She leaned into the kiss, loving the warmth of his mouth, the brush of his tongue on her bottom lip as he drew back. She stared up at him. “You shouldn’t do that here,” she said, her voice a little breathless.
“The door is closed.”
She nodded. “But seriously, Travis. I don’t know...” She got lost. Godfrey, she was usually so confident, so assertive, and she wasn’t sure what to say or how to deal with this mind-blowing situation. She licked her lips. “I want you to know that this...” She waved a hand between them. “What happened between us doesn’t change anything here at work.”
He arched an eyebrow, the warmth in his eyes cooling. “Really.”
She gave a sharp nod. “Yes. I still think I’m the best one to take over the company. I’m still going to get caught up and prepared for that meeting next week. This won’t change anything.”
He straightened and folded his arms across his chest, his face once again impassive. “Of course.”
She squinted at him. “You don’t think I...that I slept with you to...” Her words trailed off. “Oh my damn, Travis.”
His mouth tightened, and his eyes grew flinty. “You didn’t?”
He thought she’d slept with him to try to soften him up or something when it came to deciding the new leader of the company! “Of course not!” She jumped to her feet and reached for him. She slid her hands around the back of his neck. “That’s not what last night was about! Not at all.”
He gave a short nod, his mouth softening a little. “Then what was it about?”
She dropped her gaze, a flustered feeling overtaking her. She wasn’t about to tell him she was falling in love with him all over again. Or that maybe she’d been in love with him all along. Not yet anyway. She wasn’t going to make that mistake again. She swallowed, her throat tight and dry. “You know there’s always been something between us.”
“Yeah.” His hands settled on her hips, and she screwed up her courage and looked up to meet his eyes.
“I...I...want to explore that.” There, that sounded good.
His eyes darkened. “Oh, Sam. It’s such a bad idea.”
“Yeah. I know it is.” In all honesty she had to agree with him. “But I really think we can keep things separate. Here, it’s just business.”
“And at home it’s just...”
“Hot sex?” she said hopefully.
His lips twitched. “No doubt about that.” Then he looked up at the ceiling. “I’d like to be the responsible, mature one here and say that should never happen again. The truth is I seriously don’t think I can keep my hands off you. God knows I’ve tried.”
She kissed his chin. “It’s okay, Travis. I’m all grown up now. Remember?”
He groaned. “Oh man, are you ever.”
She grinned, feminine satisfaction swelling inside her. She gave him a fast, hard hug then stepped away. “Did you come here on business? Or just to talk?”
He sighed and rubbed his face. “Mostly just to talk. To see how you’re doing. To see if you have any questions.”
“Not so far,” she said cheerfully, returning to her chair. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
“Uh-huh. Okay, let me know if you need anything.”
She couldn’t resist, a new flirtatiousness unfurling inside her. “Oh, I will,” she said, catching his gaze and winking. “But it won’t be until later when we’re at home.”
She saw him trying to repress his smile. “I’ll be late getting home,” he said. “I have an appointment with Wade Burnell this afternoon.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “What about?”
“I’m the executor of your father’s will,” he reminded her. “Apparently I have to sign some documents to get started on probating the will.”
“Oh. Of course.” Her mood dipped a little at that.
“I’ll see you when I get home.”
“Okay.”
He left with a smile, and it took a few minutes of floaty distraction before she could refocus on work. But she had to. Business. Focus.
It was less than an hour later that she was puzzling over the company’s traceability system. She knew how important it was for a company who offered fair trade products to be able to verify their fair trade status, but the system they were using was sadly lacking. She had to be missing something.
It was Daniel she needed to talk to but when she went to his office, he was out. She had no idea who else to ask about that, so she traced her way back to Travis’s office. Damn, she hated to have to ask him questions, but he was the one who knew the most about the company.
More than her? Maybe.
She knocked on his open door and poked her head in. “Hi. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure.” He leaned back in his chair, his hair tousled, his shirt sleeves rolled up on his strong forearms. She gulped. Business. She took a few more steps into the room, and he waved at a chair.
Perched on the chair, she said, “I was just looking at our traceability system.” She grimaced. “Such as it is.”
“Traceability?” He lifted one eyebrow. “Why?”
“Why what? Why am I looking at it? I’m looking for ways to cut costs.”
His eyebrows drew together. “Traceability?”
“Yes.” Impatience edged her tone.
“I thought you were looking at the financials I gave you.”
“I already did.” She shrugged. “I get it. Now I’m looking for ways to cut costs.”
He leaned back in his chair. “I think we have bigger things to worry about than our traceability system, Sam.”
Her jaw tightened. “I’m well aware there are problems,” she said tersely. “Our system seems sadly inadequate. Is that really all we use?”
“Yes.” He shrugged.
“It’s so important these days,” she said. “And not just for process credence attributes. Yes, many buyers now require their suppliers to prove credence, including restaurants and some grocery stores. But there are other reasons for having a solid traceability system.” She asked him a few other technical questions, which he answered but only confirmed to her that what they were using was outdated and inadequate. She took it in then rose from her chair and said, “Okay, thanks.”
Back in her office, she leaned her head back against her chair and stared at the white paneled ceiling. She wished she hadn’t asked him about that because now he thought she was focusing on the wrong things. Was she?
He was the one who knew most about the business. She had to admit it. But she could show him she knew things too. The best way to do that was with a well thought-out business case. Numbers talked, for most people.
She glanced at her watch. She’d get right on that, but first she was going to call Duane Scanlon back and invite him for lunch.
Chapter Fourteen
All through dinner with her mother, Samara kept trying to find the words to broach the subject of her epic screw-up, but the moment never seemed quite right. Her mother chatted on about all kinds of things and asked questions about work, and there never was quite the right lead in. Samara could barely swallow food, her stomach was so tight.
After they’d eaten, Mom said, “I guess I should start going through Parker’s clothes.” Her gaze lowered to the plate she carried to the kitchen. “I don’t know what to do with it all.”
“Um. I guess you could donate it.”
“Yes. That’s better than throwing it all out.”
Oh Godfrey, that wasn’t going to be a fun task. Samara’s stomach tightened even more. “I’ll help you,” she said, then almost covered her mouth with her hand. Where the hell had that come from? The last thing she wanted to do was haul all her father’s belongings out of the house. Because never mind the funeral, when they got rid of all his things, that really meant he was never coming back. Her throat constricted.