Free Reckless Whisper by Lucia Jordan Page B

Jason Holt, my…my boss.”
    Really?
Carla thought in surprise, eyes raking with practiced speed over the tall,
blindingly handsome man standing beside her. He was dressed in a dark grey
suit, the white shirt unbuttoned at the throat, no tie. His eyes were a deep
brown; his hair was stylishly short and a mass of russet curls. She was
mesmerized by the piercing glint in those melting brown eyes.
    Her
brain was barely able to function though and she realized that if this was
Henry’s boss, then by implication he was also definitely Rick’s boss. Well,
well.
    “Nice
to meet you, Mr. Holt,” she said, and shook his hand. The contact was brief but
still managed to send a thrill up her arm.
    He.
Was. Hot.
    No two
ways about it. And he was looking at her with more than cursory interest, she
realized. Instinctively, she perked up – in more ways than one.
    “You
don’t work for my company, do you?” he asked, regarding her with narrowed,
quizzical eyes, as if trying to place her face.
    “Oh,
no, not at all,” she said with a laugh and a wave of her hand. Just then, as if
on cue, Henry’s cell phone rang, and with a self-conscious smile and a mumbled
“excuse me”, he went off to answer it. Carla had to bite back another laugh.
The accounts guy was really flustered to find his boss appearing out of the
blue.
    Heck, she was flustered, herself.
    Who
wouldn’t be with such an image of utter manliness standing before her? From
head to foot he was impeccably, undeniably sexy. The kind she’d kept especially
for her deepest, hottest fantasies – the type she’d never dream of
netting on a good day. But since today was a very wild and reckless day, she was very willing to take her chances…
    She saw
him watch as Henry walked off, head bent over his phone, before he turned to
her with those molten eyes of his. “He’s not your type, you know?”
    Carla
went really red despite herself , but gathered her wits
and decided to play along. She had an agenda of her own anyway, so she
definitely needed to be on the mark to get what she so wanted tonight…
    *
    “Oh,
you mean Henry?” she asked lightly as she took a welcome sip from her drink.
Was her head beginning to spin from all that booze, or was it just Mr. Hottie
standing next to her?
    “Yes,
him,” he replied with a slight smile, then, “Are you sure you don’t work for
me?”
    She
rolled her eyes playfully. “Of course I’m sure. I’m a florist, Mr. Holt –
I grow very rare orchids. However…I did date someone who works for you.” Her
finger twirled flirtatiously over the rim of her glass.
    “Really?
Who?”
    “Rick
Fulsom,” she said, wondering why she was even going there. But she had to make
conversation, didn’t she? Something to keep Mr. Red-Hot riveted while she
figured out her next move.
    He
nodded slowly. “I believe he’s in marketing.”
    Carla
nodded, willing her heartbeat to stop pounding. He was speaking quite normally
and yet, every single word sounded so sexy coming from his lips. Damn, he only
had to just open his mouth and she had her inner walls quivering. Either she
was already very drunk or just plain horny.
    “You
spoke in the past tense, Miss Stevens. I guess that means you two are no more
an item?”
    “Definitely
not an item anymore – since last week, actually,” she said with a
careless shrug.
    “You
don’t look too broken up about it,” he said, and she flashed her eyes up at him
to see if he was making fun of her. He wasn’t. He just looked curious.
    “I’m
not. He was a lying, cheating, toad,” she told him calmly, finishing off her
drink and dumping it on the counter with a “thunk”. “And I’m here tonight to
revel in my singledom – find someone really hot to take home, and then
screw his brains out.” She had an innocent smile on her face as she finished
the sentence.
    Did his
eyes just turn from brown to black?
    Whoa.
    Carla
couldn’t help the little shiver that passed through her frame at the