The Billionaire's Secret Boxed Set (2 page)

Suddenly, the man flung her away from him with a loud howl and flew back against the wall into the shadows.  Miranda fell to the ground.  Hearing a loud sound, a growl that seemed to come from no animal she had ever heard, she looked up and saw the man on the ground, a huge dog straddling him.  The dog was biting at the man, tearing his clothing with his sharp teeth.  Everything happened so fast, Miranda had no time to react, but scrambled to her feet and backed away in horror at the scene unfolding before her.  The man screamed incoherently as the dog latched on to his arm.  Miranda could see blood on the dog’s muzzle.  Suddenly, the man caught a glimpse of a bottle on the ground a few feet away from him.  He grasped at the bottle with his free hand and brought it crashing down on the side of the dog’s head. Snarling, the dog let go of the
man’ s arm and backed away.  He continued to growl and snap at him, as the man stumbled to his feet and ran away as fast as he could go. 

The dog turned to look at Miranda with his glowing eyes and she had a moment of sheer panic. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. The dog closed his mouth and made a questioning sound, cocking his head and backing away a couple of steps.  He yipped once softly and turned on his pads, disappearing into the night. 

Miranda stood there for a minute in a daze.  As her shock began to wear off, she realized she was shivering, and she began to walk slowly and unsteadily toward the subway stop.  Emerging finally from the side street on to the main boulevard, she unexpectedly ran straight into Liam Blake.

“Ms. Jacobs!” he exclaimed, then frowned.  “My God, you look terrible.  What’s happened to you?” His hair was slightly disheveled and Miranda noticed what seemed to be a relatively fresh scrape above his left cheek.

“What happened to your cheek?” she asked, her voice faint and unsteady.

“Never mind me,” he said brusquely. “You seem shaken.  Come, sit down.” He led her to the subway entrance and had her half-sit on the railing surrounding it.  “Tell me what happened,” he said gently, grasping her by the shoulders. 

“I don’t know exactly…” she began. “I was walking for the subway and this man came out of the shadows at me, and he was going to…” her voice broke, but she cleared her throat and continued.  “He was going to try to hurt me.  And then this giant… dog… came out of nowhere and chased him off.  Then the dog left. I almost feel like I imagined it. It seemed so unreal…”

He was silent for a moment, not commenting on what she thought she had seen.  Finally, he said, “Well, whatever happened back there, it’s clear you’ve had quite a shock.  Please, let me take you home in my car.”

“No!” she insisted.  Then realizing she was being rude, she started again in a calmer tone. “No, really.  Thank you. I appreciate it, but I really insist.  I’ll be fine.  I’m right here now, and I promise you I can see my apartment building from my subway stop.  I even have pepper spray, see?” She held up her keychain with the little vial.  “I promise I will always keep it in my hand when I’m walking, from now on.”

“Miranda, I really don’t feel good about…”

“Please,” she begged him.  She suddenly felt so humiliated to have her boss here, trying to take care of her. “Please.”

Liam Blake frowned,
then sighed.  “All right.  I suppose I can’t force you.  But please, please, be careful.” His eyes locked onto hers with an expression she couldn’t fathom.  Blushing, she turned away. 

“I promise.  And thank you.”  Miranda gave him a half-smile and a little wave, before turning and hurrying down the steps to her train.

The next day, Miranda made sure to show up early for work.  She took extra care getting ready, fussing over her outfit and her hair.  She was nervous about Liam Blake’s opinion of her, especially after last night’s embarrassing debacle. She had spent a good part of the night before wondering whether he had found something wrong with her appearance the day before.  Did she find what she was wearing too unprofessional?  Too dowdy? Too revealing?  Miranda had no idea.  Judging from the other women in the office, he was probably disappointed that she didn’t look like she had just stepped off the fashion runway.  Finally, she settled on a dark red blouse that was muted enough in color not too be too flashy, but set off her skin attractively.  A conservative yet attractive black skirt and a pair of medium-low pumps completed her outfit.  Giving her hair a final brush, she looked at herself in the mirror to make sure her makeup was subtle and professional.  Miranda squared her shoulders, stared directly into her own eyes, and thought,
I will not be nervous.  I will be calm and professional, and not let Liam Blake scare me
.

