the event coordinator. That means I’m in charge of the event—the entire event.”
He waited a beat to make sure she was focused on him. “Not anymore.”
Cami stared at the modern warrior sitting in her guest chair and felt her temper rise. Or at least she tried to tell herself that the tingling in her veins came from anger—and not any attraction she might be feeling.
The situation was delicate. She’d have to bring him around to her way of thinking. He obviously didn’t know a thing about event planning because he thought five months out they could break their contract and find a decent space elsewhere.
She knew her looks and the way she acted invited people to walk over her, especially after the meeting earlier this week when she’d done everything but come right out and say, “I’m incompetent.” But when she was in her element, as she was in this job, people usually discovered she had enough backbone to stand her ground.
She needed all the courage she could scrape together to work with Duke Merchon. He was a very overwhelming man. He exuded confidence and self-assurance the way her older sister did. Cami realized she was tired of playing second fiddle.
She’d started this meeting off all wrong. She wished she’d just lived with the stupid run up the middle of her leg instead of deciding to change her hose. Once a man saw a woman’s legs, he looked at her differently.
“If this is because I was changing my hose when you arrived—”
“It has nothing to do with your legs,” he cut her off. “I’m used to being in charge. I can handle any problem that arises. It makes sense to have one leader. Security touches all aspects of the event.”
“Ever heard of a little thing called the Equal Rights Amendment?”
He leaned forward, using all two hundred pounds and six foot two inches to intimidate her. “Ever hear ‘might makes right’?”
Cami smiled. It was so obvious this man was used to winning and being in control. But she couldn’t afford to give up her position as event coordinator. This was her chance to prove herself within Pryce Enterprises, and a promotion hinged on her success. Not just a promotion but a change of life. She wouldn’t be a research librarian anymore but Pryce’s special events coordinator if she pulled this off. Besides, she realized suddenly, she wanted Duke to acknowledge he was wrong.
“I’m afraid I have heard the phrase, but it doesn’t apply in this case.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“You should be.”
“Why?”
“Honey, a woman like you doesn’t stand a chance against a man like me.”
God, she hated it when men pointed out how plain she was. Why did they start sentences with “a woman like you”? Didn’t they understand she was more than they saw? Maybe you aren’t, a tiny voice inside her answered.
“Duke, we’ll get along a lot better if you stop pointing out how unattractive I am.”
“Anyone with those legs isn’t unattractive.”
She lifted both eyebrows in response to his remark. A spark of desire shot through her veins, pooling in the center of her body. She shifted in her chair and tried to remind herself they were having a meeting.
“You might not be drop-dead gorgeous but with a little effort you could be passing-pretty.”
That’s it, she thought. I’m going to pick up the crystal paperweight and do him in. But something in his eyes stilled her hand.
He wasn’t getting the same enjoyment out of insulting her men in the past had. There seemed a deeper pain in his eyes that made her want to go to him and comfort him. That made her wish she was drop-dead gorgeous.
“Are you trying to make me lose my temper?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Try harder,” she said.
He almost cracked a smile. His lips twitched and he looked away from her.
“I saw that.”
He cocked his head to one side.
“You almost smiled.”
“Show me your legs again, and I’ll stand up and cheer,” he said.
Cami blushed. He was a man who could be her match in the wit department but was light-years ahead of her in the sexual arena.
Two
Three days later Duke was still devastated by her charisma. His life had become a cold wasteland after his wife’s death six years earlier, but losing her had proven what he’d always suspected—love wasn’t for him. But a ray of sunshine had penetrated the gloom—Cami Jones and her vibrant zest for life.
If only the woman possessing that energy had been a lady with loose morals. He could tempt her into an affair, take what he needed, then let her go. But those eyes of hers were innocent. And he couldn’t forget those knockout legs of hers. He wanted to watch her walk across the room toward him in nothing but her silk stockings and a pair of high heels.
But as he stared across the noisy employee’s cafeteria in the Pryce building, he knew Cami Jones was the decent sort. She was an oasis of quiet in the bustling metropolis of humanity swarming around her.
He grabbed his lunch container and headed for the door, not ready to confront Miss I’m Gonna Make You Smile. Her ability to make him smile would remind him he was alive. And alone. It would remind him of how long it had been since he’d really enjoyed life and living. It would remind him he wasn’t the man he’d always hoped he’d be but rather the man that life had made him.
He’d almost reached the door when she looked up almost guiltily and met his gaze straight-on. Blushing, she glanced away. He should leave the room, go back to his office and work through lunch as he’d planned. But her blush was a beacon. What in the world had triggered such a reaction?
Ignoring the corporate climbers who tried to cultivate him daily, he made his way to her table. Because of his position within the company and known friendship with Max, he endured no end of politicking from his co-workers. It annoyed the hell out of him.
“Cami, may I join you?”
She wanted to say no; it was written on her face like a flashing neon sign, but she nodded and gestured to the empty seat across from her.
To rattle her, he sat next to her. The remains of a brown-bag lunch lay on the table, the trash folded into neat little squares. A book lay face down on the far side of the Formica tabletop.
“What are you reading?”
“Just a book a friend recommended,” she said, fidgeting with her glasses, pushing them up her nose.
“Ten Steps for Effective Presentations?” he asked.
She
