But desire didn’t usually follow reason, did it? And as much as he hated the fact that was staring him in the face, he finally had to admit it. Employee or no employee, he wanted Dana Daniels. God help him.
CHAPTER FOUR
“I’m not interested.” Dana folded her arms across her chest as she stared across the room at her red-haired friend. Becky was up to her old tricks again, trying to get her to go out on the town with her. Last time she’d played the guilt card, telling Dana how she felt like a forgotten child because they hadn’t done anything together in ages. She’d given in and gone to Chaos Club. That had been disastrous. “Remember what happened the last time you harassed me to go out?”
“So you couldn’t get rid of the guy,” Becky said with a shrug. “But that’s a good sign. It means you’re hot. Men can’t resist you.”
Dana couldn’t help laughing at that. “I know one man who can.”
Becky rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t count. He’s your boss. He’s supposed to resist you.”
“Yeah, but-”
“No ‘buts’, Dana. You need to make up your mind about this Rock St. Stephens guy. Half of the time you’re telling me you can’t stand that he’s so cold and distant, that you’ve got an ice cube for a boss, and that it suits you fine. The other half of the time it’s like you want him to notice you. So which is it?”
“Never mind.” Dana sighed. Becky would never understand. And why should she, when Dana didn’t understand it herself? Half of the time she really did hate him. Okay, ‘dislike’ was more accurate. He was so stiff and businesslike when he came to the office, and he hardly looked at her when he was speaking to her, as if she were beneath him or something. That made her blood boil.
But then there were times when she caught him staring at her, his leonine eyes so intense that he looked ready to pounce, and she would wonder what thoughts were running through his head. Were they as crazy as the ones racing through hers, thoughts of him pulling her into his arms and kissing her with those strong, unyielding lips of his?
Becky made her usual clucking noise and walked across the bedroom to put her arm around Dana’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I had a crush on my boss once but I got over it and you will, too.”
“I do not have a crush.” Dana frowned and tried to pull away but Becky held on tight.
“You do, and there’s no use denying it. It’s to be expected, Dana, working so closely with an attractive man, an eligible bachelor at that. You’re bound to have feelings for him.”
“Will you stop?” Dana huffed. Becky was really annoying her now. And what did she know, anyway? She’d never even met the man in question. “I’m going to say this one more time,” she said as she glared at her friend. “I do not have, and will never have, a crush on Rock.”
“Prove it.”
“What?”
“I said, prove it.” Becky gave her a defiant stare.
“Prove that I don’t have a crush on him? How the heck am I going to do that?”
“Stop hiding from him. Stop ducking behind your desk and show the man that you exist.” Becky waved her hand with a flourish. “And, for heaven’s sake, start dressing up. Those below-the-knee skirts and block heel brogues aren’t going to cut it. They’d turn off Casanova himself.” She turned her green eyes on Dana and in them was a wicked twinkle. “I have the perfect plan. It’s time for a makeover.”
“Oh, no you don’t.”
“Oh, yes, I do. Now come on. Let’s get you out of this teensy-weensy apartment and out into the sunshine. You’re as pale as a ghost in winter.” She took Dana’s hands and pulled her up and off the bed. “It’s Saturday, for goodness sake. We can at least enjoy what’s left of the afternoon.”
And that was how Dana ended up at Manhattan Mall where she got her hair layered, her nails painted and her eyebrows waxed. As if that weren’t bad enough, Becky talked her into buying not one, but four very chic, very expensive business suits. But how could she complain? She had to admit, the word that came to mind as she modeled the suits in front of Becky was ‘hot’. Rock St. Stephens would have to be made of mud not to notice her transformation. Dana could hardly wait to see his reaction.
**
God, he was tired. Rubbing his hand across his eyes, Rock opened the car door and slid out then got his briefcase from the trunk. It had been a long and dreary flight from Alaska but he was glad to be back in New York City. It had been a long week.
Who could have known that negotiations with the union would have been so difficult this time? He’d been surprised that he’d had to get involved at all. Normally this was something his captains would handle themselves. This time, though, the negotiations were tricky and he’d had to spend an entire week in Alaska working with the unions to come to an agreement regarding the compensation packages for the workers. Now that all of that was behind him and he was back in the city, things should be a whole lot easier. Working with a company as small as Premier Holdings had to be a vacation compared to dealing with an operation of over two hundred people.
Besides, he had to get back to this company that he’d taken over from Richard. He’d promised to resolve the issues here but so far he’d done a terrible job. It had already been three months since he’d taken over and he hadn’t been around that much. In all honesty, he’d practically left the company to run itself because in three months the total number of days he’d spent could not have been more than three to four weeks. But now it was time to get back to the task at hand and to focus.
Rock glanced at his watch. It was already eighteen minutes after three. He’d called Dana early that morning and told her he’d be in around two-thirty but then there had been a delay in takeoff. It didn’t matter, though. He was sure she wasn’t sitting there, anxiously awaiting his arrival.
As he entered the lobby of the building the receptionist, Crystal Champigny, jumped up to greet him. “Mr. St. Stephens. You’re back. Welcome.” Her smile was wide and she seemed genuinely happy to see him. She almost looked like she was getting ready to give him a hug. Somehow, Rock would not be too shocked. Crystal was blonde, buxom and bubbly. She always reminded him of champagne. In fact, as far as he was concerned, that name would have suited her much better.