red and white wines.’ Zach no longer wanted to hear about the menu. He let his gaze linger on her. He wanted to kiss her instead.
She outlined the rest of the menu, and looked into his eyes. Warm spots of colour formed on her cheeks, but she only murmured, ‘Your wine bill will be sky high. I thought you’d want the best.’
He dipped his head. ‘Money is no object in this exercise.’
The guests perused their proposals while the meal was set out. Lively discussion ensued. Zach did his best to throw himself into it and put thoughts of Lily Kellaway’s soft skin, and his desire to touch it, out of his mind.
‘Once a proposal is accepted, it’s handed to one of my team of experts.’ He leaned forward as he explained the procedure to the man seated across the table from them. ‘They either supervise the buy-out, or move straight in to manage the re-shaping if it’s a share situation. No time is wasted. We’re about making things work in the fastest, surest way we can.’
Over the entrées and a fine Sauvignon Blanc, Lily scribbled into her notebook, and picked at delicate prawns and Tasmanian scallops. Zach answered questions, parried comments and told himself he was doing well.
But all the while he was aware of her. In every break in discussions, his gaze went to her unerringly.
He looked at her now, and felt each bite of food she took explode on his own tongue, wanted to meld those tastes in exploration of her mouth. ‘You chose the caterer well. Is it one I’d know?’
‘Possibly not.’ She glanced at the group discreetly situated at the far end of the room, then looked at him again. ‘They—they’re sort of like a galloping garçon. Zippy little van, go anywhere in a hurry. Several local offices have used them.’
‘And you know this because you phoned other secretaries, rather than going at it blind and ringing restaurants and caterers first. Clever.’
Clever, determined, so eager to do her work well, that he couldn’t stop himself from wondering if she’d be equally as enthusiastic and unwavering about pleasing a man under the enveloping cloak of a long, sensual night. It wasn’t a question he should be considering.
But his praise brought her gaze back to his face with startled gratitude.
‘I have to—I try to think outside the box.’ She made it sound like an impediment, and hurriedly took a taste of saffron-rice paella, closing her eyes to savour the sharp, tangy fragrance and taste.
Despite his best intentions, his lids drooped as he watched her enjoy the food.
‘Mmm.’ She glanced at her plate. ‘I have to admit, this is very pleasant.’
He ate salade de boeuf with buttermilk mash, and noted the fineness of her bone structure, the delicate shoulders beneath the blazer. His body twitched. Yes, this was pleasant—in a torturous sort of way.
Her attention focussed on him. The colour in her face deepened, and she looked quickly away again.
‘You’ve done a good job with the lunch, Lily.’ He tried to bring his thoughts back to business. Was it to be like this any time they got closer than the width of a desk away from each other? ‘If the rest of your work for me is equally as professional and useful, I’ll be very pleased, indeed.’
She straightened in her chair, primmed her mouth and clutched at her notebook again. ‘You can rely on Best Secretarial Agency to take care of your business needs. You won’t be let down again.’
When the desserts arrived, conversation lulled in favour of enjoyment of the delicate fare. Lily relaxed, let go of the deathly grip on her notebook and turned her attention to her food.
Instead of relaxing with her, Zach’s tension increased. Why hadn’t he been able to banish personal thoughts of her from his mind?
Maybe it wasn’t his mind that was causing the problem. Maybe he needed to indulge his curiosity. He twirled the stem of his wine glass between his fingers. One little taste test. Just to see. So he could put it out of his thoughts once and for all…
‘The coffee crème is delicious.’ She turned to him and smiled. A simple smile, yet he wanted to rush her into the supply closet at the rear of the conference room and kiss her among the broom sticks, buckets and mops.
He was losing his mind. Could only think of tasting her, nothing else, even though every fibre in his being warned him it was dangerous to think this way. Even for a moment. ‘Um—’
‘I hope the lemon panna cotta and fruit coulis equals it.’ She dipped her spoon into the confection again. ‘Would you like me to ask the caterers to give you a serving of the coffee crème, too? I’m sure they’d have some spares, if you’d like to try both.’
‘No. Thank you.’ He cleared his throat, forced civil words out, couldn’t quite hide the deeper timbre of his voice. ‘I’ll be fine with…what I have.’
He tried his lemon panna cotta, praised her choice and tried not to think about her mouth. They were in the middle of a conference meeting, and his awareness of her was off the scale.
She blinked. That rapid flutter again of her lashes. ‘That’s very good. I’m glad you’re enjoying your…dessert.’
‘Yes.’ The coffee arrived. With relief, he turned to the man on his right and engaged him in conversation until things began to wind down.
Finally, the time came to deliver his short closing speech. He got to his feet. ‘You’ll all need time to think, to confer with colleagues, to run the figures. I suggest phone conferences tomorrow and Wednesday to conclude our business. Phone Lily in the morning. She’ll let you know what time slots are available.’
From the corner of his eye, he saw Lily scribble something in her notebook and underline it.
With murmured thanks, the guests moved out. Zach saw them off at the door while Lily set the caterers to work on the clean up. She returned to his side just as Hardy clamped an unlit cigar into his mouth and said around it, ‘A phone conference doesn’t suit me. Come to my office tomorrow at 4.00 p.m. I’ll give you my answer then.’
‘I’m not available at that time.’ Zach tried to instil regret into his tone. ‘Nor will I be available for anything but phone conferences for the rest of the week. You’ll understand that I’m busy.’
As a concession, Zach acknowledged the other man’s probable commitments. ‘I’m sure you must have a full schedule, too. Perhaps you’d like to call on Thursday or Friday. I’m prepared to extend the deadline for you.’
‘We’ll see.’ Hardy barged out the door, proposal tucked beneath his arm and a scowl on his face.
‘Nice exit.’ Lily’s chuckle washed over Zach, sensual and free. She looked into his eyes, the smile still lingering on her lips. ‘Do you think he’ll accept your proposal?’
‘I expect he will, eventually.’ He dipped his head closer to her face. Wanted her. Didn’t want to.
She gasped. A soft sigh of sound that revealed her reaction to him. ‘Well, um, I’ll just have one last word with the caterers, then. To make sure they’re, um, all finished catering.
‘Don’t wait for me. You go on back.’ She drew in a shaky breath. ‘I’ll join you when I’ve calmed—in a minute. I’ll join you in a minute.’
He left. It was either that or snatch her into his arms and kiss them both senseless, momentary acquaintances or not.
CHAPTER THREE
‘CAN I help you?’ Lily closed the filing-cabinet drawer, and offered a questioning smile to the boy who stood in school uniform in the middle of the reception area of her office, his shoulders hunched, his profile to her.
Two and a half weeks had passed since she’d started work at Swift Enterprises. Two and a half weeks filled with a growing, unspoken