He forced his mind back to the business at hand, choosing to save his speculation for later.
“We have four projects that require my personal attention in London. First we have a buyout of a small London publishing company. Next is the merger of my leather-goods factory with a string of small exclusive boutiques in London and Paris where my company will retain an overall fifty-one percent ownership. Then there’s a contract for my public relations firm in New York to represent a British import-export company in the United States. The last project is a proposal to provide original works of art from new and promising artists in the States to one of the most prestigious art galleries in London.”
As soon as they finished eating, Bryce handed her four file folders. Their hands touched for the briefest of moments, sending a seductive warmth through his body. He abruptly jumped to his feet, clipping his words as he spoke. “I have several things to dictate into my recorder, so while I’m doing that I want you to familiarize yourself with the contents of these files. They’ll give you details about the four projects I mentioned.”
With that, he turned and hurried to the back of the plane and disappeared into the back cabin. He had to get away from Paige, from the sensual reaction he had to her proximity. He leaned against the closed door and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He was accustomed to being in charge of everything that went on around him. He did not like this lack of control that jittered around inside him—a feeling he knew was directly attributable to the sudden presence of Paige Bradford in his life. He took another deep breath, but it didn’t help. It did nothing to calm his inner turmoil.
He picked up the small recorder and turned his thoughts to the speech he would be making at an upcoming charity event.
Paige stared at the closed cabin door where Bryce had disappeared from sight. He had certainly managed to skillfully sidestep her questions about ethical behavior. She felt a tightening in her throat and an unsettled stirring in the pit of her stomach. She did not know if it was a result of her irritation over his abrupt departure and rude manner or something far more personal.
All of his actions were abrupt. He was obviously a very busy man who simply did not have time for long-drawn-out explanations and conversations, but that did not excuse his curt manner. She allowed herself a huff of indignation. A little common courtesy was not asking too much, even of a busy man.
Her jaw involuntarily clenched for a moment as she tried to banish the strange feelings that had been churning inside her for the past hour. She seemed to be caught between what she knew about the Bryce Lexington who hid behind that too-good-to-be-true image he projected to the public and the reality of the dynamic man who had invaded her life like an unstoppable force of nature.
She took a calming breath. It did not help. She took another deep breath, held it for several seconds, then slowly exhaled. Paige picked up a file folder and tried to concentrate on the documents. She read the first page, then realized she hadn’t a clue as to what she had just read. Instead of seeing the words on the page, she saw a vivid likeness of Bryce Lexington. He had managed to have a disruptive effect on her without even being in the same room.
There were several things she did not know about Bryce Lexington the man rather than Bryce Lexington the corporate giant, things she wanted to know—things she needed to know. And none of them had anything to do with her father, her need to protect the jobs of her father’s employees or her chosen mission to expose the unethical side of Bryce Lexington’s business practices.
She tried to get rid of those errant bits of curiosity. She already knew quite a bit about him, but she still lacked the proof of his culpability in her father’s death. If she could find that proof she could use it to force him to do something honorable, to secure the jobs of her father’s employees rather than tossing them out on the street.
She certainly couldn’t trust Bryce to do it on his own. She had learned all about trust from her ex-husband…trusting anyone was something that no longer came easily for her. Once trust had been destroyed, rebuilding it was a long process. And it was a process that she hadn’t really started to investigate, one that had not been necessary. She had no need to place that type of trust in anyone else. She could take care of herself.
She breathed a little bit easier as she regained control of her wandering emotions. It had only been a fleeting lapse of judgment and she would not allow it to happen again. She had initially been thrown off balance by the overwhelming magnitude of his dynamic presence, the way he had dominated the large office where they met. After all, she was only human, and even though he was the enemy, that did not negate that he was an undeniably sexy and desirable man.
But Paige had it under control now. No doubt about it. From this moment on their relationship would be business only. No more errant thoughts or idle musings for her. Bryce had given her a great deal of material to look over and she was not about to give him any reason to be dissatisfied with her work. This job was the perfect place for her to carry out her plan and she was determined to go through with it. One way or the other, she would make Bryce Lexington pay for what he’d done.
She stared at the file folders he had given her to study. Then the idea popped into her head. At first it was only an inkling, then it exploded into a full-blown plan. One of these files could give her solid proof of his wrongdoing. Four different projects—surely at least one of them would disclose some underhanded dealings on his part? It would give her written evidence of his ethics and what wasn’t in the files would be something she could observe firsthand since she would be present at the meetings. It would be a big step in proving Bryce’s duplicity.
Her excitement grew as she picked up the folder and began to search the contents for the proof she needed.
Two
Bryce stayed in the rear cabin and continued his dictation—reports, letters, memos. He finished the last letter then clicked off the recorder as he glanced at his watch. It was almost midnight Los Angeles time. He left the cabin and walked through the plane, coming to a halt next to the table. Paige’s head rested on top of the opened file, her eyes closed. Her slow, even breathing told him she was asleep. He stared at her for a moment. The hard edge he had put on his feelings softened as he continued to gaze at her. She was truly lovely. If only he could figure out what was on her hidden agenda.
He carefully picked her up and carried her to the back cabin. She stirred, but only snuggled farther into his arms without waking. It was a small thing, but the intimate gesture touched off a rush of excitement deep inside him. He held her in his arms a moment longer than necessary before gently placing her on the bed. He removed her shoes, then pulled a blanket over her and left the cabin.
Bryce poured himself a glass of wine, then sat at the table, his forehead creased in deep concentration as his thoughts turned to the situation at hand. He pictured the beautiful woman who had snuggled so enticingly in his arms and thought back to her comments about ethical behavior and monetary results. I don’t know what you’re up to, Paige Franklin Bradford, but I think finding out is going to be a very interesting adventure.
An image of Paige appeared in his mind’s eye. An uncomfortable shiver made its way up his spine. He wanted to rid himself of the image and everything implied that went with it. He wanted to, but he didn’t seem to be able to force himself to do it. The delightful image played over and over in his mind.
He knew he needed to be very careful in how he proceeded. If she did, indeed, have some sort of hidden agenda as Joe had suggested, then any misstep on his part would only provide her with more fuel. Bryce had to make sure everything was totally proper and aboveboard—a thought that led him back to his curiosity over her comment about business ethics.
He leaned back in the recliner, closed his eyes
