Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It (9 page)

As painful as it would be to sit and watch the friendship develop and know it would probably turn into more, she couldn't quite stomach the idea of just leaving them to it either. She knew she couldn't have Marcus, but that didn't mean she wanted to watch him find someone else.

"You'd better start eating that rather than playing with it if you're going to finish sometime before the next century," Marcus teased her.

She shrugged. "I'm not all that hungry, I guess."

Sandyshook her head. "You must eat your lunch in order to have sufficient energy to finish the afternoon with a clear head. The last thing you need to do is drink that caffeine-laden tea without eating nutritious food to counterbalance it."

Marcus laughed. "Don't tell me you're one ofthose ."

Sandy's smile was definitely inviting. "One of those what?"

"A health food fanatic."

Sandy's laugh was soft and entirely too appealing. "You bet. You don't think I look this good without working at it, do you?" she asked, with guileless assurance.

As Marcus gaveSandy a flirtatious once-over, Veronica couldn't help comparing what he saw when he looked at the willowy blonde with what he saw when he looked at her.

At five feet eight.Sandy would fit Marcus to a tee, while Veronica's own five feet, four inches made her feel tiny next to his muscled height.Sandy also dressed in a way to attract men, with short skirts and bright, appealing tops that highlighted her blond hair and fair skin

Veronica's own black skirt reached past her knees. She'd paired it with a plain silk shell, the color ofSeattle 's skyline—dull gray.

She felt like a drab little wren next to a peacock as Marcus winked atSandy . "1 guess there's something to be said for bean sprouts and granola."

Sandylaughed, obviously pleased by Marcus's compliment. 'That's what I keep telling Veronica, but she won't even venture to low-fat salad dress-

Marcus turned his attention back to Veronica and she braced herself for the critical comment

Sandyhad unwittingly set him up to make. She knew her friend hadn't meant to criticize her. Sandy's health food habits were a source of a running joke between the two of them, but Marcus didn't know that and even if he had, would it have stopped him from making the sarcastic comment she was sure was coming? She didn't think so.

"Ronnie looks pretty damn good to me. Regular dressing must agree with her."Sandy sighed. "You may be right, lucky girl." Veronica said nothing. She felt as if her vocal cords had been frozen by Marcus's compliment.

She hadn't expected it and was even less prepared to respond to it.

Then he shocked her further by taking her fork from unresisting fingers, filling it with a bite of salad and saying, "Open up."

She did so without thinking and then felt another embarrassing blush crawl up her face, as she realized what she'd just allowed Marcus to do.Sandy would think their relationship was much more intimate than it was.

He smiled.

The fiend. He knew exactly what he'd just done and was enjoying her discomfort.

She snatched the fork from his hand and concentrated on eating the rest of her salad while Sandy and Marcus discussed a sailing competition north ofSeattle the following weekend.

"Well, I've got aone o'clock , so I'd better go. It's been a real pleasure getting to know you, Marcus."Sandy extended her hand toward Marcus, who had stood when she did.

He shook it and said good-bye before reseating himself at the table.

Veronica looked at her watch pointedly. "I've got things to do this afternoon, as well. Stop by my desk when you're ready and I'll show you your office."

"Okay, honey."

"Please don't call me that. I'm hardly your honey and I wouldn't want my coworkers to get the wrong idea." She sounded like a spinsterish schoolmarm from the 1950s.

Why couldn't she carry things off withSandy 's easy sophistication?

Marcus cocked his head to one side and studied her. "Just what exactly would be the wrong impression, Ronnie? That we once meant something to each other? That there's more to our relationship than the surface connection of Kline Technology?"

'There isn't more to our relationship. Not anymore." She realized it was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left her mouth.

They sounded too much like a challenge and Marcus was too darn competitive to ignore it.

He gave her a wolf's smile. "Have dinner with me tonight."

This was it, then. The moment of truth. Did she have the guts it would take to call his bluff?

She didn't really have a choice. If therewas a corporate spy, she had to de-tooth Marcus's threats to tell Mr. Kline about her past. She opened her mouth to say yes, but Marcus forestalled her by speaking.

"You owe me."

Shocked, she blurted out, "I don't owe you anything. "

His blue eyes narrowed, deepening to the color of aquamarine. "I was your lover; you betrayed me."

The idea that he would have felt personally betrayed did not sit well with her. She had enough guilt to carry without adding that burden.

"I betrayed Alex and CIS, not you. TheHarrison deal was his baby."

"You left me. You didn't even say good-bye."

She stared at him, her mind grappling with his words. "We didn't have a formal enough relationship to break off. Remember? No ties. No commitments."

He ought to remember the rules: he'd set them.

He leaned across the table until their faces were inches apart. She could see her own reflection in the black depths of his pupils. Her gaze lowered to rest on his firm, male lips. Did they still taste as intoxicating? Would they soften with desire if she gave into her insane urge to lean toward him until their mouths met?

"We were sleeping together almost every night of the week. I'd call that pretty damn formal, baby."

She shook her head, denying his words while trying to break the sensuous spell he'd woven over her.

