me.”
Her heels stomping down the steps was her reply.
He closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. Epic fail, Bennett. He should go after her. He needed her help with the launch, but his unparalleled attraction to her disturbed him. A classic example of the lesser of two evils: risk that the HPC presentation would fail without her guidance, or risk spending more time with a woman who made him question the wisdom of keeping her at a distance.
“I Googled you.”
His head shot up. She hadn’t left?
Chelsea stood there, shoulders thrown back, head held high. “You’ve presented papers at tech conferences all over the world. Why is this different?”
He shrugged. “When I present a paper, the audience attends for the information. All that’s required is for me to read the paper aloud. No one is there to judge me, only my work. And my work is stellar.”
She laughed. “Wow. Ego much?”
First Jonathan commented on his conceit and now Chelsea. Was it really an issue?
“That’s not ego, it’s fact. If I were presenting a paper about the development of the HPC for an audience of my peers, I’d excel without a qualm. But Mike informed me the mainstream press would be covering the event. Like the magazine that sent me those questions. They’ll be looking for a story to titillate their readers and sell issues.”
“Like the People Magazine press conference?”
His shoulders stiffened. “You know about that?”
“Funny thing about Google. You put in a question and it gives you pages upon pages of search results.”
“Right.” He stared down at his feet, unsettled knowing she’d seen that catastrophe. “The press conference heightened an already intolerable situation. That’s why I need your assistance. I can’t ruin this opportunity. At the moment, no one else has this technology. Once it’s launched, other companies will reverse engineer it, but by the time they come to market, Computronix will be synonymous with the HPC. My company will be years ahead of our competitors.”
She set her bag down on the rough-hewn side table and moved to stand in front of him.
“I’ll help you, but we need to come to an understanding. I’m not your speechwriter. It’s going to take more than a pithy speech or reading an excellent paper for this presentation to be a success. I need you to trust me and cooperate.”
She had amazing eyes. “Are you certain this is how you want to spend your vacation?”
“I hate being idle. This will give me something to do. Besides, I have some issues I need to think about.”
Issues? He inched closer to her, heeding an internal urge to share her space. “Do they involve a man?”
He told himself his concern was business-based only. He needed her focused on his task, not on personal problems.
Her lashes fluttered. “Why would you think that?”
“With someone like you, there has to be a man involved.”
“Someone like me?”
“Warm. Social.” He gave in and caressed her cheek with his index finger. “Beautiful.”
They stared at one another and those molecules began to kindle.
“No, it’s not a man,” she whispered.
God grant him the strength to keep his attention on his work and his hands off of her.
He tugged on a curl. “Then I agree to your terms.”
Chapter Eight
C H E L S E A S T EPPED INTO Adam’s walk-in closet and gasped. It was sleek and polished with enough space to house the wardrobe of ten regular people.
Or two celebrities.
After their argument yesterday, Chelsea knew she had her work cut out for her. Considering the transformation needed, she decided to start with the easiest task: his wardrobe. Gorgeous though he may be, Adam Bennett didn’t strike her as the type of man who slid easily into change.
More like wrestling into skinny, stiff leather pants in the summertime.
The wall on her left was glass, providing a picturesque view of the mountains. He must really like windows, she thought, recalling the same breathtaking
Her heels stomping down the steps was her reply.
He closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. Epic fail, Bennett. He should go after her. He needed her help with the launch, but his unparalleled attraction to her disturbed him. A classic example of the lesser of two evils: risk that the HPC presentation would fail without her guidance, or risk spending more time with a woman who made him question the wisdom of keeping her at a distance.
“I Googled you.”
His head shot up. She hadn’t left?
Chelsea stood there, shoulders thrown back, head held high. “You’ve presented papers at tech conferences all over the world. Why is this different?”
He shrugged. “When I present a paper, the audience attends for the information. All that’s required is for me to read the paper aloud. No one is there to judge me, only my work. And my work is stellar.”
She laughed. “Wow. Ego much?”
First Jonathan commented on his conceit and now Chelsea. Was it really an issue?
“That’s not ego, it’s fact. If I were presenting a paper about the development of the HPC for an audience of my peers, I’d excel without a qualm. But Mike informed me the mainstream press would be covering the event. Like the magazine that sent me those questions. They’ll be looking for a story to titillate their readers and sell issues.”
“Like the People Magazine press conference?”
His shoulders stiffened. “You know about that?”
“Funny thing about Google. You put in a question and it gives you pages upon pages of search results.”
“Right.” He stared down at his feet, unsettled knowing she’d seen that catastrophe. “The press conference heightened an already intolerable situation. That’s why I need your assistance. I can’t ruin this opportunity. At the moment, no one else has this technology. Once it’s launched, other companies will reverse engineer it, but by the time they come to market, Computronix will be synonymous with the HPC. My company will be years ahead of our competitors.”
She set her bag down on the rough-hewn side table and moved to stand in front of him.
“I’ll help you, but we need to come to an understanding. I’m not your speechwriter. It’s going to take more than a pithy speech or reading an excellent paper for this presentation to be a success. I need you to trust me and cooperate.”
She had amazing eyes. “Are you certain this is how you want to spend your vacation?”
“I hate being idle. This will give me something to do. Besides, I have some issues I need to think about.”
Issues? He inched closer to her, heeding an internal urge to share her space. “Do they involve a man?”
He told himself his concern was business-based only. He needed her focused on his task, not on personal problems.
Her lashes fluttered. “Why would you think that?”
“With someone like you, there has to be a man involved.”
“Someone like me?”
“Warm. Social.” He gave in and caressed her cheek with his index finger. “Beautiful.”
They stared at one another and those molecules began to kindle.
“No, it’s not a man,” she whispered.
God grant him the strength to keep his attention on his work and his hands off of her.
He tugged on a curl. “Then I agree to your terms.”
Chapter Eight
C H E L S E A S T EPPED INTO Adam’s walk-in closet and gasped. It was sleek and polished with enough space to house the wardrobe of ten regular people.
Or two celebrities.
After their argument yesterday, Chelsea knew she had her work cut out for her. Considering the transformation needed, she decided to start with the easiest task: his wardrobe. Gorgeous though he may be, Adam Bennett didn’t strike her as the type of man who slid easily into change.
More like wrestling into skinny, stiff leather pants in the summertime.
The wall on her left was glass, providing a picturesque view of the mountains. He must really like windows, she thought, recalling the same breathtaking
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