Julianna Morris - The Bachelor Boss

“Isn’t that what we all want?” he asked.

She made a disgusted gesture. “Not all of us have a fetish about it. You must be ready to chew nails over Kane making me a vice president.”

Neil wasn’t thrilled, but he’d never admit it to Libby. And since he planned to make the New Developments division the most successful in the company, he would have to deal with her one way or another. Besides, it could be a lot of fun teasing that pink color into her cheeks.

“Especially with me being a woman,” Libby added.

“What?” He scowled, no longer amused. “I don’t have a problem with qualified women in business, so don’t put words into my mouth.”

“Ah, but you don’t think I’m qualified.”

“That remains to be seen. Your qualifications, that is,” Neil said, giving her a measuring glance. Libby certainly looked the part of a career woman…now. But the day they met she’d been wearing an unstructured sweater and skirt.

That damned bulky sweater should have been his first clue, he thought irritably. It had practically screamed small-town innocent, but even the most sophisticated women had been wearing the down-home earthy look back then. If he’d known she was a naive virgin he would have stayed a thousand miles away.

“I’m sure you’ll do a fine job,” he said, distracted by the memory. Or was it the memory of sweet curves that fitted perfectly against him?

Damn. Where had that come from? Libby had a fine body—not that she did anything to advertise it—but he’d been with his share of gorgeous women. Willing women who didn’t have marriage and a baby carriage on the mind.

“Marriage and a baby carriage? What do you mean by that?” Libby demanded.

Neil winced, realizing he’d muttered the last part aloud. “Er…I was thinking about Kane,” he said. “He’s turned into a huge advocate of marriage and children ever since he met Beth.”

“Is that so terrible?”

“Depends on how you see it. I think it must be hard to keep your focus while at the same time dealing with a nagging spouse and kids.”

“You mean a nagging wife. But for your information, not all wives nag,” Libby shot back, though she didn’t know why she bothered. Neil’s views on the incompatibility of marriage and business were infamous.

“I just meant…” He shrugged. “Forget it. I guess marriage is all right for other people.”

“Wow. Isn’t that big of you.”

Neil looked surprised by her sarcastic tone, and to be honest, Libby was surprised herself. She’d never spoken her mind to him, not since that embarrassing night when she’d said all sorts of things about men who expected to sleep with a woman on the first date.

She sighed, a hollow feeling in her tummy.

Principles were fine things, but she was awfully tired of going home to a lonely house in the evening.

“I’m not going to hold anything against an executive who wants to get married, if that’s what you think.”

Libby rolled her eyes. “As if your brother would let you.”

Neil regarded her curiously. “You think Kane and I are that different?”

“Like night and day.”

“Because he got married.”

“No.” She shook her head in exasperation. “Because he’s nice, and you’re…” Libby stopped, realizing if she’d sounded rude before, it would be nothing to calling him a smug, self-centered chauvinist with the compassion of a fence post.

Swallowing, she dropped into the chair behind her desk. He couldn’t seem to understand that the people who worked for O’Rourke Enterprises were people, not machines, with lives outside the company that were important to them.

“I’m what?”

The small twitch to Neil’s mouth suggested he had a good idea of what she’d almost called him. He sat on a chair himself and stretched out his legs. From head to toe he was the consummate executive—from his expensive suit to his ice-blue silk shirt and perfect tie. There was only one time she’d ever seen him in a less than immaculate state, and that was the night they’d almost…

She put a hasty brake on her thoughts. Okay, Neil could be charming when he wanted something, and he’d come very close to getting what he’d once wanted from her. It didn’t mean anything.

“Well?” he prompted. “What am I?”

“You’re just…different.”

“Different, as in ‘not nice.”’

“I didn’t say that,” she said, annoyed.

“You didn’t have to.” Neil told himself he should stop. This wasn’t the right way to start their new relationship as president and vice president, but he didn’t want to work with veiled hostility simmering between them—he’d take open warfare over that. For that matter, conflict could be very good for business.

“You said not to put words in your mouth, so don’t do it with me.”

Yet her cheeks pinkened, and he knew she felt guilty for whatever she’d been thinking—which just proved she hadn’t changed over the years.

Sweet.

Innocent.

With an interesting streak of temper. Rather like her hair, a rich silky brown with hints of hidden fire—it was still long, caught back in an attractive French braid, though small tendrils had escaped and framed her face.

Neil shifted in the chair. He didn’t have any business thinking her temper was interesting or not. Libby was off-limits. Of course, that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the situation.

“Are you thinking about tying the knot, and are afraid my beliefs about marriage will be a problem?” he asked. “The company policy is clear—we’re a family-friendly business. So you have nothing to be concerned about, no matter what my personal feelings are on the issue.”

Libby stared in astonishment and he cursed his wayward tongue. He really hadn’t thought that much about her over the years, but now that she was going to be his vice president, all sorts of questions were banging around in his head.

Most of them were none of his concern.

And he certainly shouldn’t be wondering if the faint scent of vanilla drifting from her skin was a perfume, or some other bit of unique feminine chemistry. Hell, it wasn’t the least bit sophisticated, but on Libby the fragrance was fresh and light, without being cloying.

“No, I’m not thinking about ‘tying the knot’ as you put it,” she said. “I hate that phrase. It makes marriage sound like prison or some other type of captivity . Do you think Kane feels that way about being married to Beth?”

“Of course not.”

“Then let’s drop the subject. We’re supposed to be talking about the B and B proposal, remember?”

He remembered.

He rarely thought about anything but business, though his mother was doing her best to distract him with introductions to “nice young women.” Nice single women, of course. Having finally gotten two of her sons married, she wanted to see all her children taking a trip down the proverbial aisle, followed a few months later with the announcement that a baby was on the way.

Libby pulled a pen and pad of paper from a drawer. “How do you want to get started?”

“Give me a quick rundown on the project.”

She kept her spine straight, barely skimming the back of her chair. “The first active steps will be choosing sites and contacting historical societies for local history and background.”

“What?” Neil rocked forward in his chair. “We have to deal with hysterical societies?”

“That’s historical societies,” Libby corrected, the corners of her mouth twitching despite herself. Historical societies could be very passionate about their work, but she liked working with people who cared. “Of course we’ll have to talk with them, and consult with restoration experts and contractors. By the way, we should use local people as much as possible as part of the community development aspect of the project.”