Moonlight Kisses

“The articles written about me tend to leave out that particular part of my bio, preferring to focus on my so-called lucky investment,” he said.

Damn. An internet search on Cole Sinclair had pulled up at least a dozen articles. None of them had mentioned he’d had a top job at Force. They practically dominated the beauty industry.

Also, it seemed strange.

Why had he gone to work for an international giant like Force Cosmetics when he had blood ties to Espresso, she wondered. Sage shrugged off the question. It wasn’t any of her business.

“Don’t underestimate me, Ms. Matthews,” he said. “There’s a lot more to me than money.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sage conceded the round of verbal sparring to him. Still, it wouldn’t get him what he wanted.

He rested his back against the chair. His easy smile returned, oozing with Southern charm, but his dark eyes brimmed with an unspoken challenge.

“Also, don’t let pride stand in the way of your common sense.” Like his smile, the deep, melodic baritone belied the man’s uncompromising words. “Let me take Stiletto off your hands because the bottom line is I can run your company better than you ever could.”

Sage stood abruptly. The condescension and the kernel of truth in his hard-hitting statement stung as if he’d pelted her with a handful of rocks.

“This meeting is over, Mr. Sinclair,” she said, walking toward the door of the private dining room.

Sage didn’t intend to give him a backward glance but turned around at the sound of that arrogant, infuriating, panty-melting voice.

“Keep in mind, if you won’t sell Stiletto to me, I’ll be forced to go with my alternative plan. One I don’t think you’ll like.”

Sage’s eyes narrowed as she glared at him. Sitting there, surrounded by an air of confident cool, as though he didn’t have a care in the world. “I have two words for you and your granny-makeup company, Mr. Sinclair. Bring it.”

“How about we get on a first name basis, Sage?” The smile never left his face. “Because I intend to bring it all right. I just hope you can handle it.”

Chapter 4

Cole walked briskly through the streets leading back to the Espresso building.

Bring it!

The taunt echoed through his head, leaving him unable to determine if the vapor emitted by his body was generated by his breath colliding with the cold or the steam venting from his ears.

Not only did the stubborn woman dismiss his perfectly reasonable argument. She’d tossed an extremely generous offer back in his face.

Who turns their nose up at that kind of money?

“Sage Matthews, that’s who,” Cole grumbled aloud, oblivious to passersby making a wide berth around the man talking to himself.

Images of big hair, shiny black boots and tempting red-slicked lips bombarded him as he yanked open the lobby door of the Espresso building.

The once-modern concrete-and-steel structure, built by his late uncle, had been a tremendous source of pride to his mother when it was erected thirty years ago. Now the eleven-story building stood half-empty, dwarfed by dozens of gleaming new towers dominating the Nashville skyline.

Cole sighed. Though they’d worked through most of their differences, the building continued to be a sticking point in his and Victor’s relationship. Cole and his sisters had agreed selling it was their best option, but his stepfather wouldn’t hear of it.

They could have easily outvoted him months ago. However, Cole thought the older man needed more time to accept the inevitable.

It was just as well, he thought. Right now he needed to focus on convincing the infuriatingly sexy Sage Matthews to give him what he wanted.

Her company.

Acknowledging both the security guard and reception desk with a nod, he strode across the lobby’s marble floor to the elevators. Fortunately, two of the three elevators in the older building were working today.

This should have been a chip shot, he thought, as the elevator whisked him up to the executive floor. He’d expected to be talking with his lawyers by now, instructing them to prepare the paperwork sealing the deal. Only there was no deal.

And nothing had gone as he’d expected.

The elevator chimed and the doors opened on the eleventh floor. Cole pushed open the door to the outer office of the executive suite. He was relieved to see Victor’s door closed. Cole wasn’t looking forward to filling his stepfather in on the details of the disastrous meeting.

Or your totally unprofessional behavior.

Cole shook his head. He’d actually asked her out on a date. It was unlike him to be so impulsive or stupid.

Then again, he’d never felt so in sync with a woman. Sage Matthews had been right about one thing, when it came to their personalities and mannerisms, it was indeed like looking in the mirror.

