Page 90 of The Devil In Denim
He was seated on the desk rather than behind it, one long leg swinging while he studied a sheaf of papers. He looked up as she came through the door.
His smile made her gut twist guiltily. Damn. This was just going to make everything harder.
“Hey,” he said, coming to his feet.
She pushed the door shut but didn’t walk toward him.
“Closed door, huh? I’m not sure if that’s a good sign or a bad sign.”
“Well, I’m not about to take off my clothes, so how you interpret that is up to you,” she said, trying to make herself feel better with a sorry attempt at humor.
“That’s disappointing,” he said, his smile flashing briefly. “But I wasn’t exactly expecting you to. What did you want to talk to me about?”
“I thought you wanted to talk to me later.” She was stalling now, her palms suddenly clammy.
“It sounded important so I thought we’d better do it first.”
There wasn’t a good way to say it so she was just going to come out with it. She took a deep breath. “I saw Sutter this morning.”
Alex came alert like a dog scenting a fox. “How?” The papers in his hand hit the desk.
“Actually he was waiting for me when I came downstairs.”
That didn’t make his expression ease any. Nor did it ease the sensation that she was suddenly a mouse and he was the eagle downstairs. “Waiting for you?”
“In the lobby.”
“I’m assuming that he wanted something; he hasn’t just taken up stalking for a hobby?”
“No, he hasn’t. I mean, he did want something from me.”
“Which was?”
Her arms crossed in front of her chest. She’d mostly seen easygoing, charming Alex up until now. This wasn’t charming Alex. This was intent Alex … drifting toward angry Alex if she was any judge. The air in the room nearly crackled with it. She didn’t feel scared … but she still wasn’t keen to ramp up the tension any further. Maybe this was how he had become so successful … he’d intimidated his rivals into giving up the game with this aura of “don’t mess with me” roiling off him like steam.
“Actually, he offered me a job.” There, she’d said it.
“What job?”
“CEO of the Saints.”
Alex laughed, looking suddenly relieved.
It should have eased her nerves. Instead it made her mad. “Why is that funny?”
The smile wiped off his face. “I thought you were joking.”
“Why would I be joking? Do you think that no one would want to hire me? You hired me.”
“Not as CEO.”
“Well, maybe that was your mistake.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You aren’t seriously considering this?”
“Why not?”
“For one thing, Sutter isn’t going to win his bid. I am.” His voice was flat, almost harsh.
