Ian barely glanced at the newspapers that morning. After quickly flipping through the stack to make sure nothing unsavory had been printed about Abraham or the family, he pushed them aside and stared out the expanse of tinted glass overlooking his beloved Savannah.
The view used to excite him. He could almost feel his heart pumping in time to the slow but steady rhythm of the city. He’d survived bitter disappointment and loss, much as this city had survived a bloody civil war, but only after sacrificing many of her sons. It was no small miracle that she hadn’t been burned to the ground like other Southern cities. It seemed an equal miracle that he’d somehow struggled on after the loss of his son.
His work for the family company had kept him sane, kept him going, day after day. Then his father had stepped down, leaving Ian as CEO, and Ian had told himself that this would be enough. He’d dedicate his life to the firm, to growing Danforth & Danforth into one of the most powerful import businesses in the U.S.
But it wasn’t enough. Not by a long shot. He knew that now.
It was all Katie O’Brien’s fault.
She’d awakened him to the prospect of living again in the most provocative way. She’d enticed him, soothed him, made him sit up and take notice of her as an extraordinary, sexually desirable woman. She’d challenged him to look beyond his loss.
But he wasn’t ready to do that…not yet. So he had to do something about her.
He had to separate himself somehow from her, regain his balance. As long as she was careening around his office, he was useless. Aside from her habit of moving the furnishings and questioning his directives, she made him think about doing wicked, delicious things to her.
And these things were the sort a man shouldn’t even consider doing during work hours.
The company needed a CEO with both feet on the ground, his mind firmly on business. But Holly still hadn’t found anyone suitable for a permanent EA, so maybe another temp was the answer.
He picked up his phone, hit the button for the outer office. “Katie, have you had lunch yet?”
“No, sir.”
Damn, just hearing her voice set off a chain reaction of nerves that ended with fireworks in his lap. He shifted in his chair and tried to ignore them.
“I need to speak with you about something important. Would you mind taking lunch with me downstairs at the coffee shop?”
There was a moment’s hesitation, as if she already suspected his motives. “Fine with me.”
Ian hung up. It had to be done. There was no other way.
He hardly glanced at Katie as he whisked past her desk and through the door toward the elevator. Trusting that she followed, he hit the down button, waited, then strode through the doors the moment they swished open. He felt Katie’s presence as she stepped in beside him, but didn’t dare look directly at her.
She was trying to make eye contact, he could tell, but he wouldn’t allow even this simple connection between them until they were safely in public view. There was a limit to how much temptation he could take.
They found a table and ordered—a seafood salad for her, a hearty burger with Swiss melting over it for him—and still he hadn’t really looked at her. He bit into his burger, tasting nothing, chewed with a good show of concentration and enjoyment. At last, he shifted his attention from the food to her.
She was sitting very still. He noticed she hadn’t touched her salad.
“Aren’t you hungry?” he asked.
“You’re going to fire me, aren’t you?”
Her tone was heartbreaking. He cringed. “Katie, I’m not going to fire you.”
“What then? Have I made some sort of awful mistake? Did I do something wrong? I like to handle things my way and that may not be your way, but I’ve gotten everything done that you asked, one way or another.”
“Yes, you have.” He pushed his plate away. The burger lay heavily in his stomach. “And your energy and dedication are deeply appreciated.” Even though she had wreaked havoc on his ability to complete any work at all. “The thing is, a temporary clerical assistant is just that. We never expected you to be with us for more than a week, at most two.”
“So you said the day I arrived. Are you telling me now that you’ve found a permanent EA?”
“Actually, no. But it’s been over two weeks and I think it would be to your benefit as well as ours for you to move on.”
Her face fell. “Leave Danforth & Danforth? But I like it here. I really do!”
“We try to make everyone feel like family here. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed being with us.” He forced a smile, feeling like a creep for shoving her out. “But I think we might use the job you have now as a testing ground for candidates, you know, for the permanent position.”
“I could do that,” she said quickly. “Be your real executive assistant.”
“No. No, you couldn’t,” he said cautiously.
“Why? I’m not good enough?”
“You need a little more experience, that’s all.”
“I could get it while I’m working for you. Everyone needs some training.”
“I…you—” Dammit, was there any way to avoid saying the words? He looked around to make sure no one was within hearing distance. He whispered, “Katie, it was all my fault, what happened in your apartment. I should never have kissed you. I overstepped my boundaries as an employer.”
Strangely, she looked suddenly brighter, then he saw the mischief in her eyes. “If you recall, sir, I was the one who kissed you the second time.”
He glanced around once more, but the nearby tables were empty and the level of chatter in the coffee shop was so high he was certain no one could hear them.
“I am very attracted to you,” he confessed. “The fact is, I’m finding it damn difficult to get anything done with you around.”
She beamed at him. “I thought it was just me.”
“Pardon?”
“I thought maybe I was the only one attracted. I like you an awful lot, Ian.”
“Katie, no.”
