Kate Carlisle - How to Seduce a Billionaire

“Kelly,” Brandon called from his office. “Bring the Dream Coast file with you when you come in, will you?”

“Be right there.”

The familiar sound of Brandon Duke’s voice made Kelly smile. He should’ve intimidated her from day one. At six feet four inches tall, he towered over her, and she knew for a fact that he was rock-solid muscle underneath his designer suits. She knew, because she’d run into him more than once at the hotel gym and seen him in shorts and a T-shirt. A former NFL quarterback bench-pressing ridiculously heavy barbells was quite a sight. Sometimes, while watching him, she found it hard to breathe steadily, but she chalked up those moments to spending too much time on the treadmill.

She chuckled at the thought of some of her girlfriends, who’d told her they would kill for a chance to see the stunningly handsome Brandon Duke working out in gym shorts. Luckily for Kelly, she’d never been tempted by her boss.

Yes, he was gorgeous, almost unbelievably so, but to Kelly, having a great job meant a lot more than having a brief, meaningless affair with some superstar athlete. And yes, an affair with Brandon Duke would never be anything but brief and meaningless. She’d seen firsthand the women who lined up to date him, and she’d seen them flicked off without a backward glance within a couple of weeks. It wasn’t pretty, and she never wanted to find herself in that line. Not that she would qualify to stand in that line, but—

“What are you thinking?” she whispered to herself. She’d never thought of her boss in those terms before and she wouldn’t start now. Shaking her head in disgust, she had to wonder if maybe she’d taken too many days off.

As the coffeepot filled, Kelly took a moment to glance out the wide bay window and felt both proud and lucky to be here in this job. Who wouldn’t want to work on a hilltop in the heart of Napa Valley, overlooking lush fields of grapevines as far as the eye could see?

Brandon and his small corporate staff had been working on-site at the Mansion at Silverado Trail for the past four months. They would stay here another month or so, until the resort was up and running and the grape harvest was over. Then they would all relocate back to Duke headquarters in Dunsmuir Bay.

By then, Kelly’s plan would be complete, and her life would settle down to normal. But until then, she would simply have to remind herself to relax and breathe.

“Do you hear me, self? Just relax,” she murmured as she ran her hands over her dress to smooth away any wrinkles, then filled two large mugs with hot coffee. “Breathe.”

She stopped at her desk to drop off her own mug and pick up a short stack of mail, then pushed her boss’s door fully open.

“Good morning, Brandon,” she said breezily, and placed the mail on his desk.

“Morning, Kelly,” he said, as he wrote rapidly on a legal pad. “Great to have you back.”

“Thank you, it’s nice to be back.” She placed his mug on his blotter. “Coffee for you.”

“Thanks,” he said absently, still writing. After a moment, he reached for his coffee and looked up. His eyes widened as he cautiously put the cup down. “Kelly?”

“Yes?” She gazed at him, then blinked. “Oh, sorry. You wanted the Dream Coast file. I’ll be right back with it.”

“Kelly?” His voice sounded strained.

She stopped and turned. “Yes, Brandon?”

He was staring at her in… disbelief? Shock? Horror? Oh, dear. Not a good sign. And the longer he stared, the more nervous she became.

“Oh, come on,” she said. “I don’t look bad enough to have stunned you into speechlessness.” She fiddled with her dress collar as she felt heat moving up her neck and settling into her cheeks. No need to be embarrassed, she scolded herself.

“But, what did you do to…” His voice trailed off as he continued to stare at her face.

“Oh, you mean the contact lenses? Yeah. It was time for a change. Be right back with the file.”

“Kelly.” His tone was demanding.

She turned again. He was still staring, this time at her hair. With a sigh, she brushed a strand back from her cheek. “I had it lightened and shaped. No big deal.” Then she waved him off and rushed to find the file.

Great. If Brandon was any example, people would be staring at her as if she were an alien. How was she supposed to relax and breathe and put her plan into action under those circumstances, darn it?

As she anxiously rifled through the file drawer, she heard the distinctive sound of Brandon’s leather executive chair rolling back from his desk. Seconds later, he was standing in the doorway. Still staring.

“Kelly?” he said again.

She stared up at him from the files. “Why do you keep saying my name?”

“Just making sure it’s you.”

“Well, it is, so cut it out,” she told him, then found what she was looking for. “Ah, here’s that file.”

“What did you do?”

“You asked me that already.”

“And I’m still waiting for an answer.”

Her shoulders drooped for a split second, then she straightened. There was no reason to feel self-conscious, especially not with Brandon. He’d given her glowing reviews and generous raises. He respected and admired her ability to work hard and solve problems. He was her employer, not her overlord, for goodness sake. “I got a little makeover.”

“Little?”

She raised one shoulder in a casual shrug. “That’s right. I lost a few pounds, got a haircut, some contact lenses. No big deal.”

“It is from where I’m standing. You don’t even look like you.”

“Of course I look like me.” She wasn’t about to mention the week spent at the pricey spa or the private etiquette and speech lessons. He would think she’d gone insane. Maybe she had. She’d always been levelheaded, and rational to the point of being called a nerd back in college. Now she wasn’t sure what they would call her.

“But you’re wearing a dress,” he said accusingly.

She looked down, then back at him. “Why, yes, I am. Is that a problem?”

It was his turn to look discomfited as he took a step back. “No. God, no. No problem at all. You look great. It’s just that…” Scrubbing his jaw with his knuckles, he searched for the words. “You don’t wear dresses.”

He’d noticed? Color her surprised. With a resolute smile, she said, “I do now.”

“I guess so,” he said, searching her face, still looking doubtful. “Well, like I said, you look great. Really great.”

“Thank you,” she said, still smiling. “I feel great.”

“Yeah. That’s great.” He nodded, then gritted his teeth and exhaled heavily.

If everything was great , why was he scowling?

“Oh!” she said, feeling ridiculous as she thrust the thick manila folder at him. “Here’s the Dream Coast file.”

His hand grazed hers as the file passed between them and she felt a buzz of awareness all the way up her arm.

Brandon’s frown lines deepened. “Thanks.”

“Sure thing.”

He walked back into his office, then turned. “It’s great to have you back.”

And that was how many greats so far? she wondered.

“Thank you,” she said. “And I’ll have the month-end sales figures calculated for you in twenty minutes.”

He closed the door and she sagged down into her chair. Grabbing her own cup of coffee, she took a big gulp. “Oh yeah, it’s great to be back.”

Brandon tossed the Dream Coast file onto his desk and continued walking across the plush office until he reached the floor-to-ceiling window that lined one long wall. He and his team were working out of the owner’s suite on the penthouse level of the Mansion at Silverado Trail, and he never grew tired of the view. Normally, when he gazed out at the gently sloping hills of chardonnay grapevines, he relished the pride he felt when he saw such visible symbols of his family’s success.