Joanna Neil - Sheltered by Her Top-Notch Boss

I’m sure a lot of people have skeletons in their cupboards, scandals that affect their families, or things they might have done long ago that they regret when they’re a bit older and wiser.

And that set me to wondering … What would happen if my heroine’s former indiscretions came back to haunt her? And how would she cope if those transgressions promised to ruin her career and maybe destroy her chance of happiness with the man she loves?

Well, to find out what happens you’ll need to read all about Ellie and James and their troubled path to true love.

Happy reading!

Joanna

When JOANNA NEILdiscovered Mills & Boon ®, her lifelong addiction to reading crystallised into an exciting new career writing Mills & Boon ®Medical Romance™. Her characters are probably the outcome of her varied lifestyle, which includes working as a clerk, typist, nurse and infant teacher. She enjoys dressmaking and cooking at her Leicestershire home. Her family includes a husband, son and daughter, an exuberant yellow Labrador and two slightly crazed cockatiels. She currently works with a team of tutors at her local education centre, to provide creative writing workshops for people interested in exploring their own writing ambitions.

Cursed from an early age with a poor sense of direction and a propensity to read, Annie Claydonspent much of her childhood lost in books. After completing her degree in English Literature, she indulged her love of romantic fiction and spent a long, hot summer writing a book of her own. It was duly rejected and life took over. A series of U-turns led in the unlikely direction of a career in computing and information technology, but the lure of the printed page proved too much to bear, and she now has the perfect outlet for the stories which have always run through her head, writing Medical Romance ™for Mills & Boon ®. Living in London, a city where getting lost can be a joy, she has no regrets for having taken her time in working her way back to the place that she started from.

Joanna Neil

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Cover

About the Author When JOANNA NEIL discovered Mills & Boon ® , her lifelong addiction to reading crystallised into an exciting new career writing Mills & Boon ® Medical Romance™. Her characters are probably the outcome of her varied lifestyle, which includes working as a clerk, typist, nurse and infant teacher. She enjoys dressmaking and cooking at her Leicestershire home. Her family includes a husband, son and daughter, an exuberant yellow Labrador and two slightly crazed cockatiels. She currently works with a team of tutors at her local education centre, to provide creative writing workshops for people interested in exploring their own writing ambitions. Cursed from an early age with a poor sense of direction and a propensity to read, Annie Claydon spent much of her childhood lost in books. After completing her degree in English Literature, she indulged her love of romantic fiction and spent a long, hot summer writing a book of her own. It was duly rejected and life took over. A series of U-turns led in the unlikely direction of a career in computing and information technology, but the lure of the printed page proved too much to bear, and she now has the perfect outlet for the stories which have always run through her head, writing Medical Romance ™ for Mills & Boon ® . Living in London, a city where getting lost can be a joy, she has no regrets for having taken her time in working her way back to the place that she started from.

Title Page Sheltered by Her Top-Notch Boss Joanna Neil www.millsandboon.co.uk

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Copyright

ELLIE SHIFTED RESTLESSLY on the barstool, crossing one long, elegant leg over the other. How much longer would it be before she could decently slip away from here? She cradled a cocktail glass between her fingers and watched her friends enjoying themselves. She was the only one out of kilter here.

The party was in full swing, the heavy beat of music drowning out the buzz of conversation, though every now and again a burst of laughter broke through the din. Some people were on the dance floor, and everyone seemed contented, eager to let their hair down.

If only she could feel the same way. She’d had an awful day, though, and she desperately wanted it to end. This was the last place she needed to be.

‘I’m glad you managed to get here tonight after all,’ Lewis said, moving closer. ‘I know you had to work late today.’ His hazel eyes were warm as he gazed at her. An errant lock of brown, wavy hair fell across his forehead.

She nodded and made an effort to put on a cheerful expression. But how much more small talk could she make? She’d spent the last hour doing that, and all the while she’d been hoping for the chance to say goodbye and leave the party relatively unnoticed, some time soon.

‘I had to try,’ she said. ‘I know how keen Zoe was to have us all come to her celebration.’ She smiled, seeing her friend circle the room, chatting to people who’d been her colleagues for the last few years. ‘I’ll miss her, but I’m glad she managed to get the promotion she wanted. It’s just sad that she’ll be moving away from here.’

‘Well, she’s only going as far as the next county—I dare say she’ll be coming back to Cheshire to visit us every now and again.’

‘Yes, I suppose you’re right.’ She drained the last of her drink and then said, ‘I haven’t seen your wife here tonight. Couldn’t she make it?’

Lewis shook his head and looked uncomfortable. ‘She … uh … had to go to another do. A family thing.’ His voice trailed off, and just as Ellie was absorbing that, Zoe came over to them.

Ellie’s eyes widened a fraction as she glanced at the man who accompanied her. His brooding gaze wandered over her in turn, and there was something about him that caused a frisson of awareness to shiver down her spine. Did she know him from somewhere? Snatches of memory flickered through her mind and dissolved as fast as they had come into being.

But how could she have forgotten him? He was tall, and exceptionally good-looking, wearing an immaculate dark suit. Peeping out from beneath his jacket sleeves, the cuffs of his shirt were pristine, fastened with stylish gold cuff links. But the feeling remained, niggling at the outer edges of her consciousness. She felt strangely uneasy.

‘Ellie, I must introduce you to James,’ Zoe said, bubbling with enthusiasm, her blonde hair quivering with every small movement she made. ‘He’s taking over from me at the hospital—honestly, I’m already regretting taking the new job. Would you credit it? Just as I’m leaving, he turns up?’ She rolled her eyes in an ‘Isn’t he to die for?’ kind of way, and James laughed, a soft, rumbling sound coming from the back of his throat.