Chapter Four

Jewell scanned Benjamin"s handwritten notes once again with a frustrated huff. She had learned to decipher in her first week the jaunty, angled hieroglyphics he called penmanship without much problem. Now, well into week two, she barely had to ask for clarification. The difficult part was filling in the "holes" in his notes. He had his own form of making notes where words were left out, phrases were left incomplete, and acronyms were used whenever he felt appropriate.

This was one of those times when it just didn"t make sense. She read the scribbles over and over again, each time rendering a different interpretation. Except for this one final point the rest of the report was done. Jewell took off her reading glasses and stuck the end of one bow between her teeth.

She sat back in her chair and crossed her legs, shooting a glance at the clock. It was nearly four o"clock. With clarification on this final issue, she could finish the report and skip out early to get ready for the dinner party.

With a decisive nod, Jewell stood and headed for the door adjoining their offices. Most of the time they left it open so she could hear him come and go. Against the wall by the door leaned an elaborately ornate wooden cane. To most, it looked like a decorative piece, but for Jewell and Benjamin, it served a purpose. She picked up the rod and tapped its tip against the floor three times with a solid impact.

Benjamin looked up. A slow, lazy smile lifted one corner of his lips. It was the same smile he always greeted her with, and despite its repeated appearance, Jewell was still disarmed by it every time. He sat back in his chair, the back reclining slightly.

"Do you have a minute, Benjamin?" she signed with one hand, mouthing the words as well. He nodded and she crossed the room to stand behind his desk. She set the paperwork down on his blotter and pointed out the section she questioned. "I"m sorry, but I just can"t decipher this. Are you referring to the PE ratio or the annual percentage earnings?"

"Where?" he asked.

Jewell crouched down, trying to keep her balance on the balls of her feet. The new position brought her line of vision just below Benjamin as he sat in the chair. He swiveled to face her better and scooted closer to look at the paper. Feeling precariously balanced on her toes, Jewell hung on to the edge of the desk with one hand.

"This section right here," she said. There was no way she could sign and hang on at the same time. "I understand you"re comparing Hiramitsu to Hitachi, Samsung, and Nokia. This chart represents the rate of growth for all four in the last five years. But this number looks like it could be either a rate of growth or a price-to-earnings ratio."

Benjamin leaned closer and touched his fingertip to the paper, his palm partially covering the back of her hand. Immediate heat warmed Jewell"s skin and electric sensations raced up her arm, just as it had the week before when he"d touched her elbow when they walked. The revisiting of contact made her breath hitch and she jerked back. The quick movement threw her off balance and she flailed to remain upright.

Benjamin"s arm wrapped around her body as she reached for the nearest thing to hold on to—his thigh. He pulled her towards him and Jewell"s undignified fight ended as she leaned into his lap. By the time she stopped, one hand clutched desperately to the muscle above his knee and the other grasped the opposite side of his chair. The arm that caught her remained in place and Benjamin"s bicep brushed the side of her breast.

Jewell"s body tingled and heat rose high in her cheeks. Tentatively, she looked up.

His dark stare was bold and frank in its assessment. Jewell was intensely conscious of his nearness and the masculine scent that surrounded him. A slight late-day beard speckled his strong jaw. With the afternoon sun coming through the window, each whisker appeared as a golden fleck on his skin. Jewell"s lungs burned from holding her breath. She slowly released it as she came back on her heels.

The arm behind her slowly pulled back, but his fingertips left a searing trail as they moved across her back to her side. His palm remained against her ribcage, the pad of his thumb painfully close to the bottom side of her breast.

"Thank you," she whispered, thankful once again he couldn"t hear the weakness behind the words.

He nodded slightly. His intense gaze remained on her face and one tight muscle jerked along his jaw. Jewell"s heart skipped when his eyes diverted for a split second downward to the valley between her breasts exposed by the opening of her blouse. In a reflexive move, she tightened her grip on his thigh. Benjamin"s arm shot from her side to cover her hand with his own. His fingers lifted her palm off his leg, but they remained wrapped around her hand.

There was a quick knock at the door before it opened and Kevin Burke stepped in. Jewell shot straight up to a standing position, a hot flush burning her from toes to nose. She tugged down on her skirt, which had worked its way several inches up her thigh in the process.

"Good afternoon," Kevin said, but Jewell didn"t miss the momentary expression of shock on his face as he looked from her to Benjamin. "I don"t know why I knock, but I always do." His statement was slow, belying the amusement only Jewell heard in his voice.

