“Brandi,” he said kindly, “I’ve already explained that what you and I had is—”
“Don’t say it! It isn’t. It can’t be.”
“Brandi. . .”
“I reserved a corner table at Alfredo’s. We can have a nice quiet dinner and talk things over.”
“No,” Jake said firmly. “I’m sorry, Brandi, but there’s no point in that.”
“Of course there is.”
“There isn’t.”
“There is.”
“Well,” Emily said brightly, “it’s getting late, Mr. McBride. And you know what you said about the cold. So, if you don’t mind—”
“You’re right,” Jake said quickly. “It is getting late.”
“Exactly. Which is why I’m just going to—”
“Wait right there, Emily. Don’t move a muscle.”
Jake hurried into his office. The women’s eyes met. Emily’s lips turned up in a faint smile. Brandi’s turned down, or would have, if she’d been able to move them. Enough, Emily thought, and reached for the door...
“I’m ready,” Jake said.
She turned and looked at Jake. He’d put on his jacket, his coat and gloves. Smiling, he reached for her hand. She pulled it back. He trapped it with his leather-gloved fingers, wound them through hers.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
“We have to leave now or we’ll be late.” He smiled, but his eyes flashed a warning. “You know how Donovan is about people being late.”
“Who?”
“Donovan. The chairman.”
“What chairman? Jake, what—”
He bent his head, silenced Emily by brushing his mouth gently over hers. Then he looked at Brandi, who was staring at him with a stricken expression on her perfectly made-up face. Two perfect tears rose in her eyes and trickled artistically down her cheeks.
“You and this—this creature? You don’t mean it.”
“Ah,” Jake said, and smiled at Emily. “But I do.”
Emily would have protested but how could she? Jake had already drawn her into his arms so he could kiss her, just the way he had the last time, until she felt her toes curl inside the too-tight boots.
CHAPTER FOUR
WHO would show up at a party in snowy Manhattan on a frigid January night?
Everybody who’d been invited, or so it seemed.
Emily had expected to see ten or twenty lost souls with nothing better to do than attend the UBS celebration. But when the elevator doors slid open to the Sunset Room on the fortieth floor of the Ascot Towers, she could see that even the corridor was alive with people.
Famous people. People whose faces lit up TV and movie screens from coast to coast...
People dressed for the occasion.
Emily touched an uneasy hand to her dampness-frizzed hair, glanced down at her sensible coat and equally sensible boots, and blanched.
“Uh-oh,” she whispered.
Jake, who figured the “uh oh” was an exclamation of delight, put his hand lightly in the small of her back and moved her forward.
“See?” he said softly. “Aren’t you glad you let me talk you into coming?”
No, she wasn’t. She was as out of place here as she’d been at that long-ago high school prom, where she’d showed up in a full-skirted, pale blue satin gown with puffy sleeves and a bow when every other girl in the room had been wearing clingy, slinky black silk.
As for “talk...” The man didn’t know the meaning of the word. He’d hustled her out of the office, into a cab and towards Fifth Avenue so fast that it had made her head spin. All the “talk” had been hers. She’d demanded he let her out of the taxi so she could go home but Jake had ignored her protests. He hadn’t “talked” her into coming here, he’d shanghaied her.
Still, Emily had to admit, if reluctantly, that being here might have its uses, now that Jake had promoted her. There were more business contacts just in the corridor than she’d ever imagined a person could find in one place, and from the “hello’s” and “how are you’s” Jake was exchanging as they moved slowly towards the Sunset Room, her boss knew every last one of—
“Jake. Great to see you.”
“You, too, Thad.” Jake smiled and looked at Emily. “Thad, I’d like you to meet Emily Taylor, my executive assistant. Emily, this is Thaddeus Jennett.”
“Miss Taylor.”
Emily blinked. “Thad” was none other than the handsome, debonair anchor on UBS’s top-rated evening news show.
“Nice to meet you,” she said, and took the hand Thad extended to her.
“We’ll catch up to you later,” Jake said, taking Emily’s elbow, “just as soon as we find the checkroom and get rid of these coats.”
Get rid of these coats? Emily clutched her collar in a death grip. She felt out of place enough as it was. The last thing she was going to do was peel off her coat and stand around like a plain gray goose in a sea of sexy swans.
“I don’t want to find the checkroom,” she hissed.
But Jake didn’t hear her. He was stopping again, introducing her again, to the star in the newest UBS romantic comedy, then to the guy’s publicist. Emily said hello, did her best to make small talk and tried not to wonder what people must be thinking.
“Not so bad, is it?” Jake whispered as he drew her forward.
“Why didn’t you tell me this would be so—so dressed up?”
Jake lifted an eyebrow. “Let’s see. One, you didn’t ask. Two, bringing you with me was a last-minute decision.”
“That’s an interesting way to put it,” Emily said coolly.
“Three,” he said, ignoring the interruption, “you didn’t want to come, anyway. Four...four, would it have mattered? Do you own anything that would have worked tonight?”
Emily’s mouth turned down. “That’s none of your business.”
“I didn’t say it was. You were the one who raised the issue. Besides—”
“Jake!”
