Temporary Boss, Permanent Mistress

‘I’m sorry.’ The secretary made a face, looking embarrassed. ‘They’re both at lunch right now.’

‘Don’t keep apologising. It’s not your fault.’ Jake frowned. He could reschedule the trip to Norway, but he was keen to get this deal sorted. And out of the two remaining members of the legal team…Tim could talk the talk, all right, but he didn’t have Lydia’s experience or knowledge, and he was perhaps a little too hungry for results. Jake needed someone calm, someone confident, someone who would pay attention to detail.

‘Lydia will have to do. Ask her to come and see me when she gets back from lunch, would you, please?’

‘Yes, Mr Ande—’

‘Jake,’ he cut in gently. ‘We don’t do formality at Andersen’s.’ It was the first thing he’d changed, the day his father retired and he took over as CEO: dropping the formality and opening things up a bit. But, nearly two years later, some of the staff still hadn’t quite got used to calling the boss by his first name.

‘Yes, M—Jake,’ the secretary corrected herself quickly.

‘Thank you, Judith.’ He gave her a swift smile, and headed for his office.

Lydia will have to do.

That said it all.

And it rankled, even though Lydia acknowledged the justice of the remark. Jakob Andersen was sharp enough to know exactly what was going on in every single division of the company. To know what every member of his staff was capable of doing, to know what worked and what didn’t, and where things needed moving around. He’d spent six months working in each department before he’d taken over as CEO, so he knew what every part of the company did and what challenges his employees faced. Anyone who’d been tempted to grumble that he’d only walked into the job because he was the boss’s son had quickly changed their minds. Jake wasn’t a delegator who spent all his time wafting around or in long lunches. He was a hands-on leader who saw what needed doing and made sure it was done and, if need be, he rolled up his sleeves and did it himself.

So doubtless he’d already spotted that Lydia Sheridan just wasn’t cut out to be a corporate lawyer.

Lydia had the right background and the right training. What she didn’t have was the shark instinct.

She’d been trying to kid herself for years. Trying to be the child her parents had wanted. Trying to be the person everyone else wanted her to be. Now, maybe, she thought, it was time to stop trying and just be herself.

So she would go to see Jake, at his request. But she had a feeling that he wasn’t going to like what she was going to say. Because Lydia Sheridan wasn’t going to ‘do’ at all.

‘Oh, good, Lydia, you’re back,’ Judith said as she walked into the reception area. ‘The CEO just came by—he wants to see you asap.’

‘Sure.’ Lydia summoned a smile. It wasn’t Judith’s fault that Lydia wasn’t cut out for her job, so she wasn’t going to take out her frustrations on the departmental secretary. ‘I’ll go now.’

When she reached Jake’s office, his door was wide open, but she knocked anyway.

He looked up from his desk. ‘Come in. Take a seat.’

As always, she found herself assessing him, itching to pick up pastels and a sketchpad and start drawing him. Jakob Andersen was simply beautiful. His piercing blue eyes demanded—no, commanded—attention and, teamed with his dark spiky hair and pale Nordic skin, were absolutely stunning. Though his face was maybe a little too thin and angular, and the slight dark smudges beneath his eyes said that he drove himself too hard. Since his two-month sabbatical, eighteen months before, he’d put in ridiculous hours. From what Lydia had heard, he was always the first one in the office and the last to leave.

What was he running from?

Not that it was any of her business. Besides, she wasn’t supposed to be wool-gathering. He’d summoned her, which no doubt meant he needed her to sort out some legal nicety for him.

She sat down on the chair he’d indicated. ‘Judith said you wanted to see me.’

‘I have to go to Norway tomorrow to sort out some contracts. I need you to come with me.’

Abrupt and straight to the point.

Only…she wasn’t quite buying this. Not after what she’d heard him say to Judith. And, given the reason she’d already decided to see him, she didn’t need to be polite and pussyfoot around. She could be just as straight—all the way back. ‘You need me.’

He frowned, clearly picking up the scorn in her tone. ‘Yes.’

‘That’s a bit hard to believe,’ she said.

His frown deepened. ‘Meaning?’

‘I overheard you saying that I’d have to do.’

He leaned back in his chair and raked a hand through his hair. ‘Ah. That.’

At least he wasn’t denying it.

‘Actually, I didn’t mean it quite in that way,’ he said.

‘No?’

‘No. I admit, you’re not my first choice,’ he said. ‘I’d arranged to go with Matt, but he’s off sick and Adam’s away. I know that both of them have dealt with this kind of thing before, and Matt speaks Norwegian, so it would have saved some time. But it’s no matter. I’ll translate for you, where necessary.’

‘There’s no need.’

It was his turn to question her. ‘You speak Norwegian?’

‘No. I was going to come and see you anyway, this afternoon,’ she said quietly. ‘To hand in my notice.’

He blinked, obviously taken by surprise. ‘Why?’

‘Because you’re right. I’m not cut out to be a corporate lawyer.’

‘I didn’t say that. At all.’ He looked straight at her. ‘Your work is meticulous, Lydia.’

Because she made damn sure it was. It was a point of pride. Her work wasn’t the problem. She was. ‘I’m not like Tim—I’m not hungry to win.’

‘Tim,’ he said, ‘would be completely the wrong lawyer for this deal. He needs to tone down.’

What? Weren’t all corporate lawyers supposed to be driven, hungry for success? ‘How do you mean, tone down?’ she asked carefully.

‘He needs to be able to sum up a situation quickly and know the right tactics to use—when to take it softly and when to push. If you go in with high-pressure tactics in Norway, you’ll lose out. I need someone who’s calm and competent, who knows the facts and will cut through the hype, and who’ll meet deadlines and commitments.’ He ticked the requirements off on his fingers. ‘Someone straightforward. From what Matt tells me of your work, you’re perfectly capable of all that, or you wouldn’t be working at Andersen’s.’ His gaze met hers. ‘Your problem is, you lack confidence.’

How would he know? Although she was aware that he’d spent time working in the legal department, it had been before she’d joined the company. She’d only ever worked with him on projects as part of a larger team, never one-to-one.

Before she had the chance to protest, he added, ‘You’re good enough to do the job; you just don’t think you are. You need to work on that. I’ll tell Adam to add that to your objectives at your next appraisal and send you on some assertiveness training.’

Businesslike and to the point. And Lydia felt as if she’d been steamrollered. This wasn’t how the conversation was supposed to go. At all. He thought she’d got cold feet, was having a minor confidence wobble? That wasn’t the half of it. ‘I was trying to resign,’ she reminded him.

‘I know. And I’m not accepting your resignation. Apart from the fact that the legal team is under strength right now—so it’d put us in a mess if I let you go—you do your job well. So there’s no reason for you to leave.’ He rested both elbows on his desk, steepling his fingers, and looked her straight in the eye. ‘Unless you’ve had a better offer elsewhere?’

This was her cue to negotiate a pay rise. To claim that she’d been offered a huge salary and longer holidays with a rival company, so Jake would offer to match the deal.

Except…She wasn’t a shark.