Heated Secrets (Rose Garden Apartments Book 1)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  Heated Secrets

  By Elizabeth Lennox

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  Copyright 2021

  ISBN13: 9781950451425

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any duplication of this material, either electronic or any other format, either currently in use or a future invention, is strictly prohibited, unless you have the direct consent of the author.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from “Whispered Secrets”

  Chapter 1

  The elevator pinged and Lilliane picked up her notebook, mentally bracing herself for the hurricane that was about to emerge.

  Sure enough, Drako Gataki’s six foot, four inch frame burst through the doors.

  “Call Hamilton and let him know that I can’t make the meeting with Severson,” Drako told her, without slowing his stride.

  And the hurricane began, Lilly thought, smothering her amusement.

  Lilly followed him into his elegantly furnished office, ignoring the floor to ceiling windows that allowed a stunning view of Washington, DC. Instead, she focused on the stream of rapid-fire instructions.

  “Get me the file on the Bengari fields and arrange for Simpson to get out there to evaluate them. Tell him that I want a report on my desk by next Monday.” He pulled his coat off and handed it to her, which she draped over her arm. “I’ll need the financials for Beverly Industries prior to my afternoon meeting. Tell Richard that the system for Carrolton isn’t working fast enough. The cargo coming in on the afternoon shipment should be inspected by tonight and out of the warehouses by early morning. The teams will need to work overtime to get it done, since we need the materials at the factories by noon, so authorize overtime for everyone.”

  Lilly didn’t bother to nod, she just wrote down everything he said in the shorthand that she’d developed during her three year tenure as Drako’s executive assistant. It was either create the shorthand or lose her job. And since she loved her job, losing it wasn’t an option.

  Oh, she’d hated it initially. She’d hated him and everything in this building. On her first day at Gataki Industries, she’d been convinced that Drako Gataki was the devil himself.

  Now…?

  “And make sure that you’re ready for the gala tonight. What’s it for again?” he asked, then shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t care what it’s for. Ben is going to be there tonight, with his wife, and I want to talk to him about next month’s board meeting.”

  “Right,” she replied, recognizing the slight pause that meant he was winding down. “The notes for your first meeting are on your desk,” she said, pointing to the file folder.

  With that, she turned on her heel and headed for the door.

  “Lilly!”

  Turning, she cocked an eyebrow. “Yes?” she asked, keeping the sarcasm out of her voice. For now.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Uh oh! Lilly kept her features blank as she stared back at Drako. “Nothing,” she replied. “Except for a demanding boss that just gave me a list of twenty action items?” she teased.

  He didn’t smile, which didn’t bode well for her little secret.

  “What’s wrong?” he repeated.

  She rolled her eyes, hugging the notebook to her chest. “Drako, nothing is wrong. Everything is perfectly fine.”

  His dark eyes pinned her there, standing near his office door. So close to an escape! Unfortunately, not close enough. That horrible trembling, that unwanted, tingling awareness of this man, reared its traitorous head as Drako approached. At only five feet, two inches tall, Lilly felt so small next to him! She wore four inch heels in order to give herself some much needed height, but there was nothing she could do to compete with a man as tall as Drako Gataki. He wasn’t just tall, he was muscular, his features angular, almost sharp. Some people might describe his features as harsh, but Lilly knew the man underneath the angry glares and demands for results. Lilly knew that Drako Gataki was a good man. A powerful one, yes. But underneath all of that urbane elegance, he was raw, powerful, kind, and gentle-hearted. Not to everyone. But to her, he was the epitome of a gentleman.

  Which only made her reactions to this man harder to control!

  “What’s wrong?” he asked again, his deep voice roughly gentle now, almost husky, as he stared into her eyes.

  “Nothing,” she whispered up to him, her neck tilted in order to look him in the eye. When he was this close, it was difficult, but Lilly knew that she had to convince him that she was okay.

  “You’re lying,” he replied. “You only lie when you think you need to protect me.” He took the notebook from her arms, his fingertips brushing her collarbone. “And you only protect me when you think I’m going to get angry.”

  He took her pen next, tossing both onto the low coffee table that Lilly knew had cost more than her annual salary.

  “Tell me what’s wrong, Lilly.” It was an order.

  Lilly breathed in slowly, then shook her head. “No.”

  He laughed softly, a dark eyebrow lifting in reaction. “You know I’ll find out, to mikro mou tolmiros.”

  Lilly had no idea what he’d just said, but it sounded…lovely. Goodness, she loved hearing him speak his native Greek. She’d tried teaching herself some Greek words, but it was a difficult language to learn.

  “I’m fine,” she assured him, then reached for her notebook. But he stopped her, pulling her back up.

  Normally, she loved his touch. Secretly, she craved his touch and adored attending functions with him. She might just be his executive assistant, but Lilly went to all of his social functions, helping him fend off the overly aggressive ladies so that he could conduct business.

  But she couldn’t handle it. Not right now.

