Kate Carlisle – How to Seduce a Billionaire (страница 3)

His body continued to stir to life and he squelched the feeling by slapping the file folder open and riffling through the papers to find the document he needed. It was useless.

“This is unacceptable.” He refused to lose the careful sense of order and decorum he had always maintained in the workplace. The job was too demanding and Kelly was too important a part of his staff to allow her to suddenly become a distraction. Or more aptly, an attraction.

It was time to nip this in the bud. He reached across his desk and pressed the intercom button on his phone. “Kelly, please come in here.”

“Be right there,” she said briskly. Seven seconds later, she walked into his office carrying a notepad.

“Sit down,” he said, standing up to pace some more. He didn’t quite trust himself with taking another glance at her legs. Damn it, this just was not going to work. “We need to talk.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked in alarm.

“Look, we’ve always been honest with each other, haven’t we?”

“Yes,” she said carefully.

“I trust you completely, as you well know.”

“I know, and I feel the same, Brandon.”

“Good,” he said, unsure of his next move. “Good.”

Now what? He’d never been at a loss for words before. He glanced at her, then had to look away. How and when had she become so beautiful? He knew women. He loved women. And they loved him. Some might even say he had a sixth sense when it came to women. So why hadn’t he known Kelly was this attractive? Was he blind?

“Brandon,” she said slowly. “Are you unhappy with my work?”

“What? No.”

“Did Jane do an okay job while I was gone?”

“Yeah, she was fine. That’s not the problem.”

“Oh good, because I would hate to—”

“Look, Kelly,” he interrupted, tired of this cat and mouse game. “Did something happen to you on your vacation?”

She was taken aback. “No, why would you think—”

“Then what’s with this makeover thing?” he blurted out. “Why’d you do it?”

“That’s what you called me in here for?”

“Yeah.” And he wouldn’t go into how ridiculous he felt for bringing it up, but he had to know. “Why do you think you have to get all dolled up to—”

Her eyes narrowed. “All dolled up?”

“Well, yeah. You know, all made up and… hell.”

“There’s something wrong in trying to look my best?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Did I overdo it somehow? I mean, the makeup counter woman showed me what to do, but I’m new at this. I’m still practicing.” She lifted her face to gaze at him and her lips seemed to glisten as they caught the light. “Tell the truth. Is my makeup too much?”

“God, no, it’s just right.” Too damn right, he thought, but didn’t say.

“Now you’re being nice, but I don’t believe you. The way you looked at me when I came in this morning…”

“What? No.” Oh, crap, he thought. She wasn’t going to cry, was she? She’d never cried before.

“I thought I could do it. Other women do it, for heaven’s sake, why shouldn’t I?” She jumped up from the chair. It was her turn to pace as she pounded her fist into her palm. “I thought I was being subtle. Do I look like a fool?”

“No, you—”

“You can be honest.”

“I’m being—”

“This was a crazy idea to begin with,” she muttered and leaned back against the wall with a sigh. “I can figure out complex mathematical calculations in my head, but I don’t know the first thing about seduction.”

Seduction? Something hit him low in the solar plexus and he wasn’t sure of his next move.

“This is so embarrassing,” she moaned.

“No, it’s not,” he said, silently hoping he’d come up with something profound to say. He had nothing.

“What am I supposed to do now? I’ve only got a week left to… oh, God.” She covered her eyes for a moment, then stared up at the ceiling. Finally, she folded her arms across her chest and tapped one toe of her shiny new heels against the carpet. “How could I be so stupid?”

He walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Stop that. You’re one of the smartest people I know.”

She glared up at him, her plump lips pouty now. “Maybe in business, but never in romance.”

Okay, romance and seduction were definitely on her mind. And now he realized they were on his mind, too. The question was, why? In all the years he’d known Kelly, Brandon had never once heard her mention a name connected to any romantic interest. And now, all of a sudden, she was making herself over to attract some guy? Just who was she thinking of seducing? Did Brandon know the guy? Was he good enough for Kelly?

Brandon paused to carefully word his next question. “Who are you trying to seduce?”

Frowning now, she stared at her fingernails. “Roger. My old boyfriend. But I should’ve known it wouldn’t work.”

Roger? Who the hell was Roger? Brandon had to admit that the part of him that should have been relieved to hear she wasn’t out to seduce him was surprisingly disappointed. Not that he would ever allow anything to happen between them. But still, who the hell was she talking about?

“Who’s Roger?” he asked aloud.

“I just told you, he’s my old boyfriend. His name is Roger Hempstead.” She stepped away from Brandon’s grip and moved back to her chair. “We broke up a few years ago and I haven’t seen him since.”

“How long ago did you break up?”

“It’s been almost five years.”

He made a quick calculation. “But that’s about how long you’ve been working here.”

“That’s right.” She leaned one elbow on the armrest and looked up at him with a valiant smile. “After Roger and I broke up, I couldn’t stand living in the same small town where everyone I knew could dissect my every word and movement. I decided to relocate as far away from home as possible, so I looked for jobs in California and found this one.”

“I’m glad you did, but it must’ve been quite a breakup.”

“It wasn’t fun,” she said carefully, “but I’ve moved on.”

“Have you?”

“Yes, of course.” She nodded her head resolutely. “But then, last month I found out that Roger’s company booked their corporate retreat here at the Mansion. He’ll be here next week.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “And I wanted to knock his socks off.”

“Ah, I see.” And he did, sort of. Resting his hip on the edge of his desk, he said, “If it’s any consolation, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll knock his socks off.”

She gazed at him skeptically. “You’re just saying that to be nice.”

“I’m not that nice. Trust me.”

Her lips twisted into a frown. “I do. Usually.”

“I never lie, remember?”

“True, you don’t typically lie. To me, anyway,” she allowed.

He chuckled. “So it’s been about five years since you broke up with this Roger character, and now you want to make an impression.”

She nodded with determination. “I really, really do.”

“You will. I promise.”

“Thanks.” Her brief smile faded. “But I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m fine at business, but the world of romance is beyond me.”