Sara tore her eyes from Miss Took and fixed them back on the man who wanted her gone. He didn’t even know her and already he despised her.
Instead of shrinking in the face of his distaste, she felt her assertive impulse growing, swelling, threatening to burst its boundaries.
But she had everything to lose and nothing to gain from alienating this man. Proceed with caution.
His arrogant features had an unsettling beauty to them. Some women might find him attractive. But to her he was simply a boss. An ordinary man in a dark suit who just happened to have eyes that tore through flesh and bone with the intensity of their gaze.
She stared at him for a full five seconds and he didn’t flinch. A curious expression lit his unblinking eyes. His lips parted slightly but he didn’t speak. At last, he leaned forward—his chair let out a violent creak—and reached for a pen on his desk.
“You’ll be compensated for your inconvenience, Miss Daly.”
“I don’t want compensation.” At last her repressed ire bubbled over into speech. “I want this job. I’m qualified for this job and I’m a hard worker. I’ll be the best assistant you’ve ever had, I promise you that, Mr. Al Mansur. You will find no fault with me.”
She could hardly believe she was begging to keep a job with a man who obviously didn’t want her around, but she was damned if she’d let a career opportunity of this magnitude be snatched rudely away.
“That will not be possible, Miss Daly.”
His poker face and easy posture threw fresh fuel on the flames of her indignation.
“I overheard your conversation.” The words slipped out before she had time to consider the consequences. Good. It was time to lay all her cards on the table.
He raised an eyebrow and a shadow clouded his face. He blinked once, then his fierce eyes tunneled into her again with harrowing intensity.
Sara struggled for breath, for strength to defend herself. “I heard you say I’m not old enough for the position.”
“Er, Miss Daly—” Jill Took rose from her chair, but ceased speaking when her boss raised his hand.
“Miss Daly, I’ll be frank with you.” His voice was deep, his tone casual. He leaned back in his chair—creak!—and crossed his arms over his chest. Sara couldn’t help noticing how thick his upper arms were, even through the wool of his suit.
“I’ve had my fill of flighty girls who are here merely to hunt for a husband. Don’t think I flatter myself that I’m the object of their attentions. Frankly, I find them pathetic.”
He looked down his slightly aquiline nose at her for a second and the full force of his disgust threatened to knock her off her feet.
“I have a business to run and I will no longer tolerate the foolish behavior of those who have anything other than my business on their mind. For this reason I shall no longer consider young, single women for this position.”
He leaned forward again—creak!—and picked up a pen off the desk. As if to sign her death warrant. “That will be all, Miss Daly.”
A rush of exasperation propelled Sara to his desk. She placed her fingertips on the polished mahogany and leaned toward him. Close enough to taste his scent—subtle and masculine—the fragrance of a deodorant soap released by warm, active skin.
He leaned back slowly, surveying her, arms crossed over his chest. Listening.
Now she was on the offensive.
“Mr. Al Mansur, I may be a young, single woman, but, believe me, I have no interests beyond performing this job to the best of my abilities. I am an experienced executive assistant.”
And a plain little thing. Plain, was she? So much the better. She lifted her chin and fixed her gaze directly on his dark eyes. He narrowed them slightly.
She sucked in a breath. “Your company is the kind of fast-growing, forward-thinking firm I want to work for. You’ve achieved revenue growth of ten percent a year over the last five years. You’re a leader in exploiting new drilling technologies and reducing environmentally harmful emissions at your drilling sites.”
She steadied herself, refused to wilt in the heat of his scorching stare. “Your company has won praise for creating a progressive labor-friendly work environment. Praise it may not deserve, given the way I’m being treated. And if you take this job away from me I’ll sue you for reverse age discrimination.”
As her words reverberated off the stark white walls of his office, she sprang back from the desk. She crossed her arms over her chest, mirrored his defensive gesture. Her assertiveness thrilled her—and appalled her. A lawsuit? She couldn’t even afford a two-piece suit. She was bluffing, but what the heck, she didn’t have much to lose.
Well, except the position in accounting. Which did still have the same excellent salary and benefits. Recrimination snaked in her gut. She was playing pretty high-stakes poker with her life right now.
His face tightened as he watched her. His black eyes burned with intensity that sent an icy shiver up her spine. If looks could kill… Perhaps looks could kill? The one he gave her right now seemed to be sapping her life force in an alarming way.
On second thought, Mr. Al Mansur, perhaps counting a few beans…
“You…” He uttered the single word in a voice so deep it was barely within the human range of hearing.
He paused, then rose from his chair in a single swift motion.
“You…” Rage crackled in his throaty speech and sparked in his eyes. He rested a big hand on the desk, amidst the piles of papers and stacks of files that covered its surface. Awareness of his threatening physique cowed her as he leaned across the desk, a muscle working in his jaw. “You—will sue me?”
“It’s not fair. You haven’t given me a chance. You’re firing me for something someone else has done.” She sounded calm and rational, though she felt anything but. “Let me prove to you I can do this job. If you aren’t happy with my performance, then you can transfer me or fire me outright and I won’t complain.”
He considered her for a moment, brow furrowed. Then he drew himself up and crossed his arms over his chest. He shot a glance at Jill Took, then looked back at Sara with one eyebrow raised.
“All right, Miss Daly. You shall have one month.”
She sagged with glorious relief.
“One month to prove that you can keep your mind focused on your duties.”
“You won’t be disappointed, sir.” She resisted the urge to add a military salute.
Her shoulders locked with sudden anxiety as he strode around his desk. Disobeying the instinct to shrink from his approach, she forced herself to stand steady. She took his offered hand and shook it with what she hoped was authoritative firmness. Big and warm, his hand gripped hers for a mere instant.
And in that instant she realized the magnitude of the challenge before her.
