Hypnotic Seduction (The Seduction Series) (3 page)

“What have you got to lose by giving her a chance?”

Good point. Unless the woman’s résumé was a gross exaggeration of her ability, she couldn’t be any worse than the amateurs he’d had botching everything up the last few weeks. On the plus side, no one would ever believe he’d sexually harass a mouse like her. And he seriously doubted she was bold enough to try to seduce him like every other female in his life.

Still, her interest in his grandfather could be a problem. The paradox between Hannah Oliver’s sexy feet and the rest of her suggested there was more to her than one would guess.

Jordan sucked in a breath to ease the strange ache that gripped his chest at recalling the uncertainty in the woman’s huge eyes. “Forget it, Gramps. I’m not crazy enough to hire someone simply because she reminds you of Grammy.”

~*~

“It would’ve been nice if Edward had told me he used to run the whole damn company,” Hannah mumbled, flopping into the seat in front of the computer.

Or at the very least, he could’ve paused outside the office door long enough for her to read the plaque that must have indicated it was the CEO’s office. Of course, if he had, she probably would’ve run the other way.

Sure, she’d been a great office manager at Kevin’s accounting firm. But executive assistant to the head of a major corporation? Could she handle such a high-level position?

She wasn’t altogether sure she wanted to work for the tyrant, anyway. What had his friend called him—JC? Only a megalomaniac would identify himself with the same initials as the man who a good portion of the world believed to be the Son of God.

Moreover, Edward’s grandson was way too good-looking. She’d made a fool of herself, ogling those six-feet-plus inches of muscle. And then his electric gaze had unnerved her to the point she couldn’t speak. He must have taken her for a total imbecile.

Then again, she really needed the job. Between the lost deposit on the canceled reception, buying her now useless wedding gown, and paying the tuition for the spring semester, she’d pretty much wiped out her savings. And after Kevin’s rejection, her pride could definitely use the boost of skipping a few rungs on the career ladder.

A few minutes later, the inner office door swung open. Jordan Calder stepped behind her and expelled a breath, peering over her shoulder at the monitor. “
Thank God
, you fixed it.”

His hot breath stirred the tiny hairs on Hannah’s nape and sent a gaggle of goose bumps skittering down her back. Upon inhaling his spicy aftershave, her throat seized again, so she simply nodded.

After what happened in her previous job, the last thing she needed was to
be attracted
to the CEO. However, Kevin’s betrayal had decimated her ego and left her in such a susceptible state her deficient love life made any
guy
with clean fingernails and a full set of teeth look good.

“Do you mind telling me what was wrong with it?”

“Uh—no, Sir,” she croaked like a bullfrog.

“So you do have a voice.” His intense eyes glittered at her as he leaned against the desk, waiting. “Well?”

Her heart hammered her ribs so
hard,
surely he could hear her bones rattling. She cleared her throat, trying to work up enough saliva to speak coherently. “The document was in a weird variation of Times New Roman called Special G2. I simply converted it.” She showed him how the full font identification hadn’t fit in the little formatting window.

“Ahh—that explains why we didn’t see it. Thanks.” He jerked his thumb toward his office. “Since you managed to solve that mystery, why don’t you come inside for an interview, and we’ll discuss my expectations.”

Said the lion to the mouse
.

“And mine?”

His head whipped around. “Excuse me?”

Oh, crap. Had she actually said that out loud? “Uhh—
my
expectations of
you
. The employer/employee relationship goes two ways, doesn’t it?”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “So you have a spine as well as a voice.”

“With you, she’ll need it,” Edward said, wandering out to the reception area. “Good luck, Hannah.” The sweet old man squeezed her hand. “I’ll leave you to get acquainted.”

Standing, she wobbled and nearly fell off her dagger heels. “Thanks so much, Mr. Calder.”

“I was Edward half an hour ago. Let’s keep it that way.” He winked. “I’m sure I’ll see you again very soon.” He nodded to his grandson on his way out. “We’ll talk tonight.”

The intimidating CEO stepped back from his door and made a sweeping gesture with his hand. “After you, Miss Oliver.”

