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Determined not to let the unnerving intensity of Jake’s study affect her, Holly reached for the bread basket—at exactly the same time Jake did.
Her mouth dropped from the shock of their skin-on-skin contact, her eyes widening. To recover from that surprising little zing, she yanked her hand back.
And there it was again. Why couldn’t she shake the feeling that one day, somehow, if he had his way, they’d be more than boss and assistant?
“Can I ask you something?” she said suddenly.
He eased back in his chair and picked up the water goblet. “You can. But I might not answer.”
“How long will you be here?”How long before I can get my job back, when I can resume a normal life…and I can stop my stomach flipping every time you study me like I’m a particularly interesting puzzle that needs to be unravelled?
His smile turned mockingly sensual. “In a hurry to get back to Human Resources?”
“No. I’m waiting on my transfer papers to PR.”
He paused for a second, his gaze holding her defiant one. In the next, a grudging smile teased his lips.
Holly nearly groaned aloud. Oh, man. The warmth of that one simple smile scorched her like she’d been caught in the pathway of a comet. The heated aftermath spread from her fingertips to the bottom of her black Jimmy Choos, heat of a purely female nature. His smile, combined with the warmth in his voice, was deliberately calculated to disarm her. There wasn’t a woman he couldn’t charm if he put his mind to it. She’d already witnessed it with Jessica.
Bad, bad move. You don’t even like the guy.
Jake watched her fiddle with the stud in her ear again. “You’ve got something to say,” he said casually.
She stilled. “Mr Vance…”
“Jake. It’s Jake.”
“Jake.” She paused, which only heightened the way his name sounded on her lips. Lips that were painted a luscious shade of berry, so very close to that little kissy-mole.
“Kimberley’s brief said you’re looking to invest in Blackstone’s.
But I thought AdVance Corp was all about…” She paused, searching for the right word.
“Conquer and divide?” Jake smiled thinly, toying with the stem of his glass. “Don’t believe everything you read. I like to see what I’m getting before I invest, to decide if it’s worthy of my time and money.” At least, that part had started out true. But after last night, when he’d dissected the deeper implications for the tenth time, he’d realised one thing. He was a Blackstone. Just because he hadn’t had the privilege of the name for the last thirty-two years didn’t mean he should let a successful corporate entity crumble to the ground. He wasn’t seventeen any more, running away from the shame of his past. The story wasn’t going away and it was within his power to save this company.
Now he said, “I’m looking to expand my options. Blackstone’s is an important part of Australian corporate history but has been floundering since January. It’s a perfect choice.”
“So you have no intention of breaking us up?”
Us. Not “Blackstone’s” or “the company”. Us. As if she was part of a family. His gut clenched. “Hadn’t even entered my mind.”
The doubt written so clearly on her face got his back up. “Afraid of losing your job, Holly?”
“It’s more than just a job to me.” She focused on straightening the already perfect cutlery. For one second, Jake thought about defending himself with the truth, but just as quickly reined himself in.
“You don’t like me. Why?”
Her head snapped up, showing him a glimpse of something simmering just below the surface. Yet her reply was one in
studied control. “I didn’t think being liked would matter to a man like you.”
“‘A man like me’?” he said tightly. It didn’t matter. It shouldn’t. Damn. Why did her approval suddenly matter at all? “Let me guess. You think I’m just buying another failing company to carve it up and sell it off at a profit, ruining lives and families in the process.”
“Are you?”
“That’s not what I do.”
“No?”
Her scepticism ratcheted his annoyance up a notch. “I’ve saved more jobs than I’ve destroyed.”
He shouldn’t care. Hell, he didn’t. But despite that, irritation flared and he suddenly leaned forward, making her jump. “I’ve publicly refuted every crooked claim, every accusation. But rebuttals don’t sell papers—bad press does.”
He tightened his jaw, refusing the fury access before pulling back with a disgusted snort. “Go on, name a story.”
“I don’t…”
“Do it, Holly. Name your damn price if that’s what it’ll take.”
She inched back in her chair as far as she could go before saying quietly, “The East Timor construction company.”
“The press said I bought it out and sacked the workers, leaving thousands of families without income. They glossed over the fact it was actually a front for a terrorist group. I dissolved the company and built a school in the local village instead.”
They both paused as the waiter brought their food. But as the man left, Jake said curtly, “Next.”
“I…”
“You want to know. I’m telling you.” He forced his expression into neutrality, revealing nothing. “Next.”
She swallowed and suddenly his eyes were drawn to her throat, to the heartbeat that was undoubtedly thumping wildly in her chest. “Paul Bradley.”
“My chief financial officer.” He picked up his fork, spearing the gnocchi with curt precision. “I demoted him to my Hanoi office because he vocally opposed one of my takeover bids.”
Holly’s fear suddenly gave way to anger, giving her the strength to face his stare with one of her own. “‘Cross me and you’ll pay’?”
“Yes. I demand loyalty in my staff. I won’t stand any bad-mouthing, especially when he was wrong. I had to make an example of him.”
“Was Mia Souris an example too?”
As a dark scowl creased his forehead, she blithely charged on. “She was your secretary and made a mint with her story. Why haven’t you made her pay, too?”
“What makes you think she hasn’t?”
At her sudden silence, he said softly, “The last I heard she was working as a waitress in a London club, trying to escape the notoriety of her kiss-and-tell article.”
He placed his fork on the plate and drew the napkin slowly, almost sensuously, across his mouth. “You are a surprising woman, Holly McLeod.”
“Why?” She studied her chicken penne, wondering how she’d manage to keep it down when her belly was churning so much.
