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“Thank you for coming here on such short notice, Ms. Prescott. We appreciate it. You said that you need at least four or five interviews to pull quotes from, is that correct?” Owen said as we entered one of the nine elevators. He pressed the button to the twenty-seventh floor.
“Yes. The more, the better. That way I can interweave multiple personal stories into the article. I’d say if we can get ten or fifteen, that would be just great. A mix of men and women is also important.”
His mouth quirked up. “Wouldn’t want all the feminists on our ass for only hiring men, right?”
I disliked Owen instantly based on that comment alone. It sent shivers down my spine. Odd how on the phone calls this tone was not evident. Disturbing as it was, I forced the corners of my mouth in a smile.
“This is Ryker’s floor,” Owen announced when the doors opened.
The tips of my fingers instantly tingled. It was as if my entire body was on alert just because Ryker was somewhere close. And when I heard the deep baritone of his voice, my breath caught.
Holy hell. If I reacted like this when he wasn’t even in my line of vision, how was I going to fare in his presence?
I didn’t have to wait too long to get my answer, because Ryker appeared at the end of the hallway the next second and walked right toward us.
Yum. Hot, hot damn. To be honest, until this very moment, I couldn’t imagine Ryker working as a venture capitalist. But that crisp white shirt and the modern cut of his navy suit fit him perfectly. Everything from the way he walked to the way his colleagues greeted him spoke of self-confidence and power.
He stopped right in front of us.
“Heather, you made it. I’ve got a few colleagues who are more than happy to talk to you about their stories.”
Wait, what? I wasn’t going to interview him? I hadn’t expected that.
“Perfect.”
“Do you want to begin right away?” he asked.
Something was awry. Ryker lacked his usual charm. He was so serious. He seemed like a different person at work.
“Sure. Let’s go,” I said. Owen returned to the elevator without so much as a goodbye, which was fine with me. I was here to do a job, get paid, and get out.
I’d expected a change in Ryker’s demeanor once Owen left, but he retained the serious manner. I didn’t expect him to do anything inappropriate, obviously, but I didn’t know what to make of this frostiness between us.
With a pang of disappointment, I wondered if finding out I was a single mom had put him off me romantically. Maybe it had nothing to do with the stuffy office and he just didn’t want to get involved with someone with a child. It’s better that way, I told myself. I didn’t have anything to offer him anyway. I’d just gotten through a bad breakup that left me feeling empty and unsure if I wanted a relationship again. I was sure a man like Ryker wasn’t interested in a ready-made family, so that was just fine.
Ryker led me through a labyrinth of corridors, and we stopped in a huge room with at least three dozen desks. Wow. If I thought the waiting area was deafening, it was nothing compared to this. Most were on the phone, and everyone was loud. The floor-to-ceiling window captured my attention. Up above the street, Manhattan looked different, like a snapshot of a science-fiction movie.
We stopped in front of the desk of a gorgeous brunette. Her curly hair was wild around her face, her dark eyes contoured with light blue eyeliner.
“Ruby, here is the reporter I told you about, Heather Prescott,” Ryker said.
“Fantastic. You’re just saving me from a boring lunch break, Heather.”
“Do you want to do the interview here?” I asked.
“No, no, no. We have meeting rooms. Those are more private. Not gonna spill my secrets in front of everyone. They’ll just have to wait and read about them along with the rest of the country.”
Ryker grinned. “We can always eavesdrop.”
Ruby narrowed her eyes. “You do that, Ryker, and I’ll drop salt in your cocktails at the next company party. Accidentally, of course.”
Judging by the friendly atmosphere, camaraderie wasn’t frowned upon. And yet, Ryker still remained serious with me when Ruby led us to the meeting room. I was so used to him either joking or flirting that it completely threw me off-balance.
As Ryker walked beside me, I realized I had to stop being so aware of him, but it was impossible. The scent of his aftershave mixed with a cologne that smelled like cypress and leather. The result was knee-weakening sex appeal. How come I hadn’t noticed it before? Probably because I’d always met him in the evening until now, when the scent dissipated.
I rearranged the strap of my shoulder bag, mentally chastising myself for my wayward thoughts. I couldn’t react like this to a man I didn’t know, and I shouldn’t want to anyway.
When we stopped in the doorway of a small meeting room, Ryker set his hand at the small of my back. I tried to ignore the jolt coursing through me and was read