“There’s nothing wrong in that,” she insisted. “What’s awful is when one person does and the other doesn’t.”
He leaned farther over the table. “You’re much too young for me.”
“Rubbish.” She smiled.
“I’m serious. And I’ve never dated an employee. I don’t intend to start now.”
“You already have. You took me to the gala.”
“That wasn’t a date.”
“Fits my definition,” she said cheerfully.
“Stop that!” Several heads turned at his raised voice, and Ian forced himself to speak more softly, despite his growing frustration. “The point is, I can’t keep you in my office and have these thoughts about you.”
“So,” she said slowly, as if trying to understand, “you want me to leave the company so that we can start a serious romantic relationship?”
“No…I mean, I don’t know.” He groaned, stabbed a French fry with his fork and waved it at her. “You’re putting words in my mouth.”
“I’m just trying to understand what you expect of me,” she said much too calmly. Another ten minutes of this, and the woman would drive him insane.
“I don’t expect anything of you,” he said. “That’s the point.”
The shattered expression in her eyes nearly broke his heart. “You’re telling me to go away, to get lost.”
“Not get lost, as you put it. I’ll give the temp agency a glowing recommendation for you, tell them we’ve filled the position. You’ll go back to them and be reassigned, having had experience you can use in your next placement. And if you need references for future applications with other companies, I’ll be glad to accommodate.”
She didn’t respond right away. She seemed intent upon the tips of her nails as she lightly drummed them on the tabletop. “I see.” There was weight in her words. He didn’t like the sound of them.
“You’ll be fine,” he assured her.
“And what abou
t us?”
“I told you, there is no us.”
If he ever again became seriously, romantically involved with anyone, it would be with a woman with as much inclination to produce and raise a family as he had. Katie, though attractive and energetic and fascinating in her own ways, wasn’t ready to settle down.
He’d made that mistake once before. He’d paid dearly.
“We’re very different, you and I.” It sounded lame even to his own ears. “The age and all…”
“So you’ve said before.” She pushed her salad away and stared out the window at passersby on the sidewalk.
“In all fairness, Katie,” he said gently, reaching across the table to touch her hand, “I don’t want to start something I can’t see through to the right conclusion.”
Her head snapped around, sending red curls into disarray. “Which is?”
“Marriage, a family, stability.” He smiled weakly at her. “I’m sorry, Katie. It just seems to me that you’re set on trying your wings. And I’m past that stage of life. I need more than a fling. If we’d met at another time, under different circumstances—”
“Oh, please!” she snapped, shooting to her feet. Her expression was stormy. Snatching her purse from the floor beside her chair, she set back her shoulders and looked down at him without an ounce of pride given away. “Don’t bother with clichés. I understand. You’re right. I need something more, too.” She turned and walked away.
It hurt. Ian’s ditching her stung far worse than anything before in her life.
Not until he had begun his speech had it occurred to her how much staying at Danforth & Danforth meant to her. And how much she’d miss being around Ian.
It wasn’t that she was in love with him, she told herself. He was cutting her off from the camaraderie she’d developed with him and with other employees over the past days. She’d felt part of a team. And, since the gala, part of a special and exciting family.
Hadn’t she stood by the Danforths in a moment of crisis at the country club? And before that, when she’d sat in the First City Club with Abraham, Ian and Nicola? How amazing was that! Forget about the elite setting and the chef’s delectable creations. She’d sat in on a prospective Senator’s strategy session. She’d given her opinion and, amazingly, people had listened!
How often had she wished her own parents would take her seriously?
Damn Ian!
There was nothing she could do about his pushing her out of his personal life. But she’d be darned if she’d let Ian Danforth force her out of a job she loved.
She rushed down three flights of stairs, whirled like a human tornado into Holly’s office and planted herself in the chair across from her desk. Holly was on the phone, but Katie was prepared to wait—no matter how long. Holly glanced up at her curiously as she hung up.
“Do I sense the fallout of Danforth temper?” She raised one brow. “I hope he didn’t leave bruises.”
“No visible marks.” Katie sighed and slumped deeper in the chair. “I’m just the walking wounded in need of another job.”
“I see. Then Ian didn’t take my advice. He’s asked you to leave.”
“He told you he was going to do this?”
“Days ago,” Holly admitted. “I suggested he wait until we’d found a permanent replacement.”
“That son of a—”
“Katie, he’s my boss,” Holly interrupted quietly. “Our boss, until you officially leave here.”
“Sorry. It’s just that he’s being so stubborn and selfish and—”
“Nothing I haven’t heard about the man before,” Holly said, reaching behind her for a folder from a chrome sorting rack. “But he’s fair, means well, and he’s brilliant at his job.”
“I’m not debating the second two counts,” Katie grumbled.
“So he’s told you he definitely wants you out?”
“Yes.” Katie felt so close to tears she could taste their salty warning. But she wouldn’t cry. No, she would not. “The thing is, I really do like it here. It’s a great place to work—everyone’s so nice and helpful, and I’m learning so much.”
