Married to His Business (Millionaire of the Month #5)(24)
Author: Elizabeth Bevarly

"So," he said, the word coming out slowly and softly, "how are things going with the new job? Do you like OmniTech so far?"

Kendall was surprised he would ask. Not just because of the whole former employer-employee thing, but because the evening had just been so pleasant and enjoyable with the absence of any talk that was work-related. Still, she knew Matthias wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t expect an answer. An honest one, at that.

"Actually," she said, her own reply coming out even slower and more softly than his, "so far, it’s not exactly what I expected."

His expression changed not at all, but he asked, "How so?"

She shrugged, nudging back another strand of hair that blew into her face and pulling his jacket more snugly around herself. "Well, for one thing, Stephen’s idea of orientation seems to be asking me a lot of questions about my old position at Barton Limited and dodging any questions I ask about my new position at OmniTech."

She waited for a smug I told you so, but Matthias’s reply was instead a very careful, "I see."

Even though he didn’t ask for more information, she found herself continuing anyway. "Orientation will be over after tomorrow, and I know almost nothing about Omni-Tech, save the history of the company and its mission statement and where its national and international offices are located and—" She halted abruptly. "Anything I could find out myself by an online search."

Matthias sipped his wine, but again said nothing, just waited for her to continue, should she want to. The sky behind him was smudged dark blue, the fat full moon hovering over his left shoulder. The only other light came from the candles flickering inside the hurricane globes on the tables, but it was enough to allow her to see his expression. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell by his expression what he was thinking, and that bothered her a lot. Not that she wanted to know what he thought about her situation with OmniTech, but because she wanted to know what he thought about her. If he considered her naive for not realizing what he had about Stephen DeGallo, or foolish for having disregarded his warning,

or ridiculous for clinging to the idea that she had made the right choice.

Especially since she was no longer clinging to that idea. With every new meeting she had with Stephen, her suspicions about the man and his motives grew stronger. His having blown off their dinner meeting tonight—regardless of his reason for doing so—had only cemented her fear that what Matthias had told her was true. Stephen DeGallo had hired her because he’d hoped she would give him insight into Matthias’s business. Which, of course, she would never do. Her job performance at Barton Limited was pertinent to Stephen only in so far as assuring him she had achieved enough experience to perform the job for which he had hired her, that her record was stellar, and that she was committed to her professional obligations. Period.

Now that he had realized she had no intention of playing corporate spy, he was no longer interested. She wouldn’t be surprised if, before her alleged orientation even ended tomorrow afternoon, he manufactured some reason to let her go. Thanks to reorganization, the position for which he’d had her in mind was no longer viable. Or he’d discovered something in her work history that presented a conflict of interest. Oh, he’d find some way to make it sound plausible. He might even give her a generous severance package—though she doubted it. But there was certainly reason to believe her new position at OmniTech wouldn’t be hers for long.

She looked at Matthias. "You were right," she said, forcing herself to admit the truth. "I think the only reason Stephen hired me was because he assumed I would share what I know about Barton Limited with him."

Matthias eyed her warily now. "Did he ask you about the Perkins contract?"

She shook her head. "Not specifically, no. Not yet, anyway. But he did ask an awful lot of questions about you and the company. I wouldn’t be surprised if the particulars of the Perkins contract was next on his to-do list."

"And what did you tell him about Barton Limited?" Matthias asked, his voice revealing nothing of what he might be thinking about.

She smiled. "I told him about the history of the company and its mission statement and where its national and international offices are located. You know. Anything he could discover by doing an online search."

Matthias smiled back. "That’s my girl."

Something about the way he said it, so soft and intimate, sent a ripple of awareness shimmying through her unlike anything she had ever felt before. The breeze chose that moment to pull another strand of hair from the knot at the back of her head and nudge it across her eyes. She started to reach up to brush it away, but Matthias intercepted her, dipping his index finger beneath the disobedient tresses and brushing them back from her forehead. Then he surprised her even more by moving his hand to the clip that held the mass of hair in place and pulling it free.

"You might as well just leave it loose," he told her as he completed the action. "The wind is only going to pick up as the evening goes on."

Which, Kendall thought, was all the more reason to keep her hair anchored. Matthias obviously thought differently. Because as her hair tumbled down around her shoulders, he dragged his fingers through it the way a stylist would, pushing it back over her shoulders, then forward again, then back, as if he wasn’t sure how he liked it best. But where a stylist would keep his touches dispassionate

and economical, Matthias took his time, stroking the straight, shoulder-length tresses again and again. Kendall finally had to reach up and circle his wrist with her fingers to stop him. When she did, he immediately halted, his gaze connecting fiercely with hers.

For a moment, neither of them spoke, neither of them moved, neither even seemed to breathe. Matthias dropped his gaze from Kendall’s eyes to her mouth, then looked into her eyes again. She felt her lips part almost of their own volition, though whether it was because she intended to say something, or for another reason entirely, she wasn’t sure. The moment stretched taut, and still neither spoke or moved. Then, for one scant, insane instant, it almost seemed as if he were dipping his head toward hers, tilting it slightly, as if he intended to…

Kiss her? Kendall thought frantically. Oh, surely not.

But her heart began to hammer in her chest all the same, and heat flared in her belly, and her pulse rate quickened, and her entire body caught fire, and then.and then.

And then Matthias suddenly, but gently, pulled his hand from her grasp and leaned back again, and the moment full of.whatever it had been full of.evaporated. He looked down at his glass and lifted it to his lips, filling his mouth with the dark red wine, savoring it for a moment before swallowing. Kendall was still too keyed up and confused by what she was feeling to say anything, so she watched him instead, noting how his strong throat worked over the swallow, feeling warmth spread through her belly as if she were the one who had drunk deeply from her glass.