She painted a smile on her face and took Lee’s arm once more for another circuit of the room and wished, not for the first time, that she’d never given in to his coercion. The money was one thing, but this—the behavior he expected of her with his clients—that was something else entirely.
The night stretched ahead of her, as endless as a life sentence, and the threat of tomorrow’s encounter with Adam assumed proportions she knew would ensure she saw no sleep tonight.
Two
“Green.”
Lainey startled at Adam’s greeting.
“I beg your pardon?” she said.
“Your eyes were green last night. Now they’re brown again. Which is real?”
He was settled behind his desk and gave her a hard stare. Lainey had the distinct impression he wasn’t just talking about eye color.
“The green is real,” Lainey replied on a sigh. “These are contacts.”
This was going to be harder than she thought. On top of a late night and little sleep, she’d been dreading this morning’s inquisition. She’d done her best to get here ahead of Adam, but he must have been up at the crack of dawn to beat her into the office today. The coffee she usually made as her first job before checking e-mail and arranging his papers already filled the office with its delicious aroma. A fact she’d noticed almost from the instant she’d set foot outside the elevator on Adam’s private floor in the Palmer Tower.
“So why hide it?” Adam rose from his seat and came over to stand directly in front of her; the heat of his body enveloping her as he crossed that invisible boundary of personal space and with long cool fingers tilted her chin up so she met his gaze full on. “Why hide everything?”
Lainey pulled away and took a step back, nervously smoothing the jacket of her beige suite.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play games with me, Lainey. You know exactly what I’m talking about. This—” he gestured to her suit which, while well cut, was a size too large and gave the impression she was heavier than she really was “—and this.”
He gestured this time to her hair, his hand snaking out and pulling at the pronged pin she’d used to secure her habitual bun for the office. As her hair tumbled over her shoulders, she saw again the same burn of interest in his eyes that had halted her in her tracks last night at the casino. The near feral look of possession, or at least the desire to possess, that had both excited and terrified her in one swoop.
“I’m not hiding anything. Are you suggesting you’d rather I turned up to work in something like I wore last night?”
Adam barked a gruff laugh. “Well, that certainly would make things interesting around here, wouldn’t it? But no, that’s not what I’m referring to. I’ve worked with you for more than two years, yet after last night I don’t know anymore—which one is the real you?”
“Does it really matter?” Lainey replied wearily. “I do my job while I’m here. You’re kept happy, your clients are happy. How I dress outside the office really has no bearing.”
“Doesn’t it? And what about the people you associate with outside the office. Do you really think that being seen with someone like Lee Ling is good for Palmer Enterprises?”
“You’re overreacting. Lee doesn’t even know I work for you, so why would that impact on here?”
“You don’t think that any of our clients would ever see you with a man like him? Clients whose very personal business you’re well acquainted with in your role as my assistant?” Adam made a sound of annoyance. “It has to stop, Lainey. I don’t know what he is to you but you can’t see Ling anymore.”
“That’s ridiculous. You can’t dictate who I see or don’t see in my personal time.”
“Can’t I? Well how about this? In the past month I’ve noticed a lack of attention to your work. You’ve made mistakes. Yes, I know you’ve picked them up, but don’t think for a minute that I haven’t noticed. Whatever you’re up to outside of office hours is having an impact on your job. Consider this a verbal warning, Lainey. If the errors continue, your next warning will be a written one. You cannot jeopardize the quality of your work with your extra-curricular activities. I won’t stand for it.”
Lainey gasped. Surely he wasn’t serious?
“You’re overreacting, Adam. So you don’t like the company I keep, but you can’t seriously expect me to stop seeing someone because you think it’ll upset our clients if they see me with him.”
“Can’t I? It’s your choice. Pick up your game, Lainey. You know how important it is that you function at one hundred and ten percent at all times. That was made clear to you when you took on this role. If you can’t promise me that, I’ll be forced to let you go from my office.”
“I can’t afford to lose my job!”
She knew she’d said too much the instant the words fell from her mouth. But quite frankly, the prospect of a downgrade in pay, or worse, no pay, was terrifying. If she was going to meet the repayment schedule she’d set up with Lee at his ridiculous interest rates, compounding daily, she had to scrimp and scrape together every cent she could lay her hands on.
“Please, I’ll admit I’ve been a bit distracted lately, but I will get my act together.”
Adam watched her carefully. The prospect of losing her salary had genuinely frightened her. The fact she admitted she needed the money—couldn’t afford to lose it—spoke volumes. Just how deep in debt was she to Ling, he wondered, and how the hell had she fallen into the man’s clutches anyway? With what he paid her, he’d never have suspected her of having money issues, but then again, he reminded himself, he’d never have suspected her of willingly spending time with a slime ball like Ling either. Was gambling her addiction?
The very prospect made him very nervous indeed. With the raft of business Palmer Enterprises had lost to Tremont Corporation in the past year, Adam was understandably wary of a staff whose financial demands was excess of their income. If someone was vulnerable for monetary reasons they were open to all sorts of enticements, including selling their loyalty to the highest bidder—something Lee Ling was in a perfect position to broker.
