Sleepless in Manhattan (22 page)

Paige took a sip of her drink. “The problem is that we’re having to field all these calls, and some of them are for small tasks. Dry cleaning and things like that. We’re getting no work done because we’re answering the phone all the time. We need to filter calls from clients.”

Frankie twisted spaghetti around her fork. “Maybe we need a receptionist.”

Jake forced himself to concentrate. “What you need,” he said, “is an app.”

“Why do we need an app?”

He could feel Paige looking at him but he kept his eyes on his plate. If he looked at her, he was pretty sure he’d kiss her and hang the consequences. “You’re a genie, aren’t you?” Hopefully humor would cover up his clumsy approach. “People are going to want to rub your lamp.” He dug his fork into his pasta.

“That’s not such a stupid idea.” Matt reached for his beer. “Could you do that for her?”

Jake swallowed the food in his mouth before it choked him. “Do what for her?”

“Design the app,” Matt said patiently. “What is wrong with you?”

“I’m hungry. I can’t think when I’m hungry.” And he couldn’t think with Paige’s bare thigh pressed against his. He contemplated making some excuse. Vanishing to the men’s room, and then taking a seat on the other side of the table when he returned.

“You want me to take your sister on as a client? You’re kidding. I’d rather rub my flesh with an armadillo.”

Frankie grinned, but Paige made a little sound of protest. “I’m great to work with.”

He kept his eyes on his plate. “You’re a control freak, Paige.”

“I’m a perfectionist.” She hesitated. “Although I admit there are times when I like to be in charge. You’re not afraid of strong women, are you, Jake?”

He thought of her, riding him lightly, that wicked smile on her face.

“There’s strong and there’s controlling. You can’t even order food in a restaurant without wanting to go and cook it for yourself.”

“I like things the way I like them. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing. Except that I also like things the way I like them. You and I together would be a fast road to frustration.” It would also be a fast road to sexual oblivion. He knew. He’d already taken that road. “I don’t want to work with you. I might kill you. But I can give you some tips.”

Matt frowned. “Are you seriously refusing to help my baby sister?”

Baby?
Baby?

Thinking about what they’d done together made heat break out on the back of his neck.

“Yeah. I’m seriously refusing. I let her run my event.”

“Which we did brilliantly,” Paige said, and he inclined his head.

“Which you did brilliantly. But that was your expertise. I draw the line on taking you on as a client. It would ruin a beautiful relationship. I don’t want to mess that up.” Except that he’d already messed it up. Or she had. He could no longer remember who was responsible for what had happened between them. The whole thing was a hot blur of chemistry and steamy moments.

“Nothing will get messed up. I don’t want anything complicated,” Paige said. “But maybe you can’t handle it.”

He wondered whether she was talking about the app or their relationship. “The complicated part isn’t the technology. I could put that together for you while drunk.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

Why the hell was she asking? She knew what was wrong.

“I’ll talk to one of my team. Get them to work something up.”

Matt looked baffled. “Why don’t you do it yourself?”

Because things were getting complicated with Paige. It had only been a week, and already he felt unsettled. He never felt unsettled in relationships. His relationships were the one simple part of his life. “I don’t mix business and friendship—”

“You’re building her an app,” Matt said mildly, “not sleeping with her.”

Eva knocked her drink over, flooding the table, and Paige shot to her feet, long legs glistening with sticky liquid.

Frankie pushed a napkin in her direction, and Jake slid out of the booth before he could be tempted to lick it off her bare legs.

“I’ll build your damn app,” he muttered. “And Dani can find someone to help with receptionist duties until you’re on your feet.”

Paige brushed past him on her way to the restroom, and for a brief moment he felt the heat of her body against his.

Then she was gone, leaving him disorientated.

Holy shit.

He stood for a moment, wondering how he was going to unravel this.

Frankie, ever practical, had finished mopping the table, and Matt sat down again.

Jake saw Paige walk around the back of the restaurant and vanish toward the restrooms.

“I’ll get you another drink,” he said to Eva, and followed Paige.

He caught her before she could step through to the restroom, closed his hand around her arm and drew her outside into the narrow passageway that ran alongside the restaurant.

He pushed her against the wall, caging her.

“What are you doing? What’s wrong with you?” Her eyes widened. “You don’t need to build an app if you don’t want to. There’s no need to—”

“You’re driving me crazy.” He could smell her hair and the faint scent of her perfume. He wanted to strip off her clothes and kiss his way down her delectable body. Instead, he kissed her lips, hard, demanding and felt her moan against his mouth.

