In The Boss's Bed
J. Margot Critch
Hot for the boss…Maya Connor was already embarrassed after a dare—and a shot of vodka—resulted in one seriously sexy kiss with an even sexier stranger. She had no idea that the man she made out with was hotel magnate and reputed playboy Jamie Sellers. Or that she would soon be working for him…Maya won't let anything get in the way of her ambition. And she's determined to be taken seriously as she begins her career—and not give into the heat that's constantly driving her to distraction. Lust, that’s all it is. The more Maya and Jamie ignore it, the stronger it gets. But ending up in the boss's bed won't just be Maya's wickedest fantasies come to life…it'll be the end of her dreams.
Hot for the boss...
Maya Connor was already embarrassed after a dare—and a shot of vodka—resulted in one seriously sexy kiss with an even sexier stranger. She had no idea that the man she made out with was hotel magnate and reputed playboy Jamie Sellers. Or that she would soon be working for him...
Maya won’t let anything get in the way of her ambition. And she’s determined to be taken seriously as she begins her career—and not give in to the heat that’s constantly driving her to distraction. Lust, that’s all it is. The more Maya and Jamie ignore it, the stronger it gets. But ending up in the boss’s bed won’t just be Maya’s wickedest fantasies come to life...it’ll be the end of her dreams.
“I should go...”
Jamie turned to Maya, brow furrowed. “Why?”
“Because of what just happened. I don’t think—”
Jamie reached over and touched her cheek. “Maya, stop. Us sleeping together won’t be a problem unless we let it be one. And what happened here tonight doesn’t have to follow us back home and into the office.”
She took a deep breath. She was relieved that it wouldn’t put a strain on their working relationship, but also crestfallen that this wouldn’t go anywhere beyond this one night.
“We’re both adults,” he continued. “And I think we both needed to finally get that out of our systems before we imploded. Don’t you think?”
“Yes, I do.” She had spent too many waking, and sleeping, hours lusting over this man.
Her boss.
Dear Reader (#ulink_6bb5a8e5-cd50-573e-af33-0262c67c62c0),
I’m going to be honest, I’m pretty new to the world of romance. It was during a province-wide blackout in December 2013 when I read my first romance novel. My phone’s battery was full and I decided to buy ebooks to kill some time. While my friends played a board game, I searched for something to read, and I happened upon the romance section of the online store and came across some Harlequin Blaze titles. By the time the power came back on, I had finished six books. I was hooked!
One thing that attracted me to Harlequin Blaze was its strong, feisty heroines. A Blaze heroine has her own life, a successful career, an unbreakable, independent spirit, and—at first—she needs nothing from the hero...except for a few wild nights, that is. I admired that and much more about the classic Blaze heroine, and I kept that in mind as I wrote Maya.
Getting In the Boss’s Bed from my mind into your hands, dear reader, has been an amazing journey. This is my first book, and I hope you enjoy reading about Maya and Jamie as much as I enjoyed creating them.
Cheers!
Juanita
In the Boss’s Bed
J. Margot Critch
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
JUANITA MARGOT CRITCH currently lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with her husband, Brian, and their two little buddies, Simon and Chibs. She spends equal amounts of time writing, listening to Jimmy Buffett’s music and looking out at the ocean, all the while trying to decide if she wants coffee or a margarita.
For Mom. You’ve always been my biggest fan and supporter, no matter what wacky thing I’m up to. I love you.
And Brian, my fierce, loyal, alpha-protector with beautiful hands. Thank you for supporting me, and being my first reader, my sounding board and my all-around favorite guy. Even though I didn’t use your idea for Dylan O’Driscoll: Gentleman Rake, I appreciate all of your input.
To my friends, who always understand when I say I’m writing and can’t leave the house.
Contents
Cover (#u5f626596-3192-56da-bb73-4b48f0c63259)
Back Cover Text (#u20078e92-b166-5586-88f9-dd4fb3fe4c3f)
Introduction (#u57a1968e-08fa-5b46-aafb-bcae3e951756)
Dear Reader (#ulink_bb6b0cae-0883-530f-9e27-a94214fa70ab)
Title Page (#u685ffa0e-b06a-572a-9e41-fbe936bb8a8f)
About the Author (#u9d592931-b222-593c-877d-cb537e055746)
Dedication (#u8972776d-e3e6-5382-94e0-12143b1b3b54)
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1 (#ulink_a49bd765-a914-5931-8493-242b96b0dab5)
I REALLY SHOULDN’T be here. The phrase looped through Maya’s brain. I really, really shouldn’t be here. The ice cubes in her glass clinked together as she stirred her vodka-cranberry drink and took a sip. The deafening, bass-heavy music and many sweaty bodies pulsed around her as she quickly crossed the dance floor to return to the booth where her best friend and roommate, Abby, was sitting alone, waiting for her. Feeling a headache coming on, Maya frowned and pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead.
“Could you at least pretend you’re having a good time?” Abby leaned in and yelled against her ear to be heard over the music. “This is the hottest club in Montreal, we both look fabulous and we’re getting a ton of male attention tonight.” As if to make her point, she waved to a group of men at a nearby table who were looking in their direction.
“I’m sorry,” Maya yelled back. She really wanted to go home. But she also didn’t want to ruin her friend’s night. Abby had put a lot of effort into dragging Maya out. Earlier that evening, at home, Maya had spent far too long styling her hair into waves, although the end result was supposed to have looked as though she hadn’t spent any time styling it. While constantly reloading YouTube tutorials, she had studiously worked until she achieved things called smoky eyes and contouring. It was then that Maya had decided it was all too much work, and was about to change into yoga pants and a tank top and curl up on the couch when Abby had selected her littlest black dress and strutted into Maya’s room proclaiming it the one.
“Maya, every guy in that club is going to be drooling over you in this,” Abby had assured her.
“Great,” Maya had replied, without much enthusiasm. “I hope all that saliva comes out at the dry cleaners.”
But she was forced to admit, thanks to Abby’s instruction and help with styling, makeup and hair techniques, Maya had never looked better.
“I’m getting such a headache. And I should really get home. Finals are coming up. And we’ve got that early class tomorrow—” Maya grasped for any reason to not be at Swerve Nightclub on a Thursday night.
“God, you’re practically agoraphobic!” Abby huffed in frustration.
“I’m not agoraphobic. I’m an introvert, and it’s super trendy right now. Thank-you-very-much.” It’s cute to be introverted, she thought defensively. Words she wouldn’t dare say to her friend. There were an abundance of articles and listicles online proclaiming such a thing. It’s good to have some mystery about you. And who is more mysterious than a girl who never leaves her house?
“Either way, you’re not going anywhere!” Abby pulled on Maya’s wrist until she was seated at the table with her. “Don’t worry about class. Dr. C. invited in some guest speaker, so it’ll just be some long-winded, ancient colleague of his. They’ll turn down the lights and we can nap in the back.”
Maya opened her mouth, but Abby plowed over her, running her fingers through her own flawlessly styled, bleach-blond pixie haircut. “We’re here to have fun. For the past few years, I’ve watched you lock yourself in your room, hibernate in the library and never take a minute to look up from your books. We are graduating in two weeks—” she reached out to grab Maya’s hands in her own “—and I need to see you act like the beautiful, exotic, sassy young thing that you are before we part ways, become old hags and never see each other or have any fun ever again.” Abby took a long pull on her beer. “We need to act young and stupid, this one last time,” she pleaded. “Be irresponsible. Live a little with me.”
Maya laughed. “Hey. I have fun.”
Abby raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. “Staying home on Friday night and binge-watching Orange Is the New Black on Netflix isn’t the type of fun that a single twenty-five-year-old woman should be having. Especially a complete knockout like yourself. When was the last time you had sex?”
