Читать книгу If Only You Knew - Gwyneth Bolton - Страница 9

Sitting across from Carlton in the department’s conference room, Latonya found herself sweating even with the air-conditioning on full blast. Once again, she cursed her intense reaction to a man who, for all intents and purposes, thought of her as a walking, talking idiot.

So far, she’d done a halfway decent job maintaining her composure while they were in the room together. She even managed to get a lot of work done. Every once in a while she would literally feel herself getting hotter and look up to find Carlton staring at her. His perplexed expression would always turn into a glare when she caught him. She tried not to wonder about what her workdays would be like if he could stand the sight of her or if he brushed those soft thick lips across her own.

Snap out of it, Latonya silently chastised as she shook her head to clear out the visions of kissing Carlton. Getting up from her seat and picking up her laptop, she walked over to where he sat on the other side of the conference room. As she walked toward him, she wondered why he sat so far away.

“I think I found the problem here.” She pushed his laptop aside along with a stack of papers and placed her computer in front of him. Leaning over Carlton, she pointed at the spreadsheet she’d created.

She waited for him to respond, but he just sat there still and silent. He almost seemed to be holding his breath.

Latonya was tempted to check herself for body odor. She knew she’d perspired a little due to her nervousness, but she didn’t think that she stunk or anything.

Taking a deep breath, she continued, “See, there are just some small inconsistencies where someone mistakenly put in the wrong averages. It looks like they actually doubled March and skipped April. Probably just a typing error. That’s why—”

She stopped talking when Carlton hurriedly pushed away from the table and jumped out of his seat. He backed away from the table and her with such speed she swore he was running for his life.

“That’s fine. I have some things to take care of in my office. Continue to fix those errors.” He jetted out the door before she could say another word.

Latonya lifted her arm and sniffed just to be sure before picking up her laptop and going back to her seat. With each second that passed, she became more resentful.

She glanced at her watch with irritation. It was five in the evening on a Saturday and she had been in the office since seven-thirty that morning. If she didn’t need the job so badly she would have told him exactly where he could go. She didn’t expect high praise or kudos, but she felt that he could have at least managed not to bark and grunt at her. Then he had the nerve to run from the room as if she had the cooties just because she stood by him! If she didn’t already have a thick skin, she would no doubt have one by the time he was done with her.

Brushing her hair back from her face, she wished that she had pinned it up in the French twist that she normally wore to work. She’d worn it down in a silent form of rebellion, along with wearing her navy slacks and a white short-sleeve shirt that she normally would have worn under her business suit. She’d been tempted to come in jeans and a T-shirt but thought that might have been going a little too far. If the ogre wanted her to come in on a Saturday, she would at least come in her casual clothing. Letting her hair down might not have been the equivalent of burning her bra, and maybe she wouldn’t be compared to Norma Rae, but seeing him dressed in his usual perfectly styled business suit, she felt like she’d bucked the system in a small way.

Carlton came back and threw another stack of papers in front of her without saying a word. That simple act was her breaking point. Turning off her laptop, she shut it and placed the machine in its case before picking up her purse and briefcase.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Home.”

“We’re not done here.”

“I’m done. I’ll see you on Monday, Mr. Harrington,” she said as professionally as she could manage.

“We’re not done, Ms. Stevens.” His hard-edged voice matched his glare.

She couldn’t take it anymore. “What is your problem? What do you have against me? What have I done to offend you? Can you please tell me that? Because I need to decide if it’s worth it for me to remain in this department.”

“Do you think you can transfer?” His tone took on a mocking edge.

“I think you leave me no choice.”

His gaze narrowed and his lips took on a slight smirk. “I’ll block it. If you can’t withstand a little hard work, then maybe you’re not cut out to be an employee of Harrington Enterprise.”

“I don’t believe this! I have a stellar record. I always give my best and you do nothing but insult me with your little snipes and condescension.”

He walked over to her. Invading any semblance of personal space, he was close enough for her to smell his cologne, and what a cologne it was. The mixture of musk and pine along with the force of his manliness nearly took her breath away.

“Get back to work, Latonya. I’ll let you know when it’s time to leave.” His voice was eerily calm as his mouth still held its daring expression.

“Go to hell, Mr. Harrington.” She forced a pleasant smile. “I have a life. I’ll see you on Monday.” She tried to walk around him but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“What do you have to do? Go out with Weatherby?”

“That is none of your business. You’re treading on thin ice, Mr. Harrington. I suggest you let go of me.” She tried to snatch her arm away, but his grip remained strong. He pulled her closer.

He paused and shook his head as if clearing it. “You’re right. It isn’t any of my business.” He folded his arms and stood silently for a moment, just looking at her. His smoky, searing, hooded gaze was flooded with determination. His eyes made physical promises that she had a feeling he fully intended to keep.

Despite herself, Latonya couldn’t help being caught up in the intensity of it all. His eyes exuded seduction! And every playa-proof instinct in her body seemed to be on strike. No man had ever looked at her like that before. Men had desired her, sure, but this felt different.

