Best Laid Plans

“Even though the Australian division of Blackmore Inc. is doing better now than it was when my father ran the show?”

“Yep. Probably even because of it.”

Cameron sighed. Well, at least they were on the same page in that regard.

“All right,” he grumbled. “What’s next?”

Jackson flipped through her file to the first pages, biting her lip. Cameron couldn’t keep his eyes off those plump, soft lips that had promised him so much pleasure the night before. What would it feel like if she—

“I just want to make sure I have all the basics,” she said, looking up at him. Her eyes rounded.

Shit. Were his thoughts so transparent?

Jackson’s eyes skittered away and she cleared her throat. “You and three other men make up your main team for on-the-ground security. Max Jensen comes from a prominent ranching family in Australia, and you two were roommates at Princeton. He’s the one with his photo on the front page of the papers.”

Cameron scowled. “He’s also the one who brought both clients and credibility into the Australian market when I took over. His family’s name goes a long way down here.”

She nodded and jotted a few notes before looking back up. “After you both graduated, he returned to Australia and played rugby, where he met Derek Latu. You enlisted in the army.”

Cameron gave a dry laugh. “Much to my father’s dismay.”

“But not your grandfather’s, I’m assuming,” she said. “Following his path, the way he built this company.”

Very good, Jackson McAllister. He crossed his arms and waited.

“You and Simon Rodriguez were in the same unit,” she continued, “and when you both returned, you hired him.”

Cameron nodded.

Jackson flipped the page and scanned it. “Not long after, your grandfather put you in charge of Australia and moved your father back to New York.” She raised her gaze to his. “I’d imagine your father wouldn’t have taken that very well.”

Cameron didn’t answer. This woman was good. She had done her background work and read between the lines. But even as sympathetic as she had sounded, he couldn’t forget for a minute she was working for the board. Not for him.

Jackson looked back down at the pages in her file. “You and Simon Rodriguez came to Sydney, brought Max Jensen and Derek Latu on board, and the four of you started to rethink the company’s strategy.”

“That’s about it,” he said.

Jackson looked at him for an extra beat, her green eyes searching his. Then she stuffed her files into her bag. “Let’s take a quick tour around the office so I can get a feel for what goes on here. Then we’ll look at your schedule. I want to spend the first couple of days getting an idea of what you’re doing now.”

“Fine,” he said, grabbing his briefcase.

Cameron stood up and took a deep breath. He’d just had a conversation with her and hadn’t once thought about sex. Well, not for the last part of the conversation, anyway. Progress. He could do this.

She gathered her things, and he gestured to let her go first out of the conference room. Big mistake. Because now he was right behind her with a clear view of that nice round rear he had so appreciated last night. Her skirt was longer today, but it had a slit up the back that got him wondering. How high would it slide up her legs? She was wearing silky stockings. Were they the kind that went all the way up, or did they stop somewhere out of sight and leave the tops of her delicious thighs bare?

Shit. He turned his head and looked down the hall at anything he could find—the plants, the sprinkler system, the lights—anything but the spectacular view of Jackson calling his name.

She turned around. “Which way?”

“I’ll lead,” he growled. He turned down the hall and headed for the elevators. Say something, you fuckwit. Cameron mentally shook himself. “It’s just the four of us principals, a couple of admins and some meeting rooms on this floor. The other three guys aren’t in the office right now. We’ll need to go downstairs for the rest of the company.”

He pushed the elevator call button.

“The floor below us is where most of the logistics people sit as well as the teams under each of us four,” he said. “Clients want all sorts of security these days, and since I took over the Sydney business, we’ve broadened according to what the companies here need.”

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped in. Just keep talking.

“Derek and Max both head up on-the-ground security teams, and Simon is developing our surveillance branch. A lot of the work we do can be carried out in the office, but we work as a team when jobs require more specialized security. That’s just for the very high-end clients, and the four of us are on-site for those jobs. Those are the ones that you see in the photos.”

Cameron cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets. The doors opened.

“We’re two floors down now, in our IT department,” he said. “With the kind of security we do, we can’t outsource anything.”

He led her around, introducing her to employees at all levels. He knew everyone in the company. He had to if he was going to entrust so many people’s safety to them.

Jackson smiled and shook everyone’s hands, remembering names and asking questions. He had to admit she was really good. But as they made their way through accounting, her eyes began to droop. She must be tired.

“You want to take a break?” he asked.

