Your Room or Mine?

Nine

To Maddie, who couldn’t wait for the evening so she and Jack could continue their one-night stand-part two-the rest of the day seemed to drag on forever. She attended all the team building exercises as an observer, but twice joined in when they needed an extra person to even out the numbers. Through it all, she had to force herself to concentrate on the tasks at hand because her mind was filled to overflowing with thoughts of Jack.

Jack cheerfully paid his twenty-dollar debt after she led them out of the woods and to the van that transported them back to the Casa di Lago. He claimed it was all her fault he got lost, that he couldn’t focus on anything other than her, a claim that made her want to drag him right back into the woods and have her wicked way with him. Again.

Throughout the day, with each new exercise, she saw how Jack and his staff interacted with each other, strategized, planned, handled problem solving, communicated, reacted to stressful situations, supported-and sometimes didn’t support-each other. Things started off slow, and she sensed some initial reluctance on the part of several staff members, but as the day wore on, everyone, with the exception of a senior accounting manager named Peter Quinn, got into the spirit of the games to some degree, some more than others. The team building brought out the competitive nature of some, the sense of humor of others, the stubbornness of a few, and the thinking-outside-the-box abilities of yet others.

She jotted down her observations, trying her best not to allow her gaze to stray to Jack, but more often than not, that’s precisely where she found herself looking. Even when she wasn’t watching him, she was painfully aware of him. He had an easygoing, charismatic manner about him that she could see inspired respect in his staff. She’d noted as much during the previous month, but now that she was viewing him through different eyes, his leadership abilities, confidence, and commitment to his staff were crystal clear. He accomplished his tasks in the time allotted and made fair, intelligent decisions. It was easy to see he was an excellent boss, and she mentally scolded herself for allowing her preconceived notions about him to color her opinion of him so unfavorably. She normally didn’t jump to conclusions about people as she had with Jack, and she wondered why she had in his case.

Because you were attracted to him from moment one and didn’t want to be, her sly inner voice informed her. So you thought the worst of him to talk yourself out it.

Okay, that little voice was really annoying.

But totally right.

She had found him attractive. Too attractive. And hadn’t wanted to. A problem that wasn’t going to get any better, because she now not only found him attractive, she really liked him. A lot. Too much, she feared. He was not only an incredible lover, he made her laugh. And could converse on any subject. Heck, he was even willing to talk about chick flicks and shoes. No doubt due to his close relationship with his sister, but still-chick flicks and shoes!

Just then Jack looked up from the puzzle he and his four team-mates were trying to solve. Their gazes locked and for several seconds the air around Maddie felt too thick to breathe. Something seemed to pass between them, something warm and intimate that sped up her pulse and made everything inside her turn to the consistency of warm honey. She knew in that moment that if she weren’t careful, she stood in danger of falling into the emotional abyss she feared yawned before her: of caring for him, much more than she’d ever intended to.

By the time the afternoon break rolled around, Maddie could already see some new friendships forming. She purposely avoided Jack during the break, afraid that if they sat together everyone in the room would guess what was going on between them. Instead she ate her lunch at a table with Bob and Kathy Whitaker, who ran the team building program, and spent the time asking them questions, taking notes on their responses to add to her report that Gavin expected Monday morning.

Lunch was followed by more team building exercises. Maddie took copious notes on each team’s dynamics, each staff member’s personality, and how they responded to their tasks. Dinner was a casual outdoor cookout where the staff could volunteer to set up, cook, serve, or clean up. Maddie noted what each person volunteered for, hiding a grin at the fact that most of the men volunteered to grill the burgers and hot dogs, and none of them volunteered for cleanup duty.

Dinner was followed by a tour of the Caso di Lago winery and a wine-tasting party. Maddie mingled, making mental notes on how people reacted to each other, who interacted with whom, who kept to themselves. Jack, she noted, spoke to everyone, moving from group to group, listening and chatting with equal ease. Finally he stood before her. And smiled.

“Hi. I’m Jack Walker.”

Had it only been last night that he’d said those same words to her in the bar? She was instantly reminded of the words to an old song her grandmother used to sing… What a difference a day makes, twenty-four little hours.

She smiled in return. “Maddie Price. Nice party.”

He nodded, then said in a low voice, “Personally, I can’t wait ’til it’s over.”

She raised her brows. “Hot date?”

“Very.” His eyes seemed to breathe smoke. “I’m a lucky man.”

“Hmmm. Yes, something tells me you’re going to get lucky tonight.”

He sipped his wine then said, “You’ve been taking notes all day.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“To see how everyone is interacting with each other.”

“Among other things.” Anxious to change the subject, she said,

“The wine is excellent.”

“Yes. And you’re changing the subject.”

“Yes. The wine is excellent.”

He studied her for several seconds and she hoped he wasn’t going to question her. Per Gavin’s instructions, she couldn’t reveal the nature of her report. Besides, she didn’t want to talk about work. Didn’t want to risk having anything cast a pall on their last night together. Finally he said, “How about my room tonight?”

“Sounds good.”

“Great.” He shot her a wink. “C’mon over, honey. And bring your lingerie and condoms.”

