A Baby for the Boss(13)

Another secret, then, Jenny thought. But probably better that the people at work didn’t know what was going on between them. Since even she wasn’t sure what exactly it was they shared, beyond the burn and desire.

Nodding, she asked, “Do we shake hands on it?”

For the first time that morning his lips curved in a half smile. “I think we can do better than that.”

He walked up to her, cupped her face between his palms and bent his head for a kiss. His mouth was firm, soft and left hers all too quickly. She really was an idiot, Jenny thought as her insides jumped and her heart galloped. The kiss meant nothing. She meant nothing to him and oh, boy, was that a hard thing to acknowledge. But she knew it was only hunger that burned between them, nothing more. Yet she looked into his eyes and found herself wishing things were different. Wishing for—

“I’ll see you at the office?”

“Yeah,” she said abruptly, cutting off her own thoughts before they could lead her down completely ridiculous paths. “I’ll be there.”

“All right, then.” He turned away to grab his jacket off the floor. Shrugging it on, he looked back at her and said, “In honor of this new cooperation between us, I’d like you to go to Laughlin with me in a week or so. Check out the new hotel. I want to walk the property, get a feel for it before we start the renovations.”

“Good.” She forced a smile that she hoped looked more convincing than it felt. “It would be good for me to get an on-site idea for the placement of the murals.”

“Okay.” He tugged the jacket into place. “We’ll go out a week from Monday. Figure to stay at least overnight. I’ll have Linda make reservations at the River Lodge.”

Her stomach jittered. Laughable really, because what virtue was she suddenly so worried about? But the two of them were practically combustible, so was it really wise to invite more temptation? “Overnight?”

He shrugged. “We’ll take the company jet into Vegas, and drive into Laughlin from there. I want enough time to explore the place. Staying over is the only solution.”

“Right.” Overnight. Did that mean they’d be sharing a bed again? Was he expecting that? Well, if so, he was doomed to disappointment. Jenny wasn’t going to let this spiral into an affair that would leave her broken and miserable when it ended. Better to end it now. And much better to let him know just where she stood on this before they went any further.

“I won’t be sleeping with you again.”

One dark eyebrow winged up. “I didn’t say you would be.”

“Just saying,” she went on, shaking her head, “I’m not interested in an affair and I’m not going to keep sleeping with my boss.”

A dark scowl marred his face briefly. “This wasn’t about boss and employee. It never was.”

She shivered under his steady stare, but lifted her chin to ask, “Then what was it about, Mike?”

“Need,” he said simply, biting the single word off as if it tasted bitter.

There it was. Plain and simple. He didn’t care about her, Jenny told herself. Probably didn’t much like her. He certainly didn’t trust her. She hated to admit that he was right about this, but she knew that hunger had drawn them together and then that same vicious desire had pulled them back in when they’d both believed it was done between them.

So no more. Of anything. They would have to work together for the next few months and sex—especially great sex—just complicated everything.



Over the next few days, Jenny almost convinced herself that nothing had happened between Mike and her. She spent her days concentrating on the art ideas for the new hotel. Using the photos and 360-degree videos provided by the real estate company, Jenny laid out her plans for the work to be done. But she couldn’t really be sure of anything until she saw the place firsthand.

“Have you got the sketches for ‘The Wild Hunt’ done yet?”

She glanced up from her computer screen to look at Dave Cooper, the new head of graphic design. When her old supervisor, Joe, had left to take a job with one of the big Hollywood studios, they’d all missed him. But Dave had slid right into the position as if he’d always been there.

“You’ll have them by tomorrow,” she said. The next game they were working on was already taking shape and so far, Jenny loved doing the art for it. A wild hunt, complete with faery warriors, pookas and the supernatural beings that hunted them. No doubt, it would be another winner for Celtic Knot and she really enjoyed being a part of it.

“I think you’ll like them.” She’d been refining her sketches for the past few nights, polishing them so no one could say she’d neglected this project in favor of the art for the new hotel.