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After a round of handshakes with Bryce, they’re off
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were avoiding making eye contact with me. Did my presence make you uncomfortable?” Bryce asks as we watch Claire and Timothy climb in the back of a taxi.
“I stopped breathing for a moment when I heard your voice behind me. I was afraid my college frenemy would find out how I know you.”
“Frenemy?”
“It’s a long story. I can’t believe of all the places in New York, we’d wind up having lunch at the same place at the same time.”
“I try to book late lunches at Ambrose’s because it’s so crazy earlier in the day.”
“Got it.”
A voice with a slight accent speaks from behind me. “Mr. Van Der Linden, will you finish your meal here or will you return to your table? We’ll gladly clean this table and bring you the rest of your meal here if you’d prefer.”
This must be the manager or maître d’hôtel.
“I hope this beautiful woman will join me at my table for a drink or dessert,” he says, pressing me for an answer with his disarming blue eyes. “And, please add the tab for this table to mine.”
“That’s not a problem, Mr. Van Der Linden.”
“Will you please join me at my table, Amanda?”
“I can sit with you for coffee,” I say awkwardly.
“It’s settled. After you,” he says, gesturing for me to follow the man. “You seem disappointed. I’m actually happy I get to see you again. It’s a bit unexpected, but good things often come out of the unexpected.”
“There are few people on this planet who know I work for Todd and I’d like to keep it as quiet as possible. That was a bit too close for comfort for me. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. You simply caught me off guard.”
“I get it. You don’t have to explain yourself to me. You have a private life and you’d prefer if the two worlds remained separate.”
“You summed it up perfectly.”
“Nevertheless, I’m happy to see you again. I did a double-take earlier when I saw you in that dress, but I was in a business meeting and I had to force myself to remain focused. It’s not an easy task when the woman I was with last night looks so damn good.”
Since sitting at his table, this is the first time I’ve relaxed enough to take him in.
His gray suit fits him perfectly and his baby-blue shirt softens his eyes. The pattern of his black and white tie adds a touch of playfulness that makes him even more irresistible.
He looks freaking hot.
He catches my lingering gaze.
Snap out of it!
‘Rule number four. Don’t fall in lust or love with your client.’
“I love the shoes today as much as I loved them last night.” He looks down at my feet while caressing my thigh. “The only thing sexier than you naked in those shoes would be to see you wearing nothing more than these shoes and matching white underwear.”
I curl up my lips in a smile.
“What?”
I whisper in his ear, “You’re in luck. I happen to be wearing a matching set of white lacy underwear. I guess great minds think alike.”
He sits back and sizes me up. He gets up, pulls out a roll of hundred-dollar bills from his pocket, peels four of them off the top of the pile, and flings them on the table.
“Let’s go find out if you’re just trying to turn me on, or if you really have something to show off.”
