Сандра Хьятт – A Lone Star Love Affair / Falling for the Princess: A Lone Star Love Affair / Falling for the Princess (страница 8)

She looked again at the title, reading it aloud, “Vice President of Graphic Arts.” She skimmed down the page to the salary that took her breath again. It was higher than any amount she had ever made, higher than what she had been offered by anyone. Shocked, she looked up at him. “You’ll raise my salary this much? You would put me over your people?”

“You’re good at your job. Seymour Morris praised you highly. You have an impressive record. In addition, you had a good interview. I want to keep you and I think to do so will take a bigger salary. My guess is that you are on the verge of accepting one of those offers you’ve received, if you haven’t already done so.”

“You’re right,” she admitted, looking again at the amount, far more than she could hope to make anywhere else. Too much to resign and walk away without consideration. Too much to even have to think long about it. The title in itself was a promotion. How much had his offer been inspired by her work and awards—and how much because of his memory of their night together and wanting to repeat it? She stared at the figures before her and the title, wondering about his motives. This was not in character with what had been rumored about his ruthless reputation when he took over a company.

“Do you want me in your organization or in your bed, Tony?” she asked bluntly, and one corner of his mouth lifted in a slight smile.

He reached across the narrow space between them to take her hand. Distracting, charismatic, sexy, Tony ignited a fire within her while his brown eyes held her gaze.

“You get to the point. I want to see you outside the office. I want you here in my company. Of course, I want you in my bed, Isabelle. I haven’t forgotten that night with you and you haven’t forgotten it, either.”

How she wished she could give him a long, cold stare and convey the impression of that night being insignificant and no longer in her memory. She couldn’t possibly, which he was fully aware of. “I don’t want to rekindle anything. On that front, you’ll be incredibly disappointed if I take this offer.”

“No, I won’t. If you stay, you’ll do a good job. I know that much from your past performance.”

“I don’t socialize, go out with, date, anyone from work. It prevents complications in my life.”

“We’ll see,” he said, running his thumb back and forth on her knuckles. She pulled her hand away.

“If I thought you didn’t like that, I wouldn’t do it, but I can see the look in your eyes. I can feel your racing pulse. You react as much as I do and we will go out together. I’ll hold you in my arms while I kiss you again.”

“Stop that,” she said breathlessly, the command sounding more an invitation than a rejection. “Tony, I’ll have to give it some thought. I never expected this offer. As for socializing, even if we do, which we will not, won’t that cause difficulty with other employees?”

“This is a private company. I own it. I have a good relationship with my employees. They are a happy bunch in a big corporation. I have married couples working for me. They socialize, eat dinners and lunches together. There are couples working here who go out together. I’m allowed to have a life. So are you.”

“It won’t be together.”

“You’re one challenge after another, Isabelle.”

“I don’t intend to be anything to you, not even your employee, although I may have to rethink that one.”

“Let’s have dinner tonight. Not a business dinner. It will be strictly social. Whether you stay or go, I’m going to ask you to go out with me.”

She was tempted to accept his dinner invitation, except she could see her life tangling in a web woven by Tony until he lost interest. Socializing with Tony, an affair with him—not only would complicate her work life, but it would also be a path to heartbreak no matter how it ended. And it would end. When it did, she would be older with no family to show for her affair of the heart.

“Tony, if I accept your job offer, I will keep my private life separate from my professional life. Thank you, but no dinner tonight.”

“Whatever you want,” he said, smiling at her, sounding supremely self-confident. “I still hope you accept my job of fer.”

“It’s flattering, tempting and amazing. I’d like to think it over and get back to you.”

“Of course. Take your time,” he said.

The moment she stood, he came to his feet to walk to the door with her.

At the door he reached out to hold the knob and block her from leaving. When she glanced up, he gazed back quietly. “I want you, Isabelle. We had an amazing night that I’ve never forgotten. You’ll say yes sometime soon because you respond to me. You can’t hide it. We both know you respond, just as I do to you.”

With every word she was sinking deeper in desire. His seductive ways conjured up their magic. He was right on too many levels, his observations on target. If she stayed, it was simply a matter of time until she was in his bed. Was that what she wanted?