Her knees quaking, she stepped inside his luxurious office. It
was decorated
in varying shades of steel blue and gray, and....Holy Guacamole! The pewter-toned carpet had to be three inches thick.

The humongous room
was split
into two sections. Near the entrance sat a massive cherry desk, bookcases, and filing cabinets. At the far end, was a sitting area larger than her entire garden
apartment.
It included an enormous flat screen television, a state of the art sound system, and a wet bar complete with an efficiency kitchen.

She poked her head through a carved door on the right that led to a spacious conference room containing a long polished table and well over a dozen executive armchairs.

“There’s another entrance into the boardroom from the outer office,” he said behind her, making her jump. He pointed to a door on the other side of the room. “Through there is my private bathroom and gym. You’re welcome to use them both when I don’t have visitors.”

“I haven’t accepted the job yet, Mr. Bond—
er
—Calder,” she corrected, certain her cheeks had turned fuchsia.

“Assuming you do,” he amended and waved toward the two overstuffed chairs facing his desk. “Please, have a seat.”

After she sank into the rich upholstery, he propped one hip on the edge of his desk and loomed over her. “Tell me a bit about your previous position and why you left it.”

“I resigned. I can’t say why, because I refuse to malign a past employer. But you’re welcome to contact him and ask.”

“It’s a comfort to hear you won’t be badmouthing me later on. In your last position, what’s the worst mistake you made, and what’d you learn from it?”

It was a tough question to answer since her most serious misjudgment hadn’t involved her performance at work. “I’d have to say it was agreeing to marry my boss—an error, I assure you, I won’t be repeating.”

His gaze narrowed. “I’m glad to hear it. The last thing I need is another assistant who’s more interested in me than her work.”

Hannah gave him a quick rundown of her responsibilities as Kevin’s office manager. Five minutes later, she realized she was babbling and clamped her mouth shut.

“You’ll receive the same salary as you did at your previous job, and after the standard thirty-day probationary period, you’ll either get a pink slip, or your pay will be bumped up to whatever you’re worth to me.”

She squirmed under his piercing gaze. It was hard to say whether Jordan Calder simply oozed self-confidence or if he was just plain arrogant. Whichever the case, no one could deny he was beyond movie star gorgeous.

“Welcome to Calder Pharmaceutical, Hannah.”

Exactly when had she accepted the position?

He gazed into her eyes as she shook his hand. Her breath caught at the warm tingle that spread from her fingers through the rest of her body.

Jerking his hand back as if he’d touched a live wire, he squinted at her, wearing a puzzled expression. “Uhh—can you start immediately?” he asked, his voice thickening. He picked up the phone. “I’ll get personnel to send up whatever forms you need to fill out.”

Her heart tripped over several beats as it finally hit home she’d actually been hired. She felt like a total fraud accepting such a prestigious job, but she had rent to pay. “Sure, Mr. Calder.” She rose from her seat, vibrating like a plucked fiddle string. “I’ll finish the revisions the temp started on that document right away.”

“By the way,” he added, “in this office, Mr. Calder is reserved for my grandfather. My direct reports call me Jordan, JC, or Pain-in-the-ass. I answer to all three.”

A smile forced its way to her lips. Maybe he wasn’t so bad. “Which do you prefer?”

He revealed a set of brilliant teeth worthy of a tooth-whitening ad, and a deep set of dimples dented his cheeks. “Since we’ll be working so closely together, Jordan would be nice.”

Hannah sucked in a shuddering breath, imagining what it would be like to get so close to his spectacular body that it pressed against hers.

No, idiot
! She shook off the fantasy. Hadn’t she learned her lesson with Kevin? She had to be missing more than a few brain cells to agree to work for such a hunk of male pulchritude—especially in a job where she was so obviously out of her depth.

Unfortunately, she needed a paycheck. At least until she found something else. Anyway, a wealthy dynamic man like Jordan Calder would never be interested in
a nobody
like her. If worse came to worst, she could always wear a bib to the office to catch her drool.

id•
i•ot  n. 1. A foolish or stupid person. 2. An individual desperate enough to accept a job for which she’s clearly under-qualified
.

Only an idiot refuses to learn from her past mistakes.

