Sweet Obsession: Windy City Kink, Book 1 (12 page)

“Yes please.” She sighed. “That salad was delicious.”

“We both like to eat,” he said approvingly. “That’s a good thing. I like food.”

“Oh me too.”

They lingered longer than they should have over coffee and dessert, and Sasha left the restaurant feeling lazy and replete. She sighed in the car as Jack drove her back to her office, wishing she didn’t have to go back and deal with phone calls from suppliers looking to get paid.

Except there was a sizeable check sitting on her desk. God, that would help. So much. She closed her eyes at the wave of relief that washed over her at some problems being solved. And not only that, now she could actually do something with the sketches she’d done on Sunday, when she’d been lying on the couch all day thinking about Jack and his patio.

Jack’s rooftop patio had inspired her. The hard part was going to be narrowing down all the ideas she had, picking one theme and keeping it cohesive. She liked the challenge of working on a tight budget and having to come up with creative solutions that didn’t cost a lot, but there was something to be said for having no limits on what she could spend.

Not that she’d go crazy spending Jack’s money. She was more responsible than that.

He parked again and walked her into the office. Flo eyed them with interest, sitting at her computer.

“Thanks for lunch,” Jack said, his voice husky. “And thanks for taking the job. I can’t wait to get started.”

The erotic promise in his voice made her think of getting started on other things, and she shivered. Their eyes met and held for an attenuated moment and then Flo’s cough brought her back to reality.

“How fast can you start working on it?”

Okay, so much for the patience she thought he’d acquired. She smiled. This was more like it. “I can start right away,” she said. “As for how long the entire project will take, I can’t say until we finalize the design.”

“Okay. Good. Call me if you have questions or need to meet with me about anything.”

“I will. For sure I’ll call as soon as I have some ideas to show you.”

He smiled and moved away with a lift of his hand.

“Who was that?” Flo demanded as soon as the door had closed behind Jack. Sasha watched him pass by the front window, the wind ruffling his dark hair, his square jaw and high cheekbones sharply defined. For a multi-millionaire businessman, he’d been dressed pretty casually in a pair of khaki pants, a blue-and-beige plaid shirt and his black leather jacket.

“Our newest client.” Sasha turned to smile at Flo. “Jack Grenville. CEO of Anzen Security. He’s hired me to design a rooftop garden at his penthouse condo.”

“Sweet.” Flo nodded. “I knew things would pick up. But um, he looked pretty into you.”

“Bah.” She gave a little laugh and walked into her office.

Into her.

Warm ripples rolled through her stomach and she lost her breath a little, steadying herself with her fingers on the edge of her desk.

Wait. It didn’t have to be a big deal. First and foremost it was a job, a job that she badly needed, and not only needed but wanted, something unique and creatively challenging. She’d managed to get through the lunch as a business meeting. She actually enjoyed lunch with him, found talking to him as much fun as it had been when they’d been dating. No,
more
fun, although she wasn’t sure if she could explain why.

He fascinated her.

Behind the sexy good looks and charming smile was a sharp brain with cutting edge technical skills and keen business knowledge. A fun sense of humor, but a darker edge too. A difficult past that had turned him into a strong, determined man.

And he was into her.

No big deal.

“Oh for God’s sake.” Kevin shook his head and gave her an exasperated glance later that evening. “So now you
are
working for him?”

She bit her lip.

“Let me get this straight,” Kevin continued, lounging on the couch with his laptop, dressed tonight in sweatpants and a hoodie. “First you told me you’d turned him down. Then we ran into him and he said you were thinking about it. Then apparently you did think about it and decided to take the job. Then you came home all pissed and said you’d turned it down after all. Now you tell me you’ve taken the job again. What the fuck, Sasha?”

“You make me sound like a nut bar.”

He lifted an eyebrow.

She gave a nervous laugh and pushed her hair off her face. “Okay, okay, I know how it looks. But I’m not nuts. Well, maybe I am a little. He seems to have that effect on me.”

“It sounds…let me think of the right word. How about…tempestuous.”

She blinked. “Oh. Um…” She couldn’t deny that. There was definitely a feeling of something stormy and explosive between her and Jack. “It’s not really like that.”

“Sure, Sasha. Sure.”

“It
is
business. I’m working on the designs right now.” She too had her laptop on her lap, her socked feet propped on the coffee table.

“There’s more to it than business. If you’d ripped up a check for any other client, he’d have shrugged and picked up the phone to call the next designer on his list.”

She nodded. “Probably true.”

“He wants more from you than just your design skills.”

“Er…”

Kevin nodded and swung his legs to the floor, setting aside his laptop. “You were worried about him stalking you,” he growled. “If he’s harassing you…”

“Oh no, not you too.” She rolled her eyes. “Relax, Kevin. I know what I’m doing.”

“Really? That rollercoaster ride you just went on makes me wonder.”

“He’s not harassing me. He admitted to following me…”

“What!” His eyes went wide. “Jesus Christ, Sasha.”

She shot him an impatient frown. “It’s not like that. I know how it looks, but we talked and…and I’m kind of mixed up about it all, but he says it will be just business and…I believe him. Plus I need the work. Don’t be a jerk like my family, Kev. I’d rather have your support.”

He narrowed his eyes at her and sat back. “Huh. I’m not trying to be a jerk, doll. I care about you.”

“I know.” She smiled at him fondly. “I care about you too. But you’ve always been the one who believed I was an adult and could look after myself.”

“Yeah, well, I do believe that.” He rubbed his mouth. “I guess I’ve just never seen you tied up in knots over a guy, like this.”

“I’m not tied up in knots.” Much. “What are you worried about? We have a business deal. That’s all.”

