by Metsy Hingle
Just being on a date with Justin would be exciting enough for her, Kim mused silently. But then she was in love with him and had been for months now. Not that Justin had any clue about her feelings for him. He didn’t. And for that she was eternally grateful. After all, what could be more cliché than to have a secretary fall in love with her boss—a boss who didn’t even know she existed?
“Any ideas?”
Kim gave herself a mental shake and reminded herself to deal in reality. “How about one of those dinner cruises?”
“Hmm. That would be romantic. But I was hoping for something different,” Tara replied. She crossed her legs and began to tap one manicured nail against her chin. Suddenly her finger stilled, and, tilting her head to the side, she stared at Kim. “If you were the one going on a date with Justin, where would you want to go?”
Kim stiffened. Had Tara somehow picked up on her feelings for Justin, she wondered. “Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Really, Mrs. Paige, I don’t think—”
“Please,” Tara said, wincing. “Do you think you could manage to call me Tara? I’m guessing that we’re about the same age, but every time you call me Mrs. Paige I feel like someone’s grandmother.”
Kim’s lips twitched. “You don’t look like anyone’s grandmother.”
“I certainly hope not,” Tara told her with a laugh.
The woman was beautiful, glamorous, sophisticated. Everything that she wasn’t, Kim thought. And even though at twenty-four she was only a year younger than the other woman, Tara had already been married, widowed and had a child. Kim couldn’t help but think that life was passing her by quickly.
“So what would you consider a fun and exciting date?” Tara asked.
“I doubt that my idea of fun and excitement would appeal to the women who’ll be bidding at the auction.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not like them,” Kim answered honestly.
“You’re a woman, aren’t you?”
“I…yes.”
“Then whatever appeals to you should appeal to other women.”
“But—”
“No buts,” Tara told her and stood. She gathered up her purse and gloves. “I’ve got to run. But why don’t you put a date package together that would appeal to you.”
“Like what?”
Tara shrugged. “I don’t know. Something that you would like to do if you were the woman going out on a date with Justin. Make it as simple or elaborate as you want.”
“But what if I choose something that’s all wrong?”
“You won’t,” Tara assured her. “Trust your instincts, Kim. Whatever you choose, I’m sure it’s going to be perfect.”
“Let’s hope you’re right,” Kim told her and wished she had as much confidence in herself as Tara seemed to have in her.
“I am,” Tara said with a smile and started toward the door. She paused, turned back. “Oh, I almost forgot. Are you doing anything Friday night?”
“No,” Kim replied cautiously.
“Great. I’ve purchased a couple of tables for the fund-raiser, so I have some extra tickets. Would you do me a favor and attend as my guest?”
“But Mrs.— Tara,” she corrected when the other woman gave her a reproving look. “That’s very kind of you, but I couldn’t possibly go.”
“Why not? You said you were free.”
“I am, but—”
“No buts. You deserve to enjoy yourself after all your hard work, and you’d be doing me a favor by going. Will you need a ticket for an escort?”
“Uh, no. That won’t be necessary.” It had been months since she’d been out on a date—and couldn’t even fathom whom she would ask to accompany her to something like this.
Tara beamed at her. “Great. Then I’ll see that a ticket is messengered over to you in the morning.”
Before Kim could argue further and tell Tara that she really didn’t belong at such an affair, the other woman was gone.
“Damn it!” Justin pitched the report he’d been reading onto the others on his desk. How he would dearly love to wring Robert Marsh’s neck. Unfortunately, he couldn’t because the man had covered his tracks well. Frustrated, Justin shoved away from his desk and wandered over to the windows that filled one wall of his office. Normally looking out at the skyline soothed him, helped him to organize his thoughts. Yet watching the shifting colors as the sun began its descent seemed to make him even more restless. Probably something to do with the gloomy weather that had played havoc with the city most of the day, he told himself.
Of course, this mess with Schaeffer hadn’t helped. It was going to take a miracle to launch the marketing campaign on time without blowing an even larger chunk of the budget. But somehow he had to find a way, Justin reminded himself. He simply had to. His family was counting on him. Sighing, he returned to his desk and dug in, determined to find that miracle.
More than two hours later, when he lifted his head, Justin gave a grunt of satisfaction. By shifting and scaling back expenses, he’d managed to make some progress and he’d done so without losing the integrity of the plan. Now, if he could bring the rest of the costs into line, he just might be able to pull it off. Rummaging through the papers on his desk, he searched for the file folder containing the billing costs on the marketing campaign to date. Unable to find it, he stopped and tried to recall when he’d had it last. He’d given it to Kim to check out the accuracy of some of the figures, he remembered. Maybe it was still on her desk.
Intent on finding the folder, Justin started out of his office only to stop cold at the sight of Kim. For once she wasn’t sitting at her desk, the picture of efficiency in her sensible heels and sedate business suit, hard at work. Instead she stood in her stocking feet with her blouse opened at the neck and her eyes closed while she stretched. And as he watched her extend and stretch her body, all thoughts of the missing folder and business went right out of Justin’s head.
