A Calculated Seduction(24)
“Well, you don’t have to worry about me. I don’t date people from work. We are attending together, just like Bill and I did for the last couple of years. There are details to check and I can’t do it all myself. Sometimes it helps to have the boss there. People jump faster for the boss than they do for an assistant.”
All three of them visibly relaxed and continued their meal as if the few tense moments had never appeared. But, as she drove home, she tried to shake the feeling they might be right. Her attraction to Ethan MacMillan was spiraling out of control. If she weren’t careful, she’d forget all her good intentions. Because, no matter how you cut it, good intentions didn’t keep you warm at night.
* * * *
The elevator dinged to a stop at Dulcy’s floor Monday morning. Wearily, she stepped into the brightly lit hallway and headed to her office. She’d lost more sleep Sunday night, the disturbing and uncomfortable chat at brunch the main problem.
She kept thinking of everything that had occurred between her and Ethan and that her stepmother and stepsisters could read her so well. When had it happened? When had she gone from infatuation to almost being in love with a man who clearly did not believe in commitment?
As she approached her office, she was surprised to find the light on. She wondered if Bill had stopped by again. He had retired a few months ago, but he seemed to be bored lately. That could be the only reason he’d show up early. When he was CEO, he was never here this early.
When she opened the door, she found the office empty, but a chair squeaked in Ethan’s office. Was Bill in Ethan’s office? With his memory loss of late, she worried about him.
She set her briefcase on her desk and wandered over to the door. Sitting behind the desk, a pair of reading glasses halfway down his nose, s at Ethan MacMillan. The same man who never made it to the office before eight in the morning.
She cleared her throat and he glanced up, looking over the top of his glasses. A slow, seductive smile curved his lips. Oh, God, he looked like a sexy professor. Her libido pulsed to life at the intimate look he gave her. Wet heat flooded her sex.
“Dulcy, I didn’t hear you come in. How are you this morning?”
His voice vibrated along her nerve endings. There was definitely something in it that spoke of a familiar relationship.
“Okay. Mr. MacMillan, what are you doing here this early?”
“Can’t the boss come in early?” he joked, but she recognized an underlying seriousness to the question. It confused her. It was as if he questioned her early morning habit.
“Of. . . of course you can come in early . You’ve just never been here this early before.”
She shifted from one foot to the other under his intense stare. Her nipples tightened against the lace of her bra. The silence stretched and she had the feeling he thought her guilty of something. Just what, she had no idea.
“Well, if you don’t need me.”
His eyes darkened with her statement, but he just shook his head. She hurried out the door. Work. That’s what she needed to get her mind off the man and his very large hands.
* * * *
Ethan stared at the closed door. His brain still wasn’t functioning. He had never been this wrapped up in a woman. It was making him stupid.
How the hell was he supposed to finish this investigation? He couldn’t think straight. She licked her lips and he was ready to throw his integrity out the window and beg for a night in her bed. It was disgusting and more than a little embarrassing. He could imagine sinking his cock deep into her tight, wet warmth. He threw his glasses on his desk and sighed.
After little sleep and more aggravating conversations with Todd, he was ready to give up. Whoever she was working with was crafty and had to have some idea they were onto them. If he forgot the investigation, he could have Dulcy. And that thought brought him back to reality.
What was the reason she came in early? Everything with the new computer program was fixed, and the Gala was pretty much done until they had the final head count.
No, the only motivation she would have to arrive at this hour would be to help her accomplice. And Ethan was determined she wouldn’t suffer for her naiveté́. He would do everything in his power to keep her out of jail. A little seduction was in order, and if her feelings were hurt in the process, well, that was better than jail, wasn’t it?
* * * *
Wednesday afternoon Dulcy eyed the pile of dresses sitting on the stool in the changing room of the department store Pete had dragged her to. He’d complained about each one she chose, and he only chose one—the only one left to try on. She slipped the black velvet over her head, wiggling to move the narrow skirt over her hips. After zipping it up, she put on her glasses and stared at her reflection.