“Is that frown tattooed on your face or do you wear it just for me?” The gravelly ex-smoker’s voice of the secretary he shared with his stepfather broke into his thoughts.

Cole groaned inwardly, pausing at the large desk in the office bridging his and Victor’s offices.

The way his day had been going today, it figured Loretta Walker would be faithfully manning her station instead of taking a long lunch when the boss was away like the secretaries and administrative assistants he’d had in the past. Cole fixed the silver-haired sexagenarian with a glare that would have sent any other Espresso employee fleeing to the opposite side of the building.

The woman didn’t so much as flinch.

“This is my special face just for you,” he said. “I laugh like the Tickle Me Elmo doll for everyone else.”

“Lucky me. I get to spend my workdays looking at that sour mug.” She handed him a few opened envelopes from the stack of the day’s mail. “These require your attention. I’ll handle the rest.”

“You’re welcome to retire anytime,” Cole said as he sifted through them.

“No can do,” Loretta said. “I’ve got a granddaughter to get through medical school, remember?”

“Then how about a paid vacation, somewhere far, far away?”

“Vacation?” Loretta threw her head back and laughed, the raspy sound filling the office that had been her domain for nearly three decades. “I can barely take a bathroom break without everything around here falling apart. Face it, I’m both indispensable and irreplaceable.”

Despite his bluster, Cole couldn’t refute it. Loretta was also smart, paid attention to detail and took no crap whatsoever from him, or the members of his family that bore the name Gray, including the late Selina Sinclair Gray.

As a kid, he’d once asked his mother why she let an employee get away with the kind of backtalk she’d never tolerate from her children or anyone else.

She’d told him Loretta was more than just a secretary. She explained Loretta kept the office operating with clockwork precision, which gave her the freedom to focus on running Espresso.

“More importantly, Loretta calls it like she sees it, and possesses the courage to speak her mind regardless of the consequences,” his mother had said. “Everybody should have someone like her in their life.”

At the time, Cole had believed his mother the wisest person he’d ever known. All her big decisions had been good ones, right up until her last one, which still confounded him.

He forced back the hard feelings that had separated him from his family for years. His thoughts drifted back to the woman he’d met this afternoon.

Sage Matthews hadn’t had a problem speaking her mind, either.

Their short meeting had taken him through a gamut of emotions. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so intrigued, irritated or challenged, and he had to admit, totally turned on.

“Is that a tic or did you actually just crack a smile?”

“Tic,” Cole answered automatically, “brought on by a certain exasperating secretary.” Although, he knew a smile brought on by the recent memory of a certain woman in red had indeed touched his lips.

Loretta grunted. “If you’re all done twitching, mind telling me what time you want your lawyers here to hammer out the details of the Stiletto deal?”

The next grunt that sounded in the outer office came from him. His lips tightened. Any hint of a smile connected to his lunchtime encounter vanished, replaced with the last emotion his lunch companion had left him with—annoyance.

“Well?” Loretta pressed.

“There is no Stiletto deal.” Cole admitted, then quickly amended. “Yet.”

The long-time secretary’s hoarse cackle filled his ears. All she needed to complete the effect was a chalkboard to scratch her nails across. “Gave you hell, didn’t she?”

Although he’d never admit it aloud, Sage Matthews certainly had.

“Good for her, bringing you down a peg or two,” Loretta continued. Her gravelly voice trailed him into his office. “It’s about time you met your match.”

Cole closed the door firmly behind him. However, his secretary’s parting shot lingered. He couldn’t deny the similarities between them, but his match? Ms. Matthews had a long way to go before she possessed the capability to bring him down a peg.

Walking over to the window, he shoved his hands into his pants pockets. He stared blankly at the flashing billboard in the distance and plotted his next move.

* * *

“I can’t believe you walked out on Cole Sinclair.”

Sage rose from her chair, braced her palms on her desktop and leaned forward. Had Amelia lost her mind? “Did you not hear a word I just said? The man threatened to come after Stiletto.”

“Well...” Her assistant hedged, tilting her head to one side.

