going to spend the whole day shopping?” she asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
“Probably not the whole day, no. I’m sure Ms. Adams will have some other things up her sleeve to make your transformation complete.”
“And will you be accompanying us on this … this expedition?”
She made it sound like an unwelcome hunting trip.
“Until about two. I have meetings this afternoon that I can’t get out of so I’ll have to leave you in her hands at that stage but I will see you for dinner tonight.”
“Do I get any choice in this?”
There was that delicious hint of steel in her voice, as if beneath the timidity she really did have a will of iron. For some reason, Will found that incredibly appealing. Would she be like that in the bedroom? he wondered. Would she be sweet and compliant, then take control? Take him? An unexpected flood of heat suffused him, sending blood to his groin in a torrent of need.
“Oh, yes. You will have a choice.” He hesitated and saw the way her shoulders relaxed, how her chest filled with air, the way her generous breasts moved beneath the serviceable fabric of her suit jacket, before continuing, “Up to a point.”
“I won’t let you dress me to look like some whore.”
Ah, there it was again. That edge of strength. Will forced himself to rein in the urge to cross the distance between them and show her just how good it would be to let him take charge. Too soon, he reminded himself.
“Don’t worry, that’s the furthest thing from my mind,” he said.
A knock at the door interrupted the weighted silence that spread between them.
“That’ll be Ms. Adams.”
He crossed the carpeted sitting room of his suite and swung open the heavy wooden door.
Margaret stood exactly where he’d left her. Focusing on each inward and outward breath. This was going to be so much more difficult than she’d anticipated. Yesterday it had sounded so simple. Work as his executive assistant. Pretend to be his fiancée. Keep Jason out of jail.
But the thought of William Tanner selecting her clothing, of him grooming her so specifically for the role she’d agreed to take on, sent a shiver of caution rippling through her. How would she stand it? She, who so carefully chose her work attire from Time Again, a thrift store supplied by the more affluent areas in town. Everything she bought was good quality, if a little dated. Did it really matter that much?
Imagining him waiting outside the dressing room as she tried on items of clothing for his approval made her uncomfortable just thinking about it. Uncomfortable, and something else. Something that went deeper than the idea that a man would have the final say on what she wore and how she looked on a daily basis. Something that sent a throb of longing from a place deep inside of her—a place she’d ruthlessly controlled and held in submission from the day she’d assumed guardianship of Jason.
She had responsibilities. Sure she’d had the occasional boyfriend, some had even become lovers—she was, after all, only human. But she’d never allowed herself to take a step beyond that—to allow herself to fully engage her feelings. Right now, she had the distinct impression it was going to be a whole lot more difficult to keep that distance from William Tanner.
“Meet Paige Adams.”
William’s voice interrupted her thoughts and Margaret forced her concentration back to the moment. She’d been fully prepared to dislike the woman on sight, in a petty attempt to assert herself over Will’s directives, but it was difficult to summon a shred of antipathy toward the vibrant young woman now standing before her. Her skin was fresh and smooth and a friendly smile wreathed her face, while her unusual violet-colored eyes shone with delight.
Dressed in a sharply tailored suit that shrieked the kind of designer chic Maggie had always wished she could pull off, and a pair of high-heeled pumps that wouldn’t go astray on a show like Sex and the City, the woman exuded both confidence and an air of affluence with effortless ease. Her well-styled hair, tamed into a neat chignon, was a shimmering pale blond that complemented the milky tone of her smooth skin. From the look of her she probably never had to worry about how she’d looked a single day in her life.
“Ms. Adams, I’m Margaret Cole,” Maggie said, deciding to take the upper hand and not allow herself to be presented as a victim to the slaughter.
“Margaret, please, call me Paige. I’m delighted to meet you. Would you excuse me?” she asked and reached for the buttons on Maggie’s jacket. “I like to see what I’m working with right from the start.”
Maggie stiffened as Paige’s fingers nimbly flew over the solid metal buttons fastening the front of her jacket. She wore only a thin blouse beneath the confining garment. A blouse she’d only chosen because she never—absolutely never—took her jacket off in the office. An early developer, she’d learned at a very young age how best to hide what made her a magnet for undesirable attention from males of all ages. Starting with her sixth-grade classmates when she’d changed from a gangly stick insect to a curvaceous boy-magnet in the space of a few months.
Maggie’s eyes flew to Will’s face as Paige handed him the jacket with a distracted, “Hold this.” Would he be the same as so many others? Would he forget she was actually a person and not simply a body?
His sherry brown eyes met hers as Paige appraised her project with a critical eye. Maggie waited for the moment when his eyes would drop, as every man’s did, to her breasts. But he never wavered, not even for a moment, and when Paige took Maggie’s jacket from him and helped her back into it, Maggie felt a bone-deep relief. Maybe being around him wasn’t going to be so difficult after all.
“This is going to be wonderful,” Paige said enthusiastically. “How long did you say we have?”
“We have a dinner reservation for seven-thirty this evening,” Will said in response.
“Oh, that’s less time than I thought. Never mind, I can do this.” She reached out and gave Margaret’s hand an encouraging squeeze. “We can do this. You’re great material to work with. You won’t know yourself when I’m done. Trust me.”
Strangely enough, Maggie did. Despite Paige’s air of command and immaculate appearance, there was a warmth about her that drew Maggie in immediately.
Paige turned to William and said, “Shall we go then?”
“Certainly.” Will bowed his head slightly, a bemused smile curving his lips and revealing the slightest dimple in his right cheek. “I’m at your disposal for the next few hours, then I have to head back for some meetings and leave you two to it.”
Maggie felt a frisson of disquiet that he’d be accompanying them. It wasn’t something he hadn’t already told her, and since he was paying for everything it made sense he’d want a say in what his money went toward, but the prospect of parading before him made her incredibly nervous. She, who never tried to draw attention to herself, would now be the very center of attention. Attention from a man who she found almost irresistibly attractive.
Her pulse picked up a notch as he placed a warm hand at the small of her back and shepherded her before him as they left his suite. The action strangely intimate, and totally unsettling at the same time.
