Absolute Zero (29 page)

“Open your eyes, love. You look like you just ate something hoora mingin.”

Her eyes popped open as soon as she felt his body move away from hers. He had flipped his hat strategically around at some point causing him to look even younger and unfortunately even hotter.

Hoora…what? What the hell did that mean?

He continued before she could ask
.
“I get it. I do,” he started after a loud sigh. “The thing is; I can’t help it. I find you extremely attractive and I want you. Is that so bad?”

“
YES
,” she hissed out. “I work for you, and if that wasn’t awkward enough…” she trailed off. The information she gleaned earlier from Shay was still fresh in her mind. Her eyes searched the man standing in front of her looking for something, anything to give her clue about him but there was nothing. Nothing but a concentrated blue eyed stare that unnerved her.

“You should go,” she finally finished.

“I don’t want to.”

“You have to. You have a game to watch,” she supplied in a controlled voice.

“I’d rather go to first base with you than watch someone else do it on the telly,” he teased in a soft voice.

“You’re not even gonna make it to the batter’s box, buddy,” she stated before stepping around him. She turned and gripped his forearm and gave a slight tug. “Come on.”

He followed reluctantly.

They stopped at the front door.

“Last chance to change your mind and have your way with me,” he quipped with a devious grin.

“I’ll pass, but thanks for the offer,” she answered back with feigned sweetness.

“Hmm. Alright, listen Anne,” he leveled a serious look at her. “I have a meeting in Delaware tomorrow night but Wednesday…I was thinking of taking you to dinner,” his finger immediately rose to her lips and touched them lightly as her intake of breath heralded the ‘No’ he knew was forthcoming.

“Shut it, let me finish,” he stated sternly as his finger traced lightly from her lips to her chin before his arm dropped to his side. “There’s this restaurant in Philadelphia on a boat, supposed to be phenomenal food, from what I hear. I’ll pick you up at six.”

“No.”

“We’ll take it slow. Just dinner. No expectations. I want to get to know you better. That’s all…”

“No.”

“Stop saying no. You’re not cooperating, ya feisty brat. I’m not above showing up and stuffing you in a car.”

“I’m not above jumping from a moving vehicle,” she shot back immediately.

“See?” He threw his hands up before letting them fall and slap against his thighs. “You say stuff like that and it makes me want you more. It’s your fault.” His arm shot out lightening quick; grabbing her around the waist and dragging her to him before she could take a breath.

“You make me dafty,” he stated before smacking a kiss on her stunned mouth. He pushed her away just as quickly, steadying her body for a brief moment before turning. “You test every gram of my restraint,” he shot over his shoulder.

“Restraint is sexy,” she called out after him as he walked down the front steps. “Desperation is
not
,” she added as she watched him continue across her lawn. He grabbed his chest in mock pain as he kept walking. “Aw, you wound me, Anne!” he yelled back without looking at her. “Six o’clock Wednesday!” he shouted before disappearing around the corner of the house.

“I won’t be here!” she shouted back before she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her weight against the door jamb. Her head thumped against the door frame as a loud frustrated sigh burst from her throat.

Truth was, there was nothing she wanted more than to take him up on his offer. Her rational, logical mind said no, but her body hummed at the thought of being with him.

*****

Restraint is sexy. Desperation is not.

He let out a rather loud snort accompanied by a shake of his head as he watched the scenery pass in a blur from the back seat of the car the next day. His cell decided to ring, wrenching his attention from the window to the small object in his hand.

“Yes?” he answered without looking at the display.

“Ian? It’s Lach, listen I have some news…”

“Yes?” he asked in an impatient tone.

“The building in Perth. They won’t budge on the price,” he heard through the phone.

“Right,” he stated absently before a small spark of anger seeped into his brain. “Tell them we’re not interested then,” he stated in a calm tone.

“What?! But…”

“Lach,” Ian interrupted him, “that building was designed for and built to accommodate only two types of business. Food service or pharmaceuticals. It has sat vacant for three years on the market and no one has shown the slightest bit of interest in it until now. They’re playing a game with you and we’re going to play it right back,” he stated resolutely.

“But, there’s a risk…”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take. Tell them we’re looking at other options,” he grated out before his voice lowered. “Trust me on this,” he added as his eyes wandered back toward the passing scenery.

“If you’re sure…”

“I’m sure. Get to it,” he cut off the call and dropped the phone to his lap.

Too bad personal dilemmas didn’t follow the same course as professional ones
, he mused as his brow furrowed.

Suddenly, he sat up straighter in the seat and his eyes widened before a smile formed on his lips.

It would
kill
him. But it would
work
.

Anne Bennett was worth the risk, after all.

*****

“This is such a freaking pain in the
ASS
,” Em stated hotly as she walked into the office from the lab.  Anne knew exactly what she was talking about. Sharing equipment seriously
sucked
.

“I know. I’m waiting too,” she supplied before she continued tapping on the keyboard.

“Did you at least get to present the list you made?”

“I did, but I think it fell on deaf ears. I’m not sure. Rand has some ideas about shifting funding from other projects but McClellan pretty much put the kibosh on that idea. I think we’re stuck,” she admitted as she continued to type.

“Rand can convince him, although I hear McClellan was a jerk in the meeting, so maybe Rand’s losing his touch,” she heard over the clicking of the keys.

