“Lurch? The groomer?” She wrinkled her brow as she stared at the list without focusing on any of the words. A shrill whistle penetrated her confusion. She looked up just in time to see Jared whistle again, then a large dog with a huge head entered through the open French door and came loping across the office directly toward her. Her first thought was to get out of the huge animal’s way, but she couldn’t move fast enough. She stared, helpless, as the massive animal bore down on her.
Everything happened so quickly Kim wasn’t sure of the exact sequence. The animal stood on its hind legs with its paws on her shoulders. Whether the dog knocked her down or she stumbled and fell, she wasn’t sure. A second later she found herself sprawled on the floor with an energetic Saint Bernard licking her face. She frantically tried to shove the animal away from her, but the more she squirmed the more the dog seemed to think it was a game.
Jared grabbed the dog’s collar and gave it a gentle tug. The unmistakable sound of amusement surrounded his words. “Come on, Lurch. Let Kim up.” He let go of the dog, who gave Kim one more slurp against her cheek, then retreated to the other side of the room.
Jared reached his hand out to help Kim. She hesitated, then accepted his assistance. The moment their hands touched an unmistakable surge of sensuality traveled up her arm and infused itself through her body. He easily pulled her from the floor as if she weighed no more than a feather. She tried to remove her hand from his all-too-tempting touch, but he refused to let go. Instead, he pulled her closer to him until their bodies were almost touching. She looked into his face, and once again the intensity of his green eyes delved into the very core of her existence.
Jared continued to hold on to Kim’s hand. As much as he wanted to kiss that delicious-looking mouth was as much as he knew he didn’t dare make the attempt. His words came out much softer than he had anticipated. Even though he wanted to maintain an impersonal atmosphere, he was finding it difficult.
“Are you all right? Lurch didn’t hurt you, did he?”
She eased her hand out of his grasp, leaving him with a sudden and unexpected sense of loss. He didn’t know what disturbed him more, the loss of physical contact or the desire to have it back.
Kim tried to dismiss the unwelcome surge of desire that swept through her when he pulled her body close to his. For a moment she thought he might try to kiss her, a situation that, to her surprise, wasn’t an unpleasant notion. She tried to brush aside the unacceptable thoughts and cover her errant desires by adjusting her rumpled clothing. She attempted to wipe her face with her hands.
“What in the world was—”
“That was Lurch. Sometimes he gets a little rambunctious. He doesn’t usually take to strangers, but he seems to like you.”
She looked at Jared as a combination of disbelief and outrage welled inside her. “That’s Lurch? You expect me to take that huge beast to the groomer?”
“Watch what you say.” He feigned a worried expression. “Lurch is very sensitive.”
She shot him an angry glare, then stooped and picked up the list the dog had knocked from her hand and began to read. “Take Lurch to groomer. Pick up dry cleaning. Have Porsche detailed.”
The moment of desire that had assailed her senses quickly disappeared to be replaced by suspicion and irritation. She narrowed her eyes as she stared at him. “This is your idea of the type of work you expect from me? I thought you wanted a secretary for the summer, someone to do office work, not someone to run mundane errands for you and do menial little tasks.”
He adopted an attitude that was all business. “I don’t believe there’s anything in our agreement that specifically limits your duties to secretarial work.”
“But I assumed—”
Jared shoved a set of keys into her hand. “Lurch will never be comfortable in that little thing you drive. Take the Explorer. It’s parked just outside the door.”
“Wait a minute!” She bristled at what she saw as his take-charge attitude and controlling nature. “We need to talk—”
“You’d better hurry. They’re expecting Lurch at nine o’clock.” With that, Jared turned and went into his office, leaving Kim standing in the reception room staring at his retreating form. It had never occurred to her to have the letter of agreement specify that her work assignments would be confined to office chores. She clenched her jaw in anger. He had planned this entire scenario just to embarrass her. This is what he had in mind all along. The situation would definitely require a conversation with her attorney about this unexpected turn of events.
She looked at the keys he had given her and glanced at the list again. On the back he had written the name and address of the dog groomer, the dry cleaner and the car detailer. She turned toward the dog, who was sitting next to the desk. Lurch looked at her with big brown eyes, his tail wagging and his muscles tensed as if it was all he could do to sit there quietly.
Some of the stress that had wrapped itself around her stomach started to loosen a bit. Now that she had gotten over the shock of the large Saint Bernard charging toward her, she had to admit to herself that he was a magnificent dog. “Well, Lurch, it looks like we’re going to the groomer. Do you have a leash or something?”
The dog cocked his head and stared at her for a moment, then trotted toward Jared’s office, his powerful wagging tail knocking over a wastepaper basket as he went. She looked at what were now her wrinkled and dirty clothes. If this was the way it was going to be, then jeans and a T-shirt would certainly be appropriate dress for the rest of the summer. It was apparent she wouldn’t need to be concerned about maintaining an image in front of Jared’s clients or business associates or to be presentable for a business office.
A strange sensation washed over her. Half of it was resentment that he had purposely deceived her about her duties and relegated her to such an insignificant position, but the other half was relief. Even though she had been curious about the business holdings of Stevens Enterprises, she really didn’t want to be involved in any of Jared’s business dealings.
