Undressed by the Boss (Mills & Boon By Request) (27 page)

‘You wanted to see me?’

She knew the exact moment he noticed the shoes for he stopped dead in his tracks halfway across the office, his slate gaze riveted to her feet.

‘What the hell are those?’

He pointed to her Jimmy Choos and she wriggled her toes in response.

‘Would you believe I had another shoe crisis on the way in today?’

His gaze snapped up to meet hers, stormy grey warring with cheeky green.

‘No.’

‘Would you believe the dog ate my work shoes?’

‘No.’

‘How about I got held up by the shoe police for wearing low heels and to avoid being arrested I had to wear these?’

‘You’re pushing your luck.’

The corners of his mouth twitched, in total contrast to the frown marring his brow. ‘I told you to wear appropriate footwear today.’

Unable to contain her laughter a second longer, she chuckled and slid the court shoes out of her bag.

‘Relax, Professor, I was just teasing you.’

His lips stilled and his expression darkened. ‘Like last night?’

Surprised he’d brought up the kiss, she perched on the edge of an overstuffed chair and swapped shoes. ‘Don’t sweat it. I hope you didn’t lose any sleep over what happened. I certainly didn’t.’

Checking out her shoes and wrinkling her nose at the come-down in height, she thrust the purple Choos into her bag and looked up at him from beneath her mascara-ed lashes.

‘As sensational as it was and all, it’s not worth worrying about. So, what did you want to see me about?’

Gotcha! She watched male pride war with indignation, knowing he’d be torn between discussing her flattery further and wanting to forget the kiss ever happened. Sadly, it looked as if his common sense kicked in as he walked around his desk and took a seat in an imposing leather chair that looked as uncomfortable as the one she sat on.

‘There’s been a change of plans.’

He picked up a piece of expensive ivory paper that looked suspiciously like her résumé and rattled it in her direction.

‘I know you were going to spend the first few weeks conducting tours in the Australia Gallery and helping out with organising
a few workshops to familiarise yourself with the museum, but I need you to do more.’

The bubble of happiness that sustained her through most days popped as the implication of his words sank in. It had been hard work swotting up on all the info required to take tours of one gallery; imagine how much time she’d have to invest for more. And what with organising paperwork for the lease and completing her latest sculpture … help!

He continued, oblivious to her escalating tension. ‘I think the quickest way to get you up to speed is throw you in the deep end and, what with the flu bug hitting us hard at the moment and staff going down almost daily, I want you to take on the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Centre and the Mind and Body Gallery too.’

Great. She might need this job to secure her own gallery, but what would be the point if she didn’t have any pieces to fill it? She needed time to sculpt, but with swotting up on these new areas of the museum at night she wouldn’t have a free moment.

She’d have to tell him.

But what about her ‘you can trust me, I’ll be the best damn tour guide you’ve ever seen’ spiel she’d given him last night? If she backed down now and said she couldn’t do it would he chalk it up as another mark against her or, worse, fire her?

Clutching her bag to her chest, somewhat comforted by the stab of stiletto through the soft leather, she racked her brain for a quick-fire response. However, before she could come up with anything suitable he handed her a bulging manila folder.

‘Here. I know it’s a lot to take in but I need you up to scratch asap. You’ll find information on those two galleries in here.’

‘When would you like me to start taking tours in the new galleries?’

‘Tomorrow.’

His direct stare unnerved her more than his unreasonable timeframe. For a fairly straightforward ‘what you see is what you get’ type of guy, his eyes glittered with triumph, as if he knew she wasn’t up to her professional promise and had called her on it.

Floundering for something characteristically witty to say and coming up lacking, she gripped her bag tighter and opted for partial honesty.

‘I appreciate your faith in me, but I’m feeling a little overwhelmed, what with getting used to the one gallery, acquainting myself with the layout and staff—’

‘Either you can do it or you can’t.’ He cut her off, his tone razor-sharp and brooking no argument. ‘And if you can’t … well, I guess we’d have to re-evaluate your contract.’

