Carly Phillips - Hot Stuff

"Preventing you from passing the inspection today." Annabelle caught on to the issues at hand immediately. She grabbed for her jersey and pulled it over her head. "Give me ten minutes to get ready and I'll go with you." Though all business, compassion flickered in her gaze.

He had no choice but to focus on his lodge, but he was shocked she'd thought to do the same. He was impressed with her professionalism considering how they'd been interrupted.

But as much as he cursed whoever was sabotaging his dream of having sex with Annabelle, he should probably thank them for forcing him to come to his senses in time.

BY THE TIME ANNABELLE and Vaughn walked into the office at the lodge, Vaughn had withdrawn into himself. If Annabelle hadn't experienced their intimacy first hand, she'd think she'd imagined the whole thing.

But she hadn't. He'd been as hot with wanting her as she'd been for him. Try as he might to ignore those feelings now, she refused to be a partner to his denial. Work would come first, but she wasn't finished with Brandon Vaughn. She would see to it that they completed what they'd started. And he'd enjoy every seductive moment.

But right now, the problems and delays were an issue they could no longer ignore. So while Vaughn went to round up employees and talk with the police, Annabelle made notes on how to publicize the situation at the lodge in a preemptive strike.

Mara walked back into the office and flung her body into her chair with a weary sigh. Her brown hair, cut in an updated shag, gave her a sexy, with-it appearance that would make a splash in a New York bar. Add to that, she seemed to be genuinely nice, hadn't held the picnic against Annabelle-though she was giving Nick the cold shoulder-and was smart enough to run things in Vaughn's absence. Annabelle's instincts told her to trust Mara.

"Boy, I wouldn't want to be the guys on duty last night. Vaughn and Nick are ripping them to shreds." Mara shook her head and tossed a pencil across the desk, her frustration obvious.

"Who? The security guards?"

"Mmm-hmm. We hired a private firm with a stellar reputation. But apparently, the guard out front didn't see anything and the guy in the back perimeter slipped out to go to the bathroom without letting his partner know."

Annabelle winced. "I wonder if he'd done it before. If someone had been watching his routine, they could have counted on him disappearing."

"Well, regardless, the inspection's put off until the wires can be fixed," Vaughn said, joining them. Gone was any version of the man she'd been with earlier. Tension radiated from him in waves and anger vibrated just beneath his skin.

Nick followed him inside, looking just as pissed off.

"Who would want to prevent this place from opening?" Annabelle asked, glancing at Nick.

"Beats me." Vaughn shrugged. "I just gave the police a list of anyone and everyone in my life. Let's see what they come up with."

"Speaking of people in your life, you got a phone call," Mara said.

"Who?"

"Laura." Mara glanced at Annabelle. "His ex-wife," she said by way of explanation.

Vaughn visibly stiffened. "What the hell did she want?"

Mara shrugged. "How would I know? I'm merely hired help. She wanted to speak to you and seemed completely pissed that I wouldn't interrupt whatever you were doing."

"Nothing's more important than what Laura wants, when Laura wants it," Vaughn muttered.

Annabelle raised an interested eyebrow.

"I'll get back to her whenever." He grabbed the paper from Mara's hand and shoved it into his pocket. "I've got more important things to deal with."

Annabelle nodded. "You sure do. While the police are handling the detective work, we need to focus on damage control. I've put in a call to the local television affiliate and a reporter's on his way over."

Vaughn's glare turned icy. "Why would you want to broadcast problems?" he bit out, all his frustration and anger spewing at her.

Nick and Mara looked at Vaughn and Annabelle with interested stares.

"Would you like to take this somewhere private?" she asked Vaughn.

He waved away her offer. "What I'd like is for you to explain."

She shrugged. "You're someone used to being in the spotlight, so you ought to realize the police blotter will have spread this news in no time. Wouldn't you rather we put out our story first and in as positive a light as we can manage?"

Nick cleared his throat. "She's got a point, Vaughn."

"Kiss ass," Mara muttered under her breath. But not low enough to be ignored.

Since now wasn't the time to make love not war between these two, Annabelle continued before anyone else could comment. "What I'd like to do is focus on your commitment to kids and education in a summer camp environment. Acknowledge that, yes, we've had some difficulties and delays, but we'll do everything in our power to open on schedule. After all, it's for the children, which ought to appeal to the viewers' emotions and make them think twice about canceling."

While she thought, she bit down on the cap of her pen. "I could use a quote from you in there," she said, addressing Vaughn. "Something about why these kids mean so much to you. We'll give the public a positive to focus on."

"This whole thing isn't about me or my reasons for what I do."

She sighed, exasperated. She'd come here two days ago and accomplished nothing professionally during that time because Vaughn refused to take her advice.

She'd give it one more try and then she'd have no choice but to leave him to sink his own ship. Or in this case, his lodge. "Look, you're a celebrity. And if you want people to care about this place and stick with you, they can't think you're in it for purely selfish or monetary reasons. Otherwise they'll pull their reservations from here and head up to Killington or the Poconos or someplace else where they don't have to worry about whether or not their reservations will fall through. So it's up to you," she said, hands on her hip. "Do we do this my way or do I leave you on your own and head back to the city tonight?"

Silence reigned. Annabelle knew he was fighting within himself.

"Isn't it enough that I'm helping children? Do we have to get into why?" he asked in a more neutral tone than he'd used with her so far, obviously biding his time.

"I need a media hook."

"Then tell them I remember what it's like to be a kid," he said in a near growl and stormed out the office door.

"Whatever that means." She raised her hands in the air. "Unbelievable."

Wisely Mara and Nick chose not to comment.

Annabelle then drummed her fingernails on the desk in pure frustration. He'd left her with nothing. Zilch. Zip. Nada.

And if that's all the wisdom and insight Vaughn chose to offer, she'd have no choice but to come to her own conclusions and put the best spin she possibly could on his vague words.

His reaction be damned.

In the silence that ensued, a walkie-talkie went off on Mara's belt and she spoke to the person on the other end. "Be right there." Mara glanced at Nick. "Rocco needs me to sign for something. Don't mess up my desk while I'm gone," she said to annoy Nick, if Annabelle had to guess.

He merely treated her to a quick salute and with a growl of frustration at not having gotten to him, she stormed out the door.

Alone, Annabelle turned to Nick. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on with these two. "Any reason you don't give her a break?" She pointed toward the exit Mara had just taken. "She's pretty, smart, and she's obviously got it bad for you."

Nick began to pile up papers on the desk, an obvious pretense of being busy. "She'll get over it."

"Why should she have to?" Annabelle shot back.

He frowned and shifted from foot to foot, appearing extremely uncomfortable with the subject of Mara, so much so that his normally friendly, fun demeanor had disappeared. "I have my reasons."