Systematic Seduction (2 page)

“That
look?”

“Wide
eyes, dilated pupils, sweat breaking out on your face suddenly, and the
expression of a frightened animal that is desperate to get away from everything
in a hurry. Either you were ill, or … or this.”

She
swallowed hard against the sudden lump in her throat. “Did I really look like
that?”

“Only
to someone who’s seen it before.”

“Where
have you seen it before?”

His
expression turned bittersweet. “In the mirror.”

“Why?
What happened to you?”

The
bittersweet expression turned into a sexy half smile, and she had a sudden urge
to kiss him. “Why don’t we discuss it over dinner?”

So much for compassion and
understanding.

She
rose, and he did too. She stopped walking toward the door as he placed a hand
on her arm. His touch was so gentle and tentative that instead of becoming
upset he’d done that, she was surprised. When she turned to face him, the
saddest look she’d ever seen on his face took her by surprise.

“Blair,
please tell me why not.”

“Why
not what?”

He
sighed softly. “Why every single time I ask you out you turn me down. Is it
something about me you don’t like? Do I smell funny? Is it the way I dress?”

She
couldn’t help smiling. “No. You’re gorgeous and charming, but you don’t need me
to tell you that.”
You have a different
woman every month to stroke your ego.

“Then
why won’t you have dinner with me?”

Something
shifted inside her at the tone in his voice, but despite that, she had no
intention of letting him use her. “You date a lot. I don’t want to be the
latest subject of gossip in the tabloids.”

For
a brief second, he looked like she’d slapped him, but then his expression
turned neutral. “I would never let that happen that to you.”

“How
would you prevent it?” She watched several emotions cross his face, none of
which made any sense to her.

“Because
you’re not just any woman.”

Voices
in the hall reached her ears and she waited, expecting them to be interrupted
any second, but no one came inside. “And the rest of the women? Do they mean
nothing, then?”

He
looked really uncomfortable now, but she didn’t care. He’d started down this
road, not her.

“I’m
getting a bit old to be acting like a horny teen.”

They
stared into each other’s eyes for long moments, and her heart suddenly went out
to him. That statement was so intimate, and so honest. She knew a line now when
she heard one, having had way too much experience in that department, and
Oliver had not just handed her one. He stood before her, sincere and
vulnerable. Since there was no reason for him to be either, she decided she was
acting foolish.

She
wasn’t sure what was going on with him, but she knew a poignant moment when she
saw it. This man was putting his heart out there, and the last thing she wanted
to do was hurt him, especially after he had come in here and helped her through
the panic attack. He hadn’t been obligated to do that. He could have ignored
it.

What
harm would there be in one date? She didn’t have to sleep with him. Sure, it
would be a struggle not to, but so what? All she had to do was remind herself
that if she did go to bed with him, working here would become uncomfortable and
awkward. She loved this job too much to give it up. Easy peasy. Right?

“Okay.
I’ll have dinner with you.”

At
first, it didn’t look as though he’d heard her. Then the sweetest smile graced
his handsome face, and for a second or two she was sure he was going to kiss
her. Instead, he nodded a few times. “Thank you. That’s wonderful. Thank you.”

Blair
wondered if she was on the edge of a great adventure, or whether she’d just
made the biggest mistake of her life. Either way, she had the unmistakable
feeling that everything had suddenly changed.

Chapter
Two

Oliver
wasn’t sure she’d actually said yes this time until he realized she was
smiling. “Is tonight all right? Have you been to Eden’s Garden?” It was the
best place in SouthCentral, and the most expensive, but a first date with Blair
after asking for one two straight years was worth any amount of money.

Her
mouth dropped open. “Um … that’s really sweet of you to offer, but I’m more of
a Dirty Harry’s kind of girl.”

Dirty
Harry’s was a greasy spoon that had fabulous food, but wasn’t much to look at.
He admired her honesty, and the fact she hadn’t jumped at the chance to be
seen, and likely photographed, at Eden’s Garden with him.

She’d
been serious about not wanting to be in the tabloids, and that was so damn
refreshing he wanted to pump his fist in the air. “Dirty Harry’s it is. Would
you like me to walk you back to your office?” When she didn’t answer, he added,
“To make sure you’re really okay.”

“Sure.
Yes. Okay. Thank you.”

He
placed a hand against the small of her back as they walked down the hall. When
she didn’t seem to mind, he moved it up to her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
Being next to her was enough to drive him insane with need. Actually touching
her ensured he’d have an uncomfortable afternoon, but he still didn’t mind.
She’d finally agreed to go out with him.

