Suddenly his dark eyes turned pitch black and stared at her with deep intensity. “What if I want better proof?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, leaning forward. Hoping he’d also lean forward and kiss her for absolutely no reason except he couldn’t stand to be away from her for another moment. And she was dreaming.
“I want to know we’re compatible beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said, tucking his finger beneath her chin. “If I kissed you, I’d know.”
Automatically, her chin followed the urging of his finger toward his lips. God, she’d wanted this, hoped for this. She closed her eyes, begging for the feel of his lips against hers.
Then a sudden heaviness thudded onto the seat beside her. She flicked her eyes opened and sprang away from Isaac as the Markovs descended on their corner booth.
Oh, how she’d wished she could’ve known the taste of Isaac’s lips. Even for a second. But duty called, and business was the reason they’d come to Russia in the first place.
Any desire for Isaac needed to be submerged beneath the ultimate goal of winning the Markovs’ overall impression of a good investment. She’d do anything to make this sale happen. Even if it meant suppressing her own desires. The sale was the most important thing, right?
Chapter 3
Sheer boredom didn’t begin to describe Mindy’s experience with the Markovs as Isaac proceeded to speak to them in Russian the entire night. It didn’t help that their dinner consisted of course after course of seafood. Oyster appetizers on the half-shell, then shrimp scampi, followed by lobster—the whole entire carcass sat on the plate in front of her, and she could barely look the poor deceased thing with its beady eyes.
Thankfully, Isaac helped her crack the shell, and she ate the delicious meat within the claws and tail. As the evening and the endless courses dragged on, her jet lag proved to be her downfall, no matter much she’d slept in that day. She could barely keep herself in the conversation, regardless of whether or not she understood a word of their discourse.
Truly, she’d tried to remain engaged. But more than once she caught herself forcing her eyes open. Too much food and alcohol, combined with abject boredom, plus exhaustion, equaled a bad combination.
The next thing she knew, she felt Isaac’s hand skimming across her knee and dipping between her thighs. Hello. That would wake any woman up from a sound sleep.
Sitting up straight, she shoved his hand away. Not because she didn’t want him to touch her, but they were in front of clients.
Suddenly off balance as she pushed at her, her elbow hit her drink and knocked it over toward the waiter approaching the table. The young man scooted back to avoid getting drenched and the three drinks on his tray tumbled onto the table, spilling everywhere.
“Oh, geez.” Mindy scrambled to contain the deluge, stealing everyone’s napkins to dam up the flood.
The waiter apologized profusely, even though she’d caused the debacle. He whipped a towel from his waist and steered the liquid over the outer edge of the table so it dripped on the floor and not his patrons.
Isaac tugged her gently. “Mindy, sit down. Relax and let the man do his job.”
“But—”
He sent her a firm look that cut off her protest.
A mop and bucket and six towels later, the waiter had wiped clean all evidence of her clumsiness and refreshed their drinks. Still, lingering embarrassment scalded her insides. She couldn’t believe she’d been so careless, falling asleep and then causing a catastrophe, in front of the men she’d traveled thousands of miles to impress. Not exactly a shining example of Soren Security’s professionalism.
All she had left was her pitch for the new SOS security technology. One of the owners, Adam Soren, had teamed up with the tech department to create and ingenious device. House in a thumb drive that a person could carry discreetly at all times, the technology encrypted within—when plugged into a USB port—sent an emergency SOS signal to a computer at their headquarters. As soon as the computer registered the location via a GPS satellite tracking system, a special bodyguard team was notified and dispatched to ensure the safety of the user. It provided a subtle yet effective tool for certain clients, when other measures of protection were unavailable.
Now, if only she could enter the conversation happening around her to pitch the device and Soren Security’s technical capabilities beyond providing physical bodyguards for protection.
Then in a blinding whirl, a very metrosexual male swooped down beside her. She blinked at the unexpected addition to their meeting. His bad cologne permeated her senses, reminding her of passing through the men’s underwear section of a department store, where salespeople spritzed an innocent passerby with hideous musk.