Her Millionaire Boss

by Jennie Adams

  The heartache of Nate’s rejection was enough. Worry about him pushed her emotions over the edge. Despite her effort to hold them back, tears smarted against her eyelids. Two stinging, hot drops spilled over.

  ‘Hey, now.’ Joe pulled a face, and wiped the tears from beneath her eyes with his fingertips. ‘Tell you what. Let’s go back to my place. We can make cocoa and talk. I can cancel my other arrangements.’

  ‘Thanks, Joe, but I’ll pass on the cocoa this time. I think I just want to be alone.’ She leaned into his hug. Wrapped her arms around his middle, and pressed her face against his silk shirt. ‘You’re the best, though. I’ve decided you can have my share of Gertie when I die.’

  ‘Gee, thanks.’ He gave her a squeeze back. ‘If you’re sure you don’t want me to stick around?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Then I guess I’d best get going. Let’s get you that taxi, all right?’

  ‘Sure.’ She mumbled it into his chest and wondered why it was that only Nate’s chest made her want to explode with longing.

  Well, Joe didn’t really count. And she hadn’t exactly tried out any other men since she told Nate she reciprocated his attitude and didn’t want him, either.

  It wouldn’t matter how many chests you snuggled up to. You only want Nate. At least be honest enough to admit it.

  ‘Do you know, Joe?’ She mumbled into his shirt. ‘Honesty sucks. Especially when you’re being honest with yourself.’

  ‘How touching. I’m relieved to see you aren’t letting the grass grow under your feet, Christianna.’ The arctic voice brought her head up.

  Nate. Safe. Furious. Here in front of her right now. But not hers. Never hers. Her heart cried against that knowledge.

  Tears smarted again. She swallowed them down and looked around her, half-afraid that someone would leap from the crowd and attack Nate this instant.

  Joe dropped his arm, and she stepped away. ‘Nate, what are you doing here?’

  ‘We have to talk.’ His grating tone, the look in his eyes and the tightness of his facial muscles finally penetrated beyond her fear.

  He was jealous. Even as hope soared, she reminded herself it wasn’t exactly complimentary that Nate assumed she had walked straight out of his arms into someone else’s. Forget hoping, anyway. She mustn’t let her heart go off on any more self-defeating tangents.

  Joe took a step forward, the muscles honed from working on cars tensed beneath his clothes. ‘I don’t like the tone you just used with my friend.’

  Chrissy wasn’t sure Nate even heard.

  Instead, his gaze raked her from head to foot, taking in the clingy silver gown with the keyhole cut that revealed her navel. Finally his gaze came to rest on her eyes—sans glasses, because Joe knew they were mostly for show and had begged her not to wear them.

  The chilly air made itself belatedly known, and she shivered and hugged her arms around her middle.

  For a moment she thought dark desire flared in Nate’s eyes, but then he simply looked angry again. ‘I’ll take you home.’

  In other circumstances, she would have refused. After all, she was out with someone else, even if that someone was only a friend.

  Nate didn’t know that, yet he acted as though he had the right to come and haul her away like some protective parent or something.

  One thing stopped her from venting her spleen at him. She had to tell him what had just happened. ‘Yes. Let’s go.’ The grittiness of her tone couldn’t be helped. That was what happened when anger and heartache and a dozen other emotions warred inside a person. ‘I need to talk to you, too.’

  She turned to Joe. Tried to smile. ‘This is important, Joe. You go on.’

  Joe hesitated, looking from one to the other of them, then eventually nodded. He handed her coat to her and walked away.

  Then it was just her and Nate, and she wanted him away from this crowded place where threat had come so swiftly and silently. She wanted him, period, but that was a separate heartache.

  ‘Put your coat on before you freeze to death.’ On that grumpy instruction, Nate plucked the coat from her hands and held it open.

  After a slight hesitation, she slipped her arms into the sleeves. It would be pointless to catch a chill just because Nate sounded cross and bossy. One of them behaving in a juvenile manner was enough!

  Then Nate closed his eyes and breathed deeply as they stood close together, and she forgave him for his grumpiness. Didn’t she want to be near him just as much? Even after the harsh words that had passed between them.

