Tempted by Her Boss

A torture she didn’t want to deal with any longer, no matter how much that hurt.

Resolve filling her, she entered the information regarding her working for the Renaldi family, leaving Claudia as the reference. No way could she list Matteo as one and besides, it was Claudia who hired her in the first place.

Paige frowned. Okay, maybe that was cheating, but she knew she’d receive more support from Claudia than she ever would from Matteo, at least in this matter.

After opening the Internet browser, she went into her email account and started a new message, addressing it to the woman at the hiring agency, typing in a quick letter confirming tomorrow’s interview appointment. She went back to the resume and read it over, correcting all the mistakes she could find, saving the document onto the desktop so she could go back and delete it after she was finished.

Her heart hammering, she attached the resume to the email, icy dread creeping over her when she heard the distinct sound of the front door opening and Matty’s little voice calling out for her.

Crap. She needed to get out of there quick!

Practically bouncing in the chair, she waited for the resume attachment to load to the email, clicking send as fast as she could. Pushing away from the desk, she fled the office and started down the hall, stopping short when Matty and his father appeared before her.

She didn’t dare remember the last time Matteo caught her using something of his…and what happened afterward.

She’d been in the bathtub, and he’d seen her soaking in bubbles because Claudia had given her the green light to use it. How embarrassing it had been when he caught her sneaking out of his bathroom. And the way he’d kissed her, touched her…her most fond memory ever.

Now she was sneaking around again and she’d barely escaped unscathed.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly, brushing her hair away from her face. “You’re home earlier than I thought you’d be.”

“The weather turned,” Matteo said, his voice low, his head inclined toward the wall of windows in the living area.

Paige looked to her left, where indeed she could see the dark clouds, the rain falling heavily from the sky. “Of course, it did.” That was such a close call. If they’d arrived a few minutes earlier…

“Matty’s tired. Though it’s probably too late for a nap.” Matteo’s velvety deep voice snapped her from her thoughts.

“Early bedtime, then,” she said as she started for Matty.

“No,” Matty wailed with a furious shake of his head, indicating that he was very much exhausted. “I want to stay up longer.”

“It’s not bedtime yet, you silly goose.” She ruffled Matty’s hair. “Come on, let’s go fix you dinner.”

She took his hand and led him toward the kitchen, glancing over her shoulder to see if Matteo was watching.

But he was already gone.

Matteo entered his office, stopping at the edge of his desk, his nose to the air. The unmistakable, contradictory, erotically sweet scent of Paige lingered in the air. Subtle, but so very much there. As if she’d been in the room recently.

Of which she had no reason to be.

He ran his gaze over his surroundings, the desk, glancing about the room. Everything was clean, still in its place, just as he’d left it. The disturbance in the air was more from her scent than anything else. Though he swore her presence still haunted the room, almost as if he could feel her eyes on him.

Such nonsense. He shook his head at his foolish thoughts.

The afternoon with Matty had been fun. He’d enjoyed seeing the zoo and all its wonders through his son’s eyes. They’d gone to lunch, they’d talked, they’d spent far too much time at a giant toy store and then the rain started, immediately dampening both of their moods.

On the drive home, Matty had declared, “I miss Paige,” rather loudly and Matteo couldn’t help but silently agree.

He always missed Paige when she wasn’t around, as reluctant as he was to admit it.

Settling in behind his computer, he turned it on and typed in his password, wincing at his choice. He’d changed it only a few days ago, a habit he’d formed from working at the office and needing to change his password every few months. Paige had been on his mind—nothing new there—and he’d decided if he couldn’t have her, he could at least have the thrill of typing her name in every time he needed to use his Mac.

More foolish thoughts. The woman had turned him into a downright foolish man.

The browser was open to an unfamiliar email account and he studied it, realization dawning when he saw Paige’s name in the upper left corner.

So she had been in his office. Using his computer. He’d told her before, when she first started working for him, that if she needed to use the Internet for anything personal, she was more than welcome to take his laptop. But he’d left it at the office lately, rarely bringing it home now that he had the iMac to work on.