Ms. Bravo And The Boss

His only concern now was her plan to leave once this project was finished. He really needed to do something to keep that from happening.

Fortunately, he had until November 1 to figure out what.

* * *

Two and a half weeks after he hired Elise, Jed woke at 0200 to a rumbling sound.

He’d been dreaming of a misty lake and the soft roar of a motorboat coming toward him through the fog. Shaking off sleep, he pulled himself to a sitting position and peered blearily into the darkness.

Gold eyes gleamed at him from down by his feet and the strange rumbling sound continued. The motorboat had followed him right out of his dream.

But it wasn’t a motorboat.

It was the damn cat.

“Out!” he commanded, sweeping an arm toward the door for good measure.

But the cat was not impressed. It just watched him and continued to purr.

He stared it down for several seconds and then ordered, “Get!” good and loud.

No effect whatsoever. In time with the purring, it kneaded his comforter with its big paws.

Jed gave up glaring and growling and took action. Shoving back the covers, he scooped up the animal into his arms. Unconcerned, the cat kept purring as Jed carried it to the upper hallway, set it on the floor and firmly shut the door on it.

* * *

The next morning, he purposely went down to the kitchen early, when he knew Elise would be there.

And she was. He found her at the counter near the six-burner range with eggs, butter, a golden loaf of homemade bread, milk and several spices spread out in front of her.

The staircase met the ground floor just beyond the open-plan kitchen. She glanced over her shoulder and spotted him as he descended the last few steps. That wide mouth bloomed in a smile of greeting.

Strange. It was only a smile, yet it caused a distinct and disorienting stab of pleasure right to his chest.

“Jed. What a surprise.” She turned to face him fully. She looked good, fresh and well rested in curve-hugging jeans and a big, white shirt of some silky material that clung to her tasty breasts.

He kept the corners of his mouth turned down and spoke with great severity. “I need a word.”

Her smile vanished. He missed it the second it was gone and regretted being the reason it went away.

What was she doing to him? He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He entered the kitchen area. Her dark brown eyes were wary now. “Of course,” she said. “Coffee?”

Why not? He grabbed a mug and poured himself a cup. She waited for him to say what was on his mind, her breakfast preparations suspended. “Your cat was in my room last night. I woke up and found the thing purring on the end of my bed.”