spent the previous day sulking, telling himself she could go hang herself for all he cared. But once he’d been sitting on the edge of his bed, watching the gentle rise and fall of her breathing, he’d had to admit that whatever it was that was between them, it wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
While he’d been sitting there in the half-light considering that startling fact, a part of the conversation they’d had during their first meeting had poked at the back of his brain. Had she told him she’d been working as Andrew Rocastle’s PA? The possibility had seemed almost too fortuitous to be true so he’d had the concierge pull out Rocastle’s registration details and then made a late-night call to Rocastle’s company offices in London where it had been already morning. He’d spoken to a very helpful personnel woman who’d pointed out that Kate Denton had indeed worked as Rocastle’s PA until an ‘unfortunate incident’ two days ago. He knew all about the ‘unfortunate incident’and it hadn’t put him off in the least. Anyhow, he only need offer her a two-week contract. If she wasn’t up to the job he was offering her it hardly mattered. Her typing skills weren’t the main reason he wanted her at his beck and call.
Kate Denton was a fire in his blood he needed to get out. A few weeks with her working as his PA ought to cure him of his obsession once and for all—and if she did a halfway decent job, all the better.
Having decided to give the idea a shot, the only remaining obstacle was figuring out how to make Kate go for the deal. He’d stayed up half the night working out his strategy. Cooking her breakfast had been the first part of the plan. He’d stumbled, badly, by letting his frustration show a moment ago. Now he had her back on the stool and marginally willing to listen to what he had to say, he wasn’t about to make the same mistake again. Keep calm, he thought, keep cool and give the carrot the hard sell. He could get to the stick later, if he had to—he had the connections to stop her from getting any other jobs in Vegas—but for now, he figured the carrot was his best option.
‘The truth is, Kate, I’m in a fix and I need your help.’
‘What kind of a fix?’
‘My PA quit yesterday and I need someone with me in California for the next couple of weeks. How about it?’
‘You want to employ me? As your PA?’ Kate was so astonished, it was a miracle she didn’t fall off the stool.
‘Yeah. I can only offer you a two-week contract,’ he said, as if he were discussing the weather, ‘but it’ll be a lot more dough than you can get doing bar work and I’ll cover your expenses during the trip, naturally.’
‘You’re not serious?’ Surely this must be some kind of joke? He didn’t say anything, just looked at her, his eyes steady, his lips curving ever so slightly. ‘You are serious,’ she said, completely incredulous.
‘I need to close a deal I’ve been setting up for over two years. I’m selling my holdings in Vegas, buying a resort hotel in Big Sur called The Grange. Great coastal location, established clientele, with loads of potential for expansion and modernisation. I need someone to handle my planner, do the secretarial stuff as I hammer out the final details of the negotiation with the owner.’
‘Oh, I see,’ Kate murmured, her pulse scrambling into overdrive as her mind whizzed through the possibilities.
This could be the answer to all her prayers. A proper job, a challenging and exciting job that didn’t involve wielding a loo brush or toting a tray of margaritas looking like a pornographic sports groupie. She might not have liked Andrew much, but she’d adored being his PA and she’d been good at it too. Just from the lowly jobs she’d done over the last day, she knew The Phoenix franchise had a much higher profile than Andrew’s piddling Covent Garden design firm. Of course, it was only for two weeks, but in two weeks she could pay off her debts, get some invaluable experience to add to her CV and prove her…
Whoa, there, girl.
Kate’s enthusiastic ramblings slammed to a stop as they ran full tilt into a brick wall. There was one humongous problem with the sparkling career opportunity she was being offered—and it was sitting right in front of her with a sinfully tempting smile on its face.
‘So what do you say? You want to be my Girl Friday?’ the devil said.
Kate gave her head a quick shake, trying to clear out the burst of stardust that had momentarily short circuited her brain cells.
The problem was, she wouldn’t be working for Andrew. She’d be working for Zack. Gorgeous, irresistible, domineering Zack, who insisted on having everything his own way and would be entitled to demand it if he were her boss. As his PA she’d be working closely with him. Handling all those minute details that could feel so personal, so intimate. Hadn’t Andrew once joked that Kate was so efficient she was part personal assistant and part wife? Coming from Andrew it had seemed like an innocuous compliment. If she allowed herself to get into that role with Zack she’d be in considerably more danger. Maybe she ought to clarify what it was he was expecting of her. ‘Do you mind if I ask you something?’
The corners of his mouth quirked up in a knowing grin and she cursed the blush that worked its way up her neck. ‘Sure, ask whatever you want,’ he said.
She licked her parched lips. ‘What do you expect from me, exactly?’
‘What do I expect?’ He rolled the question off his tongue as if he were savouring the words. ‘Hmm, let me see.’
The blush scorched Kate’s cheeks as she waited for his answer and she clutched the silk tighter. She wondered if the penthouse’s air conditioning had suddenly gone on the fritz, because she could have sworn the temperature in the kitchen had just shot up by a good ten degrees.
‘Apart from typing, shorthand, that kind of stuff, I expect you to be available twenty-four-seven. I’ll be honest—I’m not always the easiest guy in the world to work for.’ His gaze flicked to her cleavage. ‘At times I can be real demanding.’ His eyes moved back to her face, the dimple winking in his cheek. ‘But then you already know that.’
Kate felt the melting sensation between her thighs and squeezed the muscles tight. How infuriating that she was unable to deny her instinctive response to him even though she knew he was being deliberately provocative.
‘Stop teasing me,’ she said firmly. ‘It’s not remotely funny.’ The very last thing she wanted to do was look this gift horse in the mouth. She wanted this job, desperately, and probably not just for the career opportunity it offered if she was being completely honest with herself. But she wasn’t about to serve herself up on a platter, job or no job.
He laughed easily, held up his hands in surrender. ‘Okay, Kate, I’m sorry. But the look on your face. It was irresistible.’
‘Answer the question. Why are you offering me this job?’
He skimmed his thumb across her cheekbone, his eyes bright with appreciation. ‘We were pretty spectacular together our first night out. You’re smart, you’re beautiful and you’re desirable and I had a hard time forgetting about what we got up to after you walked out on me yesterday morning. So I’ll admit, one of the reasons I want you with me in California is so we can get up to a lot more of the same.’
It was just as she had suspected. Kate sighed. He was only offering her this job so he could jump back into bed with her. The fact that she didn’t feel nearly as indignant about it as she should made her feel like a besotted fool. ‘I can’t accept the job under those circumstances and you know
