Naked Attraction. Jule McBride
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wanted to ensure. She knew better than these lovesick fools. And between Mr. Hearts-and-Flowers and the two love bunnies in the next room, it was downright hard to conduct this business meeting. “Uh…do you have any more questions to ask?”
Glancing down at the pad on his knee and riffling through the pages, Derrick considered. “Sorry. At any mention of romance, I just…”
Ellie raised a hand and held it up, palm outward. “No need to explain.” Sighing, she prompted, “Your next question?”
“I use the old-fashioned stuff,” he continued absently. “Paper. The electronic devices drive me crazy. So I’ll need just a second to collect my thoughts.”
While she waited, Ellie smoothed her skirt and recrossed her ankles. The rust-orange suit and shoes she’d chosen looked amazing, but weren’t comfortable. Still, a photographer had arrived with Derrick, and she wanted to seem her best. If a picture did make the paper, Robby would see it, since he always read their popular publication.
Robby. Again! Cutting off the thought, she wondered why the damnable man kept invading her mind. The affair was over. Period. And yet she sometimes awakened, more than she wanted to admit, her sleep-hazy mind full of dreams about the raw sexual passion they’d shared.
“Well,” Derrick began. “I believe I’ve got everything I need. I’m struck by your success. So is my boss. That’s why he sent me here. I really wanted to meet you personally, rather than just speak on the phone, and now that I have, I’m truly impressed.”
So the article was going to be a good one. She fought the urge to shout with joy. “Thank you, Mr. Mills.”
“In under a year you’ve built an amazing company. You’ve cut the overhead so much—”
“There’s virtually none.”
“And many of the clients you previously handled at Lee Polls have remained loyal.”
“To me, yes. A lot of…my father’s clients followed me, too.”
“Any idea why? Robby Robriquet is an excellent and talented manager.”
But Robby wasn’t bringing home the bacon. He was best with numbers, she with finding new business. Oh, Lee Polls was doing well enough, but she’d been a third of its lifeblood for years. And as far as she knew, her dad really had retired. Not that she’d spoken to him.
“Mr. Robriquet is skilled,” she admitted. In fact, in her weaker moments, she hated to see him lose business. She knew how hard he worked, what it meant to him. He was every bit as talented as she, too, but…“The stars were with me.”
“Celebrity clients?”
She chuckled. “That, too. On that score, moving to a larger city where I can network more easily has helped. But I meant the stars of fate. I’ve just had a good run lately.”
“You’re too modest. You called a few long-shot elections, one national. In fact, so far this year, your polling data has been more accurate than anyone’s in the political arena, at any level of politics, local or national. Your analysis has constantly exposed glitches in data, where others have missed them. You’ve called new trends, too, and that has allowed you to make particularly accurate assessments.”
“There was the John Lewis campaign,” she agreed, speaking of a senatorial race in the South. “We got lucky there. Then the Wally Willis congressional call. We correctly determined the way Billings Corporation, the pet manufacturer, should drive its new business, as well, which had immediate, positive results for them, and their stock prices soared.”
“Results that were nothing short of amazing,” he agreed. “Do you care to share your secret?”
She laughed. “You want me to divulge the fine print of my pact with the devil?”
“A lot of people would like to know.”
“Just good footwork,” she assured him. “Solid data collection and long hours of analyzing numbers.”
“A lot of people don’t believe that, you know.”
She squinted. “Believe what?”
“That you don’t have a secret. Your predictions can be downright uncanny in their accuracy. People would pay a small fortune to understand how you do it.”
She laughed. “Who? Bookies and weather forecasters?”
“Among others.”
“I could tell you about my crystal ball,” she joked. “Or the cards I throw. Maybe even the special tricks I use with the I Ching. But I’d be lying. And anyway, starting this business hasn’t been a bed of roses.”
“Could have fooled the public.”
She frowned. “I had some difficulty when I was first getting started. New work was coming in, but…” Robby was still a constant distraction. “I was busy then, helping my friend Susannah Banner open a restaurant in this neighborhood, a sweet little country place named Oh, Susannah’s.
“My wife and I eat there all the time, and I knew you and Ms. Banner were friends.”
“You’ve heard of Susannah?”
“In name only. Her husband’s famous, and the restaurant’s had great reviews. It’s wonderful, as I said.”
“So is Susannah.” Ellie absently lifted a hand, touching the charm she wore. Now she just wished Susannah was in New York. A few days ago, she’d returned to Banner and J.D., after flying in to check on the restaurant. During the visit, she hadn’t mentioned Robby, of course, but no doubt, Susannah saw him regularly. Yes…she was treating Ellie with kid gloves, afraid any mention of Robby would send Ellie into a funk. At any rate, Ellie knew Robby and J.D.’s previously shattered relationship had been repaired, so they were pals again, and that meant Susannah was probably often in his company.
So she could have asked about Robby, but somehow she’d refrained. She didn’t want Susannah guessing at her heartbreak and doing the worst possible thing—playing matchmaker.
Derrick Mills was watching her. “Would you like to share anything more, Ms. Lee?”
Ellie thought over the past months, and the mystery surrounding J.D.’s supposed death after an explosive device had been detonated aboard his boat, The Alabama. As it turned out, J.D. escaped the wreckage unscathed, but he’d used the opportunity to walk away from his old life and start fresh. By pretending he’d really died, he’d been able to clean up his hard-living ways and win back his wife.
Due to those incidents, Ellie had been forced to return to Banner, however briefly, to attend J.D.’s funeral. It was the last time she’d seen Robby. Even a couple months later, she still felt raw from the experience. He’d looked as good as ever, dressed in a dark suit, and he’d been incredibly kind to Susannah, too, helping her make arrangements, so Ellie couldn’t help but feel touched.
She, too, had put aside past animosities. In the brief time they’d spent together, they were thankfully never alone. And they hadn’t talked business, nor about their affair, only about Susannah and J.D. Maybe they should have, she thought now. Maybe it would have been better for her and Robby to yell and scream, instead of being civil. Maybe that could have healed the ache that plagued her every time she imagined his face.
The vision of it swam in her mind now. The high forehead, straight nose, full lips. His skin was always glowing from a combination of good health and sun exposure. Swallowing hard, she tried to push away an image of his eyes, but she couldn’t. They were sparkling, arresting, deep with knowledge. She and Robby belonged together, Ellie suddenly thought. Every time she thought of him, she knew she’d made a mistake.
Robby was her fate, her destiny. And yet she was powerless to return to him. This office represented her innermost self, too. Even if her parents would fault her for it, work fulfilled her as nothing else could.
Whatever the case,