I Married the Boss!

by Laura Anthony

  “Oh, yeah. It must be real hard inheriting money.”

  “What’s your problem?”

  “Gold diggers turn my stomach.”

  “Are you accusing me of being a gold digger?” Sophia pulled over on the shoulder of the freeway and stomped solidly on the brake. She slammed the car into Park and turned in her seat to shoot daggers at Mike with her eyes.

  “If the shoe fits...”

  “You think you know everything, don’t you?” She flung the words at him. “Well, you don’t.”

  “I know your mother’s pushing you to marry a rich man.”

  “So what if she is?” Sophia shouted. “Is it so wrong to want the best for your child?”

  “Is a loveless marriage a good thing?”

  “It’s as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor one,” she retorted tartly.

  “What happened to your father?” he asked. “Why isn’t he in the picture?”

  “That—” she pointed angrily at him with her index finger “—is none of your business, mister.”

  “What’s the problem? Wasn’t he rich enough to suit the Shepherd women?”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  “You’re twenty-nine years old and letting your mother run your life. Telling you who’s worthy of your love and who’s not.”

  “I ought to make you walk,” she threatened.

  “Yeah?” He leaned across the seat to glare back at her.

  “Yeah.”

  His green eyes were quicksand, his rapid breathing heated carbon against her skin.

  Chemistry.

  Hot, messy, explosive.

  It slammed into Sophia with the momentum of a lab experiment gone horribly awry.

  Except this wasn’t a lab and being this close to such a sexy volatile man in morning rush-hour traffic wasn’t an experiment she recommended even to the bravest souls.

  Before she knew what was happening, Mike was kissing her. Right there on Highway 10.

  Hungrily, greedily, he cupped the back of her head in one palm and drew her across the car toward him.

  Her seat belt was in the way. Sophia clawed it off, desperate to get to Mike. He was jerking at his restraint, as well.

  His lips sank down on hers. Smothering her in a deliciously warm wetness. Stealing her breath, stealing her mind, stealing her senses until she was deaf, dumb and blind with desire for him.

  Sophia kissed him back, as hard and fierce as he kissed her. She fought a mad urge to rip off her blouse and bare her breasts to him. She wanted him here, now, this minute with a passion that terrified her in its intensity.

  He smelled so good. Tasted even better. She couldn’t get enough, would never get enough of him.

  Their attraction was not a fluke, not some freak twist of nature, not an aberrant occurrence. This was real and very, very scary.

  Mike’s quicksilver tongue prodded, demanding entry into her mouth. Sophia parted her lips and eagerly let him in.

  Her fingers gripped his well-knit shoulder muscles. She closed her eyes and fell down, down, down into an endless sea of ravenous physical cravings.

  Lust.

  Unadulterated. Raw. Compelling.

  Feelings, sensations, intense emotions that Sophia had never before experienced swelled over her like a violent hurricane devouring a small tropical island, scattering everything into the wind, destroying everything in its wake.

  So this was what her mother had been warning her against these many years. At last Sophia understood. This helplessness in the face of physical urges. This headlong wantonness of her body aching to merge with his. This mindless desire that begged her to ignore all sense and reason for the sake of ultimate satisfaction.

  A momentary satisfaction that could possibly create an unwanted child.

  Sophia whimpered.

  Mike swallowed her whimper with his greedy mouth.

  But this could not, must not happen. How could it any-way, in this small vehicle, on the side of the road, sun flooding in through the windows, cars honking encouragement as they drove past, the smell of tar and fuel exhaust clogging the air?

  Brought back to reality, Sophia stopped kissing him.

  As if perfectly in tune with her, Mike pulled back and sucked in an unsteady breath.

  “Wow,” he whispered softly. “Wow.”

  Shakily Sophia drew a finger across her mouth. She forced herself to focus on the steering wheel. She straightened her blouse which had gotten twisted. She raked her fingers through her hair. She slipped her safety belt back on. Her hands trembled as she put the car into gear, pressed on the accelerator and entered the stream of traffic. Not once did she dare look over at him.

