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professional, let’s-talk-the-deal smile fought with her rebellious lips’ urge to pucker up and beg for the gorgeous man’s kisses. Oh, man, she was losing it.
    â€œMr. Brant.”
    Firm lips curved in a smile, revealing perfectly even, white teeth. “I thought it was Simon.”
    â€œSimon,” she conceded. “Thank you for inviting me.”
    He inclined his head and stepped back, indicating she should come inside.
    She stepped over the threshold of the door and for one disconcerting second felt as if she’d made an irrevocable decision that would change the rest of her life. Shaking the feeling off as highly fanciful, she extended her hand toward him. “I look forward to showing you the many benefits of the proposed merger between Brant Computers and Extant Corporation.”
    Simon took her hand, but he didn’t shake it. He squeezed her fingers and bent forward. For one incredulous moment, she thought he was going to kiss her hand, but he didn’t. He simply dropped his head forward in a cross between an Oriental bow and an Old World gesture.
    He straightened and dropped her hand. “Jacob’s prepared lunch. It’s waiting for us in the great room.”
    Was that a veiled hint about her slight tardiness?
    He turned and led the way down a hallway, his feet making no sound on the hardwood floor while her shoes tapped out a firm tattoo with each step.
    The hall took a sharp right and she stopped in awe at the entrance to the room. It gave the term great room new meaning. It was huge, at least twenty by forty feet, but it wasn’t the size that had her so captivated. The entire forty-foot wall opposite the entrance was glass with a view of the Sound and Mt. Rainier off in the distance.
    Simon stopped and turned to her. “Like it?”
    â€œIt’s fantastic.” No wonder the guy preferred to work out of his home, with a home like this.
    â€œOther than the necessary structural bracing, this entire side of the house is made up of reinforced glass and windows.”
    â€œHow many floors are there?”
    â€œThree. The pool and gym are on the floor below us. Jacob’s living quarters, the kitchen, guest room, and this room are on this level, and my living quarters and lab are upstairs.”
    Her gaze slid around the room they were in. Its simplistic design and furnishings had Oriental overtones, but nothing glossy and lacquered. It was all fruitwood, simple lines and natural hues for the upholstery. “This really is magnificent. You must enjoy living here quite a bit.”
    The house was much bigger than the home she had shared with Lance and in many ways more grand, yet it still felt like a home. It reflected its owner’s complex, but deceptively simple-appearing approach to life.
    â€œThank you.” He took her arm and led her to the dining table in front of one of the massive twin stone fireplaces at either end of the room. “Let’s have lunch and you can tell me a little about yourself.”
    She allowed him to seat her, feeling strange about a business associate observing the courtesy. In LA, she was used to being treated the same way as her male counterparts in the corporate world.
    Flicking her cloth napkin open and then laying it across her lap, she said, “I’m not all that interesting, but I don’t think you’ll find the same true of Extant’s proposal.”
    His smile flashed along with a determined glint in his gray eyes that gave her pause. “I prefer to know a person before I discuss business with them. It probably comes from working for a family held company.”
    â€œI see.”
    â€œGood.”
    She looked down at the pasta in pesto sauce attractively presented in a flat china bowl. “This looks wonderful.”
    â€œJacob’s rather proud of his culinary talents.”
    â€œHe’s a unique individual.” She meant to be diplomatic.
    He laughed, the sound affecting