Chapter One
“Where is that cowardly son of a bitch?”
Oh, look. The gates had been stormed. The enemy had breached the wall and was obviously about to scale the fortress. Where the hell was a good musket when she needed it?
Molly Ramsey smiled sympathetically at the statuesque woman with the model-like good looks who was obviously on the edge of a nervous breakdown. She silently acknowledged to herself that it was going to be another long day at the office.
Momma had told her there would be days like this. She just hadn’t expected there to be so freaking many of them coming in row. Sweet mercy, she hated for her Momma to be right.
The irate newcomer threw her Hermes bag down on the chair in front of Molly’s desk. “Get him. Now.”
Molly merely sighed to herself as she mentally surveyed the items on her ordered desk, idly wondering if her stapler could become a lethal weapon. She was tempted to just hand it to the interloper and point to the office behind her, but she knew she’d hate to have to call the police for the inevitable clean up. The paperwork alone would be a bitch. Holding up one hand, she shook her head. “Ms. Miller, you know that I can’t let you go any farther. His rules.”
“The bastard only obeys the rules he likes, Molly, and you know it!” Carolyn Miller all but shrieked as she rapidly paced in Molly’s small office. “He needs to come out here and face me like a man instead of a little boy hiding behind his protector! Honest to God, Molly, he dumped me!” She paused for a second and glared at the closed door. “Men DO NOT dump me. I do the dumping!”
Molly could only groan. Why was this happening to her? What perverse powers had been at work when fate had conspired against her and arranged for her to work for her brother’s best friend? What kind of sin had she committed at the ripe old age of twenty-four to be saddled with Willy the Wonder Ass and his relationship woes?
She’d been a good girl who had done all the right things, damn it!
She’d gone to a great university, graduated with honors, written a killer resume, and commenced the hunt for a job with all the ferocity of a soldier going into battle.
Sadly, though, there wasn’t a high demand for individuals with a degree in Art History.
Even more depressing than that?
Those pesky student loans still came due on a regular monthly basis whether she had a job or not.
And so, she ended up here, working for her older brother’s best friend in a position she was quickly beginning to despise. Her official job title was Executive Assistant. But she had determined months ago that her job description lied and that she was obviously her boss’s one-woman defense squad against the so-called evil forces that were his jilted loves. The enemy’s ranks were growing, and they invaded frequently.
Yes, she was in hell.
With William freaking Delancy and his dancing dick!
The man had truly earned his nickname of Devil. Widely reported by the ladies to be Satan between the sheets, he was well known for his “love ‘em and leave ‘em” offense. He was also given credit as one of the shrewdest, most manipulative financiers in the industry by his contemporaries in the business and reputed to have a singularly unholy touch when it came to making money. A self-made millionaire several times over, he was coldly analytical in his business practices…and even more so when it came to his personal life. Like the stocks and commodities he dealt with, he considered women little better, trading and shuffling them as often as he did his investment portfolio. It did not help that he was also sinfully sexy in a tall, dark and dastardly kind of way...and charming as hell when he put his mind to it.
Most women saw Devil Delancy as challenge, the thrill ride worth taking the risks.
Hell, no!
Molly thought it was all downright disgusting.
And she genuinely felt awful for the beautiful woman standing in front of her desk.
Just not quite awful enough to risk Devil’s wrath if she interrupted him with the woman’s demands to see him. Molly already knew what his answer would be.
The man had iron-clad policies regarding this type of dating drama.
Nope, Devil Delancy was through playing with the lovely woman currently trying to glare little Molly into submission, and nothing Molly could say or do to her boss was going to change that. In his eyes, the emotional transaction had been concluded. The deal had been sealed.
He was done with woman number eight hundred and forty-one...or wherever the hell this one ended up in the curious countdown of Devil’s devious deeds.
Taking a deep breath, Molly pasted a serene smile on her face and shook her head. “I’m really very sorry, Ms. Miller. Mr. Delancy has given me strict instruction that he’s not to be interrupted this afternoon for anything. Or by anyone. There’s really nothing I can do.”