Maya’s mouth dropped open, shocked that her friend would even go there. “What?”
Abby smirked. “That’s what I thought.” She relented. “Okay, when was the last time you were even kissed?” Maya remained silent. “Your last date?”
Maya sighed. Abby was right. It had been so long since she’d been on a date, or gone to a nightclub, or even let herself focus on anything but school. But she was so close to the end. She’d spent every waking moment of the past five years working diligently toward her goal, completing her master’s degree in Business Administration. For the entirety of her short adult life, it was her dream to pursue a career in hotel management, running an upscale resort hotel. Probably on a beach. Most definitely somewhere hot. She dreamed of a life in Miami, or the Bahamas, or any other exotic location in the Caribbean. She could only smile at how close she finally was to that life.
Abby continued, pressing her argument, at which she was so talented. “We’re part of the hospitality industry. And in order to be successful we need to monitor trends to stay on top of our game. And at least one small part of that, my friend, includes visiting nightclubs and having fun! Trying new drinks, networking, schmoozing a little and learning to talk to people to get information about things they like and things they don’t. Getting a sense of what’s hot and what’s not—and this place is hot, by the way. Don’t you want to be at the top of your game, Maya?” Abby finished with a smile, obviously proud of herself for putting their girls’ night out in terms of their studies, knowing Maya would respond favorably. Really, it was her only hope of getting her to stick around.
Maya smiled back at Abby. She loved her friend dearly, despite the fact she sometimes wanted to maim her. “You wench,” she said with a laugh. Once again, Abby was right. Maya sighed and brought her glass to her lips and drank back a fortifying gulp. When the glass was empty, she slammed it down on the table. “Fine. You win. Let’s have fun.” Then she stopped and looked at Abby quizzically. “How do we have fun?”
“We start with me getting us more drinks.” Abby stood, picking up Maya’s empty glass and her own empty bottle. “That round did not last long enough.” Abby straightened her crop top and smoothed her hands down over her skinny leather pants and she made her way back to the bar.
Maya pulled out her phone to check her email, seeing nothing new, she opened her Facebook app. She flicked through the pictures that some of her friends had posted, people her age going out to clubs and having parties. They somehow managed to juggle their studies and their social lives. She scrolled lower and lower and saw more friends having drinks at pubs and eating in restaurants, hiking, playing paintball and riding on party buses. She tapped on the icon to view her own profile. There were no pictures, and at no time had she ever ridden on a party bus. Was Abby right? Had Maya let a good part of her twenties escape her without getting out there and doing wild things? Maya, you’re twenty-five. You’ve never gone skinny-dipping in the park or drunk a bottle of wine by the ocean. She looked in disgust at her mostly pathetic Facebook profile and grimaced. No more, Maya. You’re going to have some fun tonight even if it kills you.
“And it just might,” she whispered to herself, as Abby walked back to the table, holding two fresh drinks for them.
“That was quick,” Maya remarked, accepting her glass.
“Yeah, but I schmoozed the good-looking bartender earlier, so when he saw me walking up, he skipped everyone else at the bar to serve me.” Abby smiled.
“That’s awful. But nicely done.” Maya proffered her glass in salute and Abby clinked it with her beer bottle. “So what are we going to do?” she asked.
Abby pursed her lips, deep in thought. Maya watched her as she scanned the club, searching for inspiration. “How about a little truth or dare?”
“What?” Maya scoffed. “We aren’t twelve anymore. I’m not going to tell you who I like.” She giggled. It seemed that the vodka in her cranberry was working its way through her brain.
“Okay, how about dare, then?”
“Mmm, Abby, I don’t know...” Maya hesitated.
“You said you wanted to have fun,” Abby pleaded. “Come on, I’ll do anything you dare me to do.”
“Well, that’s easy for you,” she said, smiling broadly as she put a comforting hand on her friend’s arm, “because you have no shame.”
Abby laughed. “Even so.” She continued scoping out the club. “Oh, I’ve got it.”
“What?”
She pointed to the bar. Well, she was actually pointing to a gorgeous male specimen who was standing next to it, chatting with the bartender. “See that guy?”
Am I blind? How could I possibly miss a man like that? “Yeah, of course I do.”
Abby pasted on her most devilish smile and directed it at Maya. “Good. Because you are going to walk up to him, wrap your arms around his neck and you’re going to kiss him like you’ve never kissed a man before.”
“I am absolutely not doing that,” Maya insisted.
“It’s a little harmless dare. What have you got to lose?”
“My pride, my dignity...” Maya trailed off. She looked at the man. It looked as though he had left work and came to the nightclub. He wore tailored pants that showed off his very nice, round behind. He had unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and had rolled up his sleeves. She watched him laugh as the bartender said something to him. What could it hurt to walk up to him and kiss him? It’s not like I’ll ever see him again, a city this size...
She thought of her sad, little, unexciting Facebook profile and Maya slammed her glass down, sloshing some of the pink liquid over the edge and onto her fingers and the table. What the hell? Abby was right. It had been a long time since she’d done anything other than what was expected of her. “Okay.” She looked determinedly at the man. “I’m going to do it.”
“Yay!” Abby raised her arms giddily in celebration as Maya walked away from the table.
* * *
JAMIE SELLERS TOOK a satisfied look around his packed club. As the owner, if there waS one person to thank for the popularity of Swerve Nightclub, it was him. In fact, he owned all twelve Swerve nightclubs located throughout the country, from Vancouver to St. John’s. His clubs were frequented by celebrities and professional athletes, and even some royalty graced his establishments. And quite often, his picture was posted on gossip blogs right alongside them, with headlines like “Jamie Sellers Lands a Princess”, “Sellers and the Heiress” and “Nightclub Mogul Parties Hard with Hockey Team.” Jamie shook his head, chuckling at the latest story linking him with the daughter of a prominent local politician.
He was young, single, rich and good-looking. That’s what people saw when they looked at him. When people saw a picture of him standing next to a beautiful woman, he was automatically sleeping with her. If he’d actually slept with every woman that the so-called press had reported he did...well, he certainly wouldn’t have time to be the nightclub mogul they proclaimed him to be. While it would be nice if he found himself frequently in the beds of actresses and celebutantes, it simply, sadly, was not the case.
If a picture of him holding a beer bottle or a glass of whisky surfaced? Automatically, he was portrayed as an alcoholic, a chronic drug user, a degenerate who partied too hard every night. At first, he found it easy to laugh at how inaccurate the stories were—any press is good press, right?—but it was starting to wear thin. The fifteen-hour days that he typically put into his work were starting to exhaust him, and the extreme workdays had gotten far more frequent and longer since his assistant quit. Typically, he found only just enough free time in a day to eat, shower, hopefully hit the gym and maybe get a few hours of sleep.
Sure. Maybe ten years ago that reputation would have been warranted. Jamie had grown up with nothing and his first taste of success had been sweet. He had admittedly overindulged in his youth, in alcohol, women, wild antics. But it was local reporter scumbag John Power who had been the catalyst for his turnaround. Power had gotten a hold of a picture of Jamie with a model enjoying a, ahem, private moment, and then he uncovered more and more of Jamie’s bad deeds. He’d dredged up the details of Jamie’s less-than-ideal childhood, with an absentee father and a drug-addict mother, a past that Jamie had guarded carefully. To say it was embarrassing was an understatement. Jamie had been cannon fodder for the reporter, who seemingly made a career of gathering information on him.
Since then, Jamie had kept it clean. He no longer overindulged. He never partied. He focused on business and it had paid off. Jamie had enjoyed an unimaginable level of success. Still, no matter how many nightclubs he opened, how much he gave to charity or how often his company showed up on lists of preferred employers, people still saw him as the millionaire, bad boy womanizer.
“Not bad for a Thursday,” Jamie remarked to Trevor—one of his best friends, and definitely the best bartender he had ever met—sipping the cola Trevor had handed him.
