Chapter 9: Reunion

Claire settled into her seat at the conference table and powered on her laptop.

She slid in the USB drive and began setting up the meeting minutes template.

The other executives had already taken their seats. Once she'd finished preparing, Claire sat back and waited for the CEO she'd never actually met in person.

Glancing around the table, she noted the tension on every face clearly, everyone was taking this meeting seriously and her own nerves tightened in response.

A few minutes later, the conference room door swung open.

Claire looked up instinctively, her eyes drawn to the entrance.

Every executive in the room did the same.

A collective breath seemed to catch in the room the man who walked in carried an authority so commanding it silenced the space instantly.

There was a current of anticipation running through the room; meeting the company's president in person was rare enough that most of them had never had the chance before.

Claire stared, momentarily frozen, as he crossed the threshold.

He wore a tailored black suit and tie, his hair swept back cleanly, revealing a strong hairline and a face with nothing to hide behind.

The style was sharp closely trimmed at the sides, longer on top polished and undeniably commanding.

The slicked-back style only sharpened his features further:

the high bridge of his nose, the depth of his gaze. It gave him an edge that was equal parts refined and dangerous.

Everything about him today read mature, composed, in complete control. The suit alone spoke of authority, tempered by a faint, unmistakable trace of restlessness underneath.

Sharp brows, sharp eyes, an unhurried stride, a calm that bordered on absolute.

Claire felt the air in the room shift, charged with something she couldn't quite name.

Lucas's gaze found hers immediately those same narrow, striking eyes from the night before, now carrying the faintest trace of amusement.

Their eyes locked for a beat too long. Heat rushed to her cheeks, her heart suddenly hammering.

Memory flooded back the two of them tangled together the night before and her skin went warm all over again.

Even now, in the cold light of a boardroom, he was still devastating to look at.

Of course he is, she thought, exhaling quietly.

Lucas held her gaze a moment longer, something knowing in the look, then walked calmly to the head of the table and took his seat.

He gave the room a small nod, his voice deep and even.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm Lucas Kane."

Claire studied his composed, businesslike expression and found it almost impossible to reconcile with the man who'd been anything but composed the night before.

She forced the memory down, straightened her posture, and focused on the meeting like everyone else, rising with the rest of the executives to greet him properly.

Lucas's gaze swept the room and landed, once again, on her.

She was dressed conservatively compared to the woman at the bar but the effect was, if anything, more potent. Restrained didn't mean invisible.

Claire felt the weight of his attention like heat on the back of her neck and kept her eyes fixed firmly on the table in front of her.

She didn't dare look up. She already knew what she'd find if she did that same faint, knowing smile, the one that made it clear exactly how much he already knew.

Unease coiled in her stomach as she pieced it together:

last night's recklessness, and now this Lucas Kane, standing at the head of her company's boardroom.

The gorgeous stranger I picked up at a bar, she realized, is my boss.

This surprise inspection suddenly didn't feel like a coincidence at all.

She'd thought slipping out quietly had closed the book on their one perfect, uncomplicated night.

Instead, less than twenty-four hours later, she was sitting across the table from the very man who'd upended her completely and there was no slipping away from this one.