“They’re one of the biggest retailers in the country,” she said. “High end…I’m sure this doesn’t mean anything to you, but it’s an unbelievable opportunity. Mrs. Marion doesn’t wait for anybody. If I don’t get there, she’s going to think we’re not serious.” She put a hand on his sleeve. “I’ll pay for the rental. I’ll pay you for the ride. I’ll even do all the driving. But please, please…let me share your car.”
He studied her face for a long moment, and she held her breath.
“Shoot. I’m not made out of stone,” he drawled, and she felt relief flood through her system. Impulsively, she hugged him.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she breathed, dancing despite her exhaustion. “You are a saint. You’re an angel.”
“My mama would’ve kicked my butt if she found out I’d left a woman stuck somewhere, anyway,” he said, and Sophie laughed. “So, this Mrs. Marion is going to be impressed that you did whatever it took to make your meeting, huh? She sounds sort of…” He paused, as if searching for a word. “High maintenance,” he finished.
Sophie laughed again as they headed for the car. It was tiny, as he’d said. She felt bad for him, having to accordion his tall frame into the small automobile for the next six hours. “She’s that,” Sophie agreed. “But she knows that a deal with Marion & Co. is huge, and the fact that she’s considering us…I can’t even tell you how unbelievable the opportunity is. I really appreciate this.”
“You can put your stuff in the trunk,” he said. “I have to go get the rest of my bags and things.”
“Oh, wait,” she said, stopping him before he turned away. “What’s your name? I don’t even know who I should be thanking.”
“Mark,” he said, holding out a hand and smiling that mind-blowing smile. “Mark McMann.”
She smiled in return. His hand felt warm and firm, and for a second, she forgot all about the trip, and the meeting, and basked in the glow of his attention. “I’m Sophie,” she said. “Sophie Jones.”
He winked at her. “Be right back.”
Sophie quickly packed her luggage and materials into the small compartment, feeling a little guilty at how much room it took up. She’d make it up to Mark, she told herself. The guy was being so nice. Maybe she’d take him out to dinner, thank him properly.
Going out to dinner with a guy that good-looking would hardly be a hardship, she thought with a smile.
Mark returned after a few minutes. “I’ll try to wedge most of my stuff in the back,” he said, rolling a small dolly’s worth of boxes and luggage up to the car.
“Good grief,” Sophie said. No wonder he didn’t want company. They were going to be crammed like sardines in the tiny car. It was going to be an uncomfortable ride. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Again, I wouldn’t want to make a lady do my heavy lifting, either,” he said, with a quicksilver grin. “This’ll only take a minute.”
“I don’t mind…”
Sophie’s voice trailed off as she saw the logo on the boxes. It was distinctive, a set of three Ts in a swirling script.
Trimera. She’d know that logo anywhere.
He saw where she was looking, but didn’t say anything. He simply packed the rest of the boxes in the car.
He works for Trimera, she realized, the relief ebbing away slowly. Trimera, one of the biggest cosmetics companies in the business. The same company, in fact, that had fired her mother.
No wonder he’s going to San Antonio. He’s going to the same trade show. And he’s pretending not to realize we’re competitors!
“Okay, all set,” he said, in that same pleasant voice. “Shall we?”
She nodded, getting in the car.
And of course, he decided to give me a ride…after I told him about the Marion & Co. meeting.
He got in the driver’s seat, smiling at her. “Well, we might as well get to know each other. It’ll be a long trip.”
She nodded, smiling back at him even though the last thing she wanted to do was smile.
“Why don’t you tell me about this company of yours?” he asked, his voice elaborately casual. He didn’t even look at her when he asked, simply concentrated on the road as if his life depended on it. “It sounds great.”
Had she called him an angel? The guy was a devil—a handsome, smooth-talking, sneaky devil.
And for the next six hours, she was stuck with him.
THEY’D BEEN IN THE CAR for an hour, and the highway stretched out in the distance with very few cars besides their own. The sun was setting in a beautiful wash of salmon, rose and orange out on the horizon.
“That’s gorgeous,” Mark said, nodding at the sunset.
“Mmm.”
Mark bit back on a sigh of irritation. He hadn’t wanted to travel with anyone—it was bad enough that he had to drive, instead of catching a few hours of sleep on the plane—but he was being nice enough to offer the woman a ride to San Antonio. And now, since they’d gotten on the road, she’d barely spoken two words to him, and most of his questions had been answered with those one-syllable nonwords. She was so tense, he could practically feel it bouncing around in the interior of the ridiculously compact space they were sharing, threatening to explode. It was like traveling in a grenade.
“Warm enough?” he asked, pointing to the car’s climate control panel.
“Mmm,” she responded. “Thanks.”
He had to get her to open up. Otherwise…Well, not only would the trip be unpleasantly uncomfortable, but the whole point to them sharing a car would be ruined.
She said she had a meeting with Marion & Co. An important meeting.
He might not be credited with having a lot of business savvy by his colleagues, but he’d worked on the Marion & Co. account and knew them well. It was one of the biggest accounts Trimera had. If they were talking to other cosmetics companies, it would be worth a lot to know what they were talking about.
I find out what’s going on, and I might finally get that promotion.
Mark smiled to himself. He’d been working in sales at Trimera for the past five years, patiently biding his time, putting up with the snickers and snide comments about his past. He’d put in his time at night school, getting his MBA. Now, he was looking for his big break to make it up to the next level: director for a big account. He’d been angling for Marion & Co. for over a year. To have Sophie Jones and her information fall into his lap was an incredible stroke of luck.
He glanced over. Sophie’s toffee-colored curls danced around her shoulders, emphasizing the curve of her high cheekbones. Her green eyes scanned the scenery, fringed by long lashes. Her full lips pouted ever so slightly.
Having a woman like this fall into my lap would be incredible luck, no matter what the reason.
His body tightened in response. “Great sunset,” he croaked.
She glanced at him, her expression slightly amused. “You said that already.”
He frowned. “Oh. Right.”
He was attracted to her. That wasn’t all that odd, but the strength of his reaction was. He was used to dealing with women on a daily basis in his line of work—cosmetics execs were usually female. And before that, doing runway work, he’d been surrounded by beautiful women constantly. Comparatively speaking, Sophie wasn’t