If he played this right, she’d be begging him for it. She’d probably be stripping off and laying herself on his desk, screaming, “Take me, take me.”
And just maybe, he’d give in and give her what they both needed. Fuck her right there on his—
“We should go to lunch.” Nadia jerked him from his daydream. “Talk about our future.”
Shit, she was persistent. “Sorry, but I have an important meeting.”
“How can anything be more important than our future? Let me show you how good we can be together.” She edged even closer.
Enough.
He slipped his finger under the desk and pressed his panic button. Then pressed it again in case Margie thought he wasn’t panicking enough yet. He’d seen his assistant’s air of amusement as she’d shown Nadia in. That woman needed to work on her sense of humor.
Nadia’s lips puckered into a pout. Jake leaned back in his chair as far as he could go. And the door opened.
“Your really important meeting is here, sir,” Margie said from the doorway.
Since when had Margie called him sir? She was definitely finding this funny. “Good.” He exhaled loudly. Getting rid of Nadia was going to take drastic measures. He didn’t like to use them, but he’d run out of all other options. Maybe he had led her on—though he didn’t believe so.
A scowl flashed across her face, but she stepped away. “Never mind. I’ll see you at your father’s party tomorrow night. We can talk then.”
She’d be at the party? That was news to him.
She turned and strolled from the room, swaying her skinny hips. He wasn’t impressed.
Margie closed the door behind her. “Stalker trouble?” she asked with a grin.
“Do not let that woman in here again,” he said. “And get hold of my mother.”
A minute later, he picked up the phone. He didn’t bother with any pleasantries, just got down to business. “Did you invite Nadia to Dad’s birthday party?”
“Well, she sort of invited herself. But I know you’ve been seeing her. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.”
“I’m not seeing her.”
“Oh. That’s not what Nadia said. She made it sound as though you two were serious.”
What a surprise. “And why would you want to talk to me about it anyway? It’s a long time since you gave me girlfriend advice.”
“I presumed you knew what you were doing. Until Nadia.”
“Why until Nadia? She’s your best friend’s daughter—I thought you’d approve.”
“Well, she is, but Sadie was hardly stable, and I’m afraid Nadia has inherited that.”
“Thank you for telling me before now, Mother.”
“After she invited herself—which I thought a little odd—I talked to Sadie. Apparently, Nadia has had a few issues with drugs. It’s what ended her last relationship, and she’s a little unpredictable right now.”
Great. Just what he needed.
“Anyway, I wanted to tell you to be careful, and if it’s over, then don’t be too hard on her. Extricate yourself gently.”
“Don’t worry. I run a security company. I can handle Nadia.”
“If you say so, darling. But I’m not sure she’s entirely all there.”
Jake stared out of the window as an idea formed in his mind. “Well, maybe I do need a little extra protection. And it so happens I know just where to get it.”
Chapter Eleven
Keep her distance.
Pretend it never happened.
Hide from Jake…
It was this last one that caused her the most trouble. She hated hiding, but after careful consideration, she’d come to the conclusion that in this case, discretion was definitely the better part of valor.
She couldn’t be trusted around him right now. Eventually the memory of her desire would fade, Jake would find someone else—that gave her a twinge she decided not to investigate too closely—and they could go back to being friends.
Giving up the idea of sex, especially sex with Jake, to return to their previous relationship would be worth it because she missed him. She missed seeing him, talking to him, just knowing he was there if she needed someone. Plus, it took all her ingenuity to avoid him. She’d signed up for every surveillance duty posted until Dave pointed out that she needed to be awake to be of any use.
She’d just popped into the office to pick up some paperwork. Now she was heading home to catch up on that sleep, and then she was assigned an early night shift.
The sound of footsteps made her duck behind the cubicle wall, and she held her breath. This was turning her into a nervous wreck. She peered around the corner and came face-to-face with Steve. He raised an eyebrow. “You hiding from me?”
She sniffed. “Of course not.” Steve was dressed in a smart dark suit, white shirt, and dark-blue tie. “Are you on duty?” she asked.
“Yeah. I came to pick up my gun, and then I’m off.”
“You on the job with the sheik?” Another detail she’d asked to be assigned to.
“Yeah.”
“I’m so jealous. But one day…”
He grinned. “Never going to happen, babe.”