  Mike uttered not another sound on the remainder of the way into the office.

  Wow. Wow. Wow.

  Mike could not stop thinking about her. In all his thirty-six years he had never been so captivated by any woman. Sophia had been running through his head all morning, searing a beaten path across his brain. In a daze, he wandered through the building delivering mail. Those few stunning moments in Sophia’s car had stolen his free will. So clouded were his senses, he could barely drag one foot in front of the other, much less return the hearty greetings of his co-workers.

  His mind was clouded with visions of her and nothing else. Sophia. Blond, beautiful, a lusty princess hiding behind a carefully constructed facade. Sophia. The perfect secretary, hardworking, devoted, efficient. Sophia. So full of fire, so full of passion. Her anger had lit the wick of their simmering desire, sending it flaming into a raging maelstrom of physical delight.

  How had he lived for so long without this heady feeling? How had he existed for so long without her?

  Don’t lose your sense of direction, he scolded himself. You didn’t get where you are today by falling for every pretty face that sent your temperature soaring.

  Except no woman had ever made him feel the way Sophia did. Whenever he was around her, he felt stronger, smarter, brighter. Something about her made him feel more of a man. Mike found himself aching to tell her all his secrets, to reveal every silly daydream that had ever sprinted through his head, to bore her with stories of his childhood, to regale her with his jokes. To reveal to her his true identity.

  Watch out!

  He could never forget that Sophia, sexy as she might be, could not be trusted. At least not yet. Not until she passed his litmus test of falling in love with Mike the mailman.

  What if he couldn’t change her? What if he turned on the charm, courted her with a heretofore undemonstrated fervency but to no avail? What if he pulled out all the stops and despite his best efforts, she still chose Michael Barrington over him? Then he’d be left with egg on his face and his heart in his hands.

  Did he dare take that risk?

  . Mike suppressed a laugh. How ironic, the master of risk-taking reduced to a quivering mass by a mere woman.

  Too bad she didn’t have more money of her own. If Sophia had a substantial raise in pay and more job security maybe then she’d stop viewing men as a meal ticket. Maybe then she’d develop confidence in her own abilities to generate an income and she’d be free to follow her heart.

  It wasn’t as if she didn’t need the money. Mike had seen how she lived and he felt the pain of her poverty. He must see that she got a raise.

  “Hey, Mike.” Jack Cavanaugh greeted him enthusiastically when Mike pushed through the door and into the spacious rooms of the advertising department.

  “Morning, Jack.”

  Jack’s smile was wider than usual. “Did you catch the baseball game last night? Phoenix trounced the Wild Cats.”

  Mike shook his head.

  “Too busy, huh?” Jack winked.

  “Busy?” Mike repeated the word, struggling to pay attention to his friend. Before Jack had started dating his assistant, Molly Doyle, he and Mike had gone to a minor league baseball game at least once a week. Now Jack took Molly instead.

  He missed Jack, Mike real
ized. Before coming to work as the mailman at the Barrington Corporation, Mike had never really had any close friendships. Even as a boy he’d been hesitant to let down his guard and make friends. Too many moves from city to city, school to school, as his father built his empire. Too many false friends. Too many bad experiences had taught him to be cautious. Mike was always on the alert, wary of kids who only wanted to be with him for his father’s money. Throughout most of his childhood he’d felt like he was on the outside looking in, never really quite sure what others thought about him.

  It hadn’t helped that Rex had always been too busy to play catch or to take him to baseball games. He was supposed to understand. Making money came before time spent with the family. It was a fact of the Barrington household he’d learned to live with. A fact that had taught him never to depend on anyone.

