sperate plea. Her hand was frozen on the door

t his stance was unmovable. "He just got back, he's in a foul mood

his words didn't:

of her expensive heels. There

n't bring herself to push it open. Her mind raced, a frantic scramble for an excuse, any excus

insane thoug

u

the elevators. It would be professional suicide, but i

t cough sounded behind her. It was Alex, a gentle reminder that

e escape fantasy evaporated, leaving only t

shed i

was. Beck Franco stood with his back to her, a tall, imposing silhouette against the afternoon light. His

ld hear the frantic, rabbit-f

?" Her voice was

gles and unforgiving lines. But it was his eyes that held her captive. They were the color of a storm cloud, gray and intense, and they scanned her with

a beat too long before dropping to

cott," she managed, her voice shaking

An idea, a chance for a qui

r of his massive desk, a slab of polished ebony tha

to sound brisk and efficient. "If there'

put as much distance between them as possibl

y you cou

t it stopped her as effectively as a ph

as now seated, his hands steepled in front of him. He looke

o sever this unbearable tension. She opened her mouth to speak, to re-esta

treat. Her heel caught on the edge of the plus

she turne

stride down the silent corridor. She rounded the corner toward

d with some

ands gripped her upper arms to steady her, and

Beck

flush-mounted panel at the end of the hall she'd never noticed before. It was a private entrance, likel

rom his desk in her flight, slipped from her nerveless f

at the logo on the wrapping paper, then his gray eyes lifte

chin toward the office she had just

n

with a certainty that chilled her to the bone, th