She took a long swallow of the champagne. “I was adopted,” she said, her tone discouraging further questions.
“Korean descent?”
She shrugged, irritation surging inside at his refusal to drop the subject. Perhaps he wasn’t as perceptive as she thought.
It always bothered her that she didn’t know. Natalie’s younger sister—her parents’ biological daughter—Belle, was positive Natalie was either Korean or Japanese, while Louise always said she couldn’t tell one Asian from another. Brian hadn’t volunteered an opinion except to say: It’s not that important what ethnicity you are, is it, sweetie? All that matters is that we found you, took you into our family, and raised you as one of our own.
A political statement if ever there was one. But then Brian had made a career out of being circumspect.
Natalie shoved unpleasant thoughts of her family aside. Time to change the subject. “You’re not really interested in talking about work, are you?”
“No.”
“So why did you pretend otherwise?”
A hint of humor tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Would you be here if I’d told you the truth?”
“No.”
“There you go.” He gave her an unrepentant grin.
“Devious,” she said, her voice deliberately cool.
He spread his hands. “But hardly criminal. What is criminal is ignoring a smart, sexy woman.”
If he’d shown any sign of mockery or insincerity—even outright flattery—she’d have walked out on him, CEO or not. But somehow the simple way he spoke made her believe he truly found her desirable. His gaze roamed over her as if he could impart the carnality of his presence onto her.
Sudden images of their bodies, naked and panting, raced through her mind, leaving her breathless. Every feminine intuition in her said that if she showed even a tinge of interest, he’d make love to her until she drowned in sensation. A man like him wouldn’t want anything messy like emotional entanglement. Earth-shattering ecstasy was all he promised, all she could ever expect from him.
Well, too bad. Marcus O’Dell had been good in bed, and it just wasn’t enough. She wanted a man who could love her unconditionally and for the long term.
“I don’t do the interoffice dating thing,” she said. “It’s kind of a rule with me. So, although this is really flattering, it’s not going to work out. Maybe you should find another woman who’ll be happy with what you’re offering.”
He regarded her calmly. “I don’t want another woman. And I think it is going to work out.”
“You do?”
“Come on, you feel it. There’s a lot of chemistry going on here.”
True…but still. She gave him her best oh-come-now laugh. “I’m not a teenager anymore. I don’t let my hormones make my decisions for me.”
“Wanna bet?”
Natalie raised an eyebrow. “Do I want to bet?”
“I’ll bet you that you’ll have dinner with me again before the week’s over.”
“And if I do? Then what?”
“Then you lose the bet and owe me a full weekend to change your mind about this ‘no interoffice dating’ rule of yours.”
“What do I get if you lose?”
“Oh, I won’t lose. But if I do, I’ll give you a million dollars.”
Her jaw dropped so fast she was surprised it didn’t hit the table. He couldn’t be serious. A million dollars?
Their food arrived. Although it smelled absolutely tantalizing, her stomach was knotted too tightly to even think about eating. She could already feel the champagne churning dangerously.