“Well, what?” Sage snapped. She fisted her hands on her hips waiting to hear what possible explanation the young woman could conjure up to justify the man’s insufferable behavior.

“You did tell him to ‘bring it,’” Amelia said. “And knowing you as I do, I’m sure it was more like a barked command.”

“Me?” Sage asked incredulously. Her knuckles dug deeper into her sides. “All I did was show up for a lunch meeting, which I should add, you wouldn’t give me a moment’s peace about until I agreed to go.”

Her assistant held her hands up. “Hold on, General,” she said. “I certainly didn’t mean for you to march downtown and purposely provoke him.”

Sage plopped down in her office chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “He was the one provoking me.”

“You aren’t one of the richest people in town.”

“Please, don’t mention money.” Sage rolled her eyes toward the beams and pipes stretching across the ceiling of the former factory that housed Stiletto’s headquarters as well as several other businesses. “He was tossing out dollars like a freak in a strip club.”

Amelia laughed and then stopped abruptly. She narrowed her eyes. “So exactly how much was his offer to buy Stiletto?”

“That would fall under the category of none of your business.”

“How about a ballpark figure?” The teen shrugged. “You turned him down anyway. What difference does it make?”

Sage thought it over a moment. It wasn’t as if Amelia would spread it around the office. She could be a loopy romantic, but she was as discreet as she was efficient.

“Let’s just say it was a couple of ballparks.”

“And you didn’t take the deal?”

“Of course, not. Stiletto isn’t for sale,” Sage said. “And you weren’t there. He was condescending and...” Her voice trailed off as the sound of his easy baritone came back to her. Deep, rich and melodic. It made her want him to eat dessert in bed with him, naked.

“And what?” Amelia raised a brow.

“H-he was just so smug,” Sage stammered over the words.

A slow smile spread over her assistant’s lips. “And what else?”

“O-overbearing, insufferable, overconfident...” Again, her reaction to him at lunch waylaid her train of thought, and she automatically rubbed the spot where their hands had accidentally brushed.

“Interesting.” The young woman’s eyes widened as if she’d just been told a secret, and the smile on her face morphed into a full-fledged grin. “He sounds an awful lot like someone else I know.”

“What are you grinning at?” Sage snapped. “Stop it.”

Instead, Amelia narrowed her gaze. She made a few hmm and mmm sounds as she looked her up and down.

Sage squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. “What on earth is the matter with you?”

The young woman ignored the question, continuing her examination. “Cheeks flushed. Eyes glazed over. You’re practically glowing,” she said, making Sage feel as though she was in a doctor’s office instead of her own. “And notice how you were all breathless and stammering when you talked about Mr. Sinclair.”

Amelia nodded her head knowingly as if she already had the answer to her own question. “Not in a million years did I think I’d be saying this to you, but you look exactly like a smitten heroine in one of my romance novels.”

Although she was immune to them, Sage gave her assistant a laser-beam side eye. “I’m acting insulted and extremely annoyed...because I am.”

However, Sage didn’t know who she was more pissed at, the man with the bedroom voice who believed he could run her business better than she, or herself for even having considered a date with him.

“If you say so.”

“I do say so,” Sage insisted, remembering his last words to her and the excessive confidence with which he’d delivered them.

I intend to bring it all right. I just hope you can handle it.

His declaration had come off as a double entendre. She’d caught both the all-business challenge and the sensual promise. Sage only wished there was a way for her to show him he’d taunted the wrong woman and wipe the smug smile off his handsome face.

Oblivious, Amelia exhaled a dreamy sigh filled with youthful naïveté. “I think Mr. Sinclair made quite the impression on you.”

Sage’s stomach growled, reminding her she still hadn’t had lunch. “He made me so mad, I didn’t even eat...”

The words died on her lips as an idea hit her.

Not just an idea, a maneuver so outrageous it would make Cole Sinclair think twice about underestimating her again. But you couldn’t, she thought. You wouldn’t dare go through with it.

Oh, yes, I would.

Her assistant waved a hand in front of her face, and Sage blinked. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said. I was trying to tell you...” Amelia paused, then frowned. “Uh-oh. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Sage feigned cluelessness. “Whatever do you mean?”

