Читать книгу: «The Secretary's Secret»

The Secretary’s Secret
Michelle Celmer

www.millsandboon.co.uk

This book is in honor of the dedicated volunteers at Regap of Michigan (Retired Greyhounds as Pets), www.rescuedgreyhound.org.

It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of something so special

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

Coming Next Month

One

Nick Bateman lay in bed in the honeymoon suite of the hotel, pretending to be asleep, wondering what the hell he’d just done.

Instead of spending his wedding night with the woman who was supposed to be his new wife—the one he’d left at the altar halfway through their vows—he’d slept with Zoë, his office manager.

He would have liked to blame the champagne for what had happened, but two shared bottles wasn’t exactly enough to get him rip roaring drunk. He’d been too intoxicated to drive, no question, but sober enough to know it was a really bad idea to sleep with an employee.

And even worse, he considered Zoë one of his best friends.

He rubbed a hand across the opposite side of the mattress and could feel lingering traces of heat. The scent of sex and pheromones and her spicy perfume clung to his skin and the sheets.

He heard a thump and a softly muttered curse from somewhere across the room. She had been slinking through the darkness for several minutes now, probably looking for her clothes.

His only excuse for what he’d let happen, even if it was a lame one, was that on the night of his failed wedding he’d been discouraged and depressed and obviously not thinking straight.

Instead of saying I do, he’d said I don’t and skipped out on his fiancée. His second, in fact. Could he help it if it had only occurred to him just then the terrible mistake he was making? That his desire for a wife and family was clouding his judgment? That after a month of courtship he barely knew the woman standing beside him, and she was in fact—as his friends had tried to warn him—only after his money.

What a nightmare.

He would never forget the look of stunned indignation on Lynn’s face when, halfway through their vows, he had turned to her and said, “I’m sorry, I can’t do this.” He could still feel the sting of her fist where it had connected solidly with his jaw.

He’d deserved it. Despite being a lying, bloodsucking vampire, she didn’t deserve to be humiliated that way. Why was it that he couldn’t seem to find the right woman? It had been five years since he decided he was ready to settle down. He’d figured by now he would be happily married with at least one baby and another on the way.

Nothing in his life was going the way it was supposed to. The way he’d planned.

After the abrupt end of the service, Zoë had driven him to the hotel where the honeymoon suite awaited and the champagne was already chilling. He’d been in no mood to drink alone, so he’d invited her in. She’d ordered room service—even though he hadn’t been particularly hungry—and made him an ice pack for his jaw.

She always took care of him. And damn, had she taken care of him last night.

He wasn’t even sure how it started. One minute they were sitting there talking, then she gave him this look, and the next thing he knew his tongue was in her mouth and they were tearing each other’s clothes off.

Her mouth had been so hot and sweet, her body soft and warm and responsive. And the sex? It had been freaking fantastic. He’d never been with a woman quite so…vocal in bed. He’d never once had to guess what she wanted because she wasn’t shy about asking.

God, he’d really slept with Zoë.

It’s not that he’d never looked at her in a sexual way. He’d always been attracted to her. She wasn’t the kind of woman who hypnotized a man with her dazzling good looks—not that she wasn’t pretty—but Zoë’s beauty was subtle. It came from the inside, from her quirky personality and strength.

But there were some lines you just didn’t cross. The quickest way for a man to ruin a friendship with a woman was to have sex with her.

He knew this from experience.

Thankfully, he hadn’t done irrevocable damage. As much as he wanted a family, Zoë wanted to stay single and childless just as badly. Unlike other female employees he’d made the mistake of sleeping with—back when he was still young, arrogant and monumentally stupid—she wouldn’t expect or want a commitment.

Which was a good thing, right?

There was another thump, and what sounded like a gasp of pain, right beside the bed this time. He had two choices, he could continue to pretend he was asleep and let her stumble around in the dark, or he could face what they had done.

He reached over and switched on the lamp, squinting against the sudden bright light, both surprised and pleased to find a completely bare, shapely rear end not twelve inches from his face.