She tried to look at it in a logical manner. The thing for her to do was to make the best of a bad situation. Perhaps it was nothing more than a game of one-upmanship, his way of making sure she knew he was in charge. Maybe it was better this way. She would let him think he had the upper hand. If her summer job at Jared’s involved nothing more than running errands, then that’s the way it would be. It would certainly be an easy way to satisfy her father’s debt and resolve the entire problem without involving an attorney or any more legal ramifications. It was a situation she knew she could live with for the three-month duration of the letter of agreement.
Lurch came running into the room with one end of a leash in his mouth and the other end dragging on the floor behind him. The dog sat in front on her, dropped the leash, barked and wagged his tail. He acted more like a playful puppy than a huge animal sitting in front of her anxiously waiting to go somewhere. She picked up the leash and attached it to the dog’s collar. The dog immediately took off toward the door, pulling Kim behind him.
“Whoa! Slow down, Lurch.” She couldn’t stop the laugh that spontaneously erupted in reaction to the dog’s excitement at going somewhere. It took all her strength to control the animal and keep him from dragging her across the floor.
The sound of her laughter carried to Jared’s office. He stood in the doorway watching Kim trying to contain the dog as it hurdled through the door into the parking area and toward the green Explorer.
He liked the sound of her laugh but could not see her face. He wondered what her smile looked like. He had been face-to-face with her three times, and on all three occasions not even a hint of a smile had crossed her otherwise beautiful face. He closed his eyes and pulled up the still-fresh memory of her hand in his as he helped her from the floor, of the sensation of her face close enough to his to have leaned over and kissed her delicious-looking mouth. A tightness pulled across his chest, one that told him just how much Kim Donaldson had intruded into his
conscious thoughts and desires.
And he didn’t like it…at least he thought he didn’t like it.
Business or pleasure—each confrontation made him less sure of his intentions where she was concerned. Something told him he should have written off Paul Donaldson’s promissory note as a bad debt and closed the books on it. If only he had listened to that something instead of opening his mouth and letting that foolish plan of her working off the debt become reality. He had wanted to ruffle some Donaldson feathers. It had been an incredibly stupid idea, but it was too late now.
He attempted to calm his nerves. She was intelligent and could definitely be a big help to him during the summer, but could he trust her? Would he ever be able to trust a Donaldson enough to share Stevens Enterprises business matters? Would there ever be an end to the ridiculous Stevens–Donaldson family feud? One thing was for sure. He would have to keep her busy and away from his office if he planned on being able to concentrate on business. It was already more than evident that she was far too distracting to have around.
He forced himself to work but could not wipe the vision of Kim Donaldson from his mind, nor could he erase the sensation of her hand in his. A hint of trepidation told him the days ahead would be anything but normal. And the notion of exactly what that meant caused another twinge of anxiety to assail his senses.
Kim Donaldson spelled trouble with a capital “T” and he had no one to blame but himself.
Three
Kim could not settle the nervous jitter that appeared the moment she slid behind the wheel of Jared’s silver Porsche. It was the same nervousness she experienced earlier when she had driven the expensive sports car to the detailers. It was a beautiful car, sleek and powerful, just like its owner, she reluctantly admitted. She had been surprised when he had handed her the keys with no more fanfare than to ask her if she knew how to drive a manual transmission.
If she owned a car like that there was no way she would ever let anyone else drive it, certainly not someone who might have a motive to damage it. Although she wouldn’t do such a thing. What if it accidentally got scratched or dented? Would he think she had done it on purpose just to spite him? She didn’t know what to think anymore. During the course of the day she had entertained one thought after another about what type of man Jared Stevens really was. She came up with a different answer each time. He had clouded her thoughts from the moment she met him.
She glanced at her watch as she put the car in gear. It was almost five o’clock. All she had to do was return Jared’s car to him, then she could call it a day. All in all, it hadn’t been such a bad day. She had made friends with Lurch, who was definitely just a big, overgrown puppy in spite of the fact that he was three years old.
But the big, overgrown puppy’s owner was a different story. Every time she returned to the office complex, every time she was in the same room with Jared, the electrical energy that filled the air almost overwhelmed her, leaving her with very unsettled thoughts and feelings. It was as if she could reach out and actually touch his sexual magnetism.
He had given her a few office tasks to do—routine letters about one of the corporation’s holdings taking out an ad in a trade periodical, employee participation in a civic fund-raiser, a couple of requests from charitable organizations and some memos to department heads, but it was obvious that he had kept her away from anything someone could use to compromise his business concerns. It was apparent he didn’t trust her, but she had to admit she understood why. If their roles were reversed, she certainly wouldn’t trust him with any confidential business matters.
Most of the office chores were related to personal business rather than company functions. He had given her a list of phone calls to make, changing the day of the week for the pool service to clean the swimming pool, making arrangements for a newly purchased billiard table to be delivered, having the liquor store deliver several cases of wine and scheduling a time for the carpeting to be cleaned. They were all chores she thought Fred Kemper, the estate caretaker, would have handled.
