“Miss Bridwell’s idea. She wants the theme to be ice, since even though we will climb the Matterhorn next summer, it will still be covered in ice.”
“And how will you display this ice?” Leo asked.
She smiled brightly. “Haven’t the foggiest.”
“I don’t think I need to tell you that this is an... aspirational budget.” He hoped she understood that the Ladies’ Alpine Society could not handle this kind of expense. No one could. Not now. The global economy was not what it was a century ago when the rich were fabulously rich, and the poor had nothing but the clothes on their backs.
“I believe if we put a number on the budget, then it’s a starting place. Once actual plans come into being, we will know where to whittle it down.”
“Whittle it down?” Leo asked. It did occur to him that Mrs. Cabot was shifting in her chair as if she were agitated and also that she had not invited him to use her given name. Both circumstances were disappointing. “This is astronomical.”
“It’s not really your decision, is it?” Her tone sharpened. “You were very clear that you were not a party planner. You didn’t want to be involved, so fine, it’s my problem and my problem alone.”
“That’s not—”
“No, your priority is the math. And believe me, I understand. When the math works, the world is grand. When it doesn’t, someone gets fired or worse.”
“Where did you—”
“I’ve done my fair share of budgets,Leo.”
Damn it all. This is not how today was supposed to go. “Why don’t we calm down and—”
“—Donottell me to calm down.”
He watched blood pulse in her neck. It was strangely erotic. He was noticing every bit of her, and she grew more magnificent with every inch he noticed. Which was incredibly poor timing because it seemed she would rather throw things at his head.
“Youwillhelp me with this budget.” Anything she said in that tone of voice made him want to comply instantaneously. Preferably without his clothes.
“Of course.” He took a step back, wanting her to feel comfortable.
She looked away and shook her head, her jaw tensed and pulsing. “I shouldn’t have come. I thought, well, it doesn’t matter what I thought. You’re just like the others.”
That put a damper on his ardor. He straightened his spine and let his business mask fall into place. “If you would give me specifics, I should like to prove to you otherwise.”
“You think that because I am a woman, I can’t possibly understand a simple ledger.”
He folded his hands on his desk. “It is my turn to insist that you do not tell me what I think.”
“I don’t have to, do I? It’s evident in the way you treat me.” She stood and paced behind her chair.
“Would you like to know what I am thinking?” Leo tried to smile at her, he really did. He was not known for the gesture, however, and it might have made things worse.
She shot him a look like he was the village idiot.
“I’m doing my best to not seduce you. I’m trying to focus on business, but I find it damnably hard to do so when I see your blood thrumming in your neck. I’m thinking of all the things I could do to make your blood pulse like that.”
Her posture softened, and she licked her lips. It was what he’d hoped to see.
“I’m wondering if you taste like honey, and if it’s anything like the honey color of your hair,” he continued. “I want your fingers in my hair as I coax you to climax, and I want my fingers in yours when I do. So you see, I am unable to tell if your budget is worthwhile or not. I do not disrespect your mind, Mrs. Cabot. I find that your presence has eclipsed my capacity to do my work.”
Her eyes burned into him. “Is this how you conduct your business?”
He kept his voice calm and even. “Only with you. I have not bedded a woman in several years. I don’t believe in adultery, and I haven’t the patience for a paid mistress.”
She folded her arms across her chest, serving only to accentuate her mouth-watering breasts. He breathed through his nose slowly, maintaining his control. That thin veneer that kept him from leaping over the desk and taking her like a rutting animal. “You expect me to believe that?”
“It is the truth. I can’t see why you wouldn’t believe that. I have not shown myself to be dishonest in any way.”
