Her quick intake of air and the look of surprise on her transparent face had Jordon wondering if he'd taken his flirtation too far and then, just as he as about to back away and answer her questions, she rallied. Giving him a long narrowed eyed look followed by what he could only describe as a don't-push-your-luck-too-far-smirk, she inched her chair close enough for him to touch her when he wanted.

"So the answer to my question is, yes. You do bargain all the time. My guess is that you do it for a living, and you usually win. Am I right?" Reed said, sure of herself and her opinions.

Now that she was closer, not quite close enough to name her perfume, but close enough to touch the way he wanted to, Jordon ran the back of his hand lightly down her arm. When Reed didn't pull away he captured her hand in his, brought it to lips, and blew softly on her knuckles. He didn't touch his lips to her skin, she wasn't ready for that yet, but Jordon promised himself that she would be, soon.

Lowering their hands to his thigh, Jordon ran his fingers over her palm before entwining his fingers with her much smaller ones. Again, Reed didn't pull away, but her breathing was shallower than before. Her pulse beat strongly, rhythmically, at the base of her throat, no longer erratic but noticeably faster than it had been when they sat down.

"One question at a time. We've got all night." Jordon said.

If he had anything to say about it they'd have more than just tonight, they'd have at least thirty-one days beyond that. He needed his life back. The thought of William stripping away everything that mattered to him steeled Jordon's resolve. He'd do what ever it took to get back to work at B.H. again. He loved his work, it defined him. The board already approved him as William's successor on the condition that William vouch for him.

This whole wife thing was just another one of William's tests; just the latest in a long line of seemingly impossible tasks to groom Jordon for B.H.'s top spot. Jordon was getting sick of the crap, but he wasn't about to fail now. Not when he was so close. He'd pass William's test, it was just a question of how much it was going to cost him to do it. Any other result was unthinkable.