Holly looked at her hard, then opened the folder and flipped pages. “Tell you what I’ll do. There’s an opening for an executive assistant to one of our district managers.” She pointed to a name on the page. “I think you’d like her a lot. If you want, I’ll submit your application along with the others. It’s a permanent position, though—you’d have to leave the temp agency and commit at least a full year to us.”
Katie glowed with hope. “Okay! But please don’t tell Ian.”
“I’m not sure I can do that.” Holly nipped at her bottom lip thoughtfully. “Let’s just say I’ll wait a few days to break the news to him. Meanwhile, I think I can talk him into letting you stay another week to ten days. I’ll assure him that we’ll have his new EA by then.” She hesitated, observing Katie solemnly. “Unless you don’t think you can stand being around him that long.”
“Oh, no.” Katie beamed, feeling renewed confidence. “I can handle Ian Danforth just fine.”
She left, humming. Ian might have won the first round, but she was determined to give him his money’s worth in the second.
Six
D&D’s was packed when Ian burst through its famous initial-embellished doors. He was furious. What the hell was Katie up to now?
He’d thought he had made himself clear the day before. But at noon when he’d finally made it into the office after a morning-long meeting, there she was at her desk.
“Holly would like you to call her,” she said sweetly, as if he hadn’t gently but firmly told her he no longer required her services a mere twenty-four hours earlier.
By the time he’d gotten off the phone with his personnel manager, Katie had left for lunch, and he’d been hot on her trail ever since. One of the clerks on the third floor told him she often ate with the office crowd in the first-floor coffee shop.
He spotted her sitting with four other women at a rear table.
“Afternoon, Mr. Danforth,” a tall blonde said when he stopped behind Katie’s chair. “Join us?”
“Not at the moment, thank you.” He stepped to the side to face Katie. “Ms. O’Brien, I need to speak with you.”
“I’m on my break,” she said, taking a dainty bite of salad.
“It’s important.” The remark earned him glares from all around the table. Lunch was sacred. “Really important.”
“Very well,” Katie said pleasantly.
He controlled the urge to grab her by the scruff of her neck and drag her into the lobby, away from witnesses. Whether he’d kiss her or give her a good shake to bring her to her senses once he got her there, that was a toss-up. She headed for a less busy corner of the café, and he followed.
“Is there a problem with my morning’s work?”
“No. There’s a problem with your subversive tactics.”
“Excuse me?” He could swear there was a touch of a smile on those expressive lips, but the rest of her face was perfectly blank.
“It means,” he growled, “I thought we’d agreed yesterday that it was best for all concerned if you left the company.”
“No-o-o.” She extended the word as if to make herself clear to a recalcitrant toddler. “You decided it would be best if I no longer worked in your office. You said nothing about other positions in the company. Holly felt it would be all right for me to stay where I was just a few more days. It seemed the reasonable thing to do, since you need someone to cover the phone and all.”
He groaned. “The point I thought I’d made clear was that after we’d—” He lowered his voice. “After we’d, you know—”
“Become intimate?” she supplied innocently.
“Yes, that.” How was it she could so easily fluster him? He had never been self-conscious about discussing sex before she showed up. “I just didn’t think it was right for us to be working together.”
“I agree.”
“You do?”
“Absolutely. That’s why I’ve applied for a job in another department, on another floor.” She smiled brightly at him. “Holly says my chances look good.”
“She does, does she?” he grumbled. This was getting more and more complicated. He felt as if he was losing control. Maybe he’d lost it a long time ago and just hadn’t realized it. “I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“I’m not sure you have any say in it,” she stated calmly.
“Why shouldn’t I? I’m CEO of the damn company!”
“Yes, but the personnel office does the hiring. You’d have to go out of your way to block my getting the job if I’m the most qualified.” She tapped his chest with two fingers and smiled. “I’m not sure that’s legal, Mr. Danforth.”
He closed his eyes and thought evil, evil thoughts. The woman was right. It wouldn’t be ethical for him to deny her a job if she deserved it.
“Besides,” she continued, “I couldn’t very well leave you without an assistant. Holly is interviewing another list of applicants for your EA. Meanwhile, I’ll just hold down the fort, as you say.”
He stared at her, feeling utterly defenseless. He had the distinct feeling the two women were ganging up on him, but it would sound paranoid to accuse them of plotting against him.
“Fine,” he said with a long sigh. “Another week or so. No big deal.” He could handle temptation that long, couldn’t he? And if she got the other job? He supposed he’d have to steer clear of her division…forever. “I’ll see you upstairs.”
He started to turn toward the elevators when he looked up to see two familiar figures crossing the foyer toward him, and he grinned, thankful for friendly faces.
“Wes…and Jasmine!” Ian waved them over. “How’s the most beautiful reporter in all Savannah?” Out of the corner of his eye, he sensed Katie tensing as she studied the elegant mocha-skinned woman who had swept his old friend Wesley off his feet.
The Boss Man's Fortune (Dynasties: The Danforths Book 5) Page 7
