Joan Hohl - Beguiling the Boss

Well, at least the security is friendly , Jen thought, applying a little pressure to the gas pedal. She drove first to the mall Marsh had mentioned, and went into the first shop she came to displaying home decorations.

Not into knick-knacks, Jen chose three pictures in three different sizes. The smaller pictures she chose were pastoral scenes, one of a field covered with Texas bluebonnets, the other of a basket of wildflowers set on one end of a long library table. But the largest one, for the living room, was a rendering in black-and-white of a ship, alone on a wide sea. For some reason, it reminded her of Marsh, alone in that big, remote house.

The thought sent a little shiver through her. Now, that’s simply ridiculous , she chided herself, trying and failing to ignore the feeling. There’s no reason to be thinking of Marsh as a lonely man—in fact, that’s just plain dangerous . Pushing away her thoughts, Jen left the mall and headed for the supermarket.

The sun was beginning to set as Jen drove back onto the property. Her glance automatically shifted to the tree. There was a vehicle there, but a different one. Again she hit the horn and waved, and again she was greeted in kind.

In high spirits, satisfied with her selection of decorations for the apartment, Jen unloaded the car and set to work stashing the food in cabinets, fridge and freezer. As she worked, a curiosity set in about the rest of the house—and, if she was honest with herself, Marsh. It wouldn’t exactly be snooping, she decided. Just … investigating. After all, she’d be working here—she might as well familiarize herself with the place. She quietly slipped into the main part of the house and found herself peeking into six bedrooms and five bathrooms, all of which were long past due for a good dusting and vacuuming. Stepping into the last room at the end of the hallway, Jen felt her breath catch when she opened the door to the huge room that obviously belonged to Marsh.

The room was the complete opposite of opulent—it was Spartan, and it was spotless, not a speck of dust anywhere. A tiny smile feathered her lips. It seemed Mr. Marshall Grainger liked a clean room just as much as she did.

The furniture was plain, straight lines, solid oak. The bed—his bed—was enormous. His color scheme consisted primarily of black, white and red, stark but effective, somehow perfect for him.

Feeling more like a snoop by the minute but unable to resist, Jen moved into the room, going to the row of sliding mirrored closet doors along one wall. One entire section was full of tailored suits, one of them a tuxedo. Another section held nothing but dress shirts in every color imaginable, including white with black stripes. She liked that one, imagining how sexy he’d look in it.

Sexy? she thought. What am I doing in here?

But Jen kept going—she couldn’t seem to make herself stop. There was something too enticing about being this close to Marsh. The next section held jeans, some faded, some brand-new. They were the longest jeans she’d ever seen in her life, perfect for a tall drink of water like Marsh. The last section held casual shirts of every style and hue. On the floor beneath each area were shoes—dress shoes, work boots, riding boots, running shoes. Jen laughed. And she thought she was a shoe maniac!

Closing the sliding doors, she opened another door in the bedroom to find a good-size dressing room and a spacious bathroom. The bathtub was huge, with water jets set into the sides. A compact shower stall sat next to the tub. The black-and-white marble vanity top looked much like the surface of his dresser—sparse and neat. A toothbrush was set in a marble brush holder, and a woven metal basket contained a hairbrush, and several unopened bars of soap. Spartan indeed, she thought, slowly stepping back into the hallway.

She ignored the little twinge of guilt she felt about her “investigation,” thinking that in the short time she was in his room, she had learned much about him.

Marshall Grainger was wealthy beyond belief—that was a given. He was also a man who lived life stripped to the bone, despite all the clothing. His bathroom vanity held nothing but the bare essentials, including what Jen knew was a very expensive bottle of cologne. She hadn’t smelled it on him so far. She wondered if he’d been wearing it when he’d left for Houston. Perhaps he didn’t have any meetings or appointments to attend—maybe there was a woman there, waiting for him.

The very idea caused a strange twist in Jen’s chest, a twist that felt like jealousy. What would the woman be like? Beautiful? Of course. Sophisticated? Naturally . The strange jealousy she felt grew stronger. Was this woman his lover?

Bringing herself up abruptly, Jen quickly turned and went roaming through the rest of the house. It was absolutely gorgeous. Open rooms, one flowing into another. She stepped into one and somehow knew she had entered her office. It was roomy yet utilitarian, containing everything she would need. It even had two club chairs, one in front of the large desk, the other to one side. She liked it at once.

Exiting that room, Jen went to the next one: Marsh’s office. It was locked.

Walking back toward her apartment, Jen contemplated the situation. The beautiful house needed some care. She hadn’t been hired to clean, but damn, such a house should shine.

She sighed. She had all day tomorrow to herself with nothing pressing to do. A smile touched her lips as she made a decision. Tomorrow, she would clean the big house, just to see if the boss noticed anything different.

Of course, Jen assured herself as she mounted the stairs to her apartment, her decision had nothing to do with pleasing him. Why should it? She had nothing to prove except her ability as his assistant. It didn’t matter what Marshall Grainger thought of her.

Did it?

She suddenly imagined herself back in Marsh’s bedroom, tidying it up, making it perfect for his return. When she remembered that his room was already spotless and that there was no need for her to go back in there, she blushed, hot and fierce, and promised to push all thoughts of Marsh from her mind for the rest of the night.

Marsh sat across the table from the beautiful woman his business acquaintance had introduced him to mere hours ago. Admittedly, Marsh was on the prowl, itchier than usual for a woman. Without a twinge of conscience, he had invited the woman—Chandra was her name—to have dinner with him that evening. But now, after several hours, her appeal had faded, through no real fault of her own. She couldn’t help it if she wasn’t Miss Jennifer Dunning.

When Chandra looked at him expectantly, he realized she was waiting for some kind of response. He hadn’t a clue what she was talking about; he hadn’t exactly been paying attention. He took a chance and nodded, and that appeared to satisfy her.

Being inattentive, his conscience kicked into action.

What in hell am I doing here?

Marsh knew the answer—he simply didn’t want to look at it too closely. He had been hoping for a bed partner later in the evening, and Chandra had seemed a good choice. Now all he wanted was a bed to himself.

That wasn’t quite true, either.

In truth, he ached for one woman: Jennifer Dunning.

He had been in her company … how long? Not much more than an hour or so, total? It was ridiculous. Plus, she was now an employee, and he never fooled around with employees. Of course, other than the previous housekeeper, who was pushing fifty, he had never had an employee living in his home, either. What was it about her that got to him so strongly?

“… and I told him he could just go to hell.”

Marsh blinked himself back into the moment. “You did?” he asked, because Chandra had paused again and he knew he had to say something.