They
stopped in front of her office door, and he caught the curious looks from her
team and the others watching them from the rows of cubicles. “Six o’clock all
right?” He kept his voice low in case she didn’t want the entire department to
know they were going out. He’d dated employees before, but he now knew Blair
wasn’t a woman who enjoyed people gossiping about her.

“That’s
fine. Shall I meet you there?”

He
leaned closer and lowered his voice even further. “Blair, it’s a date. I’ll
pick you up at your apartment.”

She
narrowed her eyes slightly. “How do you know where I live?”

“I
know where everyone lives. I own the company.” Giving her a wink, he turned and
got the hell out of there before she changed her mind.

Only
when he was safe in his own office with the door closed did he allow the
conversation to play over in his mind.

He’d
noticed Blair from day one when she came to work in his customer service
department to answer phones and take orders from the few remaining wholesale
customers he’d still had. Then everything changed during the first year under
the surface.

Bunkers
were no longer considered an oddity or a luxury, because everyone had to live
underground or die. People were no longer thought of as extremists if they knew
how to grow food underground, or understood what was needed to keep the earth
from collapsing in on a city that had been built forty feet below the surface.

Those
were the kind of people Oliver sought out that first year. Anyone with an engineering
degree, especially a degree in BioSystems engineering like Blair eventually
earned, was on list of potential new employees.

Not
all of his former employees had survived the move underground, and Oliver had
quickly realized he’d need to expand his workforce to meet the demand of
maintaining the systems that kept everyone alive.

The
only bunkers his company now kept filled with breathable air and flushable
toilets were the few the Storm Troopers and Addison’s teams used. All other
resources were directed toward keeping everyone as comfortable as possible in
these massive underground cities.

His
company had the market share for the entire USA, but Oliver had shared
information and technology with companies who did the same thing in other parts
of the world from day one. They were all in this together, as far as he was
concerned. It might be a radical business approach, but he was interested in
his fellow man, not only in keeping his business alive.

His
thoughts wandered back to Blair and what he’d witnessed in the bathroom. If she
hadn’t been in the middle of a full-blown panic attack he’d eat his laptop. But
what had set her off? It hadn’t been the information he’d presented because she
was the one who had brought those figures to his attention in the first place.
Although the information about the possibility they might not be able to stop
The Madeline Project would have been new to her. Had that been the trigger?

He
didn’t think so. The entire time he’d been speaking, she’d sat there calm and
impassive, even when the others had begun shouting over each other to be heard.
He knew very little about her personal life and even less about her past.
Unlike most of the other Weathermen, Oliver didn’t do detailed background
checks on all his employees.

He
knew she was from Atlanta, and he knew she’d earned a degree in BioSystems engineering
right here in SouthCentral, because he’d paid for her tuition through the
company’s reimbursement program. He also knew she was the best damn project
leader he had because she kept her focus and spoke to her team like they were
equals, not underlings.

And
he knew she had the most gorgeous dark eyes he’d ever seen. They were the color
of rich chocolate, as was her long, straight hair. He had ached to touch it for
years now. Oliver couldn’t count the hours he’d spent fantasizing about her
lush body, and what it would feel like to hold her in his arms and sink his
cock into her pussy.

“Fuck.”
He rose from the desk and looked out over the expanse of skyline. Everything
here was fake. The sun was fake, the stars at night were fake, and the water
moving in the river was controlled by a computer. It looked like Houston had
once looked, but it wasn’t Houston. It never would be.

Even
Barclay agreed with him on that point, and Barclay had grown up there. Oliver
had been born and raised in Austin. Would he have met Blair if none of this had
happened? Would she have found her way to his company above ground, or would
her pursuits have taken a different direction?

The
world they’d created was fake, but Blair was real. Everything about her was
genuine, from her smile to the way she gazed at him with admiration. Oliver
frowned. That wasn’t quite right. He knew she admired him as far as business
was concerned, but she also looked at him with trepidation, or at least a
guarded expression most of the time. What was she afraid of?

Had
she been hurt by some stupid twit who didn’t know how to handle a woman like
her, and was now afraid to become involved with someone again? Was that what
had brought on the panic attack? Had something he said, or someone else in the
room said, sparked a bad memory?

He
wanted to find out, but he knew to tread carefully. He didn’t like to talk
about his own demons, and had already told her in the bathroom he had them. He wasn’t
usually that open, but something about her made him want to throw caution to
the wind and spill his guts. She had an openness to her personality, coupled
with just enough vulnerability, that made him both want to protect her, and to let
her inside the walls he’d built.

A dangerous combination.

