about a week if everything went as planned.
It wouldn’t be cheap. The parts alone would cost a pretty penny.
Sarah took the news in stride. She gave a short nod and asked, “When can we start?”
“If we go through your Internet provider, it’ll probably take at least two weeks to get something scheduled.”
She shook her head, giving him pause. These days, she was wearing her dark brown hair cropped so it fell just below her jawline. The movement of her head sent it waving, drawing more attention to her long, slender neck. He remembered how she’d sighed when his lips had brushed against the sweet spot just below her ear.
His stomach clenched. Maybe he wasn’t as good at keeping it professional as he thought.
“I can request to be your tech, which might . . .” he trailed off because she was shaking her head again.
“We need to make this happen now. I realize we’d have to go around the usual way of things.”
“And break the protocol for contractors.”
She nodded. “You could do the work after hours. We’d be discreet. And,” a slow grin spread across those full lips, “I’m prepared to make it worth your while.”
It wouldn’t be the first job he’d taken off the books, but it would be the biggest. If the cable companies found out, they might take him off their preferred contractor list. But if the price was right, he’d risk it.
“I could maybe start tomorrow,” he said.
“You could start tonight.”
He held up a hand. “Look, I came here as a favor to my sister. You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“I do if you’re working for me.”
She was right. If he took this job, she would have every right to tell him what to do. It was a right she’d undoubtedly exercise. The question was if he could stand it.
As he stared down into those ice-blue eyes, his fingers once again itched to trace the curve of her neck. He knew then. He couldn’t take the job. He couldn’t work for the woman he still longed to hold even after she’d ripped his heart out.
“I appreciate your thinking of me.” He tucked the flashlight back in his belt. “I don’t think it’s going to work.”
Her eyes widened. She started to speak, but he shook his head. “I can give you a list of other contractors, but this isn’t going to happen.”
Before she changed his mind, he walked out the way he came.
Chapter Three
Well, that could’ve gone better.
Understatement of the year alert. That hadn’t gone well. In fact, Sarah mused silently to herself as she watched the elevator close behind Beck, the only way it could have gone worse was if the building had indeed caught fire as he’d suggested it might.
Then he’d left. Abruptly and with no reason leaving her to wonder what had changed so suddenly.
One minute he’d been outlining a work plan. The next, he’d been racing toward the elevator. He’d all but shouted, “Have a nice life,” without so much as sparing her a glance.
It didn’t make any sense. Just like it didn’t make any sense that her heart was still pounding in her ears. A remnant of the thrill her traitorous body had felt when he was within arm’s reach. And, oh, how she’d wanted to reach. Just to let her fingers run across his stubble once. To feel the dimple that formed on his chin whenever he smiled at her. That was all.
It was too much—much too much—to want from him. She knew that. She wanted the man to work for her for crying out loud. Any kind of physical contact between them would pass the boundary of right and wrong. More, she’d gone down that path before. It hadn’t ended well. Which was yet another understatement in what promised to be a long litany of them if she didn’t get better control of herself.
She was better than this. On most days, she was as implacable as an iron fortress. Focused on the task at hand and what steps needed to be taken to accomplish her goals. Not today, it seemed. She could chalk it up to nerves. Sarah had a lot—or rather everything—riding on this launch. Bringing in the only man who’d ever threatened to take her eyes off the proverbial prize had only added to her concerns.
It didn’t help that he was as handsome as ever. Had his chestnut hair always been so thick? When a lock had fallen over his forehead, she’d nearly lost her grip