Chapter 3

att nearly laughed aloud when Virginia blinked at him for several tense seconds as if she was trying to ferret out the deeper meaning of his words. He could tell the moment she'd brushed his comment aside, as if it was a joke, by the subtle shake of her head. He wanted to grab hold of her and shake her. She was a brilliant woman, but for some reason, she always chose to play dumb when it came to his obvious flirting and veiled comments.

He knew she saw the look in his eyes and understood the meaning of his words, and yet she pretended as if she didn't.

"We need to start on this now," he said moving toward the door to her old office. "I will grab an extra chair from—"

"Oh no. I'm not working here on a Saturday anymore. Again, you forget I am no longer an employee." She pulled out a notepad from her desk drawer and like two days before she scribbled something down for him. "Here is my address." She handed him the piece of paper and brushed past him to the door. "Bring all the files and your laptop. We'll work on it there," she said. And without asking him if that was alright, she flung open her old door, walked through and, slammed it behind her.

He quirked his lips into a grin, not even the tiniest bit perturbed by her arrogance. This was playing out better than even he could have ever imagined. Virginia, in her home, alone, on a Saturday. No, even better—for the next two weeks. It was perfect.

****

Matt slowed down his black Lexus LS to a crawl and listened to the next instructions from his GPS. He whipped his car to the right to make the indicated turn and then picked up speed when he realized he had another half a mile before his next turn.

He glanced around at the spacious grounds of the luxury homes that stretched before him. With a home nestled in the exclusive Winmark gated community of Buckhead, he knew Virginia lived extremely well. He turned off of Peachtree onto Northside Road and drove for another mile until he pulled up to a uniformed security guard who stood beside a large iron gate.

He handed the guard his license and waited for him to check his name against the Visitor's List. He half expected the guard would hand him back his license and tell him to get lost. If Virginia wanted to, she could have easily returned home, locked herself away, and refused to take any of his calls. It wasn't like he could force her to either. He'd lied to her. No Newton authorities would be banging on her door anytime soon, ever for that matter. As soon as she'd left her office Thursday, he'd backed up the account on his external hard drive and a CD before erasing her files. The account was still there, not stolen, not lost—just hidden.

He loosened his grip on his steering wheel and relaxed when the guard opened the gate and nodded for him to go through. He pressed his foot down on the accelerator. Virginia had not called his bluff after all. He was in!

It took him just two more minutes to pull into the circular driveway of her large three-story home. The white brick shimmered under the soft rays of the sunlight, as the lush green lawn of her front yard sparkled like a field of shiny emeralds. The exterior of her home was beautiful, warm, and inviting. Much like the owner, although she did her best not to show it.

He piled out of his sedan and grabbed the bag he'd stuffed full of jump drives and manila folders. With the bag slung over his shoulder he strolled to her front door and rang the bell.

He'd barely drawn in a full breath when the door opened. She stood there dressed in the same yellow tank top and snug-fitting ripped jeans she'd worn to the office.

His jaw had dropped when she'd stormed into her old office in the unexpected attire. He knew she was in her early forties, but she looked refreshingly vivacious in the hip clothing that was so different from her drab suits, which she only occasionally abandoned for something a little more flamboyant and daring like the dress she'd worn on the day he'd first met her. But again that was rare. He liked her in her casual outfit. For one, he could see more of her lush figure as the top scooped down to hug her full breasts and the jeans rode dangerously low on her hips to reveal just the hint of bare skin. Her hair had been loose when she'd arrived earlier and he thought she looked beautiful with it down because it framed her lovely face. He was disappointed to see that she'd pulled it back into a ponytail and donned her infamous glasses. He was certain that if it hadn't been a Saturday she probably would have changed into a suit just out of habit.

"Here, come in." She stepped aside to let him in before closing the door behind him. That's when he noticed the pale pink polish on her tiny toes. A smile flashed across his face. Now that was unexpected. Who knew the uptight vice prez had a softer side after all?

He followed her through the spacious walkway of her home toward her office. He was sure the interior décor was just as lovely as the exterior of her home, but he didn't see any of it because his gaze stayed glued to the lush roundness of her ass that filled out her jeans perfectly.

His eyes snapped to her face just in time to meet her gaze when she abruptly spun around to point to her left. "The bathroom and kitchen are that way. If you need something just help yourself."

Despite the innocence of her words, he was forced to gulp down a deep breath when tingles of pleasure shot straight to his cock. He wanted to help himself to something alright, but it was certainly not down that hallway.

