“I know you’re not going to a hockey game because I’m stuck with that duty tonight.” Truth was, Derek liked hockey so he didn’t mind escorting the CEO of Argon to KRG’s luxury box that evening, especially since she knew the sport well enough to watch it instead of just drinking and talking.
“I’ll have the answer for you by the time the hockey game is over,” Leland promised.
“Pretty confident, aren’t you?” But it wasn’t an idle claim. If Alice’s brain was a steel trap, Leland’s brain was pure titanium.
“Just a statement of fact. I’ll keep Ms. Thurber informed so you can focus on Argon and toothless Canadians slamming each other into wooden walls. Why you enjoy that is beyond me.”
Derek ignored the gibe at hockey as he felt a pang of regret that Leland would now be the one dealing with Alice. He would miss that tantalizing scent of hers.
Alice gaped at her computer. A confidentiality agreement signed by Leland Rockwell of KRG had just landed in her in-box. She glanced at the time on her screen. Sixteen minutes had elapsed since Derek dropped her off at her front door.
“Jeez, those guys don’t mess around,” she muttered, saving the digital agreement to her newly created folder labeled KRG CONSULTING.
At the sound of her voice, Audley jumped onto her desk and inserted himself between Alice and the screen. She ran her hand over his sleek coat, savoring his loud purr.
Until her phone rang. When she saw Natalie’s name on the screen, she sighed and answered.
“So Cindy down at the diner says you had lunch with a guy who looks like a young Brad Pitt, only better,” Natalie said, the sound of hair dryers humming in the background. “Since I found pictures of Derek Killion online and he fits that description, I’m thinking it was the same guy. Now I know why you wanted him to pounce on you.”
“I never said I wanted him to pounce on me. I was just using a clichéd business phrase to cover up the reason you called,” Alice explained. “And how do you know he’s not still here?”
“Because Cindy heard him say you all were finished with your business. And, hon, if you didn’t want him to pounce on you, then you’re crazy. He’s a hottie.” The other woman whistled in appreciation. “Did you and Derek track down the missing $3.37 and go out to Nick’s to celebrate? Personally, I would have expected him to take you someplace a little higher end.”
“He asked to eat quickly,” Alice said in his defense. “And no, we couldn’t find the problem. Derek thinks it’s a software glitch, so he’s enlisting the help of their resident computer genius.”
“So you’ll still be working together. That gives you another chance to get him to pounce.”
“There will be no pouncing. He’s a partner at an international consulting firm.” But Alice had a sudden vision of Derek winding his fingers into her hair so he could pull her close and kiss her as they sat side by side in her office. She swallowed hard as yearning slid through her like a warm spring tide.
“What does his job have to do with anything?”
“Our relationship is purely professional,” Alice said primly.
“Who said anything about a relationship? He’s a very attractive man and you’re a very attractive woman. What happens when you add those two together? They equal sex,” Natalie said. “Hey, you’re the one who’s supposed to be good at math.”
Alice sighed. They’d had this conversation before. Natalie insisted that Alice was beautiful whereas Alice knew she was not. “Derek Killion isn’t my type.”
“Honey, he’s everybody’s type.” Natalie’s tone softened. “Look, I know you’re not one for casual sex, but you have to stop doing a couple of things. The first is selling yourself short because, trust me, Derek Killion was thinking about having sex with you. And the second is assuming that just because someone is good-looking, they’re as shallow and self-centered as your mother.”
“Derek Killion was thinking only about finding the missing money.” He had seemed to flirt with her those couple of bone-melting, brain-twisting times, but that had to be wishful thinking on her part. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. He’s handed me off to his partner, the tech genius.”
“What’s the partner’s name? Maybe he’s a really cute computer nerd.”
Alice couldn’t help laughing. “Leland Rockwell, but I doubt he’ll come out here to meet with me.”
“His name sounds kind of snobby, but I’m not going to judge him for that.” Another voice was speaking in the background with some urgency. “Gotta go. My next color-and-cut just arrived.”
Alice set the phone down and allowed herself to wander into Natalie’s fantasy world. What if Derek Killion had tried to kiss her? Would she have kissed him back?
She would have wanted to be sophisticated enough to enjoy the touch of his perfectly sculpted lips without wondering how he felt about her. She would have tried to shut up the little voice that said, Why is this gorgeous man kissing plain, boring you when he’s going to be disappointed?
She shoved her desk chair back and stalked over to where Sylvester sprawled across his favorite platform on the cat tower. Scooping the startled cat up, she cradled him in her arms and rubbed her cheek against his soft fur.
“And that is why I am a crazy cat lady.”
Chapter 4
Derek felt rather than heard the phone in his pocket ring because the hockey spectators were on their feet screaming their disapproval after a referee ruled an apparent goal no good.
Paula Erskine, Argon’s CEO, shook her head. “The ref is right.”
“Right and wrong don’t matter when the fans have two periods’ worth of beer in them,” Derek said, checking his phone to see that it was Leland.
The Rangers’ coach called a time-out, so he held up his cell, “Would you mind if I take this call?”
She gestured for him to go ahead and pulled out her own phone. When you ran a multinational company, there was never really any downtime so he wasn’t surprised. He got up and walked back into the dining area of the luxury box, where it was marginally quieter.
He called Leland back. “Tell me you have the answer even before the hockey game is over.”
“No answer. But a lot of questions,” Leland said. His Georgia drawl was barely in evidence so Derek knew his partner was deep into tech mode. “Tell me again how your bookkeeper found this software.”
Derek repeated Alice’s description of the hotel presentation and the software’s useful features.
“Interesting. This software has all the fingerprints of either Russian or Eastern European programming.”
“That’s not unusual these days.”
“Except the website goes to great lengths to look all-American. Their headquarters is in Dallas. They claim the development is done there. If you call their help line, you get Texas accents. When I traced the call, it did indeed go to Dallas.”
“Which seems consistent. Did you ever consider that they might have simply hired Russian programmers? And since Russian programmers have a reputation for less-than-stellar quality control, maybe they want to keep that fact hidden.”