LITMIR.BIZ

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once. You’ve looked down on me from the moment we met.” The directness of her gaze demanded he respond with frankness, but his mother had not raised him to insult women.

      “I don’t look down on you.” That wasn’t entirely true. Despite the hotel’s success, he didn’t think she was in Violet and Harper’s league when it came to running a company the size of Fontaine Hotels and Resorts.

      “But you don’t approve of me, either,” she prompted.

      “It isn’t that I don’t approve.”

      “What is it, then?” She battered him with a determined stare. “You’re friendly with my sisters.” She paused a beat. “You must have something against me.”

      “I have nothing against you.”

      “You believe both Violet and Harper have what it takes to be become the CEO of Fontaine Hotels.” She paused for confirmation, but he gave her nothing but stony silence. “And you don’t think I do.” Again she’d read his mind. When he still didn’t respond, her eyes warmed to soft moss. “They’ve both worked exceptionally hard to get to where they are. I’m a clueless actress. You feel protective of them.” She regarded him with a half smile. “You are a good friend, but you don’t have to worry. I don’t have any business experience, which means I have no chance of besting either of my well-educated, incredibly capable siblings. Grandfather was merely playing fair when he included me in the contest.” Her husky voice raked across his nerve endings. She was putting herself down to prevent him from doing so. “I’m so glad we’ve cleared that up.”

      They’d cleared up nothing. He was no more comfortable around her or capable of being friendly with her than he’d been five minutes earlier. But what more could he say? He wasn’t about to tell her that she’d bewitched him.

      “Getting back to your niece and her determination to avoid college,” Scarlett continued, her manner becoming brisk and efficient. “What were you hoping she’d discover by shadowing Harper for a couple weeks?”

      “That the business world wasn’t as much of a drag as she thinks it will be.”

      Scarlett had a musical laugh, rich with amusement. “And you chose Harper, the workaholic, for her to shadow? She’ll die of boredom before the first day is over. She’d do better with Violet.” She paused and tapped a spoon on the pristine white tablecloth. “Of course, with Tiberius’s death, this isn’t a good time for that.”

      “I agree.”

      Which brought them back to her. The reality hung unspoken between them.

      “Why don’t you show her all the interesting aspects of your security business?”

      She’d struck right to the heart of his troubles. “Every time I try to engage Madison, she rolls her eyes and starts texting.” He made no attempt to hide his frustration. “I thought maybe someone outside the family would have better luck.”

      Scarlett scrutinized Logan’s grim expression. Figuring she’d probably annoyed him enough for one day, she held back a smart-aleck remark about the situation requiring a feminine touch. “You’re probably right to think she’ll be in a better frame of mind to listen to a disinterested third party.”

      A disinterested third party with a master’s degree in business like Harper, or ten years of hotel and casino management experience like Violet. Not a former child star who had none of the skills required to run a world-class hotel. Logan had been right about that, but his low opinion of her stung. Not that he was wrong. Or alone in his estimation of her failings. She was sure that the same thought had crossed the minds of a dozen hotel and casino owners in Las Vegas. But she hated his disdain more than all the others put together.

      Uncomfortable with the direction her thoughts had taken her, Scarlett glanced around her sister’s office. The room was a little over the top for her taste. It was almost as if Harper had been feeling insecure when she’d brought in the expensive furnishings and accessories. Which was ridiculous. If anyone could build and run the most successful Fontaine hotel in Las Vegas and become the next CEO, it was Henry Fontaine’s only legitimate granddaughter.

      “Of course, if you want someone to tell her how hard it is to make it as an actress in Hollywood, I’m your girl.” Scarlett tossed her napkin onto the table. “When did you wish her reprogramming to begin?”

      Logan scowled at her. It was one of several unhappy expressions he wore whenever they occupied the same space. “If you’re not going to take this seriously, I’ll wait until Harper or Violet is free.”

      “I think you’re a little too desperate for that.” Drawing upon a fifteen-year acting career, Scarlett slapped on a winning smile and stood. “I may not be your first choice for this project, but I’m what you’re going to get.”

      “Fine.”

      Logan got to his feet and towered over her. “I’ll drop Madison off this afternoon at your office. Say, around one?”

      “I’ll be waiting.” She moved away, eager to escape his overwhelming presence, but hadn’t taken more than four steps before his hand caught her wrist.

      “Thank you.” Logan’s fingers were gentle on her skin.

      He’d never touched her before. The contact sizzled through her like lightning. Unnerved by the strength of her reaction, she twisted free with more vigor than necessary. “It’s too late for you to start being nice to me, Logan.”

      His deep brown eyes developed a layer of ice. “Fine.”

      He scanned her from her messy updo to her hot-pink toenails, missing nothing in between. Her heart thumped like a runner’s feet against the pavement and tension knotted her shoulders. Every time she got within fifty feet of the guy, she turned into an excited teenager with an enormous crush.

      And he seemed completely immune.

      At six feet two inches tall, the muscled hunk had a commanding presence. He wore his wavy black hair long enough to graze his collar. Bold eyebrows, a strong nose and a square jaw didn’t make him classically handsome, but they combined to produce a face worth staring at. His chiseled lips lingered in her daydreams even though when she was around they were always set in a grim line.

      “Can you at least wear something business-y?” he demanded, a muscle jumping in his cheek. “Madison needs to spend time with a professional career woman.”

      Holding perfectly still beneath his criticism was challenging as a combination of sizzling heat and disquieting tingles attacked her composure. In a flowing ankle-length dress cut low in front, and strappy gold sandals, Scarlett knew she looked more like a guest of her Las Vegas hotel than the manager.

      “I don’t do business-y.” She turned on her four-inch heels and strode out of the office, fleeing from feelings of inadequacy.

      With his long legs, Logan had little trouble keeping up. “Surely you have something in your vast wardrobe that looks professional.”

      “What makes you think I have a vast wardrobe?”

      “In five years I’ve never seen you wear the same thing twice.”

      Stunned that he’d noticed what she wore, much less remembered, Scarlett spared him the briefest glance. “I’m flattered that you’ve been paying attention,” she remarked, using her most flirtatious manner to hide her decidedly smitten response to his observation.

      “Don’t be. Part of my job as a security expert is to pay attention to details.”

      “Well, aren’t you a silver-tongued devil,” she quipped, stepping into the elevator that would take her to the second floor and the skyways that linked the sisters’ three Fontaine hotels.

      Logan’s sleeve brushed her bare arm as he reached past her to punch the button for the lobby. As the doors closed, he lingered in her space, awakening her senses to the coiled strength lurking in his muscles.

      Before

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