“Jake—”

He jammed his fingers into her hair, holding her head still for his kiss, feeling the bite of her nails in his shoulders as she kissed him back.

Far in the distance he heard the muffled sound of conversation and laughter, the scent of garlic mixing with the humid summer air, but out here there was nothing but the two of them.

He pressed her back against the wall, slid his hands up her bare thighs and felt her strain against him.

“I missed you,” he murmured.

“You were gone for two days.”

“It was too long.” He stroked between her legs and felt her gasp against his mouth. “You want me, too.”

“Yes—”

Who knew how far that kiss would have gone, but then there was a clatter from the kitchen, interspersed with colorful Italian swearing.

Paige pulled away, eyes wide.

They stared at each other, gazes locked, and then it occurred to him that if they didn’t go back to the table soon, someone would come looking for them.

He moved his hand. Reluctantly he stepped away from her. “We need to get back. What are you doing this weekend?”

“I— Nothing. Working, I guess.”

“Spend it with me.”

He couldn’t believe he’d said it.

He’d never spent an entire weekend with a woman. Two consecutive days.

Paige smiled. “That sounds good. What do you want to do?”

“You need to ask?”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

If you think love is the answer, you’re probably asking the wrong question.

—Frankie

“A
RE
YOU
JOINING
us this weekend?” Frankie closed down her laptop and stood up. “Eva and I are taking a picnic to Central Park tomorrow.”

Paige shook her head. “I need to work.”

Frankie gave her a long look. “Does your ‘work’ have rock-hard biceps, a very sexy smile and run this place?”

Euphoria mixed with anxiety. “Do you think I’m crazy?”

“Honestly? Yeah, I do.” Frankie slipped her laptop into her bag. “I’m fond of Jake, but the guy is a notorious player.”

“I’m playing, too. I’m having fun.”

“Are you? Because that’s great, as long as you don’t fall in love with him.”

Paige felt her whole body tense. “I won’t.”

“Are you sure? Because this is the fourth weekend in a row you’ve spent with him and if you’re dreaming of carriages and white dresses, that’s not Jake.”

“I know that’s not Jake. I’ve known him longer than you have.”

“Yeah, the difference is that I haven’t been in love with him for most of my life.” Frankie stuffed a thick pile of papers into her bag and Paige swallowed.

“I’m not—maybe I was once, but not now and—”

“Good.” Frankie pushed her glasses up her nose. “So your only other problem is Matt. Have you told him yet?”

Paige felt a rush of guilt. “No. It was just one night and—”

“And now it’s a few nights.” Frankie’s voice was flat. “You should tell him, Paige. Creeping around in a relationship is a really bad thing. Believe me, I know. I was brought up with creeping. It always, always comes out in the end and when it does it’s always hideous.”

Paige knew she was thinking of her mother. “This is different. What would I tell him? We’re having fun, that’s all. We’re both unattached. It’s probably going to end soon. There’s nothing to tell, Frankie.”

“You’re setting fire to the sheets with his best friend. That’s something he should know. What does Jake think?”

It was the one point of disagreement between them.

“He wants to tell him, but I made him promise not to.”

“That’s tough on him. You’re putting him in a difficult position.”

Paige sighed. “Frankie—”

“I love you. You’re my best friend. But I’m worried about you. This is going to come back and bite you. If Matt finds out, he’s going to be hurt and then you’ll be hurt, too. I don’t want that to happen. I like Jake, but that won’t stop me killing him if he hurts you both.”

Paige rubbed her fingers over her brow. “I’ll think about it. I’ll see how it goes this weekend. Before you leave, is there anything new I need to know?”

“Everything is under control. The wedding is organized. They wanted me to recommend a photographer so I called Molly.”

“Good choice.” They’d all worked with Molly at Star Events and found her to be a talented photographer. “We should ask Molly if she’d like to be one of our preferred suppliers. Anything else?”

“Matt asked me if I could quote for designing a roof garden. Victoria, who normally does that for him, is overloaded.” Frankie heaved the bag onto her shoulder. “I’d like to help out, but I understand if you’d rather not overlap business.”

“We’re partners,” Paige said. “You don’t have to ask my permission. If you’d like to do it, then do it. And I can’t think of anything better than sharing business contacts with my brother.”

“You didn’t want favors.”

