Blurring the Lines (Men of the Zodiac) (3 page)

“Your point?”
Interesting
. Her roommate already worked for him. He made a mental note to pull that file from HR.

The bewildered expression didn’t leave her face. “You don’t know anything about me.”

Why was he having to convince her to work for him? Why wasn’t she thanking him and hugging him for his generosity and leaping up and down for joy and asking when she should start? And why did her reluctance please him more than if she’d taken the job from the jump?

The confusion on her face fascinated him. It was like she couldn’t quite figure out how to piece him together, but that she wasn’t willing to quit just yet. “Look, Kira, I know enough. I know you’re neat, organized, and smart. Smart enough to come down here with a list of reasons why the building should be saved.”

“And that’s enough? To offer me a job on the spot?”

This woman stopped him mid-thought. With every protest and argument out of her mouth, he solidified his desire to hire her as his secretary. She’d be dedicated and loyal, and no question she’d get the job done. She was the perfect solution to cleaning up his image.

With a carefree shrug he’d perfected over the years, he said, “That’s who I am. Now, do you accept? How badly do you want to save your family’s building?”

“I wouldn’t be a good assistant for you.”

Without batting one eyelash, he asked, “Do you want to sleep with me?”

Flustered, she shook her head. “Absolutely not.”

With a smug nod, he said, “Well, then, that makes you perfect.”

Chapter Four

K
ira smoothed down her sundress and grimaced at her reflection in her bedroom. “This is it.”

What a difference a week could make. Last Monday she’d picked up the dogs from the animal rescue, taken them for a walk, and knocked down the CEO of
the company looking to raze her mother’s legacy. Now he was her boss.

No amount of research and pre-planning had prepared her for the likes of Blake Whitman, challenge gleaming in his light brown eyes. He didn’t think she’d do it. He’d taken one look at her frumpy, ill-fitting suit and thrown out a wild offer. Give the girl a job as a secretary. Save a building. No skin off his shoulder. It must be so easy for guys like him to get whatever they wanted whenever they wanted it.

Her father was a perfect example. Work all day, mess with people’s lives, and play at night with whoever caught his fancy.

Well, it would serve him right to have to deal with her. She could handle him, and he didn’t even know the half of what she was capable of accomplishing. That sweet deal for the strip mall instead of baseball fields for the community park he’d lost last year had been partly her doing. The bid he’d placed for the chain grocery store to go next to the library had been stopped by a petition she’d helped organize.

She knew Blake Whitman, had seen him in action with his arm candy, and the way he’d thrown out the job offer surprised her. That he’d be willing to hire her as his secretary without knowing anything more than her name and the fact she wanted to save a neighborhood. She wondered what his scheme was. Now that she’d be working for him she’d have plenty of time to find out.

Tish stretched across the bed and sipped the last of her breakfast smoothie. “You look like every guy’s hot secretary fantasy.”

Kira wrinkled her nose. Attracting her multimillionaire boss was not the strategy she wanted to take. Especially since she’d said she didn’t want to sleep with him. “Despite whatever fantasies you have about
your
boss, I’m not in the market right now. I’m there to save the building.” No matter how hot he was. And damn, was Blake Whitman smoking. But he didn’t sleep with secretaries and fired the ones who wanted to sleep with him.

So it didn’t matter that Blake’s dark hair and dark golden eyes had haunted her since he’d picked up Muffin and cuddled him. She’d always been a sucker for tall, dark, and handsome, and the fact that her new boss was dog-friendly, too, only added to the interest in him she didn’t want to have.

She still couldn’t believe Tish had convinced her to confront Blake. Now, she had a great paying job and The Bromwell Building might be saved without getting her dad involved, assuming her boss followed through with his end of the deal. Lucky for her, she’d be working for him, and she could follow-up with his promise to entertain other design options.

Tish rolled her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell your dad?”

“My dad said real estate wasn’t in his wheelhouse, and that if I wanted, he’d find me another building. He never felt any attachment in the same way I did and complained about the upkeep and money spent on refurbishments. It’s not just the building for me.”

She grabbed a blazer and buttoned it over the sundress.

After nodding her approval, her friend exited the room as she said, “I know. We’ll make this work without your dad.”

Kira sighed and took one last stare at herself in the mirror. Until yesterday, she hadn’t worn a blazer in a year, but that year felt like it happened a different lifetime ago. Back before she figured out that life wasn’t a sprint, and she didn’t want to be first.