Zoë Simmons let out a shriek and swung around, blinking against the harsh light, clutching her crumpled dress to her bare breasts. This was like the dream she frequently had where she was walking through the grocery store naked. Only this was worse, because she was awake.

And honestly, right now, she would rather be caught naked in a room full of strangers than with Nick.

“You scared me,” she admonished. So much for sneaking out before he woke up. Call her a chicken, but she hadn’t been ready to face what they’d done. How many times they had done it.

How many different positions they had done it in…

The bed was in shambles and there were discarded condom wrappers on the bedside table and floor. She winced when she thought of the way they’d touched each other, the places they had touched. How incredibly, shockingly, mind-meltingly fantastic it had been.

And how it could never, ever happen again.

“Going somewhere?” he asked.

“’Fraid so.”

He looked over at the digital clock beside the bed. “It’s the middle of the night.”

Exactly.

“I thought it would be best if I leave.” But God help her, he wasn’t making it easy. He sat there naked from the waist up, looking like a Greek god, a picture of bulging muscle and golden skin, and all she wanted to do was climb back into bed with him.

No. Bad Zoë.

This had to end, and it had to end now.

She edged toward the bathroom, snagging her purse from the floor. “I’m going to go get dressed, then we’ll…talk.”

She backed into the bathroom, his eyes never leaving her face. She shut and locked the door, then switched on the light, saw her reflection and let out a sound that ranked somewhere between a horrified gasp and a gurgle of surprise.

Just when she thought this night couldn’t get any worse.

Her hair was smashed flat on one side of her head and sticking up on the other, last night’s eyeliner was smeared under her red, puffy eyes, and she had pillow indentations all over her left cheek. Unlike Nick who woke up looking like a Playgirl centerfold. It’s a miracle he hadn’t run screaming from the room when he saw her.

Had there been a window in the bathroom, she would have climbed through it.

She splashed water on her face, used a tissue to wipe away the smudges under her eyes, then dug through her purse for a hair band. Finger combing her hair with damp hands, she pulled it taut and fastened it into a ponytail. She had no clue where her bra and panties had disappeared to, and there was no way in hell she was going to go hunting for them. She would just have to go commando until she got home.

She tugged on her battered dress, smoothing out the wrinkles as best she could. In his haste to undress her, Nick had torn one of the spaghetti straps loose. One side of the bodice hung dangerously low. The form-fitting silk skirt was still a little damp and stained from the glass of champagne she’d spilled on herself.

It was the dress she’d worn to both of Nick’s weddings. It looked as if maybe it was time to retire it.

Or incinerate it.

Zoë studied her reflection, hiking the bodice up over her half exposed breast. Not great, but passable. Maybe everyone wouldn’t look at her and automatically think, tramp, as she traipsed through the five-star hotel lobby. Not that she would run into too many people at three-thirty in the morning.

She heard movement from the other room, and fearing she would catch him as naked and exposed as he had caught her—she cringed at the thought of her big rear end in his face when he turned the light on—she called, “I’m coming out now!”

When he didn’t respond, she unlocked the door and edged it open, peeking out. He sat on the bed wearing only the slacks from last night, his chest bare.

And boy what a chest it was. It’s not as if she’d never seen it before. But after touching it…and oh my, was that a bite mark on his left shoulder? She also seemed to recall giving him a hickey somewhere south of his belt, not to mention the other things she’d done with her mouth…

Shame seared her inside and out. What had they done?

As she stepped toward him, she noticed the gaping hole in the front of his pants. She was about to point out that the barn door was open, then remembered that in her haste to get his slacks off last night, she’d broken the zipper. They’d torn at each other’s clothes, unable to get naked fast enough, as if they’d been working up to that moment for ten long years and couldn’t bear to wait a second longer. She would never forget the way he’d plunged inside her, hard and fast and deep. The way she’d wrapped her legs around his hips and ground herself against him, how she’d moaned and begged for more…

Oh God, what had they done?

She clutched her purse to her chest, searching the floor for her shoes. She needed to get out of there pronto, before she did something even stupider, like whip her dress off and jump him.

“I think these belong to you.” Nick was holding up her black lace bra and matching thong. “I found them under the covers.”

