I Married the Boss!

by Laura Anthony

  Letter to Reader

  Title Page

  Acknowledgments

  Books by Laura Anthony

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  Copyright

  THE OFFICE GRAPEVINE

  Barrington Corporation News Bulletin

  Vol.1 No. 6

  June 1999

  • Word around the office is that Mike the mailman and Sophia Shepherd shared quite the romantic moment when they were trapped together in the elevator during a blackout. But reliable sources say that Mike has been keeping a million-dollar secret that, once known, is sure to surprise everybody—most especially Sophia!

  • Good things really do come in small packages. Congratulations to Olivia and Lucas Hunter on the birth of their son, Nathaniel Wyatt Hunter!

  • Finally, did you hear the news? It seems as if Rex Barrington II is destined for a romance of his own. We all know that his faithful assistant, Mildred Van Hess, has stood by the company president for years...but rumors abound that it was because of more than just professional loyalty!

  Dear Reader,

  In May 2000 Silhouette Romance will commemorate its twentieth anniversary! This line has always celebrated the essence of true love in a manner that blends classic themes and the challenges of romance in today’s world into a reassuring, fulfilling novel. From the enchantment of first love to the wonder of second chance, a Silhouette Romance novel demonstrates the power of genuine emotion and the breathless connection that develops between a man and a woman as they discover each other. And this month’s stellar selections are quintessential Silhouette Romance stories!

  If you’ve been following LOVING THE BOSS, you’ll be amazed when mysterious Rex Barrington III is unmasked in I Married the Boss! by Laura Anthony. In this month’s FABULOUS FATHERS offering by Donna Clayton, a woman discovers His Ten-Year-Old Secret. And opposites attract in The Rancher and the Heiress, the third of Susan Meier’s TEXAS FAMILY TIES miniseries.

  WRANGLERS & LACE returns with Julianna Morris’s The Marriage Stampede. In this appealing story, a cowgirl butts heads—and hearts—with a bachelor bent on staying that way. Sally Carleen unveils the first book in her exciting duo ON THE WAY TO A WEDDING... with the tale of a twin mistaken for an M.D.’s Bride in Waiting! It’s both a blessing and a dilemma for a single mother when she’s confronted with an amnesiac Husband Found, this month’s FAMILY MATTERS title by Martha Shields.

  Enjoy the timeless power of Romance this month, and every month—you won’t be disappointed!

  Mary-Theresa Hussey

  Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance

  Please address questions and book requests to:

  Silhouette Reader Service

  U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

  Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

  I MARRIED THE BOSS!

  Laura Anthony

  Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Laurie Blalock Vanzura, writing as Laura Anthony, for her contribution to the Loving the Boss miniseries.

  Books by Laura Anthony

  Silhouette Romance

  Raleigh and the Rancher #1092

  Second Chance Family #1119

  Undercover Honeymoon #1166

  Look-Alike Bride #1220

  Baby Business #1240

  The Stranger’s Surprise #1260

  Bride of a Texas Trueblood #1285

  Honey of a Husband #1322

  Stranded with a Tall. Dark Stranger #1340

  I Married the Boss! #1372

  LAURA ANTHONY

  started writing at age eight. She credits her father, Fred Blalock, as the guiding force behind her career. Although a registered nurse, Laura has achieved a lifelong dream and now pursues writing fiction full time. Her hobbies include jogging, boating, traveling and reading voraciously.

  Chapter One

  Mrs. Rex Michael Barrington III.

  Sophia Shepherd doodled across the yellow legal notepad and gave a heartfelt sigh. Four months into her new job as assistant to the executive vice president of the Barrington Corporation and she had yet to even meet her boss, much less achieve her goal of marrying him. In fact, she knew very little about the man beyond his sexy telephone voice and his sharp business acumen.

  Mrs. Sophia Barrington.

  The fact that her five best girlfriends, Cindy, Olivia, Molly, Rachel and Patricia, had all fallen in love with their bosses had set Sophia’s imagination into overdrive. Could she, too, marry her boss? After all, love was definitely in the air. Olivia had already wed Lucas Hunter and Cindy was due to walk down the aisle with Kyle Prentice in November. Was it too much to hope that some of that magical stardust might one day settle upon her, bringing into her life the same profound happiness her friends had discovered? Of course, her five friends had a distinct advantage over her. They’d actually known their bosses while Sophia had a crush on a man she’d never even seen.

  Yet, she and her boss talked on the phone daily, and Mr. Barrington—although Sophia liked to think of him as Michael so as not to confuse him with his father, Rex Michael Barrington II—often praised her efficiency. Surely she hadn’t imagined the admiration in his voice last week when he’d told her that she was the best assistant he’d ever had and that when he arrived in Phoenix to take over the family business after his father retired in two months, he intended on treating her to dinner?

  Dinner with Michael Barrington? Sophia’s toes curled at the prospect. She couldn’t have been more excited if Tom Cruise himself had asked her for a date.

