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Charlotte considered his face. “No, I do. It looks good.

Frania is going to lose her shit,” she decided with a chuckle.

When they’d pressed their luck and caught up with each other as long as they dared before a sta member noticed the sign, Charlotte hugged him tight and let him leave first.

As she waited a couple of minutes before leaving too, Charlotte took long deep breaths. Seeing Jayson was exactly the reality check she needed. Her mission wasn’t getting to know Alex, it was about infiltrating Alexandra Leon’s operation and getting Jayson what he needed so she can get her life started and never look back.

CHAPTER 23

EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, Charlotte pulled her hair back in a tight ponytail, put on her favorite dark blue suit with high-waisted trousers and razor-thin stilettos. As she leaned over her bathroom sink to apply warm, bronze eyeshadow in the mirror, she formulated a plan of attack.

As soon as she walked into the spa, Paola whistled at her from behind the reception desk. “Damn girl,” she called. “Do you have a hot date later or something?”

Charlotte chuckled and did her best to ignore the heat flushing up her neck and over her face. “Just felt like living my best life today.”

“Mission accomplished, chica. You’re a smoke show.”

While hurrying toward her o ce, Charlotte wondered whether she’d done too much. Her plan had been to seduce Alexandra at their mid-morning meeting, but not for the whole spa to notice.

When it was finally time, Charlotte re-applied nude lip gloss and spritzed a little perfume on her wrists. With her tablet tucked under her arm, she pulled out her phone and stepped out into the hallway. She typed gibberish into an

email to no one as she walked. Hopefully it would work as a deterrent for conversation. She didn’t want her mental game interrupted.

Arriving in the waterfall hallway unscathed, Charlotte tucked her phone into her suit pocket and knocked.

“Come in.” Alexandra’s voice through the door was faint, but made Charlotte’s blood pump harder. It was the exhilaration of cli -diving without the jagged boulders threatening from below. She wondered if she might prefer the rocks. At least they could only break her body.

When Charlotte entered, Alex was busy writing something in a leather-bound pad. Her long, dark hair was gathered in a tight updo. It hid how gorgeous her hair looked loose and wild at home, but her perfect facial feature

s were prominent and the style showed o her long neck.

Charlotte lingered in the doorway, mesmerized by the sharp slope of Alex’s nose, the full curve of her lips. Her strong jaw clenched as her long, elegant fingers moved over the paper.

“Are you going to come in?” Alex’s dark eyes flashed up at her, cutting o Charlotte’s ability to breathe.

As she gazed at her, Alex dropped her pen and stood. The glimmer in her eyes signaled her approval of Charlotte’s outfit and filled her with a rush of tingling satisfaction.

Charlotte’s heart soared along with her confidence as Alex strode forward. Her tanned legs were radiant against her cream-colored dress, but it was deep brown eyes Charlotte couldn’t escape.

“I have some sensitive data here.” Charlotte’s free hand hovered over the door handle while the other held up the

tablet. “We should take the necessary precautions to keep it away from prying eyes.”

Alex licked her lips as she neared, the primal act triggering an immediate pull low in Charlotte’s belly.

“If there is something I respect,” Alex’s gaze lingered on Charlotte’s lips, “it’s your cautious nature.”

Transported to the warmth of Alex’s bed by the scent of her perfume, Charlotte closed her eyes and pushed in the button locking the door.

Alex’s lips grazed her cheek as she rested her hands on Charlotte’s hips. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered, her words hot against the shell of Charlotte’s ear.

The confession was a fist squeezing Charlotte’s heart and restricting her airway. This wasn’t the tone she’d intended.

She was going for sexy seduction, not sweet moment stolen in the middle of the day.

Throwing her arms around Alex’s neck, Charlotte pulled her in and kissed her hard. “I need you,” she groaned.

Alex’s bottom lip tasted sweet like the pineapple smoothie sitting half-empty on her desk. Pushing Alex to the side and against the wall near the door, Charlotte kissed her more deeply.