"We never slept together. Not once. You didn't do the morning after, remember?"

Part of her, the rational part, was still conscious of their surroundings and could not believe they were having this conversation in the employee cafeteria. No one was sitting within hearing distance, but she still felt conspicuous with his body leaning so close to hers.

She could have moved away. She should have moved away, but she didn't. Because having Marcus this close to her felt too good, even if it was only due to his desire to set her straight.

"Stop arguing semantics here, Ronnie. You left me. You didn't say good-bye."

She watched his mouth move as he spoke, getting a peek at his straight, white teeth, the tongue that used to drive her wild. It took her rapidly melting brain a second to make sense of the words that had come out of that mouth.

"I left the note so Alex wouldn't suspect you," she couldn't help pointing out.

It had cost her a lot to leave that note. It was as good as a confession and had been a huge risk if Alex decided to prosecute. She'd taken the risk, though, because she couldn't stand the thought of Alex possibly suspecting Marcus of leaking the information toHarrison .

It was only later, when her mind had cleared a little, that she had realized her disappearance would have been confession enough. By then, the damage had been done. She'd written the note, confessing her sin to Marcus, and had left forFrance with her gravely ill sister.

She didn't find out what Marcus would have said in reply to her reminder because at that moment Jack walked up. "Hey, you two. Is this a high-level planning session or can anyone join?"

Marcus sat back in his chair, the soft fabric of his signature Hawaiian shirt—a different one from the day before, but just as garish—flowing against the muscled wall of his chest. His movement was both graceful and casual.

He didn't invite Jack to join them but smiled at her red-haired boss. "It's not a planning session at all. Ronnie and I were just talking about old times."

Jack's eyes widened and he spun to face her. "Old times?"

Irritated with Marcus for implying a personal relationship between the two of them yet again, she nevertheless felt compelled to answer. "I used to work with Marcus at CIS."

Jack's smile was all masculine speculation. "I see. Is he by any chance the reason you've turned down my invitations to dinner?"

"I turned down your invitations to dinner for the reason I gave you. Kline Tech discourages personal relationships among members of the same department."

Not to mention the fact that she had other things to do with her off-hours time than spend them with Jack. She had a baby son and younger sister to take care of.

Of course, as a charming but fairly egotistical man, Jack would have a difficult time believing she just hadn't been interested in him.

Jack turned his attention to Marcus and gave him a man-to-man look. "She could transfer to a different department if she really needed to, but I doubt Kline would even notice."

And why should she be the one to transfer? Men could be so arrogant when it came to relationships.

"I like my job and at times I even like you, Jack. But I don't appreciate this conversation."

She also didn't like the look of gathering doom in Marcus's eyes. He hadn't liked her saying she liked Jack. Not one bit. Why was not important. She figured it had something to do with him seeing his prey possibly moving out of reach. If she had a relationship with Jack, Marcus couldn't very well blackmail her into his bed.

He never played around with women in committed relationships. It was a rule he adhered to just as strictly as the one about no commitments.

Jack shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. "Don't sweat it, Ronnie."

The subtle emphasis he placed on the shortened version of her name was not lost on her, nor on Marcus, judging by the narrowing of his gorgeous blue eyes.

He stood up abruptly, his jaw tight, then picked up her tray and his own. "You said you had things to do this afternoon, honey. I'll walk you back to your desk."

She nodded, getting to her feet. Now was not the time to take him to task for his abrupt manner. She might as well show Marcus his cubicle while they were at it.

Jack jumped up too. "Hey, I'll walk with you."

Veronica tried hard not to grind her teeth. The last thing she wanted was to walk to her cubicle with two testosterone-laden men vying for one-upmanship. She knew Jack's use of her nickname had been a deliberate ploy to show Marcus that he had as much claim on her as he did.

When in truth neither man had a claim on her at all. And neither wanted one either. This wasn't about her; it was about male competitiveness and she wasn't having any part of it.

Marcus returned from dumping their lunch trays. "Let's go."

She drew herself up. "You two go ahead. I need to stop by the design team admin's desk. She and I have some scheduling issues to work out regarding an upcoming meeting."

Issues that would be handled more efficiently on the phone with each admin having her department's calendars in front of her, but it was the only excuse she could come up with on such short notice.

"What about my office?" Marcus asked.

"It's kitty-corner to mine. There's a temporary nameplate with your name on it on the cubicle wall outside. You can't miss it." She smiled with smug triumph.

She had taken care of walking upstairs with the two men and given herself a reprieve from seeing Marcus again. All in all, she'd handled the situation pretty well, if she did say so herself.

Marcus's eyes narrowed. "I guess I'll see you tonight then. Let's saysix o'clock at the same restaurant we met at on Friday. Maybe this time we can actually get around to eating dinner."

Chapter Six

Marcus watched Ronnie follow the hostess to his table with a sense of relieved anticipation.

After his parting comment that afternoon, he hadn't been entirely sure she would show. Storm clouds had already been gathering in her eyes when he'd decided to set Jack straight about Ronnie's availability.