“I think we have been going about this all wrong.” He lifted his hand and caressed her cheek.

Taking a step back on legs shakier than she felt comfortable with, she said, “I think we have been fine. You could just try being nicer and showing a little appreciation and we should get along just fine.”

“Nicer. A little appreciation. I think I can do that. In fact, that’s exactly what I had in mind.” He smiled and took another step forward, standing right in front of her and too close for comfort again. He bent his head and suddenly his lips connected with hers.

She opened her mouth in shock and his tongue darted in. She couldn’t believe that he was kissing her. And though it was the last thing her body wanted to do, she tried to pull away from him. But he held her in a tight embrace.

Carlton’s lips were a cross between punishing and tender. She resisted her desire for him as much as she could, but he wouldn’t allow it. He pulled her closer and his mouth became a hot branding iron. She swore that every place he touched, he owned, and she soon knew what it meant to be putty in someone’s hands.

His hands started to explore her body and she felt things she had never felt before. Her legs went weak, and she realized that Harrington wasn’t the only one moaning and enjoying the kiss.

What am I thinking?

He was the last man she needed to be kissing. His hand roamed down to her behind and he pulled her so close, she swore she could feel his every pulse. Moving her hands up to his chest and resisting the urge to explore his fabulous pecs, she pushed back with all her might, finally breaking the kiss.

She tried to catch her breath, but it was next to impossible. Her heart raced. They stood there for a full minute panting and glaring at each other. Taking a step back, she reached for her purse and briefcase. She had to get away from the man in order to think.

One minute he was barking orders at her and the next he was kissing her. Well, he had better okay my transfer, because there is no way I can work in the same department with him now.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“I told you I’m going home. And I expect you to have me transferred to another department. What you just did was highly inappropriate!”

“Sit down, Latonya.”

She began to back away. “No, I will not. I’m leaving.”

“Please, sit down.” His tone was soft, almost endearing.

Making the mistake of looking him in the eyes, Latonya noticed the slightest bit of vulnerability there. She’d never seen him even remotely unsure of himself. The small crack in his cocksure personality was enough to make her at least listen to what he had to say.

She sat in spite of herself. He dragged another chair up and sat right in front of her, running his hand over his face in a frustrated gesture.

“That shouldn’t have happened.”

“You bet it shouldn’t have happened,” she said, crossing her arms defensively. “You are way out of line, Mr. Harrington. However, if you’ll just transfer me to another department—”

“Is that what you really want, Latonya?”

She nodded. “Yes, it is. I think it’s best.”

“We’re clearly attracted to each other. What would you have us do with that?” His eyes narrowed and his voice took on a slightly suggestive edge.

“Transfer me to another department,” she snapped in retort.

“That won’t work. The company is not that big. Besides, I’d much rather examine our attraction. I’m tired of ignoring it. I think it’s time we did something about it.”

Swallowing, she stared at him and her eyes widened as she realized what he was insinuating. “How do you intend us to do that?”

“Spend the night with me.”

The way he nonchalantly dropped the suggestion almost made her fall out of her seat. “You must be crazy! There is no way I will have sex with you, Mr. Harrington!” She started to get up and he placed his hand on her knee, staying her.

“Given the way you kissed me just now, Latonya, it’s obvious that you are attracted to me, too. Why are you being so difficult?” he asked with a chuckle.

I kissed you? What play are you in? In her script she was the one who had a right to be irritated. She was the one who just had all of her senses attacked by a moody, but oh-so-fine man. She should be upset just because he’d had her body at war with her mind from the moment she met him.

“I’m being difficult, as you state, because I’m not accustomed to thinking that I can go around scratching each and every one of my annoying itches. No, Mr. Harrington, I won’t do it. Now, either you transfer me to another department or I’ll have to take other avenues.” Latonya slanted her eyes just a little to let him know that she wasn’t playing.

The only other avenue she could take if he refused to transfer her would be to file a sexual-harassment charge. Since his grandfather owned the company, she doubted it would do much good.

Carlton leaned forward and kissed her again, a softer, sweeter kiss. Her lips opened as if they had a mind of their own, and her tongue darted into his mouth as if on a mission of destiny. She felt a tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach.

This. Is. So. Wrong.

He pulled away, his gaze intense and seductive. “I’ll tell you what. It is rather late and you’re right that we should wrap things up here. How about I treat you to dinner for working so hard on the Biltmore project?”

She stared at him. And even though a small part of her mind screamed do not go to dinner with this man, other parts whispered seductively how gorgeous he was and how attracted she was to him. When the words reached her mouth, she was startled to hear her own traitorous voice say, “Okay, I’ll go to dinner with you. But that’s it.”

He smiled and his hand brushed her cheek. “Fine, let’s go. I’ll have my driver take us to Manny’s. It’s a small Cuban restaurant I think you’ll like.”

She never thought she would see the day when Carlton Harrington III actually smiled at her. Her mouth almost went dry. Gathering her things, she followed him out of the conference room.