  He had courted this persona, taking pride in his independence, knowing he didn’t need others for his self-esteem. It had spurred the rebellious phase he’d gone through in his late teens, when in the aftermath of his mother’s illness, he and Rex had not gotten along. Michael’s occasional feelings of isolation had intensified upon his mother’s death, and he supposed that was part of what motivated him to hold himself at a distance in his personal relationships. This deep-seated fear of getting too involved, of being betrayed again. It was a fear of losing something important. A fear that directly conflicted with his sudden need to win Sophia’s love.

  Perhaps it would be wiser if he stopped things right here and did not pursue Sophia any further. The same prudence that guided him in making deals, urged him to drop his plot to make her fall in love with the mailman and keep his heart safe.

  “Don’t play innocent with me, you sly dog.” Jack came around his desk to slap Mike on the shoulder. “Nick Delaney saw you yesterday evening with Sophia Shepherd on the back of your Harley.”

  “I was just giving Sophia a ride home.”

  Jack winked again. “Right. And that’s why Sam Wainwright spotted you getting out of Sophia’s car this morning.” Jack raised his palms. “Hey, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Sophia’s a very pretty girl.”

  Inwardly Mike groaned. None of his plans had included exposing Sophia to office gossip.

  “But you better be careful.” Jack glanced around the office to see if anyone else was in hearing distance. He lowered his voice. “There’s a rumor that Sophia belongs to ‘the Third.’

  “Oh, yeah?”

  Jack nodded. “I heard it from Molly who heard it from Olivia Hunter.”

  Mike scowled. “I’m surprised at you, Jack, spreading unfounded gossip.”

  “Hey, I’m only looking to protect you. If Sophia’s in tight with the boss, I wouldn’t want you to lose your job over her.”

  “She is not in tight with the boss,” Mike snapped, irritated by his friend. He knew Jack didn’t really mean anything by the innuendo, and normally such a minor thing wouldn’t have gotten to him. But by gosh, he didn’t want the entire office believing that Sophia and Michael Barrington were an item when he knew for a fact the rumor was nothing more than Sophia’s wishful thinking.

  Jack sobered. “You really like her, don’t you?”

  “She’s nice enough.”

  “Come on, buddy, you can’t fool me. I wore the same silly grin on my face when I started getting serious about Molly.”

  “Sophia’s not interested in me.” Mike shook his head.

  “How do you know?”

  “I just know,” Mike said, wishing he hadn’t gotten into this discussion with Jack. “Here’s your mail.” He passed him a stack of colorful glossy envelopes.

  “Thanks.”

  Mike left the advertising department with nagging doubts following him. What to do about Sophia? Things were trickier than Jack would ever know.

  In fact, there was only one person who would completely understand his situation. Only one man could give him the proper perspective. And he sorely needed that advice before he made the wrong move and ruined everything.

  Getting off the elevator on the fifth floor, Mike walked past Mildred Van Hess’s desk. The impeccably dressed executive secretary glanced up at his approach.

  “Hey, Mildred.” He smiled. Mildred was the only employee at the Barrington Corporation who knew he was masquerading as Mike the mailman.

  She smiled back. “Good morning, Michael.”

  “The big guy in?”

  Mildred nodded.

  “Is he busy?”

  “Never too busy to talk to you.”

  “That’s good,” Mike said. “Because I’m packing one heck of a problem.”

  He darted a quick glance in the direction of Sophia’s office and was relieved to see that her door was closed. Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and entered Rex Barrington’s plush suite.

  “Hi, Dad,” he said to the distinguished man sitting behind the large marble desk, his reading glasses perched on the end of his nose.

  “Morning, son.”

  Mike prowled restlessly around the room, his hands clasped behind his back. He stared out the big picture windows at the traffic below. In the distance, he could see the desert.

  Rex put down his paperwork. “How are things going?”

  “I don’t know,” Michael said honestly. “I’m worried about Sophia Shepherd.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not sure I can trust her.”

  Rex lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “Sophia seems like a very sweet girl to me and Mildred tells me she’s an excellent secretary.”

  “She is,” Michael said, perching on the arm of a leather chair and running his hands through his hair.

