Kelly Hunter – Playboy Boss, Live-In Mistress (страница 7)

‘Nice,’ said Sienna, wistfully eyeing the food. ‘Where’s the business hub?’

‘Third floor. The staircase to the left of the atrium just inside the front door will take you straight there.’

Sienna nodded. Inched her way a little closer to the food. ‘Where do you sleep?’

‘Same floor as this, north wing.’ Lex beat her to the food, poured two glasses of iced tea and handed her one. He picked up a chicken and cucumber sandwich triangle—no crusts—and ate it in a couple of bites before washing it down with tea. He had another, then another, then reached for a chocolate with a pistachio nestling on top of it. Would she stay? Would he be able to keep their relationship platonic if she did stay?

He didn’t know.

He still wanted to protect her. Some things never changed. He wanted her to confide in him so that he could fix whatever financial difficulty she was in. She shouldn’t have to give up the curator’s position she loved for an all-hours job where she’d be constantly at someone’s beck and call, even if the pay was better. He couldn’t stand the thought of it.

The only person whose beck and call he wanted her to be at, he realised grimly, was his.

‘Rudy will ask you what you thought of the chocolate, you know,’ he murmured. ‘Try one.’

‘You’re trying to win me over with food,’ she said.

‘Not at all,’ he replied, selecting a dark chocolate truffle and letting the taste of it explode in his mouth. ‘These are good.’

He’d keep.

Sienna ignored the chocolate and reached for a sandwich instead. There was something very virtuous about selecting a chicken and cucumber sandwich in the face of crème brûlée and handmade chocolates. Besides, if she was going to stay here she needed to start building her resistance to items of extreme temptation. Like tempting truffles and ruthless rogues in sexy suits. She needed to start building it now.

‘Rudy knows I’m not much of one for chocolate,’ she said. ‘He won’t mind if I don’t have any. I think it’s good to come to an early understanding about such things, don’t you?’

‘Only if you’re bent on declaring war.’ Lex smiled in a way she was fast coming to learn was his ruthless pirate’s smile. ‘Rule number two for all successful personal assistants is to try and get on with the rest of the staff.’

‘I’ll do my best,’ she murmured. ‘What’s rule number one?’

‘Don’t annoy the boss.’

Ah. Rule number one was the kicker. ‘I’ll work on that too. Speaking of which, when do you want to start work?’

‘That depends on whether you still want to find alternative accommodation. If you do, then we’d better sort something out today.’ He looked at her, his expression watchful, more old Lex than new. It didn’t change her awareness of him one little bit, though. Her awareness was here to stay. All the appearance of the old Lex did was increase her confusion and add mightily to the overall appeal of the new. ‘It’s up to you, Sienna,’ he said quietly. ‘Nothing you don’t want.’

Why-oh-why did he have to play the man of honour now? Why couldn’t he have stayed the raider of hearts and made her decision on whether or not to stay here an easy one? Sienna looked at the food on tap and that glorious view. She thought of that fifty metre commute to work and the money she’d save by not having to pay rent. She thought of how blissfully easy life would be for the next month if only she and Lex could stick to work and friendship and forget all about the sexual curiosity kicking around between them. They’d managed friendship well enough for the past twenty years, hadn’t they? They’d managed it without any romantic inclinations whatsoever, for the most part.

Nothing you don’t want.

Well, she didn’t want to become his latest conquest and that was that. Lex would honour her wishes in that regard; she knew he would. He was honouring them now.

‘I’m prepared to give this place a chance,’ she said awkwardly, and immediately wished she didn’t sound quite so ungrateful. Lex was helping her out by taking her on as his PA. He didn’t have to. He could afford to employ the best, but instead he’d agreed to train her, and he was paying her triple her old wage for the inconvenience. She tried again. ‘You have a beautiful house, Lex, with an amazing guest wing and I appreciate the convenience. I’d like to stay.’

‘Good.’ Lex loaded up a plate with sandwiches, and topped up his tea. ‘Get unpacked. Settle in. Go for a walk. Take a look around the bay. I want you in my office, ready to work, at two o’clock.’

‘Yessir!’

Lex shot her a dark glance.

‘Yessir, Mr Wentworth?’

‘God give me strength,’ he muttered.

‘Well, what do your PAs usually call you?’ she asked him.

‘Lex.’

‘I’ll be there,’ she said. ‘Two o’clock sharp. Ready and willing to learn. You’ll see.’

Sienna went straight to the south wing after Lex headed north with his plate of bounty in hand. She found her luggage in the largest bedroom and, mindful of rule number two, figured she might as well stay there. Rudy didn’t do the full maid-service unpack of feminine fripperies—he’d simply placed the bags by the bed. Sienna made fast work of unpacking, considering her clothes as she went. None of the items she’d brought along were outlandish, but none of them could be classified as elegant professional secretary garb either. If clothes made the man—or at least reminded him what he was supposed to be doing—she needed to go shopping.

She found Rudy in the drawing room, clearing away the remains of the refreshments. ‘You do good sandwiches,’ she said by way of greeting.

‘What about the chocolate?’ he said.

‘That was good too.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘You didn’t have any. No one mentions my sandwiches once they’ve eaten my chocolate.’

‘Good point. Rudy, I have a problem. I need to shop.’

‘For what?’ he said gruffly.

‘A business suit. Dark-rimmed glasses. Possibly sensible shoes, although I may not have the fortitude to carry through on that particular notion.’

He looked at the shoes she was wearing. ‘It’s a wonder you can walk at all.’

‘The shoes are good,’ she said. ‘The shoes are fine. I’ve changed my mind about the shoes. But I still need a suit. Trousers maybe. No-nonsense shirts. Corporate body armour. Do you know of any shops nearby that sell that type of clothing?’

‘Do I look like I frequent women’s clothing stores to you?’

‘No, but you might have a sister who’d know. Or a female friend who walks past a shop just like that every day on her way to work. You won’t know until you ask.’ Sienna smiled winningly and got a glower in reply.

‘Don’t you have other clothes you could wear?’

‘Not if I want a constant visual and tactile reminder of the new corporate PA me—which I do. Today,’ she added when Rudy grunted and headed for the door with plates and jug in hand. She scooped up the mugs, shoved a chocolate in her mouth and followed him to the kitchen. ‘The chocolate is divine,’ she said around a mouthful of it.

‘Try chewing it next time.’

‘I chewed it this time. C’mon, Rudy. I need some local knowledge. Are you sure you don’t know anyone who dresses like Wonder Woman when she’s not out saving the day?’

‘Who?’ he said.

‘What about one who dresses like Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter, before he morphs into Superman?’

He shook his head as if baffled.

‘I need something to remind me that I’m working for Lex now and that I should just do the job he’s paying me to do and not deliberately set out to annoy him,’ she snapped. ‘I want Lex to look at me and see an efficient personal assistant and not his old family friend Sienna. I need a suit! A no-nonsense, focus-on-the-job, don’t-look-at-me-like-that suit.’

‘Have you always been bonkers?’ muttered Rudy. ‘Or is this a recent development?’

Sienna smiled tightly. ‘It’s new.’

‘I’ll make one call,’ he said. ‘If that doesn’t work you’re on your own.’

The call did work, and within two minutes he’d arranged for some woman called Gracie Mae to collect her from the house in ten minutes’ time and take her shopping.

‘That’s Grace to you,’ he said curtly. ‘She’s the publicity officer for the Point Clarence Yacht Club, and mind you show her some respect.’

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