Adam had believed Lainey to be above that kind of thing but now he wasn’t so sure. She was on a salary commensurate with most mid-level executives, but he expected gold in return for what he paid her. With no partner and no children to support, unless she’d lied about those details on her C.V., he imagined she’d have been pretty well-off. Certainly not in the position she’d just implied with her outburst.
He could see she was uncomfortable with what she’d said from the way she’d subconsciously pressed her lips together. As if by doing so she could stop herself from any further utterances.
How could this brown mouse of a woman be the same sensual creature he’d seen last night? His eyes raked over her from the tip of her head to her sensibly clad feet. Beige low heeled shoes, beige pantyhose, beige suit with a cream blouse underneath. Brown eyes, no makeup, just a touch of pale pink lip color. And that hair—the glossy tumble of rich chestnut waves caressing the shoulders of a jacket that was almost an insult to its lavish beauty.
As he had last night, he itched to run his fingers through its length—to feel if it was as soft, as silken, as it looked. To cup the back of her head and tilt her face to his and to taste her lips, to coax them apart with his lips, his tongue.
Get a grip on yourself, man, he castigated himself. She’s your assistant, not your plaything. But try as he might he couldn’t prevent himself from superimposing the beauty of the woman he’d been attracted to last night over the façade Lainey presented in the office. He turned away from her, settling himself behind his desk again, grateful for the barrier that hid his reaction to her. A reaction he could no more keep in check than he could stop the sun from rising in the east each morning.
How the hell had that happened, he asked himself. At what point had he lost control of his senses and allowed his primal instincts to take over? It angered him that he had los
t his edge of restraint and that Lainey had the capacity to do it to him. She’d barely existed before, other than as a smooth functioning adjunct to his business. He didn’t want to see her as a woman. He didn’t want to want her.
But he did.
“What is Ling to you?” he challenged in a voice that would leave her in no doubt that he wanted the truth.
“We’re…we…”
She did that thing with her lips again and for the life of him he couldn’t take his eyes off them.
“Yes?” he pressed.
“I’m his companion,” Lainey replied, straightening her shoulders and pulling herself up to her full height as if to challenge him to call her a liar.
“Companion?” Adam raised a brow in her direction. “Is that so?”
She bristled under his skeptical stare.
“Yes. What of it? Last I saw there was no law against being someone’s companion.”
“And would there be a financial attachment to this—” he paused for effect “—companionship?”
A hot flush of pink bloomed across her cheeks, giving him his answer even as she shook her head vehemently.
In the front office her phone started to ring. She made to go and answer it.
“Leave it,” he said sharply. “We’re not done yet.”
He watched the long muscles in her throat work as she swallowed against the retort he knew she wanted to throw back at him. How had he never noticed how creamy and smooth her skin was before?
“Just how often do you see Ling, as his companion?” he asked.
“A few times a week. Why?”
“And weekends?” he continued, ignoring her question.
“Sometimes.”
An idea sprang to Adam’s mind that would give him some idea as to just how far she was in with Ling and just how strong the money lender’s hold was over her. Would she take the bait, he wondered? A piece of him prayed she wouldn’t. Hoped, against hope, that she’d say no and that he could turn back the clock to how they’d been yesterday. Before he’d seen her looking as she had last night. Before he’d seen her and wanted her with a fire that burned from deep inside his gut.
“This weekend?”
“Why do you ask, Adam?”
“I’ll be taking our guests north to Russell, leaving Friday and traveling in two vehicles so I can show them a bit of the countryside on the way up. I want you to come, to drive the second car and to act as hostess for the weekend.”
“Since when did my hours of work encompass weekends?” she asked, crossing her arms in front of her.
“Since I’m prepared to offer you a bonus to do so.”
Adam named a five figure sum that saw her eyebrows shoot upward in surprise. If this thing she had with Ling was a genuine relationship she wouldn’t accept the bonus, but if she took him up on his offer then it meant she was in deep trouble.
Men like Ling had a habit of shifting the goal post just when you thought you’d scored a win—and most of his victims had no comprehension of what trouble interest compounding on a daily basis could get them into. If Ling’s hold over Lainey was purely financial, she’d need all the extra money she could lay her hands on to meet his interest repayments, let alone any original debt.
Adam kept his features carefully under control. She wouldn’t see from his expression that he had guessed the root of her problem.
“What time do we leave?”
Regret lanced through him. She accepted.
“I thought we could leave about eleven and stop at Puhoi on the way through for lunch. Mr. Schuster has links to some of the early Bohemian settlers who arrived there in the 1860s. It’ll be a nice detour for him.”
“And our plans while in Russell?”
“Some boating, viewing the Hole in the Rock and the dolphins on Saturday, weather permitting, and possibly golf and sightseeing on Sunday. We’ll return Monday by early afternoon and head straight for the airport so they can meet their connecting flights back home.”
