Chapter 4

Megan

I wasn’t the kind of girl who swooned at a perfect male form, no matter if he had the sexiest eyes I’d ever seen. Those deep browns smoldered without effort, and though they’d sent a heat blooming deep in my core, I wasn’t going to let him see me break weak.

I had a pretty good idea what men like him expected from women in my field, and from the look on his face, I was already squashing his expectations.

“Working with you will be a pleasure, Mrs. Stephens.” I denoted the hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“It’s Ms. Stephens, and I’ve taken the liberty to look into the allegations against Walker Industries and though I know this is your home base, but I’d like to start at your Arkansas branch and then hit the Ohio location on the way back. I’m particularly interested in the coking process and the precautions you’ve taken in relation to the Mississippi River and Lake Erie.” He stared stone-faced and then his brow rose as a cocky smile spread his lips.

He leaned forward and opened his planner. “I’ll have to see where I can fit that in.”

“You don’t understand, Mr. Walker. Consider this a surprise inspection, if you will. I’d like to see things for what they are and not after a period of warning. So we’ll be leaving as early as possible. I’d like to study those locations over the next three days.”

He glanced at Jana who crossed her legs and shifted in her seat. I’d warned her that I’d have to be tough with the likes of Ryan Walker. If I had shown up with anything other than an assertive attitude, he’d have eaten us both for breakfast. Instead, I’d come in and made him squirm, and it felt good.

He leaned in across his desk and met my eyes. “I appreciate your fire, Ms. Stephens, but there’s no way I can shuffle my schedule for a last minute trip. I have a billion dollar company to run here, and you can’t just walk in here and expect me to drop everything.”

“I just did.” I gave him my best cocky grin in return and lifted my shoulder. My heart was beating out of my chest, the thrumming loud in my ears, but I wasn’t backing down. “And you’ll make sure this trip happens.”

He leaned back in his chair, a weak attempt to seem relaxed. “And if I don’t?” A soft chuckle escaped his lips.

I reached down into my bag and pulled out a file. I’d worked all night on the report, and now I was glad I had. I stood and tossed the file on his desk, and it landed with a thud right in front of him. As he opened it up, I filled him in. “If you don’t let me in over the next three days, I’ll use that report to shut down every North American location.” Jana let loose of a soft whistle, but I kept my eyes forward, bearing down on his.

“You’ve been a busy girl.” He thumbed through the papers and then closed the folder.

“I think you’ll find I’m dedicated to my cause.” I crossed my legs to seem casual, unfazed.

“Thorough, I like that.” His gaze slid down my leg and up again, and as he licked his lips, I felt a tingle burn deep between my legs.

“It’s a standard I live by. I’ve never been much for people who cut corners.” His type was all the same with their money above all attitude, and I’d seen it too many times in plants and factories, subpar standards and shoddy machinery, and not to mention the filth that I was tired of it. It was sickening that anyone could put someone’s life at risk just to turn a buck. “If only everyone could put people first above their profits.”

“I can assure you my team has done sufficient work and all of these claims can be debunked. Things aren’t run here like they were in the good old days of my father. I put together an entire team of some of the best environmentalists in the country to hold us accountable, and I’ve spent a damned pretty penny to do so. So I’d like for you to understand that though this wasn’t exactly my idea, and I’m willing to cooperate with your demands however disruptive, we invited you. You weren’t sent. I could just toss you out on your pretty little ass right now.”

Pompous ass. “And I’d like you to understand that my job is not one of bias and as for disrupting your life for three days, try suffering with cancer for years. Try living without your loved ones so some billionaire brat can wine and dine on his private jet or play another round of golf while wearing a ten thousand dollar watch. Maybe if you knew loss, you’d have a better attitude and understanding why your company poisoning people matters. But people like you never lose, right?”

His eyes burned into mine with a different kind of fire and what was once a smoldering look of seduction was now pure rage, but then as if someone flipped off a switch, his smug smile returned.

He smiled and sat straight up in his seat. “And here I thought you’d done your homework on me. Guess you’re not as studious as you’d like me to believe.” I realized the moment those words registered and quickly recovered before he saw what I felt.

He stood and walked to the door. “Mr. Jones, it was nice meeting you.” Jana gathered her bag from her feet and stood.

She gave me a wide stare and then softened her expression for him. “Good to meet you too, Mr. Walker.” As she reached for his hand, I gathered my things and got to my feet.

“Ms. Stephens.” Jana walked on out, and as I headed to the door, he closed it and stepped in my way. I stopped short of walking into him and was so close I could feel his breath against my cheek.

“Mr. Walker?”

“Megan. I’ll see you here bright and early. We’ll take my private jet. You know, so we can make the trip in your time frame, but don’t worry. They’ll be no wine.” He stepped away and opened the door. After giving him a nod, I walked out to meet Jana.

She didn’t speak to me until we’d gotten in the elevator going down. “You’re one tough cookie when you want to be.”

“You’ve got to play tough with his kind. He is used to barking orders and would walk all over us if we let him.”

“I’d gladly lie down and let him walk or anything else he wanted to do to me.” Jana fanned herself. “Have you ever seen such a gorgeous man? I wonder if he has a personal trainer. Someone’s helping him stay in shape. Those arms, damn. I’ve always been a chest and shoulders kind of girl. You know what I mean— something firm to hold onto. I’d like to peel that pretty white shirt right off him.”

“Listen to you. That’s exactly why I did the talking. He uses that handsome face and sex appeal to his advantage.” I shook my head. I didn’t have a clue what it was like to hold onto a man that way. Not that I hadn’t noticed he could easily haunt my fantasies, but I knew better than to think I would, or to let it distract me from my job.

“It’s an advantage. He wouldn’t even the need the billions.” As we stepped out of the elevator, she turned and met my eyes. “Don’t you think you were a bit harsh with all that talk? I mean, you don’t really know him, and you kind of dehumanized him.”

“Dehumanized? Geez, Jana, whose side are you on? I was only showing him I’m not intimidated by him.”

“You let your personal agenda get the best of you. You’ve told me all about your grandfather, and I know why you’re in the field, but you can’t just assume that because he’s a fancy watch wearing jet owner that he’s never lost anyone. Most people have.” I hadn’t realized how that had come across and suddenly felt like the biggest bitch in the world.

“Crap. I hadn’t thought about that.” My grandfather wasn’t the only person I’d lost, and though his battle was heartbreaking, it wasn’t any more important than anyone else’s losses in the world. For all I knew, he’d had a family member touched by cancer as well.

Jana’s hand landed on my shoulder. “Look, I’m on the back end of this job, but a word of advice. You get to spend the next three days with this man in close quarters, so you might want to stop poking the bear before he pokes back.”