywed couple argued.

Will shook his head, leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “Sounds like the honeymoon’s over before it even began.”

Emma ignored his cynicism and smiled wistfully. “Want to just stay on the plane, be stowaways? I bet the sun is shining in Hawaii.”

“I can’t break my streak. If I don’t show up I lose the deal, and I like batting a thousand.”

Will frowned at her when she got her own bag from the overhead. He took it from her with a grumble, led her from the plane and through the busy airport. Outside a limo waited and moments later they glided through traffic and merged onto the highway. The rain persisted. From the looks of the sky it was going to be storming for the rest of the day and Emma wondered if the entire weekend would be grey, wet and cold.

The hotel, a landmark, crowned the top of Nob Hill. Emma’s jaw dropped as she entered the foyer. The arches and the soft light of the rainy day made the interior feel like a cathedral. The elevator took them to the penthouse and the bellman led them to their suite.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so lovely,” Emma said when they were alone. The windows were floor-to-ceiling. In the distance, as if floating in the fog, the columns of the Golden Gate Bridge rose to their immense height. She stood at the window, transfixed. Will came to her side to enjoy the view of the city.

“I should be getting ready, right?” Emma asked.

“We have a bit of time. Dinner is here at the hotel. Donald is bringing his girlfriend. You might not need your ring after all.”

* * *