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The massive doors to the conference room stood open Lara’s heart thudded She hesitated in the doorhile she scanned the rooe, really Six o, when she’d transferred fro in it and been amazed at the room’s enormity
There he was, standing at the ith his back to her It didn’t matter that she couldn’t see his face She knew hiht The width of his shoulders That ht-black hair And the way he stood, with a sort of sexy, king of the universe arrogance
It was Slade, just as she remembered hih that long-ago night Whose ared only in the darkness before dawn…
Slade, whose long, lean body suddenly stiffened
She held her breath, told herself it was iave herself all those reassurances, she knew She felt like a trapped animal as he turned toward her
A dozen reactions raced across his handsoht
Oh, God
The rooround, looked at hi to seduce her again Not this time, not even into complacency The sooner he understood that, the better
“Ah, there you are, Ms Stevens”
Lara tilted her chin and turned away, toward Edwin Dobbs
“Mr Dobbs,” she said pleasantly “I hope I haven’t kept you waiting”
“No, no You’re right on tiood thing he did, Lara thought, because it felt as if she alking on a carpet made of marshmallow “I believe you know all the members of the board”
“Certainly How do you do, Mr Rogers? Nice to see you again, Mr Kraemer”
She smiled She shook hands Answered yes, the weather was unusually cool, participated in the ht would ular fellows
Inside herself, she trembled
She’d caught Slade off balance—that look on his face, before he’d realized he had no effect on her anymore, had said it all The trouble was, for one heart-wrenching moment, she’d wanted to smile back, to run across the room and into his arms
“…our new architect, Mr Slade Baron”
Lara’s heart banged into her throat Dobbs had led her across the roo at her as if he’d moved a rock and uncovered a new species of life
“Mr Baron,” she said politely, and held out her hand
“Such formality, Lara,” Slade said, just as politely, and clasped her fingers in his
Dobbs’s eyebrows rose “Do you two know each other?”
“No,” Lara said
“Yes,” Slade said, at the sahed “I suspect what Lara means is that we don’t actually know each other very well Isn’t that right, Lara?”
Lara looked up at hi at the corner of his ray as a storm-tossed sea
“Yes,” she said stupidly, because Slade had taken coame All she could do was follohere he led and hope to hell she could get out in one piece “We, uh, we don’t know each other very well,” she parroted, and pulled her hand from his
Dobbs nodded thoughtfully “Isn’t that interesting? Ms Stevens, you never said a word about knowing Mr Baron”
“No Ah, no, I didn’t You see—you see—”
“Well, she couldn’t” Slade flashed a lazy grin “Considering that we never did get around to exchanging last names”
Oh please, Lara thought, please, let the ground open up and s me
“We o, and ended up spending a bit of tiht, Lara?”
“The weather,” she said jerkily “It was—”