Will hadn’t sneaked up on Claire intentionally, but holy shit, what he’d heard was shocking. In the brief moments of her phone call he’d overheard, he discovered that someone named Mr. Sinclair was wiring enough money to her account to make her rich. This, right before she planned to leave the country. Surely it was coincidental.
His stomach sank and his heart pounded in his ears. A full-blown skirmish was going on in his head and heart. What would he do if she turned out to be the spy? He let out the breath he’d been holding way too long and relaxed his balled-up fists. Hell, who was he kidding? He couldn’t walk away now if she were holding a live grenade. Their connection was so intense he couldn’t end this even if he had to. And he didn’t want to. His instincts were right. He knew they were.
Claire gripped the edge of her desk. Her deep, quick breaths caused her breasts to swell above the low neckline of her blouse. Just the sight of her made his entire body go hard, especially a certain part. He couldn’t believe he’d only known her a couple of days; she seemed to have invaded every waking part of his life…his dreams, too. Only in his dreams, her hair was not bound in a knot on the back of her head, like it was now, and they weren’t just staring at each other awkwardly. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah. Give me a second to shut my computer down and get my things.”
He nodded and stepped into the lobby, shooting Jim a quick text to check out the transaction between Claire’s bank and Sinclair, whoever the hell he was. The sooner this was cleared up, the better. Then tomorrow, he’d really focus on the case and bury this once and for all. As for tonight, he planned to focus only on Claire Maddox, who had just emerged from her office looking like a waking fantasy. With a shirt that tied at her waist with a bow, she looked like a present waiting to be unwrapped. Damn. She had taken her hair down, and it softened her features. His fingers twitched as he imagined running them through the soft gold waves that fell well past her shoulder blades.
“You look fantastic,” he said, placing his hand on the small of her back to guide her to the elevator. Not that she needed guiding, but he sure needed to touch her.
The elevator door opened and Chance stepped out. “Hey! I was just coming to talk to you.” The door closed behind him.
Shit. From the time he was a little kid, Chance’s timing had always been remarkable—almost like he had a sixth sense detecting when his appearance would be the biggest pain in the ass. Like now, preventing Will from getting Claire alone. He gritted his teeth as she moved a foot or so out of reach. “What’s up?”
“Let’s go talk in Michael’s office,” he suggested. Then he noticed Claire. “Oh, hi, Miss Maddox. Have a nice evening. See you tomorrow.”
Well, this was fucking awkward. Michael would lose his shit over taking an employee out, even a temp, but he had no idea what Chance would do. Claire obviously picked up on his brother’s assumption and hit the down button as if she were leaving to go home.
No way. Will didn’t give a shit what Michael’s reaction might be, and he sure as hell wasn’t worried about Chance.
He reached over and took her hand, pulling her close. “Afraid I can’t right now. We’re on our way to dinner. The car is waiting downstairs.”
His brother’s brow furrowed for a moment, then relaxed as the pieces fell into place. “Oh.” He looked from Will to Claire, then back again. “Well, okay, then.” He paused for a moment as if fishing for the right words. “Have fun.”
Will pushed the elevator button, still holding Claire’s hand.
Chance took a few steps toward Michael’s office, then stopped. “Michael’s probably going to call you tonight.” Again, his eyes flitted to Claire and back. “You might want to answer. He’s pretty uptight.”
“He’s always uptight,” Will said as the elevator door opened. “I’ll answer. Don’t worry. But he should really come off his high horse and text instead.”
Chance nodded. “I agree completely, but as you know, he feels like text messages lack the nuances and clarity of real conversation. You know how he is.”
Yeah, unmovable.
“Have a good night,” his little brother said, striding away.
A good night was exactly what Will had in mind, and as the elevator closed, he exulted in the fact that he was one step closer.
…
Outside, a limousine was waiting. Claire tried to act like she wasn’t jump-up-and-down-giddy at the prospect of riding in one for the first time and slid in with what she hoped was going to be a dignified move. But, of course, she caught her foot on something and ended up crash-landing on all fours in the middle of the vehicle.
“That’s first date with Will Claire-ism number one,” Will said, sliding into the forward-facing seat at the back.
He held out his hand, and she took it, allowing him to pull her onto the seat next to him. A guy in his midforties who had held the door for them stuck his head in. “Ready, Mr. Anderson?”