Even when she had her back to Jared she could feel him watching her. It left her uncomfortable and excited all at the same time. What kind of a man was Jared Stevens? So far, in spite of the fact that he had misled her about the nature of the work she would be doing, he didn’t seem to be the same type of jerk as his brother.
Terry Stevens had been cruel with his cutting comments and put-downs. He had lorded his family position over everyone, especially Kim. He had done his best to belittle and humiliate her, and she had never forgiven him for it. Jared, on the other hand, had pretty much left her alone all day, other than to outline what he wanted her to do. She did have to reluctantly admit that every time she had been at the office during the day he had been at his desk and looked busy. It had not been as bad as she’d anticipated.
She drove Jared’s Porsche through the service entrance gate and parked it in the garage, then entered the office complex through the direct outside door. She walked through the reception area into the conference room, then paused at the door of Jared’s office. He was leaning back in his large leather chair with his feet propped on his desk, but he looked far from relaxed. His total attention seemed to be riveted on the document he held. From her vantage point, it appeared to be a contract of some sort. With his knitted brow and an unhappy scowl covering his face, he looked angry about something.
She hesitated, not sure if she should interrupt him. Maybe she could just deposit his car keys on the desk in the outer office and leave without him knowing she was there, but she waited too long. As she was about to turn, he looked up and saw her.
“You brought my car back?” He swung his legs off his desk, rose to his feet and started across the office toward her.
“Yes.” She held his keys out toward him. “I guess I’ll be going home now.”
“Not so fast, Kim.” Their fingers brushed slightly as he took the keys from her hand, causing a ripple of excitement to dart across her skin. “We’re not quite finished for the day.”
She glanced at her watch. “It’s almost five-thirty. I’ve been here since a little after eight o’clock this morning. What is there that can’t wait until tomorrow morning?” A hint of irritation pushed at her. “Is there some other menial little task that you feel should be pushed off on me? Do I need to run out and fetch the newspaper for you? Check the mailbox and bring in the mail? Take the dog for a walk? Rearrange the kitchen pantry so that all the food is in alphabetical order?” She leveled a challenging stare at him. “Well? What is it?”
He captured her look and held it with his unwavering gaze. Her irritation quickly turned to embarrassment. Once again his eyes seemed to be reading her innermost thoughts and feelings. And her thoughts at that moment were certainly less than complimentary toward Jared Stevens, but they were also enveloped in a sensually elevated heartbeat.
His silence made her embarrassment grow until she was forced to break eye contact with him. She attempted to maintain her position and determination, but her confidence crumbled. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. “Well…” She nervously glanced around the office in a desperate attempt to avoid eye contact. “What is it that I still need to do tonight before I can leave?”
“Fred brought in the mail, I already have a newspaper, the food in the pantry is just where it needs to be and Lurch has a big hunk of two acres in which to run and exercise.”
She bristled at his condescending tone, partly because she knew she deserved it. Perhaps she had gone too far with her inappropriate comments. Even though she had originally planned to make the situation uncomfortable for him, she had not been able to go through with the ill-conceived plan. It was not her nature to initiate confrontation in spite of the fact that there was something about him that seemed to bring out the worst in her. Every time he opened his mouth she became defensive.
She waited, hoping he would say something else, something to help relieve the awkward discomfort rapidly building inside her. Somethin
g to let her know she hadn’t been that far out of line with her flippant gibes.
It seemed as if an eternity passed before he spoke again, an eternity that left her stomach twisted in knots. Why did he have to be so sexy, so desirable? If only she could dismiss him from her mind as easily as she did with her words.
His voice gave her no indication as to what was going on inside him, how her harsh words had affected his decision. “What I had in mind was checking the refrigerator to see what’s there and fixing something to eat. I thought maybe I could put a couple of steaks on the grill and you could make a salad.” He cocked his head and shot her a questioning look. “Unless you have other plans for dinner?”
Had she heard him correctly? Dinner? That’s what he had in mind? Now it was more than simple embarrassment that filled her. It had been a long time since she felt this foolish. Once again the magnetic sex appeal of Jared Stevens worked its way into her reality. Would they be alone in the house or would Fred be having dinner with them? What were Jared’s motives? Could she trust him on a personal level? Perhaps the better question would be could she trust herself alone in a social setting with this very appealing man—a man whose family had been feuding with hers for three generations.
She hesitated, not sure exactly how to respond to his unexpected invitation. “I, uh, no, I don’t have any other plans. I suppose having something to eat would be okay.” Now what? She had agreed to his request. A nervous twinge told her it might be a decision she would soon regret.
“Good. Let’s go raid the refrigerator. I’ll bring up a bottle of wine from the wine cellar and while I’m doing that you can feed Lurch.” He headed down the hall, indicating that she should follow.
She stood there, dumbfounded. He had done it to her again—dangled something reasonable in front of her and then as soon as she had agreed to it he quickly added a menial task. It was the same as when he allowed her to work off the debt thinking she would be doing office work. Then he had her run mindless personal errands for him. She shoved down the anger that tried to take hold. She didn’t want to lose her temper with him and blurt something that would only make things worse—again—but she did want to make her position very clear.
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