Best of Bosses 2008: In Bed With Her Italian Boss\Taken by Her Greek Boss\Blind Date With the Boss (48 page)

I
T WAS
six o'clock and Logan was still working at his desk. Each time he looked up, the waters of Sydney Harbour were a little darker. Now the street lights had come on and headlights glowed in the purpling twilight. Traffic on the bridge looked like bright strings of beads, as cars headed for home.

He should be heading off too, but he wanted to finish this proposal first. He preferred to stay back and get work finished, keeping his home as his refuge, his haven from the battlefield of business.

Another fifteen minutes should do it. Logan turned back to the list of figures on his computer screen.

‘Knock, knock!'

The unexpected voice at his office door startled him. ‘Sally!' His smile was spontaneous. These days, he only had to
think
about Sally and he started smiling. ‘What are you doing here at this late hour?'

‘I was waiting to speak to you.'

‘Really?' His throat constricted and he had to swallow. ‘I—I'm sorry if I've kept you waiting. I had some work to clear up.' He frowned at her. ‘But you didn't have to stay back. Maria knows I have an open door policy with my staff. Or you could have telephoned.'

Sally dropped her gaze to something she was holding and he saw that it was a CD. ‘I needed to be certain that no one will overhear our conversation,' she said.

‘I see.' A disquieting thought struck. ‘You're still coming to the ball, aren't you?'

‘Yes.' She looked up and her gaze softened. ‘I wouldn't pull out at this late stage.' She looked suddenly animated. ‘I've got my dress. It's gorgeous.'

‘I'm glad you like it.'

She waved the CD. ‘I'm afraid this is a business matter.'

‘You'd better take a seat, then.' He wished it wasn't so hard to be formal and businesslike with Sally. He kept thinking about kissing her.

‘Is it OK if I shut the door?'

‘If you insist.' Logan's frown deepened. What on earth was this about?

Sally pulled out a chair and sat. She was wearing a bright blue top and a neat grey skirt. Ordinary, everyday working clothes which shouldn't have looked incredibly sexy. On her they did. Intensely so, especially when she crossed her legs with an unconscious grace that robbed him of oxygen.

For days he'd been trying to forget how she'd felt in his arms—soft and sensuous and willing. She'd completely wrecked his powers of concentration.

‘So what did you want to discuss?' His voice was gruffer than he'd intended.

‘This.' Sally set the CD on the desk. But she didn't speak immediately. She looked worried, almost embarrassed, and chewed at her lower lip. Her soft, pink, infinitely kissable lower lip. ‘Can you confirm that it's OK for me to send off the contents of this disk to an outside email? Maria said it was an urgent job for you, but she had a problem with her own computer and I wanted to—'

‘Maria?' Logan interrupted. ‘Did you say Maria asked you to send emails?'

‘Yes.'

‘Why?'

‘She said she was having trouble with the Internet. She's been getting me to do odd jobs. The other day she asked me to save a whole stack of files on to my computer.'

‘She
what
?'

Sally squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. ‘I feel terrible speaking about your PA behind her back. It's probably fine. She said it was for security. An extra backup.'

No, it wasn't fine. Logan felt stirrings of alarm. ‘We have good backup procedures. Maria didn't need to use your computer.'

Sally shrugged unhappily. ‘I knew there was no real harm in saving a few files.' She shook her head. ‘But I didn't feel right about sending an email when I hadn't been told anything about it.'

Uneasily, Logan asked, ‘So what's on the CD?'

‘I don't know and I didn't think it was my business to read the files. That's why I wanted to check with you. It seemed odd, like agreeing to take a parcel on an international flight without knowing the contents.'

‘Let's have a look, then.' Grim-faced, he picked up the CD and slid it into his computer.

A click of the mouse later, the list of files scrolled on to his screen and the bottom dropped from his stomach.

Sally leaned anxiously across the desk. She'd seen the shock in Logan's eyes and the colour drain from his face and now she felt sick. ‘What is it?'

‘This is full of information that's come straight from the boardroom. It's supposed to be locked away on a secure file.'
Logan loosened his tie as if he needed more air and Sally saw, with dismay, that his hand was shaking.

He clicked on another file and a groan escaped him. ‘This is Blackcorp's strategy for the next three years. It…it's the heart and soul of my company.'

‘But—' Sally struggled to take this in. It was so much worse than she'd feared. It sounded disastrous.

Logan lifted his hands to his head and shuddered. ‘You haven't sent any of this information, have you?'

‘No. Nothing.' She was so glad she could reassure him.

‘Good girl.' He let out a heavy sigh. ‘In the wrong hands, this would allow a competitor to second guess the next critical stage in Blackcorp's development.' Beckoning to her, he said, ‘Look, come and see for yourself. It lists all our company contacts. Key strategies. Pricing.'

She came around to his side of the desk, saw the lists of figures, saw the haggard fear in Logan's eyes.

Thank heavens she'd followed her instincts and double-checked with him.

‘Where were you supposed to send this?' he asked.

‘I have the list of addresses here.' She pulled the sheet of paper with Maria's list from her pocket.

Logan took one glance at it and let out a groan, then leapt to his feet and released a strong expletive. ‘I can't believe Maria did this.'

He could feel panic rising and he began to pace.

‘She would have reduced me to my bottom dollar.' He reached the far wall, paced back again. Fear. The sickening fear that had dogged him since his teens clawed at his throat.

He slammed a fist into the wall. ‘She must have been a plant all along. She's probably been planning this for ages.
There could have been a takeover of Blackcorp.' It was his worst nightmare.

He shot Sally a fierce glance, challenging her, needing her to understand. ‘My family's already been through one bankruptcy. I swore I would never let it happen again in my lifetime.'

