Part 2 (1/2)

From experience, she knew she'd get no further with him. He could be right that the offer had been an intentional lowball, but she didn't know that.

”Go home, Lara Marie,” he said softly.

”Only if you will,” she countered.

”Donald will be coming for me in half an hour.”

His driver, confidant, butler. She nodded. ”We are not finished with this conversation.”

”Believe me, Lara. I know.” He sighed. Then, obviously realizing he'd revealed a weakness, he stood. ”I'll see you tomorrow.”

She was being thrown out. Like Connor had been.

Her father waited for her to pick up her bag before escorting her to the door.

Once she was out, he snapped it shut.

Frustration churned through her. Instead of cleaning up her desk, she exited the building and headed for the parking garage. She knew she should follow her original plan and hit the gym, but she wanted to go home, have some peace to think things through. It'd been a h.e.l.l of an evening.

Her fast pace didn't alleviate any of her anxiety, and she was still simmering as she slid behind the wheel of her sedan.

Her car was cool, and she took a moment to unpin her hair and roll her shoulders, trying to ease some of the knots there. Unfortunately they seemed to have become permanent.

This evening there was no baseball game or concert, so traffic was as light as it ever was in Houston, and it took her less than twenty minutes to reach her historic bungalow in the Heights.

All the way home, she turned over Erin's words and the unexpected meeting with Connor.

Before going inside, she stopped long enough to water the bougainvillea and the potted plants that looked as wilted as she felt.

She headed straight for the bedroom to stow her bag, kick off her shoes, remove her thigh-high stockings then pull her s.h.i.+rt over her head. As usual, she left everything in a discarded heap. At times she was grateful she lived alone and wasn't dating anyone. There were benefits.

After she'd changed into a pair of shorts, a tank top and flip-flops, she went into the kitchen for that gla.s.s of wine her father had suggested. Since the day had been so frustrating, she added sparkling water to the gla.s.s to cut the alcohol in half. She had a feeling she'd be wanting at least one refill.

Gla.s.s in hand, she grabbed her iPad from the counter and went into the backyard, her favorite retreat. The outdoor s.p.a.ce was the feature that had convinced her to offer full price for the house. In addition to the covered deck, there was a small vegetable garden, numerous oleander trees, lush banana plants, several types of palms and a fishpond that she had to constantly replenish thanks to the hungry local bird population. It was a small oasis in a busy city.

In cooler months, she had a heater on the deck, but today, she needed the overhead fan to churn through the humidity-laced air.

Lara sat on the porch swing and took a long drink before putting down the gla.s.s. Then she powered up the tablet. While she waited for it to connect, she used her toes to push off and set the swing into motion.

She became aware of children playing in the yard behind her. And soon after, the sounds of dogs running around. Mrs. Fuhrman, her next-door neighbor, must have let her five rescue animals outside.

Their excited yips and barks soothed her.

Without conscious thought, she did a search on Connor's name.

Not for the first time, she scrolled through a few articles about him. Most of it, she knew from Erin, so Lara only read the first couple of paragraphs before moving on.

After their father's death, Connor had been called home from his graduate school studies back east to take the helm of Donovan Worldwide. Though his grandfather, William, referred to as the Colonel, still served as CEO, Connor was president, and he was responsible for most of the decisions. According to unconfirmed reports, the Colonel had recently had a stroke, which meant that Connor had a.s.sumed even more obligations.

Lara saw a couple of references to Erin's role as a human resources guru, while Connor's younger brother handled research. According to Erin, they had a step-brother, Cade, who was the eldest child. Though she seemed to adore him, he wasn't around much, and there were only hints about the scandal of his birth. He ran a ranching operation-or, as it was referred to deeper in the story, the family's agribusiness interests-in west Texas.

As she'd mentioned to Erin, Lara had previously looked Connor up online, searching for any indication he had a girlfriend. She hadn't seen recent pictures of him with any women, though he'd been photographed at a Boston event with Julien Bonds, the renowned technology genius. But there was frustratingly little to give her a glimpse of who he really was or what mattered to him.

Without conscious thought, she pulled up the bookmarked images of him. All of them were mouth-watering. No matter what he was wearing, from khakis and a polo s.h.i.+rt with deck shoes, to a suit like he'd worn today, the man looked delicious. Tall and handsome, he had the lean frame of a runner or bicyclist. He was powerful and s.e.xy. And he tripped all her physical responses.

She glanced up from the screen and stared into the distance, replaying their unexpected meeting near the elevator.

As a professional, she'd understood that Connor had been visiting on business, but the woman in her had pulsed with awareness.

Unbidden, Erin's words returned to tumble through Lara's mind.

Marry Connor?

The idea was absurd.

But for a moment, the idea of being with him tantalized. She wondered what it would be like to be with him, to surrender to his kiss. Would he be as bold in the bedroom as he was outside it? For a moment, she pictured him with his fingertips poised to open the top b.u.t.ton on her favorite blouse. Would he skim her skin as he bared it, or would he move aggressively to the next b.u.t.ton?

How restrained was he?

Would he tear the material in his haste to have her? That thought was followed by another, and she imagined him undressing, taking off his belt then looping it around his hand as he approached her.

She shook her head.

What was wrong with her? She wasn't sure where the unbidden fantasy had come from. And, as she'd found out, men thought she was too kinky as it was. She'd do better to banish the thoughts.

Adding Connor Donovan to her evening fantasies was a prescription for disaster.

Determinedly, she shoved her musings away.

She had real issues she needed to focus on, a family business that needed serious attention. And Connor had already indicated his willingness to help.

The idea of approaching him made rockets of ice shoot up her spine to settle at the back of her neck.

Lara reached for her gla.s.s and took a deep drink, contemplating. No doubt her father would see her action as disloyal. But her job as CFO was to advise and make recommendations, even if the owner didn't want to hear them.

Resolved, she went to shut down the tablet, but was once again riveted by a picture of Connor, this time adjusting one of his starched cuffs.

d.a.m.n, everything he did radiated appeal.

She headed inside and deposited her iPad and unfinished drink on the counter, telling herself she wasn't going to use her shower ma.s.sager to m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.e while she thought of Connor.

But as she turned on the water in the bathroom, Lara admitted she was lying to herself. She was aroused-consumed by naughty thoughts of him-and she needed relief.

Chapter Two.

Lara Bertrand.