He inched closer, his lips brushing her ear. “You’re unbelievably sexy when you’re pissed off.”
Disbelief dripped from her tone. “Seriously? You’re hitting on me? In the staff break room?”
Slowly and methodically, he backed her up against the wall as his arms came down on her waist to tug her closer. “Ha. Like you haven’t thought about it too all frickin’ morning.”
To his relief, the anger in her expression dissipated. Darkened with heat. “I’m not going to deny it. But there’s a reason I haven’t jumped your bones today.”
He arched a brow. “Yeah? Why’s that?”
“Because it’s unprofessional.”
Jack blinked before barking out a laugh. Now there was a word he hadn’t thought existed in Pepper Wilson’s vocabulary. The woman was all about whims, act first and think later—since when did she care about showing any restraint?
“Don’t laugh at me,” she grumbled. “I may not particularly want to work here, but as long as I am, I’m not going to give my brother any ammunition against me. He already thinks I’m an impulsive airhead.”
“He doesn’t think that.” Jack came to his friend’s defense, as he always did.
And Pepper frowned, as she always did when he defended Parker. “Yes, he does.” She gave his chest a tiny shove, sidestepping away from him. “So keep those pants zipped, Jackjack. There won’t be any office shenanigans, capiche?”
He knew better than to argue with that steely look in her eyes. “Capiche,” he said with a sigh.
She brightened. “Good. Now let’s go meet with your ex-lover, sugar.”
Jack stifled a groan as he remembered the meeting with Charlene. Shit. The last thing he wanted was for Pepper and his former fling to be in the same room together. But since he didn’t exactly have much of a choice, he sighed again and followed Pepper to the conference room.
Jack liked redheads. Redheads with big boobs, Pepper amended as she examined Charlene Halliwell from head to toe. She supposed she ought to be flattered that she too fell under the category of Jack Hunter’s Type, but it was impossible to stop the rush of jealousy that seized her.
Especially since the visible evidence of Jack’s preferences raised the old chicken-and-egg conundrum. Had Jack hooked up with the redheaded Charlene because she reminded him of Pepper?
Or was it the other way around?
The thought that it could be the latter boiled Pepper’s blood, prompting her to greet their client in a much sharper tone than intended. “I’m Pepper,” she said tightly, thrusting out her hand. “I’m the one handling all the media displays for your parents’ party, including digitizing any older photos and memorabilia.”
Charlene seemed to be fighting a smirk as she leaned in to shake Pepper’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you, sweetie. I’ve seen what you’ve done so far, and I’m very pleased.”
Sweetie?
Oh hell no. The word sweetie was reserved only for Pepper’s mother and grandparents. When other women called you that, it was an outright sign that you were being patronized.
“Well, bless your heart, hon, I’m so glad you like it,” Pepper responded.
The two women stared at each other for a moment, until Jack cleared his throat and gestured to the table. “Why don’t we have a seat and go over everything?”
They settled in their chairs, Pepper flopping directly next to Jack, leaving no question as to who belonged at his side. It was a childish move, she knew that, but it got the desired result—Charlene’s eyes gleamed with displeasure as she was forced to sit across from them.
“All right, so why don’t you tell Pepper about the slideshow additions you had in mind,” Jack told Charlene.
Looking as if she’d rather talk to Hannibal Lecter, Charlene turned to Pepper and began in a curt voice, quickly explaining everything she needed done. Pepper dutifully scribbled notes on a yellow legal pad, nodding and cutting in with ideas and suggestions every so often. It was all very aboveboard and professional, but the catty undercurrent continued to run beneath the surface as the two women interacted.
Pepper hated Charlene. The woman was smart and articulate and gorgeous and she clearly still had a thing for Jack. She smiled at him way too much. And at one point, she even reached across the table and squeezed his hand when he offered a brilliant solution to getting extra pictures from family and friends delivered in a timely manner.
Pepper had to stop herself from slapping the woman’s hand with her ballpoint pen. Jealousy simmered through her veins, more powerful than she’d ever experienced in her life, mingled in with a peculiar, soul-crushing sense of inferiority that made her throat close up. Charlene was Jack’s age. She was experienced and sophisticated, and not a single word she said seemed to come out without careful thought beforehand.