Midnight Under the Mistletoe (2 page)

“Thank you, I won’t need the elevator,” she replied with a
smile. “I exercise each day, so stairs are good.”

“Great. Do you think we can start work this morning in about an
hour?”

“Certainly.”

As he stood, she came to her feet and followed him to the door.
He offered his hand. “Welcome to the Delaney ranch, Emma,” he drawled in a
mesmerizing voice that wrapped around her like a warm blanket. She shook hands
again with him, an electric current flashing from the contact while she looked
into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. Dark brown curly lashes framed his
mesmerizing eyes.

“I hope you find your stay here worthwhile,” he said, a dry,
professional statement, but his tone of voice, with those blue eyes focused on
her and her hand enveloped in his, made her think of sizzling kisses. Realizing
how she was staring, she withdrew her hand and stepped back. He turned to walk
into the hall to talk to Nigel, nodded at her, and in seconds she left with
Nigel to see where she would stay.

The next hour was a whirlwind of getting unpacked enough to
function through the day. To her surprise she had more than a room—it was a
suite with a sitting area, a dream bedroom with a four-poster and fruitwood
furniture. Dazzled by the lavish quarters, she looked at a bathroom as large as
her apartment. The bath held a sunken tub, potted plants, mirrors, an adjoining
dressing room plus a huge walk-in closet. She took pictures on her cell phone to
send to her sisters. She could imagine how they would ooh and aah over where she
was staying. Her paramount concern was how would she work constantly around Zach
Delaney. She had heard rumors at the office about how appealing he was, but not
from anyone who had actually worked for him. She had talked to one secretary who
had spent two days with him and thought he was a monster, piling on work until
it was impossible to get done what he demanded. Another secretary had complained
about him being silent and abrupt during the day.

When she saw it was time to go back to meet with him, she
smoothed her hair into a loose bun and left her room. Trying to familiarize
herself with the mansion, she walked to the study where she had met Zach.

He sat behind a desk and stood the minute she appeared in the
doorway. Once again, she tried to avoid staring. He looked muscled and fit
except for his foot that was wrapped in a bandage and in an oversize health
shoe. The unruly curls were a tangle around his face, softening his rugged
features.

“Let’s go to the office,” he said, and she walked beside him
down a wide hall filled with paintings, plants, side tables and chairs.

As they entered a large room, she drew a deep breath. It was a
dream office with two large desks at opposite ends of the room. Shelves lined
three walls and the remaining wall was glass with a view of a small pond and
well tended grounds up to a white fence. Beyond the fence were stables, a corral
and pasture. Through spacious windows, daylight spilled into the room. Fax
machines, shredders, computers and electronic equipment filled each end of the
office.

“That’s my desk,” he said, pointing to the larger one that was
polished, ornately carved dark wood. Forming an L-shape with the desk, a table
stood at one end. The table held two computers, one of which had dual oversize
monitors. Another computer was centered on his desk. Two laptops and an iPad lay
on the table.

The other desk was glass, looking far newer. File cabinets were
built into one wall and not noticeable at first glance.

He sat behind his desk, motioning toward a leather chair facing
him. She sat, crossing her legs, catching him looking at her legs when she
glanced up. She inhaled sharply. She experienced an undercurrent of intense
awareness and suspected he did as well. It was unexpected, definitely unwanted.
Any hot attraction between them could put her job in jeopardy and this job was
important to her. She was saving to go back to college and, ultimately, become
qualified to teach. This was a temporary increase in pay she could use to
achieve her dream.

“Since you and I and my staff are the only people here, you can
dress casually. Jeans are fine.”

She nodded. “Great.”

“The glass desk will be yours. You’ll find a stack of papers
I’ve signed that need to be copied and put into the mail.” He leaned back and
stretched out his long legs.

She realized she was going to have a difficult time for a few
days, focusing on what he was saying because she got lost looking at him.

