An idea for a new product line stumped her. She’d looked into their client list and drawn a blank there, too. She hated to admit defeat, but the challenge ended tomorrow.
“Something I can help you with?”
Leanne stiffened at the sound of Mark’s voice at her doorway. She gave him a small, tight smile. “No, I’m fine.”
They’d run into each other as she’d inspected different departments in the company. He exuded confidence and control. Mark ran the operations as acting head until the competition decided their futures. Never had she seen him so much as ruffle his hair in frustration over the double stresses of keeping CoCo going and vying for the right to do so.
“Have you had lunch?”
She eyed him. Every time she saw him, he wore a dark business suit. This one, a navy blue, showed off his wide shoulders, narrow waist and long legs. Mark always appeared professionally turned out. His hair lay in tidy near-black neatness. His tie always coordinated.
She felt underdressed. Her brown pantsuit had worked at the university but didn’t fit here. No doubt she looked harassed and wrinkled compared to his cool assurance. She’d never be able to think of an answer to the challenge. She had so much to learn—
“Leanne?”
Pulled from her panic over the project, Leanne couldn’t remember his question. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“Have you had lunch?”
His faint smile annoyed her. He knew all too well she hadn’t been eating at the lunchroom here. He knew she hadn’t come up with a product or a client or—
“Is that a no?”
She shook her head. “No.” No, I haven’t eaten, and no, I won’t eat with you.
“Well, if you have time, I’d like to take you to lunch.”
She opened her mouth to decline. He raised his palm to halt her.
“Before you say no, let me suggest a truce. No company talk. I thought maybe we should get to know one another.” His shoulders moved in an awkward shrug. “We are family, of a sort.”
His suggestion threw her off-balance. Although formal, it was still an overture. She didn’t expect him to be charming or personable, but here he was, reaching out to her. She could ignore the rush of attraction she felt, but she couldn’t deny its existence. Mark usually came across as aloof, except in Gloria’s presence. Then he seemed rigid and proper, with a fine edge of tension.
Gloria. Something niggled at the back of Leanne’s mind. Something to do with this lunch invitation and his mother, but she couldn’t recall it. Without a valid reason to excuse herself, Leanne said, “Lunch would be nice.”
Mark grinned, and she had to catch her breath. Genuine humor lit his eyes, created dimples and nearly made her swoon. If he weren’t off-limits to her, she might have had to reach for support. She’d never seen this side of him.
“That’s a very cautious acceptance,” he said, “but since you did agree, I’m holding you to it. Maybe after we’ve had lunch, you’ll find out I’m not so bad. Next time I ask, you might even say, ‘yes, thank you, I’d be delighted.’”
Leanne laughed, rising. “One can hope.”
He crooked his arm to escort her. She stared. Was he kidding? Besides being ridiculously old-fashioned, she would appear to be flirting with him. The Collins people would never take her seriously. “Shall I get my coat or are we eating in?”
“Let’s not eat here. We’d never have a quiet moment, and all eyes would be on us.”
She murmured her agreement as she reached his side. Whenever they’d been in the same room, all activity had stopped while the employees observed them. It unnerved her, which she tried to hide. She had enough pressure to deal with at CoCo; she didn’t need constant scrutiny. “If you’d just let me know where you’ll be, I could try to avoid you.”
“I thought you’d been doing that already.”
Leanne stopped. Had his voice held a tinge of disappointment? “No, I haven’t. I’ve just been running around the place, trying to learn everything fast.”
She mentally slapped herself. Don’t admit your vulnerabilities. It gave him an edge, and being so far behind in matters of the company, she couldn’t afford to give him any further advantage.
“I’d be happy to help you.”
She spun to face him, astounded.
His mouth hung open, his brown eyes wide. He looked so stunned, Leanne laughed. After a moment, Mark chuckled. “Well,” he said, “maybe not happy.”
“And maybe not really helpful.”
He shook his head, still smiling. “I’d like to assure you of my willingness and honorable intentions, but I’m just not that good a person.”
“You’re human.” She grabbed her jacket and purse. “In the same situation, I wouldn’t help you, either.”
He stared at her. She flashed a grin as she walked past him. His quiet laughter reached her. Maybe lunch with Mark wouldn’t be so bad, after all.
He hailed a taxi at the curb. “Moving my car just isn’t worth the hassle. I hope you don’t mind?”
She shook her head, well-acquainted with Chicago parking.
They got out at a Chinese restaurant near enough to CoCo that they could have walked. Maybe multimillionaires didn’t walk, she mused. Glancing around the room, Leanne didn’t recognize anyone. They chose a table against an inner wall for privacy. A fish tank sat in the middle of the dark paneling. “Not the CoCo—I mean, the Collins Company executives’ favorite lunch spot?”
Mark smiled. “Which is why I chose it.”
“Don’t want to be seen fraternizing with the enemy?”
“There’s that, and I thought it would be more private. I’d like to get to know you, since you’re the Lion’s daughter.”
Leanne narrowed her eyes, pretending to study the menu as the waitress set their tea before them. She doubted his motives and for good reason. “You’ve had thirty years to get to know me, Mark. I may be just a business professor, but don’t play me for a fool.”
“You think I have some other reason?”
She glanced at him. His raised eyebrow gave him a pompous, cynical air. His arrogance stiffened the hairs on her neck. “You don’t consider me much of a threat, do you?”
His gaze dropped to the menu.
Perhaps it was better he didn’t answer, she thought. Then she wouldn’t have to dump that tiny cup of weak, lukewarm tea in his lap and walk out. With a small smile, she pictured him blotting tea off his crisp slacks.
They ordered crab Rangoon and egg drop soup to start.
“Everything on the menu looks good,” Leanne said to break the silence. “I’m not picky if I don’t have to cook.” She calculated how much time she could afford to take for lunch. She needed to do some grading. She usually ate at her desk, reading, grading and adjusting her lesson plans. Although it would have been wise to chat up some of CoCo’s administration during lunch, she had two demanding “jobs” and couldn’t take the time. She had to preserve the job that paid. “Maybe the Hunan chicken.”
“Then I’ll get the Mongolian beef. We can share.”