Jackson took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “I think I’ve seen enough to get us started. Let’s head back upstairs.”

He led the way back to the elevators. On the ride up, she looked more and more tired by the minute. They finally came to the door of his office, and he opened it for her.

“Oh, my God,” she said breathlessly, walking up to the tall glass windows. “That’s the Harbour Bridge.”

He started toward her, ready to point out the Opera House, but he froze as his mind kicked back into gear. He was not going to stand next to her and breathe in the warm scent of her hair. They needed to get back to business. “Yes,” he grunted, trying not to look in her direction.

He hauled an extra chair over to the opposite side of his desk, then sank into his. She sat down, too, and he pulled up his schedule for the day before swiveling his monitor toward her.

“No meetings this morning?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Moved them all. I wasn’t sure what you’d have in mind.”

She bent over to look closer at his computer screen, giving him a flash down her button-up shirt. Luscious, round breasts strained against a lacy pink bra. Luscious, round breasts that he spent far too little time on last night. That he would never play with again. He forced his gaze back to the computer screen.

“What’s this?” she asked, pointing to the lunch hour block.

“I work out at our gym every day. It’s a few floors down from here. Below IT.”

“Oh.”

“You gonna observe me there, too?” he asked, fighting a grin.

She caught her lip between her teeth. “I’d check out everything with any other client.”

“You’re welcome to watch.” Cameron gave her a lazy smile and added, “If the board insists.”

A touch of pink stained her cheeks. “Maybe another day.”

“Suit yourself,” he said smoothly. “I’ll probably be on the phone most of the afternoon checking in with clients. And then we’ll meet the rest of the team for dinner tonight.”

“They don’t come into the office every day?”

“Most days I’m here, and they come in when they’re not on security jobs.” Thankfully, as CEO, Cameron had a good excuse not to travel—neglecting the daily operations was how his father got the Sydney office into trouble in the first place. The prominent clients in Sydney kept business booming, and his teammates could handle operations farther afield, if they came up. His aversion to flying wasn’t exactly good for the business, long-term, but he’d figure that out at some point. “Today the guys are looking at one of the local venues where we’re providing security for a high-profile client, a politician. You’ll hear the details in this week’s meeting.”

“Okay,” she said, stifling a yawn.

He raised an eyebrow. “This job’s already boring you? I told you, our business is a lot more ordinary than your photos suggest.”

She shook her head. “It’s not that. The jet lag is killing me.”

Her eyelids sank for a moment and then snapped back open. He saw an opportunity, and he took it.

“Listen, why don’t you take a taxi back to your hotel for a few hours and catch up on some sleep,” he said. “Like I said, I’ll just be around the office answering messages and talking to clients.”

She frowned. “Probably not a good idea on my first day.”

“You won’t miss anything,” he said. “I promise I won’t get into any trouble while you’re gone.”

Her eyelids drooped again. “I don’t know... I had planned to cover a bit more.”

“We’re meeting the team for dinner at seven, so I’ll come by your room around six and take you there.”

“Okay, maybe you’re right. I probably won’t be productive like this, anyway,” she said, suppressing another yawn. “But I can’t miss that meeting.”

“I won’t let you.”

Jackson nodded. “See you tonight, then.” She grabbed her bag and he couldn’t help noticing the sway of her hips as she walked out the door.

Once she disappeared, Cameron breathed a long sigh of relief. Thank God that was over. And he had just bought himself some time to get his head on straight.

It was only after Jackson was long gone that he realized his mistake. If he was going to forget that last night ever happened, he shouldn’t be anywhere near her hotel room.

CHAPTER FOUR

JACKSON WOKE UP to the sound of chimes. She sat up and scanned the room. Her phone alarm flashed in the darkness. Oh, right. The Sydney hotel room. The one she had invited Cameron Blackmore back to for sex last night.

Nice move.

She reached for her phone on the nightstand and shut off the alarm. Stretching, she flopped back onto the bed. After six hours of sleep, the fog was finally lifting off her thoughts.

Which was a good thing because Cameron would be knocking on her door soon.

She rolled out of bed, washed her face and squeezed back into business attire, muttering to herself through the whole process. What the hell was she thinking last night? Actually she knew exactly what she’d been thinking: this guy is unbelievable. Scorching. Tempting enough to have a little of that fun Rob thought she was constitutionally incapable of. The kind of fun she had never let herself have.

