way. But she wasn’t quite quick enough. As she turned to sidestep, there was Alan Barrett practically nose to nose with her. Or more like nose to chest.
When she looked up, her breath caught in her throat. She inhaled his cologne, which was woodsy and male, and felt so small and fragile standing near him it was as if he could swallow her up. The fabric of his Western-cut suit coat brushed her own jacket. There was a flicker in his eyes, a tightening of his lips. Did that mean he was affected, too?
What was happening that she was having fantasies at work? Maybe she should take Carrie’s advice and go out on a few dates, even if she didn’t intend to get serious with anyone.
Regrouping, she quickly stepped away from him. “Take as long as you like. When Brian finishes with his meeting, I’ll tell him you’re here.”
Then, feeling as if she were running from the devil himself, she hurried back to the safety of her desk and the work that was going to be her future.
Alan didn’t like to be kept waiting.
He never sat on the sidelines—not at the family ranch in Texas, not when he was working in real estate wherever it took him. For the past year, he’d been dividing his time between Texas and Portland, Oregon, doing more deals with Brian here and in other areas of the West Coast.
Unable to help himself, he looked out at the blond-haired young woman who had barred him from Brian’s door. Damn, he was used to getting his own way, and he wasn’t accustomed to his pulse racing as it had when he’d looked into her green eyes and heart-shaped face. With a low oath, he told himself Lisa Sanders was probably not much older than his daughter.
Turning away from her with some reluctance—and wondering if she was as efficient as she looked—he went over to the window and peered down the five stories. Taking his phone from his belt, he dialed his daughter’s school. This call to Christina’s guidance counselor was important. She’d been accepted at Stanford and USC, though she was seriously considering the University of Illinois because of the animal sciences program. His ex-wife didn’t like that idea at all. She wanted Christina to pursue psychology or premed, a more highbrow science. But his daughter had her own mind. She was the light of his life and, to his consternation, could usually get him to side with her. Sherri would also be having this discussion about colleges with Christina’s guidance counselor either today or tomorrow.
Alan brought up the guidance counselor’s name and pressed Send. Hopefully, she’d be free and they could have their discussion a little bit early.
Half an hour later, finished with his conversation, he exited the conference room. About to approach Lisa Sanders and demand again she tell Brian he was here, he stopped to watch her a moment as she opened mail. Her bob was chic and blunt-cut, swinging forward when she tilted her head. Her suit fit her slim body as if it was custom-made. Her white blouse had a demure scoop neck, and he saw she was wearing a locket. A present from a boyfriend?
Probably.
Alarm bells went off and he told himself not to even wonder about it. He’d never had a penchant for younger women, so why start now?
But there had been a maturity in Lisa Sanders’s eyes when she looked at him that had almost startled him.
Now she quickly slit open an envelope, took out the sheet of paper…and went absolutely white.
What kind of mail could cause that reaction?
As he approached her, he saw her hands were shaking. “What’s wrong?” he asked, standing in front of her desk.
She was still staring at the sheet of paper in her hand.
“Miss Sanders, are you all right?”
The sound of her name must have caught her attention, and she glanced up. When their gazes met, he felt that full-body impact again. He looked deeper and thought he saw fear. What was this young woman afraid of?
Putting on her official office manager’s face again, she blinked, took a deep breath, then replied, “I’m fine.”
“Your hands are trembling.”
She looked down at them, then at the letter. Folding it, she quickly tucked it into her suit jacket. “I’m just a little…cold, I guess, with the damp weather outside and all….”
When he was in Portland it seemed as if it was always damp. But he could sense a lie when he heard it, and she was lying through her teeth. She wasn’t cold. She was upset about that letter in her pocket.
It was none of his business.
Since his encounter with Brian’s gatekeeper earlier, he hadn’t pegged her for a shrinking violet. The letter she’d received in the mail must have upset her greatly.
Suddenly men’s voices burst from behind the closed door. Seconds later, Brian and two men Alan assumed were clients were standing near Lisa’s desk. Brian greeted Alan and introduced him to the men, who soon excused themselves and left Summers Development. All the while, Alan kept one eye on Lisa, who was still pale and fidgeting with messages that had probably come in while Brian was in his meeting.
After the clients left, Brian turned to Alan. “It’s good to see you again. I missed you this past month. How are things in Texas?”
“My brother’s a good manager. I don’t have to worry when I’m away from the ranch.”
Now Brian turned to Lisa to include her in the conversation. “I guess you’ve met Mr. Barrett?”
Lisa gave her boss what Alan suspected was a forced smile. “Yes, I have. I didn’t want to interrupt you when he arrived,” she admitted honestly.
“Alan and I’ve been doing a lot of work together. You can always interrupt me when he shows up.” Brian took the messages she handed to him, flipped through them, then stuffed them into his pocket. “I’ll take care of these later. I want to get our meeting started. Lisa, I’d like you to sit in.”
Her green eyes went wide with surprise. “You would?”
“Sure,” Brian said easily. “The only way you’re going to get experience is to be involved in what I do. When you earn your real estate license, you’ll really be ready to go. You might want to take some notes for us, too.”
Ever since Alan had stood within three feet of Lisa, he could smell her perfume. It was a haunting fragrance, somewhere between flowers and musk. Now he got another good whiff as she leaned toward her desk, grabbing a notepad and pen.
Stepping aside, he motioned for her to precede him into Brian’s office. Their gazes held for just a second too long and he felt that jolt of adrenaline again that had been missing from his life for many years.
As Alan waited for Lisa to be seated in one of the chairs in front of Brian’s desk, Brian explained, “Lisa graduated in December with a degree in business.”
“Margery left?” Fifty-five years old now, Margery had been Brian’s office manager for as long as Alan had been working with him.
“Margery’s husband retired and she’s traveling with him. Lisa’s only taking over the job temporarily until she has her license.”
Alan wondered why Brian had chosen Lisa out of all the people he could have hired for the position. Why would he be waiting for her to earn her license to join his team? Why wouldn’t he hire someone with experience?
As he checked out Brian’s interaction with Lisa, he didn’t see any evidence that his colleague was enamored with the young woman, or that Lisa was attracted to Brian. Still, one never knew what went on behind closed doors. Brian had once alluded to a rocky time in his marriage, but Allan had never seen evidence of that, and with adopting Timothy, he and Carrie seemed to have absolutely everything they wanted.
Studying Lisa, Alan thought she still looked unsettled. She was staring down at her pad, pen in hand, ready to take notes. But he sensed she was distracted.
He was sure of it when Brian