The shriek was loud enough to shatter glass. A tall, exquisite blonde hurled herself into Jake’s arms.
“Jake, lover, is it true you and Brandi are...” The blonde drew back, made a face and slid her hand across her throat.
Jake grinned. “Hello, Crystal, news travels quickly in this town.”
“Good news, you mean,” the blonde replied, and looped her arm through his. “Come get me a drink and tell me how I can help you recover from the loss.”
“A little later, maybe. Let me get rid of my coat, first...” He paused, frowned, and looked at Emily. “Sorry,” he muttered.
“No problem,” Emily said sweetly, and held out her hand. “I’m Emily Taylor, Mr. McBride’s executive assistant. How do you do, Miss...?”
“How nice,” the blonde said, in a tone that made it clear it wasn’t, and turned her attention back to Jake. “Darling, I’m so glad to see you! Honestly, it’s been so long...”
The sexy voice droned on. Emily felt her face turning hot. She’d been dismissed, totally and completely, as only one woman can dismiss another. Well, so what? She was here as Jake’s business associate, not as his date. Exchanging names with someone like this—this person wasn’t important. It wouldn’t do a thing for her career, or for McBride Investments...
Oh, who was she kidding?
Never mind careers. What about egos? She had one, even though she hardly ever let it show its face to the world, and it was her ego that was warning her what the rest of the evening would be like.
She was here as a stand-in for Brandi, but that was a joke. The blonde, draped over Jake’s arm with the determination of a boa constrictor on its prey, was determined to be Brandi’s successor. She was also a harbinger of what lay ahead.
Women would swarm around Jake like bees around honeysuckle. They’d all be beautiful. They’d have perfect hair, perfect smiles, perfect makeup, perfect bodies. Her prom, all over again. She’d be the plain-but-brainy wallflower on the sidelines, whose date had wandered off
, smiling until her face hurt, pretending it didn’t matter that she was alone, that no boy had come near her...
No. It would be worse than her prom. This was real life, not high school. And Jake, gorgeous, sexy Jake, would laud her as his executive assistant—his sexless executive assistant—and then flirt with every woman in the place except her.
She didn’t care, though. He could do what he wanted, with whatever woman he wanted. She really didn’t...
Emily turned on her heel, pushed her way through the still-crowded corridor, made her way to the elevators and stabbed the call button.
She didn’t have to be here. She didn’t have to spend the evening with her boss. Her day began at nine and ended at five, thank you very much, unless you counted the endless overtime she put in and never, ever bothered mentioning to Jake.
Well, he was in for a surprise.
Emily pushed the button again. Where was that miserable elevator? You’d think, in a hotel like this, one would come when you wanted it.
Jake would have to learn that she had a life of her own. That she couldn’t trot along behind him like a well-trained puppy. That when she said no, no was what she meant. No more letting him dictate commands, or bait her into dizzy arguments she couldn’t win. She wouldn’t permit it. She wouldn’t let Jake get under her skin...
Or touch it. Stroke it, with his hand. With his lips...
“Dammit!” Emily growled, and slammed the call button again.
As if in response, the doors slid open and disgorged a carful of laughing, chattering party guests. Emily tapped her foot impatiently, waited until the car emptied, slipped inside...
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Jake suddenly loomed in the space between the slowly closing doors. She could see only his face, dark with annoyance, and his hand as he jammed it between the doors, forced them open and stepped into the car with her.
The doors swished shut. Suddenly, the car felt small. Very small, and very, very airless but there wasn’t a way in the world she’d let him know that.
“I’m going home,” she said briskly, and pressed the lobby button.
“Going home, or running away?”
“You’re wasting your time if you think you’ll bait me into going back, Mr. McBride. You want to think I’m running away? Fine. Think it.”
“Don’t be silly.” Jake spoke calmly. So calmly that she wanted to slug him. “We just got here.”
“So?”
“So, I’m not ready to leave.”
“I’m not asking you to.” Emily slapped the button again. Why was the damned elevator moving so slowly? “In fact, I don’t want you to leave. Not when you’re obviously having such a good time.”
Jake’s dark brows lifted. “Interesting. Who’d have suspected the formidably efficient Ms. Taylor has normal female instincts?”
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Could it be,” he said, with just a hint of smug satisfaction, “that you’re jealous of Crystal?”
“Is that her name?” Emily folded her arms and stared straight ahead at the blinking lights on the control panel. “You sure it isn’t Brandi the Second?” The elevator came to a stop. The doors slid open but no one got on. After a minute, the doors shut and the downward journey resumed. “Your companions are difficult to tell apart, considering that they’re always tall, leggy, and brain-dead.”
Jake laughed. “You are jealous.”
“Jealous? Of your women?”
“I don’t have ‘women.’ Anyway, I’ve known Crystal for years.”
“You can know her for centuries, for all I care. Dammit, what is with this elevator? Why doesn’t it move?”
“It is moving,” Jake said. “If anything, it’s moving too fast.”
And, just like that, he reached out and hit the Stop button. The car lurched to a halt. Emily staggered and landed against Jake’s chest. His arms went around her but she jerked away.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.