Trevor finished pouring a pair of martinis and handed them off to a waitress. “Yeah, it must be the warm weather. Normally the end of semester makes the students hunker down, studying. But this place is clearly bumping tonight,” he said, throwing an appreciative glance over the scantily clad women dancing against each other on the dance floor.
“Keep it professional, Trev,” Jamie warned with a glare, before laughing. He knew that he had nothing to worry about with his friend. Trevor was a pro and would never overserve a guest, or use his position to take advantage of the young women who patronized the club. But it didn’t stop him from appreciating the female beauty that was in front of him.
Jamie bit back a yawn, and Trevor regarded him carefully. “Why don’t you go on home? I’ve got this.”
“I know you do. But I’ve got a few things to finish up tonight. It’s been crazy since Martin left.” Jamie frowned at the thought of his former assistant. “I’ve got a couple of early morning meetings tomorrow and then I have to head to the university and give a talk with some graduate class about entrepreneurship, and entertainment, and hospitality, and yada yada yada.”
“Really? That doesn’t sound like something you would normally do,” Trevor said, raising an eyebrow. “Sounds like somebody is hot for teacher?”
Jamie was almost too tired to smirk at the quip. “It’s nothing like that, smart guy. The professor is Dr. Carmichael.”
“I see.”
“So, I owe him. It’s really the least I can do.”
“Oh, of course.” Trevor nodded. “Dr. C. And you’re doing this at the expense of any sleep you might get tonight?”
“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” Jamie took another sip of his drink and turned to survey his nightclub.
A packed club was always good news for Jamie, and there had been plenty of that as of late. All of his nightclubs were outperforming expectations on a nightly basis. But his brain was always working, knowing that he had to keep the guest experience fresh in each of his clubs to keep people coming back. Every time he looked around, he saw areas for improvement. Ways to make the continuous lineup to the front door more efficient, an enhanced VIP experience, flair bartenders and entertainers, A-list DJs and performers, the list was always growing.
It was while he was surveying his domain, rolling through his mental to-do list, that he noticed a stunning woman walk toward him. She wasn’t just stunning; she was actually the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her long hair cascaded in loose waves over her shoulders, and a little black dress highlighted legs that seemed to go on forever. She was looking straight at him, making a beeline for where he was standing at the bar. He sighed quietly. She obviously knew who he was. She wanted to cozy up to the single, rich owner of Swerve. Even though he was a fan of her beauty, he was exhausted and he didn’t have time for the attention of groupies tonight, no matter how gorgeous.
When she was close enough to him, he extended his hand to her and put on his most cordial smile. “Hi, can I help—”
His words were stopped in his throat when her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him forward until his lips found hers. His eyes widened as she kissed him. But they soon closed when he felt her tongue stroke his bottom lip. He stifled a moan and opened his mouth, to let himself be taken over by the feeling of this mysterious women in his arms.
Jamie couldn’t remember ever being kissed so fiercely by a woman. Everything else seemed to disappear. There was no music, no flashing lights, no crowd of thirsty patrons lined up at the bar, no Trevor, who was surely staring at them, agog.
It was when his hands found her hips, the spell broke and the sounds and lights of the club and all of the people around them came rushing back. She broke away from him. Still standing just inches apart, he saw the flush that stained her face and felt her breath on his chin. He got a good look at her and the thing that stood out most was the frightened, guilty look in those amazingly dark, almond-shaped eyes. She was a second from hightailing it away from him, out of his life, and he knew it. He wanted to ask her name, maybe buy her a drink, anything to make her stay.
After a beat, she shook out of her trance, mumbled an “I’m so sorry,” and did exactly what he thought she would. She turned on her heel and walked away, almost running, disappearing in the crowd of bodies on the dance floor.
Jamie was rendered speechless for a moment, before he turned to Trevor, bewildered and out of breath. “Do you know who she was?”
Trevor laughed heartily. “I have no idea. You didn’t know her? It definitely seemed as if you two were familiar. Wait a minute!” Trevor snapped his fingers in a moment of inspiration and turned to the computer behind the bar and consulted the names of the customers who had started drink tabs. “Maya Connor is her name. She’s here with a friend, she’s drinking vodka-cran and the friend is a light-beer girl.”
Jamie ran a hand through his dark hair and checked his watch. “I’ve got to head back upstairs.” He turned to go, but stopped and faced Trevor again. “Take care of their tab, will you? Make sure they get whatever they want.”
“Will do, boss,” Trevor replied with a smirk.
* * *
WHEN MAYA RETURNED to Abby, it seemed that her friend had made a friend of her own. Maya watched Abby as she talked to a gentleman who had taken up residence at their booth. Maya scooted in on the far side and looked at the stranger.
“Beat it, bud.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder and scowled. When he left with a confused shrug, she buried her face in her hands. “Oh, my God! I can’t believe I kissed him!” Realizing that her own glass was empty, she reached across the table and snatched Abby’s beer bottle from her hands.
“Hey!” Abby yelled, attempting to take back her drink. Maya assumed that she was more upset about her stolen drink than she was about the newly vacated seat next to her.
“I can’t believe you dared me to do that.” Maya looked back at the bar and saw that the man she had kissed was gone, but the bartender was still there. She was suddenly parched, and she certainly couldn’t go back up there. She didn’t think she could even face him again. How was she supposed to get another drink? Or even pay her tab when they were ready to leave? She’d thought of none of those things when she had made the stupidest, most impulsive decision of her life in kissing the stranger at the bar. “Oh, God, I need another drink.”
“So get your own drink.” Abby snatched back her bottle. “I cannot believe you actually kissed him! I’m superimpressed.”
Maya measured the distance between herself and the bar and caught the eye of the bartender, who was watching her with curiosity. “I can’t go back up there. He was talking to the bartender like they were friends or something. I just can’t do it.”
Abby pushed herself up from the table. “Fine, I’ll get you something. Vodka? Or do you want something a little crazier in celebration of your turn as a woman who kisses strange men in a bar?”
Maya brought her forehead to the table. “Vodka’s fine,” she muttered.
With Abby gone, Maya had a chance to think about what she had done. What if the man wasn’t single? She hadn’t seen a wedding ring, but that didn’t mean anything. He could have taken it off—which would make him the scummiest guy in the world—or maybe he had a girlfriend. Does that make me a home wrecker? Not if I haven’t actually wrecked his home. And she wasn’t going to do that. She had no intention of actually seeing him again.
And, holy shit, she had basically assaulted him! Maya began to panic as the thought overtook her. If a man had walked up to her and just kissed her, forcing his tongue in her own mouth, she would be outraged! He would definitely be rinsing her pepper spray from his eyes and icing his groin all night. How dare you, Maya? If she ever saw him again, she would definitely have to apologize, grovel even. She felt awful. This would be the absolute last time she “lived a little.” She didn’t understand how Abby could do whatever she wanted without worrying about the consequences of her actions. But it certainly wasn’t how Maya chose to live her life. Not by a long shot.
She was almost shaking with panic when Abby came back to the table with their drinks and pushed the pink one toward her. “The cute bartender Trevor poured you a double. He figured you needed it.”
“Oh, my,” she sighed. She took a drink and grimaced at the taste of the extra alcohol. She drank again, and this time the beverage slid down her throat more easily. She wasn’t a big drinker, but with the strength of the drink, plus the two or three she’d had earlier, she started to feel her uneasiness and panic slip away. A warm sensation rose from her belly and she felt herself relax a little.
“So,” Abby said, taking a sip of her beer. “Tell me about the kiss.”
