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His mind wandered, questioning why he’d chosen commercial leasing as a career. Oh, right. His dad had chosen it. Jake had been sitting at the developer’s offices for half an hour already—a complete waste of his time. He was supposed to be closing a deal that day, but thanks to a last-minute hiccup, the details were still being nutted out. He’d used his commitment to an existing deal as an excuse to sit to the side and work, but it was really just because he was so far behind. He needed the extra time to catch up. A certain woman hadn’t left his thoughts in the two weeks since he’d met her. He found himself daydreaming, fantasizing about running his fingers through her hair and bringing those pouty lips to his and kissing her. Unzipping that black dress and letting it pool at her feet as he kissed every inch of her. Repeatedly.
He glanced up, grateful that none of the eyes in the room were on him. He adjusted his semi, trying to resituate it in his suit pants. It had been a constant problem since he’d met Cassidy, and his palm was getting raw from overuse, never mind his dick.
His boss was doing a lot of back-slapping in the room. Charles was in his element schmoozing the client with stories of golfing in Scotland. Apparently, the courses were spectacular, but Jake had heard all the anecdotes before. He rolled his eyes, mouthing the punchline to Charles’s favourite joke about his playing skills finally finding their match.
Jake shook his head and went back to his phone, pulling up the email that had just come through. Thankfully, his client and their tenants were getting closer to an agreement and wouldn’t need his input for the moment. The door opened behind him, but Jake didn’t look up, too busy typing out a response.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” the newcomer said, followed by a round of responses. He added, “This is my offsider, Cassidy Phillips.” Jake’s breath caught, and he snapped his head up, excitement fizzing in his veins. He knew there would be three agencies present at the meeting, but he had no idea Cassidy was one of those involved.
“Hello, pleasure to meet you,” she greeted them, and Jake watched her, taking in every inch of the beautiful woman. She was even more gorgeous than he remembered. In a crowd of middle-aged men with beer guts, flushed faces, and bald patches on their heads, she stood out like a graceful swan. Cassidy spotted him, their gazes snagging. The blood in his veins turned to fire as desire burned through him. Jake sucked in a breath as heat travelled up his throat to his face, and Cassidy smirked, not giving any other hint of acknowledgement. But it was enough.
She turned back to the man before her and smiled. The professional, polite tilt of her ruby-red lips captured Charles’s attention as easily as they’d ensnared Jake’s. “We were just talking golf courses. Do you play, Cassie?”
“No, I haven’t had the pleasure,” she answered politely with steel in her tone. Was it the condescension in Charles’s tone or the fact he’d called her Cassie that pissed her off? “What part do you enjoy most?”
“Getting out of the office. I don’t spend as much time outdoors for recreation as I’d like,” the developer answered.
There was a chuckle. “Polite way of putting it, John.” Jake watched his boss clap their potential client on the shoulder, and he rolled his eyes again. “It’s a man’s game.” The leer Charles gave Cassidy was revolting, and Jake ground his teeth together, wanting to do violent things to the man. Jake placed his phone gently on the table. Stood up. “Out there among the wilds. Leaving my wife and PA at home or in the office. These women, they nag me to death.”
Jake closed his eyes and breathed out slowly so he wouldn’t lay out his boss in front of a room full of people. He moved over to the group but waited until Cassidy responded. She was more than capable of grinding Charles into the dirt, and it would be fun to watch him being taken down a notch. Her put-on smile didn’t slip, but there was fire in her eyes. “To-mah-toe, to-may-toe.”
Huh?Jake furrowed his brows at her cryptic response.What was that supposed to mean?He’d soon find out. “Ms Phillips, good to see you again,” Jake greeted with a hand outstretched, inserting himself into the conversation.
She flashed him a smile that was far more genuine than the one she’d had in place for the other men. “Mr Denyer.” She extended her hand until their palms met. Her grasp was firm and warm, a spark of awareness passing straight through him with her touch.
Captivated, he watched as she crossed the circle of people to stand by him. She was dressed to kill in a red pantsuit with a shimmery black blouse and black stilettos. It would have been too much on anyone else, but on her, it was an aggressive mix of hot as hell and professional kick your arse.
“Care for a coffee?” he squeaked, clearing his throat and mentally rolling his eyes at himself. Suddenly he was in the middle of puberty again, his voice cracking as nervous energy pulsed through him.
She nodded, then added under her breath so only he could hear, “Anything to get away from those condescending arseholes.”
Jake laughed quietly. “And you thought you hated me.”
“Between you and them… it’s a tough choice.”
He passed her a mug before grabbing one for himself and motioning to the coffee machine. While Cassidy made her coffee, he searched the pods until he found an espresso. While his was dripping into the cup, he asked, “To-mah-toe, to-may-toe?”
“He calls it nagging. I’d call it sheer frustration in begging the man to perform.” She quirked up her eyebrows and batted her lids innocently, and Jake lost it, cringing and laughing at the same time at the picture she painted of his boss.
“That’s an image not even brain bleach will scrub away.”
Cassidy laughed, a light melodic sound that he wanted to hear more of. “You’ll be right.”
“Come to dinner with me.”
“Why?” She leaned against the buffet and sipped her coffee, challenging him to give her a good reason.
“Because you want to.”
“Or maybe I need to collect. Did you hear the news?” She smiled again, looking like the cat that got the cream, her eyes bright. Jake wanted to fall into that gaze and never leave.
“What news is that?”
“Accord Hub signed on the dotted line a couple of days ago. They specifically requested that I be their lead agent.” Jake smiled, genuine happiness suffusing him, and moved to wrap his arm around her waist, giving her a congratulatory hug. She cocked her head to the side.
He froze. Stopped in his tracks. Let his arm drop to his side.What am I doing?He didn’t have a right to hug her, especially not where they were. Jake’s eyes widened at how sideways things could have gone. He swallowed hard, flushing in mortification. “Ah, sorry—”
“Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps we can get started.”
