“Put the call through.” Forcing himself to ignore the lust he shouldn’t be feeling, he slid the Poseidon file out of the stack of folders on his desk. It was all on his computer, of course, but he liked to have the actual paperwork in front of him.
He flipped open the file and looked up at Kenzie. “I’d like you to sit in on the conversation.”
She nodded, sat down in her usual chair across from him, smoothing her skirt as she crossed her legs. He thought of those pretty legs wrapped around his hips, and his groin tightened.
He hit the speaker button. “What’s going on, Derek?”
“Sorry to start your day off on a sour note, but we’ve got another problem with the rig.”
The way things had been going, he wasn’t surprised. “What is it this time?”
“Gas leak in one of the platform pipes.”
He flicked a glance at Kenzie, saw her make a note on her iPad. “How serious is it?”
“They found the leak and repaired it, but the foreman says it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
Reese shoved back his chair and rose, paced a few feet away, then back. “I need to get out there. I want to talk to the foreman and some of the crew, get their opinion on what’s been happening and why.”
“Maybe it’s time to think about cutting our losses. I know we’d lose money, but taking over a rig with this many problems might end up being worse in the long run.”
“I’ve thought about it, believe me. I just don’t like the idea that someone might be playing us. This rig represents all kinds of opportunities. If Sea Titan wasn’t making some major internal changes, they never would have put it up for sale.”
“Yeah, and certainly not at that price.”
“We’ll hold awhile longer. I’ll have Kenzie set up the trip.”
“You want me to go with you?” Derek asked.
“I need you to stay in Houston, keep things running on your end.”
“I can handle that.” Derek was a navy vet, former jet fighter pilot. He was one of the company’s most valuable employees. The call ended and Reese sat back down in his chair.
“I want you to take me with you,” Kenzie said, catching him off guard.
“Why?”
“First, because I think I could be useful. Also because of this.” She set a folded copy of a newspaper on top of his desk and smoothed it open. TheSpectatorwas a tabloid full of splashy headlines, candid photos, and gossip, most of it total BS.
On the cover of the weekly issue was a picture of him and Kenzie getting out of the stretch limo in front of the Adolphus the night of the benefit. “Dallas’s Most Eligible Bachelor, Reese Garrett, and His Executive Assistant, McKenzie Haines.”
In smaller print, “Sexual Favors Part of the Job at Garrett Resources?”
Reese cursed under his breath. “I was hoping this wouldn’t happen.”
“I can’t imagine what the papers will say when they find out I’m a suspect in my ex-husband’s murder—and you’re my alibi.”
“I don’t care what they say.” Rising, he rounded the desk, caught her shoulders, leaned down, and kissed her. For an instant, Kenzie stiffened. Then her mouth softened under his, and she returned the kiss, a small sigh of pleasure slipping from her throat.
“I want to see you,” he said. “I don’t care what the tabloids say. What about dinner tonight?”
“You have no idea how much I want to be with you. But you need to think about the consequences, Reese.”
He thought of his brothers and what they would say when they found out about the article. He thought about the people who worked for him, people he liked and respected. People who respected him.
“All right. We’ll leave town for a couple of days, fly back down to Houston, spend the night, and make that trip out to the rig the next day. You’re my assistant. You go where I need you. Fuck them if they don’t like it.”
Her mouth twitched. He wanted to kiss her again, feel the satiny glide of his tongue over those soft pink lips.
