Lusty Billionaires Bundle(140)

‘You’re seeing things in black and white,’ Tessa said uncomfortably. ‘She’d hate to think she had disappointed you with her new wardrobe.’ She stared down at her slender fingers, at the neatly trimmed fingernails shiny with clear polish. ‘I won’t take her shopping again and I wouldn’t have if I had thought for a minute that you would have such violent objections to her splashing out on some pretty routine teenage gear. Not even really teenage, as a matter of fact. Just different from what she’s accustomed to wearing.’#p#分页标题#e#

Why did he get the feeling that he was being verbally outmanoeuvred? Curtis looked at the smooth, bland face and frowned. He opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it and grunted instead.

‘We’ll have to agree to differ.’

‘We will,’ Tessa agreed, lowering her eyes, ‘and, of course, there’ll be no more corrupting shopping sprees.’

There was perfect acquiescence in that response except, he thought, for his perfect secretary to be acquiescent, she should also have been chastened, and chastened she certainly was not. In fact, in her own quiet way, he got the sneaking suspicion that she was reprimanding him. He moved swiftly away from the whole contentious subject and for the next hour they worked solidly and swiftly. As she was standing to leave he leaned back in his chair and asked her what she thought of his plans to consolidate a base in the Far East.

‘Have you been reading up on this?’ he asked, when she had finished her impressive monologue and Tessa relaxed enough to smile at him.

‘Of course I haven’t “been reading up on it”. I’ve always preferred a good work of fiction to a computer magazine. No, I just happen to have a brain in my head and an ability to voice an opinion.’

‘Which is why you’re turning out to be such a good little secretary,’ Curtis replied smugly. ‘I’m going to have to admit to my mother that she may just have got it right when it came to hiring you. I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but a guy can get tired of beautiful girls sticking the wrong files in the cabinets and typing at a snail’s pace.’

‘I didn’t think the misfiling and slow typing was a problem,’ Tessa came back quickly, bristling under the composed surface. ‘I thought Lizzie and Marge just picked up the slack.’

‘There’s way too much gossip in this office,’ he said, grinning. ‘I’ll have to have a word.’ He was an unrepentant sinner, though. Tessa, however, was in no mood to indulge him. From what she had seen, he was far too indulged already. He had been indulged at birth, by being blessed with staggering good looks, and from that it had probably only been a matter of time before self-assurance and charm had stepped into the equation. Add a brilliant mind and the world, she reckoned, had probably been his oyster from when he was a toddler.

‘Will that be all?’

‘You’ve gone prune-mouthed on me again.’

‘Prune-mouthed?’ Tessa flushed.

‘You know what I mean. Tight-lipped. Like a schoolteacher inspecting a particularly offensive pupil.’

Tessa knew exactly what he meant and that in his own forthright way he had no compunctions whatsoever in airing his views, the way he always did. In all fairness, she knew that she could give him a piece of her mind and he wouldn’t bat an eyelash, but naturally she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t fly off the handle and she certainly would never dream of telling him that being compared to a tight-lipped schoolmarm really hurt. It was just a little too near the mark for comfort.

She wasn’t about to let him totally off the hook, however. She drew in a deep breath and said calmly, ‘If you don’t like my demeanour, then perhaps you’d like me to go?’

‘Now you’re offended.’ He swept out of the chair and was standing by her before she had time to beat a tactical retreat. His voice was gushingly solicitous. ‘And I like your demeanour!’ He placed his hands on her shoulders and Tessa felt a peculiar surge of heat race through her, sending her heart into furious overdrive. ‘It’s very…bracing.’

Bracing? Was that a step up or a step down from tight-lipped? The worst of it was that he genuinely didn’t recognise why she would be offended. Because she wasn’t an airhead, she was virtually sexless. Infuriatingly, it bothered her.#p#分页标题#e#

‘That’s a huge improvement,’ Tessa said, forcing a smile.

‘Good. And I want you to know that you’re a valuable member of the team.’

‘Thank you.’ She wished he would just remove his hands from her shoulders. Horrifyingly, he tilted her face to his and gave her a crooked smile, a smile that could turn lead to jelly.