“It looks like you just sprouted devil horns on your head. The only thing missing is the diabolical laugh.”

Her decision made, Sage slapped her palms against her desk and stood. Time to rally the troops. “I want you to add fifty additional beauty bloggers to the invitation list for our Valentine’s Day’s event,” she said. “We’re going to make it even bigger and even better.”

“Will do.”

She watched her assistant make the notation. “Then send Joe Archer from advertising into my office. I’ve got a job for him,” Sage said. “I’m about to teach Mr. Sinclair a lesson he won’t soon forget.”

Amelia shook her head. “Sounds like you’ve already made him angry. I really don’t think you should provoke him any further.”

“Never mind what you think. Just get Archer in here.”

Her assistant heaved an exaggerated sigh. “All right, I’ll do as you ordered, General. I just hope you don’t start the battle of the Nashville cosmetic companies.”

So what if she did? Sage thought. The man had made it clear he intended to bring it. She was simply firing the first salvo, because the best defense was a good offense.

Her only regret was that she wouldn’t be there to see the look on Sinclair’s face.

Chapter 5

A week after their disastrous lunch, Sage Matthews remained on Cole’s mind. His thoughts bounced from those sexy, shapely legs to that sassy mouth of hers painted the hottest shade of red he’d ever seen.

“Mr. Sinclair?”

Cole blinked, the sound of his name dragging him back to reality. Damn, he’d done it again.

And again, he told himself he was only pondering his next step to persuade the woman to sell her business.

“Sorry, could you repeat that?” Cole glanced around the coffee-and croissant-laden conference-room table where Espresso’s department heads had gathered that morning for their biweekly meeting. His uncharacteristic distracted behavior drew a quizzical stare from Victor and a smug, know-it-all one from Loretta, who had been needling him all week about Stiletto’s owner rejecting his offer.

He looked past them to the company’s special events coordinator.

Tammy Barnes adjusted her eyeglasses. “I was saying it appears the Valentine’s Day minimakeover event at our department store counters will have some competition, at least locally,” she said. “Stiletto Cosmetics is holding an event the same afternoon.”

Preston Tate’s buttons strained to keep his shirt closed as he hurriedly washed down his third croissant with a gulp of coffee. “So we anticipate a lower-than-expected turnout,” Tate, who was the head of their marketing team, chimed in. “It’ll also mean generating less buzz nationwide, when the bloggers take to social media with comments and photos all about Stiletto.”

As Cole listened, he wondered if this event was Sage’s idea of getting back at him. She’d been furious when she’d stormed out of the restaurant. Moreover, the woman had practically challenged him. Just like you did to her.

Seated at his right, Loretta glanced down at her tablet computer. She’d balked when he’d upgraded every Espresso employee to the latest technology upon his return. Now the tablet rarely left her hands.

“Next on the agenda is Lola,” she said.

A collective groan echoed across the room at the mention of Cole’s youngest sister, and a young man seated at the opposite end of the conference table cleared his throat. “A few days ago, she and some of her model friends held a wild party in London and totally trashed their hotel suite. Now the European tabloids are having a field day. I think we need to...”

“Nonsense.” Victor cut him off. “You can’t believe anything the media reports anyway.”

“But they had photos, and considering Lola is the face of Espresso, it reflects badly on the company,” the young man countered.

“Brat,” Loretta grunted.

“Watch your mouths. That’s my baby girl you’re talking about,” Victor warned. “Those damn tabloids are making a big deal out of nothing. End of story. Case closed.”

The faces around the table turned to Cole, knowing he was the one with the final word on any subject concerning the company. “I agree with Victor,” he said. “Lola’s just high-spirited.”

“Enabler.” Loretta snorted.

Cole held up a silencing hand and then turned his attention back to their marketing head. “Tate, I want to hear more about this event of Stiletto’s.”

“I’ll just bet you do,” Loretta muttered under her breath.

Cole shot his secretary a censorious glare, which earned him another gravelly snort. If she were anyone else, she would have been looking for a new job.

