“Forbidding?That’s an interesting word.”
“Like he has all these secrets.He doesn’t talk about himself much.The man scares the hell out of me in the most exciting way possible.”
“Now I’m intrigued.”
“That was my point, exactly.”
Forbidding.If you added handsome, enigmatic and powerful, the same description could apply to Connor.
The waiter brought them coffee and the slice of the renowned key lime pie they’d ordered to share.
“This’ll cost me an hour on the treadmill,” Erin said as she stuck her spoon in one side.
“It’s worth every single minute,” Lara pointed out.
After they’d paid the bill, they went outside.Humidity and heat from the unseasonably warm spring evening swamped Lara, settling over her, making her suddenly restless.
“Seven, seven, three, four,” Erin said.
Lara scowled.
“That’s the code so that you can contact Connor.”
“I won’t need it.”
“I want you to be my sister-in-law.”Erin waved a cheery goodbye and headed for her car while Lara walked back toward the skyscraper that housed her family’s business, Bertrand Holdings, Inc.Since it was technically after hours, she shrugged off her black blazer then tucked it through the handle of her oversized bag.
Earlier she’d debated whether or not to cancel her dinner plans with Erin, but since she’d been working so many hours, Lara had decided to keep the appointment but go back to work to wrap up the day’s final details, straighten her desk then stop by the workout center before heading home.Lately, it seemed as if she spent more time behind her desk than anywhere else.
Problem was, she couldn’t see an end anytime soon.They needed more help than they had, but cutbacks had left all departments woefully understaffed.Doing more with less had become a mantra.Unfortunately for her, that resulted in a lot of twelve-hour days, and Saturday had become a regular workday.
She entered the high-rise through the revolving glass door and exhaled in relief as the air-conditioning cooled her damp skin.At least the brisk walk should have worked off part of the key lime pie.
As she strode across the marble floor toward a bank of elevators, she waved to the security guard.
“No rest for the wicked?”
“I’ll have to make a note to be a saint in my next life,” Lara said.
“You and me both, sister,” the woman replied.
Since most workers had gone home hours before, the building was quiet.It amazed her how different downtown became after hours.The lack of energy was palpable, weighty.An elevator was even waiting to whisk Lara directly to the eighteenth floor.
She was deep in thought when she exited the car and almost walked directly into someone.
He reached for her, grabbing her upper arms to steady her.
“I beg your pardon,” she said.
“Are you all right?”
Lara looked up.Electricity hummed through her when she realized Connor Donovan was holding her.For a breathless moment, time seemed to stop.
“Well, well,” he said.“Ms.Bertrand.”He continued to hold her.
Self-preservation instincts told her to pull away, but she didn’t…couldn’t.
Their gazes held.He drew his dark eyebrows together, making him look even more intimidating.Rather than scaring her, his frown, his presence, compelled her attention.
