5

Matt nearly laughed aloud when Lana blinked at him for several tense seconds as if she was trying to ferret out the deeper meaning of his words. He could tell the moment she’d brushed his comment aside, as if it was a joke, by the subtle shake of her head. He wanted to grab hold of her and shake her. She was a brilliant woman, but for some reason she

always chose to play dumb when it came to his obvious flirting and veiled

comments.

He knew she saw the look in his eyes and understood the meaning of his words, and yet she pretended as if she didn’t.

“We need to start on this now,” he said moving toward the door to her old office. “I will grab an extra chair from—”

“Oh no. I’m not working here on a Saturday anymore. Again, you forget I am no longer an employee.” She pulled out a notepad from her desk drawer and like two days before she scribbled something down for him. “Here is my address.” She handed him the piece of paper and

brushed past him to the door. “Bring all the files and your laptop. We’ll work on it there,” she said. And without asking him if that was alright, she flung open her old door, walked through and slammed it behind her.

He quirked his lips into a grin, not even the tiniest bit perturbed by her arrogance. This was playing out better than even he could have ever imagined. Lana, in her home, alone, on a Saturday. No, even better—for

the next two weeks. It was perfect.

*****

Matt slowed down his black Lexus LS to a crawl and listened to the next instructions from his GPS. He whipped his car to the right to make the indicated turn and then picked up speed when he realized he had another half a mile before his next turn.

He glanced around at the spacious grounds of the luxury homes that stretched before him. With a home nestled in the exclusive Winmark gated community of Buckhead, he knew Lana lived extremely well. He turned off of Peachtree onto Northside Road and drove for another mile

until he pulled up to a uniformed security guard who stood beside a large iron gate.

He handed the guard his license and waited for him to check his name against the Visitor's List. He half expected the guard would hand him back his license and tell him to get lost. If Lana wanted to, she could have easily returned home, locked herself away and refused to take any of his calls. It wasn’t like he could force her to either. He’d lied to her. No

Renault authorities would be banging on her door anytime soon, ever for

that matter. As soon as she’d left her office Thursday, he’d backed up the account on his external hard drive and a CD before erasing her files. The account was still there, not stolen, not lost—just hidden.

He loosened his grip on his steering wheel and relaxed when the guard opened the gate and nodded for him to go through. He pressed his foot down on the accelerator. Lana had not called his bluff after all. He was in!

It took him just two more minutes to pull into the circular driveway of her large three story home. The white brick shimmered under the soft

rays of the sunlight, as the lush green lawn of her front yard sparkled like a field of shiny emerals. The exterior of her home was beautiful, warm and inviting. Much like the owner, although she did her best not to show it.

He piled out of his sedan and grabbed the bag he’d stuffed full of jump drives and manila folders. With the bag slung over his shoulder he strolled to her front door and rang the bell.

He’d barely drawn in a full breath when the door opened. She stood there dressed in the same yellow tank top and snug fitting ripped jeans she’d worn to the office.

His jaw had dropped when she’d stormed into her old office in the unexpected attire. He knew she was in her early forties, but she looked refreshingly vivacious in the hip clothing that was so different from her drab suits, which she only occasionally abandoned for something a little more flamboyant and daring like the dress she’d worn on the day he’d first met her. But again that was rare. He liked her in her casual outfit. For one, he could see more of her lush figure as the top scooped down to

hug her full breasts and the jeans rode dangerously low on her hips to reveal just the hint of bare skin. Her hair had been loose when she’d arrived earlier and he thought she looked beautiful with it down because it framed her lovely face. He was disappointed to see that she’d pulled it back into a pony tail and donned her infamous glasses. He was certain that if it hadn’t been a Saturday she probably would have changed into a suit just out of habit.

“Here, come in.” She stepped aside to let him in before closing the door behind him. That’s when he noticed the pale pink polish on her tiny toes. A smile flashed across his face. Now that was unexpected. Who

knew the uptight vice prez had a softer side after all.

He followed her through the spacious walkway of her home toward her office. He was sure the interior décor was just as lovely as the exterior of her home, but he didn’t see any of it because his gaze stayed glued to the lush roundness of her ass that filled out her jeans perfectly.

His eyes snapped to her face just in time to meet her gaze when she abruptly spun around to point to her left. “The bathroom and kitchen are that way. If you need something just help yourself.”