Conflict of Interest - By Allyson Lindt Page 0,9

no response, he frowned and turned completely toward Mr. G4M3G0D. “Scott,” he said louder. “Are you two done?”

Mr. G4M3G0D pulled his attention from the petite blonde the second time Zach called his name.

“My fault.” The shorter woman broke away from Scott. She flashed Kenzie an apologetic smile, squeezed Zach’s hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and then made her way toward the elevator.

Kenzie’s gut sank. This was her potential client? The guy who made his jacket-covered, Linux T-shirt look like something that belonged in a GQ photo shoot? The gorgeous stranger who had haunted her thoughts all weekend?

“This is Ms. Carter,” Zach introduced them.

“Kenzie, please.” She extended her hand. His grip was firmer than she remembered, sending a pleasant tremor through her. She pushed the thought aside. This was business, he was probably attached, and that had been a one-time thing. Or really not even a thing.

“Beautiful name.” Scott’s smirk was the same as she remembered. “Shall we?” He stepped aside and gestured.

If he was going to pretend it had never happened, she could do the same. Whether or not she wanted to shake the frigid shell, a potential client wasn’t the right place to do it.

They led her toward a conference room, once again with a glass wall, leaving it fully exposed to the world. A round table sat in the center of the room, and there was barely enough space for the four chairs around it. The seats were like almost everything else in the office so far: black, overstuffed, and straight out of a catalog.

Scott gestured to one. “Have a seat.”

She sat across from them, mentally summoning the appropriate version of her pitch for the intimate setting and planning marketing and media visuals to pluck from her bag when the time was right. She told her nervous energy to stop, that this was just any other presentation. But it wasn’t listening.

She exchanged a few more pleasantries and then dove into her pitch. The impassive faces staring back at her were unnerving, but she’d been through it before. Potential clients who thought they had the perfect poker face and wouldn’t let on whether or not they were impressed until all was said and done.

She explained who her clients were, some of the better-known executives she’d worked with, everything she knew from heart but could make sound enthusiastic and genuine.

And then Scott laid his arms on the table and dropped his forehead on top.

Zach elbowed him.

Scott jerked upright again, one eyebrow raised, and slumped back in his seat.

Kenzie clenched her jaw but kept talking. Part of her wanted to walk out right then. There was no way she was getting—or wanted—this contract, but pride wouldn’t let her give up. She had to at least put on a good show.

*

“Blah, blah, blah.”

That was all Scott heard. He watched her talk, pink-glossed lips accentuating every word with perfection. He struggled to keep his expression neutral as his thoughts drifted to what she could do with those amazing lips.

Like every other person they’d seen that morning, she was reciting a bunch of meaningless tripe that only made sense if someone wasn’t paying attention.

Which, at that point, he was trying not to do. She looked good, though. Her suit highlighted every curve at least as well as her jeans had. He could still feel her slender figure under his hands. Hear her breathing, her gasps. He blinked and shook his head, forcing the memories away, and tried to focus on the presentation again.

But it wasn’t as much fun as the fantasies. This professional version of her was everything he’d been afraid she was before they’d talked. He dropped his head into his arms.

Zach elbowed him sharply.

Scott rolled his eyes, leaned back in his chair instead, arms crossed, and exhaled. “Is there a reason you haven’t kicked this one out yet?” he whispered.

“I’m sorry, is there a problem, gentlemen?” Ice lined Kenzie’s question.

Zach’s lips drew into a thin line.

“Not at all. I was hoping you could answer a question for me.” Scott gave her his biggest grin.

Her smile didn’t look as happy. “Of course.”

He’d asked everyone else the same thing and had yet to get a satisfactory answer. “Tell me something about your company we can’t get off the website.”

She paused, her fingers twitched on the table, and then her smile slid back into place, and her blue eyes locked on his. “We go above and beyond to get the job done. We can make even the most dysfunctional couple look