“It’s a meet and greet for social media beauty gurus,” Preston said. “Light refreshments, swag bags, et cetera.”

Cole tapped his fingertip against the table. “Do you happen to know if this was something they pulled together in the past week?”

“I don’t think so.” Preston shrugged. “Looks like they posted it on their website a month ago.”

Cole nodded absently. He was just being paranoid, he reasoned. Sage might be bold. The name of her lip color crossed his mind. However, she wasn’t badass enough to take him on...or was she?

A thump vibrated the conference table, jolting him out of his reverie.

“Dang it!” Victor stood abruptly, drawing concerned stares from the room. He stomped his foot. “Leg fell asleep.”

The older man shook his leg. He walked over to the wall of windows, on the other side of the room to coax life back into his sluggish limb. Located two floors below Cole’s office, the floor-to-ceiling windows offered the same panoramic view, but at a lower vantage point.

“Funny you should ask about last week, though.” Preston swiped at his tablet. “It looks as though they expanded the event a week ago and reached out to more bloggers and YouTube vloggers.”

Maybe he wasn’t being paranoid after all, Cole thought. Was this Sage’s way of taking him on? He dismissed the idea. The challenge she’d issued had simply been an angry rant. Nothing more.

Tammy raised her hand to get their attention before clearing her throat. “Does anyone know when Tia will be back? I need to talk to her about including the spas in an upcoming event.”

Cole shrugged. His sister and brother-in-law, Ethan, hadn’t had time for a honeymoon after their quickie Las Vegas nuptials six months ago. Last month they’d flown to Australia, where it was still summer, for an extended road-trip honeymoon.

“She gets back to Nashville on Valentine’s Day but won’t return to work until the week after,” Loretta answered.

Tammy nodded. “Thank...”

“Holy Moley!” Victor bellowed from the other side of the room.

Again, his outburst attracted the attention of the department heads seated at the table.

“For goodness’ sake,” Loretta said. “The entire room doesn’t have to be privy to your circulation problems. I’m no spring chicken, but you don’t hear me squawking about every little twinge.”

“It’s not me. It’s...” Victor turned away from the window. He wore a stunned expression on his face. “Cole, I think you should take a look at this.”

Concerned, Cole rushed to her stepfather’s side. The older man pointed out the window, and Cole looked in the direction of his finger.

“What the...?” Cole blinked.

He stared dumbfounded at the electronic billboard in the distance, unable to believe what he was seeing. The gasps of the employees who had followed him to the window filled Cole’s ears.

No, the hell she didn’t.

The ad for Burger Tower’s mouthwatering burger was gone. In its place was an advertisement for Stiletto Cosmetics, featuring the man in drag from the newspaper article photo. Even though it was a mile away, the ad flashed boldly against the gray winter sky.

The faux old lady wore the same lopsided gray wig, a hideous paisley dress and a thick coating of outdated makeup. He was juxtaposed against a chic young woman in skintight leather pants and high heels.

Cole’s molars ground against each other as he glared at the caption—Stiletto: Not Your Granny’s Makeup. It was scrawled across the bottom of the ad, in the same shade of red as Sage’s lipstick, as if she’d signed it personally.

The blasted woman knew he’d see it. He’d told her he could see this billboard from his office window.

He felt a nudge at his side, and Loretta handed him a pair of binoculars she’d somehow located in the minutes since everyone had gathered at the window. Her efficiency still amazed him. No wonder his mother, Victor and now Cole gave her insolence a pass.

Peering through the binoculars, Cole zeroed in on the billboard. Magnification only made the damn thing worse.

“Looks like you poked the wrong bear.” Loretta’s gravelly words went into his right ear.

“Stiletto’s owner is not just good-looking, she’s ballsy, too.” Victor snorted in his left ear as Cole stood between them, binoculars still trained on the offensive sign in the distance.

Bring it!

Sage’s taunt and his own rising anger drowned out the voices of his secretary and stepfather. Anger mingled with the respect Cole grudgingly had to give her. This was something he would have done, if his attraction to her hadn’t thrown him for a loop.