After the party finally broke up an hour later, Maddie remained downstairs long enough to note which Java Heaven employees returned to their rooms and who headed to the bar or lobby to continue chatting. “Don’t forget, breakfast’s at eight, followed by more team building,” Bob Whitaker called to the departing staff.

Right. Breakfast, two more team building sessions, then by noon the weekend would be over. As would her interlude with Jack.

She hurried back to her room and changed clothes. With the resort’s bathrobe wrapped firmly around her, she grabbed her supplies, checked to make certain the hallway was empty, then crossed the carpet to Jack’s door. Before she even had a chance to knock, the door opened and Jack pulled her into the room. Into his arms. And laid one of those toe-curling, breath-stealing, palpitation-inducing kisses on her. When he finally lifted his head, she said, “Wow. If kissing were an Olympic sport, you’d have a trophy case filled with gold medals.”

“Kissing takes two,” he said, lightly scraping his teeth over her sensitive earlobe. “It’s all in who your partner is. What took you so long?”

“I took a few minutes to consult my copy of Fifty Ways to Please Your Lover.” She leaned back in the circle of his arms and playfully waggled her brows. “I have a feeling you’re going to like number twelve. And number eighteen. And number forty-six.”

“Have I mentioned that twelve, eighteen, and forty-six are my lucky numbers?”

“No. But even if they weren’t, I promise you, they’re going to be.”

He smiled into her eyes. “I think that makes me the luckiest guy on the planet.”

She held up the bag she’d brought. “I come bearing lingerie and condoms.”

“Excellent.” He pulled her farther into the room and she noticed that like her, he wore the white terry cloth robe bearing the resort’s logo. “I come bearing champagne and chocolate.”

Maddie’s eyes widened at the champagne chilling in a silver wine bucket on the nightstand, the pair of crystal flutes, and the gold-foil box of Godiva. “I love champagne and chocolate.”

“I know. You mentioned it last night.”

And he’d remembered. Everything female in her heaved a gushy sigh at the thoughtful gesture. “Thank you. Although I have it on good authority you would have gotten lucky without it.”

He grinned and popped the bottle’s cork. “Yeah, but maybe now I’ll get really lucky.” After pouring two glasses, he handed her one, then raised his. “To… surprises.”

“Surprises,” she agreed, and touched the rim of her flute to his.

After taking a sip, he set aside his glass then slipped his fingers beneath her robe’s sash and tugged her closer, until their bodies bumped. “Whatcha wearin’ under this robe?”

She set her glass next to his then tugged on the sash to his robe. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

“One way to find out.”

They untied each other’s sashes at the same time. He opened her robe and pushed it down her arms, where it pooled at her feet. His avid gaze took in the cream-colored lace-up corset, which she’d chosen because it made her waist look smaller than it was and her breasts larger than they were, and the matching barely there panties. When his gaze met hers, the heat in his eyes nearly singed her. “Wow.”

That single word, said in that appreciative tone, made the outfit worth every penny she’d spent. She then pushed his robe off his shoulders, where it joined hers on the floor. He wore nothing but skin. And a very impressive hard-on.

“Double wow,” she said. Reaching out, she ran a single fingertip down the length of his erection. “I seem to recall an imbalance between our debits and credits-something I’d like to even up. Starting with number twelve.” She lowered herself to her knees and without any preliminaries drew him deep into her mouth.

Jack’s eyes slammed shut as a shudder of pleasure shook him. A long groan rattled in his throat and he tipped his head back, fighting for control. Oh, yeah, twelve was definitely his new favorite number. When he’d caught his breath, he opened his eyes and looked down. The sight of Maddie’s full lips surrounding him, the feel of her tongue circling, the tight draw of her hot mouth damn near made him come on the spot. He combed his fingers through her hair, watching her pleasure him, gritting his teeth to hold back the release building at the base of his spine. When he couldn’t take anymore, he urged her to her feet, settled her on the bed, reached for a condom, then joined her.

“Let’s make this one hell of a night to remember,” he said against her lips, covering her body with his.

“Good. Fine. Whatever you say.”

When Maddie entered the dining room for breakfast the next morning, the first person she saw was Jack. Heat that had nothing to do with the bright sunshine streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows rippled through her. Their gazes locked and a kaleidoscope of images of last night flashed through her mind. Jack buried deep inside her. Over her. Under her. Making love in the shower. His soapy hands relentless, everywhere. Her hands slapped against the tiles, bending over to take him deeper. The warm water rushing over them. His dark head buried between her thighs. Feeding each other chocolates. Laughing. Sharing stories. Touching. Falling asleep in each other’s arms. Her waking early. Watching him sleep while she donned her robe and gathered her belongings. Returning to her own room. Feeling its emptiness. Wishing her time with Jack wasn’t over. Knowing it was.

Right. Because today it was back to business and tomorrow back to work. She needed to review her pages of notes and write her report this evening so it was ready for Gavin tomorrow. A report that she knew Jack wouldn’t like, which surely shouldn’t matter-their two-nighter was now officially over. But to her consternation, she realized it did matter. A lot.

