Trish Wylie – The Inconvenient Laws of Attraction (страница 5)

The man pointed upward before continuing his work. On the second floor, she met a semi-naked man in shorts.

‘Blake Clayton?’

‘Top floor.’

Of course he was. She brushed her shoulder on a wall while trying to avoid a stepladder, and then twisted her neck to search for signs of damage to her jacket as she moved to the next set of stairs. It was getting hotter by the floor. Wasn’t hell supposed to be downstairs?

‘Whoa!’ Two large hands grasped her elbows when she caught her heel on a loose floorboard and stumbled forward. ‘Careful, lady.’

Scowling briefly at the dusty fingerprints semi-naked man number two had left on her linen sleeves, she forced a smile as she lifted her chin. ‘Olivia Brannigan from Wagner, Liebstrahm, Barker and DeLuise. I wonder if—’

‘You should get that printed on a T-shirt,’ a rough-edged voice said above her head, sending a shiver of awareness down her spine. ‘Save time on the introductions.’

Her gaze lifted to where he was leaning casually on the banister, her breath catching. Did he look sexier than he had the last time? How was that possible? Before she could open her mouth, he turned and disappeared, leaving her to make her way up the stairs and peek through several doors until she found him again. It was beginning to feel as if she’d spent half her life looking for him.

‘I have the papers you requested.’

Swiping a cloth over his large hands, he ignored her and began staining the carved piece of wood laid out on a workbench in front of him.

‘It’s a list of personal assets and properties.’

‘You’d think I’d know that if I requested them.’

‘You didn’t request them?’ Not that she’d been there when the call came in, but Carrie on the front desk was normally pretty reliable when it came to—

‘Stalking me again?’

‘I have never stalked you.’

‘Some guys might be flattered.’

‘I don’t think your ego needs any help.’

Had she said that out loud? Maybe he hadn’t heard her over the echoing music? The corner of his mouth twitched. Oh, he’d heard. Well, as overjoyed as she was to be a source of amusement to him …

Looking for somewhere to set the file down, her gaze fell on a heavy bed with ornate scrollwork on the posts and a huge headboard carved with curling leaves and branches; incredibly lifelike birds and squirrels were scattered at random intervals. It was practically a work of art. Olivia glanced sideways at him as dense, dark lashes lifted and his intense gaze locked with hers.

The temperature in the room jumped several degrees, a bead of moisture trickling into her cleavage. The woman immediately wanted him to lick the same path it had taken. Even the professional’s mouth was dry.

‘Did you make that?’ She waved the file in the general direction of the bed.

‘Showing an interest in what I do the next step in your plan, is it?’

She had to know. ‘Are you this judgemental with every one or have I been singled out for special attention?’

‘You want my special attention, sweetheart, all you got to do is ask.’

Shaking her head, Olivia wondered why she was surprised. She should be getting used to it by now, and the accompanying reaction from her body when she realised she was standing within a few feet of evidence he was good with his hands.

‘You can leave the file.’

He was dismissing her after she’d trekked halfway across the city in temperatures the equivalent of the face of the sun? Olivia didn’t think so. Not till they’d cleared up a few things.

‘Mr Clayton.’

‘Blake.’

‘If I’m going to work with you—’

‘Work with me. Hmm.’ He dropped the brush in the can of wood stain. ‘Still haven’t figured it out, have you?’

‘Figured what out?’

‘Didn’t you go to some fancy law school to learn all this stuff?’ He wiped his hands on the cloth again.

‘ All what stuff?’

‘Stuff like who calls the shots.’ Tossing the cloth aside, he continued holding her gaze. ‘You won’t be working with me. If I hire you, you’ll work for me.’

Technically true, but she could argue a technicality. ‘I’m employed by—’

‘Seriously—’ the corner of his mouth tugged again ‘—consider the T-shirt.’

‘They pay my salary.’

‘And Warren Enterprises pays them. Way I figure it—since I’ve just been handed the keys to the kingdom—that means I pay you.’

