Free Unbound by Kathryn Taylor Page B

individual bullet points, I take the pen and sign it, and then I hand back the papers, smiling. I’m not planning on telling anyone anything, yet I don’t want to give that woman the satisfaction of knowing she could make me nervous. “Is there anything else?” I ask, sounding decidedly bored.
    “You can go in now,” Catherine Shepard replies. Unfortunately, I can’t tell if I’ve impressed her. Taking long steps, I stride up to Jonathan Huntington’s office door, knock briefly, and enter.
    Jonathan is standing behind his desk at the window, making a call on his cell phone. When he sees me, he gestures to me to come in. While I’m still coming toward him, he finishes his call and turns back to his desk and picks up a few papers.
    “Even more things to sign?” I ask, and regret it immediately because I feel like I sound like a child.
    He raises his eyebrows. He obviously knows exactly what I mean. “The agreement is a necessary precaution.” His tone of voice is calm but emphatic. “Do have a problem with that, Grace?” I can sense that whether or not the offer still stands will depend on my answer.
    “No,” I assure him. “I wasn’t planning to broadcast Huntington Ventures’ business secrets to the world anyway.”
    “It would certainly be costly for you if you did.” It’s a warning, but he says it with such self-assurance that it makes the difference between us clear to me again. He runs an extremely successful company. If I were to challenge him, I wouldn’t stand a chance. Not a chance in hell.
    And then I suddenly realize what it is that’s making me so mad. He doesn’t trust me. Which is nonsense. He doesn’t know me, and he has to be cautious if he’s going to give me confidential insights into his business. But I’m still offended. “As I said, I wasn’t planning to,” I repeat and I wish I hadn’t brought the subject up to begin with.
    Jonathan seems to feel the same way because he is holding the papers out to me. “Here, these are the files on the project we are about to discuss in the meeting. You can sit over there and take a look at them, so you know what it’s about.” He indicates a leather sofa and smiles briefly and then he sits down in his chair and grabs the telephone again.
    I obediently follow his instructions and sit down on the broad leather sofa. As I read through the documents, I keep one ear open to what he’s discussing on the phone. But since I can only hear half of it, I don’t understand what he’s talking about. It’s definitely something business-related, though.
    I sneak a look at him from time to time and listen to his voice. It sounds deep and decisive, and somehow I’m sure that he’s going to get what he wants. He’s rolled up his shirtsleeves. His lower arms are powerful and the tendons stand out beneath his skin. I can’t take my eyes off them and I get that empty, tugging feeling in my stomach again. What would it feel like to have those arms around me …
    I swallow because my mouth has suddenly gone completely dry again. He won’t put his arms around you, Grace, so calm down, I admonish myself. He’s not even paying any attention to me, it’s almost as if I weren’t there. So much for the dangerous Jonathan Huntington I need to protect myself against. He doesn’t seem to want anything much from me.
    What should he want from you? A small nagging voice inside me asks. I sigh without realizing it. He lifts his head and looks at me questioningly. For a long moment, our eyes meet and heat surges through me, driving the blood into my cheeks.
    “Is everything OK?” he asks.
    “Yes, yes, everything’s fine,” I assure him hastily, but my voice is trembling slightly. I stare back down at the papers quickly. I can’t help it if he takes my breath away whenever I look into his eyes for more than a few seconds. It’s scary and I need to get that under control if I want to get through the next few weeks. But how?
    I find him attractive. Very