All his years of hard work, all his self-denial and disciplined planning would have come to nothing.
Nothing!

‘But everything's OK, isn't it?' Sally asked quietly. ‘I didn't send the emails. Nobody got this information.'

‘You're right.' Logan shot her a shaky smile. ‘You've pulled us back from the brink of disaster.' He felt a blast of euphoria. Sweet, piercing relief. But it quickly evaporated as the full implications of Maria's treachery struck home.

‘Maria was setting you up, Sally.' It was a terrible possibility, but it had to be true. ‘She wanted the emails to come from you. Then, if the leaks were discovered, they would have been traced to your desk.'

Sally pouted. ‘Why did she pick on me?'

‘She would have been confident that you didn't have a hope of defending yourself. It's so much easier to cast suspicion on the newest employee.'

‘And then it would have been my word against the word of the boss's trusted PA.'

‘Exactly.'

This time it was Sally who swore. Colourfully. And then she quickly blushed. ‘Sorry. Having four brothers expands a girl's vocabulary. But how dare she use me like that?'

Tears shone in her eyes and the sight of them undid Logan. Closing the gap between them, he took her hands. ‘Maria's a poor judge of character. No doubt she thought of you as
nothing more than the new girl—a little nobody on the front desk—too terrified to question her.'

Sally rolled her eyes and the action sent her tears spilling down her cheeks. Logan wiped them gently with his thumbs. He said softly, ‘Sally saves the day.' It was supposed to make her smile. Her smiles were precious. Pure gold. ‘I mean it, Sally. You've saved my company, you've saved me.'

She rewarded him with a tiny tilt of her mouth. Her lovely, soft, inviting mouth. Which he should not be looking at with shameless desire.

But desire for Sally had become his constant companion lately and now it was heightened by all the other emotions swirling through him—shock, horror, gratitude, elation. ‘How can I ever thank you?' he whispered and then, to cover the deeper feelings he hadn't meant to reveal, he tried to lighten the moment. ‘I'm great with flowers and dinners, but what else can I offer you, Sally?'

For ages she stood there, staring at his computer, but when she looked up there was a playful twinkle in her eyes. ‘I think the least you could do is kiss me again.'

Wrong answer. He was supposed to be keeping his distance from this woman. He was her boss and he'd as good as promised that he wouldn't lay a finger on her.

Sally seemed to have forgotten. And, the truth was, Sally had earned twenty years' worth of kisses, and it was only fitting that he should be the man who gave them to her. Slowly. Lovingly. Over every inch of her soft, silky skin.

Whoa, there. Straighten your thinking, man.

Logan shifted his focus from Sally's tempting mouth to the bank of windows. The world outside was pitch-black
now. It was time to get her home before he forgot his good intentions. Time to…

He looked into Sally's eyes again.
Major mistake.
He felt as if he were drowning, feared he was losing the fight. He was a mere male and how could he resist this tempting saviour? Why should he resist her when she was so clearly inviting him to kiss her?

Lifting his hands, Logan framed her face, knew he had no chance in this lifetime of keeping his distance.

Nevertheless…it was supposed to be a restrained kiss. That was the plan. Cradling her face with gentle hands, he lowered his lips slowly, brushed them softly against her mouth.

And his plan turned to dust as Sally gave a small whimpering cry, wound her arms around his neck and arched into him. Her lips were sweet and eager. She nipped him lightly on his lower lip and made soft sounds of wanting that sent his best intentions scattering into the night.

His kiss turned hard and deep. His hands slid down her arms and cupped her bottom.
Oh, God.
Her kisses were way beyond sexy. She tasted divine, sent him wild.

He'd never been stirred to this feverish point where physical need and tender emotions were fused in one overwhelming torrent of longing. He had to have this woman. He was on the edge of losing control completely.

No. Hell, no.
He couldn't do that.

Somehow Logan found the strength to break the kiss. Sally's cheeks were flushed and her eyes were dark and roused. Touching a finger to her lips, he whispered, ‘We shouldn't be doing this. I gave you my word.'

Her chin lifted and her eyes were a clear blue challenge. ‘Please don't send me away, Logan.'

‘Oh, Sally.' He drew her against him, pressing a kiss into her glorious, sun-bright curls. ‘What am I going to do with you?'

‘I thought you were doing just fine.'

He groaned softly, knew that he'd lost this particular battle. ‘Not here.'

 

‘Where are we going?' Sally asked as the car purred through the forest of skyscrapers in Sydney's city centre.

‘My place.'

Logan's quiet answer sent a jolt through her that almost launched her out of her seat.

‘Is that OK?' he asked, shooting her an anxious sideways glance.

‘Yes. Absolutely.' Her voice was surprisingly calm and confident considering that Logan Black was taking her home, almost certainly to make love to her. She closed her eyes as the impact of this washed over her, bringing wave after wave of shivery excitement.

It was so hard to believe this was actually happening. But it felt right—perfectly right. The whole ‘boss' façade had fallen away this evening and Sally had seen a man facing his greatest fear.

Even if she hadn't already been totally smitten by his good looks, or touched by the way he'd tried so earnestly to learn to dance, and with the way he bought white roses for his grandmother, and a thousand other sweet things about him, she would have fallen head over heels tonight.

Tonight, she'd looked into his eyes and she'd seen his soul stripped bare. His vulnerability had given her new courage. She longed to offer him comfort, support, strength, hu
mour—whatever he needed. Everything she had. Heart and body and soul.

He turned off the street and drove into the ground floor garage of a tall apartment block, a pillar of glass and steel. A flurry of nervous excitement rose from Sally's stomach to her throat. Logan turned to her and smiled gorgeously, and she took a deep breath.