When he didn’t take it, she set it down in front of him. ‘Try drinking some of this instead of guzzling down gallons of caffeine. It might ease that tension headache you’ve got going on.’
He ignored the bottle. ‘I don’t anticipate adding nursemaid to your list of duties. The ones I have in mind for you will be quite involved. Let’s concentrate on those, shall we?’
‘Duly noted. You can be assured that if I happen to be around when you’re struck by lightning or a murder of crows decide to use you for pecking practice, I’ll continue on my merry way.’
The smile that twitched his mouth was a shade warmer than the last one. Elise found herself wondering what a genuine smile from him would look like and abruptly stepped back.
Turn around. Go.
She headed for the door.
‘Miss Jameson.’
It wasn’t a request. It was an order couched in psuedo-reasonable, even tones.
Keep walking. She took another step.
‘Elise.’
She froze, the sound of her given name so unbelievably sensual coming from his deep, slightly accented tones, that she couldn’t suppress a gasp. She slowly turned around.
He was no longer massaging his temples. But he’d wrenched the top off the water bottle, the tip of it poised an inch from his lips.
‘One last thing. My company isn’t the place to find your next boyfriend or a husband. As long as you’re contracted to work for me, you’ll practise a zero-fraternisation policy. I find that petty lawsuits are best avoided that way.’
‘Are you speaking from personal experience?’ she asked before she could stop herself.
His face tightened into a rigid, forbidding mask. Hell, she’d struck another nerve. God, what was wrong with her?
‘That is not your concern. Just be sure to let Grandma know you’ll be disappointing her for a while longer where potential wedding bells are concerned, would you?’
Elise turned back around, too filled with roiling emotions to trust herself to speak.
Keep walking.
IS THERE SOMETHING about me that rubs you the wrong way?
Of all the words she could’ve chosen.
Alejandro snorted, inwardly grimacing at the sexual bent he’d afforded the words. But they wouldn’t fade away. Like the headache pounding his temples, each heartbeat flashed an image of Elise Jameson onto his retinas, each one more vivid than the last.
Madre de Dios.
He didn’t need to waste time on an attraction his principles wouldn’t allow him to act upon.
Now he knew the cause of the stalled merger, he could simply pay Jameson PR for services rendered, plus a generous bonus. He had no doubt that Gael had arrived at the same realisation as he had, but, since negotiations hadn’t yet been severed with SNV in favour of Toredo, it was most likely Gael hadn’t found a satisfactory way to appease the Ishikawas, either.
With that last puzzle unravelled, he didn’t need Elise Jameson.
Except she’d rooted out his problem with a single, albeit unorthodox, phone call, whereas his strategy team had spent weeks trying to unravel the mystery of the stalled negotiations.
Sending her away would save the irritating prickling of his senses whenever she was near. Or he could keep her around as the extra pair of eyes she’d advocated until this deal was in the bag.
He stemmed the need to call HR and retract the contract. He never set rules for his staff he didn’t follow himself. Regardless of how looking at Elise Jameson’s face and body made certain parts of him stir, his only focus in dealing with her would be this merger.
A pep talk. He was giving himself a pep talk. Por el amor—
He tossed the curiously empty water bottle on the tray, having no recollection of drinking it. He refused to believe his easing headache was because of his water intake. Or the unknotting of his muscles because Elise had helped him finally unravel the mystery of his failing deal.
He eyed his phone, the temptation to call Gael out on the games he was playing surging high. But no. First he would see what strategy Elise came up with. Every employee had their uses. He’d found hers. No reason not to see how she fared for a few more days.
Resolutely, he got back to work. Only to find his gaze straying with annoying frequency to the clock on his desk. An hour later, he snatched up the phone.
‘Margo, do I not recall paying for an efficient time management seminar recently?’
‘Umm...yes. Two months ago.’
‘Great. So is there any reason the HR team are taking over an hour to send Miss Jameson back up?’
‘Oh, yes, sorry. She called to say Mr Michaels was ordering lunch for the department and that he would be adding her order in so she could eat and get the papers signed at the same time. That’s super-efficient, don’t you think?’
Alejandro gritted his teeth. ‘Exceedingly.’
‘Shall I order your lunch now, sir?’ Margo asked.
‘No.’ He started to lower the phone. ‘Gracias,’ he tossed in before slamming down the handset.
He told himself he was irritated because he wanted her working ASAP. Time was of the essence.
So why was he eyeing the door, listening out for the click of high heels?
With a vicious curse, he refocused on the extensive list of products his marketing team needed his approval on before offering it through SNV in the next quarter. He was halfway down it when her laughter echoed through the door.
He knew it was her because the charge through his blood was hauntingly familiar. And thoroughly unwelcome. His PA joined in the laughter, as did a male voice.
Alejandro continued reading. More laughter filtered in.
He didn’t recall moving. Or turning the door handle.
‘So lunch was great, then?’ Margo asked.
‘Gosh, yes,’ Elise enthused. ‘The club sandwich was amazing! Thanks for recommending it, Oliver.’
Alejandro watched, unobserved, as Oliver Michaels, his head of HR, delivered a smile that made Alejandro’s hackles rise.
‘My pleasure. Although it’s wickedly sinful, it’s more than worth the extra hour at the gym.’ He patted his abs.
Elise smiled. The act was slow, measured. A revelation. As if she didn’t do it often, so was taking time to draw her companions’ attention to the extraordinary gift she was bestowing on them. Alejandro’s breath strangled in his throat. He watched Michaels and Margo stare as her smile transformed her face from visually stunning to exquisitely entrancing. ‘I call that a win, then.’
Oliver Michaels was the first to recover. ‘Uh...yeah. I like to think—’
Alejandro stepped into Margo’s office, achieving instant silence. ‘If you’ve quite finished rhapsodising about culinary delights, perhaps we can all get back to work?’
Margo’s eyes widened; no doubt she was realising what Alejandro’s chilled voice represented. With a quick nod, she refocused on her keyboard.
Elise met his gaze, her smile now non-existent, tension in her body as her nostrils flared slightly. Alejandro’s gaze dropped to her lips. She’d lost some of her scarlet lipstick since she’d left his office. The result was a softer look