“It’s a shame that’s your opinion. I never thought of you as somebody who threw in the towel so quickly.”

Threw in the towel? Hardly. Because when it came to the right woman, he had no intention of giving up so quickly. No, when it came to the right woman, he’d do anything in his power to get what he wanted. What they both wanted.

“Excuse me, please, Emily, but I’ve gotta go to my meeting,” he lied and rose. Another minute in her presence, and he’d probably say things that weren’t as polite or diplomatic as his explanation from before. And even though he didn’t want Emily to be part of his private life, she owned too many shares in his company to risk pissing her off.

“Have a nice afternoon. I look forward to seeing you at the next board meeting,” he said politely and turned away.

Quickly he marched toward the exit, when something gray caught his attention. He turned his head toward the coffee bar and saw Rochelle, wearing her gray suit, coffee in hand, also walking toward the door.

He caught up to her at the door. “Miss Wright.”

She seemed to hold her breath, before looking over her shoulder. “Oh, Mr. Ivers.”

The surprise on her face was fake. So she had seen him too and tried to get away as quickly as possible. Could he really blame her?

“Going back to the conference room?”

She nodded and headed for the elevator. “Yes, if you’ll excuse me please. I don’t want to keep you.”

But he didn’t allow her to ditch him that easily. “I’ll take the elevator with you.”

She tossed him a forced smile and pressed the button to call for the elevator. When she entered it a moment later, he followed her. He could barely wait until the elevator doors closed and it started ascending. They were alone.

Zach faced her. “Were you trying to avoid me?”

Rochelle tilted her head to the side. “Why would you think that?” She took a sip from her coffee. “I just didn’t want to bother you. You seemed to be busy with that lady.”

A grin tried to steal onto his lips, but he pushed it back. “That was a conversation I was only too happy to escape.”

She lifted an eyebrow in inquiry. “Oh yeah, how come? She looked rather attractive.”

“She is.” He paused on purpose to wait for Rochelle’s reaction.

He didn’t have to wait long for it either. A sucked-in breath told him that she was both surprised as well as disappointed by his answer.

Smiling, he continued, “However, I’m not in the mood to become husband number four. Unfortunately Emily has a hard time interpreting my subtle hints on that matter.”

“Husband number four?” Rochelle shook her head in disbelief. “Then why don’t you tell her straight out that you’re not interested in her? When it comes to other things you’re pretty direct.”

“Ouch. That hurts. So I’m direct?”

She shrugged. “Your interactions with me aren’t quite as diplomatic as your dealings with this Emily.”

Zach leaned in. “If you’re trying to tell me that I’d rather say what I mean, then you’re right. Because I don’t want any misunderstandings between you and me when it comes to what I want from you.”

He couldn’t help but notice how Rochelle eased away from him. She swallowed hard. “Apparently with Emily you’re behaving a lot more subtly.”

“Only because she’s one of my biggest shareholders, and I need her vote. If that weren’t the case, I would have told her long ago that there’ll never be anything between me and her and wouldn’t have left it at some subtle remarks.” Although he’d been a little more direct today.

“Even though she has everything a man wants? Wealth, good looks, and she’s probably part of the right circles.”

Zach moved in closer, decreasing the distance between them. “It seems that way, doesn’t it? But do you know what she doesn’t have?”

Rochelle’s head moved from side to side.

“She doesn’t have the skill to turn me on.” He let his eyes wander over her. “While in your presence I constantly find myself getting hard.”

Rochelle’s mouth opened, and a gasp escaped. “Zach, you shouldn’t talk like that. We can’t…”

“Damn it, Rochelle. Do you think I don’t know that? But it doesn’t change the fact that I desire you just as much now as I did that night in the hotel.”

She avoided his gaze.

“I still want you. And I don’t give a rat’s ass who you work for.”