  “I’m listening.”

  “I’m afraid she’s another Erica.”

  The sound of that ugly name from the past ended the conversation momentarily.

  “Are you sure?” Rex frowned. “I’d hate to believe something like that about her.”

  “It’s worse than that,” Michael assured his father.

  “Oh?”

  “I think I might be falling in love with her.”

  Chapter Four

  Sophia was confused. So confused that so far that morning she had already put salt in her coffee, accidentally deleted some important e-mail that had to be reentered and overwatered the ficus tree in the office to the point of saturating the carpet beneath it.

  Damn Mike! This was all his doing. Sophia, on her hands and knees, sopped up water from the carpet with a roll of heavyweight paper towels and tried her best not to cry.

  How on earth could she be so attracted to him when what she really wanted was to marry Michael Barrington?

  Or did she?

  It hadn’t been Michael Barrington who’d given her a kiss so shocking it had scorched her socks.

  But Michael was the man she respected. He could provide for a wife and family. He was considerate and thoughtful and hardworking. He had goals and dreams and ambitions.

  Who got you a birthday gift and who didn’t?

  Well, she could hardly hold Michael responsible for that, could she? He was a busy man. Mike on the other hand, had time to spare. Michael wasn’t even in the same country; he couldn’t be held to the same expectations.

  The phone rang.

  Hurriedly Sophia got to her feet and dropped the soggy towels in the trash can. She dried her hands with a clean paper towel and snagged the receiver on the third jangle.

  “Michael Barrington’s office. Sophia Shepherd speaking.”

  The instant his rich voice washed over her, Sophia inhaled sharply.

  “Good morning, Sophia,” Michael Barrington greeted her, his tone teasing.

  “Oh, Mr. Barrington. How are you this morning?” Her stomach fluttered and her heart contracted. Only one other person on the planet stirred her like this and he worked in the mail room.

  “Sophia,” he chided. “How many times have I told you that it’s okay to call me Michael?”

  “I know, sir,” she said, “but
since we haven’t even met face-to-face, I don’t want to be presumptuous.”

  “It would never be presumptuous for you to call me by my first name, and whatever you do, please get rid of the ‘sir.’ It makes me feel like my father.”

  “Yes, sir...er...Michael.”

  “That’s better.”

  Lord, that voice! So firm, so commanding.

  So similar to Mike the mailman.

  That thought gave Sophia pause. Was Mike’s voice the subliminal thing that attracted her to him? Could it be he reminded her of Michael Barrington and that was the explanation for her desire? She certainly hoped so! If that were indeed the case then she had no reason to feel guilty for her response to Mike’s kisses in the car. In essence, she had been responding to Michael’s voice.

  But what about Mike’s lips on hers? His hands in her hair. The smell and taste of him? How could she explain away those things?

  “How’s business this morning?” Michael asked, his voice wrapping around her, tight as a hug.

  Sophia gave him a rundown on the business accounts while her mind whirled. She was caught! Trapped between two lovers. Well, not lovers exactly, but two men who were both becoming increasingly more important to her.

  “Excellent work,” Michael complimented.

  A delicious warmth seeped through Sophia’s body at his praise. “Just doing my job, sir.”

  “What?”

  “Michael.” She smiled into the receiver.

  “Very good.”

  “Old habits die hard,” she confessed.

  “Listen, Sophia,” he said, and she heard a hesitation in his voice. It wasn’t like Michael to hesitate, and for that split second he sounded exactly like Mike the mailman.

  “Yes?” She leaned forward against her desk, trying hard to fight the excitement pushing through her chest.

  “It has come to my attention that I happened to have missed your birthday yesterday.”

  “Oh, I didn’t expect you to remember my birthday.” Sophia leaned back in her chair and ran a hand through her curls. “After all, we’ve only been working together a few months and you’re a very busy man.”

  “Stop making excuses for me, Sophia. I forgot your birthday and that’s inexcusable.”