her resolve to muster up a sexy enough tone to tempt him, but she’d just looked into Dan’s face and pretended she was talking to him, instead.
Now, it was actually happening.
She didn’t even feel the teensy listening device that Dan and Kevin had taped behind the barely-there bodice of her dress. It looked like a small mole, and wouldn’t come off even if touched. Kevin assured her he had a special remover, like for nail polish, that would take it off easily, later.
It was hard to believe the little device would pick up everything said within fifteen feet in any direction—the marvels of modern technology.
Amazing, she thought, as she considered the things that happened in Dan’s world. He really did operate on a level that was different than everyone else’s. But to her, he was merely the man she loved. It was killing her that she hadn’t had the courage to tell him, and she wanted to remedy that very soon.
When all of this was over, she would get past this emotional block, and let him know how she felt. She made that promise to herself as she punched in the security code and then slid her key into the lock. She stepped inside, turning around to look back out at the street.
Resisting the temptation to tip her chin and speak into the bug, she said, “Can you guys hear me? Everything’s working?”
She saw the headlights flash and knew that was the signal for A-okay.
“Well, he’s not here yet…I guess I’ll bait the trap a bit,” she said, wishing Jason would show up so she could get this over with.
She took the tote bag she’d brought with her to the back, turned on one of the lights over the desk where she worked on the books, and set out a few candles, a small vase of flowers. A bottle of wine and two glasses were next, and she plucked a few of the Passionate Hearts cookies from the refrigerator, arranging them on a plate. Not that she intended on taking one bite. No way.
It was as seductive as she was willing to be in the office space of her business, but it would help get her point across. While Jason was a jerk, he was a shrewd jerk, and she had to be as convincing as possible.
She slipped her coat off and felt strangely exposed in the flirty black dress she wore—a dress clearly meant to convey to any man that she wanted him to take it off. Normally such a thing didn’t bother her, but it did tonight. She wished sorely that Dan was the one she was setting the scene for, and that he would take the dress off.
Not that she had any intention of letting things go that far with Jason.
A soft knock at the front door made her jump, and she put a hand to her throat, steadying the real slamming of her pulse.
Jason waited by the door, his eyes raking up and down her body, taking in the dress, and she did her best to ignore the lascivious look. She smiled and welcomed him in, reminding herself that if she could get him to talk, she could end this all here and now. She was doing this for her and Dan, for their future, and that thought gave her confidence.
“Jason, I wasn’t sure you’d come,” she said, feigning relief. She closed the door behind them, only playing at locking it, and led him behind the counter, walking with a sexy sashay. She could almost feel his eyes on her backside as she did, and wrinkled her nose when he couldn’t see.
“I must admit, I was surprised by your call.” He held his distance. She could see in his face that while he couldn’t hide his lust, he was also suspicious. His eyes traveled around the room, taking in the scene as she intended him to.
“What’s this about?” he asked.
She sat on a wooden stool by the desk, and let the hem of the dress ride up higher.
“I bet you were surprised. But here’s the thing. I’m a practical girl. I know that you’re holding all of the cards. You could hurt the store, and frankly, I can’t let that happen.”
She took a breath, clenching her fingers to appear stressed and nervous—Dan told her Jason would notice such small physical cues, and they would convince him she was being sincere.
“Dan did pass your proposal to the committee, but there’s no guarantee that they will approve it,