Of course, they weren’t going to sleep together. Which was a good thing, she thought sensibly, because he was either an Olympic level kisser who reduced women to easily seduced, weak-willed groupies or else he had some dirty Harry Potter-style magic powers. Either way, she had no business going near him.
Which didn’t keep her from going up to his floor supposedly to see Gina. Gina, the turncoat, who’d helped the boss with her shoe size. Gina, who was shipping them relentlessly like they were chara
cters on a TV show. So, there was Paige, using the scanner in the executive suite copyroom when the CEO himself slid past her to reach for a flash drive from the shelf.
“Oh, I didn’t see you there,” he said.
“I saw you come in,” she said.
“Did you think about the hot swap?”
“I think you’d need an IT person to help you with that. I looked it up, and it’s not in my skill set.”
“I could teach you.”
“Thanks anyway, but it’s unlikely that a vice president’s assistant will be called upon to do that. If you need a backup HDD put in without shutting down the system, I’m pretty confident your entire information systems team could handle it without asking me.”
“What if I want your help?”
“You wouldn’t possibly have to do anything like that yourself because you’re the boss. I’d be happy to assist you with anything that’s within my job description. I’m pretty sure all the help you want is above my pay grade.”
“How does one million dollars sound?”
“Like a lot of money. More than you’d have to pay an IT guy to swap out your hard drive.”
“To be my wife. Twelve months. No strings except a nondisclosure agreement.”
“I’m not for sale.”
“A date then,” he said, his hand brushing against her bare arm in a way that enlivened her senses. Chills raised on her flesh. She wanted him to touch her again.
“No, thank you,” she said, finishing her scan.
“But you offered the first time we met.”
She shot him a little smirk. “Guess you had your chance...but I’m afraid that offer has been revoked, taken off the table.”
He smiled, and she slipped out. She brushed past him, her hand grazing with seeming carelessness across his stomach. The outline of rock-hard abs pressed into her palm as she made her escape. She was giddy, wanted to giggle with the thrill of touching him and being touched by him.
Chapter 8
GINA CALLED OFF SICK, so Paige was asked to sit in and take some notes on the project her and Gina had been working on. She was excited to get called into a meeting Luke was running. She had longed to see him in action. And she wasn’t disappointed, that was for sure.
The second he began to speak, everyone paid attention. Paige was completely impressed by the way Luke handled and ran the meeting. The room fell absolutely silent, all eyes on him, as he gave his presentation. Raising his hands at all the appropriate times, delivering the pros and cons with a thoughtful look of concern, even pursing his lips with that perfect ‘professional frown’ as he paused for questions. No doubt about it, he was a star.
She loved his passion, full-commitment, and energy. His plans and ideas were ingenious, and he was so driven and determined. He spoke with passion, confidence, and conviction, inspiring every single one of them. She admired his cool, confident persona. There wasn’t a better man for the job. And she could see how much everyone adored and respected him. She was sure Luke gave the performance of a lifetime.
Luke looked like a playful demi-god just looking for something or someone to do. He was striking. Everything about him screamed ‘control.’ From the way he dressed to the way he combed his hair, to the strict way he held his face—with a tension that made him seem years older than he was. And she was captivated by his pretty eyes. But even they were such a piercing shade that they made you think twice.
No doubt about it, Luke was absurdly attractive.
Absurdly, devastatingly attractive.
Paige blinked quickly to recover herself as she struggled to meet his gaze. He had been staring at her a bit too long, eyes tracing and re-tracing her face. Then all at once, his face lit up, and a sparkle gleamed deep in his eyes. Her heart sank in her chest. There was so much inherent tension between them. But they had to play it cool and not let anyone know there was something hot simmering between them.
Was this just their little secret? Because nobody seemed to notice. Just her. It almost seemed that she was the only one in the room. They had to be careful, if anyone suspected anything, the rumors would spread like wildfire.
The meeting continued, and watching Luke in action was exhilarating. He stood in front of a display board showing off his presentation. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, a breathtaking view behind him. He was so swab and debonair in his black, designer suit and blue tie.