  I don’t want to be your enemy, Nate, but I don’t believe I can be only your friend, either.

  He clamped his jaw and stepped back. ‘Sorry. It’s difficult for me to be near you….’ He trailed to a stop as though only just realising what he had said. Cleared his throat. ‘The car’s this way.’

  If he hadn’t breathed her in as though he had been starved for her and admitted his need for her, she might have been able to hold out.

  Instead, her defences began to crack. She had no control over the reaction whatsoever.

  When they climbed into his car and he began the journey toward her apartment, she struggled to break the silence. But words stuck in her throat. She wasn’t sure she could speak rationally, without those cracks in her defences breaking her completely apart.

  He still doesn’t want you. Not permanently. And a fling was not enough. She acknowledged that now.

  They stopped outside her home. She finally spoke. ‘Someone threatened you…’

  ‘What’s going on, Chrissy? I find you with some guy and you’re scared out of your wits.’ Confusion and leashed anger warred in his tone. ‘A part of me wants to pulverise him on your behalf, but something else is warning me if I did that, I’d be making a mistake.’

  ‘You would be. Joe’s a neighbour and a friend.’

  ‘More than a friend?’ His tone was silky. Soft. Yet she sensed the steel beneath.

  ‘A very good platonic friend. I’ve known him since I was in high school. He had nothing to do with what scared me.’

  ‘Are you telling me the truth?’ Nate stopped. Shook his head. Started again. ‘If it wasn’t your friend Joe who frightened you, then what happened?’

  ‘Joe excused himself for a moment after the show.’ She forced back a shudder. ‘While I was waiting for him, a man came up to me. He knew me by name and told me to make sure you keep your nose out of things at the docks otherwise you might end up…dead.’

  She hated to even say the word. How could she bear it if something happened to Nate? ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but you have to promise me you’ll stay away from the docks. Don’t ever go there.’

  ‘It must be the investigation.’ He growled the words out, then swore fluently. ‘We must be close to figuring out what’s going on.’

  ‘Who must be? What are you talking about?’ She wanted his assurance that he would keep safe. She wanted to shake him, damn it, then hold him close and make him promise to be OK.

  So much for forgetting him and getting on with her life—even if he was still working with her on a daily basis!

  ‘Those phone discussions with the head of our stevedore company…’ He seemed to hesitate, then sighed and went on. ‘The stevedore—Rick Johnson—has picked up oddities in some of our dealings with his company. Although very minor, those things have added up enough to raise his suspicions.’

  ‘And you decided to investigate on the strength of that?’ She didn’t mean to sound disbelieving, but it seemed overly cautious. ‘What if it’s just his imagination?’

  ‘As well as the stevedore’s concerns, I’ve discovered accounting discrepancies within Montbank’s.’ His frustration coloured his tone. ‘It’s fair to assume the two things could be linked. That’s the reason for putting investigators on to the situation at the docks, as well.’

  ‘And within the office? Where exactly have you discovered these problems?’

  Nate was silent for a long moment. When he spo
ke his tone was restrained, almost apologetic. ‘The problems appear to be generating from within Henry’s offices.’

  ‘But that would mean…’ It would mean that either she or Henry were committing crimes against the company.

  Obviously Henry wouldn’t sabotage his own company. That left her, and suddenly the night she had taken Henry’s crossword puzzle home came back to her in clear, sharp detail. ‘You thought I—’

  ‘No.’ His denial was loud in the stillness of the car’s interior. He lowered his voice. ‘No. I needed an explanation for something that looked odd. You gave it. End of story.’

  She searched his face. Believed him, but still needed answers. ‘Then what’s happening? Why is all this going on?’

  I’m scared, Nate. I’m scared for your safety.

  He reached for her, tugged her around until she faced him then searched her eyes with a narrowed gaze. ‘Whatever’s going on, I intend to get to the bottom of it. Tell me everything you can about the man who spoke to you tonight. Maybe there’s a clue there somewhere.’