Swell.

“Thanks.” She snatched them from him and stuffed both in her tiny purse.

“Should we talk about this?” he asked.

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather leave and pretend it never happened.”

He raked a hand through his short blue-black hair. Thick dark stubble shadowed his jaw, which explained the chafing on her inner thighs.

“That is one way to handle it,” he said, sounding almost disappointed.

He had to know as well as she did that this was a fluke. It never should have happened. And it sure as hell would never, ever happen again.

Not that he was a bad guy. Nick was rich, gorgeous and genuinely nice—and okay, a touch stubborn and overbearing at times. And there were occasional moments when she wanted to smack him upside the head. But he was sweet when he wanted to be and generous to a fault.

How he hadn’t found the right woman yet, she would never understand. Maybe he was just trying too hard. Either that or he had really bad luck. When it came to finding the wrong woman, he was like a magnet.

Personally, she liked her life just the way it was. No commitments. No accountability to anyone but herself and Dexter, her cat. She’d already done the mommy-caregiver gig back home. While both her parents worked full time jobs she’d been responsible for her eight younger brothers and sisters. All Nick had talked about during the past five years was marrying Susie homemaker and having a brood of children. The closest she was going to get to a diaper was in the grocery store, and that was only because it was across the aisle from the cat food.

The day Zoë turned eighteen she’d run like hell, clear across Michigan, from Petoskey to Detroit. And if it hadn’t been for Nick, she wouldn’t have lasted a month on her own. Despite having just started his construction company, or maybe because of it, he hadn’t fired her when he found out she’d lied on her application about having office experience.

The truth was, she couldn’t even type and her phone skills were questionable. Instead of kicking her out the door, which she admittedly deserved, his alpha male gene had gone into overdrive and he’d set out to save her. He’d helped put her through college, trained her in the business—in life. She’d been more than a tad sheltered and naïve.

To this day Zoë didn’t know why he’d been so good to her, why he’d taken her under his wing. When they met, something just clicked.

And, in turn, Zoë had been Nick’s only family. The only person he could depend on. He never seemed to expect or want more than that.

No way she would throw it all away on one stupid lapse in judgment, because the truth of the matter was, in a relationship, they wouldn’t last. They were too different.

They would kill each other the first week.

“We’ve obviously made a big mistake,” she said. She spotted her brand new Jimmy Choo pumps peeking out from under the bed. She used her big toe to drag them out and shoved her feet in. “We’ve known each other a long time. I’d hate to see our friendship, our working relationship, screwed up because of this.”

“That would suck,” he agreed. He sure was taking this well. Not that she’d expected him to be upset. But he didn’t have to be so…agreeable. He could at least pretend he was sorry it wouldn’t happen again.

She hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “I’m going to go now.”

He pulled himself to his feet. She was wearing three-inch heels and he was still a head taller. “I’ll drive you home.”

She held up a hand to stop him. “No, no. That’s not necessary. I’ll call a cab.”

He looked down at the clock. “It’s after three.”

All the more reason not to let him drive her home. In the middle of the night she felt less…accountable. What if, when they got there, she invited him in? She didn’t want him getting the wrong idea, and she wasn’t sure if she could trust herself.

Astonishing what a night of incredible sex could do to cloud a girl’s judgment. “I’d really rather you didn’t. I’ll be fine, honest.”

“Then take my truck,” he said, taking her hand and pressing his keys into it. “I’ll catch a cab in the morning.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

He gestured toward the bedroom door and followed her into the dark sitting room. When they got to the door she turned to face him. The light from the bedroom illuminated the right side of his face. The side with the dimple.

But he wasn’t smiling. He looked almost sad.

Well, duh, he’d just split up with his fiancée. Of course he was sad.

“I’m really sorry about what happened with Lynn. You’ll meet someone else, I promise.” Someone unlike fiancée number one, who informed him on their wedding day that she’d decided to put off having kids for ten years so she could focus on her career. Or fiancée number two who’d been a real prize. Lynn had obviously been after Nick’s money, but he’d been so desperate to satisfy his driving need to procreate, he’d been blind to what he was getting himself into. Thank goodness he’d come to his senses, let himself see her for what she was.

