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He’d nearly fallen off his chair. Christina Bradford. Six years ago they met for the first time. She was the beautiful teenage daughter of his father’s new bride, Shelby.
Christina was seventeen, spoiled, careless, and the wet dream of every teenage boy. And apparently, a few twenty-two-year-olds as well… He’d been ridiculously embarrassed by his body’s reaction to the nubile teenager and tried to ignore her at all cost. In the six years of their parents’ marriage, he’d seen her only a few times each year. Holidays. Birthdays. One funeral.
And now she’d be working under him for the next six weeks.
With him -- not under him, dammit! God, he couldn’t be thinking of her under him. He cleared his throat and extended a hand.
“Why don’t you step into my office, Miss Bradford, and we’ll discuss just what you’re hoping to get out of this internship.”
There was a shock in her eyes as she moved stiffly into his office. He gave Morrison and the secretary a smile, then closed his door softly.
“Thanks for that,” he said with a long sigh. “I don’t want our past relationship to affect your internship here. Your time here will look great on a resume.”
“I appreciate that,” she said, looking around the office rather than into his eyes. “I thought you worked for Martin Media.”
He perched on his desk and studied her. She’d truly blossomed in the past few years. Gone was the fresh face of innocence. What stood before him now, carefully dressed in a professional suit, was an intelligent young woman eager to make an impression on the world.
And yet he still couldn’t help but wonder how she’d react if he slid his fingers under her dress.
“Martin Media wasn’t quite what I had in mind for career. They overwork their writers and designers and take all the credit,” Lucas said with a frown. “Pearl believes in growth and teamwork. I made the switch two years ago. I thought you knew. I mentioned it at Thanksgiving.”
She flushed. “I must have forgotten.”
“If I recall, you were obsessed with someone named Trent or Dent or Dick,” he said thoughtfully, mocking her. “You were devastated that he couldn’t come to dinner with you, as I recall.”
“Devastated is an overstatement,” she muttered.
“There was some crying involved,” he said, smiling at the memory.
“Okay, that is not how a new boss is supposed to act,” she snapped. “Weren’t we supposed to talk about what I want out of an internship?”
“Still bossy and spoiled,” he said under his breath.
“Excuse me?” she said, perfect eyebrows raised.
“Never mind.” He flashed the golden smile that first drew her to him. He motioned toward a chair in front of the desk and waited for her to sit.
He said, “So let’s talk. Pearl seems like an interesting choice for a design major. Most of our interns are writers.”
Christina shrugged. “I’m a big fan of the magazine. I thought I could get some advertising, layout, design, and marketing experience here. I’m also interested in the editorial side. I do write, you know.”
“So in other words, you don’t know what you want.”
“Don’t be a dick, Lucas,” she snapped.
“You mean, don’t be a dick, Mr. Powers.”
She resisted the urge to smile. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of besting her. She shrugged and said, “I just want to do a lot of things. Is that so bad?”
He gave her a serious look and shook his head, though he was grinning like the Cheshire Cat on the inside. Her outburst excited him; that flash of anger turning her crystal blue eyes dark and stormy.
He was less than a foot from her, sitting on the edge of the desk with his arms folded over his chest. He said, “No, it’s not bad at all. You’re young, and it’s good that you want to keep your options open. This internship might actually help you figure things out. We can split your time between editorial, marketing, and design, if you like.”
Her beautiful face beamed. Before he knew it, she was out of the chair and throwing her hands around his neck. He immediately put up his hands as she slid her body over him. Her curves pressed against him in all the right places, and desire licked at his skin as he struggled to keep from touching her. This was ridiculous. How was he still harboring such a strong lust for her when he hadn’t even seen her in a year?
“Christina, you can’t do that. I’m your boss,” he said, putting his hands on her shoulders to push her back. He nervously looked toward the door. “They don’t condone that sort of thing here.”
She stepped back quickly and covered her flushing cheeks with her hands. “Right, I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”
