Kimberly Dean - Courting Danger

He walked closer to the desk, and she instinctively gripped its edge. The way he moved , all silent and stealthy. The expensive carpeting absorbed the noise most people made, but the air didn’t even stir at his approach. Her fingers edged closer to the silent alarm, but she didn’t push it.

Not yet.

‘I’m looking for Luxxor Limited. I know I’m late, but I need an escort for the evening.’

Her guard stayed up. She knew they were alone in the office – she was acutely aware of the fact – but her company’s clients knew better than to go spouting off so casually about Luxxor’s line of work. They signed nondisclosure agreements to ensure it. If he was wearing a wire, she wanted to make everything perfectly clear. ‘You need someone to attend an event with you tonight?’

‘Actually, I need someone right now.’

She shook her head. Luxxor went to extremes to satisfy its clients. She’d blush if she thought about how far some escorts went, but there was no way she could accommodate his request. The employees they had working tonight already had their assignments. Even if she did contact someone, the timing was impossible.

And for some reason, that relieved her. ‘I’m sorry, but we don’t have anyone available on such short notice, Mr…I don’t believe I caught your name.’

‘Because I didn’t give it.’ He slid his hands into his pockets. The tuxedo looked good on him, but it was failing badly at taming him. Especially when he winked. ‘Tell me yours, and I’ll tell you mine.’

Oh, no. She didn’t think so. She tucked her hair behind her ear, but then remembered the alarm. ‘As I was saying, sir , it’s too late to secure our services. I’m sorry.’

‘The name is Mel. Melvin Summers. I’m a client.’

He didn’t look like a Melvin. And Summers…The name didn’t ring a bell, and that was unusual in itself. She knew their clients, and she had a memory for faces. His she would have remembered.

‘It’s been a while since I…made use of your services,’ he admitted.

The way he said it made her stiffen. He’d been out with their escorts. He’d paid money for dates – or more. It was a good reminder because, being around him, her body was loosening and warming. It was uncharacteristic of her, especially with all the warning signals her brain was firing.

She smiled at him stiffly. ‘Let’s see just how long it’s been.’

She took her seat and her fingers flew across the keyboard of her computer. She waited for him to balk, but he merely crossed his arms over his chest and watched her. Rielle couldn’t have been more surprised when his bio popped up. She leaned closer to the screen to make sure. Melvin Summers. There was his picture. Last visit, nearly two years ago.

Well, props for that.

She frowned. Why would a man like him need an escort service? She tapped a finger against the space bar and mentally chastised herself. Many of their clients used Luxxor to save time. Busy people, busy lives. It was how the company stayed legit. Just because the man looked like sex didn’t mean he was here for it. ‘May I ask why the short notice?’

She never asked a client why they needed companionship. She’d never embarrass anyone that way. It was small-minded and intrusive. Not everyone had a significant other, and there were countless reasons for that.

‘It’s a work-related event. I was supposed to go with a colleague, but she became ill suddenly. I can’t go to this event stag. I’d stand out like a sore thumb.’

Stag was right.

‘What is it that you do?’ Rielle was trying her best to stay on topic, because something about the situation still didn’t ring true. She’d learned the hard way that she needed to trust her gut.

‘Accounting.’

Check. Or at least that’s what his bio listed as his field of work. She circled her finger around a key on the keyboard. He looked like an accountant almost as much as he looked like a Melvin. He didn’t seem like someone who could sit at a desk all day. Not with a rangy physique like that – or the tamped-down energy. There was an air of edginess around him. An overly keen alertness. He should be out climbing mountains or navigating obstacle courses. Modelling underwear.

She frowned. She’d confirmed he was a client, but that didn’t change anything. There was still nobody who could accompany him. She didn’t like putting Luxxor in a bad light, even if he had come in with a request they couldn’t possibly fulfill, but she had no other option. ‘I truly am sorry, Mr Summers, but we don’t have any female escorts available – unless that’s not what you’re looking for?’

The dry look he sent her parched her skin. She hadn’t thought he swung that way, but she tried to keep an open mind.

‘What about you?’

She blinked. ‘What about me?’

‘Why can’t you go with me?’

‘ Me ?’ Rielle gasped. ‘But…I…I’m not…That’s not what I do for Luxxor.’

‘Do you eat dinner?’

‘Of course, but –’

‘Do you go to parties?’

‘No.’ She hadn’t been to a party in years.

‘Do you slow dance?’

She swallowed hard. With him?

‘OK, forget what you do for Luxxor. Do you date?’

She didn’t. She wasn’t ready yet. ‘Mr Summers, this really isn’t proper.’

‘I don’t have time for proper.’ He put both hands upon the desktop and leaned in close. ‘Go out with me.’

The word ‘no’ should have been on the tip of her tongue, but Rielle couldn’t get it out. Not with the way he was looking at her. All challenging, impatient and evaluating…

‘Hold on.’ He pulled a white envelope out of his breast pocket. ‘Maybe this will convince you. This is where we’d be going.’

She took the envelope by the corner. It was heavyweight paper with razor-crisp edges. The name Melvin Summers was written on the envelope in fine calligraphy. It was obviously a special event, but her breath caught in her lungs when she read the invitation inside.

‘ The White House ? You’re inviting me to a function at the White House ?’

His blue eyes flashed. ‘I knew that would get me somewhere.’

Rielle dropped the invitation. She wanted to be suspicious of it, but everything about it screamed that it was real. ‘No, no. I didn’t say yes.’

‘But you’re tempted.’ It didn’t matter what she said, he’d scented blood.

She sprang out of her chair. ‘That’s a reception to welcome the Prince and Princess of Sweden.’

‘Yes.’

‘But why?’

‘Why? It’s good for foreign relations. It’s polite for the U.S. to welcome them. They just got married.’

She couldn’t help rolling her eyes. ‘No, why would you come here ?’

His grin came and went so quickly, it was questionable if it had ever been there, but the edginess about him changed. Became sleeker and more approachable. ‘Word is that you’re all trained in protocol. You’re not going to grab the wrong fork or say the wrong thing.’

‘I haven’t had that training.’

‘But you have manners. You haven’t told me to get the hell out yet – which you should have, by the way.’

She knew, and it made her even more nervous that he knew. Nina would be horrified to learn that a stranger, even a client, was in the office alone with her after hours. Yet Rielle’s grandmother had been a stickler for etiquette. Learned behaviour was hard to shake.

She took a deep breath. This was just crazy. ‘I can’t believe you came here looking for an escort to meet the President with you.’

‘I came here looking for an escort, but I found a date.’ He watched her closely as he slid the invitation back into his pocket. ‘And a beautiful one at that. Come on, save me here.’