November Harlequin Presents 2(11)

‘No,’ she said, holding up one hand to his chest, not wanting to risk being in this man’s company any longer than she had to. The way he’d impacted upon her tonight showed her she couldn’t trust herself. ‘There’s no need.’

‘We can talk.’

‘We have nothing to talk about!’

The line of his jaw hardened, and the confusion she’d seen earlier in his eyes turned a deep shade of bitter. ‘So, you run.’

The lift doors pinged behind her, and without taking her eyes from his she positioned herself closer so that this time when the doors opened she’d be far enough away from him that there’d be no chance she’d be wrong-footed.

‘I told you having dinner together was a bad idea. What happened just now was an even worse one.’

The doors slid open behind her and she made for the welcoming depths, punching the ground floor and close buttons simultaneously. They still took too long, and it seemed an eternity before it was just the memory of his damning scowl and open-footed gunslinger stance that had threatened to buckle her knees.

Sanity returned to Maverick with the closing of the doors. Sanity and fury. What the hell had he been thinking? She was his PA, for heaven’s sake. How could a couple of long legs and hazel eyes have made him suddenly and so easily forget that?

He tugged on his tie and wheeled around. Not just long legs, though. Sensational legs. And eyes that seemed to peer right inside him. What had they seen? What was it that had made her flee like the demons of hell were after her?

Damn it, but he was determined to find out.



The phone was ringing when she entered the flat. She threw keys and bag to one side and dived for the phone in the same rapid motion.

‘Morgan!’ she cried into the receiver.

There was a pause.

‘Is that you, Morgan?’

Tegan’s heart skipped a beat as she screwed her face into a silent scream. What had she just done?

‘Maverick. Why are you calling?’

‘Is something wrong?’

‘I just got in. I’m just a bit breathless.’ She collapsed into an armchair and held on tight, praying he would accept her explanation.

‘You’ve only just got home? You should have let me drive you.’

Tegan let go a sigh of relief. It made sense that someone like Maverick wouldn’t have a clue how long it took to get anywhere when you relied on public transport.

‘I didn’t want you to. Was there something you wanted?’

There was a pause. ‘Just to make sure you made it home all right.’

‘I’m home. I’m safe,’ she said, feeling one hell of a lot safer now that she was away from him.

‘Look, Morgan, about what happened—’

‘Thanks for calling,’ she said with false brightness. ‘But, if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather forget what happened.’ And she terminated the call.



Nobody hung up on Maverick. Not company directors or corporate wheeler-dealers or any of his women friends. And least of all his own PA. He fought back the urge to call right back and tell Miss Sassy Mouth exactly that, but he hadn’t got to where he was in business by necessarily acting on his first flush of fury.

Besides, maybe she was doing him a favour. She was his PA, after all. He didn’t do PAs. His self-imposed rule that he never got involved with a member of his staff was there for a very good reason.

Bitterness rose up like bile in his throat. How anyone could have done what Tina had done…

But, given that she had, he should have known better and left Morgan well enough alone.

He dragged air into lungs that had seen one hell of a crazy weekend. A flight to Milan on Saturday to conclude their deal, only to have the entire journey aborted halfway at the sad news of Giuseppe’s collapse, and his return to Australia on the first available flight. Since then he’d been embroiled in planning the negotiations necessary to shore up the inroads they had made, all of which had been compounded by the added aggravation of a PA who seemed to have undergone a personality transplant.

Tomorrow things would be back to normal. He’d see to the Rogerson deal and ensure that the one loose end of the deal was tied up, in preparation for when Zeppabanca was ready to proceed once again.

And by tomorrow Morgan might have slept off whatever strange affliction had affected her today and be back to her normal self, so he could concentrate on work without the constant distractions. He could hardly wait.





CHAPTER FOUR




‘HEY, Tiggy! How’s it going?’

Tegan breathed a sigh of relief at her sister’s familiar greeting. She’d approached the ringing phone with a mixture of trepidation and fear, picking it up warily, and not game this time to second guess who the caller was. She wasn’t making that mistake again.