Thirty minutes later, Miranda found herself again in the lobby of Blake Consulting.  Trying to exude a confidence she didn’t feel, she smiled a hello to the blonde woman behind the reception desk and held out her hand.  “I’m
sorry, I never asked your name yesterday. I don’t know if you remember me: Miranda Jacobs, Liam Blake’s new assistant.”

The blonde smiled in a way that didn’t quite reach her eyes.  “Yes, of course I remember.  I’m Jennifer.  How was your first day?” she asked, flicking her eyes subtly at Miranda’s outfit.

“It was good, thank you!” Miranda said brightly.  It was clear this woman wasn’t necessarily very happy Miranda was there, but Miranda refused to let herself be bothered. 

“So, is Mr. Blake treating you okay?” Jen prodded, raising her eyebrows.

“Yes, why wouldn’t he be?” Miranda bluffed.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Jen replied airily.  “It’s just… he’s very businesslike.  And you know… you don’t really seem like his type.” Jen looked pointedly at Miranda’s figure.

Miranda could feel her anger rising, but was able to calm herself in time. “Well,” she responded, “I’m not sure why that would matter.  I’m his assistant, not his girlfriend.  Anyway, I better get in there.  Have a good day!” She practically sang these last words, then turned and walked down the hall toward her desk.
Stupid skinny bitch
, she grumbled to herself. 

Liam Blake’s door was cracked open when she arrived, and the light was on. 
Damn
, she thought.  She had been hoping to get there before he arrived. Still, she was a little more than ten minutes early, she noted as she checked the clock above the sitting area.  She put her bag in one of her desk drawers and rapped softly on Liam Blake’s door.  “Mr. Blake?” she said softly.  “I’m here.  Is there anything you would like me to do right away?”

He was even more gorgeous than she had remembered him from last night.  As yesterday, he was dressed impeccably, but he looked tired this morning.  His eyes betrayed exhaustion, and the small scratch above his left cheekbone was still there.  Miranda almost asked if he had slept, but stopped herself, remembering how he had brushed aside any personal inquiries last night. 

Liam looked up at Miranda, as if suddenly realizing she was standing in the doorway.  “Oh, yes, Ms. Jacobs.  Good morning.  Please get me some coffee, please.  Black.” He indicated a large mug on his desk.  “And hold my calls for a couple of hours, I have work to do before a meeting this afternoon at 1:30.  I’ll need you to type and make twenty-two copies of these documents for the meeting, and you’ll come to the meeting itself and take minutes.”  He made no mention of the events of the previous evening, and for that Miranda was grateful.

“Yes, sir,” she replied, picking up his mug and exiting the office immediately.  She returned a minute later with a fresh cup of coffee, which she set on his desk. “Should I take these documents now?”

“Yes, please,” he said.  He seemed to have a habit of not meeting her gaze. “You know where the copier is?  If not, Ms. Hathaway can show you.”

“Yes, I do.  Should I bring the copies in to you when I’m finished?”

“Bring in the originals so I can go over them before you copy them.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, picking up the stack of papers.  She walked out of his office, and cracked the door open as she had found it.  “Shut the door please!” he called gruffly.

Okay
, she replied crankily in her head. 
Jeez, what a grouch
.  She frowned at his cold demeanor, and then made herself shrug it off. 
He’s not supposed to be my friend, after all. He hardly had any choice but to be nice to me last night after I practically fell right into him. I suppose he doesn’t even have to like me as long as he likes my work
.  Miranda turned her mind to her work and tried to keep her thoughts away from gruff Liam Blake, with mixed success. 