In the six months that he’d worked with Kim, she had been the perfect assistant. Not only had she made the difficult task of taking over after his brother’s departure for Altaria a smooth one, but her people skills had proven invaluable to him. In all that time she had been poised, efficient, businesslike.
She didn’t look the least bit businesslike now. Not with her eyes closed, her head tipped back and a serene expression on her face. Slowly, as though performing a dance, she began to bend her body. And if his life depended on it, Justin couldn’t have looked away. Transfixed, he watched her move with the grace of a prima ballerina. When she folded her body in two, her skirt climbed up, and Justin swallowed hard at the view of her legs. Funny, he thought, as Kim brought her head down to press against first one ankle and then the other, but he’d never noticed before just how long and shapely Kim’s legs were. And how in the devil had he failed to notice what a small waist she had? Or the enticing lines of her hips?
Justin’s blood heated as she unfolded her torso and reached over her head once more, pulling the silky white blouse she wore taut against her breasts. He must have been blind, he decided, not to have realized how lushly curved Kim was. He noticed now—a fact that was all too evident by the desire stirring in his gut.
Don’t be a jerk, Connelly. Say something. Let the woman know she isn’t alone.
Justin opened his mouth, intent on announcing his presence, when Kim removed the clip from her hair. He nearly swallowed his tongue as yards and yards of long, honey-blond hair came tumbling down around her shoulders and face.
Sweet heaven, had all that gorgeous, sexy hair been tucked into that no-nonsense twist?
Damn! He scrubbed a hand down his face. He’d always been a sucker for a woman with long hair, beginning with Miss Malone, his kindergarten teacher. Biting back a groan, Justin admitted that next to Kim, Miss Malone wouldn’t even stand a chance.
He was absolutely out of his mind, Justin assured himself. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to block out this new image of Kim.
Didn’t he have enough on his plate to deal with without this? They’d yet to find out who had tried to assassinate his brother, and he was none too thrilled about his sister Alexandra’s upcoming marriage to Marsh. Add to that the problems at work and the headaches resulting from that most-eligible-bachelor status. The last thing he needed was to complicate his life even more with a woman—especially a woman he worked with on a daily basis.
The smart thing to do was to go back to his office and forget he’d ever seen this side of Kim. Which was just what he intended to do, Justin decided as he opened his eyes. Allowing himself one final glimpse of the sensual creature before him, he started to retreat into his office when Kim opened her eyes and stared straight at him.
“Justin,” she said his name in a breathless whisper that did nothing to cool the erotic thoughts that had been running rampant through his head only moments before.
“I’m sorry,” he managed to get out. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“You didn’t. Disturb me, I mean,” she added while she slipped back into her shoes. “I was…I was just doing a few stretching exercises to try to work out some of the kinks in my shoulders and neck.”
Although she told him something about the importance of stretching, the words barely registered because he was far too mesmerized by her attempts to tame all that honey-gold hair into a neat twist. As far as he was concerned, she’d failed big-time, since several thick strands managed to escape the clip and now tumbled carelessly down her nape and the sides of her face. With her cheeks flushed and her hair mussed, Justin could all too easily imagine the way Kim would look after a night spent making love.
Kim took a breath. “Anyway, I guess I got kind of stiff sitting at the computer and— And here I am babbling on. Did you want me for something?”
Justin nearly groaned at the innocent remark as totally inappropriate thoughts came to mind. “No, I was just…” Damn, he couldn’t even remember what it was he’d come out here to look for in the first place.
“Justin, are you all right?”
No, he most definitely wasn’t all right. Not when he couldn’t shake the punch of arousal he’d experienced upon seeing Kim stretching a few moments ago.
“Is something wrong?”
Justin gave himself a mental slap, forced himself to focus on the present. “No. Nothing’s wrong.” He let out a breath. “It’s been a long day. And speaking of long days, what are you still doing here?”
“I had some work that I wanted to finish up.”
“Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow. You should have left hours ago,” he said, more gruffly than he’d intended.
“You’re still here.”
“My family owns the place,” he pointed out.
“Yes, of course. I never meant to imply…I’ll leave now and get out of your way,” she murmured, then quickly turned away.
But not before Justin caught a glimpse of hurt in those big blue-green eyes. Damned if he didn’t feel as though he’d just kicked a puppy. “Kim,” he said, moving beside her. He turned her around to face him and tipped up her chin. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Just because I’m in a lousy mood is no reason to take it out on you.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” He captured the fist she held stiffly at her side and lifted it between them. “If it’ll make you feel better, go ahead and sock me one,” he said, jutting out his chin. “I deserve it for acting like a jerk.”
“You’re not a jerk.”
“Sure, I am. Or at least I gave a good impression of one a minute ago. I hurt your feelings, and for that I’m sorry.”
“But you didn’t—”
Justin silenced her with a look. “You may be a terrific assistant, Ms. Lindgren, but you’re a lousy liar.”
“Thank you. I think.”
He grinned at her. “Hey, I’m the one who should be thanking you. The truth is I’m not sure what I’d do without you.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’d manage just fine,” she said, and reclaimed her fingers. Though she stepped back, she came up against the desk, which prevented her from putting the distance between them that Justin suspected she’d intended.