She yanked her attention from Jack then purposely set her purse and leather portfolio on a table at the opposite end of the dining room from him, in a corner where she could observe the Java Heaven staff’s interactions. After helping herself to fluffy scrambled eggs, a blueberry muffin still warm from the oven, and a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice from the buffet, she sat and opened her portfolio. And studiously kept her gaze on her notes and off Jack.

She was working on her second cup of tea and had just jotted down an observation when a shadow fell across the table. Her heart jumped because even before she looked up, she knew it was Jack.

She raised her head and looked into his compelling blue eyes. He was dressed casually in tan khakis and a yellow polo shirt. His dark hair was slightly rumpled, as if he’d raked his hands through it. Her fingers itched with the sudden overwhelming desire to glide through those thick strands that she knew felt like raw silk.

“May I join you?” he asked.

No. Please go away. I’m terrified that I’m not a good enough actress to pretend nothing’s happened between us. That I feel nothing for you. “Of course,” she replied in her best businesslike, neutral tone. She closed her portfolio and picked up her teacup, more to give her hands something to do than because she wanted a sip.

“Your breakfast was good?” he asked after he’d settled himself in the chair opposite hers.

“Yes. Yours?”

“Very good.” He set his hands on the table and linked his fingers. He had really nice hands. Large and strong. Capable and wickedly clever. There wasn’t a centimeter of her body they hadn’t explored.

“You were gone when I woke up,” he said quietly, his gaze steady on hers.

Oh, God. This was going to be so much harder than she’d ever imagined. Why did something that was supposed to be so uncomplicated-just a simple one-night stand-suddenly feel so complicated? How had it happened? When?

She cleared her throat. “I didn’t want to wake you. Besides, I thought it best since our two-nighter was officially over.”

“No awkward farewells.”

“Exactly.”

His gaze shifted to her portfolio then back to her. “Maddie… I’ve suspected from the moment Gavin hired you that he’s planning to downsize my department and that he wants your recommendations on whom and how many people to cut. I wouldn’t ask you to break a confidence by either confirming or denying it, but I’d like you to listen for just a moment.”

She nodded. “All right.”

“I don’t want my department cut, not by a single person. Gavin knows this and I’ve gone on record with him that I won’t fire or layoff anyone. I’ve seen the same things you have this weekend. I know there are some personality conflicts, but sometimes it just takes certain people longer than others to feel comfortable. Peter Quinn, for instance. I know he can be standoffish, but he’s brilliant. He may not be the most personable guy in the world, but what’s important to me is that he’s loyal. And honest.”

He drew a long breath, then continued, “I’ve resented you from minute one because I viewed you as Gavin’s spy. Please don’t take that personally-I would have resented any consultant Gavin hired. I didn’t like having someone looking over my shoulder, second-guessing me when I was doing my damnedest to pull together a department that was in shambles. I know you have a job to do, but the bottom line is this: At the risk of sounding arrogant, I know what’s best for my department and it’s not a smaller staff. Cutting the department won’t cut the work that needs to be done, it will only dump more responsibilities on the folks who remain. Employees who are forced to work overtime and on weekends just to keep up with their workload are not happy employees. We’ll end up slowly drowning. I’ve seen it happen in other companies and I don’t want it to happen here. I want this department to not only survive but to flourish, but I need time-and my entire staff-to make that happen. We’ve already made great strides and it’s only been two months.

“In the end, any money saved by downsizing won’t be worth it because I’ll have a miserable staff, which, as you know, leads to all sorts of problems. I’ve already told Gavin this and that any cost-cutting measures will need to come about through other channels or out of some other department. But not accounting.”

Maddie pulled in a careful breath, then released it slowly. “I understand your point, but you also need to take into account that cogs in the wheel need to be fixed, or in this case let go, so the entire group doesn’t suffer. And every company needs to minimize costs.”

“I agree, but there aren’t any cogs in this wheel. And the cost cuts won’t come at the expense of my department.”

“You make it sound as if it’s a deal breaker for you.”

“It is.”

She nodded slowly then offered him a small smile. “You make a very compelling case. And your reasoning is sound.”

He smiled in return. “Glad you agree.” He glanced at his watch. “We’re starting in just a few minutes. Thanks for listening.”

“You’re welcome.”

His expression softened. “And thanks for a great weekend.”

Her heart tripped over itself and she had to grip her teacup to keep from giving in to the powerful urge to touch him. “You, too.”

With his gaze locked onto hers, he said quietly, “I know we agreed our… time together wouldn’t go beyond last night, but just so you know, I wouldn’t mind if we changed that rule. Think about it and let me know.”

Without another word, he rose and walked toward the exit. She watched him leave, his last words echoing through her mind. Think about it and let me know.

There were lots of reasons why letting their two-nighter extend further had “bad idea” written all over it. Yup, lots of reasons. And she was going to write them down as soon as she remembered them. Then, thankfully, her brain kicked into gear.

It would make working together impossible.

Wouldn’t it?

There was only sexual attraction between them.

Wasn’t there?

Nothing could come of continuing their affair.

Could it?

Think about it and let me know.

God help her, she didn’t know how she’d be able to think about anything else.