The kiss. Maya could still feel his lips on hers, and the coarse stubble of the five o’clock shadow that covered that strong, broad jaw grazing roughly against the soft skin of her face. She could smell his cologne, a blend of citrus, sandalwood, innate maleness. And she heard his groan, which had vibrated through her when his lips parted and his tongue found hers. Maya recalled the sense of loss she had felt when she’d pulled away. Kissing him was wrong, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to feel the dark, handsome stranger all over her body.
And Abby wanted her to tell her about the kiss? How could she put it into words? Were there any words to describe the feeling of being pressed against him? She struggled to find them, to come up with anything that would even come close to relating the experience to another person.
“It was good,” she said simply, knowing that good didn’t even come remotely close to describing the kiss.
“‘It was good,’” Abby repeated, clearly unconvinced. “Just ‘good’?”
“It was really, very good,” she said with a shrug.
Abby laughed. “The way you looked when you came back to this table told me that it was more than just ‘really, very good.’”
Maya flushed, suddenly warm. From the temperature of the club? The alcohol? Her reaction to the man? “What does it matter?” Maya finished her drink in one long swallow, dismissing it. “He’s a great kisser. But in this city? It’s not like I’m going to see him again.”
Abby smirked, pursing her cherry-red lips. “Montreal might be the second largest city in the country, but I think it’s smaller than you think. You just might encounter him again.”
Maya leaned back in the booth, the back of her head resting on the plush leather upholstery. She inhaled deeply. Yeah, the alcohol was definitely pumping through her veins. She quickly put the gorgeous man at the bar out of her mind. She was now ready to have fun. When a song she loved drove through the speakers of the club’s sound system, she stood quickly. A little too quickly, as evidenced by her slight wobble. She grabbed Abby’s hand.
“Come on, we’re dancing!”
Abby’s mouth dropped in surprise and she squealed with glee. “It’s about time, Maya. I love the new you.”
At that moment Maya did, as well. The music pumped, as did her body to the beat. She focused on nothing else but how she felt at that moment. She dismissed all thoughts of her upcoming final exams and her 9 a.m. class, and she allowed Abby to pull her into the center of the dance floor. But neither her mind nor her body could forget the handsome stranger. In an attempt to shake his image from her mind and the feel of his lips burning on her own, she danced harder. But it was no use; he wouldn’t leave her. Perhaps instead of just kissing him, she should have talked to him, asked him his name, gotten his number.
Maya stopped dancing, however, when some movement caught her eye. It was him, and he was standing on a staircase which overlooked the dance floor. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest. And she was transfixed when he raised his hand to scrub along the rough bristles of his jaw, before dragging it through his dark hair.
It would have been her chance—to go up and talk to him. If only she had time to cross through the packed dance floor to get to him. She felt a sharp pang of remorse when he turned and walked up the dark staircase, forever relegating himself to her memory as the handsome stranger. She shook her head at the events of the evening. It was fun, but it was definitely over.
2 (#ulink_b15b9644-699e-5369-b6a3-f97ddbdb8779)
THE NEXT MORNING Maya awoke with the worst hangover of her life—not that she had many in her life to compare it to—but this was definitely the worst! She groaned at the buzzing alarm on her cell phone and, with her eyes tightly shut, felt around her night table for it. When she couldn’t manage to turn it off with her eyes still closed, she threw it into the pile of dirty clothes in the corner of her room. But much to her chagrin, doing so did nothing to silence the dreadful racket, and she pulled her comforter over her head.
Once Maya managed to roll out of her bed, she pulled on a tank top and a pair of shorts. She padded barefoot to the kitchen, where she found Abby sitting at the narrow breakfast bar, with her head on the table—thankfully she had managed to make some coffee.
“Can we just skip class today?” Abby pleaded, obviously not faring any better than Maya. “Also, can we just skip today, in general? And don’t answer too loudly. Please.”
Maya poured herself a cup of coffee and sighed. “I wish we could do both of those things, but you know Carmichael is gonna test us somehow on the guest lecturer.”
“Why is he so evil?” Abby whined.
“Because he’s tenured.” Maya laughed quietly. “Also he’s a very sweet old man and not at all evil, and you know it. And he didn’t make us stay out last night until 3 a.m.” She closed her eyes and groaned. God, 3 a.m. It had been years since Maya had even thought about staying up that late. She brought the mug to her lips, holding back a slight wave of nausea as she sipped her black coffee.
“Don’t remind me,” Abby groaned. “Oh, man, we were out so late. I don’t even want to know how much I owe you for all those drinks.”
Maya opened her mouth, but the words stopped as a thought struck her. “Huh. Actually, I just remembered something. I didn’t pay anything for them. When I went to settle my tab, the bartender told me it was taken care of.”
“Really? Taken care of?” Abby raised her head. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know who, but someone paid for our drinks. I didn’t think about it too much because I was so drunk.” She pursed her lips in question. “Who would do that?”
“I have no idea,” Abby replied, raising her eyes to meet Maya’s. “Unless it was that man you sucked face with.” She grinned. “Wait. That wasn’t grammatically correct, was it? Uh, how about ‘the man with whom you sucked face’?”
Maya’s mouth dropped. “What? No. That’s not possible. Why would he do that? Why would he pay for all of those drinks? It couldn’t have been cheap.”
“Well, I don’t know. Perhaps it has something to do with the gorgeous, exotic creature who walked up to him and shoved her tongue down his throat,” Abby surmised. “Maybe he thought you would find him again, to properly thank him for taking care of your tab. You said he seemed friendly with the bartender.”
Maya rolled her eyes, grimacing at the resulting headache. She would have to remind herself not to move her eyes for the rest of the day. “He thought I would repay him? That’s just gross.” She took a gulp of coffee, finished it and placed her empty mug in the sink. “And please, don’t remind me about that whole kissing-a-stranger thing,” Maya pleaded, glancing at the time. “And, to make this morning even better, we’re going to be late for class. I call first shower.”
* * *
CLASS HAD ALREADY started when Maya and Abby arrived, sunglasses on and heads pounding. They opened the closed door as inconspicuously as they could, to avoid attracting too much attention. They drew the eyes of the twenty-six other students in the class as well as Dr. Carmichael, who cast a disapproving glance in their direction.
They muttered their apologies, and Maya scanned the room. Abby’s plan to nap in the back was thwarted because the back rows of the small lecture hall were already occupied, and they were forced to sit at the very center of the front row.
They took their seats and Dr. Carmichael resumed his introduction of the guest lecturer. “Now that you’re all here,” he said, glancing at Maya and Abby. “Ladies and gentlemen, I know that your time here is drawing to a close and you’re all busy studying for finals, but today I invited someone to come in and talk to you, perhaps to inspire you on your paths in business and in the hospitality industry. The remarkable young man you are about to meet has done so much since he was my student, including becoming one of the most successful businessmen in his industry as a, how do the papers put it, nightclub mogul?” The professor laughed to himself. “Students, please welcome the owner of Swerve nightclubs, Jamie Sellers.”
The professor got Maya’s attention at his mention of Swerve Nightclub, and her eyes sharpened. But her mouth completely dropped when she actually got a good look at the man walking into her classroom. Jamie Sellers. The man she had kissed the night before. The owner of the damn club. The man who had paid for their many, many drinks and, if it was possible, looked even more gorgeous than he had the night before. Maya cast a quick look at Abby, whose eyes were as wide in shock as Maya’s, and she silently hyperventilated in her seat. In an act of desperation, she took a look under her desk. Is there enough room to crawl under there and die?
Maya watched Jamie’s acute eyes survey the class until they settled on her, sitting front-row center. Their eyes connected and she nearly trembled under his scrutiny. How could she be expected to sit still for fifty minutes with him in front of her? Mortification and sudden desire made her flush and she could feel her temperature rise.
