Donna Hill - Deception

“Obviously someone does.” Andrea smiled. “I’ll put these in water and bring them right back.” She picked up the lilies and the vase and left the office.

“Thanks,” Terri answered absently.

For several moments she paced the room, trying to figure out who could have sent the flowers. The only people who knew of her passion for lilies were her adoptive parents, and she was sure that they hadn’t sent them. They were hundreds of miles away and weren’t the type of people who sent gifts just to be thoughtful. If it wasn’t an act that would get them a blurb in the society column, they didn’t bother. She’d probably mentioned it to several people, but to no one who would have gone to this extravagance. Clint?

She shook her head and smiled. “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” she whispered, remembering her nana’s favorite line. Then she chuckled to herself, wondering for the zillionth time what in the world was a gift horse anyway?

Moments later, Andrea returned with the lilies safely deposited in the crystal vase.

“Where should I put these, Ms. Powers?”

“On the small table by the window. That should give them just enough light.”

“I’m all finished out front. If you don’t need anything else, I’m going to go home.”

“Of course, Andrea. I didn’t mean to keep you here so late. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Good night, Ms. Powers.”

“Good night.”

Left alone in the room Terri took one last look at her beautiful bouquet. It had been a long time since someone had sent her flowers. And she was going to enjoy every minute of it. She closed the door gently behind her.

Terri exited the building and was greeted by a cold burst of wind. October was a mysterious month. There was no telling what Mother Nature would send. The temperature had already dropped considerably since the afternoon, and she was thankful that she had decided to wear her trench coat. Her only wish was that she’d put in the lining.

Pulling the trench tightly around her trim body, she took a quick look up at the cloud-filled sky and wondered how far off was the first snowfall.

She checked her watch, noting that it was seven on the dot, and approached the curb to wait for Clint. Just as she neared the curb, a black Mercedes-Benz pulled up in front of her. Annoyed that the car had stopped and blocked her view of traffic, she started to walk to the corner just as the driver got out.

Leaning over the hood of the car, a look of pure mischief on his face, Clint held out one Casablanca lily between his fingers. “Can I take a few dozen lilies off your hands in exchange for dinner?”

Terri tried to keep the conversation light and impersonal throughout dinner, but the mellow atmosphere and soft music at B. Smith’s Restaurant lent itself to intimacy. Within a short space of time she found herself laughing at Clint’s wry sense of humor and actually forgetting all of the things she’d heard and read about him.

He was animatedly recounting an incident that had occurred in the health club. “My friend Steve really had me just where he wanted me,” he laughed. “There I was, spread-eagled on the bench with a hundred-pound weight hanging over my head.”

“What did you do?”

“Cried uncle, what else?”

Terri shook her head in laughter, visualizing Clint’s precarious plight.

“What do you do in your spare time?” he asked, loving the way her crimson dress hugged her curves.

“Read mostly. I play tennis in the summer, dance all year long and I love riding through the park. But it’s gotten so dangerous lately, I’ve cut back.”

His voice lowered and raked over her. “I’d be more than happy to be your protector.”

She looked at him coyly. “Maybe.” Now why did I say that?

“That’s the best answer you’ve given me to date. My faith in humanity is restored.”

She lowered her thick lashes, her heart beating wildly. Then she looked up. “How did you know about the lilies?” she asked softly.

“I always make it my business to find out all I can about anything or anyone that interests me. In other words, I ask questions. I had my secretary dig up an article that was written about you in Black Enterprise. You mentioned your passion for the lilies in the article.”

Her stomach lurched at the pointed look that he threw her way, but she kept her expression unreadable, which enticed Clint all the more.

“I believe I’ll have to follow that philosophy,” she replied.

“So, you’ve found something that has piqued your curiosity,” he tossed back, enjoying the game.

“Perhaps. If there’s anything of interest, I’ll be sure to let you know.” Her smile was a taunt, and Clint’s insides tightened.

“Would you like anything else?” His voice was thick with the emotions that he struggled to control. Terri unwittingly brought out the passion in him that he hadn’t felt for anyone in years. Every time he heard her voice or saw her face, he thought of what it would be like to unleash that cool control that she displayed so well.

“No. I’m stuffed. The red snapper was delicious.” She finished the last of her spring water, secretly enjoying the heat that blazed in Clint’s eyes and shook his voice.

“I’m glad you liked it. I haven’t been here in a while, but the food is still the way I remember it.”

“Do you come here often?”

“From time to time. Usually on business meetings.”

The mention of business brought her back to reality.

“From the look on your face, you’d think I said a bad word.” He stared at her.

“It just makes me wonder what you want with me. After all, you’re in a very nasty business.”

“Let me set the record straight.” He took a deep breath. “I involve myself in businesses that are on the brink of folding, or businesses that I feel can be better managed by me. Where is the crime in that?”

“That’s putting it delicately.” She crumpled the linen napkin into a ball, her temper flaring.

“Delicate but true.”

“You make what you do sound like a humanitarian gesture. How can you sleep at night knowing what you’ve done to so many people?”

He clenched his jaw. “I don’t do anything that I’m not allowed to do within the law.” Exasperation filled his voice. “If I make an offer to a company and they accept, what’s the harm?”

“The harm is that they give you everything they’ve worked for, and you reap the benefits. You’ve built your fortune on the backs of other people. Our people!” Her voice rose in anger. “What gives you that right?”

Their eyes locked in a battle of wills.

Clint glared at her. How dare she make him feel guilty? He was never one to blow his own horn, and he’d be damned if he’d start now. If she really wanted to know about him, let her do her own homework.

Clint was the first to break the icy contact. “If you’re ready, I’ll drive you home,” he said in a tight voice.

“I can catch a cab, thank you,” she answered, annoyed with herself for letting her emotions get out of control.

Clint signaled for the waiter and paid the check. Terri rose to slip on her coat, but not before Clint rounded the table and took it from her.

Slowly, deliberately, he helped her into her coat, the nearness of him sending her pulse on a wild gallop. He pressed his lips close to her ear, inhaling her scent, his warm breath tingling her neck.

“I don’t want the evening to end like this, Terri. I’m not interested in the campaign with your company. I can get another agency to do it. I want you and I to be friends—more than friends.”

The suggestiveness of his words forced her to look up at him.