“Hopefully you’ll be able to read my handwriting. I have a
document there for you to type for me to sign. Another stack holds filing.
There’s an in-box on the corner of my desk. When you finish anything, if it
doesn’t go in the mail or the file, place it in my in-box. If you have any
questions, always feel free to ask. Take a break when you want and feel free to
get what you want in the kitchen. Did Nigel show you where the kitchen is?”

“Yes, he showed me around briefly.”

“Did you meet my very good cook?”

“Yes, I met Rosie.”

“Good. You can start work each day at 8:00, quit at 4:00 or
start at 9:00 and quit at 5:00. You’re stuck here for lunch so we’ll not add
that to the time.”

“I prefer 8:00,” she said and he nodded.

“Any questions now?” he asked, giving her a direct look that
made her pulse jump another notch.

“One—where do I take the mail?”

“There’s a box on a shelf near your desk that is marked Mail
and you put everything in there. One of the hands who works on the ranch will
get the mail to take it down to the road to be picked up.”

She nodded and headed over to her desk, feeling her back
prickle because she suspected Zach’s gaze was on her. She sat down and looked at
the piles of work in front of her, remembering the angry statements from Brenna
about Zach Delaney heaping mountains of work on her. It looked like a lot
now—hopefully, by the end of the day, she would have made a big enough dent in
the stacks to get to keep this job.

Still conscious of him across the room, Emma reached for a
stack. As she began to read the first letter, she tried to keep from glancing
his way. She pushed the stack aside and picked up a tablet with a bold
handwriting. The writing to be typed looked the most time-consuming, so she
started with it. In minutes she managed to put Zach out of her thoughts.

When she finished each task, she placed it in the proper pile.
Standing, she gathered the work she had completed and put papers for Zach into
his in-box. His back was turned as he worked at his computer and she looked at
the thick hair curling on the back of his head.

She had not expected to be working in the same room with him.
Also, she hadn’t expected to work for someone who took her breath and set her
pulse racing just by a glance from his sky-blue eyes.

With a deep sigh, she placed letters in the box for mail and
then she started to file.

She looked across the room to see him setting papers in a pile.
He picked up the letters in his in-box, glanced at her to catch her watching him
again. She turned away to work on her computer, in seconds concentrating on what
she was doing for the next half hour. She finished another stack and picked them
up to take to his in-box and this time when she glanced his way, she met his
gaze.

He seemed to be sitting and watching her. She picked up the
papers and carried them to his desk, all the time aware of his steady
observation.

As she started to put the letters into the box, he took them
and riffled through them before looking at her. “You’re a fast worker. And an
accurate one.”

“Thank you. I try to be.”

“I figured with all the work I’ve piled on you this morning,
you’d be out of here as fast as the others.”

“I intend to stay,” she said, amused, and realizing he might
have been testing to see how she worked. She went back to her desk, again having
that tingly feeling across her shoulders, certain he was watching her.

When she glanced at him, he had settled back to read. In
seconds, he placed the letter in the stack beside him on his desk.

What kind of man did she work for? When she had gone to work at
Z.A.D. Enterprises, she hadn’t given much thought to the head of the business
because she’d heard he was rarely in the Dallas office. The business comprised
primarily of demolition, but also had a trucking company, an architectural firm
and a concrete company. The international company had offices scattered
worldwide and she heard Zachary Delaney traveled constantly from site to site,
something she would detest. Other than that and the recent grumbling by Brenna,
she knew little about him. Not one of the secretaries who had preceded her had
said anything about his appeal, about his looks, about anything except he had
proven difficult to work for. Maya, as well as Brenna, had thought he was
unreceptive and uncommunicative. All had complained the workload was too heavy
and she had to agree it was a lot, but it made time fly. On the other hand,
around the office the word had always been that he was friendly. Perhaps part of
his surly reputation with some secretaries was caused by his being injured and
isolated on a ranch.

She returned to the stack, until she heard the scrape of a
chair.

He stood and stretched, flexing muscles in his arms. When he
glanced her way, she was embarrassed to be caught staring at him again.