“I know I will,” he said.

“This probably goes without saying, but it would be best if we kept what happened to ourselves. Things could get weird around the office if anyone found out.”

“Okay,” he agreed. “Not a word.”

Huh. That was easy.

Almost too easy.

“Well, I should go.” She hooked her purse over her shoulder and reached for the doorknob. “I guess I’ll see you at work Monday.”

He leaned forward and propped a hand above her head on the door, so she couldn’t pull it open. “Since this isn’t going to happen again, how about one last kiss?”

Oh no, bad idea. Nick’s kiss is what had gotten them into this mess in the first place. The man could work miracles with his mouth. Had he been a lousy kisser, she never would have slept with him. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

He was giving her that look again, that heavy-lidded hungry look he’d had just before they had attacked each other the first time. And suddenly he seemed to be standing a lot closer. And he smelled so good, looked so good in the pale light that her head felt a little swimmy.

“Come on,” he coaxed, “one little kiss.”

Like a magnet she felt drawn to him. She could feel herself leaning forward even as she told him, “That would be a bad idea.”

“Probably,” he agreed, easing in to meet her halfway. He caressed her cheek with the tips of his fingers, combed them gently through her hair. The hair band pulled loose and a riot of blond curls sprang free, hanging in damp ringlets around her face.

“Nick, don’t,” she said. But she didn’t do anything to stop him. “We agreed this wouldn’t happen again.”

“Did we?” His hand slipped down to her shoulder. She felt a tug, and heard the snap of her other spaghetti strap being torn. Her dress was now officially strapless. And in another second it would be lying on the floor.

Oh God, here we go again.

Nick pushed the strap of her purse off the opposite shoulder and it landed with a soft thump on the floor at their feet and his truck keys landed beside it. “We’re already here, the damage has been done. Is one more time really going to make that much of a difference?”

It was hard to argue with logic like that, especially when he was nibbling her ear. And he was right. The damage had already been done.

What difference could one more time possibly make?

“Just a quick one,” she said, reaching for the fastener on his slacks. She tugged it free and shoved them down his hips. “As long as we agree that what goes on in this room stays in this room.”

His lips brushed her shoulder and her knees went weak. “Agreed.”

Then he kissed her and she melted.

One more time, she promised herself as he bunched the skirt of her dress up around her waist and lifted her off the floor.

“One more time,” she murmured as she locked her legs around his hips and he pinned her body to the wall, entered her with one deep, penetrating thrust.

One more time and they would forget this ever happened…

Two

What difference could one more time possibly make? Apparently, more than either she or Nick had anticipated.

Zoë glanced up at the clock above her desk, then down to the bottom drawer of the file cabinet where she’d stashed the bag from the pharmacy behind the employment records. The bag that had been sitting there for four days now because she conveniently kept forgetting to bring it home every night after work. Mostly because she’d been trying to convince herself that she was probably overreacting. She was most likely suffering some funky virus that would clear up on its own. A virus that just happened to zap all of her energy, made her queasy every morning when she rolled out of bed and made her breasts swollen and sore.

And, oh yeah, made her period late.

She was sure there had to be a virus like that, because there was no chance in hell this condition was actually something that would require 2 a.m. feedings and diapers.

She would have a much easier time explaining this away if she wasn’t ninety-nine percent sure Nick hadn’t been wearing a condom that last time up against the hotel room wall.

It’s not as if she could come right out and ask him. Not without him freaking out and things getting really complicated. It had taken several weeks to get past the post-coital weirdness. At first, it had been hard to look him in the eye, knowing he’d seen her naked, had touched her intimately.

Every time she looked at his hands, she remembered the way they felt against her skin. Rough and calloused, but oh so tender. And so big they seemed to swallow up every part of her that he touched.

His slim hips reminded her of the way she’d locked her legs around him as he’d pinned her to the wall. The way he’d entered her, swift and deep. How she’d come apart in his arms.

And his mouth. That wonderfully sinful mouth that melted her like butter in a hot skillet…

No. No. No.