They rounded a sharp corner and walked into a large home office that rivaled her space at work. And like her work office, Virginia had everything from a fax machine to a paper shredder tucked away in a neat and tidy fashion. He bit back a grin. She was just so organized. He wondered what it would take to rumple her feathers and her carefully ordered life.

"You can put everything right there." She gestured to a sturdy glass coffee table on the other side of her desk.

He nodded and began to pull everything from the bag he'd carried inside. Flipping open his laptop, he took a seat on the couch behind the table. He sat there, his lips twisting into a slight frown as he stared back at the computer screen. He didn't relish the thought of working on an account that technically was already done, but then he glanced across the room and honed in on the reason why he was there in the first place.

He cracked the knuckles in his fingers and stretched out his hands. This was going to be a rough two weeks of endless work, but he comforted himself with the knowledge that it would be worth it to spend most of it with Virginia. Then he pushed his cursor across his screen, clicked on the files he needed, and hunkered down for a long day of work.

*****

Virginia pulled off her glasses and with the same hand stifled a yawn. She glanced at the clock against the wall—12:13. It was past midnight. They'd been working for over twelve straight hours and they hadn't even made a dent in pulling together the account. She reached up and massaged her sore neck, releasing a weary sigh. She couldn't believe she had to spend the next two weeks of her life working on a stupid account she'd finished months ago. It was just so frustrating. Closing her eyes, she leaned back in her chair, rotating her neck in a slow circle.

"Is your neck sore?"

She snapped her eyelids open and stared back at Steve, a tiny smile on her face.

"A little," she shrugged, dropping her hand from her neck.

"Here, let me see if I can help," he said, standing to his feet.

Her eyes widened. "Oh, no. You don't have to do that," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

A grin tugged at the corners of his lips as he crossed the room in three easy strides.

"It's no problem," he said coming to stop directly behind her. "Here, let me see," he murmured, his large hands settling against her shoulders.

She suppressed the urge to stiffen when his warm palms began to stroke her bare skin. Tiny flickers of heat spread across her back, down her spine, and straight to her nipples. She gasped when they suddenly tightened, and she instantly jerked away.

"I—that's good. I—it feels better already," she stammered as she pushed out of her chair to rocket to her feet.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his brows lifting above searching eyes.

"Of course. Thanks for the massage," she hastily murmured, flashing him a weak smile.

He studied her for several moments in silence, his blue gaze intense as he focused solely on her. The scrutiny unnerved her and for some reason, she felt nervous. She moved to step around him but stopped when his arm shot out to block her path.

She glanced down at his arm and then up at his face. At the same time he lifted his other hand to remove her glasses.

"You know, you have beautiful eyes, but it is hard to tell when you wear these things," he said softly.

She blinked at him for just a moment before she instantly gathered herself together. She didn't know what he was up to but she was too old for whatever game he was playing. "Well, at my age it is more important to be able to see than to look good," she said tersely, and held out her hand for her glasses.

He shook his head as if to say he wasn't returning them. "You're not old and I think you look good with or without them—beautiful actually."

A curious warmth swirled in her belly, but she pushed it aside. Steve had never shown the slightest interest in her before and now all of a sudden he was flirting with her. Well, she wasn't buying it.

"Look Steve, I don't know what you're up to, but as long as we're working on—"

She stopped when he abruptly reached behind her head and unfastened her hair clip to release her hair so that it fell in soft waves to her shoulders. She was so stunned by his actions that she stood there speechless.

"I also think you look lovely with your hair down. But again, I just prefer you that way. You look beautiful no matter how you wear it."

She took a step back but was forced to stop when she backed into her desk. Steve was acting so strange and she was at a loss. She lifted her hand to press her palm against his chest and almost regretted her actions when she felt the subtle bulge of muscle ripple beneath her hand. She met his gaze with wide eyes but froze at the look on his face. It was desire? She had to force herself not to gasp. He was a handsome man, but he was young—too young. And now with the late hour, he was probably feeling—she blanked—she didn't know what it was he was feeling but she did know that he needed to take his strange behavior and go.

"It's getting late and I'm tired. I think it's time for you to go." Desperately needing to put some space between them, she moved to duck around him, but didn't manage to get far when his arm snaked around her waist and he dragged her up against his body.

Her eyes rounded and she flattened her hands against his chest to push him away. "What are you—"

She should have known from the devilish gleam in his eyes that he was up to something, but when he dipped his head to press his lips against hers, there was no longer any doubt.

