A slight hint of sarcasm in his tone made her pause, but she was probably projecting her feelings. She’d thought the same when Louise had made her speech about how Exeter wasn’t good enough. “Well, you know. The cachet of Europe.” Natalie rolled her eyes and took a sip of wine.
* * *
Alex didn’t buy Natalie’s act for a second. She was trying hard, but he could detect hints of embarrassment and injured pride in her voice.
He already knew a lot about her family. Her sister, the real Hall daughter, hadn’t gone to Europe to study.
“That was very nice of them,” Alex said. Time to switch gears. “Are you planning to resign anytime soon to join your father’s campaign?”
Her eyes widened, and she let out a short laugh. “I don’t think that’s something I want to tell the CEO of my company.”
“Why not?”
“If I tell you I’m going to quit soon, I’m lacking in company loyalty. If I tell you I’m not, I’m lacking in family loyalty. Either way I seem to lose.” She put a bite of pasta in her mouth, chewed, swallowed, and dabbed at her lips with her napkin. “Actually, I don’t plan to quit. Bri…Dad already has Belle—that’s my sister—and a very competent staff. I’m sure I won’t be needed.”
Interesting. Most politicians’ families tended to work together on campaigns to project a happy, wholesome image to the public. With Virginia’s conservative constituency, he would’ve thought her smiling, loving presence would have been required. Whether it was an election or a corporate takeover, everything had to be ready and lined up correctly in order to win.
A glimpse of wistfulness passed through her eyes, but she quickly lowered her eyelashes. The tightly coiffed hair made her features stark under the amber glow of the restaurant lights. She was an intelligent woman, highly educated and experienced. Three years at Goldreich Stanley in Hong Kong, Wharton MBA, three years at DDE. Even her outfit said “I’m a pro.”
Still…there was a lingering vulnerability about her that made him want to reach out and protect her. The thought was disconcerting. Alex liked his women worldly, ambitious, and driven, ones who understood and were comfortable with the kind of relationship he preferred.
Ethan reappeared. “I have to go. An emergency conference call.” He turned to Natalie. “I’m sorry. Perhaps next time?”
She gave him a regretful smile. “Sure. Good night.”
After Ethan left, silence descended on the table. Natalie fidgeted with the bits of pasta left on her plate. Alex finally leaned back. “Dessert? This place is supposed to have the best tiramisu in town.”
“Why not? I never say no to dessert.”
He signaled the waiter, who cleared their table and went to get the tiramisu.
Alex held a bottle over her glass. “More wine?”
“No, thank you. I have to drive home.”
“Cab it and expense it, if you want.”
“I’d rather not.”
Shrugging, Alex poured rest of the Chianti for himself and placed the empty bottle at the end of the table. Their tiramisu appeared, and he took a bite of the moist, bittersweet treat.
“You’ve gotta wonder if they knew we’d order this all along,” Alex said.
“Mmmm. Probably.”
Alex watched her eat. Her full, red mouth looked startlingly erotic closing around the small silver fork. Her pink tongue darted out to lick it clean of cream and crumbs before she went for more. If it had been anyone else, he’d have found the move calculated, but with Natalie, everything was unconsciously done, which only added to her allure. He imagined all sorts of pleasurable things they could do in private.
“You owe me something,” he said.
“What?”
“Remember the bet we made on Monday?”
A frown appeared on her face, and he almost laughed. Obviously, she hadn’t been thinking about that at all.
“I thought it was only for a private dinner and only if you asked me out.”
“Uh-uh. The only thing we agreed to was another dinner before the week was over.”