“This isn’t a favor. He’s employing our services. I’ll charge him.”

Frankie grinned. “You’re turning into a ruthless tycoon. I’ll say yes then and go over to the space with him and take a brief. It’s a big place over on the Upper West Side and they want to throw a party once it’s done. A kind of ‘roof warming.’ I’ll make sure Urban Genie gets the chance to pitch for that.”

Frankie left the room and Paige settled down to work.

She made it through the afternoon without making any major errors. She put together financial estimates for two events, made appointments to see two new venues and took calls from two people looking for a job. She added them to a list and promised she’d be in touch if, and when, they started recruiting.

Until they were established she didn’t feel safe employing people. She didn’t want to have to lay people off.

She settled down to work on a pitch for a major marketing event and by the time she looked up again the sky was dark and lights had come on all around the city.

She stood up and stretched, her bones aching from sitting for too long in one place.

“You’re working late.” Dani stood in the doorway, her hair tumbling around her narrow shoulders. “Jake asked me to talk to you about what you need. Said you wanted someone to answer phones and stuff. Laura can do that for you. She’s smart. Been with us a couple of weeks.”

“What did she do before?”

“She was at home with kids. Lost a bit of confidence and found it hard to get back into work. Now she’s working for us.”

“You took her on?”

“Not me. Jake. She was a risky hire, but Jake is never afraid of risk. He saw something in her that others didn’t. He’s almost always right.” Dani eased away from the door frame. “I’ll bring Laura to you tomorrow and you can explain what you need. She used to work as a receptionist in one of the big hotels before she had a family. When she gets her confidence back she’s going to be great. You going home anytime soon?”

“Yes. Actually no, probably not.” Paige blinked, realizing her mind had been miles away. “Not for a while. I have work to do.”

The other woman grinned. “I’m starting to understand why Jake gave you office space here. You fit right in.”

Paige carried on working until her head throbbed, and then finally switched off her laptop.

It was almost midnight and she appeared to be the last person in the building.

Jake’s team frequently worked until the early hours but she knew that at the moment lots of them were in the San Francisco office preparing for a major pitch.

Yawning, she grabbed her purse and walked out of the office she shared with Eva and Frankie.

“Paige.”

Jake’s voice came from behind her, deep and sure. She felt a rush of excitement closely followed by exhilaration.

Hauling her feelings behind a mask of indifference, she turned. “Hi. I didn’t realize you were still here. It’s late.”

“It’s midnight. That means it’s the weekend. And we have a date.”

“I assumed that started tomorrow.”

“It’s starting right now. I’ve been working all week and so have you. Come into my office. I have something to show you.”

The look in his eyes made her heart race.

“I’ve already seen it. Pretty impressive in fact.”

He laughed. “That’s not the only thing I have that’s impressive.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Now I’m intrigued.” She stepped over the threshold of his office and he closed the door behind her.

“It’s been a long week.” His eyes were dark, fathomless pools and Paige felt her heart beat faster.

“Yes.”

He slid his hand behind her neck and lowered his forehead to hers. “I came looking for you earlier on today and you were on the phone to a client. Otherwise I would have pinned you to the desk and done indecent things to you.” His voice was thickened. “What does that say about me?”

“It says you’re a risk taker and that you have no respect for office furniture.”

“And how about you—” His mouth hovered dangerously close to hers. “Are you a risk taker, too?”

She hooked her finger into the front of his shirt. “I think I might be.”

He lowered his head and kissed her, his hands in her hair, his mouth hot and demanding. She melted into him and with a groan he powered her back across the office until her shoulders hit a wall.

He fumbled behind her, opened a door she hadn’t even realized was there and pushed her through.

Dimly she registered smooth counters and more doors. “What is this place?”

Without releasing his hold on her he pushed the door closed, trapping them inside. “Storage, dressing room—there’s even a bed in here in case I’m working late but I don’t often use it.”

“A bed?”

“Yeah.” He yanked at her dress, and then she gasped as she felt the warm slide of his hand over her skin, seeking. Finding. And then there was only the skilled stroke of his fingers and the rush of desire that spread through her with delicious, syrupy warmth.

“Jake—”

“You’re beautiful.” He kept his mouth on her, kept his hand on her, sending her higher and higher with every intimate brush of his fingers until she moaned and squirmed against him.

She felt the rigid thickness of him straining against her and fumbled with his zip until she freed him.

