A Perfect Strategy. Anna Sugden

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СКАЧАТЬ hum with need. She tamped it down, then changed the subject. “Anyway, Marty wants me in LA for a meeting. Apparently, something big is going down. If it’s another acquisition, it could result in a major new contract.”

      “That’s great. I’m so proud of you. We’ll have to celebrate when you’re next in Jersey.” Issy paused. “But what aren’t you telling me about Scotty?”

      Damn it. Sapphie should have known Issy wouldn’t let the subject drop so easily. “Nothing.”

      “Uh-huh. What’s the opposite of ‘the lady doth protest too much’? You’re not normally so close lipped about your dates. Did he turn into a jerk when the weekend was over?”

      “Of course not.” Sapphie couldn’t blame Scotty for how he’d reacted. She’d gone about the goodbye all wrong.

      It hadn’t been deliberate. She’d been swimming in unfamiliar waters and gotten scared. Instead of being cool, calm and collected, she’d blustered her way through it. And screwed up royally.

      It had started going belly-up when she’d awoken, wrapped in Scotty’s arms—his body curved around hers, her butt cradled in his groin, their legs entwined and his hand cupping her breast. The heat from his bare skin had seared the length of her body. And she’d loved it. She’d snuggled closer and savored the sensation of being cocooned with him.

      Until she’d panicked. Because she’d loved it. Because she hadn’t pulled away, as she would normally have done.

      Sapphie wasn’t a cuddler in bed. Sex was one thing, but sleep required space. Which was why either she left or she asked her partner to. Perhaps her habit was a leftover from sharing a bed with her sister, Emerald, for years until she’d figured out a better situation—a discarded bunk bed that she’d rescued from the side of the road and repainted. Since leaving home, she’d always had her own space and guarded it ruthlessly. Any invasion of that space was by invitation and never permanent.

      The realization that Scotty had made her react differently had set off alarm bells. And the downward spiral had begun. She hated that instead of exiting gracefully, she’d blown it all up.

      But she didn’t want to explain that to Issy. At least, not right now. “I can’t tell you anything more. I’m in an airline lounge, surrounded by business travelers.”

      “Hmm.” Issy clearly wasn’t fooled by her excuse. “Tell me one thing—are you okay?”

      Sapphie cursed the hesitation before she answered. “I’m fine.” She added hurriedly, “Just got a lot on my mind, preparing for tomorrow.”

      “Are you planning to see each other again?” Concern edged Issy’s tone.

      “I thought you said one thing.” Sapphie’s light laugh sounded forced.

      “It’s a clarification.”

      She sighed. “No. The weekend with Scotty was a one-and-done.”

      “For both of you?”

      Another damn hesitation. “Yes.”

      “I’m sorry.”

      “That’s the way it goes sometimes.” She cleared her throat to mask the sudden tightness. Thankfully, the attendant brought her dinner. “I should go. My food has arrived and I need to eat before they call my flight.”

      “All right. But you know where I am, if you need to talk.”

      “Thanks.” She couldn’t bring herself to say there was nothing to talk about. “Kiss my goddaughter good-night.”

      Once she’d hung up, Sapphie ate and went over the weekend with Scotty. Even though it was for the best, she couldn’t help wishing that their goodbye hadn’t been so fraught. So final.

      The problem was that they were bound to see each other again. It was almost impossible for their paths not to cross, given their mutual friends and her season ticket for the Ice Cats. It was hard to imagine bumping into him and not being able to spend time with him again. Maybe they could...

      Sapphie cut herself off. Scotty had made it clear that he didn’t do casual, and she didn’t want anything else. So why was she tempted to break her own rules for him?

      What was it about Scotty that turned everything upside down for her?

      The announcement that her flight was boarding was almost a relief. Sapphie gathered her belongings and headed out of the lounge toward the departure gate at a brisk pace. She was able to get on the plane and into her assigned seat right away.

      Though she worked on the flight, during the limo ride to her building and for an hour when she arrived at her apartment, Scotty hovered in the back of her mind. She gave up trying to read documents, because she wasn’t able to concentrate enough to take in the information. Instead, she wrote and planned. Presentations, emails, anything to keep her brain active and on task.

      Anything she could do without being affected by thoughts of the weekend and Scotty.

      Sapphie hoped that exhaustion would lead to a deep, dreamless sleep. No such luck. Steamy, erotic dreams took over the minute her eyes closed. Frustrating dreams that ended with her jolting awake before she reached completion. That left her drenched with sweat, aching with need and desperate for relief. Restless, she tossed and turned until her sheets were a twisted mess.

      She was awake before her alarm the following morning and had to press an icy washcloth to her eyes to soothe the puffy results of her disturbed night. After a long, pounding shower, artfully applied makeup and her favorite shoes, she finally felt ready to face the day’s meeting. She reviewed the latest status of her projects for Marty Antonelli as she wolfed down juice and toast. By the time she headed out the door, briefcase in hand, to the waiting car, she was almost back to normal.

      Which was critical; she had to be at her best for Marty. Not just because he was her biggest client, but because he constantly kept her on her toes. He gave the impression of being a genial, bumbling Italian, but he was one of the sharpest businessmen she’d ever met.

      The upside of rearranging her schedule for this meeting was that he’d promised this would be worth her while. Given that her current project with the NBA team he owned was now in the implementation stages and required less of her oversight, that likely meant a new project for one of his other businesses.

      She wondered which one he wanted her to look at next. His baseball team? His NASCAR team? His movie complexes? All would be interesting challenges. It was a shame he didn’t own a hockey franchise. Now that, she really would enjoy.

      Arriving at the Antonelli headquarters, she strode through the lobby toward the elevators, greeting the security guards. On the executive floor the receptionist told her that the meeting was in the boardroom and gave her a heads-up that it was a full house.

      “Any clues as to what’s going on, Sally?”

      The elegant redhead shook her head but said in a lowered voice, “The lawyers were here working with Mr. Antonelli over the weekend. Jenna was also here, but you know she’d cut out her own tongue before saying anything.”

      Marty’s secretary was notoriously protective of her boss’s business.

      Sally СКАЧАТЬ