She didn’t deny she earned her JD-MBA to please her father, but it was her mother’s journal he’d given her just before graduation that changed her attitude about what it meant to be successful. So many charities needed capable volunteers and there weren’t enough hours in the day to do everything. After a year working endless hours for her father’s consulting company, she felt like she wasn’t connecting with the corporate life or doing much good for the community. She’d had a serious discussion with him about her interest in spending more time on the community revitalization efforts to continue her mom’s vision of creating historic Edgewater Bay.

It terrified her to have a tiny bubble of excitement brewing in her gut at working for a big corporation again. No way would she allow the adrenaline of a new job to make her feel like a sellout. This time would be different. She’d have a charity allowance, money to devote toward local projects, and as Blake said, she’d have a chance to be part of the solution. She’d be there when the board voted on which plans to approve, and she’d probably have a louder voice if she was someone on the inside.

“Are you ready?” Tish leaned her perfectly French-braided head into the doorframe.

Ready to return to an office. Ready to face her new boss. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly.
Mellow. Think mellow.

Kira followed her friend to the kitchen and after refilling the water and food bowls, opened a doggy crate for their latest foster puppy to hop inside. This one, a malnourished Maltese mix, strolled into the cushioned crate, wandered in a circle a couple of times, and then curled into a ball. Kira latched the baby gate separating the kitchen from the rest of the apartment.

“See you at lunch, Coconut.”

When she realized her humans were leaving, Coconut scrambled off the cushion and gave a mournful howl. Kira shot Tish a desperate stare. “We can’t leave her.”

The dog yelped and scrambled at the gate.

Kira shook her head. “No. I’m not leaving her here.” The Maltese needed to be fed every couple of hours, and leaving her in the crate until lunch would be cruel. With a sick knot in her gut, she ran to her room to find a large tote. Blake would be fine with Coconut. He had to be. He liked dogs and had picked the animal shelter for his charity donations.

With the dog safely tucked into the tote over Kira’s shoulder, Tish grabbed the water bowl and formula. “I have morning meetings, but maybe if you hide her under your desk, I can take her in the afternoon.”

Once in Tish’s reliable silver sedan, Kira leaned her head back and gently caressed Coconut to calm her. “I need another coffee.”

Ironic really, after chastising Blake for his caffeine consumption.

“I’ll make you one at the office.”

She laughed. “Shouldn’t I be the one to offer you coffee? You know, since I’m a secretary.” She lowered the visor and stared at her reflection for the millionth time. Since when had she turned so vain? “Need to get into character,” she muttered.

“No one will expect you to make coffee. You’re not that kind of secretary.”

“Oh my gawd, there are different kinds of secretaries?” She’d never had a secretary, but she was pretty sure her dad’s made him coffee every morning. Perhaps she really didn’t know what she was doing.

“I meant the kind in the 1950s.”

Heat flushed up Kira’s neck, as she imagined herself as a 1950s secretary, complete with steno pad and pencil, awaiting Blake’s dictation. Was that why she was so nervous? Why her stomach wouldn’t calm down? Because in less than ten minutes she would embark on a new adventure that would place her directly in the man’s path for twelve months? “What kind of secretary will I be?” she wondered out loud.

“A good one. You’re such a perfectionist, you won’t fail.”

Kira stared out the window, too shocked to respond to Tish’s too close to home insinuation. She watched the people on the newly widened pathway approved by the City Council last spring, the freshly painted signs over the strip malls as they whizzed by, and the unprecedented number of out-of-town license plates from tourists.

Anything to distract her from the real issues. Like how she’d woken in a slight panic over taking a job much more tedious than the one she’d left, and would her father lecture her when he found out, and she’d never had a secretary nor had she ever been one, so what if she didn’t know what she was doing? She sucked in her breath. This wasn’t the time for her to start second-guessing herself.

Blake had put it perfectly when he’d offered her the job.

Work for him for one year and save her mom’s vision. Preserve not only the landmark building but also the entire tract of that neighborhood. A weird bargain—especially because he didn’t seem to care what qualifications she had—but maybe he thought he could work her to the bone, drive her to quit in a week, then do what he wanted with the Bromwell.

Well, he’d met his match, because no matter how demanding he was, she’d deal with whatever he threw at her, spend his company’s money on charitable projects, and save the community.

Starting this job was not a defining moment in her life, anyway. It was like any other job she’d taken in the past year and a half, and not a step on the corporate career ladder. A volunteer effort to save the livelihoods of countless people and preserve the neighborhood. So what if she wanted to be competent at it?

