What’s a Girl to Do?. Aimee Duffy

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       Chapter Two

      Unease twisted Shey’s empty stomach as she followed Mandy up the stairs on Monday afternoon. Why Marco, the big-dog editor and chief, would want his receptionist and an assistant editor to check out the upper floor was beyond her. She went anyway, clutching her purse tightly to her side. The sooner they got this over with and she could scoot to the deli across the street, the better. She was starved.

      Mandy opened the door to the twelfth floor, and Shey’s breath caught in her throat. Mr. Cool—Calvin—stood in the entrance lobby next to a table draped with a thick white cloth. A bottle of Merlot was open, two glasses poured and two candles lit, but she didn’t notice what was on the plates. She couldn’t take her eyes off of his.

      ‘That will be all, Mandy.’ His voice, gentle yet commanding, shivered through her.

      Mandy scurried back to the stairwell just as Shey’s shock cleared. She reached out and blocked the doorway with her arm.

      ‘What the hell’s going on here?’ she asked them both, though it was pretty obvious. She’d been set up. The you will not talk about me to strangers again speech she’d given Mandy earlier had clearly gone in one ear and out the other.

      ‘Shey, I hoped you would join me for lunch.’ There was no demand in his tone now, only charm, and she didn’t trust it one bit.

      ‘I think it’s romantic.’ Mandy let out a dreamy sigh and Shey rolled her eyes.

      She couldn’t deny the gesture was sweet, in its own way. She wanted a guy to make the effort for her, and Calvin had brought that in spades. Didn’t mean she appreciated the sneaky way he got her there. Still, she gave him points for his smarts. There was no way she’d have come if she knew what was going on.

      The effort alone deserved a gentle let-down, since her rejection on Friday night hadn’t gotten through that beautiful head of his.

      ‘Fine. I’ll stay, but only because I’m starving.’ And were those chocolate truffles? Yeah, she’d stay for dessert before she put her foot down.

      Mandy winked, then she was off down the stairs with a clatter of heels hitting concrete. Wisely, Calvin didn’t smirk, only pulled a chair out for her. She slid in, breathing through her mouth in case he was throwing out the bottled pheromones again.

      He disappeared behind her and then she heard the click of the door closing. She whirled the top half of her body around to face him, a skitter of unease dancing down her spine. ‘What are you doing?’

      Part of her wondered if this was a bad idea. She was alone with a man who drove her body crazy, a man she barely knew. He could be a rapist or a murderer. But if he was either of those things, getting Mandy to bring her up here would blow his cover, wouldn’t it? Mandy would know the last person Shey was with, and there was CCTV all over the building.

      Calvin left the key in the lock and sauntered back to her with a manly gait that drew her gaze down his body to take in every inch of that tailored suit. Shit, even his walk was sexy. The corner of his mouth pulled up and her heart stuttered.

      ‘I want to make sure no one interrupts us.’

      She watched as he sat across from her at the table, wondering if what he said was true.

      ‘I’m not going to hurt you, Shey. You don’t need to be afraid of me,’ Calvin said seriously.

      Stupidly, she believed him. But he meant physically, not emotionally, and to her the latter was all that counted. ‘Why lock the door? It’s not as if anyone will come up here.’

      One eyebrow rose as he studied her expression with intent eyes, like she was exhibit A, and she stifled the urge to squirm in her seat.

      ‘You’re really not afraid,’ he said, a warm smile curving those lips.

      ‘I have pepper spray in my handbag and grew up in the Bronx.’ She tried for an angelic expression.

      Calvin laughed and her smile slipped. Every time she heard that sound it felt like he was zapping her with little electric currents. His eyes worked like twin lasers, heating her from the inside.

      This was just like what had happened to her mother, except now it was happening to her.