“Are you pushing my buttons to get reassigned?”
Astonished, she jolted straight in her chair. “If you’re unhappy about my performance, Mr Vance—”
“It’s Jake, for Pete’s sakes!” His voice then became less harsh. “Say it.”
She said slowly, “Jake.”
“Much better.”
She blinked at the warm languor in his deep voice. “I just want to do my job.”
He studied her for the longest time, until she began to wonder if she’d left a bit of food on her mouth or something.
“So let’s just agree to focus on our jobs, shall we?” he said softly.
She nodded, suddenly desperate for space. With a low murmur, she excused herself and headed for the bathroom.
While Holly washed her hands at the sink, Jake’s suggestion played over in her head. It made perfect sense. Do the job she’d been blackmailed into doing, get what she needed and move on.
If he was here for just an innocent pre-investment visit, then he’d have nothing to hide, right? But if his motives were ulterior, then for the sake of Blackstone’s, she’d be justified in finding out what they were.
But as she straightened her skirt and rechecked her lipstick, she noticed her worried frown in the mirror. Quickly she smoothed it out. Yeah, just keep telling yourself that, Holly.
Jake watched Holly make a beeline for their table but before she could reach him, an impeccably dressed man intercepted her.
She whirled, and her look of surprise, then disgust, registered so clearly that Jake slowly stood. As the man whispered something then glanced over to Jake, her expression smoothed.
She sighed, shrugged and made her way back to the table.
With a frown, Jake remained standing, unashamedly taking advantage of his height against the shorter man. A man who was standing close to Holly. Too close for Jake’s liking.
Irrational anger tightened his muscles, shocking the hell out of him. Through his surprise he heard Holly murmur, “Max, this is—”
“Jake Vance,” Jake supplied and offered his hand.
Max smiled and returned the shake. “Max Carlton, head of Human Resources.”
Ten seconds and Jake had him summed up. Immaculately groomed. Subtly cologned. Even without his intel, he could spot an office player a mile off. It was something in the eyes, the way they shifted and moved, the expression a concentrated effort in politeness. Carlton was too polished, too smooth, and his smile was a blokey smirk that Jake found offensive.
“So how’s Holly working out for you, Jake?”
Jake noted Holly’s frown. “Fine,” he answered smoothly, as if their topic of conversation wasn’t standing right next to him.
Max smiled, a man-to-man grin that set Jake’s teeth on edge. “My assistant’s one of a kind.”
“Didn’t she move to PR over a year ago?”
Max’s face tightened and he glanced quickly at Holly, who gave him an innocent shrug.
“A temporary position,” Max conceded stiffly. “If Holly’s work performance makes the grade, there could possibly be a permanent transfer.”
Jake was so intent on Max’s visible unease that he almost missed Holly’s start of surprise. Then, with a smooth adjustment to his tie, Max said, “If you’ve got any personnel or staffing questions, just give me a yell. Holly knows where to find me.”
Under a rock, no doubt. Jake caught Max’s wink at Holly, who ignored it with a dark frown. But when Carlton’s gaze deliberately roamed down her neck to rest on the gentle curve of her breasts, his eyes narrowed. Intimate knowledge or wishful thinking? Either way it didn’t stop a lick of fury from sparking in his belly.
Slowly he forced his fists to unclench.
“So…” Max said, tearing his eyes away, “I’d better be going. Nice to meet you, Jake.”
Jake glared at Max’s retreating back. He had no right to be angry. What Holly did or didn’t do on her own time was not his business. She was Jake’s assistant, for heaven’s sakes, not his lover.
Pity.
Shaking off the jolt that felt like fire on his skin—especially in one particular part—he turned to Holly. “Charming guy.”
“Some people think so. I just need his signature on my transfer.”
“After you finish with me,” he murmured, suddenly taken by the way her skin flushed underneath her cool mask of indifference.
She nodded and finally sat, checking her watch. “Yes. And you have thirty minutes.”
“Thirty minutes for what?” He grinned, unable—or was that unwilling?—to keep the suggestiveness from his voice.
She blinked, clearly flustered. “Until your conference call with New York.”
He gave her full points for maintaining that composure as they finished their meal in silence. But deep inside, on a purely predatory level, his mind registered the undeniable heat of desire.
Fool. It wasn’t his mind that wanted Holly. It was something much more primal.
And what Jake Vance wanted, he usually got.
Four
Jake left his meeting with Kimberley Perrini with newfound respect. Despite his reluctance, Kim still pushed the idea of bringing Holly into their cone of silence. “She was the spin behind the Shipley University scandal, not to mention some of our internal issues. We’re lucky to have her,” Kim had said.
Grudgingly he had to agree. And if the press started running with pictures of him at Blackstone’s, he knew exactly where to lay the blame.
Meanwhile, his security chief was busy compiling a list of enemies and disgruntled employees and their possible sources within Blackstone’s. Matt Hammond had been suggested then discarded. No proof, plus the man got his fair share of negative press, too. Shareholders? No, too much to lose.
So he was back once again to a person Howard had personally offended.
And that’s where it got confusing. Holly had had no direct contact with Howard. Blackstone’s had put her through university. Outwardly, she was passionate about and dedicated to her job. She genuinely liked working here. Yet she was broke and floundering under a mountain of debt, and could still afford rent, food, clothes.
Was she that good an actress?
A shot of heat started low and crept up his body. Hazardous, thinking about Holly McLeod. Because if he did that, he’d have to acknowledge how paper-thin his control was. Instead of quenching his fire, his suspicion only stoked the flames higher, creating a burning need that was slowly dominating his every thought.
You have to stop thinking about her.
