Club Destiny 1 Conviction (8 page)

“Since I’m not from around here,
you’ll have to give me some suggestions.” Sam’s voice jolted him into the
moment, and he realized he’d asked her a question. Did her voice always sound
so husky and breathless? Or was that just his imagination?

“You’re in luck. We’ve got just
about anything around here. Chinese, Japanese? Or maybe a burger? And the best
damn steakhouse around. Your choice.”

“I’m game for a steak if you
are.”

That he could get on board with.

Logan backed out of the space,
turned the wheel and put his foot on the gas. Once they were headed toward the
main road, he’d managed to get his head in the game.

He debated on whether to break
the silence in the car. For the first time in years, Logan found he was
incredibly nervous. His senses were flooded with the intoxicating scent of her,
something exotic, spicy, but sweet at the same time. Maybe that was affecting
his brain to mouth function.

She didn’t seem to be worried
about their lack of conversation; instead she busied herself with staring out
the window. He punched the volume control a couple of times to provide them
some background noise, but it didn’t seem to faze her. Once, he thought he’d
seen her sneak a look in his direction, but he kept his eyes on the road
although he grinned like a teenager.

The short drive, though longer
than he remembered, finally ended when he pulled into the parking lot. Once
parked, Logan climbed out of the car and walked around to the passenger side
door. By that time, Sam had already gotten out of the car, but he was quick to
shut her door for her.

He’d been raised to be a
gentleman, but he recognized her independent streak. She was a strong woman,
likely set in her ways, but when they reached the doors to the restaurant, he
noted she did allow him to open the door for her.

The smile she shot back at him
went straight to his groin, and he fought the urge to release the groan that
lodged in his throat. It wasn’t until they were seated at a table in the back
and served the complimentary bread that either of them actually spoke.

“So, how did it go with Jeff this
morning? I noticed he was more optimistic than he has been the past few days.”
Logan asked as he leaned against the seat back, resting his arms on the table
in front of him.

“We had a bit of a rough start.”

“How so?” Logan watched as Sam
seemed to be examining his hands. In turn, he saw that she had her hands
clasped together in her lap, and she looked just as nervous as he felt.

“He’s dealing with some personal
issues, but we worked through it. He offered some excellent insight into the
team, and we discussed a couple of the smaller projects he’s got going on.”

Logan realized what she said, and
for the first time, he felt disconnected from a member of his team. Personal
issues? Sure, he thought Jeff seemed stressed lately, but the man wasn’t
generally a bottle of sunshine, so it hadn’t caught his attention. “What type
of personal issues?” He found himself asking.

“I don’t think it’s my place to
tell.” She smiled and took a sip of the tea the waitress had just delivered.
“Without overstepping my bounds, I would suggest, however, that you take the
time to talk to him before he leaves for good.”

Overstepping? He wasn’t sure
Samantha Kielty knew how
not
to overstep, but she seemed genuinely
concerned, so he smiled back. At least she wasn’t intimidated by him. He liked
that she valued other people’s privacy. Most people answered whatever question
he threw at them with full disclosure. It was refreshing to meet someone who
wasn’t going to give him every detail just because he wanted to know.

“Understood. Glad to hear it turned
around for you. I’ve heard you have that effect on people.” It was actually one
of the reasons Logan had been so interested in her for the position, but he
wasn’t going to tell her that just yet.

“It’s a useful skill, I’ll
admit.”

“How so?” He asked, trying to get
her to open up a little more.

“When you’re managing people and
projects, sometimes, well, most of the time, in my experience, those projects
don’t go as you expect them to. To be successful, you’ve got to be able to
rally the troops and get them to want to do it. Being able to get them to open
up is a good start.”

“You passed the interview with
flying colors, Samantha. You don’t have to try and sell yourself anymore.”
Logan laughed. She sounded so serious and as much as this was an official
business lunch, he found himself wanting to get to know more about her
personally.

“Right. Sorry. I guess I just get
carried away sometimes.” Samantha replied, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of
pink. “And please, call me Sam.”

That was the second time she’d
asked him to call her Sam. He made a mental note to lose the formality, as he’d
advised her originally. Nodding his understanding, he continued. “Tell me a
little about you. I know about your career with the company, but I don’t know
much about you.”

“Let’s see if I can give you the
watered down version. Born and raised in San Antonio. One brother, older. I
graduated from high school with honors, went straight to college, graduated
early by doubling up on some of my classes. That’s my entire life story in a
nutshell.”

Ahhh.
Ok. That was how she was going
to play it.

“I’ve seen your resume. It’s
rather impressive.” He liked the innocence that lit her eyes when she talked
about herself. There was something about her vulnerability that intrigued him.
However, this woman was a contradiction in itself because when it came to
business, she was cool and confident.

~*~*~

“What about you? I haven’t seen
your
resume. Fill me in.” Sam countered, watching Logan closely to see his reaction
to her turn of the tables. It wasn’t that she couldn’t talk about herself; it’s
just she wasn’t all that comfortable with it.

And truth be told, she honestly did
want to know more about this man. She’d be working for him, and if she could
get a better understanding of what made him tick, she’d be able to determine
the boundaries.

“My personal resume? Or the
professional one?” He asked, his large, sexy hand curving around the glass of
tea sitting in front of him.

Sam had been watching his hands
for the last few minutes, trying her damnedest not to think about what they
would feel like on her skin. When she’d brushed up against him as they were
leaving XTX, she’d gotten a feel of his rock solid chest and she’d been flooded
with totally inappropriate thoughts since then.

