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Bailey stepped back, firmly disengaging his hands. “So lovely to see you again.”
Jared made a point of sitting in the seat beside Alexander at the round table designed for conversation, which left Bailey to his left and Barbara beside her. A potent predinner cocktail Barbara suggested was a fine method of relaxation, and before long, the two of them had hit it off.
“So,” Barbara murmured as the fish course was being removed, “are you and the delectable Jared together?”
She shook her head. “What made you think that?”
“The way he looks at you. Like he’d like to have you for the main course…you might want to address that.”
Or not.
“And then there’s the dark and dangerous Alexander…” Barbara mused. “Uncatchable, say the tabloids.”
Bailey wondered, for the millionth time, why he was fixated on her. Surely the man could have any woman with his looks and fortune?
Jared asked her a question, claiming her attention with a touch of his hand on her arm. It was a gesture that did not escape Alexander’s attention because he had been watching her like a hawk all night. Bailey leaned into Jared and contributed her thoughts on the changing retail climate. Alexander tracked the movement. That she heartily enjoyed the constant touching when she was supposed to be hating Jared was a matter she didn’t care too examine too closely. It was all an act for Alexander’s benefit, of course.
Dinner stretched on, Parisian-style, with course after course of delectable French food. More bottles of twenty-year-old wine were consumed than Bailey could count, accompanied by enough business talk to make the night worthwhile, but not so much it impinged on the very civilized French way of taking the time to truly savor a meal. Talk turned to port when a cheese plate was placed on the table to finish. Davide and Jared, both huge fans of the intensely flavored wine, were invited down to the cellar by the owner to choose their selection. While the Gehrigs went out for a smoke, and their VP left to make a call, Bailey excused herself to use the ladies’ room rather than be alone with Alexander.
She took her time, but when she returned to the table, Alexander was still its only occupant. Jerking her head around, she found the Gehrigs chatting to a couple at another table.
Alexander stood. “Sit down, Bailey. I don’t bite.”
Yes, you do, she wanted to say. But rather than cause a scene, she did. Alexander picked up his wine, lowered himself into his chair, and took a sip. “How did your strategy session go? Ready for Tuesday?”
She nodded. “I think you’ll be very happy with the final plan.”
“Good.” He set the glass down. “Jared may be a maverick but his vision is right.”
Her gaze met his warily. “I’m glad you realize that.”
His slate-gray eyes glittered. “Why didn’t you take me up on that offer in Vegas, Bailey?”
She swallowed. “It wasn’t personal. I never fraternized with customers.”
“Yet you fraternize with your boss.”
Warmth flooded her cheeks. “Jared and I don’t have a relationship.”
“Oh, come on, Bailey. You’re infatuated with him. If you’re not sleeping with him now, you will be.”
Her blood pressure skyrocketed. “Pick a more appropriate topic or I will leave the table.”
“It’s fine, you know,” he continued. “I only want one night. Think of it like this, my Vegas proposal, except this time, you don’t get fifty thousand dollars, you get to save your boyfriend’s deal.”
Her jaw dropped open. “Why? Why me, Alexander? You could have any woman you wanted.”
He nodded his head toward Jared’s chair. “I want what he has. I want what I’ve wanted from the beginning.”
She shook her head at the direct, unhesitating stare he leveled at her. The man was a sociopath.
His gaze narrowed. “For a woman who stripped for a living you are very naive, Bailey. I want the fantasy. I want what you were selling on that stage—but I want it for me. To know when I sink myself into you, I have what none of them had.”
Bailey stood up on shaking legs. “You are insane.”
“No,” he said underlining the word, “I know what I want.” He nodded his head toward the back of the restaurant. “Sit down. They’re coming back.”
She turned and saw Jared and Davide winding their way through the tables, Jared’s gaze pinned on her. She sank back into her chair.
“Don’t make a mess of this for Jared,” Alexander murmured as the din of the restaurant buzzed on around them. “Think about it.”