Damn and blast the man! The laid-back, sexy guy from last night had morphed back into the powerful CEO and she didn’t like the change one bit.

As for re-evaluating … no way she’d let that happen. Losing this job wasn’t an option.

‘Of course I can do it.’

Squaring her shoulders, she released her death grip on her bag, knowing she’d have to do some quick thinking to come up with a workable solution to this doozy of a problem. She might have a photographic memory, but cramming in a folder’s worth of tour-guide expertise in one night would be impossible.

Aidan would know it.

With a mental ‘duh’, it hit her. This was a test.

Maybe he really did want to get rid of her and was expecting her to fail spectacularly so he’d have no other option but to fire her?

Well, she had news for him.

She’d faced worse growing up, having to think on her feet to avoid taunts and bullies at every new school, using her brain to outwit and outsmart, learning to distance herself from criticism from teachers and kids who had no idea about her home life.

She’d practised putting on a brave face while she’d hurt on the inside, learned to shield her real emotions behind a confident front and a smart mouth.

But she couldn’t push her luck here. If this was some warped test she had no intention of failing. If it wasn’t, maybe she could buy some time?

With a poised smile far removed from the jumble of nerves tumbling in her belly, she grabbed the manila folder and stuffed it into her bag.

‘I totally understand how tough it is around here at the moment with less staff, but how about you give me a few more days to look over this and I’ll start the new tours next week?’

The tiny crease between his brows had reappeared, doing little to distract from his handsome face. ‘How many days do you need?’

‘How about the rest of the week? That way, I can swot over the weekend too and be up to scratch to wow the masses first thing Monday.’

Sending him her best dazzling smile, she waited for a reaction.

He made her sweat for it, studying her face as if searching for one of his precious old artefacts before allowing his lips to curve into a beguiling smile, the type of smile that could charm the pants off a girl.

If she were prone to that sort of thing.

‘Fine, have it your way.’

‘Great.’ She leaped out of the chair, eager to make her escape while the going was good.

‘For now,’ he added, reasserting his power with the finesse of a businessman used to mixing subtlety with an iron-clad will.

‘Thanks, I’m sure you’ll be impressed.’

She hefted her bag with the ten-ton-tome of information under her arm and sent him a casual wave as she headed for the door, relieved that he’d given her a reprieve. With a little bit of luck—and a lot of hard work—she could juggle her two jobs without letting any balls slip.

‘I already am.’

She turned at the door, the husky timbre of his voice alerting her to the fact that maybe, hopefully, he wasn’t only referring to her work skills.

Sure enough, his gaze slid from her legs upwards and she sent him a coy smile, buoyed by the gleam of male appreciation in those incredibly expressive silver eyes.

They might have dismissed that kiss last night as an aberration, but there was no denying the sizzle of attraction buzzing between them, professionalism or not.

‘I can always slip the other shoes back on if you like?’

‘For a woman perilously close to having me revoke those few extra days’ grace I’ve just given you, you’re mighty sure of yourself,’ he said, grudging admiration in the hint of a smile.

‘I know what I want and I know how to get it.’

She paused, letting her gaze drift to his lips before rising ever so slowly to reconnect with his smoky eyes again. ‘After last night, you of all people should know that.’

Humming Prince’s ‘Kiss’ under her breath, she walked out the door.

* * *

‘Damn and blast it!’

Dorothy sent her a scandalous glance as if she’d just dropped the F bomb. ‘Don’t worry, we’re only a few minutes late.’

Beth practically ran the last few metres to the museum entrance, uncharacteristically grateful she wasn’t wearing her stilettos for once. ‘I know, but I’ve got a teenage school-group tour I have to lead.’

And the boss is tagging along to see how I’m doing.

That thought alone lent her extra speed and she flew through the door and waved to Dorothy over her shoulder. ‘Later, Dot.’

‘Thanks for taking me shoe shopping,’ Dorothy called out, her wistful tone bringing Beth up short.

The young woman was a walking fashion disaster and she couldn’t leave her hanging, not when she’d promised her a makeover to go with her new outfits and shoes.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow and we’ll tee up a time then for your makeover, okay?’