“Let’s start with the personal
one.”

“I’ve got one brother also. We
were raised by my grandfather since I was eight. Both of my parents were killed
when I was young. Drunk driver.”

“I’m sorry.” Sam reacted on pure
instinct. Knowing the man was probably close to forty, that was a very long
time ago, but her heart suddenly ached for the eight year old Logan who had to
go through that.

“Thanks. My grandfather was
tough, but he loved me. I didn’t stray from my path. I graduated from high
school, going straight to college. Had a fantastic time while I was there, but
I did try to focus on my studies. I graduated and went to work for a competitor
of XTX, working there for about seven years, and then I came here. Been here
ever since.”

“And how long have you been with
XTX?”

Logan smiled his crooked smile
which nearly stole her breath.

“Are you trying to figure out how
long I’ve been here, or how old I am?”

Sam laughed unexpectedly. Had she
been trying to figure out how old he was? Probably.

“You got me.” She had to give him
credit for reading between the lines. “Maybe both. So?”

“I’ve been with XTX for ten years
now. So, how old does that make me?”

Sam did the math quickly in her
head. She figured he was roughly around forty, based on the calculation, but
she’d already guessed that. She just smiled back at him.

It didn’t matter how old he was
or that he was probably close to ten years her senior. Well, it shouldn’t have
mattered. She had no reason trying to determine if they were compatible. It
wasn’t an option. He would be her boss if things continued to go the way they
were going now.

“Well? I’m still waiting. I think
you have it all figured out.” Logan pushed her, and Sam noted the mischievous
look in his eye.

God, maybe this was an
exceptionally bad idea.

“Doesn’t really matter, does it?”
She quipped, a little harsher than she meant. “I don’t need to know how old you
are to work for you.”

He seemed to let her frustration
roll off of him when he said, “So, you’re planning to work for me?”

The anticipation she heard in his
voice was a good sign, or so she thought.

“I’m leaning in that direction,
sure. It just depends on this afternoon and what Jeff can tell me about the
upcoming project. I’m qualified, I get that. I can do the work. It’s a big step
for me though. I’m leaving my entire life to come up here for an undisclosed
amount of time.”

That was only partly true. Her
entire life consisted of XTX as it was, so not much would change except for her
location. But he didn’t need to know that.

“As I mentioned before, this is
certainly a long term option. We need you here, and I know you’re capable of
doing the work. If you weren’t, I wouldn’t have asked for you specifically.”

Sam got the impression he was
still trying to sell her the job, and he probably was. A little bit of
disappointment crept through her. Part of her wanted him to try and convince
her because
he
wanted her here, not just because she was the most
qualified for the job.

“Why exactly
did
you ask
for me?” Sam had to get the conversation back on safer ground. Work was safe.

She wanted to know what made him
believe she was qualified for the job. Her resume spoke for itself, but she was
pretty sure Logan wasn’t the type to rely on a one page bio to give him the
information he needed to make this type of decision.

“James is very fond of you. So
much so, I was almost inclined to see if the two of you were related.” He
joked. “When I called him to see if he knew of anyone who would fit the
qualifications, already knowing you would, he confirmed it. He mentioned you,
and we discussed the accomplishments you’ve made thus far. They’re rather
impressive.”

“Thank you.” At that moment, the
waitress chose to interrupt them.

The woman was young, maybe early
twenties and Sam didn’t miss the way she batted her eyelashes and bit her lower
lip as she ogled Logan. It was the look that told him she was extremely
interested and that if he asked for her phone number, she would probably
already have it on a slip of paper in her pocket.

“Are you guys ready to order, or
do you need a few more minutes.” The young lady asked, her voice soft and sexy
as she eyed Logan, her eyelashes sheepishly fluttering.

Neither of them had looked at the
menu, so Logan glanced over at Sam. “You ready?”

Sam didn’t hesitate as she
rattled off her order, her eyes never leaving Logan’s. She wasn’t sure what
made her stare back at him, but something deep inside of her felt threatened by
the young woman with the perky breasts, blonde hair and big, blue eyes.
Something so powerful she forgot for a single moment that she wasn’t on a date,
but rather a casual, business lunch.

Something inside of Sam tingled,
her thighs clinching tightly as he seemed to be eyeing her with as much heat as
she was him.

“I’ll have the same.” Logan’s
deep voice rumbled, sending shockwaves of electricity reverberating straight to
her core. He never broke eye contact, and Sam was sure he could see her
interest.

“I’ll put your order right in. If
you need anything else, my name is Heather.” The perky, young woman said
sweetly, clearly oblivious to Logan’s lack of interest.

“Thank you, Heather.” Sam managed
a professional tone, briefly glancing up at the other woman, before her eyes
locked with Logan’s again.

A chill ran down her spine,
physically making her tremble, as the thought of kissing Logan ran through her
mind. Would sparks fly if he kissed her? She could almost feel the warmth of
his lips on hers, and she fought to erase the inappropriate thought. Although
it continued to teeter on the edge of her conscience.

“I take it you’ve been here
before?” Logan asked, still holding her gaze.

“Sure. This chain is all over
Texas. I’ve always liked it.”
Ok break the eye contact Samantha
.
Take
it back to safer ground
. “So, where were we?”

Thankfully Logan picked right
back up where they had left off.

“After talking to James, I
discussed you with a few of the PMs in my office, and they had good things to
say about you. Even Jeff offered up your name as a replacement for him. At that
point, I was sold. I didn’t even need to hear the feedback I received from your
team. You’re a very popular person within the company.”