Sophie fought to quell the pang of envy that struck deep in her chest. What would it be like to be the object of Zach’s devotion? His closed demeanor aside, the man was sex on legs. Or maybe it was that very aloofness that made him so appealing to her. She took a sip of her rapidly cooling coffee. No, it was more visceral than that. To use a more colloquial expression, the man was prime beef. It was no hardship to imagine the lean, hard-muscled lines of his body beneath the tailored suits he wore.
A tiny thrill coursed down the length of her spine, setting a tingle up in her lower back. Lord, she had it bad. Just thinking about him was enough to send her pulse up a few notches and a flush of awareness to heat all those secret parts of her body that were hidden by her office clothes.
Combine a killer physique with a handsomely chiseled face, expensively cropped jet-black hair, green eyes that looked straight through you and a mind as sharp as a tack, and he became a very appealing package. From the first day he’d walked through the front door of the professional suite and taken up the spare office next to Alex’s, Sophie had been mesmerized by him. He carried himself with an air of confidence that made it clear that he was there to succeed at whatever he turned his hand to. And succeed he did. His investment advice had made his client list an exceptionally large and equally wealthy one. Some even said he had a Midas touch and, if his address on the outskirts of town was any indicator, he certainly knew how to put his money to good use.
She also knew that you didn’t get anywhere without hard work and dedication and if she didn’t apply some of that to the list of things she had to do today, she’d have to answer to Alex when he came back. If he came back, whispered a small voice in the back of her head.
* * *
Zach hung up from the call and just for a moment allowed himself the indulgence of resting his head in his hands. He was worried about Anna. She’d always been high-strung, but right now she was acting as if she was stretched to the breaking point. He had to do something, and do it soon. Her parents still insisted there was nothing wrong with her, keeping their heads in the sand regarding any potential mental imbalance.
Their refusal to admit to her instability wasn’t doing her any favors. She needed help—professional help—and it was up to him to find it for her. Drawing in a deep breath, Zach straightened and booted up his laptop, opening a search window. Before long he had a list of people and places to contact. He’d do more research tonight.
Zach pressed his fingertips against his closed eyelids. He felt so damned responsible. He should never have married Anna, never bowed down to her father’s—his boss’s—unstintingly direct pressure to court his only child.
Sure, Zach had been attracted to her. She was blonde and beautiful and had an air of delicacy about her that had appealed to the caveman inside him in a way he’d never experienced before. But he’d been all wrong for her. She’d needed someone less driven, more devoted. Certainly someone less earthy. It hadn’t taken long for the fragility to wear thin, for him to feel trapped. Then, just when they’d begun separation proceedings, she’d discovered she was pregnant and it had become far too late to walk away. He’d tried to do his best by her—after all, he’d vowed to her before man and God that he’d stand by her through all that life could throw at them.
But life had thrown them a complete curveball with the death of their baby son. And while Zach had learned to hide his pain beneath a shell of self-preservation, Anna’s guilt over the car wreck that had taken ten-month-old Blake’s life had seen her spiral deeper and deeper into depression.
“Zach? Is everything all right?”
He hadn’t even heard Sophie come into his office. He snapped to attention. “Sure, everything’s fine. Just a bit tired is all.”
“I found your phone. You’d left it connected to your hands-free kit.”
She slid it across the desk toward him, the screen letting him know exactly how many calls he’d missed from Anna. He sighed. Tonight he would definitely make some decisions. It was past time.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
He lifted his gaze and met Sophie’s. She was a sight for sore eyes, with her cute blond bob and those warm, whiskey-brown eyes of hers. Today had been the first time he’d seen her approach anything outside of her usual unflappable mien, when she’d arrived a few minutes late. He kind of liked seeing her a little off-kilter. It made her seem more human, more approachable.
She always looked immaculate—her clothes well cut but not flashy—and he’d long envied Alex her calm, capable efficiency. As Alex’s executive assistant, she kept the place running like clockwork, keeping an overview of not only all the pies Alex had his thumb in but every aspect of every pie. You had to admire a mind that could compartmentalize and draw information out on command the way hers did. In Alex’s absence, the cracks would surely have started to show by now without her talents.
Zach hadn’t wasted a second on availing himself of her skills over the past month, when it had become clear that Alex’s disappearance was more than the temporary foray they’d all thought he might have indulged in. With the police now handling the disappearance of his good friend, Zach had doubled his workload, juggling both his own clients’ portfolios and Alex’s venture capital concerns. Without Sophie he’d have dropped the ball by now.
He really ought to show her some appreciation. He spoke out loud before thinking on the subject long enough to talk himself out of it.
“Sophie, you’ve been a godsend these past weeks. I couldn’t have managed it all without your help. I know you’ve been putting in some long hours and I’d like to make it up to you. How about dinner at Claire’s at the end of the week? Sound good?”
“You don’t need to do that, Zach. I’m only doing my job—one I’m very well compensated for.”
“I know, but I am grateful and I’d like to show it. I’ll make the reservation today, and Sophie? I won’t take no for an answer.”
She gave a little laugh, the sound a gurgle of amusement that removed the last of the dark cloud in the back of his mind and pulled an answering smile across his lips.
“Well, when you put it like that, what can I say? Thank you, I’ll look forward to it.”
He watched her turn and leave his office, noted the way the fabric of her straight skirt skimmed her hips and pulled across her buttocks with each no-nonsense step. An unwanted pull of desire tugged deep inside him and he forced himself to avert his gaze. Acknowledging that Sophie Beldon was an attractive woman was one thing, but actually doing something about it was off-limits. They worked together, and he didn’t want to jeopardize that. Too much hinged on them continuing to work in synchronicity until Alex’s return. Besides, look at the disaster of his last work-related relationship. It wasn’t something he was in a hurry to repeat.
He’d asked her out to dinner to express his gratitude, that was all. There couldn’t be any more to it than that—no matter what his clamoring libido insisted to the contrary.
Two
“Thank you, I shall look forward to it?” What on earth had she been thinking? The words played over and over in her head, so stilted, so... Argh! Why couldn’t she have come back with something witty or sophisticated? Something that might have attracted his interest just that little bit more.
This was further proof that a man like Zach Lassiter was out of her league, Sophie castigated herself as she settled at her desk and tried to force her mind back to analyzing the projection figures that had come in on Alex’s latest venture. They made