Excerpt of Trust Me by Anna Wells

"As she entered the lobby, Alaina felt prepared, confident and ready to do battle against almost anyone. Except she hadn't planned on doing battle with Mr. Drugstore, and that was exactly who was rising from the black leather couch to greet her saying, “Ms. Simmons, I'm Donovan Prentice, it appears we've met before.” She felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. Alaina was sure that her shock must be apparent; normally she prided herself on her self- control but today's events seemed to be working against her. After all she had never experienced such a coincidence like this one before. She had met this man as a stranger and had flirted with him, completely unaware that she had an appointment with him later that day. She felt that their entire professional relationship had been compromised. As disconcerted as she felt, she was going to have to pretend that nothing had happened, and actually if she thought about it nothing really had happened. Their flirtation had been a little unusual but it hadn't gone beyond that. It was just that she never let business associates or clients see anything but the professional side of her personality, she had ensured this by making it a habit not to discuss her personal life with any of them. By meeting this man outside of the office, outside of her professional setting, she almost felt as if he had caught her undressed. Her only option now was to ignore the incident as if it had never happened and maintain her normal professional composure. Okay so maybe ignoring it was just going to make her look like a coward. She needed to face this situation head on. Making up her mind to take control and not let Donovan get the upper hand since he didn't seem the least surprised to see her, she responded to his greeting with, “Yes, what a coincidence. It's nice to meet you, formally that is.” She looked over at Marlene, who was indiscreetly staring at Donovan Prentice as if she had never seen a man before, not that Alaina could blame her. The man was impressive to say the least. “Marlene could you hold my calls?” Marlene barely glanced her way as she continued to stare at the object of her attention but finally managed to respond, “Yes of course Ms. Simmons.” Alaina glanced at her wryly. “Thanks, Marlene.” She returned her attention to Mr. Prentice who was waiting patiently. “If you’ll just follow me we can discuss the issue of the subpoena in my office.” She was determined to regain her equilibrium, but as she walked down the corridor with Donovan closely following behind her, she wondered if that was even a remote possibility. “Right this way Mr. Prentice.” “Please call me Donovan. Is it all right if I call you Alaina?” He's taking control again, Alaina simmered inwardly, but she responded without hesitation, “Please do.” “I’m so glad I’ve a name to put to that beautiful face.” She felt a thrill at his words as they entered the office. Alaina could not help but be aware of his overwhelming presence. She was feeling that same level of inexplicable excitement she had felt in the drugstore. Ignoring her jumbled emotions she tried to concentrate on the matter at hand. It was becoming pretty obvious that she needed to get laid if this guy made it so hard for her to concentrate. She might as well meet the problem head on. She took a deep breath before saying, “Donovan. I’m just going to face the elephant in the room. When we met this morning I obviously had no idea who you were and if I had I wouldn’t have spoken to you the way that I did. Okay?” Donovan was a little surprised but managed to hold back a laugh. “And what way was that?” His voice held that same sensual tone that it had in the drugstore. Okay, so wow, his voice really turned her on. She felt slightly embarrassed, but what the hell he had flirted too. “Well, I was a bit flirtatious.” He raised a brow and grinned. “A bit?” “Cut me some slack, you were just as bad. Admit it.” Could that knowing grin of his get any bigger? She wasn’t sure why, but he was charming the hell out of her. “As an officer of the court, I’m taking the fifth,” he said jokingly before adding, “I think this is a conversation we should pursue further once we’ve completed our business.” He paused a brief moment and looked at her intently. “And I would like to pursue it.” The low timber of his voice caused her skin to tingle, and she felt her face flush in reaction. The idea certainly had merits she thought as she studied the hard plains of his face. God he was hot and he was making her hotter. She exhaled trying to calm herself before saying, “Do you think we can do that? Wouldn't it be a conflict?” He gave her a slight smile and there seemed to be a sparkle in those blue eyes as he said, “Yeah I think we can do that, but we have business to settle first.” She nodded in agreement, hoping the meeting went smoothly and they could get back to the more interesting conversation. Wasn't that a professional thought?