believe that her reputation preceded her, he would go with a more simplistic approach. “The talent in Todd’s group is better, he’s ready to retire and I wanted to move ahead quickly. Other firms might not be as amenable to a fast-paced change, but since Todd was already past retirement age, everyone on your team seemed to be anticipating someone else taking over.”
“You realize the person we all expected to take over was Mark Peterson, right?”
Drake nodded. “I’ve already tagged him as a problem issue.”
She was curious, “What are you going to do to neutralize him?” As soon as she said that, she realized what she’d said and how it might come across. More specifically, how it could remind him of that painful period in his past. Her father had repeatedly used the term neutralize when there was a threat. “Neutralize” in organized crime lingo meant “get rid of the guy – permanently”.
“Do you always talk about work in order to avoid personal problems?” he asked, more curious than ever. She was sitting on the bar stool looking like she was ready to bolt and the only thing keeping her in place was his cooking. She was pretty cute when she peered over the counter to try and see what he was slicing up. She’d never figure it out since it was all going into a pan. But he enjoyed her attempts since, whenever she leaned forward, her silk blouse fell open slightly and he could see the soft, perfect swells of her breasts. Once he even spied the lace of her bra.
“I thought this whole dinner thing was about me asking questions about work.” She hid her face behind her glass as she took another sip of her wine.
He chuckled and tossed in some crushed garlic. “No you didn’t. You know exactly what this dinner is about and it has nothing to do with work.”
Her hand halted halfway to her mouth, the cracker and dip completely forgotten as she watched him, his eyes heating up with anticipation. “I came here because…”
Drake spread his arms out, bracing them on the countertop as he looked into her eyes, not letting her mis-read the message he was trying to convey. “Because we’re both attracted to each other and you wanted to get to know me better.”
She shook her head, but something in her stomach tightened in a very exciting way, a trembling began that she didn’t completely understand. “I don’t…”
“Stop right there, Sierra,” he said firmly, turning the knife so it was laying safely on the wooden cutting board. “You need to be completely honest here. I can see you trembling and I know that you’re just as affected as I am by our closeness.”
“No…” she started to say, only to have him shake his head.
“I understand that something is holding you back from enjoying the fire that’s quickly burning us both up. So I’ll give you space until you give me an indication that you’re ready. But until then, don’t even try to deny this thing between us. I won’t buy it.”
He picked up his knife again and finished off the red peppers he’d been dicing.
Sierra swallowed, unsure how to respond. She wanted desperately to just run away but there wasn’t anywhere to hide.
He didn’t let her talk about work any longer. He asked her questions about her personal life, about her school and why she’d chosen to become an architect. The pasta was finished and he drained it all in the sink, then turned off the heat underneath the sauce. “This looks done,” he finally said, smiling because she kept nibbling at the crackers and dip. He carried two plates filled with pasta and a rich, creamy tomato sauce over to the table near the fireplace. “Can you bring the wine?” he asked, putting her plate on the table.
All through dinner, he had her laughing at his antics as he grew up and they both shared hilarious stories about different requests clients had made over the years. Sierra relaxed for the first time that night, feeling wonderful with the amazing food and the delicious wine, not to mention his dark, sexy eyes laughing with her. It also helped that he was across the table from her. The solid wood gave her a slight sense of security from his unrelenting sexual appeal that she was finding very difficult to ignore.
“Dinner was delicious,” she said, picking up her plate so she could bring it to the kitchen.
“Don’t worry about that,” he said,