by Lori Wilde
Her fingers gripped his well-knit shoulder muscles. She closed her eyes and fell down, down, down into an endless sea of ravenous craving.
Lust.
Unadulterated. Raw. Compelling.
Feelings, sensations, intense emotions that Sophia had never experienced swelled over her. So, this was what her mother had been warning her against these many years. At last Sophia understood. This helplessness in the face of physical urges. This headlong aching of her body. This mindless desire that begged her to ignore common sense and reason.
Sophia whimpered.
Mike absorbed her whimper.
But this could not, must not happen. How could it anyway, in this small vehicle, on the side of the road, sunlight flooding in through the windows, cars honking encouragement as they drove past, the smell of tar and fuel exhaust clogging the air?
Brought back to reality, Sophia stopped kissing him.
As if perfectly attuned to her, Mike pulled back and sucked in an unsteady breath.
“Wow,” he whispered softly. “Wow.”
Shakily, Sophia drew a finger across her mouth, focused on the steering wheel, straightened her blouse, raked her fingers through her hair, and slipped her safety belt back on. Her hands trembled as she put the car into gear and entered the stream of traffic. Not once did she dare look over at him.
Wow. Wow. Wow.
Mike could not stop thinking about her. In all his thirty-six years, he had never been so turned on by any woman. No, not just turned on, his feelings for her were much stronger than that. She intrigued him in a dozen different ways.
Sophia had been running through his head all morning, searing a beaten path across his
brain. In a daze, he wandered through the building attending to minor repairs. Those few stunning moments in Sophia’s car had stolen his free will. His senses so clouded he could barely drag one foot in front of the other, much less return the hearty greetings of coworkers.
He saw her in his mind’s eye. Sophia. Blond, beautiful, a lonely princess hiding behind a carefully constructed facade. Sophia. The perfect executive assistant, hardworking, de-
voted, efficient. Sophia. So full of fire, so full of passion.
How had he lived for so long without this feeling? How had he existed for so long without her?
Don’t lose your sense of direction. You didn’t get where you are today by falling for every pretty face that sent your temperature soaring.
Except no woman had ever made him feel the way Sophia did. Whenever he was around her, he felt stronger, smarter, brighter. Mike ached to tell her all his secrets, to reveal every silly daydream that had ever sprinted through his head, to bore her with stories of his childhood, to regale her with his jokes and his life in Brazil. To reveal to her his true identity.
Watch out!
He couldn’t forget that, sexy as she might be, he couldn’t trust Sophia. At least not yet. Not until she passed his litmus test by falling in love with Mike the handyman.
What if he couldn’t change her? What if he turned on the charm, courted her with fervency, and it didn’t work? What if he pulled out all the stops and despite his best efforts, she still chose Rex Barrington over him? Then he’d have egg on his face and his heart in his hands.
And he’d have to transfer her. For how could they work together after that?
Did he dare take that risk?
Mike suppressed a laugh. How ironic, the master of risk-taking reduced to a quivering mass by his hopeful heart.
“Hey, Mike.” Heath Hunter greeted him when Mike pushed through the door into the marketing department to perform a routine changing of the air-conditioning filters.
“Morning, Heath.”
Heath’s smile was wider than usual. “Did you catch the baseball game on ESPN last night?”
Mike shook his head.
“Too busy, huh?” Heath winked.
“Busy?” Mike repeated, struggling to pay attention. Before Heath had married Amber, he and Mike went to Kelly’s Bar once a week to watch a baseball game and shoot pool.
He missed Heath, he realized. Before going undercover as Mike the handyman, he’d not really had any solid friendships. Even as a boy he’d been hesitant to let down his guard and make friends.
Too many moves from city to city, school to school, as his father climbed the ladder from wildcatter, to oil executive, and finally to president of his own company. Too many false friends. Too many bad experiences had taught him to be cautious.
As a boy, Mike was on alert, wary of kids who only wanted to hang out with him for his father’s money. Throughout most of his childhood, he’d felt like he was on the outside looking in, never really quite sure what others thought about him.
Sure, he’d had his older brother, Mark, but they were often in competition for their father’s approval, and their personalities and interests were so different that they didn’t spend much time together. And now Mark was living and working in Houston.
It hadn’t helped that their father had been too busy working to play catch or to take him and his brother to baseball games. They were supposed to understand. Making money came before family. It was a fact of the Barrington household he’d learned to live with. It wasn’t lost on Mike, that just like his father, he too had become a workaholic.
He took pride in his independence, knowing he didn’t need others to keep him entertained. That rebel streak had spurred the bad boy phase he’d gone through in his late teens, when in the aftermath of his mother’s illness, he and his father had not gotten along. It had been tough, but they’d worked through it and now had a mutual respect for each other.
“Don’t play innocent with me, you sly dog.” Heath came around his desk to slap Mike on the shoulder. “Liam Wilson saw you yesterday evening with Sophia Shepherd on the back of your Harley.”
“I just gave Sophia a ride home.”
Heath winked again. “Rrright. And that’s why Jeff Henderson spotted you getting out of Sophia’s car this morning.”
