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“You’ve never had a boyfriend?"
He eyed her disbelievingly.
Just the one. Simon. But he had died. And she hadn’t allowed herself to love anyone since him.
Liam’s mouth twisted. “You seem to be taking a long time finding an answer to that question,” he taunted.
She drew in a deep, steadying breath. She had no intention of owning up to a boyfriend, because she had no intention of talking about Simon. Certainly not to this man.
“Why is my personal life of interest to you, Liam?” She used his first name deliberately now, the familiarity putting them back on an equal footing. “Our discussion is merely on a business level,” she reminded him firmly.
He calmly met the challenge in her gaze. “I like to know all there is to know about the people I do business with."
For the attention of the Reader
Dear Madam,
Re: 9 to 5
We have pleasure in drawing your attention to our new series of stories with company settings. You have written to us at Harlequin Presents on many occasions to tell us how much you enjoy office romances. So, it is at the top of our agenda to give you six sizzling months of business affairs.
Because you’re the boss and we work to give you nothing but the best, the first vacancy in the 9 to 5 series is filled by your very favorite author, Carole Mortimer. We can guarantee that her story of Juliet and Liam, as they struggle to save their company and not to fall for each other, will entertain and enthrall you right to its very end.
9 to 5: it’s the business!
Sincerely,
The Editor
Two’s Company
Carole Mortimer
‘YOU’RE standing in the way of my view.’
Juliet turned towards the source of the voice, startled out of her early morning reverie by its intrusion, even more startled when she saw the man frowning across at her as he lay on a lounger on the patio a short distance away.
She had been totally unaware of anyone else’s presence as she stood near the sea-shore staring out across the calm water, the beauty of the sunrise reflected on that water also lost on her as she wondered how much longer she was going to have to stay here. To most people it wouldn’t have been a hardship to stay on at this exclusive hotel on the paradise island of Majorca, but Juliet wasn’t most people, and she wasn’t here to enjoy herself!
And she certainly wasn’t in the mood to put up with what she considered to be this man’s rudeness; he might have paid to stay in this hotel too—as she knew, very much so!—but the cost of his hotel suite didn’t give him exclusive rights to the view.
Grey eyes surrounded by long dark lashes flashed a warning of her displeasure at being attacked in this way. ‘I thought the view belonged to everyone,’ she snapped back, putting up a hand to push the heavy swath of her blazing red hair back over her shoulder, having left her own suite earlier without bothering to secure it at her nape as she usually did.
She had been on the island almost a week now, and she found the nights the most difficult to deal with. She had no trouble keeping herself occupied during the day, but at night she would fall into a troubled sleep for a couple of hours, and then wake up at about three o’clock in the morning unable to go back to sleep again. She had taken to going for long walks along the sea-shore as soon as it became light, and this morning had been no exception.
Two more days, she had decided on this morning’s walk, and then she would give up her vigil and go back home to England. She was solving absolutely nothing by staying on here anyway; the person she had come here to see just wasn’t going to put in an appearance,
