An Unforgettable Lady(39)

As soon as her anger dissipated, she was sorry she'd snapped at him. Under normal circumstances, she wasn't prone to losing her temper. Clearly, the stress was wearing her down.

That and being around him. Even though he was quiet, she found him agitating.

Grace took a deep breath. "I know Lamont is going to blow this problem way out of proportion. He's probably calling Bainbridge right now. It's like I can't get a break around here."

She leaned back in the chair and stared at her father's bust. Had things been this tough for him? If they had, he'd never shown it.

"And the worst of it is, Lou's right. This is really bad timing. I don't have any idea where I’m going to find something that important to auction off."

The intercom buzzed.

"Yes?"

"Your mother's calling."

Wincing, Grace felt like she'd been put back into a headlock.

"Terrific," she muttered. When she picked up the receiver, her voice was light and cheerful. "Hello, Mummy. Tonight. Of course, I'd love to. Yes. Eight? Right. Bye-bye."

She hung up the phone. When she looked up, she gave him a tired smile. "You ever feel like just screaming out loud?"

Before he could respond, Kat buzzed again with another call.

The day passed in a blur of meetings and paperwork and people who wanted things from her. There was nothing unusual about it except that everything was complicated by Smith.

Even though he was silent, his presence affected her and everyone else. The men tended to be subdued around him, as if they were intimidated by his presence. The women had the same reaction Kat had. One look at him and they became all wide-eyed and fussy. It got to the point that Grace could time when the surreptitious check of the hair would happen.

And she knew she'd better get used to the floor show when the Hall Foundation's general counsel, a woman who took the term sturdy to a whole new level, came in for a meeting. Sitting across from Smith, the dour paragon of serious behavior let out a girlish giggle like nothing anyone had heard come out of her mouth before.

Frankly, it had been hard not to stare. Who knew she even had the estrogen in her?

But the truth was, Grace got a little irritated watching women fall all over themselves while trying to get Smith's attention. At least he never seemed to notice and that was probably why they worked so hard at it. His eyes never dwelled too long or inappropriately on any of them, even when one of the staff accountants removed her jacket and pushed her big breasts out in his direction.

At that moment, the idea of being totally autocratic and firing the Betty Page wannabe was very attractive, but Grace let it go.

And she refused to dwell on the implications of her passing impulse. Delving into why she was having a territorial reaction wasn't going to do her any good. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like the answer.

Fortunately, it had been the last meeting of the day.





chapter

9





When they returned to the penthouse in the early evening, Grace quickly changed into a short black dress. She'd grabbed a thick wrap and was heading out of the door when Smith put on his leather jacket.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"With you."

She started shaking her head, resolutely. "Oh, no. You simply can't."

His brow rose as he gave her a bored look.

"How am I going to explain to my mother what you are?"

"I think I do a damn good impression of a human," he replied lazily.

Grace put a hand up to her forehead. "Forgive me, I didn't mean it like that. I just don't know what I'll say to her."

"How about the truth?"

She shook her head fiercely. "I couldn't possibly.”

"You couldn't possibly tell your own mother that you have a bodyguard to keep you safe?”

"She doesn't know about ..." She waved her hand around. "Any of this. My mother and I aren't exactly close.”

Smith's eyes narrowed on her engagement ring. "And you haven't told her about the divorce, either, have you?"

Grace frowned, wishing he wasn't so observant or incisive. It made her wonder what other clues he'd picked up about her. Did he know how often she thought about him?

"Why does that matter?"

"It doesn't."

"So why did you bring it up?" Her voice was turning toward the hot side of disagreeable but she couldn't help herself. Smith had the ability to goad her into anger faster than anybody she'd ever met. It was almost as if he liked getting her in a bad humor.