“You guys gossip like schoolgirls.”
Heath raised his palms. “Hey, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Sophia’s a gorgeous woman. But if you’re gonna date her, you need to let HR know. It’s in the policy manual.”
Inwardly, Mike groaned. He hated that he’d gotten Sophia sucked into office gossip. “We’re not dating.”
“Probably for the best.” Heath crinkled his nose. “I heard she’s got a thing for Rex Barrington.”
“Yeah,” Mike said tightly. “I heard that too.”
Heath’s eyes darkened. “You like her. I hear it in your voice.”
“She’s nice enough.”
“Come on, buddy, you can’t fool me. I had that same tone when I was pining over Heather and afraid to ask her out because I was her boss and didn’t want things to get complicated.”
“Sophia’s not interested in me.” Mike shook his head.
“How do you know?”
“I just do,” Mike said, wishing he hadn’t gotten into this discussion with Heath. “I gotta get this vent filter changed.” He patted the filter he had tucked underneath his arm.
Mike changed the filter and left the marketing department with a nagging doubt following him. What should he do about Sophia? Things were more complicated than Heath would ever know.
In fact, there was only one person who would completely understand his situation. Only one man could give him the proper perspective. And he sorely needed that advice before he made the wrong move and ruined everything.
Getting off the elevator on the fifth floor, Mike walked past Mildred Van Hess’ desk. The impeccably dressed executive assistant glanced up as he approached.
“Hey, Mildred.” He smiled.
Mildred was the only employee at Barrington Oil and Gas who knew he was masquerading as an undercover boss.
She smiled back. “Good morning, Re…er…Mike.”
“The big guy in?” he asked.
Mildred nodded.
“Is he busy?”
“He’s always busy, but he’ll make time for you.”
“That’s good,” Mike said. “Because I’ve got something pressing on my mind.”
He darted a quick glance toward Sophia’s office, relieved to see that her door was closed.
Mildred followed his gaze to the office across the hall and shook her head. “Go on in.”
Mike pushed through the door to find his father sitting behind a large marble desk, frowning at his computer screen.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Good morning.” His father waved him down. “Have a seat.” But Mike prowled restlessly around the room, his hands clasped behind his back. He stared out the big picture windows at the desert landscape stretching out before him, the Davis Mountains in the distance.
His father cleared his throat. “How are things going with your assignment, Rex?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’m worried about Sophia.”
“Worried?”
“I’m not sure I can trust her.”
His father lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “Sophia seems very responsible to me, and Mildred says she’s excellent at her job.”
“She is.” He perched on the arm of a leather chair, running his hands through his hair.
“And the problem is?”
“I’m afraid she’s another Erica.”
The sound of that name from the past stopped the conversation cold.
His father winced and sucked in his breath through clenched teeth. “What makes you think that?”
“Just a gut feeling.”
“I hope you’re wrong.”
“It’s worse than that, Dad.”
“I hate to ask why.”
“I’m falling for her.”
6
Sophia was confused. So confused that she’d already put salt in her coffee, accidentally deleted an important e-mail, and overwatered the ficus tree in the office to the point of saturating the carpet beneath it.
Darn that Mike! This was all his doing. Sophia, on her hands and knees, sopped water from the carpet with a roll of heavyweight paper towels.
Why on earth was she so attracted to Mike when who she really wanted was Rex?
Or did she?
It hadn’t been Rex Barrington who’d given her a kiss so amazing it knocked her socks off.
But Rex was the man she respected. He was the son of a billionaire. Had made a fortune in his own right. He could provide for a wife and family. He was considerate and thoughtful and hardworking. He had goals and dreams and ambitions.
But who got you a birthday gift? And who didn’t?
Well, she could hardly hold Rex responsible for that, could she? He was a busy man. Mike had time to spare. Rex wasn’t even in the US.
The phone rang.
Hurriedly, Sophia got to her feet and dropped the soggy towels in the trash can. She dried her hands with a clean paper towel and grabbed the phone. “Rex Michael Barrington’s office. Sophia Shepherd speaking.”
The instant his rich voice washed over her, Sophia inhaled sharply.
“Good morning, Sophia,” Rex Barrington said.
“Oh, Mr. Barrington. How are you this morning?” Her stomach fluttered, and her heart contracted. Only one other person on the planet stirred her like this, and he worked in maintenance.
“Sophia,” he teased. “How many times have I told you it’s okay to call me Rex?”
“I know, sir,” she said, “but I don’t want to be presumptuous.”
“It would never be presumptuous for you to call me by my first name, and whatever you do, please get rid of the ‘sir.’ It makes me feel like my father.”
“Yes, sir... er... Rex.”
“That’s better.”
Sweet heaven, that voice! Low and deep. Her toes curled inside her shoes. His tone sounded so much like Mike’s.
That gave her pause. Was Mike’s voice the subliminal thing that attracted her to him?
Could it be that his voice reminded her of Rex, and that’s why he turned her on?
“How’s business?” Rex asked, his sultry voice wrapping around her, tight as a hug.
