Excerpt from Lexie
“You’re here late.”
Lexie Underhill flinched at the unexpected voice that drifted across her office, but she didn’t need to look up to recognize who was standing in her doorway. Cameron Rowe. Her breath tightened like a pinched balloon. She’d thought she was alone.
How could she have missed him?
She quickly silenced the music that was coming from her iPod docking station. She wished desperately for the suit jacket that sat draped over the back of the chair behind her, but she refused to reach for it. Refused to show any signs of weakness.
“So are you,” she noted as her chin lifted. Hatchet man.
Her toes inched towards the shoes that lay tumbled under her desk. She’d thought she was the only one left in the building. Even the cleaning crew had come and gone, so why was he still here?
“What are you working on?” he asked.
She swept her hand protectively over her proposal, wiping away the tiny flecks of paper that clung to the clear plastic cover. Static electricity tingled against her fingertips, a prickly warning. “Just getting ready for tomorrow’s all-staff meeting.”
His brow furrowed as he watched her place the bound copy with the others. “Is there a problem with Marketing’s quarterly report?”
“No, it’s ready to go.”
Curious, he pushed away from the doorjamb and walked closer. His gaze kept going back to the stack of proposals, and Lexie fought the urge to clutch them to her chest. She headed up Underhill Associates’ marketing department, but the concept before her was something new…an idea she’d had to help turn her family’s company around.
Rather than gut it as he intended.
Her hackles rose higher as he lowered himself into the chair in front of her desk. Without her jacket and shoes, she felt at a distinct disadvantage—even if he was just as casual. His tie was loosened, and the sleeves of his crisp white shirt were rolled up on his forearms. Strong, tanned forearms, she couldn’t help but notice. He tossed his jacket onto the chair beside him and leaned towards her.
She inhaled slowly, fighting her response. He didn’t fool her. That was a wolf in sheep’s clothing before her.
“I’m sorry,” she said tightly. “Did you need something?”
The moment stretched infinitely as he watched her. Even quiet, he had a powerful presence. Make that especially when he was quiet.
“A break,” he finally answered. His attention shifted to her desk. It was uncharacteristically cluttered. The quarterly marketing report was open as she scoured it one last time for any typos. Her calculator was powered up, fresh from double-checking all her numbers, and a half-empty can of Diet Mountain Dew sat within reach. So did a granola bar, but it was untouched. Lexie cringed, especially when his gaze landed on her iPod. This was her inner sanctum, the one place where she could be herself. She didn’t like him this close, in her space. He made her feel exposed.
Had since the very first time she’d met him.
“Looks like you could use one too,” he murmured.
Her pen flicked back and forth between her fingertips. Being alone with him like this wasn’t a good idea. In the three months since her father had brought Rowe onboard to restructure the company, this was the closest she’d ever gotten to the man. Or more precisely, the closest she’d ever let him get to her. Inevitably, she found herself sitting beside him at meetings, but outside of that forced proximity, she’d become adept at avoiding him.
And for good reason.
“It will only take a little bit longer for me to finish,” she promised.
“Anything I can help you with?”
“No. I’m good. Thanks.”
His gaze honed in on the stack of proposals again. “Is it the layout for the new magazine ad?”
“No.”
“The results of the online survey?”
“No.”
“Some special project I don’t know about?”
Damn.
She hesitated for only the slightest of moments. “Yes.”
His eyebrows lifted, and she shifted in discomfort when he leaned closer. She’d roused the wolf.
“Can I see?”
She clutched the stack of proposals. Absolutely not!
Although the temptation to share was stronger than she’d expected…
Things at Underhill had gotten so strained, nobody was willing to even brainstorm. She’d tried to run the idea by her father, but he was too busy to listen. With every percent the company lost in market share, his mood became darker and terser. She’d feel so much better proposing her idea tomorrow if she knew it had legs, and the man across the desk from her had the sharpest mind she’d ever encountered.
But he was the enemy.
She shook her head. “You can review it tomorrow along with everyone else.”
“Can’t I even get a peek?”
Her stomach gave an unfamiliar little squeeze. “No.”
His dark eyes glittered, and a flush ran through her. There was a reason people called him Ruthless Rowe. He saw things others overlooked. Loopholes, redundancies and weaknesses were annihilated the moment they came to his attention. She wasn’t weak—and neither was her department—but she wasn’t stupid. It was better to stay out of his crosshairs entirely.
So why did she feel she was suddenly lined up in his sights?
His fingertips drummed together as he rested his elbows on his knees.
“So let me see if I understand correctly. In addition to your already heavy workload, you’ve been staying late to work on a secret project.” He glanced at the can of Diet Mountain Dew. “With only caffeine and ’80s pop music to keep you going?”
Lexie fought not to nab her personal items and shove them under her desk. What was she supposed to say? This was normal for her.
“Meanwhile, your brother took the afternoon off to play golf.”
She blinked. It wasn’t the direction she’d expected him to take. “Well, yes, but with a potential client.”
“Client, my ass. We both know that was an old college buddy.”
Wariness made her skin prickle. She was well aware of the situation, but she was not one allowed to question. Landers was the golden boy in her father’s eyes, although his sales team propped him up like a Herculean army.
The hatchet man’s eyes narrowed. “And I’m pretty sure Tara spent the day at the spa across the street.”
That pinched-balloon feeling returned. Carefully, Lexie put her calculator back into its case. This was not a subject she wanted to get into with him. Not now. Not ever. “What is your point, Mr. Rowe?”
“The name is Cam. Don’t you think it’s time you started using it?”
His unexpected flare of irritation made her toes clench inside her loose shoes. She looked at him and found impatience in his eyes. Impatience and something more… The tingle in her toes ran up her legs.
He sighed and rubbed his jaw, making the five o’clock shadow rasp. “Why couldn’t you just be more like the others?”
Lexie went still. “Excuse me?”
“Not like… Damn it.” His head fell forward. After a ten count, it lifted again. “What am I supposed to do with you, Lexie? You work too hard.”
Because she had to. Always had. Always would. But she’d never had to defend her work ethic before. She wrapped her fingers around her warm soda. It was an old wound he was poking at, and an easy target. “There’s a problem with that?”
“It makes what I have to do difficult.” With a sigh, he looked out the wall of windows to his left. Her office was the smallest in the management suite, but its view of the city’s night lights was riveting. To some, at least. She tended to stay as far away from the window as she could. From their perch on the twelfth floor, Cobalt City appeared to be covered with a blanket of black, yet colors glinted like gems, sparkling softly in shades of red, white and yellow. Rowe didn’t seem to see any of it.
“UAI is a family-run business,” he said. “Trouble starts when you treat one family member differently from the others.”
It was late and Lexie’s brain was sluggish, yet she knew all about being the odd one out. She could give a Master’s course in it. “And just how is it that you’re treating me differently?”
His gaze flicked to hers, dark and unreadable.