“Thank you,” he murmured and brushed past her. “Ms. Faulk?”
Ms. Faulk had her back turned, and all he could make out was her shoulder-length blond hair and the crisply tailored seams of a business suit. An awfully familiar suit. His scalp tingled, and he faltered a little bit. It couldn’t be…
Ms. Faulk stood and turned to face him. Yep, it was her. When she set eyes on him, her smile faded away. “You?”
Thomas shifted on his feet. “Me.”
She recovered quickly and smiled. Cool and reserved. Nothing like the little spitfire who yelled at him for daring to catch her. Truth be told, he liked the spitfire version of her better than the business-savvy one. “Well allow me to introduce myself properly. I’m Brianna Faulk, Executive Business Manager of the Golden Hand Casino.”
He offered his hand with a polite, practiced smile. She wanted to keep it professional, then? For some reason he didn’t want to. Even though he should. “I’m Thomas Jones, from MotoTek. Marketing executive by day. Rescuer of women by night.”
He felt foolish even saying that. Thomas Jones in Vegas? He sounded like a stupid impersonator or something. He half expected her to make some snarky comment asking him if he was going to sing for her or not. But she kept her calm, professional façade going.
“Ah. Yes. Of course.” She shook his hand, her skin soft, her grip firm. Her face turned a little bit red, and she bit her lower lip. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was trying to bite back a smart-ass reply. “Even when they didn’t need rescuing?”
Ah. Yes. She was.
“Even then.” He waited cordially for her to resume her seat before he slid onto the padded vinyl cushioning opposite her. His briefcase thudded to the floor. He smoothed his tie. “It’s a pleasure to meet you formally.”
“The pleasure’s mine.” The way her lips rolled over pleasure drew his attention to her mouth, a sweetly red temptation painted in burgundy shades. His gaze fell to the table and he tried to banish from his mind the way she’d felt in his arms. It didn’t work.
He caught her watching him, her hazel eyes unreadable, intense. He met her gaze unwaveringly. With a cool arch of her brow and an amused smile, she shook her head subtly and picked up her menu. After a moment, he followed suit.
He cleared his throat. He needed to shake this undeniable attraction to her and get his head back into work. “Shall we order before we get down to business?”
“That would be fine with me,” she said. But she didn’t look down at her menu. She kept her eyes on him. She laughed, but it sounded forced. “I have to admit it. This is all very awkward.”
He closed his menu and arched a brow at her. Was she as unsettled by him as he was by her? “Why is that?”
“I yelled at you on the street,” she said, her cheeks pink. “It’s not how I normally start my business meetings.”
“Ah.” He gestured between them. “Well, maybe that will give us an advantage?”
She gaped at him. “How so?”
“The ice is already broken. Now you can yell at me all you want and I won’t be surprised in the slightest.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it. “Do you often get yelled at in business meetings, Mr. Jones?”
“All the time. I’m insufferable, but you’ll come to see that by the end of lunch.” He smiled at her, but it wasn’t because he wanted to this time. This time, it was the marketing exec inside of him creeping out.
She cleared her throat and averted her eyes. He’d made her uncomfortable. “Have you ever been to Vegas before, Mr. Jones?”
“Please. I think we’re already on a first-name basis, don’t you?” He tugged at his tie. Why was the thing so damn tight? “Call me Thomas.”
She inclined her head. “Then you must call me Brianna.”
“Hello.” The waitress pulled out her pad. “Can I get you something to drink?”
Thomas motioned toward Brianna. “Ladies first.”
“Uh.” Brianna’s cheeks flushed. “I’ll have a diet, please.”
“Scotch, no rocks,” Thomas murmured. His gaze lingered on the flutter of her pulse against that soft hollow where the chain rested. “Are you ready to order, too?”
Brianna nodded and handed the menu to the waitress. “House salad with fat free Italian dressing, please.”
Thomas raised a brow. Why did women insist on eating puny salads all the time? “I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger with fries. Medium well.”
The waitress walked away, leaving the two of them alone. Thomas leaned back in the booth and laced his fingers over his stomach. When Brianna’s gaze wandered downward, lingering over his abs, he fought back a grin. At least he wasn’t the only distracted party at this meeting.
Brianna tucked her hair behind her ear, and he checked her ring finger for a wedding band. It was bare but there was the slightest bit of a tan line where one might have once been. Interesting.
She tapped her fingers on the table. “You never answered my question.”
He racked his brain for what their last topic of conversation had been, but he came up blank. “Repeat it, please?”
“Have you been in Vegas before?”
“Oh. Yes, a lot.” When she continued to look at him expectantly, he continued on. “I have been here numerous times for MotoTek, which is one of the reasons we are setting up a satellite office here. Also, my sister used to live here.”
He had no idea why he added that last bit. What did she care if his sister used to live in Vegas? Idiot.
She smiled at him. “So then you don’t need any pointers on where you should go for a good time tonight?”
He nearly choked, his mind conjuring up images of her showing him a good time. Somehow, he didn’t think that rolling around in his bed naked was what she was suggesting. Once he gathered his senses, he caught her gaze. “Were you offering to accompany me?”
“N-No,” she stammered. “I was going to suggest a few hotspots.”
“Pity. I would’ve loved to have you by my side tonight. I could’ve kept an eye on you to make sure you were watching where you were going.”
She bared her teeth in a feral grin. “I assure you I don’t need male supervision to walk.”
“Nonetheless, I’d like to be at your side tonight.” He leaned in, smiling at her. Her eyes went wide and she drew in a deep breath. He knew how to read people. It was his job to read people. And right now? He saw a woman who was interested in him. “What do you say, Brianna?”