Bad Zoë.

She shook away the lingering memory of his lean, muscular body, of his weight sinking her into the mattress, her body shuddering with pleasure. She’d promised herself at least a hundred times a day that she wasn’t going to think about that anymore. Finally things seemed to be getting back to normal. She and Nick could have a conversation without that undertone of awkwardness.

Zoë didn’t want to risk rocking the boat.

She hadn’t even told her sister Faith, and they told each other almost everything. Although, after their last phone conversation Zoë was under the distinct impression Faith knew something was up. It wouldn’t be unlike her sister to drop everything and show up unannounced if she thought there was something that Zoë wasn’t telling her.

She took a deep, fortifying breath. She was being ridiculous. She should just take the damned test and get it over with. She’d spent the ten bucks, after all. She might as well get her money’s worth. Waiting yet another week wouldn’t change the final outcome. Either she was or she wasn’t. It would be good to know now, so she could decide what to do.

And decide what she would tell Nick.

As she was reaching for the bottom drawer handle, Shannon from accounting appeared in the doorway and Zoë breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey, hon, you up for lunch with the girls? We’re heading over to Shooters.”

Despite being a nervous wreck, she was starving. Though she normally ate a salad for lunch, she would sell her soul for a burger and fries and a gigantic milkshake. And for dessert, a double chocolate sundae. Hold the pickles.

“Lunch sounds wonderful.”

She grabbed her purse and jacket and gave the file cabinet one last glance before she followed Shannon into the hall.

As soon as she got back from lunch, she promised herself. She would put the test in her purse so she wouldn’t forget it, and tonight when she got home she would get to the bottom of this.

Nick walked down the hall to Zoë’s office and popped his head inside, finding it empty and feeling a screwy mix of relief and disappointment. He’d come to her office now, knowing she would probably be on her lunch break. Though they’d promised to pretend it hadn’t happened, he couldn’t seem to make himself forget every erotic detail of their night together. He’d been doing his best to pretend nothing had changed, but something was still a little…off.

Something about Zoë—a thing he couldn’t quite put his finger on—seemed different.

He couldn’t stop himself from wondering, what if? What if he’d told her he didn’t want to pretend like it hadn’t happened?

He just wasn’t sure if that’s what he really wanted. Were he and Zoë too different for that kind of relationship?

She was a cat person and he had a dog. He was faded Levi’s and worn leather and she was so prim and…girly. His music preferences ranged from classic rock to rich, earthy blues with a little jazz piano thrown in for flavor. Zoë seemed to sway toward eighties pop and any female singer, and she had the annoying habit of blaring Christmas music in July.

He was a meat and potatoes man, and as far as he could tell, Zoë existed on salads and bottled mineral water. He watched reality television and ESPN and she preferred crime dramas and chick flicks.

In fact, he couldn’t think of a single thing they had in common. Besides the sex, which frankly they did pretty damned well.

Even if they could get past all of their differences, there was the problem of them wanting completely different things from life. In all the years he’d known her, she’d never once expressed a desire to have children. Not that he could blame her given her family history. But he’d grown up an only child raised by an aunt and uncle who’d had no use for the eight-year-old bastard dumped in their care. He’d spent his childhood in boarding schools and camps.

He wanted a family—at least three kids, maybe more. He just had to find a woman who wanted that, too. One who wasn’t more interested in climbing the corporate ladder than having a family. And definitely one who wouldn’t insist on a two week European honeymoon followed by mansion hunting in one of Detroit’s most exclusive communities.

Material things didn’t mean much to him. He was content with his modest condo and modest vehicle. His modest life. All the money in the world didn’t buy happiness. Thousands of dollars in gifts from his aunt and uncle had never made up for a lack of love and affection. His children would always know they were loved. They would never be made to feel like an inconvenience. And he sure as hell would never abandon them.

It had taken him years to realize there wasn’t anything wrong with him. That he didn’t drive people away. With a long history of mental illness, his mother could barely take care of herself much less a child, and his aunt and uncle simply had no interest in being parents. It would have been easy for them to hand him back over to social services when his mom lost custody. At least they’d taken responsibility for him.