"In lieu of a knock, you may consider checking with April," Jewell managed to say without snapping, but she doubted she"d hidden anything from Burke.

Benjamin stood slowly and picked up the paperwork from his desk. His leisurely smile and cool demeanor only added to Jewell"s heightened embarrassment. How could he be so calm? Did he have any idea what Kevin Burke thought he saw? Jewell could only imagine. With a trembling hand, she took the papers Benjamin handed to her.

"I was referring to the price-to-earnings ratio on the stock," Benjamin said in a steady voice. "Did you have any other questions?"

Jewell shook her head and stepped back from the desk. "No, that should be fine, Mr. Roth. I"ll have this done in fifteen minutes." She cursed the nervous twinge in her voice.

"No rush. I don"t need it until tomorrow."

Jewell nodded and did her best to make a graceful exit from the room. Her face was on fire. Somehow she managed to move around the desk and walk across the room without her legs giving way beneath her. Jewell glanced back at Benjamin and Kevin before closing the door to her office behind her.

They were deep in conversation, Benjamin standing on one side of the desk and Kevin on the other. Kevin"s back was to her. Benjamin didn"t look her way, but she caught his subtle sign. It meant calm down, but his slight smile eased the message.

She dared another glance at his face, and a slow grin lifted his lips although he didn"t look her way. The smile was meant for her. Jewell sighed and shut the door to allow the two fund managers to speak privately.

* * *

"So, your head was in his lap when the other guy came in?" Greg chuckled.

Jewell covered her eyes in embarrassment. "It sounds so much worse when you put it like that. My head wasn"t in his lap, but I"m sure it looked pretty close to that from the door. The desk would"ve hidden me from view for the most part. Until I stood up."

"What did he do?"

"Who? Benjamin or Mr. Burke?"

"Either one," Greg worked his fingers against her scalp as he styled her hair.

Jewell sighed and enjoyed the gentle pressure. Since she was a little girl, she"d always loved for her mother to comb and style her hair. It was a calming, soothing kind of contact. Now, when Jewell"s mother wasn"t around to do it, her friend Greg worked his magic.

"Well, needless to say, I saw the shock on Kevin Burke"s face. It doesn"t take a genius to figure out what he thought."

"What about Benjamin?"

Jewell shook her head and his hands flattened against her hair to silently tell her to sit still.

"He was so incredibly unaffected," Jewell declared as she lifted her hands off her lap. "After the fact, when I had a chance to think about it, I was annoyed. He just stood up, handed me the report, and acted as if nothing unusual at all was going on. He even told me to calm down!"

"With the other guy there?"

"Well, he signed it, kind of down by his leg where Mr. Burke couldn"t see."

Greg shook his head and met her eyes in the dresser mirror. Jewell nervously tapped her polished fingertips against the bare hollow at the base of her throat. He had been there for half an hour, and Jewell hadn"t stopped talking since he"d arrived. She was so thankful for a friend like Greg she could confide in. Greg listened, comforted, and sometimes lectured, but never judged.

He picked up her hairbrush and pulled it through the thick waves of her auburn hair. Jewell already wore a chocolate brown cocktail dress and some simple costume jewelry. Her makeup was done. All that was left was her hair. Greg twisted the thick mass and held it against her crown. His other hand pulled down stray curls. With a shake of his head, he let the coil drop.

"You want my honest opinion, hon?"

"Of course."

"Wear your hair down. I"ll fix it so it will stay off your forehead. It"s so thick and alive, it"s a shame to hide it. Besides, it"ll be sexy as hell."

Jewell diverted her eyes from the mirror. "I"m not trying to be sexy, Greg."

Greg"s eyebrows rose with an amused smirk on his lips. "Oh? When you saw yourself in that knockout dress, you didn"t think you were sexy?"

Jewell smiled. "Don"t you think it would be inappropriate?"

Greg made a dismissive sound with his lips. "Absolutely not. I think it"s time you show your boss a different side of you. I mean, you"ve been in his lap once already."

"Behave!"

He laughed and worked on a new approach to her hair. Half the time Jewell hated the thick, heavy mass of reddish-brown waves. Especially in the hot, humid Boston summer. It had a mind of its own and didn"t like to be confined to the prim, businesslike styles she preferred for the office. But the other half of the time she was happy with the deep copper highlights and natural body. Maybe tonight was the kind of night it would be an advantage instead of a burden.

Jewell"s mind drifted. Despite her embarrassment over the events of the afternoon, a warm sensation danced over her skin when she remembered it. Jewell recalled the hard definition of his thigh beneath her hand. The muscles of his biceps pressed against her side, creating pleasant ripples through her. He smelled so damn good! Like sandalwood, mountain air, and menthol shaving cream.

