Karen Whittenburg - The Playboy's Office Romance

“Hello, Peter,” she said pleasantly, flashing a smile so incredibly warm it all but upped the temperature of the room by several degrees. But then her glance swung to Bryce, encompassing both him and the golf game in a coolly passive-aggressive disapproval. “I have some PBRs for you to approve and the contract amendment for the Boston Fidelity project.” She handed him a stack of papers the size of a small bomb, then her smile warmed again and swung back to Peter. “Great job on the Atlanta project,” she said. “I spoke with Ed Barnes yesterday and he couldn’t stop talking about how much he liked your work. A real rave review, Peter. You should be very proud.”

“Thanks.” Peter smiled in response. “I am rather proud of that whole project…if only because Adam really liked it.”

“And we’re all aware what a compliment that is,” she said with the teasing tone of an insider.

And Bryce felt suddenly very much like an outsider. “I should probably take a look at that file,” he said.

“Why?” Lara’s incredulous tone indicated her surprise that he even expressed an interest. “The deal’s done and the plans are already with the construction manager.”

“I’d like to be brought up to speed on all our recent projects. I’m sure you can arrange that for me.” Bryce tried for an authoritative tone, the CEO simply making a request, telling Lara in so many words he didn’t want to be shut out of the loop. The Atlanta project was in the final stages of approval, with actual construction scheduled to begin next month. As the architect, Peter had worked very hard on the concept. As the CEO, Adam had worked very hard on guiding the project to a green-light status. As senior vice president, Lara would be the liaison between Braddock Construction and the customer. As the newly appointed chief executive, Bryce had nothing to do with any of it. Unless, of course, something went wrong, in which case, he figured the blame would somehow come to rest at his door. Which was reason enough to know the history on any project. He handed the putter over to his brother. “Take another turn while I go over these reports.”

“I’ve checked the figures,” Lara told him. “All you need to do is initial beside Adam’s name.”

Peter grinned. “It may take a couple of years to get your name on the stationery.”

“It takes longer than a week.” Lara glanced at Bryce, her luscious lips curved upward in a smile, her eyes letting him know she doubted he’d be around long enough to have his name on the letterhead.

“I’ll just read these reports anyway,” Bryce said.

Lara was too professional to shrug, so she turned to Peter with another warm smile. “Any word from Adam and Katie?”

Peter shook his head. “Not even a postcard.”

“They are on their honeymoon, you know.” Bryce carried the stack of reports to his desk and put them on top of yet another stack. He was beginning to think the only thing Braddock Industries built, was a mountain of paperwork.

“Honeymoon or not, it isn’t like Adam not to check in.” Lara took the putter from Peter.

“I think we’re all seeing a new, wholly unexpected side of Adam.” Peter winked at Bryce in an exchange of fraternal understanding. “Our grandmother always told us, the love of a good woman would make us better men, but I thought she was being overly optimistic.”

“I always thought she was teasing,” Bryce said. “It’s hard to believe she thought we could get any better.”

“There’s always room for improvement, and some people have more room than others.” Lara bent to position the golf ball on the mat, her body curving like a slender willow, smooth and graceful.

Bryce admired the view, deciding there was at least one thing in this office which needed no improvement whatsoever. “Are you a golfer, Lara?”

“No,” she replied absently, lining up the putt and sinking it like a pro. “Never had the time to learn.” With a smile, she handed the putter back to Peter and dusted her hands, adding yet another accomplishment to her long list of efficiencies. No muss. No fuss. No bother.

Bryce seemed to be the odd man out in this competition. He frowned and turned his attention to the reports, reading the first one in a glance and reaching for a pen to etch in his initials. His hand came up empty. “I need a pen,” he said.

“A pen?” Lara asked as if he’d requested a breath of fresh air. “You don’t even have a pen?”

He refused to let her needle him and offered, instead, his best and most professional smile. “Why should I keep up with my pens when I have a lovely assistant who will gladly fetch one for me?”

She bristled. “I don’t fetch for any man, gladly or otherwise.”

“Hmm,” Bryce said. “I thought surely I listed that under your new job description. I’ll ask Nell to check on it because if we left off fetching for boss, we’ll certainly need to make an amendment.”

Her lips tightened. “Just give those reports to Nell when you’re done. Goodbye, Peter. It’s always a pleasure to see you.” Emphasis on the last word, of course. Take that! her body language said to Bryce as she walked to the door, head high, shoulders back, hips swaying tightly with her agitation. But he missed the point because even when she was angry, her backside provided a very intriguing view. The door closed behind her with a definitive click!

“Some resistance to the new management style?” Peter asked, a grin lurking in his eyes.

Bryce shrugged good-naturedly. “Change is more of a challenge for some than others.”

“That particular challenge could turn out to be more than you bargained for, brother. I’d be careful with her if I were you.”

“What could happen?” he asked with a laugh. “Are you afraid she might mastermind a mutiny? Instigate a paper clip rebellion? Murder me with kindness?”

“I think it could be worse than that.” Peter picked up the putter and returned to the indoor green. “There was a lot of intensity in this office just now.”

Locating a pen, Bryce initialed the first report and moved on to the second. “There always is whenever Lara and I are in the same space. I’m used to it.”

“Mmm.” Peter positioned the golf ball on the mat. “She’s certainly a beautiful woman.”

“Yes, and I’ve always thought that was particularly unfair. The soul of an ice maiden in the body of a sex goddess. Somewhere in heaven, the angels must be laughing at what a great joke that is.”

“Maybe. Or maybe they’re just pulling up chairs for a ringside seat.”

Bryce looked up. “To watch what? Don’t think for a second that I can’t appreciate her beauty without getting close enough to freeze to death. Right now, I need her business expertise. I know that. But if she gets to be more trouble than she’s worth, she’s history.”

“Mmm.” Peter sank yet another putt. “All I’m saying is you need to be careful with her. Any time you see that much smoke, somewhere there’s a fire.”

Bryce laughed, initialing faster as the reports became monotonous. “Thanks for the laugh, Pete, as well as the indoor golf. There’s been a dearth of humor in this office. Maybe I’ll ask Nell to subscribe everybody to the joke of the day on the Internet. What we need around here is more fun, don’t you agree?”

“Next time I come by, I’ll bring a basketball goal.”

“Great. I’ll have my lovely assistant suit up for a game.”

“Wouldn’t you rather beat me yourself?”

Bryce grinned. “Yes, but Lara would look much better in the uniform and I figure that’s a fair tradeoff, regardless of who wins.”

SKIRT HIKED UP on her thighs, belly flat to the floor, Lara reached as far as she could under the bed in a fruitless attempt to nab her nephew. “Calvin, I mean it. Give me my keys right now.”