  She recounted the warning as exactly as she could remember it. Described the man as best she could. It wasn’t enough. She knew it, but it was all she had to offer. ‘What will you do about this? Watching your back isn’t going to be enough, is it?’

  ‘It might have been an empty threat.’ Nate said it, but didn’t for a moment believe it. Someone had tracked Chrissy down to give her that warning. Why bother, if they meant no harm?

  ‘Aside from your escort, who knew where you were going tonight?’

  ‘Nobody. It was a last-minute thing. I bumped into Joe, he had tickets to a cabaret and nobody to go with. Bella was out. Soph had her head in the kitchen sink performing some sort of hair art I don’t really want to think about.’ Her eyes widened. ‘You don’t think they’re in danger, too, do you? That man knew who I was.’

  Nate watched the realisation crash over her that there was only one way the man had known where to find her tonight. ‘He followed me. He followed me from here!’

  ‘It’s the most likely answer.’ And what Nate wanted to do, in truth, was gather Chrissy and her sisters and take them all somewhere safe until he’d sorted this out. ‘The threat was given to you, but it was against me.

  ‘If I back off with things at the docks, or at least make it look as though I have, you should be safe. I don’t think they’d care less about your sisters. But I won’t take any chances, Chrissy, and you mustn’t either.’

  Keeping her safe was the only thing that mattered. ‘I’ll take you up to the apartment. If your sisters are home, I want to talk to them, too. If not, I’ll stay until they get there.’

  ‘Yes.’ She gave a delicate shudder and reached for the door handle. ‘Let’s go up. Quickly.’

  Hustling her up the stairs to her apartment was an excuse to wrap his arm around her back, to tug her against his side where he wanted her to be.

  The apartment was silent, just a single lamp burning on an end table beside the sofa.

  ‘I’ll check the bedrooms,’ Chrissy whispered, ‘but I can tell they’re not home.’

  When she headed for the small hallway, Nate was before her. ‘Why don’t I check, first?’

  Why don’t you remain in the living area, where I know you’re safe from possible harm?

  Her hand rose to grip the back of his coat at the waist. He could feel her body heat as she pressed close behind him.

  Her voice dropped to a lower whisper. ‘We’ll go together.’

  They checked the small bathroom, then a room that, by the array of exotic-looking clothing strewn around, had to be Bella’s.

  Next came the second bedroom. It was larger, and was clearly shared by Chrissy and Sophia. The room was empty. The apartment was secure.

  Nate’s gaze honed in immediately on the arty prints on the left-hand wall. The chimes dangling from the ceiling.

  Then moved to the bed nearest those things. His jaw locked. Words forced themselves through lips that did their best to keep them in, and failed. ‘This is your bed?’

  He spotted a row of indoor plants in varying degrees of demise in a planter on the window sill and suppressed a smile. Why didn’t she simply give up trying?

  Because then she wouldn’t be Chrissy.

  ‘Yes.’ She cleared her throat, her gaze darting anywhere but at him. ‘Um. Soph and I share. Neither of us snore, or, um, or anything.’

  Her blush was beautiful. If he didn’t want her so much, he might tempt fate and try to steal a kiss. He settled for a smile as he watched her fidget.

  ‘I’ll get us some coffee or something.’ Before he could stop her she had unbuttoned the coat, slid out of it and dropped it carelessly onto the bed.

  The dress had blind-sided him the first time. When he saw her in Joe’s arms, wearing the slinky outfit, desire and jealousy had almost struck him down. The guy is a friend. Just that.

  Now all Nate wanted to do was look at her. Then take the dress off her so he could enjoy the pure perfection of her without any adornment at all.

  He clenched his fists, but when she turned to the door his arm snaked out. Gripped the soft flesh of her upper arm. It was a small step from there to tug her against his chest. He didn’t do it, but with a sigh he cupped the back of her neck.

  Such a delicate neck, fine-boned and slender. ‘Tell me that dress is borrowed from one of your sisters and I’ll never see you in it again.’

  ‘You don’t like it?’ She drew back against his hold. Seemed as though his opinion of the dress might actually matter to her.