Their eyes held for a beat too long, and Maya held her breath. She was relieved when his gaze roamed elsewhere. He cleared his throat. “Hey, guys. I don’t normally do things like this, but when Dr. Carmichael asked me to come in, how could I say no?” He cast an affectionate glance toward the professor. “Because I don’t believe that I would be the person I am today if not for him and his intervention.
“You see, I wasn’t always a ‘nightclub mogul.’” Jamie smiled and made air quotes around the phrase with his fingers. “I was a punk kid, my parents were never around and I just barely graduated from high school. I got into trouble quite frequently. But I met Dr. Carmichael one night while I was working as a busboy.” Jamie briefly described his history with Dr. Carmichael, and Maya admired how far Jamie had come in such a short amount of time. “He showed me that if you have a passion for something, no matter what’s standing in your way, you should go for it, and that doesn’t just apply in business, but in everyday life, as well.”
Jamie spoke with an enthusiasm to which Maya could relate, and she smiled, seeing a lot of herself in the man before her. She admired him already. As he told them the story of shedding the weight of a troubled upbringing and his transformation to successful business-owner, she held on to his every word.
“I wasn’t going to make a splash just washing glasses for a decade.” He laughed, as did many of the people in her class. “Although, as the boss, I fully appreciate each and every employee under me, from the busboys and waitresses to my club managers and executives. It is a team environment, and you should never forget that it is the people that matter most. If your people are happy, they’ll be motivated and make your customers happy. If you’ve got happy workers and happy customers, the profit won’t be far behind.”
Everything Jamie was saying made perfect sense to Maya, but it was when he looked at her that it seemed she could barely think straight. When his eyes connected with hers, she couldn’t hear what was going on around her or what he or anyone else in the class was saying. She could hear nothing but the sound of her heart beating in her ears. When his gaze connected with hers, she could only manage to fidget with her fingers, her pen. She straightened some papers on her desk, and then she straightened them again. Anything so she wouldn’t have to look back at the man in front of her. The man who seemingly made her cheeks flush and her skin tingle with a single stare.
* * *
AFTER ONE OF the most uncomfortable hours of his life, Jamie said goodbye to the class and wished them luck in their future careers. He shook Dr. Carmichael’s hand and quickly left the classroom. He stopped in the hallway outside to pull out his phone to see how many calls, texts and emails he had missed. There were many of each. He sighed. Once again, he thought of the empty assistant’s desk in the corner of his office and remembered that he had to get on with hiring someone new. Martin wasn’t coming back, no matter what price Jamie offered him.
Jamie put his phone to his ear, when he felt the soft touch of a hand on his arm. He turned and saw her. Maya Connor. The woman from the bar last night. The woman who had been sitting front and center during his talk. How many times was he forced to tear his gaze from her, only to have it roam, out of his control, back in her direction. How many times had he tripped over his own tongue when he thought of her arms around him and her body pressed against his? More than once the blood that fueled his brain, his speech and any logical thought he’d formed surged south. Luckily, he’d worn dark pants, so his innermost thoughts and desires remained secret to the class. But the fact that he couldn’t seem to control his hormones, as if he were a horny teenager, bothered him right in the control-freak tendencies.
Last night he’d watched her from the staircase leading up to his office, and he had to hold himself back from going to her. He had spent the rest of the night watching Maya from his office through the window that let him see what was happening in his club. No matter where she was in the crowd, he had always seemed to be able to find her. Like a siren in the fog, she drew him in whether he liked it or not. On the dance floor, she’d moved effortlessly to the beat of the music. He had pondered arranging a VIP table for them, but he remembered the frightened look in her eyes after she’d kissed him, and he thought better of it. He wouldn’t want to scare her off, and he certainly wanted to see her back in his club again.
Jamie knew that he had to be careful. Thankfully, he hadn’t seen any pictures or videos posted of their kiss. He’d spent the morning scouring the worst of the online tabloids, especially Montreal Secrets, run by John Power, which had been decidedly poor in their treatment of him since he’d opened his first club.
In this case, he’d gotten lucky. He couldn’t afford any bad press as he was about to embark on one of the most daunting projects of his life, and he certainly didn’t have time to be in a relationship, or even just casually see anyone. Every bit of focus had to be put toward his work.
“Listen, Mr. Sellers,” Maya said, interrupting his thoughts. She averted her eyes and was clearly embarrassed. He enjoyed the way her brow creased and the way she brought her bottom lip between her teeth.
Jamie was watching her mouth, wishing that his lips, teeth and tongue were there, joined with hers. So he didn’t realize that she was still speaking and he had to force his eyes back to hers. The beautiful, dark, almond eyes he recalled from the previous night. He was lost.
“I’m really sorry about last night,” she stammered. “I shouldn’t have kissed you. It was inappropriate, and it was—”
“It’s okay,” he said, assuring her with a smile.
“It’s really not,” she insisted. “It’s just that my friend Abby dared me to do something reckless, and I’d had a bit too much to drink. Oh, and can I assume you paid for our drinks?” He nodded. “It was sweet, but really not necessary. Here, let me pay you back.” She reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. “How much do I owe you? I made sure to tip the bartender. I hope it was enough for how much the bill must have been—”
He put a hand on hers, stilling her. “Don’t.” He forced himself to ignore the sizzle he felt when his fingers touched hers. “Keep your money. It’s not a big deal. It was only a couple of drinks.”
She laughed. The sound pulsed pleasantly through him. “I think it was more than a couple, if how I felt this morning was any indication. And for your information, just so we’re clear, that’s not why I kissed you. This isn’t some scam I have to get free drinks. I didn’t even know who you were. I just thought you were some sexy guy at the bar—” She stopped suddenly, and her eyes widened, the flush returning to her cheeks. She laughed once more, shakily, bringing her palm to her forehead. “I’m rambling again, aren’t I? I do that when I’m nervous. I just can’t stop talking sometimes. It’s this thing I do.” She was speaking so quickly that Jamie could barely keep up. She gesticulated wildly. “I say something embarrassing, and then I keep talking to try and talk my way out of it. And I just can’t stop myself. I go on and on and on and on. And I can’t stop.” She paused. “I should just stop talking, shouldn’t I?”
It was Jamie’s turn to laugh. This woman was not only gorgeous, but she was also absolutely delightful to be around. “I really wish you wouldn’t.” He opened his mouth to continue when he heard a familiar voice over his shoulder.
“Jamie, Maya,” Dr. Carmichael said, placing an arm over each of their shoulders. “I’m glad you had a chance to get acquainted.” He smiled indulgently at them both. “Jamie, Maya is one of the finest students I’ve ever had the pleasure of teaching.”
Jamie looked at her, wonder raising his eyebrows. He knew that Dr. C.’s compliments were not easy to come by. He’d had to work long and hard before he had earned any of his own. He knew Maya must be something special to have deserved such commendation. “Is that right? That’s certainly high praise, indeed.” He nodded appreciatively. “Any plans for after graduation?”
She exhaled slightly and allowed the rigidity in her posture to relax slightly. The shift was subtle, but he noticed. Clearly, she was a woman who was most at ease with her work.
“I’ve got nothing concrete lined up yet, but I’m interested in hotel management,” she told him, her voice giving away the fact that she had definitely memorized the answer and used it often. “I’ve got a career path that I’d like to follow to make that happen.”
“That’s great. It’s important to stay focused on your goals.” Jamie’s phone started ringing in his left hand, and he held out his right to Maya. “Maya, it was a pleasure meeting you today,” he added for emphasis, before turning to his mentor. “Dr. C., I’ll be in touch. Let’s have dinner some night when I’m not quite so bogged down with work.”
The professor smiled. “Well, son, unless you’ve changed your ways recently, I don’t know when that will be.”
Jamie regretted not having time to catch up with his mentor. A man who had done so much for him and his career. “Thanks for having me.”
