Page 38 of Off Her Game
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“Have you ever visited NJ Legacy?” Noah asked as they crossed the threshold into the skyscraper where his business occupied the upper five floors. He waved at the two security guards at the check-in kiosk. Good guys. He usually talked baseball for a few minutes every Sunday with them. One of them triggered the gate to the elevators.
“I put in an application last year.” She surprised him by rocking onto tiptoes to smooth his hair. The wind must’ve done some rearranging. “Better.”
“Thanks.” He scrutinized his reflection in the elevator’s mirrored doors and finger combed. “You applied to work here? I don’t remember that.”
“There wasn’t anything available. You guys have low employee turnover.”
“We always have room for talent.” He punched the button for the top floor.
“Guess my resume got hung up in HR or something. It’s not like you see every application. You also don’t know if I’m talented. I might be a talentless amateur.”
“Somehow, I highly doubt it.”
Her eyes darted around as a flush stole across her cheeks. The woman didn’t like compliments. She leaned close to whisper, “You think he can watch us in this building? How careful should we be?”
“I put my security guy on it yesterday. He said he has every feed in the building protected.”
“How good is he?”
“I hired him away from the NSA. We have a much better compensation package it turns out.”
“I’ll bet. Emma mentioned this was a brunch. I kind of phased out on the details beyond that.” With each higher floor number her shoulders notched themselves higher. She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “I think this is a bad idea. Not so much the brunch, although that’ll be awkward since I’m Emma’s sister, but because I shouldn’t meet with…you know, them. I should go.” She scrutinized the ceiling, perhaps searching for the camera.
“Let’s see if they have a solution for everything. But first, this is a social event. I have to mix a bit. It might be weird since I’ve never brought a date. There might be more than a few who’re interested in you.”
“How, uh, into each other do we need to be? We talking a kiss before I walk away to get coffee, holding hands the whole time, or some social distance?” She met his gaze, wide-eyed like a bird in a cat’s mouth. “I don’t know if I can pull this off, especially with Emma there.”
“Where’s the girl who almost castrated a guy in D.C. for taunting her after losing?”
“I’m not pissed off right now. That brings out a different side of me.” A small smile touched her lips.
He mentally fist-pumped as if he’d won a competition. “You’re a badass, Tori. These are your people. They’re gaming geeks who, like me, will find everything about you from the nose stud to your tattoos sexy as hell.”
“You think I’m sexy?”
Noah cast a look heavenward. “Hasn’t it been obvious since the moment you argued with the police officer over the money they lost?”
“They didn’t lose it. They stole it.” Her eyelids drifted to half-mast as she glided close to him.Danger alert.
“Elevators are an issue for us. Want me to hit the emergency stop button?” Her finger reached out toward the red button.
He stopped her hand. “I still wouldn’t give you the code.”
“Uh-huh.” She wiggled her hand free of his grasp to trace a path from his chest down to his waistband. She moistened her lips with a flick of her small pink tongue.
“Christ,” he muttered as his imagined those lips around him.
She leaned in to press herself against him. “Do you like it soft and shallow or hard and deep?”
Yeah, he’d totally give her the code, his passwords, and any account numbers she wanted. He’d never been the recipient of attention from anyone like Tori.
The elevator dinged its arrival. She stepped away as the doors opened onto the glassed-in top floor. Fifty to sixty people already hovered around the food stations.
He adjusted himself like a damned teenager.
“Got a little situation you’d like to bargain for me to take care of before we step out of the elevator? Perhaps, in your office?” A deep, almost hoarse laugh erupted from her when he glared at her.