She sighed. Greg"s laughter broke her reverie. Jewell glanced in the mirror and saw the red flush in her cheeks.

"Oh, leave me alone," she ordered.

"Is he attractive?"

Despite herself, a wide smile spread across her face. Greg tilted his head back and laughed loudly.

"I guess that"s my answer," he roared.

"Is this horrible of me?" Jewell asked, and her hands rose in question. "I mean, isn"t it completely unprofessional and stupid?"

Greg"s mouth opened and he pointed at her in the mirror. But before he could respond, Jewell continued in a hurried voice. Her pulse beat at a furious pace in her throat, fueling her need to talk as quickly as possible and get it all out.

"It"s not like I want this. I don"t. But he just—I swear, Greg, from the moment I saw him…" She couldn"t finish the sentence. It was too hard to describe how she felt the first time. "I am horrible."

"Horrible? No. Just don"t let it go past a little flirting if that. Romance in the workplace is not smart, hun. Ever. You"ll get burned. It"s inevitable." His hands rested on her shoulders. "You know what happened with Mark and me."

She nodded. The fallout had lingered for months after Greg"s five-year relationship with his boss had ended. Although their relationship was great while it lasted, the breakup was nasty and drawn out. Before they"d started seeing each other, Jewell had been the one to warn her friend against business entanglements. Now, the shoe was on the other foot.

Jewell"s shoulders slumped. "I know. And I have no intentions to allow anything to happen. Besides, this is all one-sided anyway."

* * *

Benjamin watched the cars and buildings slowly move by from the back seat of his limousine. He could have driven to the dinner party himself and usually preferred to do his own driving, but not tonight. If he had to focus on navigating the crowded streets of Boston, he wouldn"t be able to keep his attention on Jewell. He could talk as he drove and catch her signs here and there, but that wasn"t enough.

He wanted to be able to look at her. It was impossible to take in too much of Jewell Kincaid. She was stunning, sexy, and enticing as all hell. At first, he dreaded the sweet torture of her presence. Now, he avidly looked forward to it.

Jewell certainly added spice and heat to his day. It was now something beyond the bland, sometimes monotonous routine of meetings and research. There was absolutely nothing routine about having her practically fall in his lap that afternoon.

Benjamin took a deep breath and clenched his fists in his lap at the memory. No woman, however wanton and inviting, had ever looked so tantalizing as Jewell while she fought for her balance. It was instinct that shot his arm out to support her, but the incredible feeling of her body kept it there. Her dainty hand on his thigh heated his blood until it threatened to blow unceremoniously out his ears. Despite his usual steel control, Benjamin"s eyes were drawn to the deep valley nestled between her breasts. The conservative suits she wore did little to hide her feminine silhouette, and at the angle she leaned into him, the view was unadulterated.

He knew the tension of the moment wasn"t one-sided. Jewell"s cheeks had flushed, and her glistening eyes looked up at him with hesitation, but no irritation. When his gaze lowered to her beautiful breasts the grip on his thigh was an excruciating torture. Benjamin pulled her fingers away, not because he didn"t want the contact, but because if it continued, common sense might not have prevailed.

Benjamin constantly reminded himself of who he was and who she was. They worked together. More than that, he was her superior within the company hierarchy. Bulwark didn't have any firm personnel rules, but he had a rule never to become sexually involved with a coworker. It left nasty entanglements and lingering resentments when things ended. Many times over the years he"d witnessed peers who had given in to temptation, and paid later.

He shook his head. Even if Jewell didn"t work for him, she probably had a boyfriend, anyway. Some smart guy out there held her heart, and several soft body parts, in his hands.

It was a bad idea to spend time with her outside the control-imposing walls of Bulwark. Benjamin convinced himself this still qualified as work, thus completely above board. The dinner party was to wine and dine some venture capitalists who had expressed interest in developing a working relationship with Bulwark and some of the other large trust firms in the region. If it worked out, this could bring millions of dollars in assets to the firm. Having Jewell with him would just make the evening easier. That was the only reason he"d asked her to come.

Benjamin shook his head. He knew better, but the excuse sounded good. How many countless parties and functions had he attended without someone to act as an interpreter? In the past, he had done just fine. Or at the least, he made damn sure he did just fine.