“Thanks for coming in, Jamie.” The man shook his hand and gave him a pat on the shoulder before releasing him, his eyes twinkling with obvious pride. “Look after yourself. But make sure you focus on what’s really important in life.”
Jamie looked quizzically at the professor before putting his phone to his ear, turning his back on the old man and the single most beautiful woman he had ever met. He had important business to conduct with the contractor on the other end, but it didn’t stop him from thinking about the woman who had come into his life, catching him off guard for the second time in just under twelve hours. He pushed all thoughts of Maya out of his mind. He had work to do, and he certainly didn’t have time for indulging fantasies of gorgeous graduate students.
“Scott, good to hear from you,” he said into the phone, pushing through the doors to the warm spring air.
3 (#ulink_8efb1f21-1584-55b3-943e-a7d0f7a88286)
LATER THAT NIGHT, Jamie still sat at his desk. Almost everyone else had gone home for the day, but Jamie remained. He needed to review some construction estimates and vendor contracts in order to begin construction on the new hotel he planned to build. This was the next step in his company’s future—upscale boutique hotels boasting the Sellers and Swerve name. Jamie shuffled through the stacks of papers and file folders on his desk. How did I get so unorganized?
Out of habit he looked over at the empty desk in the corner of the room that Martin once occupied. He sighed, lamenting his assistant’s absence and realized more every day how much he had come to depend on having someone else to help him shoulder the considerable workload. He thumbed through another stack of contracts, looking for a contractor’s quote that he needed for his newest acquisition—a small building he had bought in foreclosure near the downtown Swerve. He threw down the papers with a frustrated sigh and picked up his phone. Moving his fingers quickly, he typed out a message to his secretary, Mary, asking her to place an ad for a new assistant as soon as possible.
Jamie didn’t know what he would do without Mary. Like Trevor, she had been with him since the beginning, and she was integral in making sure the day-to-day operations ran smoothly.
He rubbed his eyes and let his thoughts roam once again to Maya Connor. With a smile, he recalled their encounters in the past twenty-four hours. First, she had kissed him and then she was sitting front-row center in Dr. C.’s class for his lecture, and then she approached him afterward, apologizing and offering to repay him in the most adorable way possible. Dr. Carmichael had called her his best student, and she must be to have earned his adoration. She would be finishing school in a couple of weeks, no actual job lined up just yet. Perhaps. Just perhaps...
Before he could stop himself, tell himself that it was a bad idea, Jamie picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.
* * *
CURLED UP ON the couch with a wool blanket over her legs, Maya settled in after she reached for her bowl of popcorn. She didn’t care what Abby thought. Curling up on the couch and binge-watching Netflix was fun. All the fun I need, in fact. She queued up the next episode of Orange Is the New Black and sat back, letting the plush couch cuddle her in a way that no man would ever know how.
Jamie Sellers might know how, she conceded. The man looked as wicked as sin, and those strong arms she’d felt wrap around her, and those delicious lips she’d touched with her own, would certainly know how to hold and caress all of the most sensitive parts of her body.
Realizing that she had been lost in thoughts of Jamie Sellers and not paying attention to the beginning of the episode, she stopped to rewind it when her phone rang. She picked it up to look at the screen and frowned when she didn’t recognize the number as she brought it to her ear. “Hello?” she mumbled through a mouthful of popcorn.
“Is this Maya Connor?” a masculine voice that she knew, but couldn’t place, rumbled into her ear and throughout her body.
“Um, yes.” Try as she might, she couldn’t place the familiar voice.
“Hi, this is Jamie Sellers.”
What? She choked slightly as she swallowed her popcorn with her now-dry throat. “Oh, hello.”
“Well, this might seem like it’s coming out of nowhere.” Now it was Jamie’s turn to hesitate. He cleared his throat. “And I’m sorry to bother you at home. I got your number from Dr. Carmichael. But I recall you saying you didn’t yet have a job lined up after graduation.”
“Yes, that’s right.” She furrowed her brow and pulled her lip between her teeth. What is this? Why is he calling?
“Well, I was wondering if you would consider coming to work for me.”
What? “I’m sorry?”
“My assistant just quit, and I’m getting buried with more work than I can manage with each passing day. And I know it’s not a post-graduate-level job and you’re probably overqualified for it, but I’m being straightforward, working for me would provide you with a stepping-stone in your career path. I could give you some great work experience and introduce you to some important people.”
He was right. While she hadn’t counted on doing the work of an assistant after she graduated, working for Jamie Sellers would be a golden opportunity she couldn’t turn down. Her thoughts turned to the stack of job ads that she had printed, waiting for her on her desk. And then she pictured the faces of the twenty-seven other people in her graduating class, all of whom would be vying for the same jobs in a matter of weeks. Maya could guarantee that none of them currently had Jamie Sellers on the phone offering them a position.
“So how about it?”
“I’m still in school.” She closed her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t change his mind and hire someone who was actually available right away. “I still have finals.”
“That’s fine. I understand that. We can work around your class and exam schedule until you finish up. I’m just afraid that if I wait much longer, I’ll be buried alive in stacks of paper,” he chuckled, before pausing. “So, you’ll do it?”
Maya remained silent.
“Ms. Connor?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Shock had her sitting up straight, eyes wide. So, she took a deep breath, confident that her life was about to change. “I’ll do it, Mr. Sellers. Thank you for the opportunity.”
Jamie breathed a sigh. Was he holding his breath? “That’s great, you won’t regret it. Why don’t you call me back tomorrow morning, anytime between 9:00 and 12:00 would be great. You can talk to my secretary, Mary. She’ll be expecting your call and she’ll get your information and find a convenient time for you to come in for a face-to-face.”
* * *
A FEW DAYS LATER, Maya sat in the waiting area of Jamie’s office. She drummed her nails on her thigh and thought about how quickly her life was changing. In just a few days she would finally be finished with her degree. After years of hard work just to put some letters after her name, being so close to the end felt incredible. Maya Connor, MBA. To top it all off, she would be skipping the grueling cycle of résumé writing and job interviews to start her career right out of the gate as Jamie Sellers’s assistant.
Sitting outside Jamie’s office, about to start her career, was exciting. She had been surprised when she was told to meet him at Swerve Nightclub. The evening that she’d kissed him, she had caught a final glimpse of him, as he climbed the stairs, but she’d had no idea that those stairs led to the swanky, upscale, trendy offices and waiting room that the space above the club boasted. The large panels of glass, most likely double-sided and definitely soundproofed, looked down on the club, and she could see it all from a different perspective. From the vantage point of her chair in Jamie’s waiting room, she was brought back to the night she and Abby had been here. She could see the booth where she and Abby had sat and the dance floor where they had gyrated and swayed the night away. She saw the bar where she had kissed Jamie. She flushed slightly at the memory. She wondered whether or not he looked out those windows at her after he disappeared up the stairs. Of course not, she scolded herself. Don’t be ridiculous, Maya.
She covertly sneaked glances at Mary, the somewhat older, but still quite beautiful, receptionist behind the desk. She was perfectly coifed, styled and polished within an inch of her life. Of course she was. Jamie Sellers’s office gatekeeper could only be the pinnacle of style and grace.
She thought about Jamie’s reputation. It’s not like she had Googled him, but—okay, she’d Googled him. A quick search had revealed many news stories. Well, mostly postings on Montreal Secrets, in which he was reputed to have bedded all sorts of famous, glamorous and beautiful women.
Maya looked down and took in her own suit. A gray jacket and slim pants and a white blouse paired with some killer dark red heels which normally made her feel like a million bucks. She thought the ensemble was stylish and had always felt comfortable in it. However, next to Mary she felt bland and boring. She sighed quietly and consulted her watch, while her left leg twitched up and down—a nervous tic she had been scolded about since childhood.
