Business and Pleasure (Lavender Lace, Book One) Read Online Free Page B

who’d openly flirted with him let him know that she always wore a suit and her hair piled on top of her head.
    What a waste. She should wear her hair down and clothes that showed off her curves.
    Other carefully worded questions to those same women had informed him that interoffice dating happened a lot…except for Marci. She didn’t date any employees, not after the scandal a year and a half ago. He couldn’t get any more information about the “scandal”. The women immediately clammed up and refused to say any more.
    That intrigued him.
    He noticed people begin to clean up their desks and close down their computers shortly after four o’clock. Apparently, casual Friday also meant go-home-early Friday. That meant he could have some alone time with Marci even sooner.
    Someday, Keefe would like to meet that special someone…the one he’d be with for the rest of his life. For now, he had no interest in anything serious with a woman. Drinks, dinner, movies, sex…he wanted all those things. Especially the sex part.
    Which brought his thoughts back to Marci Bayne.
    He waited until the last employee had left the floor before he strolled to Marci’s office. Her assistant had already left. Good. He wanted to walk into Marci’s office without being announced.
    Her door stood open. Keefe leaned against the frame, his thumbs hooked in the belt loops of his jeans, as he drank in the sight of her. With her hair on top of her head, that long, ivory neck was exposed.
    What a perfect spot to start nibbling.
    She frowned as she studied something on her computer screen. “Shit,” she muttered.
    Keefe chuckled. “Now is that any way for a president to talk?”
    She jumped and released a soft squeak. “Keefe!” She placed one hand over her heart. “You scared me.”
    “Sorry.” Pushing away from the frame, he sauntered toward her desk. It pleased him to see her gaze sweep down his body. She focused on his fly several seconds before looking at his face. “Problem?”
    “An email I wish I hadn’t received.” She pushed a few buttons on her keyboard, then looked at him again. “What can I do for you?”
    He sat in one of the two chairs before her desk, his knees spread, his hands linked over his stomach. Her gaze dipped to his fly again before quickly moving back to his face. So the lady found him attractive. He liked that.
    “I’ve spent the last three days introducing myself, looking around the different offices. You have a lot of happy employees, Marci. I’m impressed.”
    Marci smiled. “Thanks. That’s good to hear from someone new.”
    “I’d like to know more about the company.” He started to ask her out for a drink, but decided he’d rather have dinner with her instead. That would give them more time together. “Will you have dinner with me and fill me in?”
    Her smile faded. “Dinner?”
    “Tomorrow. I have plans with my friends tonight.”
    She lowered her head and straightened some file folders on her desk. “I’m sure any of the vice presidents can answer your questions. Or Lauren, my assistant. She’s been here six years.”
    “You know the company better than anyone.”
    Raising her head again, she intertwined her fingers on top of her desk and looked directly into his eyes. “I don’t date my employees, Keefe.”
    “I’m not asking you on a date, Marci. This would be a business dinner.”
    At her skeptical look, he raised both hands, palms toward her. “Strictly business, I swear. Besides, I’m not your employee until Monday.”
    She stared at him for several moments. He imagined the wheels turning in her brain, trying to decide if she should believe him. It would be a business dinner. He wasn’t lying about that. But what happened after dinner would be total pleasure.
    “You pick the restaurant,” he said, nudging her toward agreeing to his invitation. “Wherever you want to go. Steakhouse, seafood, Italian, Chinese. I’m not crazy about sushi, but I’ll eat anything