Yvonne Lindsay - Boardrooms & a Billionaire Heir / Jealousy & a Jewelled Proposition

“Vince will want to meet you,” Kim said. “He’s—”

“Howard’s brother. Runs an opal mine in Coober Pedy. Lives in Adelaide and owns a ten-percent share. He’s currently in the States on business.”

“He’s your uncle,” Kim added calmly. “Then there’s Sonya.”

Jake heard the warmth in her voice, saw the emotion that briefly softened Kim’s expression before she blinked it away.

An unfamiliar burst of injustice slammed into him, rendering him momentarily speechless. Sonya Hammond was a mother figure to these people. She was important.

He took a breath, quickly recovering with, “It’s not necessary.”

By the look on Kim’s face he knew his response fell far short of acceptable. Well, hell. This wasn’t exactly his dream situation, either.

Perrini said, “You’ll have access to the internal filing and e-mail systems, plus a master key card to the building.” He punched a number into the phone. “You understand that no files can leave the building, nor are there to be any unauthorised copies made.”

“Naturally,” Jake said smoothly.

Ric continued. “The elevator on the far right is executive use only. It takes you to the basement, so there’ll be no chance meetings with other staff. Your assistant, Holly McLeod, is outside.”

I guess this means the meeting’s over . “I’ll need the current financials.”

“I’ll send them up,” Ryan said curtly. He was the first to rise, striding over to the door and yanking it open. “Welcome to Blackstone’s.”

Holly McLeod waited as everyone exited the boardroom. Ryan, Ric and Garth were deep in discussion as they strode to the elevator. Nothing new there. They lived and breathed Blackstone Diamonds.

Then Jake Vance emerged and the seriousness of her predicament flipped her stomach.

It’s nervousness. That’s all .

He spotted her and gave a brief, humourless smile. “Miss McLeod.”

Her softly murmured name tripped a breath of warm anticipation over her skin, one she quickly covered up by straightening the file in her arms. “Mr Vance—” she held out her hand “—I’m Holly McLeod. I’m to be your assistant for the duration of your stay.”

When his long fingers wrapped around hers, her skin heated with the contact. It wasn’t power he so clearly exuded. It was something much more seductive. Confidence? Control?

Intimacy .

The way his sharp green gaze swept her from head to toe, taking in her hair, her face, her business suit. The way those eyes probed hers until they finally came to rest on the small diamond solitaire at her throat.

She swallowed, withdrew and offered a key card, carefully avoiding his hand. “This will give you access to all the floors, plus the basement car park. You’ve been allocated a parking space for as long as you’re with Blackstone’s. I’ll show you to your office now, if you like.”

“No.”

Holly blinked. “Sir?”

“It’s Jake. I’m not staying.” He stuck his hand in his suit jacket, pulled out a mobile phone and flipped it open. Without a second glance, he pocketed it. “You can give me a rundown of the company history in the car. Get the financials from Ryan Blackstone and I’ll meet you in the basement.”

She hesitated as he made short work of the corridor with his long, devouring strides. So he didn’t want to view his domain, cast an all-encompassing powerful eye over the magnificent Sydney view. Of course. He had the mirror image from his North Sydney complex. Still, she’d anticipated questions, pulled all the relevant files and promotional material and put them on his desk. She’d made tentative meetings with department heads.

“Keep up, Miss McLeod,” Jake said curtly as he pressed the elevator button.

Holly quickly regrouped and moved forward, apprehension giving way to irritation in the face of his cool perusal. “You’re not authorised to remove files from the building, Mr Vance,” she said shortly, refusing to flinch as his sharp eyes met hers. “But I’ll go and personally make sure they’re delivered up to your temporary office.”

He scrutinised her with all the skill of a pro, but she returned his look steadily. Oh, I know how you work, Mr Midas Touch . The stare-down was part of his strategy, along with an emotionless, layout-the-facts style that most men grudgingly admired, despite his ruthless reputation. Men wanted to be him; women just wanted him. Period.

She pushed the elevator button repeatedly, tightening her grip on her file so it crushed up against her breasts like protective armour. “I think now’s a good time to discuss how you’d like to work while you’re here.”

He frowned. “I don’t expect you to be performing any personal assistant duties. I already have one.”

“Holly is a wealth of information about Blackstone’s. We’re fortunate to have her,” Kimberley said, from behind them. Holly ducked her gaze guiltily at the unexpected praise as Kim continued. “Make use of her expertise and gather as much knowledge as you can before deciding to invest with us.”

Holly felt a confusing frisson of adversarial tension crackle between these two, like an argument was in the cards in the next two seconds. She’d never seen Kimberley be anything except utterly polite and professional, even to people she disliked.

Jake Vance, on the other hand, chose to do as he pleased, courtesy be damned.

“I need to speak to you later, Jake,” Kimberley said pointedly.

“I can fit you in tomorrow.”

“I’m flat out with Fashion Week but I can find time. I’ll let Holly know.” She gave up on the elevator and reached for the fire stairs door.

Jake turned to Holly when the door clicked shut, his face a study in controlled irritation. “It looks like I have myself an assistant, Miss McLeod.” She blinked as he added, “As to how I work, it’s quickly. I ask questions. You answer them. Simple.”

She straightened her spine. “Do you have an agenda? A deadline or time frame that—”

“I plan on this taking no more than a week, ten days at the most. Every morning I’ll decide on our timetable and we’ll take it from there. I expect you to start work at eight and stay until everything that needs to get done is done. You need to work around my schedule and be available at my North Sydney office. Do you have other work commitments?”

She shook her head. “You’re my first priority.”

Holly watched in fascination as his sensuous mouth thinned, almost as if he were holding something back. His eyes, on the other hand, glittered for one second before he glanced away. “Let’s start with the building layout and other assets.” As if on cue, the doors pinged open and he swept his hand forward, indicating she go first.

“Our ground level is secured with high-end technology and a security desk, as you’ve seen,” Holly began as they descended. “No employee gets in without their ID and a walk though the scanners. Visitors must be signed in and accompanied by an employee.”

“What about the Blackstones themselves?”

“All executives are located on the forty-third floor with the rest of the board, and use this private elevator. Finance is on the thirty-fifth floor, PR on the twentieth. We also have an employee-only gym and health club, child-care center and cafeteria. We own the whole building, including the grand ballroom, shop fronts, bar and three restaurants that cover the ground, first and second floors facing George Street. Our employees get generous discounts at these and we have a standing table for executive use at each restaurant. We occasionally rent out our ballroom to other companies. Last year it was the B&S and Make a Wish Charity Ball.”

She held out a glossy brochure that she’d helped design, one that detailed the building’s facilities. He just glanced at it, then back at her.