Just one night indulging in one of those “good things” she was long overdue for, and where did that get her? She managed to find the one man in Sydney she absolutely should not have sex with, under any circumstance. She was supposed to be fixing his reputation, not succumbing to it. She doubted the board would praise her thorough investigation skills in this area.

Jackson reached for her purse and pulled out her little red book. She flipped through the worn pages until she found the one labeled Sydney. The last item she had written was Manly Beach. She grabbed a pencil and wrote underneath, “Hot sex in Sydney.” And then crossed it out. At least something good should come out of this mess.

Damn Cameron Blackmore and his deep voice and his stupid muscles he’d caught her staring at this morning. Who the hell had biceps you could see through a business shirt? And damn her own traitorous body. This morning she’d pictured office fantasies she didn’t even know she had. The kinds of fantasies she should absolutely not be thinking about right before a dinner meeting with his team. The kind her career-oriented mind tried hard to avoid.

Shit. And now he was coming to her room? No.

Jackson stuffed the little red book back into her purse and grabbed her files. She leafed through them until she came to Cameron Blackmore’s contact information, then sent him a text.

Meet me in the lobby.

Good. Maybe she could get this whole crazy first twenty-four hours in Sydney under control. And hope Cameron Blackmore didn’t figure out that she was probably more at risk of losing her job than he was if anyone found out.

Jackson exhaled loudly and looked at the clock. Enough time to check her messages. She opened her laptop and got to work, reading through the updates from her other clients, responding to Kyle’s questions. Luckily, Kyle was a brilliant assistant, much more on top of things than any other twenty-three-year-old she had worked with before. Jackson’s shoulders sank in relief. No fires to put out.

She hovered her cursor over the last unopened message, debating whether or not to click on it. She couldn’t ignore a message from her own mother, could she? Okay, she’d done it once or twice in the past, but she was in a different country. Maybe her mother was actually worried. Or excited to hear about her first trip to another continent. Right.

She sighed and clicked on the message. Just as she suspected. No Just checking in to see if you’re okay. No You’re in Sydney! I’m so proud of you. Instead, her mother had sent a link to her sister’s latest blog post featuring the twins. The two-year-olds were feeding each other her sister’s latest homemade baby food creation. Okay, it was cute. Very cute. She could almost hear Marcello and Marco’s laughter as they stuffed each other’s mouths full, dripping all over the expensive tile floors of Jami and Fabio’s Brooklyn town house. But Jami wouldn’t worry about that—the maid would clean up later. Her sister would be enjoying the moment, enjoying her domestic bliss.

Unlike Jackson, Jami had managed the seemingly impossible task of living up to all their mother’s expectations. She had a faithful husband, adorable kids, a big house and a successful career. For extra-credit bonus, Jami was so damn nice and good-natured. Her sister really was happy, and Jackson admired that, even if it wasn’t quite the kind of happiness she was looking for. Jami had survived a type-A mother, a philandering father and their inevitably calamitous divorce relatively unscathed. Jackson? Well, she had survived. Unscathed? Debatable.

At the end of the message, her mother hadn’t forgotten to add her favorite saying: “Good things come to those who wait.” Thanks, Mom. Really subtle. As if Jackson were just killing time in Sydney while waiting for the rest of the things on her mother’s success checklist to fall into place. She was on her own path...or, rather, she was on a ten-year plan to get onto her own path.

She gritted her teeth and hit Reply.

Thanks for sending. Marcello and Marco are adorable, as always. PS I’m having a great time in Sydney.

For once, she was grateful her mother would never think to ask about the nature of her “great time.” Jackson closed her laptop and headed for the bathroom once more, pushing her mother out of her mind. She was finally in another country, a place where people went about life differently, thought about things differently. What would it be like to live another life, just for a while? That question was what had sparked her dreams of traveling long ago, when her parents were at their worst. But now traveling was more about adventure than escape, though an evening with Cameron Blackmore had certainly given her an X-rated perspective on what another life could feel like. She put on her makeup and practiced her cool, business-only smile in the mirror. She had faced sexy, built men before. She could do this.

Jackson browsed her shoe selection. Flats for walking, or heels to combat the height difference between mammoth Cameron and her? She frowned. Cameron wasn’t making any wardrobe decisions based on her. No reason for her to do so for him, either.

She grabbed her flats, put them on and headed for the hotel room door. She swung it open and stepped out. And crashed into a large, solid body.

She heard an “oof,” and strong arms closed around her before she fell to the ground.

Cameron.

