A Calculated Seduction(18)

He forced his concentration away from Dulcy and her accomplice and granted it to Conners.

“Everything sounds fine. Make sure to follow up with the district managers. ” He turned back to Dulcy. “Now, Miss Menendez, you have anything to add about the Gala?”

She shot him a look he couldn’t decipher and stood. She walked to the opposite end of the table, where the podium stood. The sway of her hips in her bright yellow suit sent another wave of heat straight to his dick. He bit back a moan. The woman had no idea just how sexy she was. Which, of course, made her even more tempting.

Anderson let loose another chuckle and Ethan looked at him. The man didn’t even know enough to suppress his amusement. He just sat there staring at Ethan, his eyebrow lifted and a knowing look in his eyes.

Dulcy called attention to herself by starting the report of expenditures, Ethan settled back to enjoy staring at her with no interruptions.

* * * *

Dulcy’s concentration was the pits. She came to that conclusion when she listed the food and drink they’d serve at the Gala twice. Sweat gathered at the small of her back and her pulse beat out of control. Every hormone in her body bounced. She laid the blame at Ethan’s feet.

How in the world was she supposed to concentrate with him sitting at the opposite end of the table, practically eating her up with his gaze? Didn’t he know everyone in the meeting certainly knew what he was thinking?

Because she definitely knew. She knew he was thinking about his hands on her skin, his lips on hers...

Oh, good golly. Maybe she should make a doctor’s appointment because the heat skidding along her nerve endings wasn’t normal for her. She didn’t drool over hot men with great abs and really impressive cocks. Unless she counted Ethan. She was positive his abs would definitely be well defined, with a thin line of hair bisecting his stomach and disappearing beneath...

Good Lord. There she went again. Just a stray thought about body parts and her mind jumped to Ethan. And his abs. And those delicious eyes and his very large hands. She could imagine those hands sliding across her skin, cupping her breasts...

She cleared her throat. Thinking about things that weren’t going to happen was dangerous. It would make her wish for those things. That would push her dangerously closer to falling in love with him.

And she would not be stupid enough to do that.

“Dulcy, do you think you ordered an adequate amount of food? If you’re expecting that big of a crowd, I would think that wouldn’t be enough,” Marcy Williams, head of accounting, said.

Marcy smiled through her comment, sneaking peeks at Ethan to see if he noticed. The day Ethan walked in and took over MacMillan Boots, Marcy had announced she’d have him in her bed. A surge of satisfaction warmed Dulcy when Ethan didn’t even look at the woman. Woman? Barracuda was more like it.

“I’m going on the advice of the catering manager, who has been planning this kind of function for over twenty years. He’s going on the number of RSVPs we’ve received, and the cutoff date was Monday.”

When Marcy looked to open her mouth again to argue, Dulcy cut her off at the pass. “And, we’ll work with him up until the day of the function. This isn’t a final count, and he’s suggested we plan to feed about ten percent over the RSVPs.” She smiled at Marcy’s frown. “Any other questions?”

“Looks like we’re done here,” Ethan said. “Any problems with the Gala itself, be sure to get a hold of Dulcy.”

A murmur of agreement rose and people began to leave. Marcy, the bed-hopping executive, slithered around the table to where Ethan sat. Dulcy gathered her notes and smiled at Pete who approached her, stepping around Mr. Conners, who was still whining about the upcoming promotion.

“Well, that was an interesting meeting,” Pete murmured in her ear.

“Aren’t they all?” She turned and headed toward the door, Pete directly behind her. “I’m stopping by the break room for a soda. Want to go with me?”

He held the door open for her. “Sure. Had to skip lunch today to work on that new program. And I want to know what all that was between you and the boss man during the meeting. ”

* * * *

Ethan silently fumed when Dulcy and Anderson slipped away at the end of the meeting. When Marcy Williams approached him, he realized it would be a good way to allow his hormones to settle. Standing up in front of your executives with a boner wasn’t the way to win any respect.

Talking to Ms. Williams was the best way to cool his libido. She was an attractive redhead with a great body and a quick mind. She was the type of woman who would be happy with a relationship that included dinner and sex, no attachments. Usually his type of woman. But she left him cold. Her green eyes were a little too calculating and he knew she thought sleeping with him would get her ahead with the company. Before coming to MacMillan, he would have been happy to take what she offered. Instead, he found himself drawn to Dulcy, with her innocent eyes and sinful body.