that everybody else in Jared’s company was dressed equally informally.
She could see right through the heavy glass tabletop in the Harding Corporation boardroom to her sister’s ultra-tight jeans. And the jeans reminded her of the appreciative and comprehensive look Jared had cast over them when she arrived at the office. At least the white cotton shirt she’d teamed with the pants was almost respectable.
But how she ached for a return to the ordered, peaceful life symbolized by her conservative wardrobe. Would she ever find her way back? She buried her head in her hands, blotting out the sight of the jeans, blotting out these surroundings she didn’t want to be in, blotting out the man she didn’t want to work for.
“Are you okay?” Impatience rather than sympathy edged Jared’s words.
She took a breath that was unfortunately shuddery. “Tell me more about these deals I’m working on.”
Jared paused a moment, presumably to see if she was about to dissolve into inconvenient tears. He stretched and clasped his hands behind his head, a movement that emphasized the lean length of his torso beneath his black knit shirt. Holly dropped her gaze back down to the papers in front of her.
“Two companies are involved,” he said. “I want to buy Wireless World and merge it with one of my subsidiaries that isn’t doing so well.”
Holly nodded, his no-nonsense tone flipping her out of her black mood and into work. It wasn’t unusual to put a highly profitable business like Wireless World together with one that was performing badly for the sake of tax benefits. In the up-and-down Seattle software industry, it happened all the time. “Any anticipated problems?” she asked, and was pleased that came out steady.
“One of the family stockholders has agreed to sell me his shares. I’ll have a big enough holding that I can make life difficult for the rest of them if they don’t sell me theirs.”
“A hostile takeover.” She couldn’t blame the owners, a well-known family from Atlanta, for their reluctance to be bought out by Jared Harding. It would be like the three little pigs opening the door to the big bad wolf.
He grinned, as if he’d read her thoughts. “They’ll come around.”
“And if they don’t?”
He blinked, and the humor was gone. “Too bad.”
Holly gritted her teeth. “What’s the other company we’re looking at?” Did she imagine his hesitation?
“EC Solutions. It’s a small software company, but it’s made some significant overseas sales.”
She leaned forward. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll make sure you get it.”
Jared had a few ideas as to how she could satisfy him—and they didn’t involve balance sheets or calculators. When Holly had turned up in those skintight jeans this morning, he’d had the first inkling that choosing to liberate the least dull clothes in her condo might have been a bad idea. And though now she’d pulled her hair back into its usual unflattering style, in his mind’s eye he saw it loose as it had been earlier. He’d realized then that what he’d taken to be no particular color was in fact a rich brown that, depending on the light, glinted red or gold.
“What do you want, Jared?” She pressed him, in the politest of tones.
He preferred women who didn’t ask any question more difficult than “Can I get you a beer?” Holly would ask so many questions, he’d be forced to start thinking about the answers.
What did he personally want from this deal?
Revenge.
“I want,” he said, “to win Wireless World without being plastered all over the newspapers as a predator and without doubts about the legality of the subsequent merger.”
He didn’t tell her what he really wanted—a deal so tight it would frustrate the hell out of anyone who wanted to outdo him. Would make them careless, ready to rush headlong into the next opportunity to beat him.
“And EC Solutions?” she asked.
“I’m not a hundred percent committed to that business.” It was a form of the truth, at least. “Start the process and see how we go. It might get too competitive. There’ll be other interested parties.” One other interested party.
“I’ll need a couple of days to familiarize myself with the companies and their accounts,” she said.
“The bulk of your time should be spent on Wireless World.” He was taking a risk getting her involved in EC Solutions at all. A necessary risk. If Holly couldn’t unravel the web he’d set up, no one could. She was the ultimate test.
“There’s one more thing,” he said.
She lifted her gray gaze from the accounts she was studying.
“This deal is confidential.”
Holly bristled. “I would never betray a client confidence.”
He waved her protest away. “I don’t mean that. I don’t want anyone here knowing what’s going on, either.”
“You don’t trust your own staff?”
“There have been a couple of leaks to the press.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Leaks that didn’t come from me,” he added. “This time.”
“I won’t gossip to your staff.”
He moved on to the difficult part. “I don’t want anyone here even knowing you’re involved.” She looked hurt, and he was annoyed to find himself reassuring her. “This has nothing to do with the FBI. It’s a matter of internal security.”
She frowned. “But I don’t have an office, and all the resources I’ll need are here.”
“Come with me. Bring your stuff.” He rose, waited the briefest possible time for her to pack up her briefcase and follow him.
They headed to the elevator. Instead of going down to the main office floors, Jared used his security card to allow access to the floor immediately above, the top floor of the building.
Holly stepped out. There were no offices here, only two numbered doors. Jared used his security card again to open Number Two and motioned her into a penthouse apartment—spacious, with fabulous views over Elliott Bay visible through floor-to-ceiling windows. Despite its luxurious furnishings, the apartment felt unlived-in.
“If anyone on my staff asks why you were in the office, I’ll tell them you were looking for work but I turned you down.” He ignored her indignant gasp. “You’ll work here.” He pointed to an office area in the corner of the living room. “This place is wired into the company network. I suggest you live here, too.”
“Why would I—?” Her voice rose.
“It’s a long commute from your friend’s place to the city. And the amount I’m paying you, I want you working day and night.”
Holly
