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It had been vital because Nico knew how to make a woman feel special. He did it without even realising it. Perched on the side of her desk, he could be chatting about spreadsheets and stationery supplies and hestillalways managed to make her feel as though every word that left her mouth by way of response were a fascinating revelation.
God only knew what he must be like in the company of women he was actively trying to impress.
The fact that she secretly lusted after the man had made it all the more important that she erect her barriers and remain well behind them.
It was galling to think that in a heartbeat and through some cruel twist of fate all that effort could be reduced to rubble.
‘I didn’t think there was much point in her hanging around while I came...over here...’
‘There was no need to ruin your evening by rushing over here to rescue me.’ Grace straightened in the chair but even as she did so, even as she tried to revert to her usual crisp, businesslike manner, she was conscious of the frivolity of her dress, all froth and flowers and straps.
It was hot outside, a rare, picture-perfect August evening, and she had dressed to impress.
At five ten and slender, she lacked boobs and curves but made a good enough clothes horse and she had gone all out to play up her assets, such as they were.
‘You...looked...’ Nico shook his head and the flush darkened, delineating his sharp cheekbones and making him look suddenly younger than his thirty-five years ‘...as though the man was making you uncomfortable. Even from a distance I could tell he’d had too much to drink...’
‘And you figured that I might not have been able to handle the situation?’ Grace enquired tartly, yet when she thought of him getting rid of his date so that he could come to her rescue, something hot inside her flared into unwelcome life.
She felt the pinch of her nipples grazing against her bra and wetness between her legs made her want to squirm.
He’d seen her and flown over...come to save her from the fool she’d ended up with who’d started to make her feel uncomfortable... It wasn’t a compliment, was it? But whatever it was, it made her achingly conscious of him in ways that felt, oh, so dangerous right now...
When she next spoke, her voice was sharper than she’d intended. ‘Nico, I can take care of myself.’
‘Yes, I realise that but...’
‘But what?’ She clicked her tongue, eager to re-establish herself as the efficient employee who was never flustered and could deal with anything. ‘I’m very capable of dealing with...with anything. You should know that! How many times have you given me an impossible task only to find that I deal with it in record time? You’ve said that yourself so many times! I don’t need anyone to feel sorry for me and I definitely didn’t need you to cancel your plans for the evening because you felt you had to save me from my date.’
‘Did I mention anything about feeling sorry for you?’
Nico raked restless fingers through his dark hair. In truth he had rushed over here without thought. He had seen her, had felt something shift inside him, something weird and oddly powerful, like a rush of air racing past him, blowing through him and leaving before he had time to bottle it and find out what it was.
She’d worked for him for over four years. He had seen more of her than most men saw of their wives and yet the sight of her here, in this sultry, atmospheric jazz club, shorn of her usual starchy trappings, had kick-started something inside him he hadn’t been able to put a finger on.
And when he’d realised that the guy she was with was being a pest...when he’d seen the way she’d shoved his hand aside, polite and firm but with just a hint of anxiety, he hadn’t stopped to think twice.
He’d dismissed his date without a backward glance and flown over like just the sort of damned rescuer she certainly hadn’t asked for and didn’t want.
As she was now taking great pains to inform him.
Nico refused to question why, exactly, he had felt so compelled to fly to her side.
Nor was he going to delve deep into his shock at seeing her looking the way she looked now, still cool and remote but with a sizzle of sexual allure that he hadn’t previously realised was there.
Or had he?
He brushed aside that tantalising thought while refusing to apologise for being the perfect gentleman in coming to her aid. Even if she hadn’t asked for it.
‘And yes,’ he grated, ‘you are up to pretty much anything I can throw at you in the work environment, but we’re not in a work environment now, and my apologies if I was out of order in thinking that that man you were with might have been making you feel a bit uncomfortable. Was he? By the way? Because you didn’t seem too gutted when I got rid of him.’
Grace sighed.
He’d done his good deed for the day. So what if she wished the ground could open and swallow her up because the last thing she needed was for her sexy boss to see her as someone he felt sorry for?
Sure, not when it came to work, but here? In a club? For him, a different matter.
Here, away from the familiar stamping ground where he knew her for what she was, his reliable, efficient secretary, she was out of her depth. He had spotted that from across the room and had stormed over because he’d assumed she was in a situation she couldn’t handle.
