PROLOGUE
Dear Diary
My name is Imogen Lorrimer and my life is in a less than stellar place right now.
For a start there is every possibility that my temporary new boss is about to fire me. His name is Joe McIntyre and, just to really mess with my head, he has taken to appearing in my dreams.
Naked.
Last night was particularly erotic. I won’t go into detail, but we were in his office and let’s just say various positions were involved … as were varying bits of office furniture … glass-topped desk, red swivel chair…
Obviously I know this is thoroughly unprofessional and utterly inappropriate.
In my defence he is gorgeous.
Think sexy rumpled hair—dark brown, a tiny bit long, with a few bits that stick up. Think chocolate—the expensive kind—brown eyes. Think a strong but not too dominant nose. A long face, with a sculpted jaw and clearly defined chin. Oh, and a body to die for—Joe McIntyre is a long, lean fighting machine.
Problem is, however much I appreciate the man in my dreams, the real live clothed version of Joe McIntyre is a ruthless corporate killing machine. He is a troubleshooter who has been called in to overhaul Langley Interior Design and we are all in danger of losing our jobs.
In fact there is every chance he will fire me on the spot tomorrow—especially given my recent screw-up.
I cannot let that happen. I cannot afford to lose my job. Not on top of everything else.
To be specific I am:
Homeless—my scumbag boyfriend, Steve, of three years has just dumped me for his ex—Simone—and thrown me out of the flat we shared. So I am currently living with my BFF—and, whilst I love Mel like the sister I never had, I can only sleep on her pull-out bed for so long. I think I’m cramping her style.
Heartbroken—Steve ticked all the boxes on my ‘What I am looking for in a Man’ list. I thought he was The One.
Broke—I blew my savings on a romantic holiday for Steve and me. And, unbelievable though this may sound, he is now taking Simone. How humiliating is that?
It’s no wonder that I am fantasising in my dreams. My real life sucks.
Time for some ice cream, methinks!
Imogen x
CHAPTER ONE
JOE MCINTYRE LEANT back in the state-of-the-art office chair and picked up the CV from the glass-topped desk.
Imogen Lorrimer. Peter Langley’s PA for the past five years.
She of the raven-black hair and wide grey-blue eyes.
Faint irritation twanged Joe’s nerves; her looks were irrelevant. ‘No Mixing Business and Pleasure’. That was an absolute rule. Along with ‘One Night Only’ and ‘Never Look Back’. From The Joe McIntyre Book of Relationships. Short, sweet and easy to use.
Joe gusted out a sigh as his eyes zoned back to his emails. Leila again. Shame the manual didn’t tell him how to deal with a blast-from-the-past ex-girlfriend from a time he’d rather forget. But this was not the time to open that can of worms—his guilt was still bad enough that he had agreed to attend her wedding, but there was no need to think further about it. Right now he needed to think about this interview.
Imogen Lorrimer had snagged the edge of his vision the moment she’d entered the boardroom two days before, when he’d called an initial meeting of all Langley staff. He’d nodded impatiently at her to be seated and been further arrested by the tint of her eye colour as she’d perched on her chair and aimed a fleeting glance at him from under the straight line of her black fringe. For a fraction of a second he’d faltered in his speech, stopped in his tracks by eyes of a shade that was neither blue nor grey but somewhere in between.
Since then he’d stared at her more than once as she scuttled past him in the corridor, dark head down, clearly reluctant to initiate visual contact.
But he was used to people being nervous around him. After all he was a troubleshooter; people knew he had the power to fire them. A power he used where necessary—had in fact already used that morning. So if firing Imogen Lorrimer would benefit Langley Interior Designs he wouldn’t hesitate. However attractive he found her.
As if on cue there was a knock at the open office door and Joe looked up.
Further annoyance nipped his chest at the realisation that he had braced himself as if for impact. Imogen Lorrimer was nothing more than an employee he needed to evaluate. There was no need for this disconcerting awareness of her.
For a second she hesitated in the doorway, and despite himself his pulse-rate kicked up a notch.
Ridicu
lous. In her severely cut navy suit, with her dark hair pulled back into a sleek bun, she looked the epitome of professionalism. The least he could do was pretend to be the same. Which meant he had to stop checking her out.
‘Come in.’ He rose to his feet and she walked stiffly across the floor, exuding nervous tension.
‘Mr McIntyre,’ she said, her voice high and breathy.
‘Joe’s fine.’ Sitting down, he nodded at the chair opposite him. ‘Have a seat.’
Surely a simple enough instruction. But apparently not. Astonishment rose his brows as Imogen twitched, stared at the red swivel chair for a few seconds, glanced at him, and then back at the chair. Her strangled gargle turned into an unconvincing cough.
Joe rubbed the back of his neck and studied the apparently hypnotic object. As might be expected in an interior designer’s office, it was impressive. Red leather, stylish design, functional, comfortable, eye-catching.
But still just a chair.
Yet Imogen continued to regard it, her cheeks now the same shade as the leather.
Impatience caused him to drum his fingers on the desk and the sound seemed to rally her. Swivelling on her sensible navy blue pumps, she stared down at the glass desk-top, closed her eyes as though in pain, and then hauled in an audible breath.
‘Is there a problem?’ he asked. ‘Something wrong with the chair?’
‘Of course not. I’m sorry,’ she said as she lowered herself downwards onto the edge of the chair and clasped her hands onto her lap.
‘If it’s not the chair then it must be me,’ he said. ‘I get that you may be a bit nervous. But don’t worry. I don’t bite.’
Stricken blue eyes met his as she gripped the arms of the chair as though it were a rollercoaster. ‘Good to know,’ she said. ‘Sorry. Um … I’m not usually this nervous. It’s just … obviously … well …’ Pressing her glossy lips together tightly, she closed her eyes.