thought so, too, but didn’t want to say anything until I researched it some more. But since you came in here and asked about engineering technology, I figured I’d share what I had gathered up so far. It seems Arrington gave Ellison the order not to work on the design any longer.”
“You are thorough.”
“Thanks, but there are still unanswered questions...like who gave Arrington the right to make such a call.”
“But you will figure things out,” he said smoothly.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” She checked her watch and pushed back her chair to stand. “Time for me to leave. I promised myself that I would be out of here by eight.” She crossed the room to the coatrack, got her jacket and slid it on.
He stood as well, his body tall and trim. “I see you’re not skipping lunch every day like you used to, and that’s good.”
“Melissa is kind enough to make sure I order in something every day.”
He smiled. “Then I’m grateful for Melissa.”
She walked back over to the desk to get her purse and couldn’t stop the feeling of her body simmering, getting hyped, tortured by the sight of him standing there, tall, handsome, legs braced apart with hands in his pockets. “You’re about to leave, as well?” She hoped not. The thought of them sharing another elevator ride was too much.
“In another hour or so. There are a few things I still need to wrap up before I leave. Have big plans for the weekend?”
She thought of Charles. After she had time to think about it, she’d figured it had been for the best that they hadn’t hooked up last weekend. She had been prepared to use him to forget about the man standing in front of her. “No plans so far. I’m planning to have a quiet and restful weekend,” she said, thinking that she planned to relax, lie around and finish the novel she’d been reading. “What about you?”
He eased his hands out of his pockets. The casual motion seemed seamlessly controlled. “I’ll be going through my grandfather’s belongings...giving most of the items to Goodwill.”
She nodded, thinking it would probably be a tough task for him to do. On more than one occasion, she had heard him speak of his grandfather, and it was easy to see the two had a close relationship. “Will Dalton help you?”
“No, I doubt it’s something he could handle,” Jace said with a pensive expression on his face. “Although he and the old man butted heads more times than I care to remember, they were both good at hiding their true feelings.”
She tilted her head to the side, considering what he said. Her father had once accused her of doing the same thing. Not with him, since with her father she was known to demonstrate an overabundance of affection, but with the men she dated. He claimed she tended to be on her guard. But the way she looked at it, no woman wanted to get burned twice.
“Shana?”
When Jace said her name, he forced those thoughts to the back of her mind. “Yes?”
“Can you give me an estimate of how much longer you think Granger Aeronautics will be your client?”
She weighed what he’d asked. “Why?”
“Because I need to know.”
As far as she was concerned, his response wasn’t good enough. Had he gotten it into his head that once her work with his company was finished that would mean a green light for some sort of tryst with her? She had never slept with any of her clients, while she worked for them or after her work with them was done. They had maintained a business relationship. And things with him would be no different.
Shana placed her purse on her desk while thinking exactly what he suspected she was thinking—that his question had irked her. “I think I need to get a few things straight, Jace. That kiss was just a kiss. It was not a prelude to anything more, not during or after my work here is finished, and I don’t appreciate your assuming it was,” she said in a tone that didn’t disguise her annoyance.
“And was it just a kiss?”
“Yes. Let’s move on. Like I said, it was just a kiss. I’ve had plenty of them in my day, and I’m sure you have, as well.”
He took a step closer to her. “Can you look me in the face and tell me you felt nothing?”
Anger surged within her. What was he trying to get her to say, and