  Dreamily Sophia closed her eyes and allowed her reverie full rein. They’d dine at Reflections in the White Swan Hotel in Sedona, the most exclusive restaurant in the most exclusive vacation chain owned by the Barrington Corporation. They’d drink Dom Pérignon, nibble on turkey medallions marinated in mushroom wine sauce and have cherries jubilee for dessert.

  Afterward, Michael would invite her for a late-night stroll along the lake. Demurely she would agree. They’d step outside into the warm night air. He’d take her hand. His grip would be strong and comforting. They would walk for several minutes, his sexy voice rolling over her like heated body oil. The moon would be bright and full, bathing them in an ethereal glow. Michael would tell her how much he admired her work and how much he trusted her as his personal secretary. Sophia would respond in kind, telling him he was the most industrious, responsible, empowering boss she’d ever worked for.

  Michael would stop and gently draw her into the curve of his arm. His heavenly smell, an expensive men’s cologne, would intoxicate her senses. She’d catch her breath and look up into those dark eyes. Sophia liked to pretend that he possessed eyes as deep brown as a Hershey’s Chocolate Kiss.

  “Sophia.” Michael would whisper her name in that throaty baritone of his and she would tumble helplessly under his spell. “I can’t tell you how much you’ve come to mean to me over the past few months.”

  “But, Michael,” she would protest, but ever so slightly, “we’ve only just met face-to-face.”

  “That’s not important,” he would argue. “And although you are an attractive woman, your looks are of no consequence. I’ve come to know the real you over the phone and through your funny little faxes and your witty e-mail messages. I trust you, Sophia Shepherd. Truly, deeply, as I’ve never trusted another.”

  “Oh, Michael.” She would sigh
and he’d sweep her against his chest. His lips would come down on hers in a haunting, soul-searching kiss. A tender kiss that would make her feel comfortable, safe and secure. A kiss that held promises of happily-ever-after.

  “Good morning, Sophia.”

  Ripped from her delicious daydream, Sophia jerked her attention to the doorway.

  Mike Barr, the office mailman, lounged seductively against the doorjamb, his hips cocked forward in a nonchalant slouch, a come-hither grin curling the corners of his lips and a daring twinkle sparking in his green eyes. His dark brown hair was sexily mussed as if he hadn’t bothered with a comb, had instead merely raked his fingers through it. He wore tan chinos and a crisp white polo shirt which did nothing to camouflage his tanned muscular forearms.

  He possessed a voice almost as deep as her boss’s, but where Michael Barrington spoke in a commanding rush, Mike, the office mailman, let words drip off his tongue like heated molasses, and he dished up compliments as readily as he handed out the company mail.

  Despite her best intentions to the contrary, Sophia experienced a hot rush of desire instantly replace the lingering sweetness of her fantasy. Darn it! What was it about this particular man that so stirred her blood?

  “Good morning, Mike,” Sophia replied evenly, refusing to give him a clue to the unrestrained chemistry ramming through her whenever she looked at him. The man need never know that although her heart belonged to Michael Barrington, her fickle body seemed to prefer the mailman’s outdoorsy good looks.

  Sure, Mike was the sexiest thing on two legs. Nobody could deny that. But when a girl looked at him, what she saw was what she got. A handsome guy at the bottom of the corporate ladder with no ambitions to climb higher. A guy who might be great for a few weeks of carefree adventure but one who would certainly falter when it came to long-term commitment. A guy who was here one minute and gone the next with nary a serious thought for what the future might hold.

  No, Sophia could not afford to let Mike know that she found him physically attractive. Because that’s all it was, she assured herself. Physical attraction. Erotic sensations founded on lust. What she felt for Mike was the exact opposite of her feelings for Michael Barrington. Now there was a guy you could count on. Harvard graduate, hardworking, energetic, take-charge, absolutely nothing like the lackadaisical, “play-today-don’t-worry-about-tomorrow,” Mike. It reminded her of the old fable of the ant and the grasshopper. Michael was the ant, Mike the grasshopper. With the grasshopper you might have a heady summer filled with fun but come winter you’d starve to death, and Sophia had experienced more than enough lean winters in her life, thank you very much.

  “You’re looking mighty fine this morning, Miss Sophia,” Mike drawled lazily, his steady gaze flicking over her as hot and dry as the bright Arizona sunshine swelling through the mauve miniblinds and flooding the carpet with dappled lighting.

  “Thank you,” she replied, casually placing a file over the damning legal pad in front of her. She was nervous that Mike might spy the doodlings and find out about her secret crush on her boss. She could not risk an office scandal. “What can I do for you?” she said.

  His grin widened and instantly Sophia realized her poor choice of words.

  “The question is, what can I do for you?” He moved across the room, lethal as a leopard, his smooth movements so mesmerizing, she barely noticed the brown paper package cradled loosely in the crook of his arm.

  “Excuse me?” Gulping, she stared, her eyes transfixed on his broad chest. Whenever he loped into the room it was as if her brain flew straight out the window.

  “I brought something for you.” Mike extended the package toward Sophia.

  “Oh?” She accepted it and with her utility scissors snipped away the string. The package had her name on it but there was no return address. Odd. It had been mailed in Phoenix and postmarked the previous day.

  Mike stayed. Boldly watching her.