She gasped in surprise as she stood there frozen, but that was a big mistake. As soon as she parted her lips, he swept inside, his tongue teasing the moist flesh of her mouth as he stroked it around, coaxing her to surrender. He didn't have to wait long. Shocks of warm pleasure skated across her skin and warmth pooled at her hot center as every nerve in her body crackled with energy. She closed her eyes, twisted her arms behind his neck and simply melted against him as her body disintegrated into one big mass of jelly. Wet heat gushed from inside her to dampen her panties when he cupped her ass and drew her closer to the temptation of his lengthening cock. A sigh of pleasure tore past her lips and she rocked her hips against him, causing him to grow harder against her belly.

Lost so deep in the euphoria of his kiss, it took her a second to realize he'd unfastened her jeans and was already tugging down the zipper. From somewhere deep inside of her she tapped into that buried well of reserve willpower and found the strength to wrench her lips from his and push him away.

His face was flushed as he stood there panting. She was sure she looked pretty much the same. Even now her lips still tingled with the taste of him. "You need to go," she rasped out breathlessly, but her tone was firm.

He opened his mouth to protest but instantly closed it, apparently glimpsing the steely look in her eyes. He dipped his head in a slight nod, seeming to accept her words. But he didn't move as a lopsided grin slowly spread across his face.

*

"I never even thought to ask you this before I kissed you, but are you single?" he said sheepishly.

She coughed nervously as her gaze dotted around the room, landing on everything but him. "Um, I don't see how that is important—"

He crinkled his forehead as he frowned, ignoring her flippant brush-off. "It's very important to me. I need to know if you are taken before I invest any more time in this and possibly make a fool of myself if I haven't already."

She drew back slightly, her hands curling into fists against her hips as her eyes began to simmer with fury. "Invest more time in this? You make it sound like it's a chore. I guess you're referring to getting to know me, or something, but for the record, you haven't invested any time in doing that. And that kiss certainly doesn't count," she snapped.

Was she crazy? He'd been trying to get to know her for two years! His nostrils flared and his own temper began to take root. He knew it wasn't wise to argue with the woman you were actively courting—or trying to, but he chalked his stupidity up to sleep deprivation.

"Getting to know you is all I've been trying to do from the day I met you, but woman you are a hard person to get to know. With your Ice Bitch routine it has been virtually impossible –no, make that completely impossible." Steve instantly regretted his harsh words when a wounded look flashed in her eyes. He opened his mouth to apologize but never got the chance when her pained expression immediately disappeared and was replaced by the cold, hard woman he was so used to seeing every day at work.

"If I'm such a bitch then why would you even want to get to know me? And besides, did you ever once consider that this Ice Bitch routine isn't a routine at all. I know it may be hard for you to believe, but maybe I'm not interested in getting to know you," she shot back.

He gritted his teeth together, before closing the distance between them, to grasp her by the arms and drag her flush against his muscled frame, ignoring her shocked expression.

I know what you're doing but it won't work. It would be so easy for you to push me away and have me walk out that door. You probably do that with a lot of men and it works—"

"That's ridiculous. Now let go of—"

"I just want to know if you're available Virginia because I want the chance to get to know you better."

Her eyes grew wider, if that was even possible. "A chance? Steve I am almost twice your age. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't even entertain the idea. You are far too young for me.".

He wanted to shake her. She wasn't even close to being twice his age. Still, their age difference was the obvious obstacle for her and he knew that she would use that as her first excuse. He also knew what some of the others would be so he laid them on the table before she could throw them up in his face.

"I guess I'm too white for you too. I know that's your next excuse. If you hadn't quit you could have used the fact that I was your new boss as a good one. I think that one would have actually had some merit," he mocked. "What else? Am I too tall? Too inexperienced? Too—"

"I get it okay," she bit out. "Steve, this is ridiculous—"

"What is ridiculous about wanting to get to know you?"

She must have heard the soft plea in his voice because the fire seemed to go out of her and her brown eyes instantly softened. She shook her head. "Nothing, I guess," she said quietly. "I'm very flattered that you're interested in getting to know me, but you are a very young man and I am sure there are plenty of women your age that would suit you better."

His fingers tightened around her arms as he struggled not to let his irritation with her show on his face. Hadn't they just gone over this? He didn't need a lecture from her about their age difference.

"I'm sure there are a lot of women that would suit me just fine, but that has nothing to do with the question I asked you," he bit out. "Are you single Virginia, yes or no—yes or no," he repeated when she parted her lips to resume her protest.

"Yes, I'm single but—"

"Great. That's all I needed to know."