He’d first met her last year in a restaurant called the Ivy. He was dining with Jason Danvers, and Suzy had been dining there with Claire Walters, who was actually Claire Danvers now. Both were very beautiful women, but Suzy had taken his breath away. She was so vibrant and pulsed with energy. Most of the women he’d dated were born to a certain class and had only one thing on their mind, marriage. The husband mattered little as long as he had a healthy bank account.
In truth, he’d made a lot more trips to Myrtle Beach in the last year than had really been necessary. He knew the first time he met her that there was more to her than the world saw. Under her tough exterior was a caring, compassionate woman who tried hard not to let anyone see that side of her.
A few months after they’d first met, he had been working at the home office with Jason for a week. He’d asked her to spend the day with him on Saturday. She’d laughed and said she already had a better offer. Later on that day instead of going out for lunch, he had decided to eat in the cafeteria downstairs. He smiled when he saw Suzy a few feet ahead of him talking to the man who ran the cafeteria. George was probably in his late sixty’s and everyone at Danvers adored him. Gray had grown fond of him in the short time he had known him. Jason had told him that George had worked at Danvers for over thirty years. He always had a ready smile and a nice word for everyone who came through the line.
Gray was curious when he saw Suzy grip George’s arm and start what looked to be an intense conversation. He moved closer to hear what she was saying.
“George, I mean it, you’d better not touch that lawn-mower. Neither you nor Sara should be trying to cut grass right now. You know the doctor said that the horrible pollen this year was making your asthma worse and with Sara’s back problems, it’s crazy for either of you to try when you have me.” George had tried to protest, but Suzy had quickly but gently insisted that she didn’t mind. “I’ll be over Saturday morning as usual to do it. You know how much I enjoy that glass of fresh lemonade you always have for me afterwards. You wouldn’t deprive me of that now would you?”
Gray could see that George was no match for a smiling Suzy. He’d pulled back quietly, not wanting to intrude. He smiled as he headed to a table in the back of the room. Suzy had just confirmed what he had already suspected. There was much more to her than what she wanted everyone to believe. The time that had passed since then had only reinforced that knowledge. Suzy was apparently some-what of a modern day Robin Hood at Danvers. Instead of giving the gift of money to those who needed it, she seemed to give the gift of assistance.
She had gotten groceries for two months for Cindy in accounting after her surgery, she watched Jim’s dog when his mother was sick and he suddenly had to leave town, she spent the weekend helping Lori clean her basement after a water leak and apparently she mowed George’s grass. She would be horrified to know the way people at Danvers talked about her, almost in awe. It just made him that much more determined to get through her tough shell to the woman he knew was under it. He had no idea why she wanted everyone to believe that she didn’t care about anyone else because obviously she couldn’t resist a person in need.
He wasn’t going to delude himself; he wanted her in his bed anyway he could get her. It wasn’t just about the sex though, he also wanted the relationship to go along with the sex. He couldn’t deny that lust had been the first thing he felt for her and although it was still there, he could also see a future with her, and he knew that would scare her to death. He was going to have to approach her carefully, and if they needed to jump ahead past dating and go right to sleeping together then, hey, he was a guy, and that would suit him fine. He’d allow her to believe she was calling all the shots but sooner or later Suzy was going to be scratching her head and wondering what had hit her.
“So my place or yours?” Gray asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
Suzy tried to maintain her cool façade. She clasped her hands behind her back so that Gray wouldn’t notice them shaking. Suck it up and put your big girl panties on. It’s time to either stand and deliver or run and hide. “Um…where is your place exactly?”
Propping a hip against the corner of her desk Gray said, “Home is here right now. Jason is letting me use the penthouse until I find something to buy. I think I could probably sneak you up in the elevator, though, without anyone noticing.” Wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, he continued, “Have any elevator fantasies we could take care of on the way up?”
“I….Um….don’t think your place is a good idea, then.” My God I’ve turned into a blubbering idiot. The man starts talking about elevator sex, and I’m tripping over my tongue like a virgin school girl. Get some composure. Geez. “How about my place? It’s a bit more private.” Suzy walked over to her desk and wrote the address down for him and handed it over. Fire literally flew from their fingertips as their hands touched during the exchange.
Seeing the flush on Gray’s cheek bones, she knew he’d felt the same zing she had. “So how about dinner around seven and then back to your place?”
“Dinner? I told you this wasn’t a date, Gray. You’re getting lucky tonight, there’s no need to wine and dine me,” Suzy replied dryly.
Chuckling, Gray said, “We both have to eat so we might as well do it together. I’ll meet you in the lobby around six if that’s ok with you?”
Suzy knew it would do no good arguing and she was desperate to have him out of her personal space. “Yeah, yeah, whatever, I guess I can do that. So don’t you have a job or something to do here?”
With one last leisurely inspection of her, Gray smiled and blew her a kiss. “You will be on my mind all day, Suzanna.” With that parting sentence, he turned and left.
Suzy’s knees were in serious danger of giving out so she slid into her seat and tried to slow her breathing. How could something as simple as an air kiss make her melt? She would not get attached to this man, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to fall in love with him. Please, please let him be terrible in bed, pretty please!
Chapter Three
Suzy spent the day trying to put out fires and handle all the small details that Brittany would have normally handled. She seemed to be messing up everything she touched today. She was more nervous than she could admit even to herself. She might talk a good game, but in reality, she wasn’t that experienced in matters of the opposite sex. She’d been with Jeff for so long that she’d never really dated anyone else. She’d only slept with one man in her life, and she’d been engaged to the scum bag.