jacket collar, the fact that there was a slight shadow on the strong jawline, or the sensual, almost cruel curve of his lips. Because when she noticed things like that she remembered how it had felt when he’d kissed her, when he’d crushed her against him, his skin abrasive against the softness of hers, his lips hungry and powerfully compelling.
‘Did you know it was going to be me today?’ she asked him suddenly. ‘Did you know I had this job?’
‘Of course!’ He seemed to find the question amusing. ‘Your name was put on my desk nearly a week ago.’
‘So what are we going to do about this, Alexi?’ For a second there was a raw, unguarded note in her voice. ‘I can’t work for you again.’
His eyes narrowed on her and a strange emotion sizzled through him, an emotion he couldn’t place.
He supposed it was anger. Even though he knew he had no right to the emotion, he’d been furious when she’d turned down his offer to stay within the company and then casually walked away. That fury hadn’t diminished any over the last few weeks. In fact if anything it had increased. Alexi was used to getting what he wanted—used to people dancing to his tune. And Katie had left before he was ready to let her go.
‘I’m surprised that you feel like that.’ He paused and measured his words. ‘I expected you to be more…professional about this. You have just signed a four-month contract to work for Madison Brown. You must want the job.’
She glared at him. How dared he accuse her of being unprofessional? She wanted to tell him that he hadn’t exactly been acting in accordance with the rules of business when he’d taken her to bed! But she held the words back; there was no point in raking over the past, and besides he’d probably point out that she had been as much to blame for what had happened as he was. And he’d be right. ‘Yes, I wanted the job!’ she said instead, her voice tightly controlled. ‘But that was before I realised you owned the company!’
‘What difference does that make?’ He shrugged. ‘I haven’t got a problem with employing you again—so where’s your difficulty?’
She could feel panic rising inside her like a gushing, icy spring. He didn’t have a problem with it because his emotions weren’t involved and hers were—not in a deep way, she reassured herself swiftly. But nevertheless she couldn’t turn herself off to what had happened between them, couldn’t deal with it in the same practical way that he obviously could. This was one of the reasons she had turned down his job offer last time.
He could probably deal with this because he was used to it, she realised numbly, used to taking a woman to bed and then dismissing her from his mind—whereas she was totally inexperienced at this kind of thing. In fact that whole casual-sex thing had been completely out of character for her. She’d only ever had one previous lover.
But she couldn’t tell him that.
‘I haven’t got a problem with it—I just wanted to move on,’ she told him.
Alexi watched as she lifted her chin in that determined way of hers, and something inside him twisted. He was usually the one to tell a woman when it was time to move on. This was the second time that Katie had dealt with him in this offhand manner, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t like it at all. ‘You know, Katie, you and I used to have a good arrangement. It suited us both.’
‘Yes, well, people change, don’t they, Alexi? What suits one moment doesn’t the next.’
‘Very true.’ His eyes narrowed on her. ‘And it just makes me realise how very alike you and I are.’
Katie wanted to disagree vehemently, but she held her tongue.
‘And we are both in agreement that we’ve enjoyed our fun and now we’re moving on.’ He shrugged again. ‘I don’t have a problem with that, Katie. I wanted you for this job because I believe you are the best person for it. It’s just business.’
‘I realise that!’ She glared at him. ‘I just wasn’t sure that you did!’
For a second she was gratified to see a flare of something in his eyes—fury, or maybe just irritation; she wasn’t sure. But she had struck some kind of response that had ruffled his impassive façade, and she was glad, so glad that it gave her a buzz of elation.
However, the feeling was short-lived, because then he just shrugged once more. ‘I can reassure you that my first priority is work, Katie. It always has been and it always will be.’
The words upset her. They shouldn’t have done—she knew he was just speaking the truth; she knew the score—but all the same it did hurt, and it crushed her brief feeling of triumph over him.
‘Well, I suppose that’s all right, then.’ What else could she say? she asked herself as she tried to regain her composure and not lose her pride.
‘Good.’ His lips twisted in a sudden smile. ‘So, now we have cleared the air, we can begin again.’
Begin again…? Katie wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. It made her nerves stretch, and she didn’t know what to say. The reality of her situation was hitting her like a truck travelling at speed.
She had signed a contract for four months—she was effectively trapped here like a butterfly in a jar. And the wonderful new job that was supposed to help her move on and forget the past had just turned to dust.
‘So, shall we get down to business now?’ He glanced at his watch. ‘There is a board meeting in about five minutes. Do you want to run through this report with me?’ He tapped the piece of paper she had made notes on.
Fury raged through her. She hated him in that instant—hated his cool attitude, his arrogance, his disregard for even the smallest feeling of sentiment.
‘I’m happy to run through it at the meeting,’ she said tightly.
‘Such confidence.’
‘Your company is employing me because I’m good at what I do. I don’t need any special favours.’
‘I wasn’t offering any. But the project you will be working on is of significant value. I thought it would be helpful for both of us to discuss a few points before the meeting.’
In other words he probably wouldn’t even have walked in to see her today, only for the fact that her work was of interest to him.
‘There isn’t time for an in-depth debate now, Alexi; if there are any comments you want to make you can make them during the meeting.’
‘OK.’ Alexi’s lips curved. He admired her brain, liked the way she could operate under pressure. He’d deliberately tested her this morning, asking for this report at short notice. And as always she had risen to the challenge. From the notes he had read he could see she had already picked up the gauntlet and was running with it. And that would please the board. ‘A word of warning; you might meet with some resistance this morning. Some of the members of the board have concerns about the fact that you are rather young for such a major assignment.’
‘I see.’ Katie tried very hard not to show any concern. ‘That’s rather bizarre, isn’t it? In today’s world people in their early twenties are very successful, and I have plenty of experience.’
‘Certainly.’ He inclined his head. ‘Don’t worry about it. I have the last say, anyway.’
‘I’m not worried about it. I’ll deal with it.’
Alexi inclined his head. ‘I’m sure you will.’
‘Well, I think we’ve said all that needs to be said.’ Katie glanced at her watch. She needed to get rid of him and gather her thoughts. ‘I’ll follow you down to the boardroom in a few moments. I just want to highlight some points so I can read my notes more easily.’
Alexi shrugged and got up from behind the desk.
She’d almost forgotten how