Guardian Angel (3 page)

When the powerful jet touched down at Los Angeles Airport, Alex experienced an inner sigh of relief. She just
might be able to make it an early night and catch up on her sleep. It had been weeks since she had tumbled into bed before midnight.

"I'll see Mrs. Page home, Frank," Jared informed the driver.

Alex turned her head around. In all the time she had worked for Jared, he had never offered to drive her home. That duty had always been left to Frank. Since Jared didn't live anywhere in the vicinity of her apartment, she couldn't understand why his offer came up today. A faint look of surprise flickere
d in Chris's eyes at Jared's an
nouncement.

"Chris, move that ten o'clock meeting up to nine," Jared commanded, as he cupped his hand under Alex's elbow and guided her toward the parking lot.

Alex experienced a tingling sensation along the nerve endings in her arm where Jared's hand warmed her skin.

"You don't need to go out of your way when Frank is here to drive me." She presented a mild argument while she stood next to Jared's low-slung silver Maserati. No
one protested vehemently with him, not if they wanted to survive.

He didn't answer until they were both seated in the luxurious interior of the car. "Who said that I'm going out of my way?" he asked facetiously.

Her dry answer was without hesitation. "Because I can't see any of your lady friends living in Marina del Rey. I'm sure they're much h
appier in Beverly Hills or Bel-
Air."

The engine purred as it slowly moved toward the exit and merged with the heavy early evening traffic.

"Do you and Chris date on a regular basis?"

Alex blinked at the abrupt question. "Does betting din
ners count?" she couldn't resist asking.

Jared shot her an emerald speared glance. "Would you
care to elaborate on that?" There was a grating sound in the depths of his throat.

"Hmm?" She rolled her neck around to relieve the sore muscles. Since her eyes were closed, she hadn't seen his hands tighten on the steering wheel for a brief second.

"Betting dinners," he reminded on a harsher note.

"I usually win," Alex murmured, recalling Chris's sor
row over her recent restaurant choice. She still remem
bered the last time he had won and the exorbitant dinner bill she had paid. Chris had taken her to the proverbial cleaners that evening.

"I'd be
fascinated to know how you win
all these din
ners." Jared's foot tapped the brake when the traffic signal changed to red.

"We bet on your whims."

His head turned. "What?"

Alex's throaty chuckle danced in the air. "Example, when you had your press conference yesterday, Chris bet you wouldn't keep them waiting; I said you would. You did and he owes me one dinner at a restaurant of my choice."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Give me another example." His silky drawl could be dangerous at times.

Alex pursed her lips in brief thought "The time Sara mislaid your contracts for Matson?" At his nod she con
tinued, only pausing as the light turned green and the car moved slowly forward. "Chris was positive you'd frighten her with a display of your infamous temper. I said you'd scare her even more by reacting in a calmer manner. You did and we had lunch at Nico's courtesy of Chris."

"You seem to be pretty confident of my moods," he commented.

Alex shook her head. "Not yours," she corrected him softly. "Just the type of man you are."

"And what type of man am I?" Jared asked curiously.

She glanced toward the signs posted at the freeway ramp, ignoring his question. "Wait a minute, this isn't the way to my apartment." She was instantly wary.

"I thought we'd have dinner first," he continued in his silky voice, arrogantly assuming she'd agree.

"Didn't you take it into account that I might have previous plans?"

"Now, now, don't get testy," he chided. "Just think of it as my taking Chris's place. After all, you're due this dinner thanks to me."

Alex still felt a little wary about Jared's so-called kindly motive in taking her out to dinner when he hadn't done anything of this sort before. She had a sneaking suspicion that if he preferred, this wouldn't be a run-of-the-mill business dinner.

"Oh, come now, Alex, after all this time you should know you can trust me," he said humorously. "After all, you could merely use a judo hold on me if I got too close to you."

This playful banter with Jared was new to her. Their working relationship had always been kept on an imper
sonal basis, and now Jared was suddenly delving into her personal life by taking her out, although this couldn't be called a date. During the six months she had been working for him, she had developed a sensitive antenna where he was concerned and right now those invisible fibers were vibrating like mad.

Jared was openly studying Alex's slender curves and obviously liked what he saw. The
light
in his emerald eyes told her that. Alex was hoping this could be considered temporary insanity on Jared's part, and she might as well sit back and enjoy her evening.

The maitre d' had seen them to their table and handed them menus before leaving.

Alex glanced around the large dining room with some surprise.

"You look puzzled," Jared commented, reaching across the table to cover her hand with his.

She turned back to him, feeling the warmth course from his hand to hers, wishing it wasn't affecting her pulse rate. "Ordinarily I wouldn't see this place as one of your haunts, yet you know the headwaiter by name and you even greeted se
veral of the waiters by name."

"What do you see as my usual 'haunt' for dining out?" He took a cheroot out and lit it.

"Either small, candlelit, and very intimate or brightly lit and on the border of ostentatious; a place where all
the
right people frequent. Where a lady wouldn't be allowed to enter unless she was wearing the required number of diamonds." She looked around the well-lit restaurant in
terior with its homey atmosphere, then turned back to him, carefully withdrawing her hand to pick up her water glass.

Jared drew on his cheroot and silently considered Alex's words. "I guess I'm going to have to correct that impression," he mused.