Dangerous
indeed, but Oliver was excited about their date tonight. She was an enigma, and
he loved people like that. He loved
women
like that, in particular. It had been far too long since he’d looked forward to
an evening out this much, and he had the feeling tonight would either be a
complete disaster, or the start of something fresh and invigorating in his
life. He hoped it would be the latter.

****

She
was waiting outside her building for him at ten to six, and Oliver tried not to
let his disappointment show as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. He had
hoped to be invited into her apartment for a few moments before they left so
they could talk in private.

“You
look nice,” she said, raising her chin in the air slightly. “And is that
cologne? It’s almost impossible to find.”

“Unless
you know where to look.” He gave her a wink, then held out his arm. “You look
very nice, too. Ready to go eat the greasiest food in SouthCentral?”

She
took his arm. “I happen to adore their food, even if I can feel my arteries
clogging up every time I eat there.”

He
chuckled. “Sure, but at your age you can get away with that.”

“Oh,
right. You’re
so
old. We might have
to puree your meal.”

She
was so different outside of work. He’d never seen this side of her, and it made
his dick ache. “You might. Glad to know our age difference doesn’t bother you.”

“Not
in the least. Does it bother you?”

Lord
help him. He was ready to jump this charming girl right here on the sidewalk.
“If it did, I wouldn’t be here.”

Dirty
Harry’s was as busy as he’d expected it to be on a Friday night, but Blair
didn’t seem to mind. They were lucky enough to snag the booth in the back. Not
only would it give them some privacy, but the jukebox was closer to the front.
Tonight’s features seemed to be confined to the country/rock songs that had
been so popular in the late twentieth century, and Blair knew them all.

He
grinned like an idiot as she softly sang along to the current tune, while
giving the menu no more than a cursory glance. “I’ve been here so many times I
know what I want.” She placed it back in its metal holder.

He
did the same with his. “What do you recommend?”

She
laughed softly. “How easily do you get heartburn?”

“Faster
now that I’m
so
old.”

“Then
I’d steer clear of the jalapeño burgers even though they’re to die for. Stick
with the classic ones. You can’t go wrong.”

“Are
you eating one covered in jalapeños and onions?” Might as well send out feelers
to ascertain whether he had a snowball’s chance in hell of kissing more than
her cheek tonight.

“I
might.” She gazed into his eyes as she stayed quiet for no longer than a second
or two. “Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”

Go for it
. “I might want to kiss you later.
On the lips this time.”

“Then
you should eat onions and jalapeños, too.”

Hot damn!
She hadn’t missed a beat. Where
had this flirtatious side come from? “Good idea. Why don’t you order for both
of us, then?”

She
was downright beautiful when she smiled. Their server came over as if honing in
on an invisible cue, and Blair ordered them each a Power Burger, which he knew
would give him heartburn for a year, a glass of lemonade, and a tower of
stuffed onion rings to share. Once their server left, he asked what the rings
were stuffed with.

“Mozzarella
cheese and red peppers. You’ll love them.”

“Do
you eat like this all the time?”

She
laughed again, and the sound was like soft rain falling. He could still
remember that, and the wave of nostalgia caught him by surprise. He didn’t want
to die underground. He wanted his planet back.

“No,
I don’t, but I love this food. I don’t know why that is, so please don’t ask me
to explain or analyze it.”

He
took a chance and reached across the table to take her hands. When she didn’t
do so much as flinch, he wondered whether whatever had kept her from saying
“yes” to his monthly requests for dinner had anything to do with the trigger
for her panic attack earlier. He wanted to find out, because the urge to
protect her was so strong, and because she was so different now than he’d
expected her to be.

“Thank
you for this, Blair.”

“I’m
sorry I turned you down for so long.”

“You
don’t have to apologize.” He gave her hands a squeeze. “But I would like to
understand what happened to you near the end of the meeting today, if you’re up
to talking about it.”

The
expression on her face grew wary and the muscles in her hands stiffened, but
she didn’t pull them away. “It seems like you have some experience with panic
attacks from what you said in the bathroom.”

“Oh,
I do. That’s why I recognized what was happening to you.”

She
glanced down at their hands, and looked about to speak but their server came
over with their drinks. “Do you want the onion rings with the burgers or now?”

“Now
is fine,” he said.

Blair
pulled her hands out of his grasp and removed the paper from her straw, then
placed the straw inside the glass of lemonade. She drained half the drink
without stopping to breathe. Whatever it was that had sparked her panic attack,
she clearly wasn’t ready to talk about it.

“Tell
me about Atlanta,” he said. “I only visited it once, a long time ago.”

The
look of relief that crossed her face told him he’d guessed right. He’d have to
wait to find out more about her demons, but that was okay. He was simply happy
to be out with her. Plus, he was a very patient man.