Finally she mumbled, “I’m not a perfectionist.”

“Whatever you say.” Tish’s tone was laced with sarcasm.

They rode into the building’s parking garage in silence. Coconut perked up the moment the car stopped
,
and Kira tucked the dog into the tote, following Tish to the elevator.

As they waited, Kira reached into the tote and stroked Coconut’s head. “Good girl. We’re going to have a great day. Nothing we can’t handle, right?”

“Are you petting your purse?” The deep baritone caught her off guard, and she whirled around to face her new boss.

The elevator doors dinged open and she rushed inside, slipping the tote from her shoulder to hang between the wall and the side of her legs. Tish stepped in front, as if trying to form a barrier between them. “Good morning, Blake.”

Despite the initial shock, Kira kept her voice calm. “Coconut is malnourished and you didn’t say dogs weren’t allowed.”

His gaze dropped to her tote. Warmth spread up Kira’s neck as she noted that he stared a bit longer than a quick look
,
and that what probably caught his attention were her shoes.

Stilettos, really. Black, high, and with a royal blue bow tied right at her Achilles’ heel. They matched the print on her sundress perfectly, and with the blazer her friend suggested, the outfit screamed uptight but sexy, a contradiction that worked well with her warring emotions. Not that she was trying for sexy, the outfit was one that she’d felt confident in—and she needed all the confidence she could muster.

As soon as Blake entered the elevator, she caught a whiff of delicious male scent that lingered in the back of her throat and made her mouth water. Even as she told herself to calm down, that it was just soap and maybe aftershave, she still leaned slightly into him and inhaled. Something triggered her brain to alert her body that a super hot male stood near her, and her skin tingled to life. He smelled too damn good, and a wave of uncertainty sprinkled over her.

What if she fell for her boss?

He focused on her face, and she heard his incredulity when he said, “Truthfully, bringing a pet to work never crossed my mind.”

“She won’t be a hassle. I’ll keep her under my desk. I’d already committed to fostering her
.
I have to feed her every two hours and I couldn’t leave her at home. I promise she won’t be a disruption.” Kira’s fingers tightened around the tote’s strap. “You won’t even know she’s there.”

He looked down and then back up again. With that tilted grin she’d seen several times already, he said, “Oh, I doubt that.” He cocked his head to the side and studied her. “Tell me…did you bring a crate?”

Of all the irresponsible actions Kira could claim, forgetting about the crate had to be at the top of the list. She hadn’t given much thought to how she’d contain Coconut, thinking to tie her leash to the desk or something. “I don’t need one.”

He turned to her roommate. “Perhaps you could show Kira where to find an empty copy paper box.”

Kira blew out a breath. “So it’s okay? It’s fine that Coconut is here?”

“Let’s see how today goes, okay?”

At least she didn’t have to take the dog home. A rush of relief flowed from her. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I promise, you won’t even know she’s here.” She placed her free hand on his arm and felt the muscle under her palm tense. He kept a reserved expression on his face, and she hadn’t meant anything more than gratitude when she’d touched him, but she jerked her arm back and clamped her lips closed. No way did she want him to think she was coming onto him. “I-I didn’t mean—”

He nodded. “No problem.”

The elevator doors dinged open, and Kira entered the open reception area. Tish turned and hugged her, breaking the awkward moment. “I’ll find you for lunch, okay?”

“Yes. Lunch.” She glanced back at Blake. “Do I get lunch?”

Blake frowned. “Of course you get lunch.”

Tish left and Kira turned to Blake. “Where would you like me, sir?” There. That should redraw the line. Let him know she viewed him as her supervisor and not some sexy piece of manhood she’d like to— She coughed. Really, she usually had much better control over her thoughts.

His lips pressed into a thin line then he said, “Follow me.”

The fourth floor layout was one open concept with low-rise cubicles. Offices lined the outer walls, and the spacious room allowed Kira to see from the bank of elevators to the far end of the building with little obstruction. He led her down a different path than the one Tish took, and it surprised her to hear how many people Blake greeted by name. In her dad’s office, she could walk by a dozen people and though she recognized their faces, she didn’t know anything about them. But here, he knew their name, asked them personal questions, and though he kept pace as they headed toward his office, she could tell the people here were friendly.

In an attempt to make light conversation and maybe connect with her new boss, she said, “Tish and I foster dogs through the same animal rescue that you sometimes support.”

“That’s admirable.”

“It would be great if you could contribute regularly.”

He shot her a smile that stalled her mid-thought. “First hour here and already trying to get money from me?”