Breaking the Boss's Rules

‘No, I don’t have to admire it. It’s delusional. Sometimes dreams have to be abandoned because they aren’t possible.’

Easy for him to say—it was impossible to imagine a lean, mean corporate machine having any dreams.

‘Some dreams,’ she agreed. ‘But not all. I truly believe that if you persevere and try and you’re willing to compromise there is a person out there for everyone.’

After all, she had no intention of giving up finding a man to match her tick list just because she and Steve had gone pear-shaped.

‘Richard has just had to try harder than most. And,’ she added, seeing the derisory quirk to his lips, ‘he and Crystal are very happy—in fact they are in Paris, celebrating their meetiversary.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘The day they met a year ago. Richard has whisked her off to Paris for a romantic getaway. That’s why they can’t attend the awards. I hope Richard and Crystal get to celebrate decades of meetiversaries.’

‘Good for you. I hope to show Richard that we value the award we won for decorating his apartment. So, tell me more about the project. Who worked on it?’

‘Peter, Graham and me. Peter often lets me get involved with the design side of things as well as the admin stuff.’

Joe’s brown eyes assessed her expression and his fingers continued to drum on the desk-top. ‘How involved were you on the project?

‘I designed both bathrooms.’

‘Could you show me?’

‘Sure.’

Trepidation twisted her nerves even as she tried to sound calm. Maybe Joe would use this to make his final decision on her job. Or was it something else? There was something unnerving about his gaze; she could almost hear the whir and tick of his brain.

‘I’ll get the folder.’

Once she’d pulled the relevant portfolio from the filing cabinet at the back of the room she walked back to the desk.

Placing the folder carefully on the glass top, she leaned over to tug the elastic at the corner. Whoosh—an unwary breath and she had inhaled a lungful of Joe: sandalwood, and something that made her want to nuzzle into his neck.

No can do. Newsflash, Imogen: this is not a dream—it’s for real.

She needed to breathe shallowly and focus—not on the way an errant curl of brown hair had squiggled onto the nape of his neck but on demonstrating her design talent.

‘The spec was to create something unique to make Crystal feel special.’

‘Tough gig.’

‘I enjoyed it.’

Back then she’d been living in Cloud Cuckoo Land, absolutely sure that Steve was about to propose to her, and throwing herself into the spirit of the project had been easy. She had enjoyed liaising with Richard over the plan and ideas—loved the fact that the flat was to be a wedding surprise for his wife.

‘These are the bathrooms.’

She pointed to the sketches and watched as he flipped through the pages.

‘These are good,’ he said.

His words vibrated with sincerity and she felt her lips curve up in a smile, his approval warming her chest.

‘Thank you. The hammock bath is fab—big enough for two and perfect for the wet room.’

Imogen and Joe, lying naked in the bath … Just keep talking.

‘I went for something more opulent for the second bathroom. All fluted pillars and marble. With a wooden hot tub, complete with a table in the middle for champagne.’