Heidi Rice - Out of Hours...His Feisty Assistant - The Tycoon's Very Personal Assistant / Caught on Camera with the CEO / Her Not-So-Secret Diary

‘Okay,’ she said, the thought of going home so soon making her feel as if she were standing on the edge of a very deep precipice already.

‘So we’ve got a deal?’ he asked.

‘Yes, I suppose we have.’ All she had to do, really, was make sure that, whatever happened between them, she kept a good, firm grip on reality at all times. That had always been her mother’s mistake. It wasn’t one she was about to repeat.

She thrust out her hand. He looked down at it, but shook his head. ‘Not good enough,’ he said quietly, pinning her with a gaze that scorched her skin. ‘Not nearly good enough.’ Threading his fingers through her hair, he tilted her face up to his, slanted his lips across hers.

The kiss was so sudden and so hot, it seared her down to her toes.

When he finally lifted his head, she felt as if she’d been branded.

‘There,’ he said, framing her face in large palms. ‘Now we’ve got a deal.’

Twin tides of joy and dread swelled inside Kate as she stared at her new boss.

What had she gone and done now?

‘WE’LL TAKE THE SHORTER one with the straps,’ Zack announced to the overjoyed boutique manageress. ‘Now let’s see some of your evening wear.’

‘Yes, sir, Mr Boudreaux,’ the woman replied, snapping her fingers at the staff hovering around her. ‘I’ll get the models ready right away.’

Kate watched the woman and her minions rush off. The manageress’s eyes had glazed over ten minutes ago, clocking up the dollar signs like a human cash register.

As soon as she and Zack were alone she turned on her boss, determined to make him see sense. She’d accepted his job proposal less than an hour ago and already she was starting to panic.

After taking a quick shower in his penthouse, she’d been whisked off in a limousine to one of Vegas’s priciest and most exclusive designer boutiques. The merchandise here made the clothes she’d seen on Michelle’s rail look like bargain-basement knock-offs.

‘This is preposterous,’ she whispered furiously. ‘I don’t need all these things. You must have spent thousands of dollars already. And there’s no way that as my boss you should be responsible for buying my clothes.’

‘Relax.’

He looked relaxed enough for both of them, she thought. His arm was slung casually across the back of her chair, one leg crossed with his ankle resting on his knee. How could he be so calm when he was spending a fortune?

‘It’s my money and I am the boss,’ he continued. ‘You need to look the part when we get to California.’ His gaze drifted down her figure, taking in the T-shirt and jeans she’d bought from Michelle. ‘The tomboy outfit’s cute, but it’s not going to cut it at The Grange.’

‘But I could get the same effect for you for a lot less money. Remember how much you liked that dress I wore to dinner?’

‘Yeah.’ His voice deepened, making the single word sound like a caress. ‘I don’t think I’m ever going to forget it.’

‘I got it at a thrift store for twenty dollars,’ she said triumphantly, sealing her argument. Or so she thought.

He chuckled. ‘They say the Lord works in mysterious ways. I guess I know what they mean now.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous, you don’t have to—’ she started, only to be silenced when he placed his forefinger on her lips.

‘Quit arguing.’ His lips quirked. ‘This is all part of the deal, so you’re going to have to stick with it, sweetheart.’

‘Oh, for Pete’s sake.’ She slumped back in her chair, pouting. The man was completely intractable. ‘I was only trying to save you some money.’

‘Well, don’t,’ he said. ‘That’s not your job. Anyhow, the way I see it, it’s money well spent. I’m getting a real kick out of imagining you in some of this stuff.’

‘Oh, you are, are you?’ Her own lips twitched. She was unable to resist his teasing any longer. He was behaving like a child in a sweet shop—and making her feel like a flipping walnut whip. Light and fluffy and completely nuts.

He grinned. ‘Honey, my knicker fetish and I are gonna have a ball when they bring out the underwear.’

After making her protest, and having it comprehensively shot down, Kate gave in. Who knew she’d have so much fun doing it, though? She’d always had a passion for beautiful clothes, had spent years poring over glossy women’s magazines unable to afford so much as a handkerchief. Once she’d started picking out garments, she hadn’t been able to stop.

If Zack was bound and determined to buy her a whole new wardrobe, she might as well have some input, she reasoned. After all, she was the one who was going to be wearing the clothes. And she hadn’t failed to notice Zack’s taste leaned towards the more revealing end of the spectrum. If she left all the choices up to him she’d end up looking more like his mistress than his PA, and freezing to death to boot. It might be sweltering in Vegas in May, but she doubted it would be that hot on the Californian coast. He welcomed her suggestions, encouraging her to pick out whatever she wanted and—true to his word—didn’t seem remotely bothered by how much they were spending. Consequently, Kate decided to lay the blame at his door when they got back into the limousine an hour later and she watched the boutique’s doorman load box after box of their purchases into the boot.

Why had she let him buy all those clothes for her? It felt rash and indulgent. And what did it say about her precious self-sufficiency?

‘What’s the problem?’ Zack watched Kate’s teeth tug on her bottom lip as she gazed out of the limo’s back window. She looked dazed.

He’d had a whale of a time buying the clothes—and not just because he wanted to see her in them. Watching the way she enthused over fabrics and designs, checked the texture of every item, marvelled over the stitching and the craftsmanship, had reminded him of the passionate way she made love—with nothing held back. It was a shame she couldn’t be like that all the time.

Seeing her let go of the hang-up she had about money, if only for a little while, had made him wonder about it. Someone must have hurt her deeply once, for her to be so cautious, so careful about her independence—and he was certain it went a lot deeper than that loser Rocastle.

She collapsed back into the seat, gave him a concerned smile. ‘I’m wondering how I can justify spending so much when I’m only going to be working for you for two weeks.’

‘Simple,’ he said, enjoying her confusion. He’d bet she’d never treated herself before in her life. ‘You don’t justify it. I spent the money, not you.’

She frowned. ‘Actually, that makes me feel even worse.’

‘You’re going to look a million dollars in your new clothes. The money’s not a big deal. Get over it.’ He lifted her hand to his lips, buzzed a quick kiss across her knuckles. ‘Now, how about we head back to the penthouse and have a nice long lunch?’

She sat upright, eased her hand out of his grasp. ‘But I thought we were going to be working this afternoon. I need to start familiarising myself with everything. Aren’t we leaving for California the day after tomorrow?’

‘That can wait,’ he said, knowing his indifference was going to bother her more. Somehow, teasing her was becoming addictive. He loved watching her blue eyes darken to a vivid turquoise and those plump, kissable lips get even more pouty. And anyway, work was the very last thing on his mind at the moment. ‘There’s a few other things I’d like to familiarise myself with first.’ He pressed the driver’s intercom button, resisting the chuckle as her forehead puckered up. ‘Take us back to The Phoenix, Henry,’ he said.