Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It (2 page)

She turned pale again and he almost felt guilty for baiting her.

Then her eyes narrowed and she said, 'You don't know me, not the real me, and you never did."

He couldn't argue with her. Obviously he hadn't known her, or he would have realized what kind of betrayal she was capable of. 'You're supposed to be introducing me around. We can save rehashing old times for later."

Her hand fluttered to her throat and she couldn't hide the panic his words caused her. Every second he spent in her company convinced him more firmly of her guilt. She acted like a woman terrified of being caught doing something wrong. Then again, maybe she was just afraid her past had caught up with her. Maybe.

And maybe she had found a pretty lucrative deal here at Kline Technology selling secrets to Kline's competitors. Was she afraid the gravy train was about to end?

Marcus didn't know, but that's what he'd been hired to find out and he was damn good at his job.

A bizarre dream. This had to be some kind of really bad, really weird dream. Marcus could not possibly be here at Kline Technology, his eyes cold and hard, every speck of affection she'd once tried to imagine in his gaze wiped clear.

What horrible act ofProvidence had led George Kline to hire CIS as consultants on expansion?Yeah, right , Veronica's mind taunted her,like you don't want to see him again. Like you haven't ached for his touch every single day since you left Portland .

How many times since returning fromFrance had she gotten in the car and considered driving the almost four hours south on I-5 just so she could see him? How often had she daydreamed of hiding behind a bush outside his condo complex to catch one teeny-tiny glimpse of the golden-haired man she'd loved, the man she'd left?

She never fantasized about talking to him. Her imagination didn't stretch that far.

She'd betrayed him and he would never understand or forgive that. Maybe if he had loved her, she could have explained. But then if he had loved her, she would have gone to him and begged for his help with her problems. But their relationship had been based strictly on lust, at least on his part. He had made that very clear the first time they made love. No ties. No commitments.

Her reasons for doing what she'd done had centered on some very heavy commitments, responsibilities she couldn't walk away from… even if it meant losing the man she loved. And it had.

She tamped down the feeling of giddy joy bubbling up inside at his presence. It wasn't difficult, not when an almost overwhelming terror that he would learn her secret or expose her past had welled up to take its place.

She couldn't afford to lose this job. She needed the money and benefits to take care of her family. A family Marcus knew nothing about. He hadn't wanted to know the real Veronica Richards when they were lovers and she doubted that had changed in the past eighteen months.

In fact, he undoubtedly had even less desire to do so now. Because now he believed her to be a woman without honor, someone who would sell her loyalty to the highest bidder.

She gripped the report she held more tightly, hugging it to her like a shield. "Come this way and I'll introduce you to Jack. He's the director of marketing. He can give you a tour of the department and introduce you to the others."

Mockery burned in Marcus's blue eyes as he shook his head. "Oh, no, Ronnie. I don't think so. Kline assigned you the job of being my liaison and I intend to keep you to it."

Less than two years ago she had found the way his six-foot, two-inch frame towered over her own five feet, four inches exciting. She'd be lying to herself if she pretended it didn't have the same effect now, but the dread-filled panic skating along her nerve endings overshadowed even her body's usually overwhelming reaction to Marcus.What was she going to do ?

She stepped back two paces and shrugged with what she hoped was cool indifference, "I'm aware that my boss insisted I accompany you around, but I assumed with our past history you would prefer a different escort. If that is not the case, then I will of course follow through on Mr. Kline's instructions."

Marcus's white teeth gleamed in his tanned face. She knew the tan was real and not from a tanning bed. He loved the outdoors and the well-defined muscles under his brightly colored shirt testified to an active lifestyle. The tacky Hawaiian shirt was his idea of self-expression.

He gave her a wolfs grin when he noticed the direction her gaze had taken. "Then, let's go meet Jack."

She nodded once, forcing herself to look at something besides his overly tantalizing body. She had a lot of practice doing that. She'd spent nearly three years as the invisible woman while he paraded through the office with a bevy of beautiful bimbos hanging on his arm.

She turned to lead the way to her supervisor's desk. When they reached Jack, he was on the phone. Though she had left several feet of space between her and Marcus, she found herself mere inches from his towering frame. The smell of his aftershave wrapped itself around her and she wanted to bolt, running from the memories it elicited.

Memories of the only passion she had ever known.

She tried to move away unobtrusively. It didn't do any good. He just followed her.

"What's the matter, Ronnie? Do I make you nervous?"

He'd used almost identical words to begin a flirtation with her at CIS. The flirtation had grown into something more and she had discovered a passionate streak in her nature she had never suspected. That he would be the one to bring out her woman's desires hadn't surprised her. After all, she had loved him since practically her first day at CIS.

What had surprised her, astounded her even, had been the fact that he had shared her physical reaction, if not her love. He'd wanted her and Heaven help her, she'd been unable to protect herself.

A twenty-three-year-old virgin, she'd fallen completely under his spell and given him more than her body. She'd given him her heart. He didn't know that, of course. He assumed she was as uninvolved emotionally as he was. She wished with all her tattered heart that had been true. Then leaving wouldn't have hurt so much.

