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Brandon didn’t like distractions in the workplace. In his office, it was all business, all the time. After ten years in the spotlight of the NFL, he was all too aware that distractions ruined your game. You took your eye off the ball and the next thing you knew, you were buried in a pile of tough, ugly defensive ends who would just as soon see you dead.
Brandon splayed one hand on the plate glass window. Talk about a distraction. Who knew his competent assistant had those amazing curves and world-class legs hidden beneath the boxy pantsuits she’d worn every day? And those eyes, so big and blue a man could get lost in them?
Most disturbing of all, she seemed to be wearing some kind of new, glossy lipstick. It had to be new, otherwise he would’ve noticed her incredibly sexy, bee-stung lips long before today. But he was noticing now. He’d almost spilled his coffee noticing.
Her new dress clung to every curve of her lush body. Curves he’d never known existed before. Even though he saw her in the hotel gym regularly, she always exercised in a big T-shirt and sweatpants. Who knew she’d been hiding a body like that under all those layers of sweaty workout clothes? She’d clearly been working here under false pretenses all this time.
“Now you just sound ridiculous,” he groused. But who could blame him? His sedate, hard-working assistant was simply gorgeous. It was such a betrayal.
And what the hell had happened a minute ago when her hand touched his? He thought he’d felt something sizzling inside him. It had to be his imagination, but recalling that sensation of skin against skin caused his groin to leap to attention. He smacked the wall in disgust.
“Change is good,” he grumbled sarcastically and he sat back down at his desk. No, change wasn’t good. Not when he was used to Kelly’s nondescript hair and the way she’d always worn it pulled back in a sensible ponytail or bun. Now it was the color of rich honey tumbling across her shoulders and down her back. It was the sort of color and style that begged a man to run his hands through the lustrous strands as he eased her down to feast on those luscious lips.
His body continued to stir to life and he squelched the feeling by slapping the file folder open and riffling through the papers to find the document he needed. It was useless.
“This is unacceptable.” He refused to lose the careful sense of order and decorum he had always maintained in the workplace. The job was too demanding and Kelly was too important a part of his staff to allow her to suddenly become a distraction. Or more aptly, an attraction.
It was time to nip this in the bud. He reached across his desk and pressed the intercom button on his phone. “Kelly, please come in here.”
“Be right there,” she said briskly. Seven seconds later, she walked into his office carrying a notepad.
“Sit down,” he said, standing up to pace some more. He didn’t quite trust himself with taking another glance at her legs. Damn it, this just was not going to work. “We need to talk.”
“What’s wrong?” she asked in alarm.
“Look, we’ve always been honest with each other, haven’t we?”
“Yes,” she said carefully.
“I trust you completely, as you well know.”
“I know, and I feel the same, Brandon.”
“Good,” he said, unsure of his next move. “Good.”
Now what? He’d never been at a loss for words before. He glanced at her, then had to look away. How and when had she become so beautiful? He knew women. He loved women. And they loved him. Some might even say he had a sixth sense when it came to women. So why hadn’t he known Kelly was this attractive? Was he blind?
“Brandon,” she said slowly. “Are you unhappy with my work?”
“What? No.”
“Did Jane do an okay job while I was gone?”
“Yeah, she was fine. That’s not the problem.”
“Oh good, because I would hate to—”
“Look, Kelly,” he interrupted, tired of this cat and mouse game. “Did something happen to you on your vacation?”
She was taken aback. “No, why would you think—”
“Then what’s with this makeover thing?” he blurted out. “Why’d you do it?”
“That’s what you called me in here for?”
“Yeah.” And he wouldn’t go into how ridiculous he felt for bringing it up, but he had to know. “Why do you think you have to get all dolled up to—”
Her eyes narrowed. “All dolled up?”
“Well, yeah. You know, all made up and… hell.”
“There’s something wrong in trying to look my best?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“Did I overdo it somehow? I mean, the makeup counter woman showed me what to do, but I’m new at this. I’m still practicing.” She lifted her face to gaze at him and her lips seemed to glisten as they caught the light. “Tell the truth. Is my makeup too much?”
“God, no, it’s just right.” Too damn right, he thought, but didn’t say.
“Now you’re being nice, but I don’t believe you. The way you looked at me when I came in this morning…”
“What? No.” Oh, crap, he thought. She wasn’t going to cry, was she? She’d never cried before.
“I thought I could do it. Other women do it, for heaven’s sake, why shouldn’t I?” She jumped up from the chair. It was her turn to pace as she pounded her fist into her palm. “I thought I was being subtle. Do I look like a fool?”
“No, you—”
“You can be honest.”
“I’m being—”
“This was a crazy idea to begin with,” she muttered and leaned back against the wall with a sigh. “I can figure out complex mathematical calculations in my head, but I don’t know the first thing about seduction.”
Seduction? Something hit him low in the solar plexus and he wasn’t sure of his next move.
“This is so embarrassing,” she moaned.
“No, it’s not,” he said, silently hoping he’d come up with something profound to say. He had nothing.
“What am I supposed to do now? I’ve only got a week left to… oh, God.” She covered her eyes for a moment, then stared up at the ceiling. Finally, she folded her arms across her chest and tapped one toe of her shiny new heels against the carpet. “How could I be so stupid?”
He walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Stop that. You’re one of the smartest people I know.”
She glared up at him, her plump lips pouty now. “Maybe in business, but never in romance.”
Okay, romance and seduction were definitely on her mind. And now he realized they were on his mind, too. The question was, why? In all the years he’d known Kelly, Brandon had never once heard her mention a name connected to any romantic interest. And now, all of a sudden, she was making herself over to attract some guy? Just who was she thinking of seducing? Did Brandon know the guy? Was he good enough for Kelly?
Brandon paused to carefully word his next question. “Who are you trying to seduce?”
Frowning now, she stared at her fingernails. “Roger. My old boyfriend. But I should’ve known it wouldn’t work.”
Roger? Who the hell was Roger? Brandon had to admit that the part of him that should have been relieved to hear she wasn’t out to seduce him was surprisingly disappointed. Not that he would ever allow anything to happen between them. But still, who the hell was she talking about?
“Who’s Roger?” he asked aloud.
“I just told you, he’s my old boyfriend. His name is Roger Hempstead.” She stepped away from Brandon’s grip and moved back to her chair. “We broke up a few years ago and I haven’t seen him since.”
“How long ago did you break up?”
“It’s been almost five years.”
He made a quick calculation. “But that’s about how long you’ve been working here.”
“That’s right.” She leaned one elbow on the armrest and looked up at him with a valiant smile. “After Roger and I broke up, I couldn’t stand living in the same small town where everyone I knew could dissect my every word and movement. I decided to relocate as far away from home as possible, so I looked for jobs in California and found this one.”
“I’m glad you did, but it must’ve been quite a breakup.”
“It wasn’t fun,” she said carefully, “but I’ve moved on.”
“Have you?”
“Yes, of course.” She nodded her head resolutely. “But then, last month I found out that Roger’s company booked their corporate retreat here at the Mansion. He’ll be here next week.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “And I wanted to knock his socks off.”
“Ah, I see.” And he did, sort of. Resting his hip on the edge of his desk, he said, “If it’s any consolation, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll knock his socks off.”
She gazed at him skeptically. “You’re just saying that to be nice.”
“I’m not that nice. Trust me.”
Her lips twisted into a frown. “I do. Usually.”
“I never lie, remember?”
“True, you don’t typically lie. To me, anyway,” she allowed.
He chuckled. “So it’s been about five years since you broke up with this Roger character, and now you want to make an impression.”
She nodded with determination. “I really, really do.”
“You will. I promise.”
“Thanks.” Her brief smile faded. “But I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m fine at business, but the world of romance is beyond me.”
“Tell me what I can do to help.”
Kelly regarded him with interest. “You mean it?”
“Sure.” He was willing to do almost anything to get things back on track. If Kelly felt secure, she’d be able to do her work and stop worrying about this clown Roger. Then, once Roger was gone, she’d go back to behaving like the Kelly he was comfortable with. His universe would once more be in alignment.
“That would be wonderful,” she said with enthusiasm. “I could really use advice from someone like you.”
“Someone like me?”
She smiled and he was struck again by how beautiful she was. Damn, how blind had he been all these years?
“It’s just that the two of you are so much alike,” she said. “You and Roger, I mean. It would really help to get your perspective on things.”
“What do you mean, we’re alike?”
“I mean, both of you are strong and handsome and arrogant and ruthless and, you know, type A all the way.”
Huh. That was accurate enough, although he’d always thought he was fairly laid-back compared to his two brothers. He did appreciate the strong and handsome part of her description, though.
Kelly had stopped to ponder what she’d just said, then added softly, “Wow, no wonder Roger didn’t think I was enough for him.”
Brandon bristled. “Enough for him?”
She sighed. “You know what I mean. I wasn’t attractive enough for him.”
“What makes you say that?”
“He told me so when he broke up with me.”
For some reason, Brandon felt an irresistible urge to pulverize something. Like Roger’s face. “You’re kidding.”
“No,” she said wryly. “I’m really not. But you saw what I looked like before the makeover, Brandon. Plain, wholesome, unremarkable. Not exactly supermodel material.”
A twinge of guilt pinged inside him as he realized that was exactly how he’d always felt about her. But he’d considered that a good thing. Now he was just glad he’d never mentioned it out loud.
“But I understood where Roger was coming from,” she continued. “He is very special, after all.”
“Special? He sounds like a jackass.”
She tried to stifle a giggle but didn’t quite succeed. “Oh, he is, but he can’t help it. His family has a very strong influence on him. His mother’s ancestors came over on the Mayflower, you know.”
“Members of the crew, were they?” Shaking his head, he said, “Listen, Kelly, do you want me to have him killed? Because I know someone who knows someone who could—”
Kelly laughed. “That’s a sweet offer, but no. I just want to make him regret what he said when he broke things off, that’s all.”
He studied her for several moments. “He hurt you.” She shook her head. “No, no, he told me the truth and I have to be grateful for that.”
“Grateful? Why?”
She smiled tightly. “Because he helped me see things more clearly.”
“What kinds of things?” Brandon asked warily. “My own shortcomings.”
Once again, his fists were itching to punch something. Roger’s stomach, maybe, since he’d already mentally broken the jerk’s nose.
