Falling for the Boss (4 page)

“
I’ll drop you off at your place and pick you up again at six.”

“
I haven’t said I’ll go yet,” Maggie interjected mildly, but with a hint of laughter in her voice.

“
Are you going to refuse?” he asked teasingly. “That will put me in my place.”

Maggie laughed.
“I’m sure you would rather do something other than take one of your employees to dinner.”

He
ignored this attempt to let him off the hook. “You should do that more often, Maggie.”

“Do what?” she asked
in genuine puzzlement.

“Laugh,” he answered
with a grin. “Has no one told you how attractive it is?”

“
No, but I’ll keep that in mind,” was all she could think to say.

W
hen they reached her apartment, he took the key from her hand and unlocked the door before turning to leave, reminding her in a detached voice to be ready at six. As she went into the kitchen to feed Mittens and make herself a drink, Maggie’s thoughts were pensive. Why hadn’t she refused? It would have been the wisest thing to do and was probably what he’d been hoping she would do. She looked down ruefully at the feline sitting patiently at her feet.

“
What’s happening to me, Mittens? I’m not even sure I like him, and yet I agreed to have dinner with him.”

A call from her beautician sent her scurrying out
the door again. Fortunately, the shop was just around the corner from her apartment. Used to a lively interchange of gossip and getting only absentminded answers, the woman cutting Maggie’s hair drew her own conclusions. It was clear that something or someone had shaken the calm of her long-time client. She hoped it was a man – Maggie deserved some fun.

By the time
Maggie was once again stepping through her front door, all the anxieties of an evening spent with her boss had been addressed. There was no need to be nervous as there had been nothing special about his invitation – he was simply at loose end. This was no different than going out with one of her coworkers. And she could make conversation as well as anyone – after all, she did it for a living.

Marcus spent the intervening hours wondering why he
’d issued the invitation to dinner in the first place. There were other ways he could have shown Maggie his appreciation for her assistance. Taking out an employee, especially when she wasn’t pretty or provocative, wasn’t anything about which he could get excited. It would be a dull evening no matter how he looked at it.

Maggie
was ready and waiting in the living room when he arrived. Opening the door, she stepped aside to allow Marcus to enter. For a moment, they stared at each other, and then Maggie moved to close the door. She didn’t often envy others, but she did wish for a moment that she was beautiful enough to do him justice. He was almost too good-looking to be real. When she turned to face him once more, he was smiling faintly.

“
A woman who’s ready when I arrive – is that normal? It certainly hasn’t been my experience.”

“When someone
invites you to dinner, you don’t keep him waiting,” she answered primly.

Marcus laughed lightly.
“You’re too nice for someone like me, Maggie.”

“
I’m certainly not the type of woman with whom you normally spend time.”

He sent her a mockin
g smile that made her wish she’d kept quiet. “As you say, but there’s always a first time.” Mittens chose this moment to make what in her opinion was a stealthy entrance into the room. It fooled no one. “So, you don’t live alone.”

“
Not since Mittens joined me a few months ago. Do you like cats?”

“
Not as much as I like dogs.”

“
Mittens is scared of dogs; she must have been attacked by one. I found her abandoned by the side of the road just a few blocks from here. She was in terrible shape; I never thought she would make it.” Maggie turned away, ashamed of the sudden tears that sprang to her eyes. What was wrong with her?

As he stared at Maggie’s bent head and shaking shoulders,
Marcus felt an unfamiliar sensation sweep over him. Before he could talk himself out of such an uncharacteristically rash move, he was beside her, his hands gently turning her around and drawing her into his arms.

Rather stiffly,
she accepted the proffered shoulder, more ashamed of herself than she could ever remember. She felt Marcus’ hands move lightly down her back and settle at her waist in a way that was oddly comforting. Maggie was in some sense surprised by this. She hadn’t thought of him as possessing great amounts of either sensitivity or understanding.

For his part, Marcus was no less surprised and even more confounded by what was happening. He
stared down at the golden head nestled against his shoulder. One small hand was on his arm, the other pressed against his heart. He felt a stirring deep inside, an inexplicable desire for something that was beyond his reach. Not entirely liking these new feelings, he moved slightly and Maggie drew back immediately. Her eyes never made it further than the top button of his shirt.

“I
’m sorry – I can’t think what came over me. I hope I haven’t made us late.”

Marcus could have told her
that being late was the last thing on his mind at that moment. He was trying to rationalize something he hardly understood. At his continued silence, she raised her eyes, still glistening with tears, to his face. He was unable to drag his own from the soft lips just inches away. There seemed to be only one thing to do.

T
his time there was nothing brief or hurried about the kiss. When he finally released her lips, Maggie opened her eyes and awareness set in. What was she doing? She drew away from Marcus with a speed that brought a wry look to his face, uncomfortably aware that her actions were in direct contrast to her feelings.

“I suppose we should get going,” he
stated with a calmness that belied his true feelings. Walking to the door, he pointedly waited while she made a belated grab for her purse.

Furious with herself
and with Marcus, Maggie preceded him to the car. There seemed to be no words that would make things normal again.