If not for the lack of affection, one might even say he’d been spoiled as a kid. If he wanted or needed something all it took was a phone call to his uncle and it was his.

A convertible sports car the day he got his driver’s license? No problem.

An all-expenses-paid trip to Cancún for graduation? It’s yours.

The best education money can buy at a first-rate East Coast school? Absolutely.

But no one had handed him his education. He’d worked his tail off to make the dean’s list every semester, to graduate at the top of his class. To make his aunt and uncle proud, even if they didn’t know how to show it. And when he’d asked his uncle to loan him the money to start his company, the entire astronomical sum had been wired to his account within twenty-four hours.

They wouldn’t win any awards for parents of the year, but his aunt and uncle had done the best they could.

He would do better.

There had to be a Ms. Right out there just waiting for him to sweep her off her feet. A woman who wanted the same things he did. And hopefully he would find her before he was too old to play ball with his son, to teach his daughter to Rollerblade.

He stepped into Zoë’s office, trying to remember where in the file cabinet she kept the personnel files. Seeing as how she wasn’t exactly organized, they could be pretty much anywhere.

Despite the disarray, she somehow managed to keep the office running like a finely tuned watch. She’d become indispensable. He would be lost without her.

He started at the top and worked his way down, finding them, of course, in the bottom drawer. He located the file of a new employee, Mark O’Connell, to see if there was some reason why the guy would be missing so much work. Not to mention showing up late. Nick was particular when he hired new employees. He didn’t understand how someone with such impeccable references could be so unpredictable on the job.

He grabbed the file and was about to shut the drawer when he saw the edge of a brown paper bag poking up from the back.

Huh. What could that be? He didn’t remember seeing that the last time he looked in here.

He grabbed the bag and pulled it out. He was about to peek inside, when behind him he heard a gasp.

“What are you doing?”

Nick turned, the pharmacy bag in his hand, and Zoë stood in the office doorway, back from lunch, frozen. If he opened that bag, things were going to get really complicated really fast.

“I found this in the file cabinet,” he said.

When she finally found her voice, she did her best to keep it calm and rational. Freaking out would only make things worse. “I don’t appreciate you going through my things.”

He gave her an annoyed look. “How was I supposed to know it’s yours? It was in the file cabinet with the personnel files. The files I need to have access to, to run my company.”

He was right. She should have kept it in her car, or her purse. Of course, then what excuse would she have had for not using it? She walked toward him and held out a hand. “You’re right, I apologize. Can I have it back please?”

He looked at her, then at the bag. “What is it?”

“Something personal.”

She took another step toward him, hand outstretched, and he took a step back.

A devious grin curled his lips, showing off the dent in his right cheek. “How much is it worth to you?”

He hadn’t teased her in weeks. Now was not the time to start acting like his pain-in-the-behind old self. “That isn’t funny, Nick. Give it to me.”

He held the bag behind his back. “Make me.”

How could a grown man act so damned juvenile? He didn’t have kids, so what, he’d act like one?

She stepped toward him, her temper flaring, and held out her hand. “Please.”

He sidestepped out of her way, around her desk, thoroughly enjoying himself if his goofy grin was any indication.

She felt like punching him.

Couldn’t he see that she was fuming mad? Didn’t he care that he was upsetting her?

Heat climbed up her throat and into her cheeks. “You’re acting like an ass, Nick. Give it back to me now.”

The angrier she became, the more amused he looked. “Must be something pretty important to get your panties in such a twist,” he teased, clasping the bag with two fingers and swinging it just out of her reach. Why did he have to be so darned tall? “If you want it so badly, come and get it.”

She slung her hands up in defeat. “Fine, look if you have to. If you find tampons so thoroughly interesting.”

Tampons. Didn’t she wish.

He raised a brow at her, as if he wasn’t sure he should believe her or not. As he lowered the bag, uncurling the edge to take a peek, she lunged for him. Her fingers skimmed the bag and he jerked his arm back, inadvertently flinging the test box out. In slow motion it spiraled across the room, hit the wall with a smack and landed label side up on the carpet.