“Hopefully, I won’t have to find out. But seriously, what I should have said, and botched totally, is that as much as I appreciate all your hard work, there’s no reason for you to put in such long hours.”
“I don’t mind,” she told him. “I like my job. I like working with you.”
“Darned if I understand why,” he countered, and smiled at her again. “But how about calling it a day? I bet if you try, you might still be able to book yourself a massage at the health club.”
“I probably could if I belonged to a health club. But since I don’t, there’s really no reason for me to hurry,” she said, smiling up at him.
The smile intrigued him almost as much as she did. There was something both innocent and seductive about her smile. And it did nothing to ease his arousal. Taking a step back, Justin tried to shake off this new awareness of Kim as a desirable female.
“You’re scowling at me again,” she accused.
“Not at you. At myself,” he corrected, feeling like an idiot. Of course she didn’t belong to a health club. The fact that his family and most of his friends worked out regularly at a club certainly didn’t mean that Kim did the same. Chances were she couldn’t afford that kind of luxury. Because a luxury is what it was. It was the reason he refused to join the fancy clubs and worked out at a hole-in-the-wall gym. He stared at her and suddenly realized that other than the fact that Kim was single and had no family—facts his brother had told him when he’d taken over the position of vice president of marketing—he knew very little about Kim’s personal life despite the fact that they worked so closely together. It was hard to imagine her all alone when he had such a large family himself. “I guess this is my night for apologies. That sounded terribly arrogant of me. I shouldn’t have assumed that you belonged to a health club.”
“Don’t be silly. It was a logical assumption.”
“No, it wasn’t. And I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.”
“You didn’t,” she insisted. “Please. There’s nothing to be sorry about. Connelly Corporation is very generous to its employees, and most of the clerical staff belongs to health clubs or spas. I could, too, if I wanted.”
“But you don’t want to?”
She shrugged. “I just don’t know when I’d get the chance to use it.”
“Which is my fault.”
She tipped her head, studied him. “And how do you figure that?”
“Look what time it is and you’re still here. I work you too hard.”
“No, you don’t. Besides, I don’t work nearly as hard as you do,” she countered.
Justin snorted. “I don’t have a choice. My family is depending on me. You, on the other hand, don’t have any excuse. I mean it, Kim. No more late nights like this for you.”
“But I told you, I like my job. I like working with you.”
“Even when I’m a royal pain in the neck?” he teased.
“Even then,” she said. “Now, unless you need me for something, I’d really like to finish transcribing these notes,” she told him, and reclaimed her seat in front of her computer screen.
“The notes can wait until tomorrow.”
“They could, but there’s no reason why they have to.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but which one of us is the boss here?”
Kim laughed. “You are. But all I need is ten minutes to finish, and then I promise I’ll head for home and a long, hot soak in the tub.”
An image of Kim naked in a bathtub covered only in bubbles had Justin gritting his teeth. “Scouts’ honor?”
“Scouts’ honor,” she said and held up three fingers.
“All right. You’ve got ten minutes and then I want you out of here.”
“You got it,” she promised and went back to work.
> When Justin exited his office fifteen minutes later, Kim was still at her desk, staring at her computer screen and rubbing the back of her neck with one hand.
Even though his brain told him it was a mistake, he started toward her. “Here, let me do that,” he said, and pushed her hand away and replaced it with his own.
“You don’t have to do this,” she argued.
Justin ignored the comment. “No wonder you’re hurting. Talk about tense. Relax,” he commanded, and began to massage her shoulders. Determined to prove to himself that his earlier reaction to Kim had been a fluke, a momentary aberration caused by spending too much time at work and neglecting his social life, he went to work on those stiff muscles. Satisfied that, by analyzing the situation, he now had any earlier sexual attraction he’d experienced toward Kim firmly under his command, Justin skillfully tackled the mass of knots along her spine. Using his thumbs, he applied pressure to a particularly tight spot between her shoulder-blades and began to knead it.
“This really isn’t necess— Oh…”
His control slipped a notch at the sounds coming from Kim. Steeling himself, Justin reminded himself this was Kim Lindgren. Kim his assistant. Kim his right hand. Kim, whom he had no right to think of as a woman. But when she moaned again, his body reacted. Desire fisted in his gut, sent heat firing through his veins.
So much for being a master of control, Justin decided. Calling himself ten kinds of fool, he tortured himself further by inching closer and breathing in her scent. Roses, he thought as he dragged in another whiff. Since when had the scent of roses become a turn-on?
But he forgot all about the way she smelled when Kim tipped her head forward, giving him further access to her neck. Although he knew he was playing with fire, he reached for the strands of hair trailing her nape. They slid across his fingers like wisps of silk and did nothing to cool his blood.
The sight of that pale strip of skin where the edge of her blouse ended sent another wave of heat rushing through him. Before he could stop himself, he moved his fingertips along her bare neck. Soft and warm was all he could think. And before he could shut off the voice in his head, he heard the question. Would she be this soft and warm all over?