Taken by the Boss: His Very Personal Assistant / In the Banker's Bed / The Takeover Bid

‘Oh, it is,’ he replied. ‘Have I told you yet this evening how beautiful you look?’

If anything that colour in her cheeks deepened. ‘There’s no need to keep up the pretence when we’re on our own,’ she informed him awkwardly.

‘It’s not pretence,’ he assured her softly, blue eyes laughing warmly as she gave him a puzzled look. ‘You really are a very beautiful woman, Kit,’ he told her seriously. ‘I had absolutely no idea.’

‘Perhaps it might be better if we left it that way,’ she said stiffly.

‘Too late,’ he responded. ‘I think simply coming in to the office might be a pleasure in future!’

Kit didn’t feel the same enthusiasm, not if it was based on the fact that he now found her an attractive woman. Considering the short amount of time his interest in a specific woman usually lasted, that could mean that her days as his PA were numbered…

‘Especially…’ he looked at her intently ‘… if you really have forgiven me for my remarks of a few minutes ago?’

Kit gave an abrupt nod of her head. ‘I said I had.’

Marcus grimaced. ‘It’s been my experience that women don’t always mean what they say.’

‘Well, this one does!’ she assured him firmly.

Oh, she had forgiven him. Of course she had. But she wouldn’t forget. Couldn’t forget.

Because if Marcus knew the truth about her acquaintance with Catherine Grainger, she was sure he wouldn’t have Kit anywhere near him, let alone working in his office!

CHAPTER SEVEN

‘I THOUGHT the man was never going to leave your side!’ Mike Reynolds complained as he joined Kit beside the buffet table and a mouth-watering array of desserts.

Because of the amount of people staying at the house this weekend dinner had necessarily been a full buffet affair, which actually suited Kit much better than being seated formally at a dinner table and stuck between two men she would probably rather not spend the time of day—or evening!—with.

Which pretty much covered most of the men here this weekend. With the exception of those wealthy businessmen—and women!—Kit had noted earlier, she had so far found them exactly as Marcus had earlier described them, a lot of ‘hangers-on and social bores’. And Mike Reynolds came even further down the social list as far as she was concerned!

‘Marcus will be back in a few minutes,’ she informed Mike frostily, her expression one of utter contempt as she looked unflinchingly into his too-handsome face. ‘He’s just slipped upstairs to collect some cigars he brought with him for our host.’

‘So I noticed,’ Mike responded comfortably, as usual not affected by her obvious dislike. ‘I also noticed Andrea Revel slipping out to join him a few seconds later,’ he added. ‘So if I were you, I wouldn’t count on your boyfriend being back any time soon!’

Kit tried very hard not to show her surprise—and chagrin—at being told that Andrea was upstairs with Marcus. Not that she really was that surprised that Andrea hadn’t given up on Marcus; she had been extremely visible during the last hour or so as they had all stood or sat around eating their sumptuous dinner, her loud laughter ringing out often at something her companion—presumably Derek Boyes—had said to her.

Not that Marcus had seemed to be taking too much notice, but then Kit didn’t know him well enough to really say whether he had been or not. But other than telling her briefly earlier that he had been delayed getting ready for dinner by a telephone call from Andrea, he hadn’t mentioned her again. The fact that he had left the room ten minutes ago, quickly followed by Andrea if Mike was to be believed, and hadn’t returned yet, seemed to mean that he had been…

‘For your information, Marcus isn’t my boyfriend,’ she snapped, giving Mike a withering look. ‘And don’t presume to project your own moral failings onto other people!’

He gave her an admiring glance. ‘You’ve grown up in the last seven months, Kit.’

‘Oh, please!’ Her look of disdain intensified. ‘Haven’t I already made it obvious that you hold absolutely no charm for me? To the point where I actually walked out on a very well paid job just to avoid being anywhere near you?’

The handsome face grew dark with anger. ‘You always did consider yourself superior—’

‘I did not!’ she cut in indignantly, more stung by the remark than he could possibly imagine. ‘I simply didn’t—and still don’t,’ she continued heatedly, ‘find you in the least attractive!’

He appeared unmoved by her outburst. ‘Well, you’re wasting your time as far as Marcus Maitland is concerned.’

‘It’s my time to waste!’ she came back tartly, turning away from the array of desserts, having suddenly lost her appetite.

She already knew how stupid it was for her to be attracted to Marcus, didn’t need this obnoxious man to tell her so!

Mike shook his head, a taunting smile curving his lips. ‘You’re way out of your depth, Kit.’

Her eyes flashed deeply grey. ‘I would much rather have depth than be shallow!’ Like you, her words obviously implied.

So much so that even the thick-skinned Mike Reynolds couldn’t help but know exactly what she meant, his handsome face once again flushed with anger as he grated, ‘As long as you don’t mind being just another pretty face.’

Kit gave him a pitying look. ‘You’re just being pathetic now,’ she dismissed contemptuously, knowing that in a woman his behaviour would have been classed as bitchy rather than pathetic!

“‘The truth always hurts”,’ he quoted nastily.

Kit wasn’t about to give up. ‘You wouldn’t recognize the truth if it jumped up and bit you on the nose!’

To her surprise Mike laughed at this insulting remark.

But his next move surprised her even more as he reached out to pull her against him to kiss her on the mouth. Hard.

She jerked away angrily, totally bewildered by his action. ‘What on earth—?’

‘You always were a lot of fun, Kit,’ he told her cheekily, a maliciously triumphant gleam in his eyes now.

‘Yes, that’s Kit, all right.’ Marcus spoke from just behind her. ‘Fun and laughter all the way!’

Kit’s face paled as she turned to look at Marcus, feeling slightly sick as she saw the contempt in those deep blue eyes of his as he looked back at her.

Deservedly so, she acknowledged heavily, knowing that Mike had done this on purpose, that he must have seen Marcus’s return and had deliberately kissed her.

She pulled sharply away from Mike, uncaring that his fingers bruised her arms as she did so. ‘You can’t possibly believe I was enjoying that?’ She turned to Marcus disbelievingly.

He looked at her searchingly for several long seconds before turning back to Mike, his expression grimmer than ever. ‘I believe you owe Kit an apology,’ he said tersely.

‘Do I?’ Mike came back aggressively.

‘Is there a problem?’ Desmond Hayes enquired as he approached them, having obviously already seen that there was and moved smoothly away from the group he had been conversing with.

‘Nothing I can’t handle,’ Marcus assured him tightly. ‘I suggest that in future—’ he turned back to Mike Reynolds ‘—you save your less than obvious charms for someone who is more interested in them than Kit appears to be!’

‘And if I don’t?’ the other man challenged.

‘That’s up to you, of course.’ Marcus shrugged. ‘But I should warn you that I have no intention of letting you upset Kit.’

Kit could have wept at the scene that was unfolding in front of her eyes, couldn’t believe this was happening.

‘I believe that at the moment both you gentlemen are upsetting Kit,’ Desmond intervened, at the same time putting a protective hand on her shoulder. ‘I suggest we leave the two of you to sort this out in private.’