“Okay,” Kevin said. “I’m butting out. I’m here for you if you need me.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“Show me what you’re working on.”

They sat side by side and she showed him what she had so far, a collection of images and sketches. The concept was coming together in her mind and just talking about it made excitement buzz inside her. Kevin even made a couple of suggestions. “A high-end project like this is something really great to have in my portfolio,” she remarked. “If I could get more jobs like this…wow. But, one thing I’ve already decided is to market myself a little differently, not so much as a specialist in rooftop design.”

“But you love doing those.”

“I really do. I think it’s cool and unique and I know there are lots more out there.” She shrugged. “But I need other work too.”

“I gave your card out to a couple of people this week,” he said, moving back to his own computer. “And told them how great you are.”

“Aw. Thank you.”

They sat silently working for a little while. Then her cell phone sitting on the coffee table buzzed. She picked it up to view the text message. It was from Jack.

How’s my garden coming along?

She smiled.

“What?” Kevin asked.

Her smile puckered a little. “Jack. Asking about his garden.”

“Impatient much?” he muttered.

“He’s totally joking.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Why do I feel like you’re judging me?”

“I’m not judging you, doll. I just hope you know what you’re getting into.”

Her fingers tightened on the phone, looking at it rather than at Kevin. She’d wanted to escape her family and the way they’d tried to shield her from life, but here she was telling Kevin this was just a business deal and she could handle it—when truthfully she wasn’t sure herself what she was getting into.

Jack really did have a busy week, preparing for the launch of their newest data protection solution, Mobile Mail Guard. He was really psyched about this product, the way it interfaced so seamlessly with existing technology. He could feel it in his gut that they had another winner.

But he was edgy and impatient too, wanting to be at his condo so he could see Sasha when she went there. The idea that she was hanging around his place alone made him a little nuts. The fact that he wasn’t sure when she was there, or even
if
she was there, made him even more nuts. He’d been sending her teasing text messages, but beneath the joking was a big pile of impatient.

The pressure at work and the tension of wanting to see Sasha built up inside him. Too many cups of coffee and not enough sleep didn’t help, and Thursday night he found himself arguing with Adam over something they really agreed on.

“You can’t have heavy encryption that slows down the transaction in retail,” Adam said.

“You have to have encryption,” Jack snapped. “Mitigating the risk of a cardholder data breach at all points in the payment stream is critical. There are more and more regulatory requirements…”

“I know that,” Adam said. “I didn’t say you don’t need
any
encryption. I’m just saying it has to be fast.”

Jack opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. He gave his head a shake. “You’re right.”

Adam sighed. “You know what you need?”

Jack glared at him. “Don’t say it.”

Adam laughed. “Well, that too. But I didn’t mean to get laid. I meant you need a good workout. Aikido.”

Jack slumped back in his chair in his office. “Yeah. I do.”

“C’mon. Let’s go to your place, beat the ever loving crap out of each other, order pizza and drink beer.”

“We’ve got a shit ton of work to do.”

“It’ll get done. You’ll feel more energized tomorrow if you take a break. You’re killing yourself, man. I can tell you’re not focused.”

Jack knew it was true. “Okay. Let’s go.”

The rest of the offices were empty and quiet as they left, and the elevator arrived quickly. Jack glanced at his cell phone to check the time. “Holy shit, it’s nearly eight o’clock.”

“I know. It’s not as if you’re heading out for an early happy hour.”

Jack leaned against the elevator wall and smiled ruefully.

They’d both parked in the underground garage, so left separately to meet at Jack’s place where Adam kept a uniform for workouts. At home, Jack stepped off the elevator to a dark and empty condo, but as he walked through the foyer he was sure he caught the faint scent of vanilla and coconut. Damn. Had Sasha been there earlier? And he’d missed her.

Ah well.

He started undressing as he walked into his bedroom and tossed his clothes onto the armchair. He grabbed his
keikogi
and donned it, and was heading to the dojo tying his belt when Adam arrived.

“I’ll start warming up,” Jack said.

He went through his usual warm-up routine as Adam changed. Then together they did several sets of grueling pushups and crunches before moving through a series of patterns in front of the mirrored wall. Remembering every precise move required concentration and focus. As always, he didn’t do the moves half-heartedly, but put all his force and strength into them. The workout was both mental and physical.

Lying on his back on the mat, Jack said, “Wanna spar?”

“Sure. Give me a minute. I’m thinking about what kind of pizza I want.”

Jack grinned at the ceiling.

Moments later they faced each other on the mat, knelt and bowed, and then commenced the dance of moving lightly around each other, each seeking an opportunity to strike. The beauty of Aikido was in using an opponent’s own force against him. This required more intense focus, and Jack’s mind processed Adam’s moves, his experience letting him quickly assess and make decisions. He made his move and they grappled, with Jack managing to toss Adam to the mat. He quickly sprang to his feet and they resumed the sparring. Jack shifted back, sideways, back again and then in the mirror his attention was snagged by the reflection of someone in the door—Sasha.

In the seconds it took to whip his head around to look at her and see her standing there looking so damn beautiful and watching them, Adam had come at him with a chest thrust he wasn’t prepared for. His attempt to block failed and Adam nailed him in the gut, then flipped him over his shoulder, and he hit the mat with jarring force.

Chapter Nine

Sasha knew next to nothing about martial arts. She’d arrived and heard the noises coming from the dojo. At first she’d been alarmed at the grunting noises and sharp cries of “Hai!” then what sounded like blows being landed. When she’d realized where the noise was coming from, she’d been intrigued and had quietly pulled the door open to observe.