you exude sex. You’ve got legs to your armpits, boobs to match, long golden hair and this haughty ‘look but don’t touch’ façade. Now with this flu thing you’re all pale and fragile-looking too. It’s a killer combo. You’re irresistible.’
‘Ha!’ Lissa snorted. She knew Gina was over-egging it, but her ego needed the boost and she was happy to receive it.
They quickly walked through the cold rain, sharing Lissa’s umbrella, and climbed the steps leading into the pub. A nauseous feeling rose as the combined smell of beer, wine and perfume met them at the door and Lissa knew the idea of drowning her sorrows was a dumb one. But nor did she go for pineapple juice. Too many memories there. She opted for cranberry, alone and on the rocks.
Lissa was chatting to a young consultant about bungee jumping in New Zealand when Karl made an appearance. He wandered over to Lissa and surprised her completely by snagging her hand and tugging on it. She looked up at him in query. ‘What?’ she asked.
‘Come here, I’ve got something to show you.’ He pulled her over to a quiet corner and turned her so she stood facing the room and he stood with his back to it.
‘Jeez, Karl,’ Lissa began. ‘What’s going on?’
His eyes were dancing, but she noted a steely determination shining underneath. He stood with his hands on his hips, and she could feel the pent-up energy within him.
‘You’re going to do something about Gina?’ Lissa asked.
‘Uh-huh.’ He nodded decisively.
‘What?’
‘In my book, actions speak louder than words. I’m going to show her how I feel.’
She watched in amused surprise as he undid the top few buttons on his shirt, opening it just enough to reveal the tight tee he wore underneath. Emblazoned across his chest in bold type were the words ‘satisfaction guaranteed’. Subtlety wasn’t something that Karl did. She looked back up at him and the giggles burst out of her. ‘Perfect.’ It was as outrageous as he was, as Gina was. The two beautiful flirts were definitely a dream match.
He grinned wickedly back at her, doing the buttons back up. ‘I thought so too. Time to make a move.’
‘Go get her.’ She laughed. ‘But, Karl!’ He stopped and looked at her. ‘Don’t forget we chicks need the words too.’
He grinned and saluted and wandered in the direction of the bar. Lissa looked about, trying to spot Gina. She caught sight of her, cornered by a couple of consultants as usual. Lissa watched with satisfaction as Karl approached her. She glanced away and found herself looking at James, who had somehow appeared right in front of her without her noticing.
‘What are you doing standing in this dark corner all alone?’
‘Oh.’ She didn’t know what to say and took a quick sip.
‘Waiting for someone?’ James asked.
‘No, I was just talking to someone, but…’ She let her voice trail away. James didn’t seem overly interested in her reply. He stared at her. She coloured a little, not sure what he wanted. She held her glass in front of her with both hands, hugging it against her body in an unconsciously protective gesture.
‘Seems funny to be back at the usual desk, doesn’t it? I miss our little team. It was very illuminating.’ He paused and looked her over.
Lissa shifted on her feet uncomfortably. She definitely didn’t like the way this was heading.
‘There’s a whole lot more to you than meets the eye. I miss you, Lissa. I liked sitting near you. You’re a pleasure to be around, you know that? A pleasure to look at, a pleasure to talk to, and I bet you’d be a pleasure to kiss.’
Whoa, this was too much. The last thing she needed tonight was a charm offensive from James. Hadn’t he got the message the last time he’d asked her out? Obviously not. Maybe he thought the two weeks in close quarters with him had made her radically change her assessment of him? She nearly laughed aloud. She’d barely noticed him. She’d felt nothing but awareness of Rory.
Lissa glanced around, half hoping for a saviour. There didn’t seem to be anyone near enough to draw into the conversation; most of the crew were over by the bar. She took another sip of her drink. She’d just have to straighten him out. Trouble was, she knew from past experience he was fairly resilient.
‘James, I’m sorry, but—’
‘But nothing, Lissa. Come on, give me one date. Come to dinner. Get to know me. You might even be pleasantly surprised.’ He gave her a charming, overly confident smile that did nothing for her.
Yes, he was persistent, she’d give him that.
She looked over to where Gina had been and saw that Karl had managed to despatch the two consultants who had been loitering earlier. He had Gina alone and both looked serious.
She looked back at James, trying to get him to listen to what she was saying. ‘James, I already know you and you’re a nice guy, but I’m not interested.’
He frowned. ‘You’re not interested.’ He said it as if there were something wrong with her. ‘How come you don’t date anyone? Got a murky past?’ He moved closer to her, invading her space.
She tensed. How dared he start prying into her personal life? His arrogance astounded her and she felt it time she made herself understood clearly. She was unable to manage polite rebuff, her emotions too on edge. She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind when suddenly an arm snaked around her waist and firmly pulled her back against an extremely taut body. Her own body flared and fitted against it perfectly. Rory. She hadn’t even seen him approach. His arm reached right around her and his hand spread wide and firm on her lower abdomen. His other hand reached to her shoulder, holding her back against him length to length. A ripple of awareness shivered through her entire body. He couldn’t have adopted a more possessive stance if he’d tried. The shock temporarily robbed her of speech.
‘She’s seeing me, James,’ his voice rasped. Lissa felt his anger and her insides melted. He was jealous.
James stood back and looked them over. ‘So I see. I wondered about that, but I thought maybe not.’ He took a swig of his drink. ‘Still, can’t blame a man for trying.’
Rory said nothing and Lissa couldn’t think of a thing to say either. The uncomfortable silence hung over them, but James didn’t take the hint and move off. Rather he looked at them for a few moments. Malice glittered in his eyes.
‘Well, Rory, no wonder you had Lissa ditched from the team.’ He spoke with a confident swagger. ‘Shame for you, Lissa, missing out on the biggest deal Franklin has seen in years, especially when you helped win the contract. Still, now Rory’s free to concentrate on the mega project and have you as recreation on the side, while you’re stuck doing the filing or something boring back in the library.’
Lissa felt her jaw go slack. What had he just said? She replayed his words. Their meaning sank in. Rory had ditched her from the project? Back to boring library work? So he could have her on the side?
A wave of shock flooded through her. No, no, no. He wouldn’t have done that, would he? It was Grant all over again, controlling her career, manipulating her
