It was the perfect arrangement.
But first, she had to convince Austin. “Maybe I should explain my situation from the beginning, so my request for your services makes sense.”
“Please do.” After taking a drink of the dark liquid in his glass, he reclined back in his chair, clasped his hands over his flat stomach, and regarded her with rapt curiosity.
She glanced around the lounge to make sure they didn’t have an audience, and was relieved to find the excitement caused by Austin’s appearance had subsided. Returning her attention to the man next to her, she forced her thoughts on business. “I started with Sharper Image, the company I’m currently working for, a little less than a year ago. I was hired as a layout assistant, and within six months was promoted to a graphic designer position with my own accounts.”
“Do you like your job?”
Austin’s unexpected question threw her concentration off stride and the genuine interest he expressed warmed her. Nobody ever asked her about her job, whether she enjoyed it or hated it. When she’d enrolled in college, her brothers and parents hadn’t taken her goals seriously, and wrote off her dream of becoming a graphic designer as a hobby. They’d hoped her engagement to Bartholomew Winston would settle her down, but that brief period in her life had only served to make her realize how important her independence was to her, and how badly she wanted to make it on her own.
The disappointment of their daughter embracing a career over marriage was still a sore spot with her parents. Talking about her job and how much she relished the mental stimulation and challenges wasn’t something the older Spencers encouraged when she visited, and so Teddy had learned in order to keep peace, she kept quiet.
“I love my job,” she told Austin, taking advantage of his interest. “Especially the creative freedom I have as a graphic designer. I design letterheads, logos, brochures and develop advertising strategies for businesses and corporations. I’ve got a flawless record with Sharper Image, and my reviews have been glowing. Recently, the position of senior graphic designer became available. Considering my experience, degree and performance the past year, I’m a prime candidate for the promotion.”
She paused for a moment, making sure she still had Austin’s attention. “This is where it gets tricky. Louden Avery, who is my boss and creative director over my department, sees me as a candidate of an entirely different sort. Ever since I started at Sharper Image, he’s made a few comments that leave me feeling uncomfortable, though he hasn’t crossed any sexual harassment lines for me to justify reporting him. A few months after I was hired, I told him I had a steady boyfriend, thinking he’d lose interest. He backed off for a while, but it hasn’t lasted.”
Austin’s gaze flickered to her left hand, which rested on the armrest nearest him. “So, you don’t really have a boyfriend then?” he asked, looking back up at her.
She recalled the odd comment he’d made last night, about having to explain the Stetson to her boyfriend, and realized the ring on her finger had given him the wrong impression. “No, no boyfriend. The ring is merely a diversion, but it’s losing its credibility. When Louden pressured me about bringing my elusive boyfriend to the Christmas party and demanded a name, yours was the first one I came up with.”
He smiled. “I’m flattered.”
Hope bloomed within her. “Flattered enough to stand in as my date Saturday night?”
Indecision touched his expression, and before he could succumb to his reservations, she reached out and grasped his hand, stopping just short of dropping to a begging position in front of him. She was desperate, yes, but she didn’t want everyone in the Frisco Bay to witness her despair. “One night, Austin, please? I’ll pay you enough to make it worth your while.”
A young woman at a nearby table turned and looked at them, shock and curiosity brightening her eyes. Belatedly, Teddy realized how incriminating her words had sounded.
Teddy glared until the woman turned back to her own companion. So much for being discreet. Before the night was over, word would probably spread through the Frisco Bay that Teddy Spencer had propositioned her cowboy. She hadn’t said what that one night entailed, but knew the other woman was thinking along the lines of sex. When Teddy returned her gaze to Austin, silent laughter glistened in his eyes.
“Please,” she begged in a low whisper.
“Let me get this straight,” he said, leaning forward so he could brace his forearms on his knees. In the process, he switched the position of their hands, so hers was enveloped in the warmth of his. “If I decided to do this, you’d expect me to act like your steady boyfriend?”
She nodded eagerly and dampened her bottom lip with her tongue. “Yes.”
His fingers drew lazy, sensual patterns on her palm, sending scintillating tremors up her arm. That frisson of awareness settled in the tips of her breasts, tightening her nipples into hard, sensitive peaks. “And give everyone the impression that we’re intimately involved?”
The sensations he was evoking were as intimate as anything she’d ever experienced. He stroked softly between thumb and index finger, a skillful caress that made her pulse race. “Ahhh, yes,” she managed to say, though she sounded as if she was out of breath. “The, um, more people that think we’re intimately involved, the better.”
The corner of his mouth kicked up in a seductively wicked smile that matched his deep, rich voice. “You want Louden Avery to have no doubt in his mind that we’re a couple well and truly committed.”
“Exactly.” Unable to stand his provocative caresses any longer she gently withdrew her hand from his. “One night should do it, as long as you think you can be convincing.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’ll be a problem.” On him, confidence was an incredibly sexy thing. “I specialize in fantasies. I have a feeling this performance will come naturally.”
Judging by the thrum of desire that had just shimmered between them, she suspected he was right. She flashed him a cheeky grin. “Well, I don’t expect you’ll have to take off your clothes for this performance.”
He smiled. “You don’t know how relieved I am to hear that.”
“So you’ll do it?” she asked anxiously, needing to hear him say yes.
Instead of the positive response she anticipated, he grew serious, studying her intently. “Why is this so important to you?”
Teddy resisted the urge to throttle him. The man certainly wasn’t an easy sell, though she had to admit it was nice to know he wasn’t in it just for the money. It was as though he cared, and it had been a long time since someone had cared enough to listen to her.
“I want that promotion, and I want it awarded to me on my own merit. I’ve worked hard and I deserve that position without having to compromise my morals. Since Louden is making the process so difficult, proving to him that I’m in an intimate relationship will put an end to his pursuing me.”
He tilted his head, his gaze kind, but concerned. “And you think if Louden believes you’re unavailable, that will make him judge the candidates for the position fairly?”
The doubt in his voice was unmistakable, but she refused to dwell on it. “That’s what I’m hoping. I’m the most qualified for the position, but I refuse to submit to Louden’s tactics to get it.”