‘Great.’

Dorothy’s beaming smile could’ve lit a path for the space shuttle to follow. ‘I really appreciate what you’re doing for me, Beth. You’re the best.’

Ha! If only Aidan thought so too.

Waving, Beth dashed into the Mind and Body Gallery, tugging down her blazer with one hand while tucking a stray strand of hair back into the loose French twist at the nape of her neck with the other.

She didn’t know what was more annoying, the way the chartreuse jacket edged in ecru kept riding up over her hips or the headache that came with wearing her hair confined in a knot for a touch of added professionalism today. With Aidan watching her every move during her first tour in this new
gallery, she had to look the part even if she felt like the least qualified person on the planet to conduct it.

Please let him be late, she thought, her gaze darting around the room while she simultaneously managed a confident smile at the biology students waiting for her.

While the kids crowded around her, thrusting their hands in the air and firing questions before she’d even started, her gaze collided with a cool grey one at the back of the group, disapproval clear in its depths.

Great. Looked like the punctuality professor had already chalked up another black mark next to her name.

Determined to ignore him, she focussed all her attention on the kids, who proceeded to make the next hour the most tedious, harassed, nightmarish sixty minutes of her entire life.

They hassled her.

They laughed at her.

One of the guys had the audacity to lay a hand on her butt as he pretended to jostle for a front position in the group.

If Aidan hadn’t been around she might’ve been tempted to do something very unprofessional—such as replace the human brain model with the real thing from that hormonal little creep—but as it was she grinned, she extolled the virtues of the human body and answered questions as best she could.

Which obviously wasn’t good enough considering Aidan summoned her to his office when the tour ended. He didn’t even have the decency to give her time for a recovery coffee.

‘I’ll see you in ten minutes,’ he said, tapping his watch as if she didn’t know what it was or couldn’t tell the time—okay, so he had a point there considering she’d been late several times—frown in place, not a glimmer of a smile.

She nodded, too tired to respond, too despondent to fire back a witty quip.

This was it. Her best wasn’t good enough.

And as she trudged the long corridor like a recalcitrant kid summoned to the principal’s office, she couldn’t think of one damn thing to do about it.

Pulling up outside Aidan’s door, she knocked sharply, all business and no play, the exact opposite of her visit to his inner sanctum last week.

However, while she trembled inside, she wouldn’t let it show. Brave front at all costs. It was a motto she lived by, a motto tried and tested many times with her dad as he’d shut the door on her needs time and time again.

Now, like then, she wouldn’t let her nerves get the better of her, wouldn’t let it rattle her.

Brave front, brave front, she mentally recited and at Aidan’s barked, ‘Come in,’ she took a deep breath, entered the room and stalked to his desk, shoulders squared and on the defensive.

‘What did you think of the tour?’

Admiration shot through Aidan as he stared at the pink-cheeked, unusually subdued woman standing before him.

She should be quaking in her boots right now, but, apart from the faint blush staining her cheeks and the rigid posture, Beth showed little sign of being flustered.

He had a feeling what he was about to say would change all that.

‘Take a seat.’

He waved towards the chair opposite, not surprised she sat quickly. For once he had Miss Fancy Feet on the back foot, no pun intended, and, rather than feeling good about it, he hated that she saw him as some bossy ogre.

Though maybe it was a good thing having her stare at him with wariness rather than her usual sassy sparkle. It was hard enough having her work here every day, bouncing around the place with a sunny smile on her face, without dragging her into this office with work the furthest thing from his mind. At least this way he got to play the big, bad boss and she’d maintain a circumspect distance. He hoped.

‘Let’s discuss your skills as a tour guide, shall we?’

Just mentioning the tour had him thinking icebergs and blizzards and anything frigid, for it had taken all his will-power not to haul her out of that tour and into the nearest janitor’s closet to have his wicked way with her. She’d been bold and sweet and oh-so-sexy and he couldn’t stand this tension much longer.

She didn’t blink or flinch or fiddle and his admiration went up another notch.