Sophia gave him a rundown on the business accounts.
“Great job. Keep up the good work.”
A delicious warmth seeped through Sophia’s body. “Just doing my job, sir.”
“What was that?”
“Rex.” She smiled into the receiver. “Old habits die hard.”
“Listen, Sophia,” he said, and she heard the hesitation in his voice. It wasn’t like Rex to hesitate, and for a split second, he sounded exactly like Mike the maintenance man.
“Yes?” She leaned forward against her desk, freaked over the excitement pushing through her chest.
“It’s come to my attention I missed your birthday yesterday.”
“Oh, I didn’t expect you to remember my birthday.” Sophia leaned back in her chair and ran a hand through her curls. “After all, we’ve only been working together a few months, and you’re a very busy man.”
“Stop making excuses for me, Sophia. I forgot your birthday, and I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t worry; I correct my oversights.”
As if on cue, a knock sounded at her open door, and a deliveryman appeared with a lavish flower bouquet clutched in his arms. Dozens and dozens of flowers. Roses and lilies. Orchids and daisies. Carnations and gladiola. Red, green, purple, yellow, orange. A fragrant rainbow protruding from a leaded crystal vase.
“Flowers for Miss Sophia Shepherd,” the deliveryman called out.
“Rex!” She breathed into the phone and waved the man over to her desk. “What have you done?”
He chuckled. “I take it they’ve arrived?”
“They’re so beautiful!” Emotion choked her. In that moment, she felt like a fairy-tale princess.
“That’s not all,” Rex said.
The deliveryman plunked the flowers in front of her and winked before leaving the room.
“It’s n-not?” Sophia stammered, overwhelmed.
“No, ma’am. I’m giving you a raise. And it’s not for your birthday; it’s for all the hard work you do.” Then he named a figure so high she was sure she’d misheard.
“What?” she asked.
He repeated the amount of her raise.
“That’s almost double my current salary!” Sophia exclaimed, unable to believe it. She could buy a new car and pay off some of her mother’s long-standing medical bills.
“You’re worth every penny and more.”
“I-I don’t know what to say. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” What a blessing! What a godsend.
“You’re very welcome. I don’t want a competitor to steal you away from me.”
Steal you away from me.
She knew he was talking about work. Yes, she did, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Mike and that sizzling kiss they’d shared on the side of the highway. Sophia gulped.
“No one could ever steal me away from you.” Sophia dreamily doodled Mrs. Rex Michael Barrington on her desk calendar.
“You never can tell when you might run across a smooth-talking headhunter full of glib promises. I need to know that you’re integral to Barrington Oil and Gas, Sophia.” His voice dipped lower. “And to me.”
“Thank you,” she said, feeling her cheeks blush hot. “I feel so lucky to be working for you.”
“Have a good day,” he said. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
“Until tomorrow.” She was about to hang up.
“Wait,” he said. “There’s something else I’ve been meaning to ask.”
“Yes?”
Silence hummed across the lines. Sophia could picture Rex at his office in Brazil, handsome in an expensively tailored suit, the phone cradled under his chin, his feet propped on his desk in the casual elegance of a self-assured monarch.
“Are you seeing anyone?” he asked.
“Beg your pard
on?” The question caught her off guard.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
Sophia caught her breath as a thrill sped through her. Could it be true? Was Rex asking her out? This was too much. A substantial raise in pay, a beautiful floral bouquet, and an invitation to go out with Rex.
“No,” she answered and pinched herself.
“There’s not someone special in your life?”
Guiltily, she thought of Mike. He was special. She couldn’t deny the sparks that flew between them whenever they were in the same room together. But no matter how hot the chemistry, she had no future with Mike the handyman, and for the last four months, she’d dreamed of Rex Barrington asking her on a date.
And even though Sophia valued honesty above all things, she wasn’t about to blow this opportunity by telling him about Mike.
“No,” she spoke firmly, ignoring the twinge of remorse. Mike had made her no promises; she owed him nothing beyond doing her job well.
“I’m surprised,” Rex said. “You’re so accomplished, reliable, and understanding.”
“There’s no one,” she assured him, resolutely pushing thoughts of Mike from her mind. It was true. She and Mike had never dated. They weren’t an item. “Is there any reason you ask?”
“I was just going to tell you to bring your significant other to our company picnic.”
“Huh?” Sophia blinked, disappointed that Rex hadn’t been angling to ask her out.
“You’ll be at the company picnic?”
“I’m going to do my best to wind things up here in Brazil by then,” he said.
Hope sprang fresh in her heart. At last! Rex was coming home.
“Until tomorrow,” he said.
“Goodbye,” she whispered.
The phone clicked softly in her ear as Rex severed the connection, leaving Sophia frustrated and more confused than ever.
From a desk across the hall, Rex glanced over at his father. By sending Sophia flowers and giving her a huge raise, he had upped the ante, pitting himself against himself. Rex against Mike. The wealthy oil man versus the charming cowboy. Who would emerge victorious?
“You sure this is the right thing to do?” Rex asked his father who’d suggested the whole undercover ploy.