no longer touching her. He still had a hold on her—with his charm, with his aura.
And he knew it. The knowledge was in his grin and the sparkle in his blue eyes. She had no doubt he would use the power of that attraction over her.
For what? To convince her to stay?
She was not going to change her mind. Street Legal was never where she’d wanted to be. Law was not her passion. And Simon Kramer would not sway her with his charm and his good looks.
“Oh, Bette,” he murmured with an ever-widening grin, “you and I are finally going to have some fun.”
Fun? That she doubted, just like she’d doubted her earlier pep talk to herself.
Two weeks wasn’t nothing. If he kept turning on the charm like this, it would be a lifetime. And because of that damn employment contract he’d had her sign, she wouldn’t be able to cut that time. But he could. He was the only one who could waive the requirement for her to work out the two-week notice.
What would it take for him to get rid of her right away? Then she remembered what he’d asked her Friday night when he’d caught her leaving the resignation letter on his desk—the reason he’d thought she was leaving. That she was in love with him...
What if she hadn’t laughed? What if she’d answered yes? Would he have shown her the door right then and taken away her key? Was that why she’d sent flowers to so many women for him over the past two years?
Because they’d fallen in love with him and had gotten clingy and desperate and he’d wanted nothing to do with them? From their calls pleading with her to let them talk to him, to see him...just one more time.
Yes. She knew what it would take to make him want to get rid of her right away. She would have to convince him that she’d fallen for him.
SIMON DID NOT miss the sudden sparkle in her eyes and the slight curve of her lips. Bette Monroe was up to something. And he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like it. It wouldn’t be the first thing she’d done that he didn’t like. He didn’t like her giving notice. If she was the mole, he sure as hell didn’t like that she’d sold secrets from their case files. And if she was the mole, he would make damn certain she paid dearly for her betrayal.
As if she’d read his mind, her smile slid away, the brightness of her dark eyes dimmed and she shivered. She couldn’t be cold, not with another damn sweater buttoned up to her neck like it was. What was she wearing beneath that? More lace and silk like on Friday night? Or had she only worn that because she’d been meeting someone after she’d left him?
He wanted to find out what she was wearing beneath her conservative skirt and sweater. He fully intended to find out. But he’d have to be patient for now as the phone on her desk began to ring.
A shaky sigh slipped through her lips as if she was relieved for the interruption, and she reached for the phone. But before she could pick it up, he caught her wrist in his hand.
“Before you answer that,” he said, “we need to go over our schedule for the day.” He stroked his thumb over the silky skin of her delicate wrist, and her pulse leaped beneath his touch. “And the night.”
Her throat moved as if she had to swallow before asking, “Night?”
He grinned. “Yes, we’re going to be working late.”
“H-how late?” she stammered.
“Quite late,” he warned her. “Tonight and every night for the next two weeks. At least...”
She drew in a shaky breath now. “Two weeks,” she said. “Just two weeks.” And she reached for the phone with her other hand, lifting it to her flushed face.
“Bette Monroe, assistant to Simon Kramer, how may I help you?” she asked the caller.
She could tell Simon the damn truth. But he didn’t expect her to freely divulge her secrets. Few people were honest about everything, and some, like his old man, were never honest about anything. He wasn’t certain into which category Bette Monroe would fall. But just like he intended to find out what lingerie—if any—she was wearing, he fully intended to find that out, too.
He would execute the plan he’d concocted Friday night and seduce the truth out of his sexy executive assistant. He just hadn’t realized how damn much he was going to enjoy the seduction. For the first time in a long time, he might actually have found a challenge. Ironically enough, it—she—had been right under his nose for the past two years.
While he had noticed Bette’s ass and hips and the swell of her breasts beneath those sweaters, he’d never thought she could possibly be nearly as big a con as he was. He’d have to be careful that she didn’t get access to any more case files and that she didn’t get to him any more than she had already started to.
Just that faint brush of her lips across his had his pulse leaping like hers did beneath the pressure of his thumb. Just seeing her had his dick swelling behind the fly of his suit pants.
Damn. He wanted her. Seducing the truth out of her wouldn’t be a hardship for him. Well, especially once he got a release from the tension building inside him.
He watched her lips move as she spoke to whoever had called. The dimple in the full bottom one seemed to wink at him, tempting him to take her mouth again—to kiss her like he had Friday night. It had been one damn long weekend waiting for Monday, waiting to see her again, to touch her again, to kiss her...
But she had work to do. And so did he. He had to plan his next move in the seduction of his sexy little office mole.
* * *
Just one week and four days left...
That was what Bette told herself as lights began to shut off on the floor for the Street Legal law practice. Miguel had left for the night along with most of the rest of the office staff. Actually, she wasn’t certain if there was anyone else on the floor but her.
Simon hadn’t lied about working late. Fortunately, working was pretty much all he’d been doing—meeting with clients in and out of the office throughout the day. Of course every time he’d had a free minute, he had either stopped by her desk or called her into his office. And every time, he had treated her to another strong dose of his sexiness until she’d gotten drunk on it.
Maybe that was why she felt so light-headed now. Or maybe it was because she’d been so busy herself that she’d had to skip lunch. She would not survive nine more days like today, not with her sanity intact. She had to make him cut the two weeks short.
Very short.
Like she wished this day would have been. Would it ever end? Simon had left a while ago for his last appointment, but he’d given her orders—with a wink and a grin—for her to stay until he returned. And the way he’d looked at her...like he was already undressing her.
Her face had flushed and her body had heated and she’d tried to stammer out a protest. But he’d only laughed and claimed he would have notes for her that wouldn’t wait until morning. He was enjoying this...enjoying how rattled she got when he turned his
