She hadn’t really believed he would call. “That’s very thoughtful of you.”
“That’s not my whole wish. I want you to have sweet dreams of me. Of us. Together.”
“Sweet would be the wrong adjective for those dreams.”
“What adjective would you use?” His voice had dropped half an octave.
She sat down on the side of the bed. “Steamy, hot.”
“Keep going.”
She swallowed hard. “Erotic.”
“Did you think erotic thoughts in the Rolls on the way home?”
“You wore me out, so I napped,” she lied.
His chuckle was smug. “I don’t believe you.”
“You really are a genius.”
She heard the intake of his breath. “Meet me tomorrow. Anytime, anywhere.”
Her plans to take Grandmillie shopping rose up in her mind. “I can’t. I—”
“—have responsibilities,” he finished for her. “My father will like you.”
He hung up before she could respond. Now she’d never be able to go to sleep.
Nathan was about to toss the phone onto the bed beside him when it rang. It was his doctor.
“Ben, I’m in bed, as ordered.”
“I’d better get there fast. You must be dying.” Ben’s voice turned serious. “Be honest, how do you feel? Any fever, aches, pain?”
“No flu symptoms. Just some fatigue. That’s the God’s honest truth.” Of course, the fatigue might be due to his high level of activity that afternoon. Nathan felt a stirring in his groin.
“Not surprising, given that your body tried to cook itself from the inside out. Can I persuade you to stay home for one more day?”
“No.”
Ben’s sigh was heavier than mere exasperation with his friend would warrant.
“Tough day at the clinic?” Nathan asked. Ben worked as a concierge doctor in order to fund the free clinic he ran in the Bronx.
“The administrator quit. Again.”
“I’ll get Roberta to find you a replacement.”
Ben gave a ghost of a laugh. “Thanks, but Roberta is too good at her job. The last two admins she found for the clinic were so skilled they got hired away for twice the salary.”
“So why did this one quit?”
“One of the patients became violent and scared the heck out of her. I can’t blame her.”
The administrators reminded Nathan of Chloe—not that she was ever entirely out of his thoughts. “Ben, why does Chloe Russell need to rush home every night?” And stay home all weekend. Without him.
“Ask her.”
“I did. All she would say is that she has responsibilities. Is it a mad husband in the attic?” A thought struck Nathan, sobering him. “Does she have a child?”
“All I will say is no and no. After that you’re on your own. If she doesn’t want you to know, it’s not my place to tell you.”
“Your conscience has always been a problem in our friendship.” Nathan considered a different approach. “I’ve become interested in Chloe as more than an employee.”
A long silence met Nathan’s announcement. “What happened to Teresa?”
“Our entire relationship was built on the lie that she didn’t know who I was when we met.”
“Ah.” Ben managed to inject sympathy, disapproval, and comprehension into one short syllable. “Do I need to remind you that Chloe works for you?”
“I believe I included that fact in my first mention of her name.”
“Don’t you think that gives you unfair leverage?”
“Do you think I would use my position to force a woman to do something she didn’t want to?” Nathan was getting a little angry.
“Not deliberately, but the leverage is there nonetheless.” Ben paused a moment. “Consider this: you don’t even know why she insists on being home at night.”
“Because I haven’t applied any undue pressure to make her tell me.”
The next day Nathan remembered his words as he paced to the window of his office at Trainor Electronics yet again. He couldn’t focus on the reports he’d put off reading while he was ill. He kept wondering what Chloe was doing and how she could so easily refuse to see him for two days after the explosion of desire that had brought them together.
Was it a ploy as Machiavellian as Teresa’s? She would play hard to get so he would want her even more?
It seemed to be working.
There was no point in staring at the computer screen any longer. He strode back to the desk and signed off. He would go home and swim until he stifled the yearning in his body with sheer exhaustion.
In the elevator, he started to push the button for the ground floor when Chloe’s voice floated through his mind. You have a key project floundering, and you’re the person best qualified to rescue it.