Then she wanted to take him to the edge…and over.
And she wanted to topple with him, not alone.
So, Mallory thought, let the seduction begin.
HE COULD get used to this. Jack glanced out over the pool to the glistening water beyond. The tangy smell of the ocean, the clear blue sky and the sexy women in bikinis. Yeah, he could get used to this. He leaned back in his seat and stretched his legs out in front of him. The sun beat against his skin, warm and comforting.
“Sorry I’m late. I had to run a few errands and they took longer than I thought.” Mallory slid into the seat across from him, looking uptight in the same boxy blue dress. But she didn’t seem upset over this morning’s incident and he was grateful.
“Everything okay?”
She nodded. “We left in such a rush that I forgot a few things.”
“Well I managed to catch up with Paul in the sauna. We spent an hour commiserating over needy women. It’s way too soon to push him on making a decision, but he’s starting to trust me and I’ve got some more facts to fill you in on.”
“Sounds good.”
“Drink first?” he asked.
She hesitated.
“Consider this more a vacation than a business trip. Seriously we’re only here because Lederman wants to get to know us outside of the office. He’s eccentric, like I said. So go ahead. Have a drink.” Jack wanted to put her at ease. There was no way he could spend a week in her company if she looked like she was about to bolt at the first opportunity.
After his thoughtless comment this morning, he wouldn’t touch the issue of her clothes now, but he didn’t know how long he could watch her roasting in dresses beneath the blazing sun.
He gestured for a waiter. “The lady will have a…” He narrowed his gaze, trying to assess what Ms. Sinclair would drink. “White wine spritzer?”
She shook her head. “Club soda, please.”
Jack blinked, and refrained from rolling his eyes.
“I’ll have a refill.” He lifted his glass that had contained Absolut vodka on the rocks.
The waiter nodded. “Be right back, folks.”
“Oh, wait,” Mallory said.
He turned back around. “Change your mind?”
Jack actually held his breath.
“A wedge of lime, please.”
He should have known.
“So what were you saying about Lederman?” she asked.
“Aside from complaining about marriage, he’s hiding something.” Jack finished the end of his drink.
“What makes you say that?”
“He got a phone call. The guy who relayed the message didn’t say who was calling, but Lederman bolted out of the sauna so fast he nearly lost his towel.” He laughed and waited for her to do the same.
Her expression remained steady. He stifled a groan. He couldn’t imagine she didn’t find the image amusing, so he figured she was still angry with him after all. But he wasn’t about to repeat this morning’s conversation.
Better to focus on work. “At any rate, when he returned I asked him if everything was okay. I thought maybe there was an emergency at the resort, but he didn’t cover well. He flushed, hemmed and hawed, then finally said his son had called from California.”
Mallory shrugged. “Why are you so sure he didn’t?”
“Gut instinct. Besides that’s an easy enough answer without beating around the bush.”
She nodded. “True. So what do you think he’s hiding? It makes no sense to keep us in the dark. Not if we’re on his side.”
“Agreed. And I intend to find out just as soon as…”
“Here are your drinks, folks.”
The waiter exchanged Jack’s empty glass for a full one that no longer appealed, but he thanked the man and turned his gaze back to Mallory. “I could have outright asked him what was going on, but…”
“Excuse me sir, but this is for you.” The waiter handed Jack a folded slip of paper.
“Phone message?” Jack wondered aloud.
“Actually the bartender asked me if I recognized the name on the top and since you’d just signed for your lunch earlier…”
“Did he say who left it?”
“He found it on the bar when the lunch crowd disappeared.”
“Strange.” He lifted the folded paper and a feminine scent drifted toward him. He raised the paper and the aroma grew stronger. More appealing.
“Anything else?” the waiter asked.
“No thank you,” Mallory said in her polite but husky voice.
Jack shook his head, then unsealed the note. Invitation to Seduction—a private evening of dinner, dancing and gratification of the senses. Eight o’clock. Beach cabin number 10. He tried to swallow and choked instead. There were further instructions, seductive allusions about what he could expect should he dare to RSVP.
He flipped the page over and read the back print. Come on time. And come hungry. His eyes teared and he grabbed for the drink that hadn’t appealed to him minutes earlier. Instead of easing his distress, the alcohol burned its way down his throat, and he coughed harder.
Mallory stood and gestured for the waiter. “Water, please,” Jack heard her request. “Are you okay?” she asked.
He swallowed again and breathing came easier. “Fine. Just…swallowed wrong.”
“Oh.” She lowered herself into her seat. “You scared me for a second. I thought I was going to have to do mouth-to-mouth.”
He stared at her, sure he hadn’t heard correctly.
“Resuscitation,” she said quickly. “Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation because I thought you’d stopped breathing or something.” She waved her hand in the air. “Never mind. As long as you’re okay now.”
“I’m fine.” He glanced at the note that now lay in his lap. As fine as he could be with an erotic invitation to seduction nestled in his groin and his repressed associate staring at him wide-eyed from across the table.
Who the hell could have sent it? He glanced around but the sea of women in bathing suits gave him no clue. Jack broke into a sweat that had nothing to do with the sun’s burning rays.
“Is it from Lederman?”
