nodded in resignation and Lucy sighed. Emma hoped her friends would leave it alone, at least for the next two hours.
“Of course,” Harper said with a smirk, “if I was going to sully my reputation and ruin my career for a man, it’d be for him.”
* * *
Jonah was sitting at his desk Wednesday afternoon when his phone rang. He recognized the number as his financial advisor, Paul. Hopefully it was good news.
“Paul,” he said. “Tell me what I want to hear.”
There was a hesitation on the line that instantly told Jonah he was out of luck. “I’m sorry to tell you, Jonah, but it’s going to take me at least two more days to get everything handled. We could look into getting a short-term loan to get you the money, but the banks are really tight on those lately with the market the way it is. I doubt it would come through any faster. Any chance you could borrow it from...um...”
“From my mother?” Jonah asked.
“She does have more liquid assets than you do. That’s the only reason I would even suggest it.”
Jonah sighed and shook his head. He wanted to keep this situation as close to his vest as he could. “I don’t want Mother to know what Noah’s done. Ask someone for three million dollars and they’ll sure as hell want to know what it’s for. At least she’d ask me. She’d give it to Noah without blinking.”
“Then why didn’t he just borrow it from her in the first place?”
Jonah ran his fingers through his messy hair. “I have no idea. The less I know about what he’s up to the better. Listen, just move things as quickly as you can and I’ll do what I have to on this end.”
They wrapped up their conversation and Jonah hung up. He’d given Emma some space this morning, hoping maybe the money would come through and he wouldn’t need to continue pursuing a woman who was clearly disinterested in him. It was fun for him, a challenge he’d never had to face before, but he couldn’t spend all his time trying to woo the ice princess. He still had a company to run.
Apparently that task was back at the top of his to-do list for the day. He had some time on his calendar, so he slipped out from behind his desk and went in search of his elusive prey.
He spotted her on the twenty-fourth floor down the hall from her office. She was leaning over the copier, pressing buttons and eyeing the pages as they spat out. Jonah was tempted to come up behind her and whisper something in her ear, but nixed the idea. Somehow he thought that might earn him a slap or a knee to the groin.
Instead, he just watched her from a distance, admiring the curve of her calves highlighted by her knee-length skirt and four-inch heels. She held a pen gently to her full, soft lips, the lower one pouting just slightly and urging him to reach out and brush his mouth across hers.
The best thing about watching her from here was that her defenses were down. She was relaxed, a faraway daydreaming look in her eyes as the constant rhythm of the copier lulled her mind into thoughts about something other than accounting. He didn’t know what she was thinking about, but the corner of her mouth curved in a smile. It made her face light up in a way he hadn’t seen before. She was always so proper and guarded around him.
It was then that she turned to glance down the hallway and spotted him. Her green gaze ran over the length of his body for just a moment, her tongue darting quickly across her bottom lip. He thought he caught the slightest hint of something other than derision in her eyes, but before he could be certain, she snatched her papers from the copier, turned on her heels and started off in the other direction.
She was avoiding him again. No more avoiding.
Jonah marched up behind her. She was easy to catch with those high heels slowing her escape. He spied one of the janitorial closets just to her right and got a bad idea. Without so much as a hello, he wrapped one arm around her waist and opened the door, tugging her inside.
“What on Earth—” she shrieked in surprise, but quickly silenced when the door slammed shut and they were suddenly cloaked in the darkness of the small space.
The room was slightly musty, smelling of industrial cleaner and old cardboard, but the subtle scent of her lotion cut through it all and sent a spike of need down his spine. Memories of the night with his butterfly flooded his mind in an instant. He’d made love to her in the small, private space of his laundry room when no place else was available. If he’d had a second chance with her, he would’ve made up for it with a bed covered in satin sheets and rose petals. That’s what she had deserved.
Again, like the laundry room, the janitorial supply room wasn’t the best or most romantic choice, but he would take what he could get. He had no intention of trying to seduce her here, but if this was the only way he had of getting her alone to talk, so be it. He was tired of this game.
He tightened his arms around her waist and tugged her close to him so she couldn’t get away. The closet was filled with any number of dangerous things she’d likely hurt herself with if she took a step back from him. She needed to stay right where she was. They were going to talk about what was going on whether she liked it or not.
So far, he was pleased enough with the situation. She was very still and quiet in his arms, albeit a touch stiff. He could hear the soft sound of her breathing, the rise and fall of her chest as she pressed futilely against him with her palms. He liked the feel of her in his arms more than he expected to. It felt natural and familiar somehow.
As his eyes adjusted to the dim light coming under the door, he was able to make out her silhouette and the soft contours of her face. What he could see of her was fighting this tooth and nail. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her lips tightly pressed together. Emma’s shoulders were drawn up around her ears. She was strung tight as a drum, the comfortable woman from minutes ago completely forgotten.
“Relax, Emma. I’m not going to bite.”
“I need to get back to work,” she said, but there was half-heartedness in her voice that betrayed her. There was a part of her that was open to him. He didn’t know why she was fighting it so hard. It could be quite an enjoyable experience for them both.
“I want to talk to you first. You’ve continued to avoid me and have left me with no choice but to abduct you and make you listen to what I have to say.”
“I’m not talking to you in a closet with the lights off. It’s inappropriate.” Emma struggled against him in earnest, gaining little traction and succeeding in doing nothing but rubbing her belly back and forth against his rapidly hardening desire.
Jonah had to swallow a groan as her movements sent a wave of pleasure radiating from his groin. “Stop. Wiggling,” he managed through gritted teeth. “I just want to talk. I have no intention of taking advantage of you in here, but if you keep grinding your hips against mine like that, we may have to make some impromptu changes to the agenda.” The thought had undeniably crossed his mind, but even he had boundaries in the workplace. “I can tell you don’t think that highly of me and my reputation with women, but I can assure you that I much prefer the king-size bed in my loft for that kind of thing.”
“I don’t want to talk. Or to see your king-size bed.”
“I hadn’t asked you to.”
Emma stopped struggling and looked up at him. He could see the dim light reflecting in her eyes as they searched
