“I need you to watch Grace.” Which hadn’t been at all why he’d come. He’d come to ask Emily about a system for keeping track of passwords, but once he’d arrived, it seemed like a stupid reason to visit her office.
“Grace?” Emily glanced at the dog waiting patiently beside his leg.
“My dog.”
“I see that.” Her eyebrows pulled together as she stared at Grace with the plastic cone around her neck. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. Just a few stitches, but I don’t want her to chew them off. And I don’t trust her to not remove the cone. She’s managed it before. Can you keep an eye on her?”
Emily’s mouth parted. He should be looking at her eyes, but his gaze remained on the soft, plump flesh of her lips. And now that he was staring, he realized she wasn’t wearing lipstick. That sexy, wet pink color was natural.
His pants tightened.
She stood, giving him a better view and not helping the hardening inside his pants. “I have meetings with two comedians and another musician to add to our entertainment roster. I also have several meetings afterward to discuss the feasibility of starting a children’s program at the resort. I really don’t—”
“So you’re free. Good.” He turned to leave. Needed to get out before his physical response became obvious, if it wasn’t already.
“Uh…” Emily hurried around her desk and stared leerily at Grace. “I’m not free. Isn’t there someone else you can leave her with? One of your brothers, maybe? I’ve never had a dog. I wouldn’t know how to care for her.”
“I don’t trust anyone with Grace, least of all my brothers.”
She studied him, and he looked away.
“Okay. I’ll watch her.” Emily gave Grace a soft smile.
“Good. I’ll pick her up later.” Levi was out the door before Emily could change her mind. Her soft scent filled the room and sparked memories of her in his arms, which seemed like the only place she should be. But that thought would wear off. It hadn’t been twenty-four hours since they’d kissed. He was feeling residual sexual frustration, that was all.
In the meantime, Levi would stay out of Emily’s office. It smelled like her, and that made things harder, pun intended. He’d call her later and have her bring Grace to him. No more venturing into her part of the building.
Levi headed back to his desk, where he was to meet with two of the lawyers to discuss how things went with Shin Electronics. One of the lawyers had attended a dinner while the company was in town, but neither had been present for the drunken-lady debacle.
Things might have turned south with Shin Electronics. Only time would tell. The company delegation had left first thing this morning, but the CEO had shaken Levi’s hand last night at the end of the party and thanked him for an entertaining visit.
Entertaining? Levi could only assume the CEO referred to the peep show and not the two musicians they’d managed to bring into the bar two out of the four evenings the guests had stayed. This was a classy casino resort. Club Tahoe didn’t need that kind of thing marring its reputation. The opportunity for a top company to book the hotel as its regular West Coast conference destination was likely dead in the water.
The lawyers had advised him to let them handle Shin Electronics, and he’d refused. If it turned out the company didn’t return, he was responsible. But he didn’t trust his lawyers to run Club Tahoe for him. As CEO, Levi would take on the big jobs like anyone else. For now, he’d have to come up with an alternative revenue source and quick.
* * *
Emily leaneddown to doggy eye level, where Grace stared back at her from beside the desk. “Looks like it’s just you and me. And for the record, Iambusy today. Your dad chose to ignore that part. Did you know he was so stubborn?”
Grace cocked her head to the side adorably.
“Me either! That man has ignored me for almost a day—after hekissed me—and then he has the nerve to come in here and ask me for a favor? I could strangle him right now.”
No response from Grace.
Emily frowned. “I suppose you love him unconditionally. Well, I’ll tell you one thing, he’d be a lot more lovable if he didn’t kiss and confuse people.” She petted Grace’s head. “He’s probably still in love with Lisa. I’m the one who stupidly thought… I don’t know what I thought. I just—like him. When he’s not bossing me around, he’s pretty incredible.” Emily sighed and stood. “All right, Grace. No more moping for us. You have a cone around your head and I’m a dunce when it comes to men, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t important. We have things to do, you and I. We’d better get to it.”
Emily grabbed her workbag with all her important electronics and walked to the door. And realized Grace hadn’t followed.
She made kissing noises with her mouth. “This way.”
She received the same curious head cock from Grace.
Emily patted her thigh. “Grace.”
The dog stood and walked over with her tail wagging.
