Putting It to the Test

Well, he might have that.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped back and clasped her hands into fists. “Well, I won’t keep you any longer. I just wanted to apologize for yesterday and…”

“No problem.”

She nodded. “Good. Well, I’ll see you around.”

Then she turned and walked—make that scurried—away. He watched her backside as she rushed quickly down the aisle before disappearing into the sea of cubicles, then he shook his head and settled back in his seat.

In his two years at Hall Technologies that was officially the strangest conversation he’d ever had, but at least it did one thing—it had momentarily taken his mind off the idea of her naked in his bed.

Now his thoughts were consumed with what exactly Carly Abrams was up to.

4

“THANKS FOR LETTING me use your computer.” Carly tossed the comment over her shoulder to Bev, who was stretched out on the recliner in her den. “I really didn’t want to do this at Mom’s place with Jodi tagging at my heels.”

When Carly bought her house and moved out of her mother’s apartment, she didn’t have the heart to take her computer with her. Jodi had grown attached to the games and her mom used it for schoolwork, and Carly knew if she took it, they’d go without, her mom barely affording the Internet service, much less the cost of a new machine. So Carly had insisted they keep it, reminding them she had a better machine at work and that she could come by and use hers whenever she needed to do something too personal for the office.

And changing her survey answers to coincide with Matt’s definitely qualified as too personal for the office. It also qualified as too personal for her mother’s apartment given that Carly knew the woman wouldn’t approve of her little scheme.

Though Carly adored her mom, Carol Abrams was too idealistic for her own good. She thought hard work was all a woman needed to get ahead, that honesty was always the best policy and that good things came to those who waited.

Right. This from the woman who also thought that a cheating, irresponsible husband who waltzed in and out of his family’s life would eventually come around once he’d sufficiently matured.

Carly’s respect for her mother’s ideals stopped about two clicks short of that one, and she’d also learned that sometimes to keep things fair a girl had to occasionally bend the rules.

“No, I don’t think you want to explain some of those questions to Jodi,” Bev said. “But I’m dying to see them myself. Did he fill out the whole survey?”

Carly unfolded the sheet of numbered answers Brian had given her and scanned the list. “He filled out everything.”

“Then hurry and get to the good stuff. I can’t wait to see what our hunky coworker has to say about sex.”

Carly frowned and turned to Bev. “Don’t forget you’re married.”

Folding her hands at her chest, Bev shrugged. “So. That doesn’t mean I’m not curious. You’ve got to admit the guy’s a hottie. Haven’t you ever wondered what he might be like between the sheets?”

Carly’s ears heated, and before she gave her secret away, she quickly turned back to the PC—a second too late.

“You have!” Bev gushed.

“I have not,” Carly denied in a tone so unbelievable even she hadn’t bought it.

“Yeah, right.” Bev pushed out of the recliner and stepped over to the plate of cookies Carly had brought as thanks for the use of the machine. Picking one up, Bev eyed both sides of the chocolate-studded cookie.

“There’s no nuts,” Carly said.

“I was supposed to start a diet today, you know.”

“It’s Wednesday. No one starts a diet on a Wednesday.”

“Mondays weren’t working for me. I thought I’d give midweek a shot.”

“Then put the cookie down and I’ll take them home.” Eyeing her friend sincerely, she added, “Really. I’m sorry. I thought your plan was to start with exercise this week, then diet next week.”

Bev took a bite of the cookie, grabbed two more, then moved back to the recliner. “It is now. Besides, I need sugar to go with this new revelation about you and Matt.”

“There’s no revelation.”

“You don’t turn red as a cherry over a guy you’re not interested in. I obviously hit a nerve.” She flicked her brows. “I’m only wondering how deep it goes.”

“Skin-deep,” Carly affirmed. “I think he’s attractive, that’s it. And what woman wouldn’t? The man’s beautiful, but he’s also a jerk, which makes him fun to look at and nothing more.”

“He’s not that bad, just a little driven. He might not mingle at the office much, but Adam says he’s a great guy once you get to know him.”

“Well,” Carly said, picking up a cookie of her own, “I can get to know him pretty well right now.”

She clicked into the Singles Inc. Web site and logged on to her profile. The sheet Brian had given her contained only letters and numbers for the answers, but Carly was able to translate them with ease by comparing her own survey results to the questions on the screen. It was a simple matrix of one through five, one being Strongly Disagree and five being Strongly Agree. True and false answers were coded using one for true and zero for false, and multiple-choice answers were recorded A through D. The Hall Technologies employees had been instructed to leave the narrative section blank, as well as the demographic data on marital history, race, income and other personal information not appropriate for this exercise. It was all straightforward. All she had to do was determine how closely she should match Matt’s answers without going overboard.

“Start with the section on sex. How kinky is lover boy?”

Carly did as Bev suggested, curious herself. Would he be wild and naughty or was he a traditional kind of lover? Was he wine and roses or sun and fun? It hadn’t occurred to her that she might not want the answer until she looked at the first question and the moisture drained from her mouth.

I tend to be conservative when it comes to sex.

He’d strongly disagreed, taking about a half dozen of her fantasies and throwing them into a big puddle of reality.

She double-checked the numbers, making sure she’d read them right, hoping she’d mixed them up. She didn’t want Matt Jacobs to be the exact kind of lover she’d been looking for. If this worked out and she landed the project, she’d have to work with this man, speak coherently around him, possibly put in late hours…just the two of them…alone….

“Well?” Bev urged. “What does it say?”

Carly gulped. “That tall, dark and hunky has a wild side.” And when she read his response to the next question, the temperature in the room crept up. “He’s apparently open to all things kinky, too.”

Bev let out an evil chuckle while Carly squirmed in her seat, the cookie in her mouth drying into pasty crumbs. She tried to tell herself this didn’t mean a thing, that maybe Matt had simply followed her lead when she’d mentioned toying with Mr. Hall, but the fire in her cheeks and the tingling between her thighs kept calling her bluff. No matter how she turned this over in her mind, the survey stated clearly the last thing she needed to know right now—that Matt Jacobs could very well be the kind of sex toy she’d been looking for.

The cookie in her mouth turned to mortar, and, no longer hungry for food, she placed the remainder back on the plate.

“Does that surprise you?” Bev asked. “What man isn’t into kinky sex?”

Pretty much every man she’d dated. At least it seemed that way. None of them had even mastered the straightforward kind of sex; what they’d do with a vibrator and a jar of chocolate body paint was anybody’s guess. Needless to say, she’d never suggested it.

As if to torture herself, she eyed the next question. I don’t mind giving control to a trusted partner. Being dominated can be just as fun as holding the reins.

He’d strongly agreed, lending even more weight to her little daydream involving feathers, a leather bustier and a pair of fuzzy handcuffs.

Her pulse kicked up a notch. Images sped through her mind, most notably one of Matt tied up spread-eagle on her bed while she worked his stiff cock with her tongue, then finished him off with a reverse cowboy—

She choked on a chocolate chip and Bev laughed.