“I don’t know…” she breathed out before stilling her fingers. “If I could just get him to look at the report, I’m sure he’ll come around, it’s just…he’s just so…”

“Prickish?” Em supplied.

“Stubborn,” Anne stated.

*****

Anne ate her meal in total silence at her otherwise empty kitchen table later that night. All day, she had expected a text or an instant message, something from him but there was nothing. Of course, he had said he was going to Delaware, so he was probably busy. Still. It was a bit surprising considering his words and actions the night before.

Her body warmed at the thought of his touch. Her fingers traced her lips lightly before her hand dropped back to the table.

He looked so damn good in a baseball cap.
He should wear a hat more often.
And those jeans. He had a seriously toned body and she could only imagine what he would look like naked.

She cradled her chin in her hand as she moved the food around on her plate in haphazard circles. Her eyes shifted to the cell phone on the table.

*****

Could we please schedule some time

to discuss the equipment list?

“NO,” he mouthed silently to the screen on his phone as he looked at her text from the night before. He sat at his desk the next morning, his eyes sweeping from the phone to the schedule Mrs. Craigh sent him. A full day as always and that was a good thing.

He wouldn’t respond to her text. If she wanted him, let
her
seek
him
out. If his sister Lena knew about this, she’d make a comment on his lack of maturity or sanity, or both.

She didn’t know Anne.

Sometimes desperate times called for desperate measures. He read that somewhere.

Desperation is not sexy
, according to Anne. 

Let’s see how you like the chase,
Ms. Bennett, he thought with a huge grin.

*****

“So, if you’re free for lunch, we could discuss this proposal further.”

“I don’t usually do that, besides I have a sandwich coming and a one o’ clock conference call,” he stated to the woman seated in front of him.

She was bonnie for sure, but her long, dark hair was too long, her tall body wasn’t short enough and she was too agreeable. Oh! And she was sporting at least a two carot diamond ring on her left hand.

“That’s too bad…you’re hard to catch up with and really, I feel like I’ve only scraped the surface of this proposal,” she stated.

His eyes scanned the small red folder in front of him. Distribution, marketing plans…She was right, one hour was really not enough but it was all he could give her this week.

“Mr. McClellan?” Rand’s assistant Andrea’s voice caused him to shift his attention to his desk phone.

“Yes?” he asked after pressing a button on the keypad.

“Ms. Bennett is here to see you and I have your sandwich.”

“I’m in a meeting. Is that normal protocol to disrupt a meeting just because someone decides to pop in unscheduled?” He wished he could see her face at that moment. Hopefully she was on speaker phone and she and Anne were staring at each other with shocked expressions.

“I’d be more than happy to go to lunch with you,” he stated to the woman seated in front of him. “In fact, let’s go now.” He stood up immediately and walked past her to the door, waiting for her briefly before opening the door to find exactly what he had hoped.

Anne stood with her arms crossed in front of Andrea’s desk. She was wearing a blue wrap dress and heels that accentuated her shapely legs. He wondered briefly if she chose that particular color for him; then dismissed the thought.

“I’m going to lunch, I’ll be back for my one o’clock,” he spoke to Andrea, purposely keeping his eyes from sweeping over Anne once again. She was staring at him, he could actually
feel
it.

“Umm, Ok…but I have your sandwich,” she held up the small paper-wrapped object and the expression on her face was pure confusion.

“Give it to Anne. I owe her a lunch anyway,” he stated dismissively as he ushered the woman toward the front lobby.

Anne’s mouth opened to say something,
anything
to halt him but nothing came out. The woman that walked next to him was exquisite with her pronounced cheekbones, tall trim figure and gorgeous shiny dark hair. It cascaded down her back almost to the point where McClellan’s hand rested as he guided her around a corner cubicle and vanished from her line of vision.

Her eyes shifted back to Andrea and the outstretched parcel in her hand. “Pastrami,” Andrea stated causing an even more pronounced look of confusion to etch Anne’s features.

“The sandwich?” Andrea wiggled it a bit. “Here,” she encouraged.

Anne’s hand absently reached out and grabbed it. What the hell was that? Was that the same man that bought her flowers, showed up at the house, kissed her?
What the hell was that?

Maybe he finally took the hint. Or maybe he knew what she wanted to talk about and was purposely ignoring her? Maybe…

“Hey, happy hour tonight, Connelly’s. You in?” Anne’s eyes snapped to Andrea’s.

She
could
use a drink.

“I’m in,” she stated without giving it a second thought.

*****

Ian folded his arms across his chest and leaned his weight against the door to his office later that afternoon. Andrea was leaning back in her office chair chatting on her cell phone, her back turned toward him.

“I called Connelly’s and reserved a big table…yeah…like twelve? Or maybe thirteen. You’ll never guess who finally said yes…Anne? I know right? She never goes…yeah…” she blathered on as Ian straightened and wandered back into his office.

For all Anne knew, he was still planning on picking her up at six for dinner. Then again, this
was
Anne. She only accepted that happy hour invitation to avoid him, but she needn’t have worried.  He wasn’t planning on picking her up at six anyway.

He seated himself back at the desk and grabbed the red folder with the business card tucked into the small holder on the inside cover.

His fingers pressed the numbers on the phone and he waited for her to answer.

“Hello?” he heard her through the phone.

“Grace? Hello. It’s Ian McClellan. You said you wanted to continue our discussion and I find I’m free for dinner tonight,” he stated.

*****

“Is there something wrong? You seem really distracted.”