  Unfortunately, she couldn’t pull her hand away. He relentlessly pushed her sleeve higher until he revealed the raw, scraped skin underneath.

  “What the hell happened to you?” Drako demanded, staring at the raw scratches and abraded skin.

  Lilly tried to reclaim her arm, but his fingers tightened around her wrist. And since her arm ached from the scrapes, she stopped struggling, accepting that she’d have to admit what had happened to her arm. Or, at least, part of it.

  “I just…scraped my arm this morning, Drako. It’s fine.”

  His lips compressed with displeasure. “You are hurt, Lilliane! This is not ‘fine’!”

  She shrugged and, thankfully, he allowed her to pull her sleeves down, covering the ugly wounds. “While you are in your first meeting, I’ll have time to slip out and get to the drug store for some antiseptic ointment and gauze.”

  His hands fisted on his hips as he glared at her. Leaning forward slightl
y, he looked directly into her eyes. “Are you telling me that you didn’t tend to your wound because you didn’t want to be late for work?”

  Okay, that voice wasn’t deep and sexy, she thought. Now it was deep and scary! His voice was her only warning that she was in big trouble. “Drako, you’re going to be late. And I really need to get something for this.” She carefully touched her sleeve-covered arm, backing up slightly.

  He muttered several expletives under his breath. At least, she suspected that they were bad language. She wasn’t sure since he’d once again spoken in Greek.

  “Come with me,” he snapped and took her hand, practically dragging her out of the office and into the elevator. But she knew what he was trying to do and pulled away.

  “Drako, please!” she hissed, looking around at the others who were now staring curiously at them. “Please don’t do this!” she begged when he stopped. “Just go to your meeting and let me take care of this. You know how much I hate being the center of attention,” she muttered, glancing around at their growing audience. “If you want to help me, let me go get some supplies on my own.”

  Lilly was Drako’s executive assistant, but there were two other administrative assistants who helped Lilly. They reported directly to Lilly and, as their supervisor, she didn’t want to appear weak in front of them. Unfortunately, both were watching them, their mouths hanging open and eyes wide with curiosity.

  Drako frowned down at the top of Lilly’s head, wishing that he could pull her into his arms and hold her. Hell, he wanted to rush her to the emergency room and have these wounds looked at by a professional. But he knew that the scrapes weren’t bad enough to warrant an emergency room visit. It was just…kolasi, it was Lilly! Damn it, he wanted to take care of her!

  But his little tigress wouldn’t allow it. In fact, she wanted to be left alone!

  A year ago, that would have suited him just fine. Until a year ago, Drako had been able to ignore the attraction he’d felt for this tiny slip of a woman with her lushly rounded hips and enticing breasts. She was just so damn beautiful! Every soft, lush curve of her figure made him crazy.

  A year ago, he’d had this under control. A year ago, he’d maintained a professional attitude towards Lillianne Hamilton.

  But a year ago, he’d seen her laughing with another man. It had been just a casual conversation in the executive dining room after a meeting. He’d seen red. After seeing him touch Lilly’s arm, Drako wanted to kill the bastard.

  That’s when he’d known that his interest in the woman was more than just sexual. That interaction, obviously innocent, had warned him that this…thing…was something more. Something powerful.

  And he hated it!

  After Sophia, his wife, passed away, he’d vowed never to love another woman. For years, he’d followed through on that vow. But there was something about Lilly that he couldn’t seem to ignore.

  “Fine!” he snapped. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and looked around, glaring at the few people who dared to meet his gaze, then sighed again. “Fine. I’ll go to the meeting. But you will get this taken care of at once. If you don’t, then I’m taking you to a doctor. Am I clear?”

  “I understand, Your Grouchiness.” She handed him the file he’d ignored moments ago. “Now you’re very late. Being in charge doesn’t give you the right to hold people hostage.”

  He took the folder and leaned in close. “Don’t be impertinent.”

  Those beautiful, green eyes widened in mock seriousness. “Who me? Would I be impertinent?”

  He growled as he headed to his meeting. He had the insane urge to swat her pert bottom, but controlled himself.

  Barely!

  Walking into the conference room, he glanced back to find her watching him. “And when I get back, I want a full accounting of how that happened!”

  With that, he entered the conference room, practically slamming the door behind him. Not because he was angry. But because he heard her soft laughter and he had to put a physical barrier between them to keep from heading straight back to her.

  Damn it, he didn’t want to feel this way towards her…or any woman! Why was it that the woman he depended upon most was the same woman that made his body throb with the urgent need to make love to her?

  After Sophia died, he’d vowed, never again.

  But Lilly was…special.

  He sighed, nodding curtly to one of his directors, cueing him to begin the meeting. Lilly was just special, he told himself. That’s all it was. She was special. She was a damn good assistant and he knew that she was an invaluable employee.

  Chapter 2

  Lilly snipped the last piece of gauze and taped it into place. Feeling better, she pulled her sleeve back down and buttoned it at the wrist. “There! Good as new!”

