“My boyfriend proposed last night.” A smile lifted her lips as she held up her left hand.
“Wow! Congratulations! I’m so happy for you.” She gave Clara a brief hug.
Clara pulled back. “Thank you. It really was a surprise. We’ve been together for over five years now. I’d pretty much given up on him ever proposing. Anyway the plan is we catch a plane tomorrow and elope in Vegas followed by a honeymoon in Napa Valley. I can’t postpone it. I don’t want him changing his mind.”
“Don’t worry. Everything will work out.” She was happy that Clara was finally getting her happily-ever-after. Holly didn’t see such a rosy future for herself, but it didn’t mean she didn’t believe it could happen for others. “What can I do to help?”
“I know this is a lot to ask, but I need you to fill in for me while I’m off on my honeymoon.”
“What?” Clara wanted her to be Finn’s assistant? No. Impossible. Finn would never agree. She must have misunderstood. “You want me to be Mr. Lockwood’s assistant?”
Clara nodded. “It won’t be for long.”
Her friend had absolutely no idea what she was asking of her. None whatsoever. She’d given Finn her word that she’d stay clear of him just as he’d agreed to do the same for her.
Now it appeared she had to make a very difficult choice—keep her word to Finn or keep her friendship with Clara. Holly’s stomach plummeted into her Louis Vuittons. She desperately wanted to do both.
But that wasn’t possible.
THERE HAD TO be a way out.
But how? Holly couldn’t bear to hurt Clara’s feelings. But Holly acting as Finn’s assistant for even the briefest time would be at the very least awkward. It’d raise too many memories—memories best left alone.
How did she explain that this arrangement would never work? No one knew about that special evening she’d spent with Finn. And it had to remain that way.
Holly smoothed a nonexistent wrinkle from her skirt. “I can’t just move up here. What about my work in the legal department?”
Clara sent her a pleading look with her eyes. “If that’s all you’re worried about, I worked it out with your boss. You are temporarily transferred here. But don’t worry. Working for Mr. Lockwood comes with benefits.”
She’d already sampled Mr. Lockwood’s benefits and they were unforgettable, but she was certain that was not what Clara meant. “Did you talk this over with F...ah, Mr. Lockwood?”
Clara’s eyes momentarily widened at Holly’s slip of the tongue. “I did and he’s on board.”
He was? Really? She was running out of excuses about why this wouldn’t work. But maybe this was the break she was looking for. If Finn was open to taking her on as his assistant, would it be such a stretch to think he’d consider giving her a personal referral?
It was time she left Lockwood International. And like a sign, there was an opening at another Fortune 500 company for an assistant to the lead counsel. She’d heard about the position through a friend of a friend. But the attorney was older and wanted someone closer to his age with top qualifications.
The cards were stacked against Holly as she was in her twenties and her experience was so-so, depending on what the position required. But it would be a big boost for her and it would make it possible for her mother to make her time off permanent.
Holly had come up with one thing that just might make gaining the new position a real possibility, a letter of recommendation from Finn—a well-respected businessman. Although she hadn’t quite figured out how to approach him. But then again, it appeared he’d taken that problem out of her hands.
After all, she’d only have to be his PA for one week and then he’d be on his annual holiday. She’d have the office to herself. In the meantime, it wasn’t like they were going to be working in the same office. He’d be down the hall behind a closed door and she’d be out here. If he could make it work, then so could she.
“I’ll do it.”
Clara’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “I was hoping you’d say that. I can spend the rest of today going over current projects with you, but first let’s go get you introduced to Mr. Lockwood.”
On wooden legs, Holly followed Clara down the hallway. Her morning coffee sloshed in her stomach, making her nauseated. Keep it together. Just act professional.
Clara knocked on the door and then entered. Holly followed her inside. Her heart picked up its pace as her gaze eagerly sought him out. His hair appeared freshly trimmed. And the blue button-up accentuated his broad, muscular shoulders. Holly swallowed hard.
He glanced up from his computer monitor. Was that surprise reflected in his blue-gray eyes? It couldn’t be. He’d approved this scenario. In a blink, the look was gone.
“Mr. Lockwood, I’d like to introduce Holly Abrams.” Clara’s voice drew Holly from her thoughts. “She’s from the legal department.”
“We’ve met.” His gaze moved between the two women. “The question is what’s she doing in my office?”
Clara sent him a nervous smile. “She’s agreed to step up and fill in for me while I’m away on my honeymoon. Her boss in legal gave nothing but rave reviews about her.”
“I see.” Finn’s gaze moved to Holly.
What was she missing here? Hadn’t Clara said Finn had approved of this temporary assignment? She forced a smile to her lips as his intense gaze held her captive. Her heart continued to race and her palms grew damp. She should say something, but the jumbled words in her mind refused to form a cohesive sentence.
Clara spoke, breaking the mounting silence. “She’ll do a really good job for you.”
“I don’t know about this.” Finn leaned back in the black leather chair. “Why don’t you give us a moment to talk?” Clara made a discreet exit. It wasn’t until the door snicked shut that Finn spoke again with a serious, no-nonsense tone. “Okay, we’re alone now. Please explain to me what happened to our agreement to keep clear of each other.”
“Clara said that she okayed this with you. I figured if you were big enough to deal with this awkward situation for Clara’s sake then so was I. After all, Clara would do most anything for anyone. And it is her wedding—”
“Enough. I get the point. But this—” he gestured back and forth between them “—it won’t work.”
“That’s fine with me. Do you have someone else who can fill in?”
Finn cleared his throat. “No, I don’t.”
Holly clasped her hands together to keep from fidgeting and straightened her shoulders. “I know that we’ve never worked together, but I think I can do the job.”
Finn
