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‘That’s been settled.’
Tahlia frowned. ‘How do you know?’
‘I…’ Darrington rubbed his jaw ‘…heard it on the grapevine.’
‘Okay,’ she said slowly. ‘And why did you come here?’
He leant back in his chair. ‘I like a challenge.’
‘You’re not worried?’
He shook his head and stood up. ‘No. Are you?’ He moved around the desk and leant on the edge, looking down at her, his arms crossed. ‘Why would you stay on if the company is in trouble?’
Tahlia looked up at her boss, appreciating his move to that of dominance, and his wide shoulders. He was looking down at her with his dreamy blue eyes, his profile all power and his lips so enticing… It was a good move, to show who was boss.
‘I’ve got friends here,’ she said evenly. ‘They need their jobs and I figure I’m helping by staying, you know.’ She shrugged and stood up. Had she been too honest? ‘I’ve put a lot of work into this place; it would be hard to walk away.’ Incredibly hard, but if she had to go she was determined on doing her bit first.
She was close, just having the height advantage due to the fact he was leaning his cute butt on the edge of his desk and she was wearing heels.
She took a step closer, her brain stumbling for what she could do to soften the guy up. ‘So I’m here and eager to do whatever I can to get the company back on track, on plan, on the path to success and happiness for all.’
Case stood up. ‘Well, we’ll do our bit as best we can then, yes?’
Tahlia looked up into his face, fixing her gaze on his sapphire-blue eyes that were looking down at her, slightly narrowed as though trying to make her out. ‘Sure, but there’s one thing I have to know first,’ she said.
‘Yes, what’s that?’ he asked, his gaze dropping to her mouth.
Her mind went blank.
He was so close.
Her heart thundered in her chest. She moved, stumbled, reached out and touched his smooth silk tie and his hard chest underneath, looking up.
Their lips met.
His mouth quivered beneath hers, softened, yielded, and danced with hers.
He tasted as sweet and spicy as he smelt, like cinnamon toast and coffee… and his lips weren’t firm, they were soft, hot and intoxicating.
Heat rushed through her body and the urge to deepen the kiss, wrap her arms around his body and drown in the man almost swamped her.
Tahlia pulled back, letting the silk slide through her fingers. ‘O-kay,’ she breathed. ‘Thank you.’
His eyes glittered. ‘What was that?’ he croaked, his voice husky.
‘I’m…I’m pretty sure it was a…kiss,’ she offered softly, staring at his mouth, her own tingling with a need for more. The crazy desire to push up against his body and try that again throbbed deep inside her.
‘Yes.’ He straightened his tie and tightened the knot, smoothing the silk flat against his shirt. ‘Why?’
Her mind clambered for an answer. She had no idea how it had happened. Who had kissed whom? Oh, gawd. How had that happened?
‘Just checking,’ she said as casually as she could, swinging around and striding to the door on legs that felt spongy. She had to save this embarrassing situation and turn it around to her advantage.
‘Checking what, may I ask?’
Her mind spun. What? How he kissed? That he was willing? That she could rise to any challenge for the job? That she was a babbling klutz around the man? She touched her tingling lips. That he liked her?
She couldn’t help but smile. ‘That you sent the flowers.’
TO: KeelyR@WWWDesigns.com
CC: EmmaR@WWWDesigns.com
FROM: TahliaM@WWWDesigns.com
RE: Men
Rub your good luck in, why don’t you? And I’m not protesting, I’m explaining. A girl’s gotta do what she’s gotta do.
Tahlia
Chapter Eleven
Sagittarians—watch out, you may get more than you bargained for.
CASE sagged on to the edge of the desk, gripping the edge of the timber tightly. What in hell—or heaven— was she doing to him?
He rubbed his jaw. Reading his mind? Doing what he’d decided wasn’t a good idea? Taking the plunge and finding out if the feeling was mutual?
Hell, yes.
He had no idea how that had happened… Had he kissed her? Hell, he’d wanted to. He may have leant that bit closer, made it happen.
What a kiss!
She was more than a breath of fresh air—she was a spring breeze, warm and sensuous, encouraging a clean break from the past, the promise of something new and exciting.
He stared at his office door, his heart still pumping hard, his blood hot, his whole body still in reaction to those sweet soft lips that had teased him with a hunger that he longed to sate, slowly and sensually through the night with her.
And what a night it would be…exploring the magic that sparked between them like electricity, short-circuiting sense and setting off fires.
Case stood up, raking his hands through his hair. Dammit. This wasn’t the time.
He tried to laugh. That kiss had been one hell of a surprise. And he’d brought it on himself. He should have learnt by now that rash actions, like sending those flowers, led to trouble. Beautiful, radiant, curvaceous and irresistible trouble. A woman who he shouldn’t be engaging until after the staff assessments were done.
A relationship was built on honesty and how could he be honest when he was pretending he wasn’t himself?
Sure, she saw him as an almost-equal, saw him as he was…him. Hell, she would probably be perfectly suited to take over this position herself once he was done here.
He loved the way she talked to him—no airs, not a grace in sight and enough blunt barbs to sink a ship.
Would she be the same if she knew who he was? That he owned this company and several more? That he was so much more than the executive-on-the-way-up that he pretended to be? Would it matter to her?
It had mattered to Celia. She’d totally conned him into believing she loved him. That she couldn’t get enough of him, that she’d die if she wasn’t his for ever.
He’d never had anyone feel like that about him before, had been convinced it couldn’t happen if he didn’t have that same intensity and commitment. Had married her anyway and had done all he could to live up to her adoration.