  “Is there something else?”

  Sophia looked up as she asked the question, and to her dismay, couldn’t prevent her gaze from crashing into his, resulting in the mental equivalent of a five-car pileup. The man was brash and sexy and dangerous. If she weren’t careful, her heart could end up as so much carnage on the emotional highway of runaway lust. For that very reason, she had always avoided entanglements with men like him. She refused to be swayed by the romantic notion of the bad boy cured by a good woman’s love. She knew that fatal attraction for what it was. A perilous myth.

  Mike’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “I thought you might have some outgoing mail.”

  But Sophia recognized a stalling technique when she saw one. Mike was snooping, waiting to see what the package held.

  “I suppose you could take what I’ve already accumulated but I’ll have more after lunch.” She waved a hand at the stack of envelopes resting in the mail bin.

  “I’ll take these off your hands for now, then I’ll come back later for the rest,” he said.

  “All right.”

  Cripes! Why did her body break out in tingly patches at the prospect of seeing him again today?

  “Speaking of lunch,” he said, “I was wondering...”

  Please, don’t let him ask me out, she prayed, terrified that her body would not allow her mind to refuse his invitation.

  “If you’d like to grab a bite to eat with me,” he finished, confirming her worst fear.

  “I don’t think so.” Sophia shook her head. “But thank you for asking.” Purposefully she returned her attention to the computer screen, signaling that the conversation had ended. Mike did not take the hint.

  “May I ask you a personal question?”

  “If I’m not obligated to answer it.”

  His grin widened. “Fair enough.”

  She gazed at him expectantly. “What’s your burning question?”

  “Are you seeing anyone? I’ve asked around the office and no one seems to know. You’re quite secretive about your private life, Sophia Shepherd. Are you hiding a mystery man?”

  That’s because she didn’t have a private life!

  “No mystery.” She smiled gently, not wanting to hurt his feelings with a blunt rejection. He was a nice enough guy, even if he wasn’t her type. “I simply keep myself very busy.”

  She swung her arm around to take another crack at unwrapping the package and to keep her eyes off Mike. Her finger caught the edge of the manila folder hiding her doodles. The folder skittered across the desk and landed on the floor.

  “I’ll get that for you,” Mike said.

  “No, don’t bother.”

  Quickly she jumped up and hurried around the desk, anxious to prevent him from seeing the embarrassing writing, but Sophia was too slow.

  Mike scooped the folder from the floor and returned it to her desk. She saw one eyebrow arch as he leaned over, cocked his head and read what was scrawled on the notepad. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared pointedly at the calendar on her wall. She paid an inordinate amount of attention to the picture of an inquisitive Siamese kitten in a basket of red yarn, while vainly attempting to stay the heated flush zipping across her cheeks.

  Without saying a word, Mike retrieved the letters from the mail bin. He strolled toward the door, then hesitated before stepping over the threshold. He cast a backward glance over his shoulder at her.

  “Be careful what you wish for, Miss Sophia,” he cautioned. “You just might get it.”

  What did he mean by that? Sophia wondered in irritation. She watched his back as he sauntered away, helplessly noticing how well his chinos cupped his firm behind.

  “Forget Mike,” she mumbled.

  Sophia went back to her desk, sat down and returned her attention to the strange package. The brown paper crinkled in her hands. She picked up her scissors again and sliced through to the cardboard box underneath. It was wrapped in festive birthday paper. Sophia smiled. This morning, her mother had given her a birthday card and the crimson scarf she now wore knotted abou
t her neck, but no one else in the building had wished her a happy birthday. Clearly one of her friends had remembered the date even though she made a point to keep her birthday a secret. Sophia had never cared for parties or fanfare.

  Twenty-nine. Technically an old maid. She had always figured she’d be married by age twenty-nine with a baby or two. Unfortunately she’d never met a man she could truly believe in. An honest man who could provide the secure stable life she’d always craved. A man who would not lie to her the way her father had once lied to her mother. A good-hearted man committed to his family and his career.

  In Sophia’s experience there weren’t many such men in the world. Most guys resembled Mike the mailman, overgrown boys looking for someone to take care of them while they ran around having a good time. But if she had her way, by this time next year she would be Mrs. Rex Michael Barrington III and have a baby on the way.

  Sophia removed the rest of the wrapping paper and opened the box. It contained a glass paperweight carved in the shape of a gray, sloe-eyed kitten. How sweet! Someone knew how much she adored kittens. Which of her friends had sent it? Was it Patricia? She had access to personnel records and could easily uncover Sophia’s birth date. Curiously she peered inside the empty box but did not find a card with the name of the sender.

  Turning the paperweight over in her hand, Sophia admired the smooth lines. She saw an inscription on the bottom which read To The World’s Greatest Secretary. Happy Birthday.

  Her heart gave an erratic thump, and euphoria, brilliant as a rainbow, splashed through her. Blood rushed to her head and her skin prickled. Michael had not only taken the trouble to discover when her birthday was but he’d sent a present, as well! Sophia was so touched by the thoughtful gesture, her eyes misted and a lump rose to her throat.