Superficial beings, men. A timely reminder and one she intended keeping uppermost in her mind for the next few days. Weeks. And even when she boarded that big shiny jet and headed for the other side of the world she would remember.
Superficial suited her purposes too. Superficial was safe.
She thought about that later, lying in bed and staring at the ceiling while the tropical breeze did nothing to cool her over-heated body. Overheated because she couldn’t stop thinking about Jared. In that superficial way.
He made her hot. From his tanned skin and toned body to the way he looked at her with those intense eyes the colour of smouldering olive leaves.
Then there were his lips. Firm and full and fabulous. The way he’d used them to kiss her. Talk about weapons of mass seduction. Her temperature rose another degree just thinking about it. She wanted those lips against hers again. She wanted them on other parts of her body—the way they’d worshipped her in her dream.
Rolling over, she squeezed her pillow and bunched it beneath her head. Why was this happening now when she was leaving Australia indefinitely?
She’d never been kissed by a man like Jared, certainly never involved with one. It was an all-new experience. A cocktail of power and authority with a twist of devilish wit and charm, to be served hot in a dark grey suit. Enticing, irresistible. Possibly lethal.
But even though Pam the PA certified him all work and no play, Sophie knew Pam her friend considered him the quintessential good bloke.
Not so superficial.
Not so safe after all.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE workload Jared gave Sophie on Friday was so heavy she barely had time to go to the Ladies, let alone think of him in any other way than her slave-driver boss.
She didn’t have time to think of him at all actually. She worked her butt off all morning without a coffee break, and by lunch she’d cleared most of the paperwork. She stretched in her chair, wiggled her fingers, satisfied with her efforts, then reached beneath her desk and pulled out her lunch box.
‘These need filing, please.’
Jared dumped another pile of manila folders on her desk. She realised he’d hardly have noticed if Pam had come back early and was sitting in this chair instead of Sophie.
‘Right away.’ She watched him not looking at her as he walked past.
He turned back just when she thought he wasn’t going to acknowledge her in any way and said, ‘And see if you can dig up the hard copy of the works schedule for the Carson Richardson project from last month, ASAP, client wants alterations as of yesterday.’
Resigned, Sophie slid her lunch box back into her bag. ‘I’ll get right on it.’
He checked his watch. ‘I’ll be back at two, if you can have it ready for me by then.’
‘For heaven’s sake, Sophie, you haven’t stopped all morning,’ Mimi said at one-thirty. ‘You are permitted a lunch break. Take one.’
She did. She ate her honey and walnut sandwiches in the lunchroom and washed it down with a coffee all in under ten minutes. No way was she going to let Jared see that she wasn’t up to the job. She could handle anything he threw at her. In fact, she wondered if he was testing her, just to see how she performed under pressure. Why, she had no idea. It wasn’t as if she’d be a regular here.
The rest of the day kept up the same frenetic pace. In one way it was good because it took her mind off the man and the evening ahead. Mostly.
The business dinner, she reminded herself as she responded to an email enquiry.
Five-thirty rolled by. Five forty-five. Sophie had plenty of work still to keep her busy but she really needed to know the details for tonight. Since he hadn’t mentioned it again, neither had she.
Jared and a client were still in his office. With the door closed. The ebb and flow of a tense-sounding conversation warned her it wasn’t a good time to interrupt. Was she to assume the arrangement still stood?
The door opened and both men walked out.
‘Sophie. What are you still doing here? It’s almost six.’
‘I needed to finalise a few details.’ Like where to meet you tonight? But she could hardly ask that in front of a client and give the impression it was business. Not with the flush she could already feel creeping up her neck.
She smiled blandly at his client, then busied herself tidying her desk. ‘I’m just on my way home now.’ Not that Jared heard; he was already walking away. She clicked off the screen and closed down the computer.
A moment later, Jared returned from seeing the guy to the elevator. ‘You’re still here.’
‘You noticed,’ she said with asperity and immediately regretted it. She reached for her bag. It was the sort of jealous female response you might give a lover and wasn’t what she’d meant, in addition to being totally inappropriate in the workplace.