The Billionaire Playboy(10)

From across the hall, the sound of the main door opening and closing echoed. Looking up just in time, she saw Jake enter the building and she almost sighed like a lovesick teenager. Normally she didn't get all worked up when she saw a good-looking man. She certainly came into contact with enough of them in the military. But there was something about Jake that turned her insides to mush and sent her heart rate into overdrive.

“I thought you might have headed out with everyone else,” he said as he crossed the hall toward her.

Jake entered the room and it felt like the temperature jumped twenty degrees. Today he looked more like a hard laborer with his sweat stained Cal Tech t-shirt and torn jeans than a pampered playboy and Charlie's pulse leaped with excitement. She shrugged and reached for another bottle of water. “I thought I would stick around in case anyone showed up looking for something. Besides I'd only have to come back in a little while.” Charlie slid the water bottle across the table toward Jake before he could say anything.

Jake downed half the bottle in one long drink. “So what do you think?”

Focused on the perpetual five o'clock shadow Jake seemed to favor, Charlie didn't immediately realize he was talking to her. Typically she didn't like any facial hair on a man. It reminded her too much of her father; he'd always sported a full beard. She could do without any reminders of him. Even after all this time the pain caused by his leaving remained. Yet she didn't mind facial hair on Jake. On him it only added to his sexiness.

“Doctor?”

“Think about what?” What had he asked her?

“You more or less called me a lazy playboy this morning. What do you think now?”

His tone was cool and direct but Charlie thought she detected a hint of vulnerability. Did her opinion matter to him? Could this man, who had everything, be insecure?

“You're not lazy,” she answered without any hesitation. Man, she wished she'd chosen her words more carefully this morning. He'd been working just as hard if not harder than everyone else and not because he had to. He didn't live here, didn't have any family here. He could have just as easily directed everything from his office back in Virginia and had an assistant come out to give him updates. “Are you always this involved?”

Jake finished off his water and reached for an energy bar. “Just about. The foundation is my baby. I like to make sure it's being run properly. I can't do that by sitting behind a desk all day.”#p#分页标题#e#

If what she had seen here was any indication, the foundation and its employees ran like a well-oiled machine. Whatever else Jake Sherbrooke might be, he was a good leader. “I'm glad you offered aid. The town hasn't gotten a lot of support so far from the state.”

Jake rolled his shoulders as if trying to work out some stiffness and Charlie couldn't help but notice the way his chest muscles rippled under his shirt. Without warning, memories of how that chest felt under her hands when she'd crashed into him the day before filled her mind. The memory brought an instant twinge of desire to her insides, and she found herself wondering what it would be like to be held against his broad chest.

“The states have limited resources. They do the best they can but there's too much bureaucracy. That's one of the reasons I started the relief foundation.”

His words cut through her momentary day dream. “You started it?” She could hear the utter disbelief in her voice and the expression on Jake's face told her he had heard it as well.

“Even we playboys need something to do during the day when we are not cruising around in our expensive cars looking to pick up women.” Jake's voice was both sarcastic and amused at the same time.

Nice going. You've managed to insult him twice in one day. “I'm sorry. Really I didn't mean to...”

“You need to stop listening to the media, Doc. More than half of what they print is either pure B.S, or skewed beyond belief.”

Charlie opened her mouth to reply but the cell phone in Jake’s pocket went off at that exact moment.

“I need to take this. It's my assistant in Virginia.”

Without another word he left, leaving Charlie to wonder what else the media got wrong about Jake.

For the rest of the afternoon Charlie didn't see much of Jake. He had not spoken to her again after his phone call. Whether or not that was because he was annoyed by her earlier comments, she didn't know. After hanging up with his assistant he spent some time making other calls before the last few supply trucks rolled in and the volunteers returned to unload them. Every once in a while Charlie got the feeling that someone was watching her, but only once did she catch Jake eyeing her.