The Executive's Decision
Page 24

“I wasn’t sure I’d be back from my trip on time.” He shifted his eyes to Regan. “But Regan is very good with her scheduling.” He smiled at her. He looked so full of himself, so powerful. “How are you?”
“Fine, thank you.” She was cordial, but her muscles had gone tense, and a headache formed at the base of her neck.
“Well, let me go check on lunch. The two of you relax.” Audrey stood and passed by Zach as Regan dropped to the lounge, kicked up her feet, and drank down her wine quickly without looking at him.
“You’re going to pass out drinking that fast,” he warned as he lifted the bottle from the small table and topped off her glass.
“Good.”
“You’re still mad at me.” He sipped his wine, looking out over the pool.
“Ya think?”
Zach turned to her and smiled. “You know, your forehead wrinkles up when you’re angry.” She rubbed her fingers over her forehead to smooth it out. “No use.” He laughed. “I can read you.”
“Who do you think you are?” She stood and kept her eyes narrow. “You kiss me, after I tell you I’m not going to see you socially.”
“You kissed me back, Regan.”
She huffed. “Then you run though a list of things to do and run out of town, after having some intimate breakfast with some French floozy?”
“Now, she’s not a floozy.”
His face had actually softened. There was something deeper with Simone Pierpont than just casual sex, or whatever it might be. It twisted her gut. “You’re impossible.”
“Yes, I’ve been told that.” He smiled and eased back on the lounge.
“Why did you even tell me to be here? Did you just want to humiliate me in front of your mother?” Her hand had begun to shake. She set her glass of wine on the table between the lounges.
“I don’t think I could do that. She likes you too much.”
“She was expecting you to walk through the door with me,” she whispered through gritted teeth. “Why would she want you to be with me? What did you tell her?”
“I didn’t tell her anything.”
“I don’t believe you.” He was just another man who thought he could control everyone, including her and his mother. Regan crossed her arms over her chest.
He shrugged. “Well then, I guess you’ll have to think I’m lying.”
She blew out a breath. “I think we need to talk about it.” She looked out over the pool. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have with her employer. She’d been very specific about her feelings, so why had he pushed it? Why had he kissed her?
“Okay, talk.”
She spun her head his direction to give him an earful, but Audrey appeared. “Lunch is ready.”
Regan sat next to Zach, with his parents across from them. Doing her best to take an interest in what was said at the table, she focused on Audrey’s gossip about the country club and even managed to force a smile when she casually spoke of Simone Pierpont. But the fight to stifle the physical desire that burned inside of her, with Zach sitting so close to her, was killing her. She just wanted lunch to be over so she could go home and leave the day behind her. She wasn’t happy with herself for getting so worked up over the kiss, her departure from his office, or the fact that Zach had had breakfast with that Frenchwoman whom his mother spoke of so easily. However, the heat from his body and his lingering stare made it difficult to breathe or concentrate on anything beyond getting through the meal.
When lunch was finished, Zach brought out another bottle of wine. Once the bottle was empty, Regan was sure she’d be free to go. She enjoyed the company of Zach’s parents, but walking away, giving Zach the cold shoulder, would be even better than the taste of the expensive wine he’d served.
Audrey let out a loud sigh and patted her cheeks. “I think I’ve had too much wine and too much sun today. Tyler, would you walk me upstairs. I think I’d like to lie down.”
He stood as though it were part of the protocol.
Regan also stood. “Thank you so much for having me.”
“Oh, you’re staying.” Audrey smiled and Regan took a breath to speak. “I’ve bought a beautiful pie. You told me you loved pie.” She winked and Regan closed her open mouth. “I won’t be too long. Zachary, you show her around. Take her through the gardens and out to the stables. Run along.”
Zach stood and kissed his mother’s cheek before his father led her away.
Regan watched him with his mother. He was a different in her presence than he was in the office. He was gentle and loving when he was caring for someone. The executive was about the contract, the timeline, and the money. Only someone with a genuine heart cared for his mother in a way that was obvious to an onlooker, but then again she’d seen it before. The powerful man who could be vicious on the business end and on the home front act as though he were a decent and loving man.
But there was something in Zach Benson’s eyes that hadn’t been in Alexander Hamilton’s. A compassion she wanted to believe was genuine.
“C’mon,” he said, taking hold of her hand.
“I will not.” She took her hand back and looked at him. Even if she believed he was capable of separating the power of the businessman from the sincerity of a lover, she had to be true to herself.
She needed to leave, quickly. She’d wanted to leave him alone, ready to console himself with his French mistress, but a little part of her wanted him to long for her after she left. “She wants me to show you around, let’s go.” He gave a nod toward the door, and she could see that his executive attitude could cross the threshold of the home.
“Fine.” She folded her arms to keep them closed around her. “I’ll let you show me around, but you keep your hands to yourself.”
“Regan.” He stepped closer to her, raising his hand to her hair. “Are you sure that’s what you want me to do?” He slid his fingers to her cheek.
A shudder of anticipation ran through her. No, she didn’t want him to keep his hands to himself. She wanted them to roam all over her. She squeezed her eyes shut. It had to go away. Her longing for him had to go away.
“Regan.” She opened her eyes and looked at him. He offered her his arm. “Let’s take a walk.”