and my private life. I expect you to be unconditionally discreet in both areas.’
He had nodded at her to sit down when he had settled himself on the edge of the desk and Kim was thankful of it now; she felt utterly overwhelmed by the sheer magnetism of the man who was now her boss. Her boss. Her stomach turned right over and she swallowed hard. ‘Of course, Mr Kane.’
‘Lucas.’ He leant back slightly, the blue-black of his hair accentuated by the white sunlight behind him. ‘If you are serious about working with me, the second thing you have to learn is that all formality stops at that door.’ He nodded to the interconnecting door behind her. ‘You are my eyes and ears in this organisation and beyond, a valuable second opinion and ally who must be completely frank within the confines of these four walls.’
‘And if my opinion doesn’t fit in with yours?’ she asked with a careful neutrality that hid her jangling nerves.
He said nothing for a second, just looking at her with piercing eyes, and then he smiled. The first real smile she had seen. ‘I’m not looking for you to agree with me, necessarily,’ he said quietly, ‘but if you do disagree I expect your comments to be logical and well informed. I have enough sycophantic boot-lickers around already; I don’t need another one, Kim.’
It was the first time he had said her Christian name and, ridiculous though she told herself it was, it did something strange to her insides. Something she didn’t care to examine. He was too close. The thought came from nowhere and she told herself sharply she was acting like a skittish schoolgirl, not a mature woman of twenty-six.
To combat the weakness she forced herself to smile back, her tone light as she said, ‘Dare I ask if I can remind you of that in the future?’
The smile grew, turning the aggressively male face of hard angles and planes into a more mellow whole, and Kim watched, fascinated.
‘I have the feeling you will do so with or without my blessing,’ he said lazily, before levering himself off the desk in one easy movement and seating himself in the massive leather chair again. ‘Observe much, say little and keep your wits about you during the next few weeks, Kim, and you’ll do just fine. It’s nice to have you aboard.’
‘Thank you.’ It was a clear dismissal and Kim rose a trifle flusteredly, hoping her tension didn’t show. He was the most disturbing man she had ever met, but she had to find a way of coping with how she felt—and fast. This job was too fantastic an opportunity to blow.
It was that thought which enabled her to leave Lucas’s office with measured steps, her blonde head high and her face deadpan.
It would be all right, she assured herself, standing aside to let June pass into the Holy of Holies with the coffee. She had June to soften her absorption into the role of secretary to Lucas Kane and the other woman would be around for some weeks yet. After that…
Her heart began to thud and she clucked her tongue at herself, annoyed at her nervousness. After that she would be just what he wanted her to be—an efficient, cool, capable machine who ran his office like clockwork. She could do this. If nothing else, her time with Graham, not to mention the searing aftermath, had shown her she had hidden resources she had never dreamt of.
When she thought of that nightmare funeral, which had occurred the day after she had found out she was not only destitute but thousands and thousands of pounds in debt, she knew nothing could ever be as bad again.
But she had come through that, and not crawling on her belly, either—she’d carved out a reasonable life for herself and Melody and it was going to get better and better from this point on. She was in charge of her own destiny—hers and Melody’s—and the vow she had made standing in the pouring rain at the side of the newly dug grave still held good. Never again would she put her trust in any one man; she had learnt a hard lesson but she’d learnt it well. Men said one thing with their lips but their mind was thinking something else. They could be sweetness and light in company—with everyone else—but in the privacy of their own home turn into the devil incarnate.
She was autonomous now—blessedly, gloriously autonomous—and nothing, nothing, would ever persuade her to be anything else. And this job would ensure her material security in a way she had never imagined; it was her chance of a lifetime.
Secretary to Lucas Kane? Kim glanced at the closed door, beyond which she could hear the low murmur of voices. She was going to be the best secretary he’d ever had or die in the attempt!
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