Miranda spent the morning answering the phone, taking messages for Liam Blake, and typing and formatting the documents for the meeting.  When she was finished with the documents she brought them in to Liam, who looked them over and grunted his approval.  Though he was hardly glowing in his praise, she took pride in the knowledge that the only changes he had made to her draft were changes in his own wording.  After having him approve her corrected versions, she went to the printer and made twenty-two copies as directed.  When she got back to her desk, it was time for lunch. 

Not particularly wanting to spend another gossipy lunch two days in a row, Miranda opted to take a walk through downtown on her lunch hour.  She stopped at a sandwich shop and got a ham on rye to go, and then walked to a park two blocks down to eat.   It was a lovely day, unseasonably warm for late October, sunny and bright.  Miranda finished her sandwich and spent the rest of the hour lifting her face to the sun and watching other people on their lunch breaks walking and relaxing.  With ten minutes to spare, she got up reluctantly and made her way back to the office. 

Just as she was arriving at her desk, Liam Blake’s office door opened and he walked out, almost running into her.  They both murmured apologies and Miranda found herself standing barely a foot away from him, his eyes looking deeply into hers. “You got some sun on your lunch break,” he said softly as his gaze brushed her sun-kissed cheeks.  “You smell like the outdoors.”

Miranda’s lips parted in surprise as she looked up at him.  She felt herself reddening at this sudden attention from a man who had seemed completely indifferent to her.  “Yes,” she said as she struggled to think of something to break the silence. “There’s a… lovely park a few blocks away.  I went there to get some fresh air.”

They stood like that for a moment, his gaze locked on hers, until abruptly he turned away.  “The meeting is in ten minutes,” he said, his voice once again gruff.
“In conference room C.”  He strode away without waiting for her.

Sighing, Miranda picked up her laptop and a pad of paper along with the copies she had made, and took everything to conference room C to set up.  The room was empty when she arrived, so she turned on the lights, set out copies of the documents at all the places at the table,
and made sure the coffee in the break room was fresh.  As people arrived, she asked whether they wanted coffee or water, and made sure everyone was served and comfortable before the meeting started.  At precisely 1:30, Liam strode in and began the meeting without preamble.  Miranda sat at a chair away from the table and took notes.

An hour later, had wrapped things up, and the others stood up from the table and began to leave.  Liam glanced briefly toward Miranda and said, “I’d like to see you in my office.” He took his sheaf of papers and walked out the door without another word.
For God’s sake, what did I do now?
Miranda wondered in frustration.  She told herself that this was obviously just the way he was, but it hurt her feelings all the same. 
Am I really so uninteresting that he can’t be bothered to be nice to me?  Am I really so ugly that he doesn’t even want to look at me?
  She felt tears alarmingly close to the surface, and brusquely swiped at her eyes.  Steeling herself for yet another cold and distant conversation, she shut off the lights to the conference room and made her way back to Liam Blake’s office.

The door, for once, was open.  Miranda stuck her head in to see Liam sitting at his desk, staring out the window.  “You wanted to see me?” she inquired.

“Yes, come in,” he replied, not looking over. Miranda stepped forward and stood in front of his desk.  Seriously. 
He can’t even look at me
. A flash of anger went through her.
Fine.  If he wants a robot to do his bidding, I’ll be a robot. 

“Aren’t you going to sit down?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mutely, she sat in one of the chairs facing him. 

“How are you getting along so far?” asked Liam after a few moments of silence.

“Fine, thank you,” Miranda replied.

His eyebrow cocked even further as he looked at her fully for the first time. 
“Something wrong?”

“No, of course not.
  Can I get you something? Perhaps there’s something else you’d like me to work on?” She was trying to keep her tone as neutral as possible, but a note of almost-defiance crept in, unbidden.  Something in her tone and gaze made a smirk appear on Liam’s face, and he replied, “Not at the moment, no.  Tell me a little about yourself, Ms. Jacobs.  Have you lived in the city long?”

She felt herself flush at this unexpected interest in her personal life. “No, I moved here a few months ago, after college.  I’m actually from Minnesota originally.”

“I see,” he said, his eyes widening with either interest or mockery.  “And do you like living here?”