  And he, fool that he was, raised his gaze and let it lock with hers so she could see for herself what he thought of her dress. ‘I like it. Enough that I want to stroke my fingers over it and feel the way it moulds to your shape.’ His tone deepened. ‘Enough to take it off you if I’m still looking at it ten seconds from now.’

  ‘We decided…’ Her lips mouthed resistance. The fire in her eyes belied it.

  ‘Yeah. We did.’ Right now he wasn’t quite sure why they had decided to stay away from each other. But the tense, wary expression in her eyes helped him to back off. She was confused right now. So was he. And they had other things to worry about. Now wasn’t the right time for this. ‘I’ll start the coffee while you change clothes.’

  She closed the bedroom door after him. When she joined him minutes later, she had pulled on dark green trousers and a fluffy matching jumper, both of which hugged her like a second skin.

  ‘At least you’ll be warm.’ His muttered words earned him a raised eyebrow before she fell on the coffee, wrapping both hands around the mug while she inhaled the fragrance.

  ‘I see you found the coffee plunger.’

  ‘Yeah.’ He took a draught of his own drink, but his mind was elsewhere. Several elsewheres, actually, and that was not a good thing. They had a problem, and they needed to focus on it alone.

  She seemed to realise it, too, and lowered her mug from her mouth, before gesturing to her left. ‘Let’s go into the living room. I’d like to ask you some questions, now that I’ve had a moment to get my bearings.’

  She headed for one of the roomy wing chairs. Nate settled on the sofa and tried not to think of kissing her.

  ‘Will you contact the police? Remove your investigators from the docks?’ After another swallow of coffee, she set the mug on the low table and focused her attention very directly on him. ‘How do we handle this to make sure everyone stays safe, whilst ensuring we still get to the bottom of what’s happening?’

  They were his questions, too, and the answers were limited. ‘I’ve left messages for both investigators to call me urgently. I want them off the docks investigation.’

  ‘That’s good. It will protect them.’ She bobbed her head in approval.

  He could only be grateful that her hair was still firmly secured on her head. If she had let it down when she’d changed clothes, he doubted his self-restraint would have made it past Here’s your coffee. ‘I’ll let Rick Joh
nson know what’s happened, and that the investigators won’t be back.’

  ‘What happens then?’ She tucked one leg under her in the comfy chair, leaned both arms on the padded side and set her chin on her hands. Her gaze was direct. Trusting. Confident that he would have the right answers. ‘It’s all the more important now for us to find out what’s going on. You won’t really be safe until we do.’

  He wouldn’t be safe? What about her? Her concern for his safety moved him. He set his cup down with extra care, and told himself it was not necessary to lift her from the chair into his arms, stride the length of that small hallway and love her in that girlish bed until they were both senseless. ‘I’m more concerned about keeping you safe.’

  ‘Why did you turn up tonight? Outside the cabaret?’ Her brows knitted. ‘It wasn’t a coincidence, was it? You sought me out. How? Why?’

  ‘I went to see Henry tonight.’ Your sister told me you were out on a date and I wanted to pulverise that date, so I simply went after you. ‘Henry’s happy to be at home, looks like hell and is upset that Margaret’s taken off again.’

  She didn’t speak. Just waited.

  He went on. ‘I wanted to tell you that I broached the topic of replacing him permanently.’

  The look of tenderness changed to one of remembered irritation. ‘I don’t know why you keep insisting—’

  ‘Yes, you do.’ He climbed from his chair. Faced her across the small expanse of living room until she, too, got to her feet.

  She glared at him.

  Ah, Chrissy. Accept it. ‘You do know why I keep insisting. Henry either slows up and has a hope of maintaining some sort of quality of life, or he goes back to heading up the company full-time in the same active role, and three, six, twelve months later we could well be planning his funeral instead of his retirement.’

  The harsh words made her face pale. Then her mouth trembled. She bit her lip and for long, long moments her gaze searched his. A sigh poured from her. An aching, reluctant sound of acceptance that gave him no pleasure whatsoever. ‘I’ve been in denial.’

  ‘You just wanted him to be able to be his old self.’ Nate wanted it, too. Wanted a way out from all the complications inherent in what had happened to Henry.