He had been such a fool.
The fax machine bleated. Case ignored it. He knew who it was from, same time every day.
He hadn’t had a clue with Celia. Not when the ‘simple’ wedding to seal their love had turned into a three hundred guests media extravaganza because it was her ‘special’ day. Not when the Melbourne penthouse hadn’t been big enough and a twelve-room mansion on the park was what she wanted, because they did want to start a family. And not when her desire to see the world didn’t include him, because he had to stay at home and work for their future.
He had been an idiot. He’d rushed into Celia because she hadn’t wanted him to think straight. He wasn’t about to make the same mistake again.
This time he was older, wiser and in control.
Case moved to the fax machine, plucked the paper from the tray and went back to his desk, sitting down in his large leather chair, running his tongue across lips that begged for more.
Was the ball in his court? Did he want to return it? Hell, yes. No matter what had happened with Celia, there was no way he was going to miss out on discovering what lay beneath Tahlia Moran’s captivating layers—in due course, after his work was done.
He laid out the fax in front of him, forwarded from his head office. Since his mother had discovered the fax machine she’d committed herself to keeping him informed of the entire Darrington family tree via the fax.
She knew he was hard to catch, always on the go, busy-as-hell with his businesses and she’d given up on trying to talk to him ‘like normal people’ did on the phone and had found an alternative.
It was endearingly crazy. It wasn’t as if he needed to know what operation his father’s sister’s mother-in-law was having, who his cousin was dating or what the cook served for dinner last night, but he had to love her.
The curse of the only child, he guessed. Who else was she going to tell? His father was always busy— too busy for much except eating and sleeping and, of course, work.
His mother was still waiting for him to retire, so that they could have some time together, and his father could live life…only business came first.
Case jerked to his feet and strode to the door. He’d made enough mistakes where work was concerned. He wasn’t going to wait until business fell into place to live… And at this moment living meant Tahlia… and discovering everything about her.
Case couldn’t wait.
He gripped the door handle and paused. He’d have to be careful. He’d romance her in a leisurely way, with deliberate style and elegance, ensuring this staff assessment was done before he let himself drown in those sea-green eyes and luscious lips.
He wasn’t going to mix business with pleasure.
Tahlia couldn’t stop smiling.
Oh my God, she’d kissed her boss! And he’d been incredible.
She’d never considered an office romance before— old, crusty executives not being her thing—but right at this moment an office romance didn’t seem such a bad idea.
She bit her lip. The guy could kiss and was more than easy on the eyes and made her feel things in places she hadn’t known existed.
Darn it, but this was all wrong.
She was here for a reason and she hadn’t ever failed to complete a goal.
Darrington seemed to know nothing about doing the Marketing Executive job and had even less interest in finding out how to do it. How could he manage the whole design and sales team if he didn’t want to know what they were doing?
She sighed. He could be a nice guy but the fact remained that she had to do right by the company.
She punched Raquel’s extension. It was almost a shame to have to ‘out’ his failings to Raquel. Maybe Raquel wouldn’t have a total hissy-fit when she found out she’d hired a guy who couldn’t do the job and seemed more interested in the staff than doing what he was hired for.
Maybe she wouldn’t fire him but demote him. She could put him on as Tahlia’s assistant, or somewhere in Personnel…he seemed to be interested in people.
‘Wilson.’
‘It’s Mr Darrington’s assistant here,’ she said in a meek soft voice. ‘Would he be able to schedule a meeting with you at, say…eleven on Thursday?’ Tahlia held her breath. The week should be enough to gather the evidence that would support her case, if the Rottie agreed to the timing.
Raquel was notorious for messing people around just to make sure they knew the hierarchy—she was the boss and could do what she wanted. Tahlia would probably have to beg and grovel to get an appointment with her any time this month.
‘Mr Darrington. Yes. Of course. Not a problem.’ And she rang off.
Tahlia put the phone down in the cradle, staring at it, her stomach leaden. What was that? Raquel never just accepted a time without argument. Something was up…
‘Hey,’ a familiar deep voice said.
Tahlia’ s skin rippled as though a thousand butterflies had brushed her body. She looked up at Case. ‘Hey.’
‘I need to talk to you.’
She stood up, trying to suppress a smile. Couldn’t he get enough of her? She sobered. What could possibly have Raquel bowing to him? His good looks, his playboy eyes or that smile?
She narrowed her gaze, running her eyes over the man again, from the tip of his shiny black shoes to the tip of his spiky haircut. It didn’t matter.
By the end of the week she’d know every inch of this guy, inside and out. She’d discover all his secrets.
Tahlia’s gaze moved to Case’s mouth. She probably should avoid those lips. ‘What can I do for you, Mr Darrington… Case?’ she lilted.
He paused.
She watched his brow furrow. Oh, gawd. Had she got her signals crossed? Had the flowers been from someone else entirely? Had her clever saving-face parting proved she was crazy and she’d just made the biggest fool of herself for no reason at all or had she just scared him off with that incredibly stupid and impulsive kiss that had come out of nowhere?
She tipped her head. He didn’t seem like the sort of guy who would scare easily.
He moved closer. ‘I don’t mean that I’m not flattered or that I didn’t enjoy—’
Heat rushed to her cheeks. Oh, gawd. How could she have been so stupid? ‘So you didn’t send the flowers?’
‘I did, actually.’
She tapped the pen on her chin. She had known it! He was interested in her, at least enough to send her flowers on Friday—and by goodness that kiss had said as much. He hadn’t been exactly bone-cold beneath her lips—far from it.
He was putty in her hands.
