He didn’t take pleasure in layoffs. They were unfortunate, but necessary in the current environment. Sometimes hard decisions had to be made to protect the company—even if it meant hurting people in the process.

One of the reasons he was sitting where he was now was because he could make the hard decisions without flinching.

Business was business. And taking it personally was always a mistake.

—

Almost three hours later, he was leaving the building, having gotten through the conversation with Helms and two more hours of work besides.

The cute blonde who was temporarily working building security in the lobby smiled at him as he walked by.

He smiled back. They’d had an eye-flirtation going on for a few weeks now, ever since she’d begun the job—filling in for one of the regular staff who was out for surgery. As soon as her temporary position was over, he was definitely planning to give her a good fuck.

He had no doubt she’d be amenable to the idea.

He stopped at the coffee shop next door to grab a coffee and mentally cringed when he saw who was behind the counter.

He never should have screwed that redhead. He’d known she worked just next to his building, so he would likely continue to see her occasionally. They’d had one hot night, and he would have been satisfied with the encounter, but she’d kept coming on to him in the days afterward, until he’d had to be quite rude to get her to back off.

She looked at him now like he was some sort of monster as she coldly handed him his coffee.

It had been one time, and he’d never claimed to want anything but sex. If she’d imagined something else might happen afterward, then she was just deluded.

He didn’t do relationships. He just didn’t have time. He liked women and he liked sex, but only if things were kept simple.

He couldn’t handle this kind of lingering messiness, some silly girl’s attempt to guilt him into thinking he’d treated her poorly.

He forgot about the redhead as soon as he crossed the street, walking the two blocks to the hotel bar where he’d arranged to meet Kelly.

He arrived a few minutes after seven and glanced around to see if she was there yet.

When there was no sign of her, he went to the bar and ordered a scotch, glancing down the line of stools and idly admiring the long legs of one of the women sitting on the opposite corner. He glanced up, but she wasn’t pretty enough to interest him, so he let his gaze move on.

At a quarter after seven, Caleb was starting to get annoyed. Being a few minutes late for a date was normal. Women seemed to do it on purpose, so they could make an entrance or feign a degree of disinterest. But Caleb was not used to waiting this long for anyone.

She better not have stood him up.

He wasn’t a fool. The sex had been just as good for her as it had been for him. There was no way she was faking her responses to him.

No matter what she said, she would want to get together with him again—just as he wanted her.

If she didn’t show up, then she was playing some sort of game, and women never won when they tried to play games with Caleb.

He was starting to get angry when he saw her enter. She was dressed differently tonight—wearing heels and a short, sexy dress in a striking shade of bronze. Her hair was pulled back in a loose braid that was unexpectedly sexy.

She’d obviously made an effort with her appearance, which confirmed his belief that she wasn’t at all indifferent to him.

She smiled distractedly when she saw him and came over, setting the beaded clutch she held on the bar.

“I was starting to wonder if you were going to come,” he said, feeling a familiar tightening of his groin at the sight of the clear, fair skin of her neck and shoulders, the graceful lines of her arms and legs.

“I wasn’t sure myself,” she admitted. She was having trouble looking him in the eye, which was strange after the direct way she’d acted with him the day before. “I told you I never do this.”

He leaned forward, holding her eyes intentionally, since her flitting gaze was starting to bug him. “So why do this now, then?”

She took an odd little breath and looked him square in the eye. “I don’t really know. Just something to try, I guess.”

His smile broadened. “Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.”

“How did you get my number?” she asked, after the bartender came over and she ordered red wine.

“I remembered your name from the business card, so I just looked you up. Wasn’t that hard.”

“Oh.” Her eyes flickered down and then up again. There was definitely something elusive about her tonight that hadn’t been present just yesterday.

It was almost like she was nervous. Women often were around him, but she hadn’t been nervous at all yesterday.

Maybe in the interim she’d found out who he was.

As if in response to the thought, she said, “Are you planning to tell me your name, or is this supposed to be truly anonymous?”

“You don’t already know it?”

“How would I already know it?” She looked a little calmer and was able to hold his gaze without wavering. “You’re not famous, are you?”

“No. I’m a businessman. But some people know who I am.”

“That’s your arrogance talking. I’m not likely to know or be impressed by a random businessman.” She reached over to skate her fingers over his shirt sleeve, which was propped on the bar. Her eyes focused on her fingers and not on his face. “So, what is your name?”

“Caleb.”

“Ah. It’s nice to meet you, Caleb.”

She smelled of something light and fresh, and her face looked even more sweet and dewy in the artificial light of the bar. Her body was close to his now, tantalizing in all the little moves she made.

Tension hardened in his neck and his groin as he felt arousal deepening. He wanted her again, and he didn’t want to chat endlessly in some pretense of civility in order to get her.

“So what do you think? Have we done the social thing long enough?”

She blinked, her lips parting slightly in lovely confusion. It took a minute for her to understand what he was asking, but her cheeks darkened when she did. “You move fast, don’t you?”

“I think I proved that yesterday.”

“Well, yeah. I was wondering if it would be different tonight.”

“Why would it be? That’s why you’re here, right? Or were you expecting simple sex to turn into some sort of saccharine romance?” His tone had an edge he hadn’t intended. He was suddenly worried that she was expecting more.

All of his interest would die an instant death if he discovered she was after something serious with him.

She made a choking sound and turned her head away briefly. “You’ve got to be kidding. I thought I made that clear yesterday.”

“Sometimes things change from day to day.”

“Not this.”

“Good.” He reached over to slide his finger down a length of deep gold hair that had escaped her braid.

“No touching during the social time,” she teased lightly, playfully batting his hand away.

He moved his hand back, relaxing into the kind of rivalry they’d enjoyed yesterday in the park. “I thought the social time was over.”

“That was just wishful thinking on your part. I never agreed to that timetable.”

“So what’s your timetable?” He leaned forward so he was hovering over her, using his size to make her feel his presence.

Her breath quickened, so he knew she felt it. “I’m not sure yet.”

“Well, decide quickly—because there’s something about you, something about the untouched look of you, that makes me really want to touch.” The gravelly texture of his voice was genuine. He was intensely aroused now and having trouble not grabbing her and pressing himself against her.

She slowly lifted her hands until they were resting on his shoulders. He took this as an invitation and moved his face so his lips were just a breath away from hers. “So, the social time is over, then?” he murmured.