You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.
—Sidonie Gabrielle Colette
Fool,
I’m flattered by your compliments, and I suppose that everyone past the age of fifteen has a broken heart in their background. My heart is no exception. I’m traveling for business, but will be returning Wednesday. Would you be available to meet for coffee Thursday or Friday?
K
KATE REREAD the note and sipped her tea. She was glad she had waited until this morning to reply to the note, waited until she had recovered from Eric’s latest assault on her senses so she could think more clearly.
She bit her lip. So Neil Powers wasn’t the most exciting man she’d ever met—at least he was insightful and attentive. And accommodating. She had a feeling that dating Neil would be conflict-free. Unlike…
Kate frowned and hit the send button, then settled back with her tea to watch a Sunday news magazine on TV. The anchor’s mouth moved, but unfortunately it was Eric’s words that kept creeping into her head like a bad song. There’s something between us, Kate, and it’s inevitable that we get together. Forget that you’re my boss—we’re man and woman first.
She emitted a dry laugh. The man’s ego was big enough to be taxed. And that kiss…
She gave herself a mental shake and decided to take a book to the pool. They weren’t scheduled to depart for Pensacola until late this afternoon, and she was feeling confined. Unfortunately, the only book she had with her was How to Make an Effective Sales Call. She donned a modest green one-piece bathing suit and a pair of shorts and headed to the outdoor pool, which was crowded. She found a chaise in a semi-shady spot a few feet away from the activity and tilted her face up to enjoy a few minutes of sun before diving into her less-than-riveting reading material.
And that kiss…well, Eric had really overstepped his bounds there. Did he think she would be receptive to him after the way he’d behaved? That she’d be willing to hitch her reputation to his runaway train? She wet her lips, reliving the intense pressure of his determined kiss. Hard, skilled…promising.
“With that smile on your face, you must be thinking about something good.”
Her eyes flew open. Eric stood over her, brown and buff and wearing black trunks.
“Nice day, eh?”
At the sight of his bare broad shoulders, she swallowed. “You’re blocking the sun.”
He moved and walked over a few feet to grab an empty chaise. “Mind if I pull up a chair?”
She frowned. “Actually, I’d rather be alone.”
“That’s no fun,” he said, dragging the chaise close, then dropping into the chair. “I hope you know that my dry cleaner is going to charge me a small fortune to get the food stains out of my clothes.”
She turned over on her stomach and reached for the book. “Don’t even think about trying to expense it.”
“Need some lotion on your back?”
“No.”
“Towel?”
“No.”
“Cocktail?”
“No.”
“Whatcha reading?”
Without looking in his direction, she held up the cover, then reread the same paragraph for the third time.
“Do you work all the time?” he asked.
She looked up. “Do you talk all the time?”
“Pretty much—it’s my only flaw.”
She lowered her sunglasses. “Is that supposed to be funny?”
“Yes.” He sighed. “Kate, I want to call a truce.”
She arched an eyebrow. “A truce?”
He nodded. “I really want to land this deal with Lexan.”
At the uncharacteristically genuine tone of his voice, her mouth softened. “And?”
“And…I need your help.”
She frowned, wary. “How so?”
“I’m not connecting with the buyer.”
“Can you be more specific?”
“He doesn’t like me.” He shrugged. “Go figure.”
One side of her mouth slid back. “How do you know he doesn’t like you?”
He winked. “Believe me, I can tell when someone does or doesn’t like me. Besides, he called this morning to cancel our meeting tomorrow.”
She blinked. “We’re not going to get the business this quarter?” With Eric leaving, it could be a while before someone could take over major accounts. She hadn’t even thought about a replacement.
“I did talk the guy into rescheduling to Tuesday.” His grin was sheepish. “I told him I had my boss with me and I couldn’t leave town without bringing you by.”
The smallest of smiles lifted the corners of her mouth. “I’m your Trojan horse?”
“Something like that. The thing is, the buyer really does like our line of electronic games, I can tell. So, I’m thinking our odds of getting the business will improve if we hit him with a tag team presentation.”
She weighed the benefit of the business to Handley versus having to work closely with Eric on a presentation. Since he was leaving the company soon, this would be a good way to find out as much as possible about Lexan and his other accounts without raising his suspicion. And she had agreed to accompany him on this trip to learn more about direct sales—this might be her only chance to pitch directly to the customer. Then she frowned. “Do I have your word that there will be no funny business?”
He held up his hand. “Scout’s honor, boss.”
She turned over and sat up. “What would I have to do?”
ERIC COULDN’T REMEMBER the last time he’d been nervous on a sales call, but his hands were sweaty as he held open the door and allowed Kate to precede him into the building that housed Lexan Electronics’ headquarters. Some of his apprehension was due to the fact that he did want to close this business—his bonus was riding on a healthy order, and he preferred to leave Handley with a bang. But he conceded that much of the tightness in his chest was due to the fact that Kate would witness him either close the deal, or crash and burn.
Talk about performance anxiety.
The lobby was an impressive display of tile, glass and chrome, but Eric only had eyes for the woman who walked in front of him.
In the last day and a half, they had gotten along better than he could have imagined because they’d been focused on one objective. He wanted the account badly enough to repress his natural urge to flirt with Kate, and in return, he’d watched Kate slowly let down her defenses. The drive to Pensacola yesterday had been downright enjoyable. He had shared his approach to other major accounts, and together they’d assembled a dynamite presentation for Lexan.
