Page 9 of Speed

I looked at her and shook my head. "Not good," I said. I wondered if my eyes were still red. They felt like they were.

"Why? What happened?" Marlee came in closer and leaned against my desk.

"He recognized me."

"Oh, no," she said. "And then what? He refused to do the interview?"

"No, I got it. That part's okay." I felt my face heating up and knew I couldn't talk about it yet. "I'll have to tell you later. Deadlines," I said, gesturing to my computer. "Thank you, anyway, for letting me use your name."

"Alright. Get to work. Drinks tonight?"

"Sounds good," I said. I knew I wouldn't feel like socializing tonight, but it was easier to agree. I needed to bury myself in my work, and fast.

Mid-morning, the receptionist buzzed me. "Kayla? Axel Beckers is here to see you."

Shit! Damn it. I wanted to tell her to send him away, but remembered my story assignment, and knew there'd be a good chance Dean would hear about something like that. That would never do. I was trapped, and would have to meet with him, like it or not.

I rehearsed some lines in my head as I walked to the lobby. I'd be firm. I'd tell him I couldn't see him again. I wouldn't think about the way it had felt when he held me.

And damn if Axel wasn't looking even better than he did yesterday. He was clean cut, in denim and a button-down, and he was holding flowers. Shit! I could tell he was not going to make this easy.

He watched me approach, his expression cautious and kind. I led him to a far corner of the lobby where no one could overhear us, and sat down at a small cluster of furniture by the window.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"We need to talk."

I was silent.

"Here. These are for you." He held the flowers out to me, a small rustic bouquet of miniature roses and freesia.

I hesitated and then took them, remembering my manners before I confronted him. "Thank you. But why did you bring flowers?"

Frustration passed across his face. "Because I wanted to," he said.

I set them on the table next to me and folded my hands in my lap. I drew my shoulders back and aimed for maximum composure in my posture and voice. "I'd like to apologize to you," I said. "I shouldn't have deceived you, and I'm sorry. I was assigned to do a feature on you, and I didn't think you'd agree to meet with me, so I used a coworker's name."

"Why in the world wouldn't I meet with you?" He looked at me like I was speaking another language.

"Because of our parents, our history."

He still looked deeply confused for a moment before he spoke. "That was all their bullshit, not ours," he said.

"Well their bullshit was pretty bad. World war caliber. My mother would go ballistic if she knew I was speaking to you, and I'll bet your father would feel the same about me."

"My dad wouldn't give a shit, but even if he did, I wouldn't care." Axel paused before continuing in a softer tone. "I've thought about you a lot over the years. It was great to see you yesterday."

"Okay, you've seen me," I said. "We're caught up on each other's lives. Why are you here?"

He cocked his head and looked at me for a moment with half-closed eyes.

Damn, why did he have to be so sexy?

"You were a smart girl in high school, and I'm sure you're a very smart woman, but you ask some really dumb questions." He moved to the edge of his seat and leaned forward. His knees rubbed against mine. "I'm here because I want to see you again. We have a connection, a history, and I want to get to know you better as a woman."

I laughed, a hard, mocking laugh. "Is that what you call it? You want to finish what we started yesterday and add me to your long list of conquests?" I looked around, glad to see the lobby was mostly empty. I lowered my voice to a hiss. "Why don't we just fuck right here. We can get it over with, you can add me to your list, and move on."

Axel's mouth fell open and then he shook his head slowly. "Is that what you think of me, Kayla? What the hell? What did I do to you?"