Innocent In The Boardroom: At Her Boss's Pleasure / Her Boss by Day... / How to Sleep with the Boss

‘Absolutely,’ Kate agreed, delighted at his turnaround. ‘That sort of thing would just...destroy him...’

‘Which is why we are going to fly to Canada and confront him there. Find out just what the hell has been going on. Surprise him, so to speak. But it will be a far less unpleasant surprise than if I do it in the office, with all those curious eyes peering through the glass, people jumping to conclusions and gossiping...’

‘Sorry...we...?’

‘Of course!’

He smiled broadly at her while she stared back, her brain moving sluggishly to compute the message it was receiving.

‘You’re the one who has influenced me into a decision I would never have otherwise taken. It’s only right that you be there when the questions get asked...don’t you agree?’

‘Well...’

‘Congratulations on changing my mind! It’s a rare occurrence. I’ll get my secretary to book flights out first thing on Monday morning. I take it you have a current passport? Yes? Well, then...’ He looked at her with satisfaction. ‘That’s settled...’

CHAPTER FOUR (#u29a44239-142c-584d-bdfb-84b94218c41c)

ALESSANDRO WAS WAITING for her five days later at the first-class check-in desk at the airport.

Kate spotted him from a mile away. Not hard. He stood out even in a packed terminal, where people were either rushing around frantically or else standing in long queues with blank How much slower can this line move? stares.

He was frowning at his smartphone, scrolling through messages, leaning against the counter with a solitary, very expensive holdall on the ground next to him. The picture of understated elegance in cream trousers, a white shirt and a lightweight jacket which he had tossed on top of the holdall.

Having planned on arriving bang on time, if not early, Kate was unavoidably running late and she was hassled.

She thought her neatly pinned-back hair might be unravelling. and her suit and pumps felt stiff and uncomfortable—unsuitable for the heat here in London, never mind abroad. Lord only knew how they would fare on a long-haul flight, but she had been determined to dress appropriately because, crucially, this wasn’t a holiday.

She had allowed her rules to slip. She had found herself losing her self-control. It was going to be very important that she re-establish that self-control while she was in Toronto on this business trip.

Comfy trousers and a casual cotton jumper with loafers had thus been ruled out as suitable travel gear.

‘You’re late,’ were the first words Alessandro greeted her with as he snapped shut his phone and straightened.

‘Traffic. I’m sorry. It would have been quicker for me to have come by tube. But I’m here now, and I hope I haven’t kept you waiting too long.’ She managed to say all that in a cool, polite voice whilst not actually looking at him at all. ‘Have you checked in?’

‘I was waiting for you.’

‘Is that all the luggage you’ve brought?’ Kate asked incredulously.

Next to his holdall, her suitcase was the size of a small mountain—but they were going for a week, and she hadn’t quite known which clothes to take for which occasion. So she had packed to cover every eventuality.

They had found out where George was staying with his wife without actually contacting him for the information—because, as Alessandro had persisted in telling her, the element of surprise would afford him no time to start thinking up fancy stories to cover up what he had done.

Kate hadn’t said anything. Poor George. Little did he know what he was in for. Alessandro had assured her that he was prepared to listen, but was he prepared to absolve from blame and forgive?

In the world of Alessandro Preda there was no room for excuses or apologies. If you crossed him in any way retribution would be swift and unforgiving. She could only try and be the restraining hand on his arm, so to speak. It was a minor miracle that he was prepared to listen at all.

‘I’m a believer in travelling light,’ he said, checking in her suitcase and then taking his time to examine the picture in her passport, while Kate patiently waited for him to return it to her, teeth gritted. ‘I take it you’re not...?’

‘I wasn’t sure what to bring with me.’

‘So you decided to bring it all? Including the kitchen sink?’

She reddened and mumbled something about it being so much easier for guys, who could fling two things in an overnight bag and disappear abroad for a month.

She might have added that she could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times she had been abroad in her entire life. She wasn’t an expert when it came to working out what to pack. Aside from confronting George and ruining his holiday, they would be visiting a potential business opportunity on the outskirts of the city—killing two birds with one stone, so to speak, which was probably partly why Alessandro had chosen to make this trip in the first place.

So, yes, work clothes... But it wasn’t really feasible to wear suits in the evenings as well, was it?

Not that she planned on spending a single one of those evenings in his company. Not one. She intended to draw some very clear and definite lines. Between nine and five she would be his employee, and after five she would disappear and do her own thing.

So she had stuffed some casual wear in her case as well. Jeans and loose, baggy tops. The woman in the tiny shorts and cropped top with the ponytail was not going to make an appearance.

‘If I need more clothes,’ Alessandro was saying, leading her through customs, handling everything so efficiently that she barely noticed them heading towards the first-class lounge, ‘then I can always buy out there. I travel so much that I can be in and out of an airport a lot faster if I don’t have to check in any luggage.’

‘Hence the holdall?’

‘Hence the holdall. Usually I bring something a lot smaller when I’m going to Europe.’

‘I can’t imagine what could be smaller,’ Kate panted, walking fast to keep pace with him. ‘A wallet?’

Alessandro chuckled and shot her an appreciative look—which she missed because she was trying to remain composed whilst half running beside him, one hand holding her neat little bun in place, the other dragging a pull-along case which she had stuffed with all sorts of useful reading matter.

‘Occasionally,’ he drawled, slowing down and veering off to the left, ‘a wallet is all a man needs. It can hold a lot more than just banknotes and credit cards...’

‘Really? Like what?’ Kate retorted sarcastically, getting her breathing back and looking sideways at him. ‘A change of outfit? Spare jacket? Pair of shoes?’

He burst out laughing, stopping and looking down at her with an unreadable expression that left her feeling a little dizzy.

‘Where have you been hiding?’

‘Sorry?’ She stared back at him, confused.

‘This witty, funny woman with the sharp tongue... Where have you been stashing her away? If I’d known she existed I would have taken some time out to try and find her...under the desk, maybe...or behind the coatrack...or in the stationery cupboard...’

Kate couldn’t help herself. She blushed and smiled and looked away, and then caught his eyes again. And all the while she was doing that she could feel her heart pick up speed.

There was still laughter in his eyes as he continued to hold her gaze. ‘A wallet,’ he murmured, his dark eyes suddenly glinting with lazy devilry, ‘can hold something that’s even more vital than cash or credit cards...’

‘What?’

‘I’ll let you think about it...’ He grinned and began walking again, pushing open the glass doors that led to the first-class lounge.

Kate paused and took stock. This was amazing. Here, the hustle and bustle of the airport terminal gave way to...well, peace, quiet...glassy counters groaning under the weight of food...men and women on their computers, comfy chairs and sofas...

‘Wow.’

Accustomed to all of this, Alessandro took a few seconds to register her expression, and he felt a weirdly heady kick at having been the one to introduce her to the experience.