Although in his opinion, the vision of Kate in a cream-colored suit was enough to clinch the deal.
The problem was, while his respect for her over the past couple of days had grown exponentially, so had his lust. He had no choice now but to leave Handley because he knew for certain he wouldn’t be able to hide his desire every time he saw her.
The buyer, David Jyles, greeted them with his normal brittle tone, but as Eric predicted, Kate had him eating out of her hand in no time. She asked endless questions about their operation, using her relative ignorance of sales to her advantage. At the end of their allotted thirty minutes, the buyer called his secretary and asked that his schedule be cleared so he could spend more time with the “good people from Handley.”
Pangs of jealousy barbed through Eric’s chest when the man swept appreciative glances over Kate, but he could tell Jyles was also responding to her genuine manner and her savvy questions.
He remembered a couple of sentences he’d read in the secret admirer note that he’d seen when he was looking over Kate’s shoulder at the electronics show—why was someone as amazing as Kate still single? And did she have a broken heart in her background?
Funny, but he’d never thought about Kate having broken his heart when they were in Vegas. She’d gotten under his skin, into his brain, and she continued to plague various other parts of his body…but his heart?
“Eric,” Kate said in a tone that indicated he had missed something.
He blinked. “I’m sorry—yes?”
“Mr. Jyles asked to see our samples.”
Eric leapt into action, unlocking his sample case and lapsing into the presentation he and Kate had perfected. He demonstrated the twelve handheld games while she took on the role of liaison, seemingly as skeptical as Jyles at first, asking lots of questions to help guide the buyer toward “yes.” An hour later, Jyles was exhibiting signs of wanting to be asked for a deal. Eric went for the close and waited.
Jyles clasped his hands on his desk and twiddled his thumbs. He glanced back and forth between Kate and Eric. “I have to be honest with you—I’m really happy with Travister, the line of games we carry.”
Eric’s stomach twisted in disappointment.
“But,” Jyles continued, “I’m willing to supplement our current product line with, say, four Handley games.”
Supplement, not replace. A strategy, Eric recalled, that Kate had suggested in her sales meeting. And his response, he recalled, had been I don’t do things small.
His mind raced. Even if Jyles placed an excellent order for the four games, it wouldn’t be enough for him to hit his numbers for a sales bonus. He’d been complacent this quarter, counting on his ability to land this account in a big way—the McDaniels way. It would be the same end result for him if Jyles bought four games or none. And if he bought four, that would make it harder to sell Mixxo games to him a few months down the road.
But four games would give Handley a toehold with a big player.
Eric swallowed. He felt Kate’s gaze on him, unaware of his inner turmoil.
“Four games would be a great beginning,” he heard himself say, then he stood and extended his hand to Jyles.
“I’M SORRY you won’t get your bonus this quarter,” Kate said, sipping the dessert wine they’d ordered. She had felt for him during the presentation to Jyles. She’d understood it was hard for him to swallow his pride and take the lesser deal—the deal she had suggested…especially since he wouldn’t see the benefit of the business.
“That’s okay,” he said lightly. “There’s always next quarter.”
She sipped again, fighting the urge to tell him that she knew he wouldn’t be around next quarter. He’d made a sacrifice today for Handley, so she owed him the courtesy of letting him announce his departure.
“We were good together,” he said, his eyes twinkling. He lifted his glass. “To us.”
She hesitated, then clinked her glass against his. As they sipped, the atmosphere changed. The smile left his eyes and was replaced by desire. Longing pooled in her stomach, sending warning signals to her brain. The last few days had been too enjoyable, too relaxed. She’d let down her guard, and he’d managed to slip past her defenses.
“I guess this is it,” he said. “Our last night.”
She nodded, unable to speak. Certainly unable to respond to his subtle invitation. Our last night on the road. No one has to know.
Her heart pounded against her rib cage, her pulse throbbed in her ears. She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted any man, more than she’d wanted him six years ago. There was no good end to the sexual fascination she had for Eric McDaniels. The wisest alternative seemed to be evasion.
“I think I’m going to call it a night,” she said abruptly, setting down her glass and rummaging for her credit card.
“Go ahead,” he said, his voice gruff. “Let me get the check tonight.”
She looked up and saw the message in his eyes: Go. Now. “Okay,” she murmured. “Good night.” Kate didn’t wait for him to respond and practically race-walked out of the restaurant and to the elevator. She stabbed at the up button, feeling the pull of his body calling to hers.
When the doors opened, she rushed inside the elevator and leaned into the wall until she was delivered to her floor. She fumbled with her electronic door key, but eventually got in. The air-conditioning was a blast of relief to her fevered face. One more night—she only had to get through one more night.
But she kept looking back to the door, wavering. Would she forever regret not taking Eric up on his subtle offer? Maybe making love with him again would be the one thing that would release her from the hold he seemed to have on her. In her present state of mind, the ramifications seemed hazy and obscure, but she reasoned that nothing could be as bad as this unbearable longing.
She walked to the door and took a deep breath. Just as she reached for the knob, she heard a rustle of footsteps on the other side. She looked through the peephole and at the sight of Eric, his jacket slung over his shoulder and his head down in thought, her heart soared. When she opened the door, his arm was up in the knocking position.
He blinked in surprise. “Kate. I…um…”
She exhaled and bit into her lip. “Me, too.” Then she stepped aside to let him in.