Neither of them moved. They stood, locked against the door, lost in their own private world of steamy desire. And then she felt his hand slide to her thigh, urging it upward. She curled her leg around his back, her eyes still fixed on his.

His first thrust brought a cry to her lips, and he crushed her mouth with his, swallowing the sound so that all that was left was sensation. The sensation of him filling her, possessing her, taking everything she had to give until orgasm rushed down on her so fast she had no time to breathe. She heard him curse softly as she tightened around him, felt him thrust deep to counter the seductive ripples of her body, felt the moment when he tipped over the edge.

Then there was only the hot pulse of him, the heat of his mouth and the incredible intimacy that was being with Jake. It felt deeper and more intense than anything she’d ever experienced before.

Maybe it was because she’d known him so long. Wanted him for so long.

Finally he eased away from her and stood for a moment, steadying his breathing, his forehead resting on his arm while with the other arm he held her close.

Her forehead was on his shoulder, and she closed her eyes as she breathed in the scent of him, absorbing every movement and texture. Man and muscle.

“We just had sex in your office.”

“Yes. At the time I wondered if this was a waste of office space but now I’m kind of glad I built it.”

She felt weak and shaky. “I’m glad, too. I’ve never had sex up against a door before.”

He gave a husky laugh and eased away so that he could look at her. “All part of your education.” He lifted his head and stroked his fingers over her face in a gesture that was both possessive and intimate. “Are you all right?”

“I think so. Although I can’t believe we just did that.” She’d had sex with Jake in his office. Standing up. “Or maybe you do it all the time.”

“Never. I’m starting to think sharing office space with you might not have been such a great idea.” His voice wasn’t quite steady, and he released her and gently smoothed her dress down.

“You said you had something to show me.” She tried to sound normal, as if being with him hadn’t just rocked her world. “Was that it?”

He stared at her blankly, and then his expression cleared. “No, that wasn’t it. I built you an app.”

She was touched and more than a little excited. “You did?”

“Yeah, I was going to show it to you but I got distracted. I blame you.”

“You could show it to me now.”

“Or I could wait until Monday and show it to all three of you.” He lowered his head and kissed her again. “The weekend has started. Work can wait.”

“I don’t want to wait. I want you to show me the app.”

“I’ll show you over dinner.”

“Now? It’s late.”

“That must be why I’m so hungry.” His smile was wickedly sexy. “And this is Manhattan. There is no such thing as late. There’s this fantastic Greek place around the corner. Stays open until all hours.”

“Does your mother know you eat Greek?”

“My mother doesn’t know half the things I do.” He took Paige’s hand and led her out of the office, winding past empty desks to the elevator.

They descended to the street in a silent glide of simmering chemistry and leashed sexual desire. Her heart gave a little flutter. She didn’t think she made a sound, but she must have done because he sent her a searing glance that raised the temperature of the enclosed space by several degrees. She looked away quickly, knowing that if she didn’t they’d end up having sex in the elevator.

Somehow they made it to street level, and then she felt the light brush of his hand on her back as they walked two blocks to the restaurant.

Despite the hour, it was crowded. A small, friendly crowd inhabiting an intimate space filled with delicious smells and sounds that transported her straight to the Mediterranean.

Jake waved aside the menus, ordered for both of them and then pulled out his tablet computer. “Get ready to be blown away.”

His enthusiasm made her smile. “I’m ready. And, by the way, I can order my own food.”

“I know you can, but I eat here all the time and I know what’s good. Move closer.” He tugged at her chair. “See this? This is your app.”

“It’s so cute.” She smiled. “A genie lamp. Do I rub it?”

“You tap it.” He tapped his finger on the screen and she watched, intrigued as he took her through the different features. “It’s easy to use, so even nontechnical people will find it easy. Your clients can use it to send requests for concierge services. Laura can filter them and direct them to the appropriate person. It means you don’t have to be involved with simple requests. If the dog needs walking or someone needs dry cleaning collected, Laura can allocate it to the best person. Frees you up to deal with the events and more complicated requests.”

She asked him a few questions, and then experimented herself. “This is amazing. I love it. Did you program it yourself?”

“Yes.”

“But you’ve been so busy with that pitch in San Francisco and—I didn’t think you did much of the hands-on work now. Apart from cyber security. I thought you were all about clients.”

“I am.”

She handed the tablet back to him. “So why did you program our app?”

“Because it was for you. You needed it.” His gaze held hers and she felt warmth spread through her.

“Thank you. We’ll pay you, obviously.”