“Tony, that’s the strongest of all the arguments for rejecting your offer,” she replied.

“Scared how much you’ll like your life in the future?”

He was way too confident.

“Wisdom says to shun meaningless affairs, as well as office affairs. The only way to do that is to avoid them in the first place.”

“See, we could talk over an enticing lobster dinner or a thick steak tonight. We do have things to talk about. We could dance—as I recall, that was a great pastime with you.”

“Sorry, no. I see no point. Thank you and I’ll get back to you with my answer.”

“Excellent,” he said, holding the door for her.

She stopped to tell the graphic arts secretary that she was taking off the rest of the day. Gathering her things and the paper from Tony, she left to go home where she could think.

The following morning Isabelle stood in Tony’s office again. She had dressed carefully, this time in a conservative tan suit and matching blouse.

“Please sit, Isabelle,” he said.

“This won’t take long,” she replied. “I’ll accept your offer. You know I can’t possibly refuse. I won’t find another like it anywhere.”

He smiled, the devilish smile that affected her heartbeat and breathing and was difficult to resist. “Good. You surely will let me take you out tonight and celebrate. An early dinner and then I’ll deposit you home. This is a big day in your life.” While his brown eyes danced with delight, he smiled at her.

On top of the promotion, his offer was tempting, but some things had not changed. She shook her head and opened her mouth to decline. He placed his finger on her lips. “Wait. I can see you digging in your heels. This is an offer worthy of a celebration. If we didn’t have a past, and you accepted my job offer, you would agree to celebrate. You’ve agreed to work with me, so we’re going to be together, Isabelle. We’ll work together, we’ll be in meetings together, lunches, dinners, conferences, hotels. Stop worrying about one night and one dinner. Celebrate your victory. And this is a victory for you. No seduction. Just dinner.”

She inhaled deeply. He had a point. She was going to work with him. She thought of the few times she had been with Seymour Morris, purely business. She couldn’t equate Tony with Mr. Morris, but she was going to be thrown with Tony sometimes by working for him.

“I can see the wheels turning,” he said. “You’ll sit home alone tonight otherwise, will you not? No fun there when you have a real triumph. Stop making a mountain out of a definite ant hill.”

“You’re persuasive. I’ll have to give you that much.” She thought about sitting home alone with this fabulous new position dazzling her. One dinner. Maybe she was blowing everything out of proportion. She should be able to have a dinner with him without succumbing to his charm. She couldn’t keep from wanting to celebrate this new job. “Dinner it is,” she said, wanting to add, Seduction, it isn’t, but she knew he would stand by his word about that for tonight. She nodded. “Thank you, Tony.”

“Excellent. How about I pick you up at your house at seven?”

“Which means you are leaving work early tonight,” she said.

“For you and your celebration, definitely. I’m glad, Isabelle. You won’t regret your choice.”

“Are you always so sure of yourself, Tony?”

He smiled.

She picked up her briefcase. “Now I have to go to Human Resources and fill out paperwork. I’ve been told I’ll keep my same office.”

“Yes. You’ll get to do it over. We’re having them all redone. Soon you can make the selections of furniture, carpet, wall colors, everything.”

“Actually, it’s very much the way I like it now.”

“That’s your decision. Welcome to Ryder Enterprises, Incorporated,” he said, extending his hand, shaking hers. The moment his hand closed around hers and heat warmed her from his touch, she wondered again if she could cope with working in close proximity to him. She had spent a sleepless night processing his offer. The job was fabulous, a dream position and salary so good it was worth working with Tony. She reminded herself of how little she’d seen of Mr. Morris over the years, yet, she knew Tony would be different. It was just too good an offer to turn down. She ought to be able to work around him without being constantly drawn to him. And he was a workaholic. He would move on to other concerns. He was a deal maker. He didn’t sit in one office all the time. She didn’t really expect to see much of him after the first few months when he was getting the company set up the way he wanted. Even that, he probably left to others. Shaking off uneasiness, she withdrew her hand. His enthusiasm was contagious and she smiled at him.