upside-down papers, considering the merits of locking them in one of the desk drawers until the meeting. Who knew how far she’d go if she happened to stroll into his office and find it empty?
“Can’t wait to see it,” she said. “But I came to tell you that if you have any tweaking to do, you’ve caught a break.”
“A break?” he asked.
“The meeting’s been put off until Friday.”
Jordan rocked forward in his chair. Friday? He didn’t have until Friday. He’d signed up for one day in L.A., not five days in L.A. “How the hell did that happen?”
“Stroke of a pen by the chairman of the board’s secretary.” She looked smug, and a little self-satisfied. She’d obviously been pivotal in postponing the meeting. But, why? What did she have to gain?
She couldn’t know his secret already. Could she?
He gazed into her clear blue eyes for signs that he was caught.
She stared back, poker-faced, not giving a thing away.
Jordan had never been any good at mind games. He much preferred the straight-ahead approach. Like a wrestling match on the floor of the office—winner got the promotion.
He wondered if she’d go for it.
“Friday at ten,” said Ashley.
“I have an appointment on Friday.” In Alpine, Alaska. Running his company. Wally had only convinced him to do this much because he was the closest thing Jordan had to family.
“So, cancel,” she said.
“It’s not that simple.”
The storm was forecast to last most of the week, so there was no hope of Jeffrey making it back to save the day.
Forget the possibility that Jordan would be caught before Friday, his employees back home were depending on him. The airline wasn’t going to run itself.
She smirked, and shrugged her slim shoulders. “Then don’t show. I don’t mind.”
Then she nodded at the stack of papers, leaning slightly forward in her chair. “I hear yours is set in Alaska.”
“Arctic Luck,” said Jordan, then immediately wondered if he’d made a mistake. Jeffrey had distinctly told him not to share any information with Ashley.
“What’s the title?” she asked.
“What’s yours?” he returned, not about to get caught out a second time.
She smiled, revealing straight, white teeth and giving those blue eyes a luminescent glow. A shiver of attraction shot to life inside him. He quickly quelled it. That was the last thing he needed.
“Kissed In California,” she replied.
His gaze subconsciously shifted to her full lips. But he quickly blinked his way back to her eyes. Bottomless. Amazingly beautiful.
His brain might know she was off limits, but his libido appreciated what his libido appreciated. There wasn’t a whole hell of a lot he could do about it.
“Cute title,” he said into the silence.
“It’s a cute concept.”
“Going to tell me about it?” he asked.
“Not on your life.”
“Spoilsport.”
“You expect me to make this easy for you?”
“Definitely not.”
“Good.” She paused. “I’d hate for you to be disappointed.”
It was his turn to grin. “I’m not so far.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”
“It means I can’t wait to see what your medical series is all about.”
“Detective series,” she corrected.
Jordan’s grin widened.
“Don’t get all smug on me. I gave you that one.”
And she had. He had no doubt.
This was a woman completely in control, completely sure about what she wanted, where she was going and what she was doing.
Jeffrey had her all wrong. She wasn’t dangerous. She was intriguing. Sharp and prickly, but definitely intriguing.
“Stop that,” she said, eyeing him suspiciously.
“Stop what?”
“Does the bedroom eyes thing actually work in New York?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
A challenge glittered in the depths of her irises. “Don’t mess with me.”
That challenge called to him. It made him envy Jeffrey for getting to work with her all the time. Okay, so Jeffrey got to work against her all the time. But it was probably still stimulating as all get out.
She sighed in exasperation and threw up her hands. “What now?”
“You’re not what I expected.”
“What are you talking about?”
Oops. “I mean, this isn’t what I expected.”
She sat back. “You thought I’d just roll over and play dead as soon as I heard you were showing up?”
Jordan didn’t chance answering this time.
She shook her head. “Not on your life, Jeffrey. You just hang on to your New York hat, because I am going to blow you so far out of the East River.”
Jordan couldn’t help the grin that crept out.
She straightened, and her skirt hiked up showing off an inch of shapely thigh. Her full lips were pursed. And those crystal blue eyes pinned him with a challenge worthy of a wild lynx.
Too bad all that pent-up intensity and emotion was working against him instead of for him. If he ever had a choice, he’d want her on his team. She could probably survive quite nicely in the Alaskan bush.
“Exactly how are you planning to blow me out of the East River?” he asked, wondering if he could fake her into divulging a little more information. Though, if he was honest, he wasn’t doing it so much for Jeffrey’s sake at this point, as he was trying to best her for the gratification of his own ego.
“With skill and talent,” she responded smoothly. “And hard work.”
“You don’t think I’m willing to work hard?”
“I
