Amber Page - Dating the Enemy

Nick frowned. “Just trying to figure out how to handle the evening. I’m used to escorting shallow debutantes—not my biggest competitor.”

“Just treat her like you would any other woman. Open doors, pull out her chair and turn on the charm. She’ll be a puddle at your feet in no time.”

Nick tried to imagine Jessie melting, but the image that came to mind was of her vaporizing him . “I don’t know about that. This one’s a fighter.”

“You won’t know until you try. Go.”

“You’re right. As usual.”

Besides, he had no choice. Phyllis was expecting them in less than an hour. Nick took a deep breath and looked at his surroundings. The neighborhood of elegant but boring brownstones didn’t look like the kind of place Jessie would call home.

He motioned toward the one they were parked in front of. “Are you sure this is the right address?”

“That one’s not. But that one is,” Bob said, pointing across the street.

Nick laughed out loud as he took in the fuchsia-painted exterior of the house Bob was pointing at. “Of course it is.”

He got out of the limo and walked up the brightly tiled mosaic path that led to the front door, still grinning. He pushed the doorbell and was unsurprised to hear a lion roaring in response inside the house.

Seconds later a fresh-faced brunette opened the door. “You must be Nick,” she said.

“The one and only. And you are …?”

“Gloria. Jessie’s sister and office manager. Come on in. She’ll be down in a second.”

Nick stepped inside and was surprised to find himself in a lobby environment, complete with receptionist’s desk and pink and black polka-dotted armchairs.

“You guys run Roar out of here?”

“Yep. The ground floor and basement are for the business. Jessie and I live on the top two floors.”

“I just assumed it was a bigger operation.”

The woman shrugged. “It’s bigger than it used to be. There’s fifteen of us now. When Jessie and I started it was just the two of us.”

“And when was that?

“A little over a year ago. Can I get you some water or something?”

He shook his head, trying to wrap his brain around the fact that his competition was so inexperienced. How had they managed to snag an account like Goddess?

“Okay, then. Make yourself comfortable. She’ll be down in a minute.”

He sank into one of the plush chairs, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all. But before he had a chance to get too comfortable he heard the clacking of high heels crossing the hardwood floor.

He looked up and felt all the breath leave his body.

Jessie was a vision of sparkling emerald and fiery red. Her dress clung to her curves in all the right places and her hair tumbled loose around her bare shoulders.

“Wow.”

She smiled grimly. “I’ll interpret that as, You clean up well, Jessie .”

Nick rose to his feet. “That you do. You look beautiful.”

She stepped back and gave him a once-over, her eyes slowly roaming over his body.

“You’re not looking too shabby either. I think you’ll do.”

“Good to know.”

An awkward silence fell as they stared at each other, neither wanting to make the next move.

It didn’t bode well for the evening.

Nick sighed, realizing he was going to have to be the one to break the silence if they were ever going to make it out through the door.

“All right, so obviously neither one of us wants to be here. But we’re supposed to be supporting Phyllis, so we need to do our best to look like we’re pleased with the way things are going.”

Jessie raised an eyebrow. “So you’re going to pretend to be happy about losing out on the Natural Goddess launch?”

Nick took a deep breath. He would not let her get to him. “Well, I don’t know if I can channel ‘happy,’ but I think I can do collegial.”

She looked at him silently for a moment, her expression still as stone.

“I don’t know that I can.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? That’s certainly good for me.”

She crossed her arms around her chest. “What do you mean?”

“Most of the people in the room at this ball are going to hate each other. But they’re perfectly capable of pretending to be best buddies when the situation calls for it. If you can’t play the game, your agency is doomed to fail.”

Jessie scowled. “Of course I can play the game. I’d just rather not play it with you .”

Nick stood to leave. Although Jessie looked damned sexy when she was angry, his life would certainly be easier if she wasn’t there. “Fine. I’ll give Phyllis your regrets. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure they don’t miss you.”

“God, you’re a bastard.”

Nick forced his lips into a smile, trying to ignore the sting her words caused. He liked to think his father was the only devil in the Thornton family. “Indeed I am. It’s good for business. Enjoy your evening.” And he reached for the doorknob.

“Wait.”

He turned back to face her. “Yes?”

“I’ll come.” She shrugged on her wrap. “And I’ll do my best to be cordial.”

He wasn’t sure whether he should be disappointed or glad at her change in attitude. “May I ask why?”

“Because I’m not going to let you beat me that easily. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep this business.”

Nick stepped close, purposely invading her personal space. “Even if it means getting closer to me?”

Heat flashed across her face, but she quickly hid it and stepped back. “Not that close.”

They would just have to see about that.

“Message received,” he said out loud, and held out his arm for her to take. “Shall we go?”

“Yes, indeed.” She put her hand delicately on his forearm.

“Great.”

He shook his head slightly as they set off down the walkway. One thing was for sure—with Jessie on his arm, the evening would be anything but boring.

Jessie tried not to be impressed when she saw the limo that waited at the curb. But when his driver got out to hold the door open for her, her jaw dropped. They were definitely not in Kansas anymore.

“Nice ride,” she said after he’d slid in next to her.

“It is,” Nick answered. “But it’s not my favorite.”

“How many cars do you have?”

“Well, the agency has six limos that are kept for the use of the family. This is one of those. Left to my own devices, though, I prefer to ride my motorcycle.”

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for a biker.”

“And I wouldn’t have pegged you as a cold-hearted boardroom ball-buster,” he answered. “But you are.”

That stung, but Jessie tried not to show it. The last thing she wanted was to turn into another “business first, last and always” power-monger.

“I’m not cold-hearted. Just determined. It’s time the ad world got a shot of estrogen, but you guys aren’t going to make room for female-owned shops like mine if we ask politely.”

Nick smiled. “Actually, I would have been more than happy to work with you. I just don’t appreciate you stealing one of my biggest clients.”

Jessie took a deep breath to calm her temper, but as his spicy scent hit her nostrils she wished she hadn’t. For a moment her inner lioness threatened to take over. And all she wanted to do was crawl into Nick’s lap and find out how he tasted.

But that was definitely not going to happen.

Jessie shook her head to clear it. “We’re supposed to be being collegial tonight, remember? That means no comments like that. Tell me about this ball we’re going to instead.”

Nick shrugged. “What do you want to know? As far as I’m concerned it’s just another boring charity gala in another fancy hotel ballroom, populated by a bunch of socialites with the emotional depth of a pancake. If you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all.”