It Happened in Manhattan. Emily McKay
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couldn’t have been more than five-six and had very clingy hands.
Ford wasn’t used to women blowing him off. After all, he’d only come out tonight because he’d wanted to make sure she was okay. After the near waterworks in the elevator, he’d been worried about her emotional state. Judging from the way she was laughing at Mr. Grabby’s joke, she was doing just fine. But enough was enough.
He handed his drink to a passing waiter and wove his way through the crowd to the dance floor. He cut in, sweeping Kitty into his arms before she could protest. But he could tell she wanted to. As her hand settled into his, a scowl twisted her perfect features.
“I’m starting to think you’re avoiding me.”
“Whatever gave you that impression? After all, it’s not like you wheedled your way into coming with me uninvited or anything.”
He grinned at her, some of his annoyance fading at the bite of her sharp tongue. In Texas she’d been relaxed and open. Who would have guessed he’d find her bristly defenses just as appealing. “I’m a grown man. I don’t wheedle.”
“Hmm …” She paused as if considering her words. No doubt searching for the best way to skewer him. “How about coerce? Or maybe bully? Are those descriptions more to your liking? Are those masculine enough for you?”
He stared down at her, studying her expression. As they danced, his body brushed hers. He couldn’t help remembering what it had felt like to dance with her in that bar in Texas. There, her body had melted into his; here, she held herself more stiffly. This was less a dance, more a battlefield.
“I don’t like to think,” he said seriously, “that I’ve bullied you into anything.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Then perhaps you shouldn’t be trying to buy my company out from under me.”
“That’s business.”
“I thought you said it was all business?” she countered smoothly.
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” She felt good in his arms again. Solid, yet soft. Curved in all the right places. Tempting and a little bit dangerous.
Suddenly he couldn’t remember why he was supposed to leave her alone. Something about the business deal, right? It was a bad idea to mix business with pleasure. He knew that.
But Biedermann’s was in serious trouble and FMJ looked like the only people stepping forward to help out. Besides, if everything went as planned, this would leave her even richer than she was now. Kitty was a businesswoman first and foremost.
But she was also a woman. A very desirable, powerful woman. He’d be an idiot to ignore the tension simmering between them. Not just because the sex would be fantastic, but because the more they tried to ignore it, the more likely it was to get in the way of business. He couldn’t let his former relationship with Kitty muck up this business deal. He wouldn’t let his buddies down like that.
Ford smiled. “What’s going on with Biedermann’s is all business. This thing between us isn’t business at all.”
“There is no thing between us.”
Her voice was so emotionless, he almost believed she meant it. But his body had been inside hers. He’d watched her face as she climaxed. Women didn’t forget that kind of thing. Sure, he could let her go on pretending they had no past, but that would just make things worse down the road if this blew up in both their faces.
“There was something between us back in Texas. I’m betting there still is.”
She hesitated, her feet missing the rhythm for a moment. But then she picked up the beat again and fell into step. “You’re wrong.”
“And you’re avoiding the obvious,” he said. “You’re acting like we didn’t have hot, steamy sex in the back of my truck.”
Her gaze narrowed into a glare. “And you’re acting like a sixteen-year-old girl who put out on prom night and now wants to hear the quarterback still respects her.”
He nearly chuckled at the image, but that seemed to only irritate her more.
She leaned closer to whisper vehemently, “You want to know the truth? Yes, the sex was hot and steamy. But it was just sex. Sex with a nameless, faceless stranger. It was never meant to be anything more than that. If you’d wanted a long-term relationship you should have put an ad up on one of those Internet dating sites.”
“Trust me. I’m not a relationship kind of guy. I’m just not willing to be whipped. Least of all by you. Why would I? So far, you’ve been insulting, arrogant and generally a pain in the ass.”
Surprise flickered across her face and he might have felt a twinge of guilt if every word he said wasn’t true. Possibly even an understatement.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he continued. “It’s kind of cute. In a spoiled brat kind of way.”
“Cute? Spoiled brat?” She sputtered as if searching for a response. “How da—”
“How dare I? I dare because whether you like it or not, we have to work together. Whether I like it or not, for that matter. I thought talking about what happened in Texas might make things easier for you.” Though the music continued to play, they’d slowed to the point they were no longer dancing. “Apparently I was mistaken. You don’t want to talk about it? Fine. Just make sure you don’t bring any of this baggage into the boardroom when we start negotiations.”
She pulled her hand from his. Her gazed narrowed to a venomous glare. “Thank you for clearing that up for me. Here I was worried FMJ’s offer might have been motivated by some chivalrous impulse on your part.”
“Sorry, sugar.” He softened his words with a grin. “I don’t have a chivalrous bone in my body.”
“I’m glad you’ve disabused me of that notion. Now I can go about being my normal … what was that phrase you used? Oh yes, pain in the ass … without feeling bad about it. That makes things much easier.”
Shooting him one last haughty look, she spun on her heel and left the dance floor.
“I ‘disabused her of the notion’?” he muttered to the empty spot where she’d been. “Who the hell talks like that?”
He stood there for a minute until he realized the couples around him were staring with interest. He flashed his best charming rogue smile and shrugged. “Women.”
Several men tried to hide their smiles. A couple laughed outright. The women either rolled their eyes or just looked away. But he could see in their eyes that they were more amused than they wanted to be.
If the audience was keeping score, it looked like he’d won another round. It didn’t feel that way, though. If only he’d believed her when she said she wasn’t interested in sleeping with him. Hell, he’d even be satisfied with believing himself.
Kitty’s heart pounded in her chest as she maneuvered through the maze of bodies on the dance floor. Nausea clung to her, sticky and thick. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could maintain any semblance of calm around Ford. Her nerves were frayed to the point of exhaustion.
Selling Biedermann’s was something she’d never thought she’d consider. Just meeting with FMJ to discuss it had been abhorrent. But she’d done it. She’d dug deep to find strength she’d never known she had and she’d done the right thing for the company. And this was how fate had punished her.
Why, oh, why, did it have to be him? Why did he have to be the F of FMJ? Six billion people in the world and the one she never wanted to see again just happened to be the one who held her future in his hands. It was cruelty piled on top of humiliation. It was completely … nauseating.
She flattened her hand against the restroom door and shoved her way inside. The room was thankfully empty. A fact that she only had a second to appreciate before another wave of nausea washed over her. She