The limousine pulled parallel to the bumper-to-bumper cars parked along the street and stopped. Stephen turned and signed through the window that this was the address. Stephen would circle the block until Benjamin texted him to pick them up since there were no available spaces, let alone one large enough for a limo. Benjamin nodded and exited the car. Outside, he stood and looked around him. It was a nice neighborhood. The streets were lined with brownstones, most of which were probably converted to apartments decades earlier. He frowned against the heat outside the air-conditioned interior of the car. It was so damn hot in the city, and the humidity was smothering.

Benjamin checked the number on the front of the buildings to find Jewell"s. Stephen had done well to drop him directly in front of it. He adjusted his tuxedo"s black tie and bounded up the granite steps. A series of locked mailboxes and the control panel of an intercom system greeted him inside the front door.

He found the button with "Kincaid, J R" beside it. Benjamin frowned. J and R? Who was the R? Could Kincaid be a married name?

Just as quickly as the thought occurred to him, he pushed it aside and pressed the button with his thumb. His other palm covered the speaker. Seconds later, a slight vibration ran across his skin.

"It"s Benjamin," he spoke towards the wall speaker. He moved his hand to the door. The handle pulsed in his grip and he pulled back. The door opened.

The halls of the building were stuffy and humid and the elevator was worse. Benjamin wiped away a light sheen of sweat from his upper lip by the time he reached the third floor. He read the numbers on the doors as he walked down the hall. Benjamin fought down the vicious clenching of his gut at the anticipation of seeing Jewell. He mentally scolded himself for such a foolhardy and uncharacteristic reaction. Attraction had never been this debilitating before.

The door opened before his knuckles hit the wood a second time. He tried to hide his surprise at the person standing there. She was maybe nineteen or twenty years old, with outrageously dark makeup, spiked, bright red hair, and an assortment of facial jewelry. Without even attempting to hide the fact, she took him in from head to toe and smiled. Her hand came up in an arched wave.

"She is almost ready," she stated. "I"m Ruby, her sister."

"Nice to meet you, Ruby," he said and extended his hand. "Benjamin Roth."

This was the "R" on the mailbox. To his own surprise, he felt relieved. It wasn"t a secret husband after all. Mentally, he jerked himself back. What did he care if she was married, or not? Involved, or not.

He pushed his hands into the front pockets of the tailored tuxedo slacks and stepped into the entry hall of Jewell"s apartment. The interior was considerably cooler than the stuffy hallway. Immediately in front of him was the entry to a small kitchen painted in bright yellow and cream. The hall extended to his left and right. On the left, three closed doors lined the way. The end of the hall to his right opened into a roomy space that seemed to serve as both the living room and dining room.

The walls were laden with framed photographs of all sizes. Some hung in clusters, while larger portraits remained on their own. On the section of wall between the kitchen and living room hung one such frame. It was a professionally shot family portrait in a gold-painted frame. Ignoring Ruby"s unwavering eyes, Benjamin examined the picture.

He assumed it was Jewell"s family. She stood in the back of the clustered group. On one side stood Ruby, dressed only slightly less shocking than right now, but with bright teal hair. On the other side was a man who appeared to be in his early to mid-thirties. His hair was coal black, and his skin was dark in comparison to Jewell's. She was shockingly pale beside him. Her red hair and emerald eyes stood out prominently. Neither Ruby nor the man had such intense eyes.

Jewell stood an inch, maybe two inches, taller than her brother. They weren"t lined up by height. If they were lined by age, that would make Jewell the next to oldest. How old did that make her? Her résumé told him the years she attended college and the number of years of work experience she had behind her. Making an educated assumption based on those facts, he put her somewhere between twenty-seven and thirty.

Seated in the picture was an older couple. The man"s hair was white, full and thick. He wore thick-framed glasses and an old-fashioned wool jacket. In his hand was a smoking pipe. On his knee sat a small sprite of a girl with white-blonde hair and pale blue eyes. Her skin was even paler than Jewell"s, almost appearing translucent. Bright red lips smiled unselfconsciously at the photographer. Finally, seated beside the man was a delicate, frail-looking woman. Her salt-and-pepper hair was wound in a feminine, yet demure, hairstyle. At least one hand of each of her children rested on the matriarchal figure"s shoulders.

They were the most diverse and unconnected group Benjamin had ever seen.

A movement down the apartment"s hall drew his attention. All air sucked from his lungs as Benjamin caught a glimpse of Jewell as she came down the hall. In a tailored suit and pedantic hairstyle, she emanated sensuality. But now, in a slinky cocktail dress of brown silk that accentuated every feminine curve of her body, Jewell was a goddess.