Not until he signed the papers, he didn’t.

‘So if I’m stepping up to the plate—’ a potent smile began to form on his lips ‘—you get to be at my beck and call, day and night. I holler, you come a-runnin’.’

Summoning the professional demeanour expected of an employee of one of Manhattan’s most respected law firms, Olivia stopped herself from running through the endless possibilities involved with being at his beck and call, day and night.

Wait a minute. She was playing messenger girl so he could prove a point? Her eyes narrowed. ‘Trust me when I tell you I’m not paid anywhere near enough for that kind of service. I’m good at what I do, Mr Clayton. That’s why I’m here. I can work with you, represent Warren Enterprises’ best interests and ensure a smooth transition for you to head of the company. But I’m not going to bring you coffee, I’m not going to jump when you snap your fingers—’ she stepped across the room and set the file down beside him ‘—and I’m not a messenger.’

The slow hand clap started when she was halfway across the room. ‘You practice that on the way over?’

Olivia kept going, the words ‘justifiable homicide’ jumping into her head. She was almost at the door when a large hand captured her elbow, causing her to jerk in surprise. She swung round. She was a heartbeat away from allowing the training of her former career to kick in before she realised where she was and who he was. Horrified by what she might have done, she took an immediate step back, bumping her spine into the doorframe.

She closed her eyes. ‘Please tell me you didn’t stain this doorframe before I got here.’

When she opened her eyes again, he was setting a palm on the wood beside her neck. Immediately glancing at her one remaining escape route, she watched another large palm flatten on the wall beside her waist. Like it or not, she wasn’t going anywhere. Not without hurting him.

‘Nice speech,’ he commented.

‘I meant every word of it,’ she said with a lift of her chin, trying desperately to ignore the erratic thudding of her heart. One man should not be that breathtakingly gorgeous up close. She took a deep breath and stifled a moan. He absolutely shouldn’t smell that good.

For a second she felt a little bit dizzy. She could really do with some air that wasn’t filled with testosterone. Everything around him contracted and went fuzzy again, leaving her unable to focus on anything but him. Her gaze went to the full lip she was so attracted to—the one she wanted to kiss, lick with the tip of her tongue, suck and maybe even nibble a little.

When had she got so sexually frustrated? She tried to remember the last time she’d been on a date—the kind with the remotest possibility of ending in great sex.

Well, that was depressing.

‘If you’re not up to the task, maybe I need to find another lawyer.’

Thank you! It was exactly how she needed him to be. If he added charm—or, worse still, seduction—to an already potent mix, she would be in deep, deep trouble.

Not to mention naked. Fast.

‘For the record, Mr Clayton, underestimating me is a bad idea.’ And she wasn’t kidding about that. Thanks to her former profession, she could have him flat on his face on the floor in less than ten seconds and when it came to her present occupation—‘I’ve been assigned to the Warren accounts since I joined the firm. I know the company inside out and back to front. You won’t find anyone more qualified than me.’

He frowned. ‘You worked for Charlie?’

‘I met him.’ She softened a fraction at the mention of the father he’d lost. ‘But I didn’t work with him.’

‘For him,’ he corrected.

‘With him,’ Olivia argued. ‘That’s how we do things at the firm: we work with our clients. It’s a long-term partnership based on mutual trust and common goals.’

‘I’m not looking to get married, sweetheart. I’m looking for someone to do what I tell them to do when I tell them to do it. Is that a problem for you?’

‘You tell me to jump, I ask how high?’

‘Works for me …’

Over. Her. Dead. Body.

Her breath caught as his head lowered. What was he doing? When he stilled, his face inches away from hers, every fibre of her body ached with an almost crippling desire to be kissed. How could she dislike him and want him so badly at the same time? Maybe the heat was getting to her. They said people did things they wouldn’t normally do during a heatwave. Olivia just wished she was the kind of girl who hid behind excuses when they did something stupid.