balance by discovery of the bet. Her usual defences had been scrambled.
‘If you were thinking about dating again, maybe you’d like to go for a drink,’ he said.
‘With you?’
The question exploded from her lips in the form of a laugh. Because it was laughable, wasn’t it? That after her past experiences she would look twice at someone like him.
‘Your amusement could be construed as an insult, you know,’ he said mildly.
‘I can’t,’ she said. ‘Sorry.’
Stock answer. No excuse required. Always worked on the run-of-the-mill guys in the office, those that dared broach the aloof distance she kept between herself and her colleagues. She could count the times she’d been asked out at work on one hand and, come to think of it, two of them had been in the last month or so. Her cheeks flushed hotly. Now she knew why—because there was a pot of cash waiting to be scooped by the man who managed to land her. She wondered again if Harry was involved.
‘Of course you can,’ he said. ‘No one works twenty-four-seven. Not even you. It’s only a drink. An hour. Everyone has an hour.’
‘I’m busy,’ she said again. ‘I don’t date.’
In Harry Stephens’s world, of course, no meant maybe. He realised it was a simple matter of finding the right approach. One that might appeal to her reluctance to get out there instead of feeding it. Start small. If she hadn’t dated for years, more than a drink or a coffee was going to seem monumental. And most important of all, offer some kind of incentive.
Make her think he could be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
‘Just hear me out,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a proposition for you.’
‘What kind of proposition?’
The upset tone had slipped from her voice. He could almost hear the ticking over of her mind, her attention raised because he’d given his question a detached work-style tone.
‘I’m exactly what you need,’ he said. ‘To help you get back out there.’
TWO
There was a snap as the lock twisted back on the cubicle door and then Alice was in front of him. The tears had dried and her face was no longer purple. She looked pale and tired, her eyes red-rimmed from all the crying. Her hair, still partially twisted into its chignon, stuck out at odd angles. She took a deliberate side-step around him and moved across to the sink, putting a good space between them. Harry saw her grimace at her own reflection before she turned her gaze back on him.
As her eyes narrowed a spark of sudden heat zipped up his spine. Obviously because Alice Ford didn’t do vulnerable, he decided, that was all. She did polished and professional. He was bound to react to such a change in her.
‘What do you mean, you’re exactly what I need?’
Her arms were crossed defensively, her face totally suffused with suspicion and he knew that convincing her he was genuine was going to be tough. Then again, tough had never caused him a problem before.
‘What if I were to offer you my services?’ he said.
She was looking at him as if she thought he might be crazy.
‘Your services? As what exactly?’
He shrugged, leaned back against the wall and looked her in the eye.
‘As someone who dates a lot. Someone who’s out there.’
He ignored the cynical expression on her face and forged ahead.
‘Instead of going to bars or restaurants on your own, come out with me. You said yourself just now, you’re rusty. And starting from scratch at anything is pretty daunting—right? Just think of the alternatives.’ He shrugged. ‘There’s internet dating, where you never know if the person showing up is a serial killer.’
‘As opposed to a serial dater,’ she said, eyebrows raised.
‘Hey, that’s an advantage! I’ve probably been on more first dates than anyone else you know. I’m used to the social scene. I know all the best places to go to meet new people. I’m perfect for the job. Whatever your reason is for staying out of the field these last three years, whatever moron has stitched you up or treated you badly in the past—’
‘How do you know that’s the reason?’ she snapped, his interest sharpening at her sudden defensiveness. ‘I’ve been putting work first, that’s all. Focusing on my career. It’s as simple as that. I don’t need your help.’
‘OK, OK.’ He held his hands up. ‘You’ve still been out of the field for a while. Out of the social scene, out of the habit of getting to know people.’
‘I get to know people!’ she protested.
He deliberately fixed his gaze on hers.
‘Professionally maybe. But what about getting to know someone for pleasure?’
He saw a soft blush touch the porcelain skin of her cheekbones. He had her on edge. He liked having that effect on her.
‘Just think about it for a minute. A few no-strings dates with me and you’ll have checked out a few nice bars, maybe a restaurant or two, you will have broken the ice, started talking to people about something other than work for a change.’ He winked at her. ‘You’ll be back out there. Problem solved.’ He paused, then added an extra touch of encouragement. ‘And no one needs to know we ever had this conversation.’
Momentary relief in her eyes as she picked up on that last sentence. And then a sceptical smile touched the corner of her mouth, drawing his attention there.
‘And assuming I were to go along with this, what happens once I am “back out there”?’
He shrugged.
‘Then, when it runs its course, we part company and you make your own way forward, back in full control.’ He held his hands up in what he hoped was a you-can-trust-me gesture. ‘Totally risk-free.’
She gave him an amused look from beneath her dark eyelashes and his pulse rate began to climb unexpectedly. When you bothered to look beyond the starchy business persona she really was a knockout. She just needed to loosen up a bit.
‘Come on,’ he persuaded. ‘What have you got to lose?’
Her gaze narrowed suddenly.
‘And what exactly is in it for you? Why the hell would you want to take me out when you have the pick of the office, not to mention the city? I’m sure HR are recruiting at the moment—there should be a whole new intake of candidates for you to hit on if you wait a week or two. You’ve never seemed to have a problem finding someone before. And judging by the trail of devastation you leave around the office they all seem to be a bit more into you than I am.’
He grinned.
‘Maybe I like a challenge.’
She