She stepped towards them, a beautiful smile on her lips and a demure color on her cheeks. One delicate hand reached up to adjust the sparkling stud in her ear, and she wiggled the fingers of her other hand in greeting.

"Hello, Benjamin," he read on her lips and his lungs constricted. God, those lips!

She raised her hands to sign as she spoke, and Benjamin caught a glance of bare skin beneath her arm to her waist. He swallowed and pulled his eyes away to focus on what she said.

"This is my sister, Ruby," she told him, indicating the younger girl who answered the door. "Ruby lives here with me."

"We met." Ruby had a wide, knowing smile on her face and she raised her hand in another wave. She even winked at him.

Benjamin turned back to Jewell in time to see a man exiting the bedroom at the end of the hall. He was tall and broad-shouldered. Immediate resentment hit Benjamin"s chest. When the new man reached Jewell, his hand went to the small of her back, and he leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"Have a good time," Benjamin watched him say. The man turned to him and extended his hand. Ben took it. The grip was firm and direct. "Hi. Greg Jacobs."

"Benjamin Roth."

The newcomer made his farewells and moved past Benjamin to leave the apartment. Okay, so she might not be married, but she was possibly involved. Again, for the second time in five minutes, Benjamin cursed himself. Especially for the kinds of things he had in mind.

"I just need to get my evening bag and I"ll be ready to leave," she told him and turned to go back to her room.

She walked away and Benjamin"s throat constricted. The sight of her nearly took his breath away. Auburn waves of luxuriously thick hair flowed to the middle of her back. She turned her head and the waves undulated like the surface of the ocean with a light wind. From the ends of her hair, until the dress came to a point beneath the small of her back, her skin was bare. The cut of the dress accentuated the indentation of her waist and the soft curve of her hips. Liquid fabric shifted around her calves as she walked. Benjamin thought he caught a glimpse of two small dimples on either side of her spine just within the outline of the dress.

Ruby leaned back against the wall and watched him. Benjamin pulled his eyes away from Jewell"s enticing derrière and met her sister"s stare. Her grin was huge and expressed some secret knowledge she was unwilling to share. Looking at her, there was no family resemblance between the two sisters. Of course, one or both of them might have colored their hair—no, Jewell"s hair was too beautiful to be fabricated where Ruby's red was from a box—but there was no similitude in the facial structures. This girl was willowy with dainty features. Jewell was considerably taller and her body more womanly and curvaceous. A change like that might come with time because Ruby had to be several years younger than Jewell, but he just didn"t see it happening. Then again, there was no resemblance between any of the people in the portrait.

"Nice tux," Ruby signed.

Jewell came down the hall again, a small rhinestone evening bag held in one dainty hand. She gave her sister a twenty-dollar bill, and for his sake, signed the conversation.

"Call in for dinner tonight. I"m sorry, but I didn"t get a chance to throw anything in the oven."

"Okay. It"s too hot to cook, anyway. I"m going out later with some kids from school. We"re going back to campus for some research in the library. We might go to the movies."

Benjamin wasn"t sure why, but it surprised him both sisters were so competent in Sign. Jewell said once she was very fluent. Who was deaf that both sisters would know it so well? Could they be CODAs?

"Fine. I"ll see you when you get home."

Benjamin opened the door and held it for her as she stepped into the hall. He pulled the door shut, and as he did, his arm came in contact with the bare flesh of her back. The intoxicating scent of her hair drifted to him and he inhaled deeply. Her shoes were slightly higher than the ones she wore to the office because the top of her head was closer to eye level with him.

He released the doorknob and rested his palm at her waist. Beneath his touch, he felt her draw up straighter. She turned her head and looked up at him. Her features seemed more glamorous tonight. He didn"t know whether it was from the makeup or the hairstyle, but he liked it.

"You"re beautiful tonight," he said, not wanting to take his hand from her back to sign. "I think you should wear this to work sometime."

Jewell smiled and color rose in her pale cheeks. She tipped her chin down and looked up at him through her lashes. "Thank you. But I don"t think this is appropriate for the office."

Benjamin met her gaze. "Maybe not."

Unable to avoid the purely carnal temptation, he reached up and touched the thick mass of copper hair. It was softer than he imagined. Filaments of fine silk wrapped around his fingers and tickled his palm. He lifted a luxurious tress near his nose and inhaled deeply.

"I had no idea you hid so much hair. It's beautiful."

Jewell"s eyes widened and he felt her breath catch. He was dangerously close to making a very big mistake, so with gentle pressure, he urged her towards the stairs.