  “Not even slightly,” Drako snapped as he stepped into her office. “Tell me how you hurt your arm,” he demanded, dropping the file folder from the last meeting onto her desk, and leaning back against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

  Lilly’s mouth opened and closed and, for a moment, her mind blanked. Drako was so incredibly…hot! He was just…gorgeous and sexy and…his presence filled her small office, making her brain fizzle to a halt. Before she could say anything, he shook his head.

  “Don’t even try, Lilly.”

  His deep, sexy voice ripped her out of a fantasy where he pulled her into his arms. Not gonna happen, Lilly reminded herself. She blinked, forcing her mind to function, and leaned back in her leather chair. “Don’t try what?” she asked, suddenly feeling daring and a touch belligerent.

  He laughed softly. “Lilly, you’ve worked for me for how many years now?”

  “Three,” she replied smoothly.

  “And over those years, how many days have you been able to leave here after less than ten hours?”

  She rolled her eyes. “None. You’re a horrible boss who makes me work late.”

  He laughed again. “That’s true enough. But because of the long hours we’ve shared, do you really think that I don’t know you well enough to know when you’re about to lie to me?”

  She gasped and pulled back. “I don’t lie to you!”

  He lifted a dark eyebrow, then waited.

  Lilly shifted in her chair. “Well okay, there was that one time that I said I had a date. But, it doesn’t count. You were being a grouch and I wanted to go home.”

  He waited silently.

  “And that other time when I told you I’d eaten dinner…that doesn’t count either. I wasn’t feeling well.” Deafening silence. “And you thought I should eat lunch!” He kept waiting. “I was sick! I lied so I didn’t have to eat the stupid food!”

  Lilly wanted to throw something at him. “Fine! The truth is my bedroom door got stuck this morning. I had to climb out the window and get my spare key so I could come around to the front and open the door! There!” she snapped. “Are you happy now? Does it really matter how I scraped my arm?”

  He pushed away from the doorway, angrily pacing while muttering those lyrical sounding expletives. Finally, he paused long enough to glare down at her. “You’re finding a new place to live!”

  She opened her mouth to argue, but he literally cut her off, his hand slicing through the air. “No! That place is a death trap. If I have to, I’ll find you a new place myself!”

  Lilly shook her head, smiling calmly. “No, Drako. I’m not moving. I know that there are a few maintenance problems but…” she paused when he shot her a look of utter disbelief. “Okay, there are a lot of maintenance problems. But, I’m not leaving my friends.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Your friends are ancient, Lilly! They need to be in a retirement home!”

  “They’re not that old!” she argued, picking up the file folder he’d dropped on her desk. “My friends are retired, but they are all in very good health. They volunteer at the community center down the street, go walking every day, and…” she struggled, trying to think of other ways that her friends were wo
nderful and vital members of the community. “And they take care of me just as much as I take care of them.” She looked up at him with pride. More gently, she continued, “They are my family, Drako. Mick maintains my car. Every time it needs any sort of work, he’s right there with his tools, fixing it for me. And Eddie needs me. He’s seventy five years old and putting himself through college. Just last night, I helped him with his calculus homework.” She paused and looked up at him, eyes sparkling. “How were the pastries in your last meeting?” she challenged.

  “They were delicious,” he acknowledged easily. “Louise?” he asked, referring to yet another of Lilly’s senior neighbors.

  Lilly’s smile brightened. “Yes. I mentioned that you had an early morning meeting and she hurried into her apartment. By the time I was ready to leave this morning, she’d just taken them out of her oven.”

  “They were incredible,” he grumbled. “But…!”

  “And Nora is Louise’s best friend. They work down at the community center, tutoring students in whatever subject the kids need help with.” She turned, flipping open the file folder to start transcribing the notes he’d taken in the meeting. She barely lifted her eyes as she finished, “So, no. I’m not moving, Drako. They need me and I need them.”

  Drako stared at her profile, noting the soft contours of her cheek, the pert nose, and those full, enticing lips. She was so damn beautiful. And her heart…damn it, her heart was so soft. Were those people taking advantage of her kind heart?

  No, he didn’t think so. He knew that they took care of each other.

  So, if his little tyrant wasn’t going to leave that death trap of an apartment, there was only one thing he could do.

  “Cancel my meetings for the rest of the day,” he announced and turned, ignoring her startled glance as he marched out of the office. He had some things to take care of.

  Chapter 3

  Henry Pulawski jerked out of an alcohol-induced stupor at the pounding on his door. Looking around and smacking his lips together noisily, he dropped his socked feet to the dirty carpet, rubbing a hand over the stubble on his jaw, and tried to ignore the cold sensation of his big toe sticking out through the sock. His beard was a slightly bigger issue at the moment. It had been about a week since he’d shaved. Henry scratched an armpit, impressed at the overwhelming wave of body odor. Scratching at his beard again, he realized that he didn’t give a damn about shaving. Not today, at least. Maybe tomorrow.