Page 10 of Her Prince in Disguise
She looked up and nodded. “Yeah,” she finally agreed. “The final production numbers don’t show a slowdown, but the outputs are…off.” The last part came out in a whoosh because Laith had stepped around the table, standing beside her.
Andi could feel the warmth emanating from him. Good grief, he was so distracting, she could barely see straight! She fought against the urge to turn around, run her hands down his chest, slide her fingers into his hair. Her body literally vibrated with awareness.
“That’s a lot of numbers,” he observed, his voice deeper than usual.
Thankfully, he stepped back and smiled at her. There was an odd glint in his eyes now, and his lips pressed together, a muscle flexing in his jaw. “I have faith you’ll figure it out.”
Then he left the room. Andi stared after him, wondering if… had he felt the heat too? Had he noticed the tension crackling between them?
Surely not! Laith was the type women threw themselves at. There was no way that Andi could tempt a man like Laith Al-Sintra. He was tall, dark, and dangerous! She was…well, the most dangerous thing about her was the hangnail that she’d discovered earlier.
With a sigh, she turned back to her computer, continuing her search.
An hour later, she hissed, “Gotcha!” she exclaimed triumphantly.
Andi jumped up and did a little dance, shaking her butt joyously. She’d kicked off her heels hours ago and her hair was no longer in its tight chignon. In fact, it was hanging halfway down her back, the single band barely able to contain the tresses. But she’d found the issue! She knew exactly when the slowdown had happened!
"Success?" a deep voice rumbled from the doorway.
Andi yelped, nearly dropping her phone as she spun around.
Laith stood there, arms crossed casually over his broad chest, one dark eyebrow lifted in amusement. A soft lock of hair had fallen onto his forehead, making him look maddeningly handsome and far too real.
"You’re not here!" she gasped, frantically pushing her hair out of her face as her gaze darted around the room, searching for her shoes—a shield—anything.
He smirked and stepped farther into the room, perching a hip against the edge of the table. "I’m not?" he asked, the teasing lilt in his voice making her stomach do a ridiculous flip. "Funny. Feels like I am."
Andi realized that he was laughing at her and scowled as she slid her shoes back on, then tried to untangle her hair. “Yes, Ifound the problem.” She huffed a bit, then glared at the pointless hair band in her fingers. “I think there is a bigger issue though.”
“Someone is selling products coming off the line instead of shipping them out to the retail stores?” he offered.
Andi’s jaw dropped. “How did you…?”
He tapped her computer screen. “I cheated.”
Andi chuckled lightly as she stared down at the evidence she’d finally managed to piece together. "Yeah," she confirmed with a grin, feeling a rush of satisfaction.
They discussed the next steps in quick, efficient bursts, a plan forming between them with an ease that surprised her.
"Sounds good," Andi agreed, her voice buoyant with triumph. She pushed to her feet—and at the exact same moment, so did Laith.
They were close. Too close. Her breasts brushed the air just inches from his chest, the heat radiating off him like a living force. Andi told herself to step back, to create distance, to be smart. But her feet stayed planted.
For one suspended, breathless moment, they simply stared at each other. Neither speaking. Neither breathing. The charged air between them seemed to hum with something fierce and inevitable.
The buzzing of his phone broke the spell, making Andi jump. For a brief moment, she would have sworn that he felt the exact same intensity. But he turned away, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he answered, speaking in fluent French as he left the conference room.
Andi stared after him until he was out of sight, as her thoughts continued to whirl with shock at what had just almost happened.
“Stop it!” she whispered to herself. Then she gathered up her papers and computer, stuffing everything into her bag.
After that night, Andi saw Laith only for the morning breakfast briefings. Andi convinced herself that she’d only imagined that moment between them.
Still, she was aware that Laith could easily become a distraction if she didn’t keep common sense at the forefront of her thoughts.
However, she was painfully aware of his comings and goings. Laith would stride through the office, usually on his phone, and Andi couldn’t keep her eyes from following him. If their eyes met, Andi forced herself to look away.
That didn’t stop the fantasies from invading her dreams. Nor could she stop the heated blushes whenever he looked directly at her. And she felt a jolt of electric tension every time he entered the room.
