Texas Wildcat by Lindsay McKenna Page B

vastly different he was from Todd, whose acid tongue and scathing retorts did nothing but increase her own defensiveness. She was glad those days were gone.
    “Ms. Blanchard?” Susan called, opening the office door. Her secretary wore an agitated expression.
    Before Kelly could answer, Gage Wallace deftly stepped past the secretary. His self-assured smile brought Kelly’s blood to a quick boiling point.
    “That’s all right, Susan,” Kelly reassured the distraught woman. “You can leave now. Thank you.”
    Gage turned, his dark eyes narrowed. In his hand he held a dozen red roses. “I just happened to be in the Houston area for the week, Kelly.” He approached her desk and placed the bouquet on it. “I know you’ll forgive me for dropping in without notice, but it’s almost quitting time. I’ve made reservations at the Royden Oaks Country Club for us tonight.”
    Her face grew tight, her emerald eyes flashing with barely contained anger. “You won’t give up, will you?” she hissed, clenching her fists at the sides of her lavender dress.
    Gage gave her a viperous smile. “You’re a little too confident of yourself under the circumstances, Kelly.”
    The coldness in his voice made her tremble inwardly but she was damned if he was going to know it. She jutted out her chin, placing her hands on her hips.
    “You’re not making sense—as usual.”
    “No?” One black brow rose. “As I predicted, word’s going around about Blanchard Pipe’s failures. You’re swimming into some very murky waters, Kelly. If you had any business sense at all, you’d let me buy into your company. I could bail you out with my good name.”
    She wanted to laugh. And then she wanted to curse him. She leaned forward, hands flat against her desk. “Get this straight, Gage. I want nothing, nothing from you! You found a way to get Todd out of your partnership and remove him. You got away with that. But you won’t pull that kind of maneuver on me. I wouldn’t care if you were the only steel and aluminum manufacturer in the country, I wouldn’t buy from you! Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
    She was trembling, wanting to strike his too handsome face. Gage Wallace represented everything she hated about big business. He was amoral, competitive to the point of being cutthroat.
    Gage smiled, holding her furious gaze. “As usual, you do. I see you haven’t stopped shooting straight from the hip, Kelly.”
    She straightened up. “Don’t go playing hurt little boy with me! You can take that poor puppy wounded look and leave.”
    He tapped one carefully manicured finger on the desk top. “Never did fool you, did I, Kelly?” he asked softly. “You always knew where I was coming from. You know, we would make one hell of a team in the oil and gas industry. The two of us. With your beauty and bravado coupled with my business sense, we could corner the pipe market.”
    She felt nausea rising in her throat. “What does it take to make you understand I want nothing to do—”
    “Kelly…”
    Her heart pounded wildly as her head snapped up. Sam Tyler stood just inside the door, his face tense. Wallace lost none of his cool as he turned. The silence was tense as the two men glared at one another, shock written on both of their faces.
    “Wallace…” Tyler snarled in a low, menacing voice. And then his angry blue gaze settled on Kelly. Immediately the anger disappeared. “Kelly, grab your things. We’ve got a call.”
    It was as if lightning had struck the office. For a moment Kelly was frozen to the spot. Wallace and Tyler knew one another! How? Where? A hundred fragmented thoughts whirled through her mind. Then she shook herself and walked quickly around the desk and past Wallace. Just as she passed him, he reached out, gripping her upper arm, and swung her around. Her lips parted in surprise. Before she could utter a word of protest she heard Sam mutter an obscenity.
    “I believe the lady made herself clear,” Tyler warned. He