Breathe in, breathe out, Hannah mentally recited the next afternoon while her new boss held the door to the executive dining room for her. If she hoped to avoid coming off as a complete ninny, somehow she had to get through this meal without babbling.

“I don’t normally stop working for lunch,” Jordan said, “but since you weren’t here last week and missed—what’s it
called
now—Administrative Professionals Day?”

“I won’t be offended if you call it Secretary’s Day.” No matter how politically correct the new label might be, she still typed, filed, and answered the phone for a living.

“Whatever. After working overtime last night to help me catch up, you deserve a reward.”

His praise ignited a bonfire in her cheeks, making her glad she’d skipped dinner the evening before so she could stay late and still make it to her capital budgeting class on time. “Th-Thank you. This is really nice.”

The floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, rich wood paneling, and brass chandeliers lent the executive dining room the atmosphere of an exclusive club reserved as a perk for upper management and personnel with doctorate degrees. “Don’t get too excited. Except for a few gourmet additions, the menu’s essentially the same as the
cafeteria’s
.”

“Maybe, but being waited on and having my meal served on china with a tablecloth is a lot nicer than standing in line with a plastic lunch
tra
—”

Oh, God, no. She froze.

He’d stopped next to a large table surrounded by dark suits, only one of which included a skirt rather than trousers. When the men all rose, Jordan glanced at her and smiled. “I figured this would be as good a time as any to introduce you to some of my senior vice presidents. The rest are either traveling or had meetings.”

“Trudy,”—he nodded to acknowledge the lone thirty-something woman who’d managed to make it into the mostly boys’ club—“gentlemen, I’d like you to meet my new assistant, Hannah Oliver. I’ll let you each introduce yourself.”

Jordan pulled out one of the remaining two empty chairs for her, centered at the long table. Seven pairs of masculine eyes scrutinized her.

Hannah gulped. At least he’d seated her next to Trudy. The dark-haired woman’s smile was warm and welcoming as opposed to the smirks and sneers on the men’s faces. Obviously, Hannah wasn’t at all what they’d expected.

Half of them had builds better suited to posing for fashion or health magazines than to crunching numbers all day—especially the dark-haired guy she’d seen in Jordan’s office yesterday.

“Hi again.” He waved from across the table. “I’m Bryce Kendall, VP of corporate operations. You’ll be seeing me more often than anyone.”

As anxious as the men’s attention made her, she’d never remember all their names.

“
Uhhh
....it’s—um—nice to meet you.” She extended her hand, praying he wouldn’t notice the sweat on her palms. Despite how little respect she might have for her mother, at the moment, she would sacrifice a year of her life to have one tenth of Candace’s self-confidence with the opposite gender.
Being physically appraised
by all these dynamic men had turned Hannah’s body into a mass of quivering gooseflesh.

“Jeff Burton, VP of Marketing,” said the hunk on the other side of Trudy.

Hannah turned to shake his hand, and in her nervousness, accidentally knocked over a full goblet of ice water right into the woman’s lap.

Gasping, Trudy catapulted out of her seat, a frosty glare marring her previously pleasant face. “And here I thought you’d be different than all the beauty queens,” she muttered. She turned and smiled tightly at the men. “If you’ll excuse me, it seems Miss Oliver thinks I need a trip to the ladies room.”

So much for having an ally. Jordan’s previous assistants must have been bitchy to the woman. “I’m sorry,” Hannah called after Trudy. “I really didn’t do it on purpose. I’m just a klutz.”

“Don’t worry. It’s just water.” Jordan assured her. “Trudy will dry out.”

Right. It had been just water fourteen years ago, too.

~*~

“I haven’t seen you this relaxed since before you became CEO.” Bryce slid the proposed operating budget for the next quarter across the desk for approval.

Jordan scanned the spreadsheet for the revisions he’d requested and scrawled his signature on the proposal. “That’s because Hannah runs interference better than a defensive lineman.”

In the last two and a half weeks, his new assistant had managed to make
herself
indispensable. She was a hopeless people-pleaser who, like a female version of Radar O’Reilly, anticipated his every need to the point he felt guilty at times, letting her do so much for him.