She wasn’t actually sure what happened the last hour she sat there in a frozen state. The port was consumed, the cheese eaten by connoisseurs other than herself, and somehow the evening ended.
Alexander offered to drive them back to their hotel and rather than be rude, Jared accepted. When the Frenchman had dropped them off and they were in the elevator riding up to their rooms, Jared crossed his arms over his chest, the hot and bothered look to him suggesting he wasn’t so under control.
“What happened with Alexander at the table?”
She leaned back against the wall of the lift, her head spinning. “He told me if I took him up on his offer from Vegas, I could save your deal.”
His head jerked back. “What?”
She swallowed hard. “He said your vision was the future and we were the right choice. But that I could seal the deal by sleeping with him. That he only wanted one night.”
His nostrils flared, his fingers flexing around the metal bar that surrounded the lift. She was half terrified he would stop the car and go after Alexander from the coldly furious look on his face. Instead, as the lift stopped at their floor, he stepped out, held the door for her and stalked toward their rooms.
“Your card,” he barked, taking it and opening the door. It was a good two or three moments before he spoke.
“What else did he say?”
She lifted a trembling hand to her cheek. “I asked him why. He said he wanted the fantasy. That when he was deep inside me he would have what none of the others had.” She stared at him. “God, Jared. He’s sick.”
He was so still, so absolutely still, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. It throbbed once, twice, three times before he took a deep breath and started toward her, his hands cupping her jaw. “He’s a megalomaniac who thinks he can have anything he wants, Bailey. But he will never put his hands on you. I promise you that.”
She was shaking. He folded her against his chest and held her there, his hands in her hair. “He’s bluffing.”
She shook her head. “He brought in Gehrig.”
“Gehrig was a natural choice. They’re an extremely hot brand. I’m surprised they didn’t include them from the beginning. It was a smart move on Alexander’s part.”
She pushed away. “You need to send me home, Jared. This is crazy.”
“Not happening. We have Project X. It’s going to win this for us. We stay the course, Bailey.”
But he’d never wanted to use his secret launch. They had a whole strategic plan built around the products that involved an array of global partners. And now he was messing with that because of her past.
She stalked past him to the closet, pulled her suitcase out and started throwing clothes in.
“What the hell are you doing?”
She spun around. “I have to go. It’s the only way. If I’m gone, Alexander might lose interest and play fairly.”
Hot color stained his cheekbones. “Have you been listening to anything I’ve said? He doesn’t care, Bailey. You are not a deciding factor. You are a pawn in his game. So forget anything but us going in there and winning the entire committee over. Making him make the right decision.”
But what if Alexander didn’t do the right thing? She shook her head. “I can’t take that chance. I will not lose this deal for you.” She turned and started dumping her shoes into the bag, tears stinging the back of her eyes. Jared’s hands sank into her waist and spun her around.
“How many times do I have to tell you I’m not doing this alone? We’re pitching this together and we’re winning.”
Her gaze dropped to his perfectly knotted tie. A Windsor knot. Her favorite. And she wondered why, why was he doing this? Why was he backing her to his own detriment?
Her mouth twisted. “He told me he wanted to have what you have. Ironic, isn’t it, when you don’t even want what I’m offering?”
His gaze darkened to a deep, stormy blue. “You know that isn’t true.”
“How?” She practically yelled the word at him. “I put myself out there for the first time in my life, we share what we shared and then you shut it down as if I’m totally expendable. A dime a dozen…because of your stupid rules.”
His face tightened. “They aren’t stupid rules. They’re designed to ensure you don’t get hurt.”
“They’re designed to ensure you don’t get hurt.”
He lifted a shoulder. “They are what they are.”
“Coward.” She hurled the word at him with all the hurt and confusion surging through her. “You talk about trust. You want me to trust you on this, to walk into this pitch with you when you won’t even be honest with yourself?”