For a moment, neither of them moved. His arms encircled her and she breathed in his warm, musky scent. God, he smelled good. She softened into him...

What the hell was she doing?

Jackson scrambled away. “You were supposed to meet me in the lobby,” she snapped.

A look of realization crossed his face. “I wasn’t sure who that message was from.”

“You often get messages from women who want to meet you in the lobby?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off. “Let’s just go.”

Jackson brushed by him and headed for the elevator. She reached the doors first and pressed the button. He shifted as they waited in silence. Was Cameron dreading the ride in this particular enclosed space, too? He loomed next to her, his bulky frame distractingly there.

The doors opened, and she didn’t wait for any chivalrous gestures. She walked in and pressed the button for the lobby. The doors closed. She stole a glance at Cameron. He looked oblivious to her presence.

Damn him. How could he ignore what they had done together in this elevator less than twenty-four hours ago? And then there was the sex. Really, really good sex. She had never believed in all that “men are from Mars” crap, but for the first time, she wondered if men really were fundamentally different from women. Because as hard as she tried, she couldn’t just turn off her reaction to him. And he could clearly turn off his.

The elevator dinged, and Jackson stomped out. She started for the lobby doors, not bothering to check if Cameron was following.

“Jackson?”

She stopped and turned around. “What?”

He caught up with her and stopped way too close for her current state of mind. Crap. Stepping farther away meant showing him just how poorly she was handling the “casual” part of casual sex. So she stayed put and wiped all traces of lust from her face. She hoped.

Over six feet of suit and muscle hovered only inches away. She tipped up her chin and met his gaze. Cameron was looking down at her with unexpected softness.

“We’re not going to get through dinner like this,” he said. His voice resonated inside her, quiet and intimate.

Jackson bit her lip. “You mean I’m not going to get through dinner. You seem to be well-practiced at this.”

Cameron’s eyes hardened. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“You’re right,” she said. “And you know nothing about me.”

Jackson frowned. Maybe she was being a little harsh, but the gist of this conversation was right on. They knew nothing about each other. He didn’t know about Cheater Rob and his “sensitive” dick or her ten-year plan or how much work it took to get this job or anything else that had landed her here in Sydney for what was becoming a nightmare assignment. Their night together was supposed to be about letting go, about fun.

And she certainly did let go and have fun with Cameron. Now why the hell couldn’t she just move on and stop drooling every time he was in sight?

Still, it wasn’t his fault that she was temperamentally incapable of just having a fling. They were working together. She had to stop snapping at him.

Jackson took a deep breath. “Look, this has all been a bit much for me. We made a mistake, and there’s nothing to do about it but move on.” She gave him a smile she hoped looked confident. “I’ll be fine at dinner.”

The corners of his mouth tipped down, but he didn’t say anything.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

They headed out of the lobby and onto the street. As the warm air hit her, some of the tension eased. While New York was cold and gray in November, Sydney’s summer was just coming into full swing. They came to the street corner, and a warm, gentle breeze blew from the direction of the water.

“The restaurant’s not too far,” said Cameron. “You okay walking?”

“Of course,” she said and stepped off the curb to cross.

A large, warm arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back just as a car swerved around the corner. Her breath caught in her throat. The driver honked his horn, and Cameron gave the guy the finger. He held her against the hard muscles of his chest for an extra beat.

“Look right, sweetheart,” he whispered in her ear. “We drive on the other side of the road down here, remember?”

Right. She had managed to make it through the previous twenty-four hours without stepping in front of a car, but with a giant distraction named Cameron Blackmore standing next to her, her brain was apparently having trouble multitasking.

“Thanks,” she mumbled. “Maybe you should lead.”

He chuckled and released her. She straightened up. Get it together, girl. She was about to meet Cameron’s team. She gave herself a little shake and tried to focus on the scenery.

Like in New York, tall glass facades mingled with older stone and brick buildings, but the Sydney streets felt cleaner. The whole city felt cleaner and brighter. It was rush hour, and a steady flow of people poured out of the offices and stores onto stone-laid sidewalks. Wow. She was actually in Australia.

Thank God she hadn’t worn heels. Even flats were pressing on her toes. “Not too far” clearly meant something entirely different in Australian. Or maybe it was the fact that she took two steps for every one of Cameron’s.

Jackson slowed when the harbor came into view.

“This is Circular Quay,” Cameron said, pointing at the ferry terminal. “We’re going to meet the team at a place out along the water.”

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