“Want some lunch?” Without waiting for her answer, he motioned.
“C’mon, we’ll get something to eat. Rosie will have something fixed.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I still have letters, though.”

“C’mon. You’ll like Rosie’s cooking and she’ll be disappointed
if you don’t come eat. Those letters aren’t urgent.”

“Very well. You’re the boss and I don’t want to hurt her
feelings.” Glancing at her watch, Emma was surprised it was half past twelve. “I
didn’t realize the time.”

“Time flies when you’re having fun,” he said, grinning at her.
Creases appeared on either side of his mouth in an enticing smile that caused
her to smile in return.

“So, Emma, tell me about yourself since we’ll be working
together for the next month or so.”

Satisfaction flared because he must mean she would get to stay.
“There’s not much to tell. I’ve been at Z.A.D. for two years now. I have an
apartment in Dallas and have two sisters and two brothers. My sisters, Sierra
and Mary Kate, and Connor, my older brother, are married. Bobby and I are
single. What about you?”

“I have two brothers, it was three, one is deceased. My older
brother became guardian of our little niece, Caroline.”

“That’s sad. Is your niece’s mother deceased, too?”

“No, her mother walked out when Caroline was a baby. She didn’t
want to be tied down with responsibilities, although she had a nanny and someone
to cook and clean.”

“I can’t imagine,” Emma said, staring at him.

He shrugged. “One more thing to sour me on marriage. My older
brother felt the same way until this year. He just married in September.”

“You don’t want to get married and have a family?”

His mouth quirked in a crooked smile. “Not even remotely. The
weeks I’m spending here recuperating are probably the longest I’ve stayed home
in Texas in I don’t know when. I’m a traveler.”

“I’ve heard you work all over the world and I know Z.A.D. has
offices worldwide. I have a vastly different life. I don’t want to miss a
weekend with my family.”

“We’re poles apart there,” he remarked with a smile, directing
her into a large kitchen with an adjoining dining room that held a table and
chairs, a sofa, a fireplace, two wingback chairs and a bar.

“What’s for lunch, Rosie? Something smells tempting,” he said,
raising a lid on a pot on the stove. A stocky woman in a uniform bustled around
the kitchen. Her graying hair was in a bun and glasses perched on her turned-up
nose.

“Chicken soup there and I have quesadillas or turkey melt
sandwiches—your preference.”

“How about soup, plus—” He paused and looked questioningly at
Emma. “Either of the choices have any appeal?”

“Of course. Quesadillas, please.”

“Good choice. Rosie’s are special. Soup and quesadillas it is.
We can help ourselves, Rosie.”

Bowls and plates were on the counter. With that steady
awareness of him at her side, Emma helped herself to a small bowl of soup,
surprised when Zach set down his dishes and held her chair as she sat down. The
gesture made their lunch together seem far less like boss and secretary eating
together than a man and a woman on a date. Rosie appeared with a coffeepot,
which Emma declined and Zach accepted.

When he sat, she said, “I’m sure everyone asks, what drew you
to demolition?”

“A child’s love of tearing something down, probably. I have an
engineering degree and I almost went to architecture school. I have architects
working for me so we build where we tear down. We build sometimes where nothing
has stood. I find it fascinating work.”

“I hear you go all over the world.” She didn’t add that she
knew he was wealthy enough he would never have to work a day if he didn’t want
to.

The Delaney wealth was well publicized. She had never known
anyone like him before. His love of travel was foreign to her. His disregard for
family and marriage dismayed her even more than his apparent disregard for his
family history. He had a lifestyle she could not imagine, but the head of the
company was light-years from her clerical job, which provided an excellent way
to save money to finish her college education.

“So, Zach, your favorite locale is where?” she asked as Rosie
brought a platter with steaming quesadillas to set between them.

“There’s too many to have a favorite. I love Paris, I love
Torres del Paine, Iguazu Falls, the city of New York. They’re all interesting.
Where’s your favorite?”

“Home with my family,” she said, smiling at him, and he shook
his head.