Make Your Move - By Samantha Hunter Page 0,58

say the words?

Because it wasn’t about loving him. She’d loved him forever, but once she said those words, in the way he wanted to hear them, they were forever.

They’d been friends for years, but lovers only for a short time. What about when the passion faded? What if she fell short, or disappointed him or he changed his mind…what would she do then?

Her eyes drifted over the degrees and awards on the walls, his publications. The shelves of books, all of which he’d probably read. Would she be enough for him, forever? Would love be enough? She’d never been in a long-term relationship before, never thought about her future with a man—maybe marriage, a family—and all of these insecurities were new. She needed more time.

“Jodie?” Dan said, sounding more concerned. Cowardice claimed her once again, and she backed off her declaration. Maybe she would wait until they were more alone. When she could fix up her hair, make a nice dinner, turn the lights down low. This was no way to say the most important thing she ever had to say to Dan. What had she been thinking?

Searching wildly for something to say, her mind kicked up an idea. Why hadn’t it occurred to her before?

She smiled ruefully. “Sorry, I was just lost in thought. It’s about Jason.”

Dan’s brow furrowed, his expression darkening. “What did he do now?”

“Oh, no, nothing. It’s more what I think we can do. I think there’s a way I could get him to confess if you can still get that bug, or whatever it is. If you’re willing?”

Dan stepped away, walking farther from the door, back toward his desk, motioning to her to join him.

“I thought we were done with that? I passed his proposal up to the committee with an alternate suggestion this morning, and it will take some time to hear, but…”

“You know that will never be good enough for him. What if they refuse him, anyway? He’ll always hold this over our heads unless we do something to expose him. We need to get that leverage you were talking about, and I think I know how to do it.”

Dan pinched the bridge of his nose, and nodded. “Okay, what did you have in mind?”

“I’ll call him, ask him to meet me. I can tell him that I made a mistake, or that I’m willing to do anything for him to not hurt the business. Try to…well, you know, flirt a little and see if I can get him to confess. If he does, we’ll have what we need.”

Dan’s frown carved deeper into his expression. “No, I don’t like it. I don’t want you having to do that, to get that close to him.”

“Dan, I really want to. While he’s blackmailing you, he’s using me, and my business, to do it. You know me, Dan. You know I’m not one to sit on the sidelines,” she said, convincing herself of the plan she’d thought of only seconds before.

If she and Dan had a future together, she was going to start fighting for it now. They could handle Jason, together.

Dan paused, watching her closely, then nodded. “Okay, I guess I understand how you would want to do this. But I worry about you getting hurt.”

Jodie shook her head. “I don’t think he’s dangerous, not in the physical sense. He’s slimy, but he doesn’t seem like the violent type. Besides, you and your friend could be close by, anyway.”

“I think you’re right,” he said, and started to sound excited about her plan, too. “Let me talk to Kevin. It shouldn’t be difficult to set up. Meet Jason in a public place, though.”

“I’ll meet him at the bakery,” she agreed.

“That does have a certain poetic justice to it.”

She hugged him then, soaking up his scent, his warmth.

“This will work, I know it.”

“I hope so,” Dan said, his arms coming around and holding her close. “I really do.”

13

THINGS FELL INTO PLACE more quickly than she imagined.

The next evening, Jodie took a deep breath, squaring her jaw and reminding herself that she was perfectly safe. She’d felt a bit braver in Dan’s office the day before, when this had been hypothetical, but now it was all real.

Dan and his friend Kevin were just a few yards down the street in a car, watching and listening, and they would be in the door quickly if there was a serious problem.

She’d called Jason from Dan’s office, asked him to meet her here at the bakery. It had taken all of