Maya was nervous. She knew that she was overqualified for the job, but a small part of her thought that maybe, just maybe, she had been hired because she kissed him. Had her parents been right? Had he hired her because he thought she would be easy access for a little afternoon delight in the office? I mean, he probably thinks I’m some easy girl who wouldn’t think twice about lifting her skirt for her boss. Her nerves somehow turned to anger. How dare he? Well, I’m here to work, and if he’s just looking for some office sidepiece to fill his needs, if that’s what he thinks I’ll be, he’s wrong. I’ll show him just how hard I can work as his assistant.
“Jamie’s running a little late this morning,” Mary told her, interrupting her thoughts. “He shouldn’t be much longer.”
“Thank you,” she responded with a small smile, grateful for the break from her thoughts.
“Can I get you anything? Some espresso or sparkling water?”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
Something buzzed on Mary’s desk. She touched a button on her headset. “Certainly, Jamie. She’ll be right in.” She turned to Maya. “You can go in now.”
Maya stood and brushed imaginary lint from her pants and jacket. “Thank you.” She pushed through the heavy door. And with her heart pounding against the inside of her chest, she walked slowly into the large office. She took in her surroundings and she was astounded by what she saw—a seating area with a sleek leather couch and armchair, a wet bar with a small selection of premium alcoholic beverages and a kitchenette with an espresso machine. One large window showed the city skyline for miles.
“Oh, wow, what a view,” she spoke softly, to herself.
He was seated at his desk, his face obscured as he looked down at some documents. His dark hair was shiny from the sunlight that was pouring in. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t even register her appearance in his office until she was standing in front of the desk. His head rose and she was hit with that face once again, making her gasp a little. His light blue eyes, high cheekbones, straight nose and that strong square jaw which seemed to be perpetually covered with a five o’clock shadow, even at ten in the morning, all combined to send her uncontrollable hormones into a tizzy.
“Ms. Connor,” he said with a smile before standing to shake her hand. “Thanks for accepting my offer and for coming in today.”
“Thank you so much for the opportunity.”
He smiled again, his white teeth glistened. “Please sit down. I’ll just go through the details of the job and expectations, and then you can head over to HR to get settled away with your compensation and other personnel details.”
Maya relaxed when he started talking about the job. Of course, he would be professional. He didn’t hire her to be his personal bedmate. He was a businessman, after all. He passed over documents and folders and explained what each one was. She nodded, attempting to keep it all straight in her head.
“If it feels like too much right now, you’ll get it in time.”
“I’ll be fine. Thanks,” she told him, balancing the files in her arms. “I do better when there’s a heavy workload, or a tight deadline.”
“Not a bad quality in someone working for me,” he said. “We’ve got quite a few balls in the air right now.”
“Well, I can’t wait to start,” she said, smiling over the reams and reams of paper that she held in her arms.
When it seemed as if he was done discussing the workload, he hesitated. He breathed deeply and sat on the corner of his desk, closest to her, and his voice got lower. “And, Maya, just so we’re clear, I hired you because of the recommendation that came from Dr. Carmichael and your desire to work in hotel management. It didn’t have anything to do with us kissing.” He averted his gaze, as if he were nervous. Did she make him nervous? “But, let me be firm. That’s not the type of organization I run here. I feel that relationships between coworkers can only lead to disaster. And nothing like that can ever happen between us again.”
Maya breathed a sigh of relief. After hearing him lay out his position on their kiss, she was certain that he hired her for her professional attributes. She could do this. She could do this if they promised to keep it professional. She nodded. “It absolutely will not happen again. I wish I could take that kiss back. I really do. Thank you for the opportunity, Jamie. You won’t regret it.”
“I know I won’t,” he said, smiling at her.
* * *
HE ALREADY REGRETTED IT.
After he had sent her off to the human resources department, Jamie sighed and rubbed his hands through his dark hair. What was I thinking hiring her? The short time she had been in his office, he found it impossible to think of anything but how her black hair shimmered, the smell of her perfume, her sharp eyes, her smile. How could he be expected to get any work done with her sitting in his office, day in and day out?
Since the night that she’d kissed him, she was all he had been able to think about. All he wanted to do was kiss her again. To feel her hair in his hands. To rip that amazing-looking suit from her body and to feel her soft skin against his own. He groaned in frustration. Well, she’s here now. You’ve got to make it work somehow, Sellers.
Steeling himself, he made a decision and pounded his fist on his desk. I’ll just do my work. Stay busy. Ignore her. That’s the only way this is going to work, and we’ve got to keep this professional. It wouldn’t be hard to do. He regarded the stacks of paper in front of him and the phone messages that Mary had just given him. He puffed his cheeks and quickly blew out the air that he had been holding in his lungs. All right now. Pull it together.
Jamie’s attention was drawn to the door when he heard a hesitant knock. He smiled, knowing he didn’t have any appointments lined up at the moment. So it must have been Maya, returning from the human resources department. He pictured her on the other side, biting her lip, not wanting to enter without permission, but needing to enter and not knowing what to do. He pushed himself away from his desk and walked to the door. He pulled it open and his suspicions were confirmed when he saw Maya standing there, holding yet another folder that the human resources department had given her.
“Hi,” she said quietly. “I didn’t want to disturb you. Mary is at lunch and I didn’t want to barge in.”
He chuckled and moved aside so she could enter. “Maya, this is your office, as well.” He ushered her in. “I hope it works for you. I like to keep my right-hand man, uh, w-woman,” he stammered, “close by. But don’t feel the need to knock, just come on in. If there’s something going on for which I need privacy, I’ll just use the conference room down the hall.”
Maya nodded. “Sounds good.” She walked to her own desk to address her own stack of files. Jamie noted how much brighter she made his office. It was nice having another person around in the large room again. She looked up at him and smiled brightly. “So, where should I start?”
Jamie found himself staring. He shook his head to clear the fogginess she made him feel. He dealt with the unwelcome distraction the only way he knew how, by focusing on business. “I need you to go over the contractors’ quotes for work on the premier Swerve Hotel opening here in the city.”
“Sounds good,” she said pleasantly, though her eyes narrowed at his newly curt tone. She shrugged and located the particular folder she needed and opened it, starting her own work.
* * *
MAYA SAT QUIETLY at her own desk all afternoon. She could feel the tension rolling from his side of the office. At first, she wondered if it had something to do with her. Had she done something to displease him? She racked her brain thinking of everything that she had done or said. He never looked up from his desk, unless to ask her a specific question about her work or to answer one of hers. He barely acknowledged her existence. At first, his dismissal of her played on her mind. She thought that they were building a friendly relationship, with the easy conversation that they had shared earlier. But his new treatment of her shook her confidence.
It was when she watched him drag his hands through his dark hair, for probably the hundredth time that afternoon, she frowned. Why are you so freaking sensitive? She scolded herself. This isn’t about you. This guy obviously has a lot going on right now, and he doesn’t have time to play nice with you, chatting all day. He hired you to do a job. So do it, Maya.
Her eyes still on him, she watched him tent his long fingers in front of his face, obviously deep in thought. He grabbed a pen and scribbled furiously on a pad of yellow legal paper in front of him, apparently caught by a moment of inspiration.
Watching him at work, she smiled. Jamie Sellers was an impossibly good-looking man. Once again she was brought back to the night when, at the nightclub below them, she had kissed him in one of the most impulsive moments of her life. Her lips tingled and desire flushed throughout her body. Every time she thought about that kiss she had a similar reaction. But if she hoped to concentrate on anything at all this afternoon she needed to stop. Shaking herself free of the thoughts, she sighed.
Her sigh was a little too loud, as it caught Jamie’s attention. He gazed over at her. His steel-blue eyes seemingly looking into her. “Everything okay?”
