Wildest Hearts

she had anticipated. Try as she would, she could not bring herself to feel like Oliver's roommate.

    The complex, enigmatic man down the hall was beginning to haunt her. Her emotions were in a constant state of turmoil these days. Part of her longed to reach out to Oliver, to lure him from his dark lair into the light. Another part of her warned that any move to rescue Oliver could lead to disaster for herself.

    Unable to concentrate on the stack of invoices she had been studying, Annie pushed the papers aside and got to her feet. She crossed the gray slate floor and went down the hall to the kitchen. Maybe a cup of tea would snap her out of her strange mood.

    She flipped on the light and smiled wryly at the gleaming surfaces. Bolt had cooked tonight, so naturally things were immaculate. Annie wondered what he did when he went downstairs to his own apartment in the evenings. Now that she knew something about his past she could no longer think of him as an android.

    Annie filled the stainless-steel kettle and set it on the stove. While she waited for the water to boil, she rummaged around in the cupboards for tea and a pot. A moment later a faint whistle from the kettle announced the water was ready. Annie reached for it.

    It wasn't until she realized that she had made enough tea for two that she knew what she was going to do. She put two cups and saucers on the tray before she could change her mind. Then she picked up the tray, went back down the hall to the study, and knocked once.

    “Come in.” Oliver's voice was a dark rumble behind the door.

    Annie took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and walked into the room.

    Oliver was seated behind the ebony desk. His black hair was tied back in a ponytail as usual. The collar of his gray shirt was unbuttoned and the sleeves were rolled up on his forearms. When he looked up, the bright halogen light from his desk lamp gleamed on the lenses of his reading glasses.

    Annie liked the glasses. Oliver looked more approachable when he was wearing them.

    “What is it, Annie?”

    “I thought you might like some tea.”

    He removed his glasses with a deliberate gesture and glanced at the tray in her hands. There was cool pleasure in his gaze when he raised his eyes to meet hers. “Thank you.”

    She set the tray down on the desk and poured two cups. She was chagrined to realize that her fingers were trembling. “How are things going?”

    “Fairly well. I've finished going through the financial data. I'm looking at the research and development reports now.” Oliver took the cup from her hand. “Your brother was a true genius. Not many men have a talent for both invention and management.”

    “You mean heis a genius,” Annie corrected. She lounged on the edge of the desk and swung one leg as she sipped her tea. “He'll be back, Oliver.”

    “I hope for your sake that he will return.”

    Annie swung her leg a couple more times. “You know, I've been wondering if I should be in here in the evenings, going over the same reports you're going over. It probably wouldn't hurt for me to familiarize myself with the inner workings of Lyncroft.”

    “We've discussed this before, Annie. I thought we agreed that you would trust me to handle Lyncroft for you until Daniel returns.”

    “Of course I trust you,” she said quickly. “It's just that it's my brother's firm and I do have an obligation to keep an eye on things.”

    “You're busy with a business of your own. If you get too involved with Lyncroft, Wildest Dreams will suffer. A small business needs the full attention of its owner.”

    “I know.” She chewed on that one for a minute. “All the same, I feel I should know more about what's going on at Lyncroft.”

    “I see.” Oliver put down his cup and got to his feet. He walked over to the Zen rock garden and stood studying the pattern in the sand for a long moment. “Your renewed insistence on taking a more active interest in Lyncroft wouldn't have anything to do with whatever it was you and Sybil talked about at lunch a few days ago, would it?”

    Annie abruptly stopped swinging her leg. “You knew I had lunch with her?”

    “Yes.”

    “How did you know about that, Oliver?”

    “Does it matter?”

    Annie bit her lip. “Yes, I think it does. I didn't mention it to you.”

    “Why didn't you mention it, Annie?”

    The very softness of the question made her go quite still. “Sybil said you might be annoyed if you knew she'd taken me