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“More water?” The kid with the bottle of mineral water showed up again, shattering the moment and sending Natalia into an emotional retreat.

“Love some,” Sam said with a forced smile, wishing she could pull Natalia back in.

CHAPTER 16

Who the actual fuck calls someone without warning? Natalia stared down at the phone buzzing in her hand. Seconds before she had to walk into a United in PRIDE board meeting, the last thing she needed was an unscheduled phone call from the good professor.

Body flushing with adrenaline, heart leaping into a trot, Natalia identified her physiological response as irritation. That was it. She was angry.

She answered the call, not because she wanted to hear Samantha’s voice, but because she was going to tell her that she couldn’t just drop in on her. Not in person at her office and not on the damn phone. What the hell was this? 1975? People didn’t just call people.

Natalia stepped into the stairwell. “Dr. Reyes, to what do I owe this intrusion?”

“Your sweet talk is so next level,” Sam replied without attempting to hide her smile. “Don’t get me used to this.” Sam’s voice was like whisky — smooth and warm, with a hint of spice.

Natalia cursed internally at the way it slipped down her spine. It was intoxicating, distorting her resolve and scrambling her thoughts.

“Did you ambush me for this, Professor?”

“Ambush?” Samantha laughed, the sound rich and unhurried, like honey spilling from a jar. “I just wanted to see if you were free for dinner tomorrow night for a second date. Although it could be fourth…” her voice drifted, “but let’s say second so you don’t freak out.”

Natalia’s jaw clenched. She hated feeling caught off guard. Hated the flutter Samantha’s voice triggered low in her belly. Hated that she refused to stop calling their meetings dates.

“Most people text,” Natalia replied crisply.

“Where’s the fun in that? I wanted to hear your voice.” Smug amusement colored Samantha’s tone. Natalia imagined her lounging back in her office chair, feet propped up, enjoying this game. “I’ve been thinking about you.”

The easy way Samantha uttered her admission was a sneak attack. An unsporting violation of Geneva Conventions and Sun Tzu’s ancient instruction to leave an opponent with room to run. Pressure mounted at the base of Natalia’s skull, rousing her flight response.

“And you decided to intrude on my day to tell me so?” Natalia forced her tone to remain even and distant.

“Well, I was aiming for a delightful surprise,” she replied, like they were trading sweet nothings. “Sooooo… dinner? Thursday?”

“I have a dinner meeting with a programming exec.”

“Friday?”

“Call with a director in Sydney.”

“All night?” Samantha chuckled. “New strategy. When are you available?”

Tonight was her only free evening for the next week and a half, but she didn’t want to tell her that. Didn’t want Samantha to guess that she wanted to see her too. She was probably infuriating when she gloated.

“You’ve caught me at a terrible time with your unexpected phone call?—”

“A call you could have let go to voicemail?—”

Heat surged through Natalia’s body. It was not normal to be attracted to someone so irritating. She hated how her body responded to her. How her curiosity was dragged kicking and screaming to life while anticipating what Samantha might say next.

“Tonight at ten,” Natalia snapped as if she’d said no. “Is that too late for you on a school night, Professor?”

“For you, Ms. Flores, I’d sacrifice more than just a REM cycle.”

The moment Natalia’s lips twitched into a half-smile, she hung up the phone like it was radioactive. She opened her messenger app.

Natalia: This is a text you can read at your leisure and respond when convenient. See how this works?

Until she hit the air-conditioned hallway, she hadn’t realized how hot she’d been in the cement hell of the stairwell. With her finger, she wiped the thin sheen of sweat on her lip and checked her makeup on her phone’s camera. She was fixing the corner of her eyeliner that had run when Samantha’s name appeared in a text notification.