Perfect Fit - Brenda Jackson [70]
“All right.”
She then turned her attention to Mr. Mayhew, seeing the angry look on his face. Not only had Gabe put a damper on whatever plans Mayhew had had for her, but he had also insinuated that the two of them were more than mere business associates and therefore she was off limits. “It seems that I don’t need a ride after all, Mr. Mayhew, but thanks anyway.”
Mayhew nodded, and without saying anything, he angrily walked out of the conference room.
“That man is a jerk,” Malcolm said, watching the man’s retreating back. He then turned back to Sage and Gabe. “I’m out of here, too. I hope the two of you have a good weekend.”
Sage blinked as Malcolm walked away. “Malcolm, wait!”
Malcolm stopped walking and turned around. “Yes?”
Sage frowned at him. “I still need a ride home.”
Malcolm smiled and pointed to Gabe. “I thought he was taking you.”
Sage frowned. “No, he’s not.”
“Yes, I am,” Gabe said, folding his arms across his chest.
Sage narrowed her eyes at him. “That little show was for Mayhew’s benefit.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“Yes, it was.”
Malcolm cleared his throat, interrupting Gabe and Sage’s disagreement. “Sage, I’m going on home since it seems you’re in good hands. Goodbye.”
Before Sage could gather her wits and call after him, Malcolm was gone. She glared up at Gabe, who shrugged his shoulders as a smile tilted his lips.
“I guess you’re stuck with me. We can leave now if you’re ready,” he said, reaching for her briefcase.
“I can carry it myself,” she snapped, taking it out of his hands.
“Suit yourself.”
Since it was the end of the day as well as the end of the week, most people at the Landmark office had left for the day, so when they got into the elevator and the doors slid shut, they found themselves alone. Sage pushed a button on the console that would take them to the bottom floor, and no sooner had the elevator begun to move, than Gabe reached out and pushed a button to stop it.
Sage glared at him. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Gabe smiled as he leaned back against the panel wall. He really liked her when she got mad. She was fiery, bitchy and sexy. He met her stormy glare. “Ever had sex in an elevator?”
He saw that his question took her by surprise and almost knocked the wind out of her sails. Almost. He had to admire the way she quickly recouped and narrowed her eyes at him. “No, and this isn’t going to be the day that I try it. Now, if you don’t mind, can we go on down?”
He smiled at her. “No, not yet.” Then a few moments later, he asked, “Have you ever been kissed in an elevator?”
Sage raised her eyes to the ceiling. What is this? Sexual Harassment Day? “No, I’ve never been kissed in an elevator,” she snapped. “Now, will you start this thing moving again please?”
“No, I don’t think that I will,” he said huskily as he continued to stare long and hard at her. The dim lighting in the elevator made her features even more beautiful, he thought. There was just something about the right type of lighting reflecting off brown skin.
Gabe began wondering how in the world he had thought that he could walk away from her. Emotional baggage or not, he wanted her with every fiber in his body. All during today’s meeting he had literally ached for her.
And he was still aching.
Sage narrowed her eyes at him. “Do you mind, Gabe? Like I told you last night, I don’t like playing games.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Then, what do you like doing, Sage? You don’t make out in elevators, nor have you ever been kissed in one. So what do you do?”
She angrily closed the distance between them. “Oh, don’t you know? I like using men as substitutes for my ex-fiancé, since stupid me doesn’t know when to let go and move on with my life.”
Before she had time to react, Gabe pulled on the lapels of her coat, bringing her face close to his. “Good, because today I feel like being used.” He then lowered his mouth to hers.
The moment Gabe’s mouth touched Sage, heat flooded her body, and any thought of resisting him faded into oblivion. She forgot all about the fact that she was supposed to be angry with