Legally Addicted - By Lena Dowling Page 0,33

Brad was willing to ever speak to her again, after she had done a runner.

But right now she had to finish this report and there was so much she wanted to say, but the board members were all busy people so it needed to be short and pithy. That wasn’t easy when the brain wasn’t keen to cooperate. In the end, she decided on a series of dot points and was halfway through setting out all the reasons for supporting the addiction centre when a familiar voice made her jump.

‘Doing a spot of multi-tasking?’

Georgia’s concentration had been compromised enough just thinking about Brad, without him turning up in person and making things worse. But it’s not like she hadn’t been expecting him. She took the pen out of her mouth and tilted her head back to see over the top of the high reception desk and to meet his maddeningly composed features. His dark eyes glazed over with something she couldn’t identify. Irritation? Concern? Interest? Lust?

Focus, Georgia.

‘I’m working on the proposal for the addiction centre,’ she said, opting to zero in on anything other than what had happened between them at the beach house.

‘Good. I was hoping you’d formalise your ideas. I would be keen to have a look at it before you submit it to the board. That way we can shape it up into something that I can put my support behind before it gets put to the vote.’ He looked at his watch. ‘Let’s talk more after the board meeting,’ he said, heading for the corridor that led to the shelter’s meeting room.

Wow, that was easy.

She had been expecting to have to dig deep and turn on the charm, apologise for her behaviour at the weekend, and then cajole, using all available feminine resources to persuade Brad to get behind her proposal. Instead, he had practically given it the green light without even reading it. A pity, because getting horizontal with him again in the interests of charity was almost worth risking a replay for.

Still, it was probably for the best, she thought, pulling up on the wicked thoughts before they took her into a tailspin. Any more hot sex with Brad, and she would be in serious trouble. Miriam might think a relationship with Brad was worth jeopardising her career over, but she had come too far to lose everything she had worked for now. All they had done was to have a little simple uncomplicated fun — what was wrong with that?

Fun was all very well, but the worrying thing was that Brad’s openness at the beach house had really gotten to her. Something about seeing him as a normal person, along with the contrast of those brief flashes of vulnerability against his otherwise confident persona, was a major turn-on.

It made no sense, but she couldn’t spend any more time worrying about it. The report in front of her needed attention.

It was a quiet night for admissions, and after checking in a couple of the shelter’s regular clients, Georgia eventually lost herself in her work, managing to synthesise the key points from the research literature into what she hoped was a persuasive pitch. She had almost finished proofing the document when Brad reappeared in the reception area. Caro was at his side, rattling off a series of arrangements that sounded like catering and seating plans.

From Brad’s bored expression she guessed their conversation was about the upcoming fundraiser. Not at all interested in Caro’s natterings about table configurations or whether she should choose prawns over oysters for the starter, Georgia concentrated hard on making the last of the corrections to her report.

‘I’m sure the evening will go off without a hitch. It sounds to me as if you have everything in hand.’

A note of exasperation in Brad’s voice dragged Georgia’s attention back to the conversation going on in front of her. Brad backed away from Caro, but for every step he took back, she advanced. Brad was trying to wind up the conversation, while Caro prattled on.

‘Now, about that tour you promised me, Georgia. Caro, you wouldn’t mind looking after the reception desk would you? I’ve asked Georgia to show me around.’

He shot her a glance reminiscent of the beagle-eyed look he’d given her at the board meeting.

She had never offered Brad a guided tour. He had obviously dreamed that up on the spot to escape Caro’s tentacles. Still, she’d had enough difficult conversations with the woman to have some sympathy for his position. So long