M
arcus would have agreed with her. He was just as upset and with what he felt was far more reason. While appearing to be engrossed in maneuvering through the early evening traffic, he was more disagreeably engaged in trying to figure out what madness had seized him. Maggie wasn’t the type of female he admired (hadn’t she said so herself), and yet he found himself once again in a situation where not only had he kissed her, which was bad enough, but he’d enjoyed doing it.

To make matters worse,
he was breaking his own unwritten rule. Messing around with one’s employees wasn’t good business. Neither was allowing a fleeting pull of attraction toward any one woman worth so much scrutiny. In his experience, those same charms that initially made such an impression usually faded given enough time.

W
ith both of them determined to ignore what had happened, it wasn’t surprising that conversation languished. But such couldn’t be the case for the entire evening. The atmosphere of the restaurant, with its soothing music and aura of normalcy, began to have its affect. By the time the food arrived, the beginnings of a sustainable dialogue had been achieved.

To her surprise,
Maggie was able to shed the reserve that had been her cloak of protection since leaving the apartment. This was aided in large part by the more-than-sufficient charm possessed by her companion. The vivid eyes, their emerald depths all the more fascinating in the dimness of the restaurant, rested on her face with an attentiveness any woman would have found flattering. Marcus had the gift, very useful in his profession, of making one feel you had his complete attention.

M
aggie hadn’t been the only one to notice this particular talent. The waitress serving their table found every excuse possible to linger. But since she couldn’t have been more than eighteen, all her efforts to hold his attention were for naught. By the time she had filled their cups, offered cream and sugar, and ensured that there was nothing further she could do for them, several minutes had passed.

Waiting only
until the girl was out of sight, Maggie threw Marcus a knowing look. “I began to think she would never be able to tear herself away.”

He
didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “She would have left sooner if she’d bothered to glance your way. I thought you were going to start laughing at one point. Doesn’t the foolish girl realize I’m old enough to be her father?”

“
You don’t look very fatherly,” Maggie pointed out.

“
Something you alluded to when we first met.”

“
Oh, that. You weren’t what I was expecting at all.”

He flashed her that boyish smile
, and Maggie tried to withstand its effect with something close to her usual composure. “I know what you were expecting – a grandfather type that you could wrap around your finger.”

A fle
eting smile pulled at her lips. “It would be useless to deny it given my reaction. Tell me how this conference is going to work.”

He accepted her change of topic with a knowing gleam in his eyes.
“I thought a few tours during the day to keep people out of trouble. In the small group sessions in the evenings, I might need your help answering questions.”

“I doubt
it. For an attorney, you know quite a bit about historical buildings.”

Marcus leaned back in his seat, a
mocking grin playing around his mouth. “A doubtful compliment, but I’ll take it. The rest of the days and nights, of course, are yours. You can read in the garden or you can entertain a friend of mine who’s coming into town for a few days, though not for the conference. He’s unattached at the moment and just the type for a weekend fling.”

“
Entertain a friend of yours? Are you serious?” she asked in a voice in which disbelief and laughter were equally mixed.

M
arcus shrugged his shoulders. “I can think of more tedious ways to pass the time. Having a date, albeit a blind one, could add some element of excitement to an event you’re probably not relishing in the first place.”

Maggie
could hardly believe what she was hearing. Was he really trying to set her up with someone? The fact did float through her mind that she might not be so offended if Marcus had suggested himself for this particular role, but that was something to be mulled over another time. Right now she wanted to wipe that smug look off his face.

“
If I need excitement, I can provide my own. I don’t care to be thrown at someone for your convenience.” She hoped to annoy him, but was uncertain of her success. He was too adept at hiding his feelings.

“
My convenience?” he repeated softly. “I did put that badly, didn’t I? I should have just introduced you to him and let nature take its course. Now you’ll avoid him with the same efficiency you apply to everything else.”

“I
’ll treat him exactly like any other guest,” Maggie said with emphasis. “That’s where my interest in him ends.”

This time a look of annoyance did pass over those handsome features, but only momentarily.
“Naturally. I think we can safely dispense with this subject.” Marcus signaled for the waitress with a deliberation that spoke volumes.

D
etermined to get him to speak because he so obviously didn’t want to, Maggie said, “I seem to have made you angry.”

His glance in her direction was wholly amused
and brought the color flaming into her cheeks. “You’re mistaken; I don’t get angry over trivialities. However, one of us is agitated, so I guess we should call it a night.”

Maggie
paced the floor of her living room, her anger over the way the evening had ended making her eyes sparkle. Her first opinion of him had been correct. He was arrogant and managing; too used to getting his own way.

If he only knew how close she
’d been to walking out of the restaurant and refusing to ride home with him. And to think she’d let him kiss her in this very spot not two hours ago. She must have been crazy!

A
good night’s sleep restored Maggie’s distorted view of the previous evening. She never could stay angry with anyone for long; holding a grudge required too much effort. So when she arrived at work the next morning to discover that Marcus had departed an hour earlier on a business trip, she was mildly disappointed.

This disappointment grew as
several long days passed before he returned. And even then she hardly saw him. He was either in court or closeted with someone in his office. It appeared Marcus was every bit as skilled at avoiding someone as he had claimed her to be.

As Maggie
approached Bradford House on the first day of the historical society conference, she realized they hadn’t spoken a word to each other since that fateful evening. Outwardly she was composed; inwardly she was uncertain of how he would behave toward her.