Caught off guard, she stammered a little. “Uh, yeah, sorry. I think I just need a cup of coffee.” She recovered quickly, gesturing to the espresso machine in the kitchenette.
“Help yourself,” he said, looking back down at his paperwork. “Do you know how to use one of those?”
“Yeah, my parents have one just like it.” She stood. “Do you want anything?”
“Just so we’re clear, your job isn’t to get me coffee. I can get my own coffee,” he told her, brow furrowed. “But, yeah sure, if you don’t mind.” He smiled. “A double espresso, no sugar or anything would be great. Thank you.”
* * *
BY THE EVENING, Jamie found himself seated at the bar of the club downstairs. He watched Trevor dry the glasses he had just pulled from the washer with a microfiber cloth. Jamie smiled at the attention to detail. Neither man could abide serving glasses that had dried water spots on them.
“You all right, man?” Trevor asked him while he worked.
Jamie shoved his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just tired.”
“How’s the new assistant working out?” he asked with a smirk.
Jamie regarded Trevor carefully. He obviously knew that he had hired Maya. “She’s working out just fine,” he answered with a curt nod.
“Can I get you a Coke?”
Jamie shook his head. “Not today. I will have a finger of the Aberfeldy 21, though. Neat.”
Raising a questioning eyebrow, Trevor reached for one of their finest scotches. “Sure, friend.” He reached for the bottle at the top of the display and carefully poured out a serving. “That’s a strange order for you. You don’t normally drink at all, let alone here. What’s up?”
“Why does anything need to be up?” he demanded.
“Jamie, you’re a creature of habit, some might think you’re bordering on workaholic. So, what exactly is going on here?” He leaned on the bar to come face-to-face with Jamie. “Does it have anything to do with the beautiful new assistant you hired? I heard her name is Maya Connor. Funny, that happens to be the name of the woman who kissed you right here at the bar not long ago, is it not?”
Jamie threw back the scotch and swallowed it in one gulp. Normally, he would have enjoyed sipping such a decadent spirit, but right then he needed the fortification. “Yeah,” he sighed, the scotch burning a pleasant trail down his throat and into his stomach. “Even though you already seem to know, it is her.”
He proceeded to tell Trevor about their encounter in Dr. Carmichael’s class and him offering her the job. “And for the love of God, could you please keep that kiss on the down-low,” he whispered and leaned in. “I don’t want anyone getting ideas about why she was hired.”
“It’s nobody’s business, but why did you hire her?”
Jamie was silent for a moment. Why had he hired her? He wanted to say that it was strictly professional. That he knew she would be a competent assistant and nothing more. But he couldn’t bring himself to tell his friend that. So he went with the partial truth. “She came highly recommended by Dr. Carmichael, and I trust his opinion,” he said with a wave. “What happened here that night is just a wacky coincidence. She told me that it was a dare. Her friend Abby was trying to get her to be a little wilder, so she dared Maya to kiss me. That’s all. That’s the story.”
“Uh-huh.” Trevor stood straight, clearly unconvinced, and gestured to the empty glass Jamie had slammed down on the bar. “So, why the drink?”
“Why can’t I have a drink in my own club?” he angrily defended himself. “I have to head back upstairs for a conference call soon, and I just wanted a quick break to relax a little. Is that okay with you?”
Trevor smiled at his friend’s outburst. “It’s fine, dude. If anyone needs to relax a little, it’s clearly you.”
4 (#ulink_ae942d86-4673-5f42-8588-d620291d6009)
MAYA ENTERED HER apartment at seven o’clock. She knew that Jamie was staying late for a conference call to settle some things with a presentation he would be giving at an upcoming conference in Las Vegas. She had offered to stay, but he dismissed her, saying it wasn’t necessary. It still felt like a brush-off, all the same. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he was uncomfortable being in the same room with her, and she wondered why he hired her if her presence made him so bristly? She made her way to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of Merlot, and when Abby ran into the kitchen to greet her she poured one for her friend, as well.
“So, how was your day?” Abby asked her, eager anticipation spread across her face.
Unsurprisingly, Abby had been supportive of Maya accepting the position. She was a great friend and she was so excited for Maya. She had even helped her decide on an outfit for her first day, in addition to helping her research Jamie and J. Sellers Holdings.
Maya’s smile was tired. “It was long. There’s a lot of work to get done. He’s got so much going on. But—big news—he did tell me that the two of us would be going to Las Vegas in a few of weeks for a convention. So that’s pretty exciting.”
“Vegas? With Mr. Gorgeous? That’s amazing. I’m so jealous! I love Vegas.”
“Yeah, it should be great. I’ve never been there, but I doubt I’ll get much time to sightsee, or shop, or anything else. He’s pretty serious about business being strictly that.” She took a sip of her wine.
“And a weird thing. The day was going fine at first, but then it’s like his personality changed,” she told Abby, frowning. “He spent most of the day ignoring me, and we both worked quietly at our desks. It was kind of awkward.”
“You said he was busy. That’s probably just him in work mode,” Abby offered.
Maya rolled her eyes, embarrassed that she had been so sensitive. “Of course, that’s it. He is busy. He’s still at the office on a conference call, as we speak.”
“Or, maybe he was just on edge because he was concerned you would jump him at his desk?” Abby mused, an evil glint in her eye. “Did you think about that?”
Maya sighed and brushed past her. “I don’t know why I even talk to you.”
“Because I’m your best friend and you value my opinion.”
“Oh, right, I forgot,” she laughed.
Abby followed her down the narrow hallway which led to the bedrooms and the bathroom. “He is insanely good-looking. Do you want to jump him at his desk?”
“No, I’m his assistant. This is a strictly professional working relationship.”
“Maya, I know everything about you, so don’t think I don’t know when you’re all hot and bothered over a guy,” she reminded her. “Even if it’s been more than a millennium since that has happened.”
Maya dropped her laptop bag and her purse in her bedroom and moved past Abby once again. “I’m not all hot and bothered over Jamie. But I am getting in the bath. I’ll see you in a bit.”
* * *
MAYA WALKED INTO the bathroom and shut the door, leaving Abby alone in the hallway. She turned on the hot water, letting it fall over her fingertips. Sitting on the edge of the tub, she poured in some bath salts and her favorite lavender bubble bath. She grabbed her phone and found a soft jazz radio station to stream online. Closing her eyes, Maya sipped her wine, finally able to decompress after her long day. When the tub filled, she lit some candles, and she quickly undressed and slipped into the too-hot water. The sensation made her hiss at first, drawing in air between her teeth. But she quickly acclimated and slid into the water until it covered the tops of her breasts.
She moaned. There was truly nothing better to her than a piping-hot bath. The bathtub was her sanctuary. It always had been. Even when she was younger, she looked forward to her private bath time. In the tub, she didn’t have to think about her parents or the pressure they had put on her, her schoolwork, piano or her skating lessons. It was her time.
Closing her eyes, and without any other distractions, she let herself once again think of Jamie Sellers. As impossible as it was, she could still smell his cologne, feel him nearby, hear the deep timbre of his voice as it echoed in her brain.
All day, she had wanted to just reach out and touch him and run her fingertips over the coarse hair on his strong jaw. She remembered with a shiver the point in the afternoon when he had loosened his tie and unfastened the top button of his shirt. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and play with the small tuft of dark hair that was revealed. She tried not to stare as he rolled up his sleeves, exposing his strong, tan forearms and more hair that looked so exquisitely soft.
With a small sigh, Maya laid her head back against her bath pillow. There was no denying it. Abby was right, though she would never admit it. She did want Jamie. Badly. She was indeed all hot and bothered. It had been so long since she had thought that way about a man. She assumed now that she was basically finished with school she would have time for lust and desire and to give in to her romantic inclinations. She dismissed the thought as quickly as it formed. She would have wanted Jamie even if she was still in the freshman year of her MBA.
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