“Will I need any formal wear?”
Adam quirked a smile. “Like last night’s outfit?”
Another flush colored her cheeks although this one appeared to be related more to temper than to embarrassment.
“No, don’t worry. Smart casual will be the order of the weekend. We’ll be staying at Whakamarie—” he named a resort that had a world-class five-star reputation for excellence “—and I’ve requested full catering for the duration of our stay.”
“Fine, I assume we’re leaving from here?”
“Yes, make sure the four-wheel drives are groomed and in the parking garage by Friday morning.”
Adam fired off a list of further instructions he wanted Lainey to attend to before the weekend, then dismissed her. He sat in his chair and leaned back, staring out the window that took in the combined Auckland city and inner harbor view. Even midweek, the sea was alive with yachts and sailboats. Right now he envied them their freedom from care.
He rose from the seat and stalked through to the outer office where Lainey sat at her desk, the telephone cradled between her shoulder and her ear as she typed rapidly on her keyboard. He leaned against the doorjamb and watched her.
“This weekend, that’s right. No, I’m not available. No, I can’t get out of it, it’s work.”
Obviously she was telling Ling she wouldn’t be at his beck and call this weekend. Adam knew he should feel triumphant but the victory was hollow indeed.
“Look, I told you I’ll get you the money early next week. Yes, I know I’m late but I give you my solemn oath that you’ll have it when I get back.”
She stiffened and tilted her head slightly, her eyes widening slightly as she saw Adam watching her.
“I can’t talk now. I’ll call you Monday night.”
Lainey replaced the phone on its station and met Adam’s gaze full-on.
“Is there something else you wanted, Adam?”
He bit back the words that rose like bitter pills in his throat.
“Yeah, lose the frumpy clothes and the contacts. I want the real you away with us this weekend. In fact—” he stopped to slide his wallet from his jacket breast pocket and flipped out his platinum card “—get yourself something decent to wear for the weekend.”
Lainey sat still, staring at the card where it had fallen onto her desk in front of her.
“You’re worried I don’t have anything suitable?”
There was an edge to her voice that suggested she might be prepared to argue.
“Well,” he drawled, determined to provoke her, “if what you wear around here is any indicator, yeah. I take it Ling provided your outfit for last night. I’m simply offering to do the same.”
Her posture became even stiffer, if that was possible, he noticed. But she didn’t break eye contact as her hand crept out and she palmed the card.
“Thank you,” she replied primly, but with an undercurrent that made him wish he’d handled the situation differently. “I’ll be sure that I don’t let you down.”
She rose from her desk and walked over to the cupboard where she kept her purse and made a show of putting his card inside. As she crossed back to her desk, she stopped in front of him and he noticed fine tremors shook through her body.
“Do you mind telling me exactly in what capacity I’m working this weekend that you feel it necessary to provide me with clothing as well?”
There was a bite to her voice that showed just how tautly stretched her nerves were at this moment. He took his time delivering his response.
“As my companion, Lainey. What else?”
Three
“I don’t understand why you have to be away for the whole weekend.”
Lainey’s grandfather, Hugh Delacorte, continued to pot cuttings in his potting shed. Even after thirty years as a television garden show host, he hadn’t lost any of his love for the basics of his work. Lainey leaned against the bench and sighed.
“Granddad, I explained it to you. We have overseas clients an
d this is purely business.”
At least she hoped so.
“It wouldn’t have happened in my day. Unheard of—a secretary going away for a weekend with the boss. Unless, of course, there was more to it.” He looked up from his task and fixed his gaze on her in much the same way he had when she’d broken curfew as a rebellious teenager.
“No, don’t worry, there’s nothing more to it. Seriously.”
“Well, like I said, it wouldn’t have happened in my day.”
No, Lainey admitted. Nor would a place like the casino have existed in New Zealand in his day either. The closest her grandfather would have had to gambling was the occasional flutter on the horses, or a friendly game of poker with a few of his friends from the television studio.
“Granddad?” She had to get to the point of her discussion with him.
“Hmm?”
“Promise me you won’t go into town while I’m away.”
His fingers stilled again in their task and Lainey felt a shaft of pain in the region of her heart. He’d always been her rock, even when she’d tested her boundaries after her parents had died in a car accident when she was only thirteen. But now the roles were reversed and it was he who depended on her.
“Into town?”
“You know what I mean, into the casino. Please? Promise me you’ll stay away. With what I’m going to be paid for working this weekend I’ll be close to paying Lee back the money you owe him.”
“That’s not your problem!” Hugh snapped, clearly embarrassed by Lainey’s refusal to continue to beat around the bush.
“But it is my problem. I don’t want you to worry about it, Granddad. I told you I’d help you and I will.”
“Help me? By spending a weekend with your boss? He must be paying you some pretty hefty sum of money if, as you say, we’ll be close to getting that shyster off my back. Just business? A likely story.”
Pretend Mistress, Bona Fide Boss Page 2