His words did not seem flirtatious now. His tone was much too menacing for flirtation. Was he playing some kind of cat-and-mouse game? Heaven new Marcus would believe she deserved to be tortured a little after what she'd done to CIS. She didn't harbor any illusions that she'd hurt him personally. He'd lost nothing more than a convenient bed partner, but CIS's reputation had suffered and for that he would never forgive her.

She saw no reason to hide the truth. It was obvious to him anyway. "Yes. You make me nervous. You have the power to destroy my life and you know it. I can only wonder why you haven't already said something to Mr. Kline."

Marcus's eyes widened at her honesty and he opened his mouth to answer, but Jack hung up his phone and turned his attention to them. "Veronica, did you need something more on that report?"

"No, Jack. I want to introduce you to someone." She indicated Marcus with her hand. "This is Marcus Danvers. Mr. Kline has hired his firm to do some consulting on possible expansion for Kline Technology."

She tilted her head so that she could meet Marcus's eyes. 'This is Jack Branson, head of our marketing department."

Jack's freckled face creased with a charming smile and he extended his hand. "Marcus, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Marcus shook the other man's hand. "I bet you've got some ideas about the direction Kline should take in expansion."

Jack nodded his red head enthusiastically. "You bet I do. Maybe we can talk about them over lunch sometime this week."

Marcus made a noncommittal sound, but she didn't doubt he'd eat with Jack and listen to his ideas. Her supervisor could charm the tail off a rattlesnake. She ought to know. He'd turned that charm on her a time or two, looking for a date. It might have worked too, but her heart appeared to be stuck on one track… that of loving Marcus.

More the fool, her.

Besides, she had responsibilities at home, commitments that made a casual dating relationship almost impossible.

Marcus and Jack chatted for a few minutes before her supervisor got another call, and she led Marcus to the next cubicle in order to introduce him to one of the technical marketing people. It took her almost an hour to acquaint him with the entire marketing staff. With his easy humor, he made several conquests among the women in the department.

She worked hard at stifling any feelings of jealousy his flirtatious manner caused, but relief filled her when she saw that it was almostfive o'clock and he had met the last member of her department. "I've got some things to finish before I can head home. I'm sure Mr. Kline is expecting you back in his office now that you've met the staff."

Marcus nodded, his hair shining gold in the fluorescent lights. Relieved that he'd taken his dismissal so easily, she turned to go. He put his hand out to stop her. His touch electrified her and she froze in place although his fingers rested only lightly on her shoulder.

"Have dinner with me tonight."

Shock slammed through her. "Why?" she croaked.

"We have things to talk about."

She shook her head. He was right, but she didn't want to talk about those things now. She couldn't. "No."

"Yes."

She stared at him, mute with a combination of longing and fear that paralyzed her mind and vocal cords. Finally she was able to force one word from her dry mouth. "What?"

"There's the little matter of your history as a corporate spy that I didn't share with Kline."

The statement sounded like a threat and she reacted to it as such. Terror washed over her, unadulterated fear that her efforts to rebuild her life would end up a heap of crushed rubble around her.

"I can't."

His eyes narrowed as his hand dropped away from her. "Why? Do you have a date already?"

She shook her head. Not unless she counted her nightly commitment to care for her baby son.

"Whatever it is, cancel it."

"I can't do that," Motherhood wasn't something you cancelled when the mood suited you.

She'd learned that the year both her parents died in a boating accident, leaving her sole provider for and caregiver of her younger sister.

"Can you afford not to? Don't you want to know if I plan to tell Kline about your little act of betrayal at CIS?"

Her heart constricted in her chest. "Are you going to?"

"It depends."

"On what?"

"On what you say over dinner."

He had her over a barrel and he knew it.

"I'll meet you at seven." She named a little seafood restaurant that overlooked the sound in westSeattle . She'd have to ask Jenny to watch Aaron. She just hoped her sister didn't have plans.

Marcus's eyes gleamed azure with triumph and she had a strong urge to wipe that smug look right off his face. He was so confident of his power over her, just as he'd been eighteen months ago.

All she'd have to do to send his arrogant humor on a trip south would be to tell him about Aaron.

Mr. No-strings-no-commitments would fall down in a dead faint to discover he was a father.

Chapter Two

"So, what's the story with you and my marketing admin?"

Marcus leaned back on the black leather couch in Kline's plush corner office.

Huge windows revealedSeattle 's skyline against the backdrop of gray ocean waters. He let his gaze settle on the view for several seconds before answering. He found well-timed silences an effective technique for gaining the advantage in a conversation. Something he'd learned from his former boss and current partner, Alex Trahern.

"I told you she worked for us at CIS a couple of years ago."

Kline grinned, his expression both amused and pitying. "I see. Do you look at all your former employees with the possessiveness of a jealous lover?"

What the hell was Kline talking about?

If Marcus had worn any particular expression when looking at Ronnie, it would have been dis-gust, not possessiveness. He'd been pretty darn sure his face hadn't shown any telltale expression at all, though. Kline had to be guessing at a past relationship.

Marcus decided to brush off the older man's comment with a shrug. "Maybe."