“It’s a conflict of interest.”
“You’re grasping at straws. I know how to keep my mouth shut when it comes to business matters. You know it, too, or you’d never have hired me or kept me as your PA these past eighteen months. I would never give Gabe Moretti inside information and you damn well know it.”
He spun around and paced the full length of his office before turning to face her again. He’d regained a modicum of his legendary control, though she could still see the fury smoldering just beneath the surface. “Why, Angie? Of all the men in the whole of Seattle, why him?”
A choice loomed before her. She could tell him the truth, humiliate herself in front of a man who was her employer—potentially her fiancé. Or she could refuse to answer and risk losing her current job, as well as the one he was offering—a position she wanted more than she could express. Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back, refusing to allow them to fall.
But he caught her distress. His anger faded, replaced by bewildered concern. “Hell, Angie, don’t cry. I couldn’t handle it. Not from you.” When she simply shook her head, he approached. “What is it? I’m missing something here, something important. What?”
“It’s personal. Private.”
That gave him pause. She could see his brilliant mind sifting through possibilities. “Something you thought Moretti could help you with?”
She didn’t bother denying it. “Yes.”
“By having an affair?”
Her mouth compressed. “Yes.”
“Why him?” he asked again. Pure masculine frustration ripped through his words and she could hear the real question behind the one he asked. Why him and not me?
She chose her words with care. “Because we would both know the score going in. We would both understand that it’s a temporary, mutually satisfactory arrangement. Because there wouldn’t be any hard feelings or emotional fallout afterward.”
Lucius froze and his expression closed over, preventing her from reading his thoughts. He’d always been good at that. No doubt it was part of his success, part of what helped him build a billion-dollar business. “And that’s enough for you? Is that part of your reluctance to accept the position I’m offering? You don’t want anything more than a sexual relationship?”
She couldn’t answer him for fear she’d cry. No! It wasn’t what she wanted. Not at all. That’s what she wanted with Gabe, not with Lucius. But how did she explain that? How could she explain to him that she’d fallen in love with him, wanted more than anything to have a long-term personal relationship? She couldn’t. Not without revealing how she truly felt. No way would she give him that sort of power. She didn’t dare.
“I don’t see any purpose in discussing what I want or don’t want from a relationship—specifically, our relationship—until we’ve worked out an agreement,” she informed him as calmly as she could manage. “And in case you hadn’t noticed, we seem to have gotten off point on some of the terms currently under debate.”
He cocked an eyebrow, his mouth taking on a sardonic slant. “I’m impressed, Colter. You’ve managed to reduce sex to a business addendum.” He noted her blush, clearly took grim satisfaction in it. “It’s called a kiss. Something I found very much on point considering the nature of the position I’m offering.”
Is that all it had been to him? A kiss? How was it possible that one kiss from Lucius Devlin managed to leave her totally undone, while his control remained absolute? It wasn’t fair. Even worse, Lucius was a brilliant man. Eventually, he’d cop to how she felt, which made her more determined than ever to hold him at arm’s length until they’d hammered out the details.
She lifted her chin and shot him a cool look. “Kissing me isn’t on point until we reach an agreement.” When he would have argued, she held up her hand. “How many times have you told me that a deal isn’t consummated until the contracts are signed, sealed and delivered?”
“And the money transfers hands.”
She tried to conceal how much his comment hurt. “You know what I mean.”
“No consummating until it’s a done deal?” he asked drily.
Relief flooded through her at the reluctant acceptance his question signaled. “Exactly.”
He crossed the room and retrieved the drink he’d set aside when they’d started the conversation. It seemed hours ago, yet couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes. His gaze remained fixed on her in a manner she’d seen all too often. He was considering the problem from all its various angles. Right now she was an opponent in a business negotiation, which put her at a severe disadvantage. He proved it by approaching like a predator stalking its prey.