Jake leaned back against the wood-paneled wall and folded his arms. “We came here so you could network.”
“You came here to network.” Emily glowered at the closed doors. “I came here so you could save yourself from a fate worse than death.”
“Yeah.” He gave a sigh of apology. “Listen, about that. I’m really sorry but—”
“But,” Emily said coldly, “that’s okay. It turns out I did network. I met three people. Four, if I expand the list to include life-size mannequins with improbable names.”
She reached towards the Stop button but Jake’s hand shot out and clamped around her wrist.
“There are lots more people to meet, if you’re going to be my exec.”
“I thought you brought me here to meet eligible men.”
“Yeah, that was part of the plan.” Jake’s jaw tightened. “But you changed your mind... Didn’t you?”
“I’ve changed it again,” she said coldly. “Yes, I want to meet men. The more the better.”
“In that case, let’s go back to the party.”
“No.”
“Emily, don’t be an idiot. That party’s loaded with candidates.”
“Oh, I’m sure it is. Crystal-clones are probably everywhere!”
“I’m not talking about Crystal, I’m talking about...” Jake scowled and let go of Emily’s hand. What was he talking about? If she wanted to meet men, that was her business. But if she was serious about being his exec, that was his business. She had to start spending some time with him at functions like this one. That was reasonable, wasn’t it? “Look, we won’t stay long.”
“I stayed too long, already.”
“Will you stop being so foolish?”
“I am not being foolish. I am being sensible.”
“The hell you are. You want to meet men? Well, there they are, a dozen floors above us. Men. Young, old, in between. Fat ones, thin ones, lawyers, bankers and corporate types, all arrayed for your pleasure like hors d’oeuvres on a buffet table.”
“I’m not interested,” Emily said sharply. “Can’t you get that through your thick head? I want to meet men, not have you play go-between.”
“You sure as hell need somebody as a go-between! When you search for dates on your own—”
“I do not search for dates!”
“—when you run your own campaign, the guys you come up with are creeps.”
“All right,” Emily said furiously, “this has gone far enough.”
Jake grabbed her and swung her towards him as she reached for the Stop button. His eyes had turned a dark, forbidding green. “Okay. We’ll forget whether or not you’re in the mood to start behaving like a real woman. Let’s stick to business. I promoted you yesterday. You want to be my exec? Start acting like one.”
“I will. I have, for months now. I do your research. I soothe your clients. I see to it that your office runs without a hiccup. But I don’t have to subject myself to—to standing around on the sidelines in a room filled with overdressed, overmade up females who think life begins and ends with you.”
“Listen to me, Emily. We’re going upstairs. You’re going to that party, by my side.”
“What for? You don’t need me there. I’m not Jacob McBride, Super-Macho Investment Broker. And before you tell yourself that’s a compliment, it isn’t.”
“P.A’s go home at five. E.A’s network. That’s why you’re going to smile, shake some hands, let me introduce you around.” Jake smiled through his teeth. “Or I can take you downstairs, put you in a taxi, and you can go back to being my secretary and my personal assistant. Your choice.”
Emily stared at him. “Why are you doing this?” she finally asked. “I mean, it’s just a party. You really think I should go to these things, okay. I will. But I don’t see what’s so important about tonight.”
Actually, he didn’t, either. Yeah, it would help if she met some of the UBS people but it wasn’t vital. Keeping
her at his side tonight was going to cramp his style; he’d be so busy making sure she didn’t make a run for the elevators or bolt for the fire stairs that he’d probably spend more time concentrating on her than on the people he’d come to see. And she was right, about not being dressed for the occasion. She’d look out of place. Well, so what? Crystal was a sight every man in the room would enjoy but she wasn’t bright, the way Emily was. She didn’t have Emily’s sense of fun. And she’d never drive him crazy, making him want to throttle her one minute and kiss her the next...
Jake frowned, took an involuntary step back.
“I told you the reason,” he said brusquely. “Now, do you want the promotion or don’t you?”
The cool, insolent look on Jake’s handsome face was infuriating. Emily debated the wisdom of telling the mighty McBride what he could do with both the job and the promotion, thought better of it, and lifted her chin.
“I really don’t like you, Mr. McBride,” she said coldly. “But I do like my job.” She undid the belt at the waistline of her coat, snatched the wool scarf from her throat, the wool gloves from her hands, tucked them into her pockets and took the coat off. “Very well. I’m ready.”
She said it as if she’d just agreed to an evening of root canal, Jake thought. And she looked about as eager.
He sighed, took her coat and let it fall to the floor.
Emily’s eyes widened. “Hey,” she said, “what do you think you’re—”
Jake reached out and tugged the clip from her hair. The damp, snowy weather had turned it to a mass of curls; freed of constraint, they tumbled around her face and to her shoulders like a frothy mass of coffee-colored silk.
“Are you crazy? Give me that clip!”
Jake dropped the clip in his pocket, then ran his fingers through her hair.
“You are crazy!” Emily slapped at his hands. “Stop that!”
“You have beautiful hair,” he said. “Why don’t you make the most of it?”
“What do you know about it? Curls aren’t professional.”
“Dressing like your grandmother is?”
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