Conflict of Interest - By Allyson Lindt Page 0,21
the house if she thought she could get away with it. “A glass of the house white wine.”
Scott raised an eyebrow, gaze lingering on her as he spoke. “Coke for me.”
“I’ll be back soon,” Tanya assured them.
Scott glanced at his phone as soon as she was gone. “It’s noon. I’m already driving you to drink?”
Kenzie tried to keep her expression neutral. She wasn’t going to let him get to her. “You’re lecturing me on what is and isn’t appropriate?”
He rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Some of us like people the way they are.”
Had she wounded him? No, the sharp edge in his stare screamed challenge. She pushed back anything else it made her think, like that stern jaw and hard mouth sliding down her throat. “I like you just fine.” Her voice was firm. “But sometimes you have to play by other people’s rules to get things done.”
“Right, of course.” He looked like he wanted to say something else, but his clenched jaw kept any words from coming out.
She needed to change the subject to something he wasn’t dead set against. They could work more on his behavior in public when he wasn’t already on the defensive. “Are you free all afternoon?”
He relaxed and leaned forward, posture casual. “I’ve cleared my calendar just for you.”
She didn’t know if that was enticing or just arrogant. Or maybe both. She forced her demeanor to stay neutral. “Great. I was thinking we’d go shopping. Get you something more appropriate to wear to business meetings.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to show me how to dress.” It wasn’t a question.
She pursed her lips. “It’s not like I’m going to throw out your jeans, though if you’ve got any that are rattier than that, you probably can’t wear them in public anyway. You just need a couple of Oxfords and some slacks for when it’s appropriate.” She kept the tailored suit suggestion to herself. One step at a time.
“Of course.” He winked at her. “When do we play My Fair Lady?” His voice grew shrill. “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.” He enunciated every word, drawing another round of glares from nearby tables.
A musical reference. That held promise. But his delivery wasn’t doing it for her. She lowered her voice, leaning over the table and growling. “Stop. You need to learn how to behave in public instead of acting like a spoiled frat boy with a trust fund.”
“So sorry.” His playful expression vanished, and his lips clamped shut.
He genuinely looked wounded. Why had she said that? And if he stopped listening, how was she going to get her point across?
An awkward silence descended over them. When the waitress brought out their appetizer, Scott was just as friendly and brash as before, and Kenzie wanted to plug her fingers in her ears and crawl under the table at the graphic conversation about breast feeding and pumping.
Tanya left, and Scott sighed. He dipped a battered piece of squid in sauce and chewed thoughtfully. He nodded at the bar. “See the bottles lining the back wall?”
Kenzie glanced at the multicolored glass for a brief second and then went back to staring at her plate. “Yes.”
“Michele—the man who owns the bar—collects them. Every time he visits a new city or country, he makes it a point to find a gorgeous wine bottle, something unique, to add to his collection. He’s got killer stories about every one of them.”
Kenzie wanted to ask more, but fear of saying the wrong thing again kept her from diving into the conversation. She wanted to do playful banter and get her job done at the same time. Was that too much to ask? “They’re very pretty.”
Scott shrugged. “Are you going to have any calamari?”
She shook her head.
“You’re not allergic are you? You should have said something.”
“I’m not allergic.”
He nodded toward a side window. It faced an alley lined with cars. Several plant boxes decorated the bottom of the plate glass, diluting the ugliness on the other side.
“Do you like the flowers?” he asked.
What was he doing? “They’re flowers. They’re pretty enough.”
Her lack of input didn’t seem to deter him. “The fuchsia ones only bloom for about a week, and always this time of year. They’ve always been one of my favorites. Bright and vibrant and not afraid to take a stand when it’s time, fading back when it’s someone else’s turn.”
She studied his face, looking for some sort of hint that he was trying to tell her something,