"Your private life is your own business, Mr. Templeton. I merely try to
ensure
your safety." She skillfully erected an invisible barrier.

Jared's facial muscles
briefly tightened. "You're off-
duty now, Alex. I can't imagine anyone would have the nerve to attack me in such a public place. Why don't you just sit back and relax. This should give us a chance to get to know each other better."

I didn't realize my personnel file was so sketchy," she murmured in a dry voice.

His reply was interrupted by the arrival of the cocktail waitress. She bestowed a warm smile on Jared as she took their orders for Scotch and water.

"You don't like to give out any information about your
self, do you?" Jared remarked once they had been left alone again.

"Don't feel offended, Mr. Templeton." Alex's slow smile taunted his obvious displeasure at her evasive an
swers. "It's a common trait among ex-cops."

"Then I'm surprised you didn't stay in the navy."

Her eyes clouded over momentarily, then cleared just as quickly. "I had my reasons for resigning my commission."

"A reason no one will ever find out?" he prodded.

Alex's smile held no promises. "Would you recommend the scallops?" She picked up her menu. "I'm in the mood for seafood, I think."

He shook his head. Although she effectively closed the subject, he was equally determined to reopen it at a later date.

Alex found Jared to be an entertaining dinner compan
ion. Over brandy and coffee they exchanged college ex
periences, the closest she had ever come to revealing parts of her private life.

"What prompted you to enter the Naval Academy?" Jared asked her.

Alex's fingertips idly circled the rim of her brandy snif
ter. "Family tradition. It wa
s part of our upbringing." Her
lips curved wryly. "My father was ecstatic when I entered the Academy."

"And his reaction when you resigned?"

She slowly raised her head. "The jury's still out."

Jared leaned back in his chair and studied her through narrowed eyes. He may have looked the urbane man total
ly at ease with himself, but Alex knew better. She strongly suspected that his instincts and reflexes were as finely honed as her own. A man like Jared Templeton didn't reach the position he held today without fighting every step of the way.

He was growing more curious about Alex every day he spent in her company. What were the real reasons behind her leaving the navy? What h
ad happened with her mar
riage, and what was her ex-husband like? Studying the too thin angles of her face, he wondered how someone who could project such a strong sense of sensual femininity could work in a potentially dangerous job. He was well aware that the day could come when she would be forced to use the handgun she carried. A day he didn't want to think about. The written and tape-recorded threats on his life from a left-wing terrorist group regarding his oil deal
ings with the Middle East sheikhs had been all too explicit. He marveled at the calm exterior Alex exuded when she went over the new threats. She merely tightened the security in the building, had a new alarm system set up in his home, and was by his side at all public functions. She seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to danger, and he knew he would trust her with his life. At the same time, he still couldn't forget his unanswered questions about Alex the woman. His years at the top of the corporate ladder and dealing with multifaceted personalities told him that no amount of questioning would yield him the answers that would reveal the real Alex. Of course, that didn't mean he'd give up, merely that he'd have to redou
ble his efforts.

CHAPTER TWO

Alex was given a few days of peace and quiet when Jared decided to fly up to his ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley.

She had found it difficult to forget her evening out with him even though he acted correctly toward her the entire time. When he escorted her to her apartment door, he made no effort to invite himself in; instead he left after wishing her a good night.

The next afternoon Jared announced his intention to fly up to his ranch for a few days and wouldn't need Alex's services for that time.

"Here's the monthly report from the New York and Boston offices," Dena announced, entering Alex's office and laying two paperbound notebooks on her desk.

"Two days late, as usual," she commented in a dr
y voice. She picked up her dark-
rimmed glasses and perched them on her nose. "I wonder what threats would suffice to get these here on time next month."

"You're certainly a grouch when Mr. Templeton isn't around."

Alex's eyes flew upward at this absurd idea. "I beg your pardon?"

Dena's grin was just a shade too impish. Alex's cold tone of voice intimidated other people, but the petite secre
tary knew her boss's bark was definitely worse than her bite. "Come on, Alex, 'fess up. All of us have some type of crush on Mr. Templeton. Don't you feel the least bit fascinated by him?"

"I don't care to be part of a crowd." She leafed through one of the reports and briefly scanned the contents. "Did you finish typing my report regarding the new security measures in the parking garage?"

Dena nodded. "As soon as I could decipher that atro
cious scrawl you call handwriting. You should have been a doctor, with that kind of penmanship."

Alex grimaced, thinking of the meeting ahead of her. When it came to security measures, she didn't believe in looking at the dollars and cents of the project, only the safety it would afford, but she had soon found out that the accounting department at Fernwood very definitely looked at the cost and, more often than not, worked very hard to cut her budgets. Today would be another battle and she intended to go in there and win.

"I'm going to need every bit of ammunition I can get when I go into that meeting this afternoon. Mr. St. Clair can't seem to get it into his head that more and more assaults are happening to women in office-building park
ing lots. Three women were attacked in the Kovack Cor
poration's parking lot last month and they still haven't found the man."

Dena shuddered at the memory of reading the accounts in the newspaper. "Most of the women here are making sure they go out in groups and even park their cars in the same area. Your defense class is a big help too."

"Thanks," Alex said sincerely.
"You know how much
trouble I had getting permission to use the gym after hours since they even count the extra hours of electricity used."