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“I didn’t say you did.”
Damn it. My verbal diarrhea usually doesn’t kick in unless I’m really rattled, and something about this line of questioning has me really rattled.
“What are you getting at, then?”
Lis sets down her pen and notebook. She presses the button on her recording app to turn it off and puts her phone back in her purse. “Off the record?”
I lean in, breathless.
“Off the record, I promise.”
“I don’t know yet.” And just like that, she clams up. The chatty, gossipy girlfriend who was asking me about my marriage proposal and fishing for gossip about my old boss was once again hidden behind the professional mask of a news reporter.
“Then I guess we’re done here.”
If she can freeze like a popsicle, I can turn myself into a polar ice cap. I am that cold.
“I guess so. I didn’t really have any more questions, anyway.”
I get up from my desk to show her the door. It’s getting late, and I’ve got a business to run.
“Thank you very much for your time, Ms. Blakely,” she says politely.
I chuckle at the formality. “Elsa’s fine. You’ve already seen me half naked.”
She sticks her hand out like she’s going to give me a handshake, but instead she bends down to the hem of my skirt and runs her hand along my thigh.
What the…?
With two fingers, she gently pinches my stocking and give it a good tug. With her other hand, she rehooks my garter.
She winks at me. “You were coming loose.”
/> Forget what I said earlier. Lis knows how to turn up the heat when she needs to. My polar ice caps feel like bathwater now.
The Capitalist Chronicle may be a harmless little paper, but Lis Langley is a dangerous woman. Impressive, but dangerous.
I can’t let her get too close to my business…or my legs.
“Thanks,” I tell her. “But next time, make an appointment before you show up, and I’d like a list of questions before we start. Got it?”
“Got it.”
Lis collects her things and heads for the door. Just before she turns the handle, she pauses and looks back at me. “I meant it when I said I don’t know what I’m looking for—but I’ll let you know when I find out.”
Chapter 18
Tanner
I touch my finger to my bottom lip, still feeling, still tasting the passionate kiss I planted on Elsa. I may have initiated the kiss, but she jumped right in just as enthusiastically. I only wish I could have stayed to see the reaction on Lis Langley's face.
I got a glimpse of Elsa before I sauntered out of her office. I am more than a little pleased to see I rattled her. I like keeping her on her toes. The elevator dings open, and I start to walk into my office when Marge motions me over.
“Good day, Miss Marge,” I say as I stop at her desk.
“Brace yourself before you go in there,” she says, pointing to my conference room where my entire board of directors is gathered. “I don't know what they're cooking up, but it's not good. I can feel it.”
“Hmm,” I say. I'm about to take a step towards my doom when instead I decide to lean against Marge's desk. “That's a pretty dress you have on. Is it new? It really brings out your eyes.”
