“Tuesdays.”
“I’ll call you back in the next hour with an appointment with one of the surgeons.” She could feel Colt’s stare boring into her, but she refused to meet his gaze. Her heart was thumping as she replaced the receiver. She sat down in the large black leather chair.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He was leaning across the desk toward her. Totally intimidating. Totally invading her space. Wow. Was that a few tiny freckles on the bridge of his nose? Up close and personal this guy was totally hot.
“Finding a way to pay my bill.” The lump in her throat had amplified. She’d probably need surgery to remove it.
His hip slid onto the desk. “Give me three good reasons why I should let you do this?”
Her brain scrambled. The closer he got, the more her she wanted to do a whole lot more than answer his phones. But this was it. Desperation took precedence.
She tried to keep the tremble out of her voice. “I have a MBA. And I know it might not look like it, but I specialized in accounts. Once someone familiarizes me with the system, I can do this job with my eyes shut. I’m good with people. It will save you the bother of advertising, interviewing, and trying to recruit a new receptionist. And it’s probably the only way I can pay you back. There—five reasons.” She held her breath.
The degree part was true. And the last part was true. The bits in the middle? Well, she was winging it and hoping for the best.
He was silent. Staring at her with those big blue eyes. Weighing his thoughts.
He glanced at the unpaid bill sitting on the desk and frowned. “Do you need a working visa to be here?”
She shook her head. “I have dual nationality. I don’t need one.”
He nodded slowly, staring out the window. His gaze fixed on hers. “You can do this job with your eyes shut?”
She nodded furiously.
He stood up. “You can answer the phones, do some clerical work and, more importantly, keep your mouth shut about patients?”
“Of course.”
“You’d need to work here for at least one month to pay your bill back. Half your pay would go to you, and half would pay back the bill. Are you prepared to do that?”
Money. She would actually have some money. She could pay Mark back. There might be nothing left over, but at least she could start to get her debts in order. “Yes. That will be fine.” She stood up and put her hand across the desk. She wanted to get this agreed as quickly as possible. “Do we have a deal?”
Something flickered behind his eyes. He reached over to shake hands.
Zing. Just like before.
Wow. In the space of few hours she’d talked herself into a job with a man that fired off enough electricity to feed the entire city. He was her boss. Never mind the fact he was überhot, totally sexy, and probably earned more in a month than she ever would in a year. So, so, out of her league. But surely the odd fantasy wouldn’t be too out of the question? She could look but not touch. Maybe if she kept repeating that it might actually sink in. She must be out of her mind.
“We’ve got a deal. Welcome to Seacliffe, Selena.”
Oh boy.
Chapter Three
Colt was losing it.
He must be. He’d just hired someone he was sure would feature in his erotic dreams that night.
All because of a flash of a bright pink thong.
Colt groaned and leaned his head against the glass window. Wait until the partners heard about this. They’d kill him. Especially Helen Ridgeway, the founder of Seacliffe. She’d already been furious about the headlines last month. Then, he’d fired someone on the spot. How would that go down?
Never mix business with pleasure. Who was it that had said that? The trouble for Colt was that his business partners were like his family. All of them knew his background, all of them knew why he was so personally vested in plastic surgery. Seacliffe clinic wasn’t like most other plastic surgery clinics in LA. Sure, they usually made good profits. But for Colt and his partners it was more about what they could do for others than do for themselves.
His gaze flickered over Selena once again. Even with a dressing patched on her forehead she was still hot.
He tried to be rational. This was work. He didn’t mix business with pleasure. Ever.
They needed a receptionist. But after their last experience of weeding out reporters among the applicants, they needed someone they could trust. Someone who was available at short notice to cover the gaping hole he’d left in their current services. He’d only agreed to take her on long enough for her to pay off what she owed the clinic. Wait until Helen heard about that.
Selena had an MBA. She’d agreed to answer the phones and keep her mouth shut. Surely that would be good enough?
It didn’t hurt that she looked gorgeous—in spite of the head wound.
And it was only for a month. He could behave himself that long. After that? Maybe he and Selena could get to know each other a whole lot better.
He tried to push the curious voices in his head aside. The ones that told him he never got involved with anyone from work. But this was different. This was only a temporary arrangement.
He started to relax a little. He’d arranged to meet her at 8:00 a.m. to show her around the clinic area and give her a rundown of her duties. Her official duties. Not the ones he had in his imagination. He didn’t even really know what the reception staff did, but since there was no one else to tell her, he’d have to do the best he could.
How bad could it be?
…
Selena was so hungry her legs were shaking. It had been after seven when she’d left the clinic last night and drove back into Santa Monica. She’d circled a few times, trying to find a motel in her cheap price range. Seventy dollars for one night. She couldn’t afford to do it again.
It was unlikely that her weekend job at Starbucks would allow her to scrape some money together for somewhere better to stay. As for the tips? That would require a push-up bra, low-cut top, and miniskirt. She shuddered at the thought.
The room had been tiny but gave her a chance to try and salvage her wardrobe. Repacking her clothes and dubiously opening her vanity case to see what could be rescued. She’d had to buy some dry shampoo for her hair and use the shower carefully to avoid wetting her face.
It was 7:45 a.m., and she was back in the parking lot at Seacliffe. Sure, she could answer phones and take messages. But in her last job, she’d had two assistants and hadn’t needed to worry about any of the admin stuff. Now, she was the admin. She started to panic.
Her stomach rumbled loudly, and she pressed her hand on it. She hadn’t even thought about breakfast this morning—she probably couldn’t afford to. She’d be working at this clinic for the next month virtually for free. Once she’d started to pay Mark back the money in her purse wouldn’t stretch that far. Certainly not enough to cover motel rooms for a m
onth, or to put a deposit down on an apartment. At this rate, she’d end up sleeping in her car. And it wasn’t even hers. It was Mark’s brother’s car. Any minute now the police would pull up next to her and take that away, too.
She sucked in a deep breath and straightened her emerald blouse and knee-length black pencil skirt. She’d spent nearly an hour this morning agonizing over what to wear. What would look professional enough for a job at an exclusive LA clinic?
She walked along the path to the clinic entrance, resisting the temptation to run and hide.
It was now or never.
“Good morning, Ms. Harris.”
The voice from behind made her jump. She spun on her heels. “Where did you come from? You can’t sneak up on people like that.”
Colt raised his eyebrows. He was leaning against the wall in one of the corners of the room, probably waiting for her to arrive. “Ready to get started?”
Her stomach grumbled again and she put her hand back over it. His eyebrows rose. “Maybe you should eat before you start your work in the morning?”
“Maybe you should stand in the middle of the room to say hello instead of creeping out of dark corners,” she quipped, then cringed at her instant reply. “Sorry.”
He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “No problem. Dark corners are my specialty. It’s amazing what you see when the world doesn’t know you’re watching.”
The words sent an instant ripple down her spine. Was Dr. Gorgeous flirting with her? Wow. But then he ruined it. With a cheeky wink.
She pushed her bag under the reception desk and sat down in the leather chair. She spun around in the chair. It was very comfortable, ergonomically designed. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Colt bent over her, his fingers reaching across and flicking the switch on the computer. His scent assaulted her senses. It was gorgeous. Something nautical. Or maybe it was just pheromones. Because the man was dripping with them.
His head was practically resting on her shoulder. He pulled open a hidden drawer next to her thigh. “I’ll need to give you an individual log-in and password. We’ve changed things recently and this takes a little time.”