Bedded by the Boss (2 page)

"How long have you lived in Louisiana?" The scathing question came back and hit her.

Where was this going?

"All my life." She couldn't suppress a small shudder as tension gripped her.

"Obviously you haven't figured out we like our coffee strong. This tastes like water." He walked over to his private restroom and she watched through the open door as he poured the liquid down the sink. He left the cup there and turned around and came back to her.

He put both hands flat on her desk and leaned over toward her. His size was meant to intimidate. "I know this is going to be difficult for you, but do you think you could possibly learn how to make a decent cup of coffee?"

"Y-yes, sir. I'll t-try again." He was so close Renee could smell the hot blend of male muskiness and aggression radiating from him in tangible waves. What the hell was wrong with her that she was so attracted to him? He was an
asshole
.
An impossibly good-looking asshole.
Her eyes ran over him. Six feet, four inches of seething testosterone stood over her. He rarely wore a business suit, preferring jeans and casual short sleeve button downs. The tails of his shirt hung over the waistband of his jeans in a disheveled style. He looked and dressed exactly like the man she knew him to be. A blue-collar worker with astute intelligence and a keen sense of business who had taken risks and struck it rich. Renee knew his story. Mrs. Argenot was as proud of him as she would have been of her own son.

Her eyes continued to catalog his good looks. His hair was thick and dark, and badly in need of a trim. The thick wisps of hair falling against his forehead did nothing to detract from his masculinity. They only highlighted a face pulsing with intensity. A face that radiated power and an inherent ruthlessness. His eyes were dark, a chocolate brown with grey irises that glittered whenever they fell on her. His nose dominated his features in a blatantly male way. His mouth was generous, twin grooves bracketing his lips. She pushed her chair back an inch but continued to sit and watch him in agitation.

"What are you waiting for? Permission?" he barked at her.

Renee's body jerked from the impact as his voice lacerated her nerves.
Forty-eight more days
. She stood up and sidestepped away from him toward the coffee bar. He turned and followed her and stood watching, his hands fisted at his sides. Her fingers shook as she made coffee by rote. She stood with her back toward him while the machine perked.

Robert saw the steel in the slim line of her back and his fisted hands clenched involuntarily. He had to physically stop himself from reaching out and touching her. It had been like this for every hour of the forty-two godforsaken days she had worked for him.

His life until forty-two days ago had been smooth, on an even keel. He worked hard building custom homes and office buildings, and made a lot of money doing it. He lived alone, the way he liked it, and by necessity usually had a woman in the background.

Unfortunately, he had been forced to get rid of the current woman in his bed when she began making impossible demands. Which made this situation all the more volatile, because he didn't have a ready outlet for all the fucking testosterone building up inside of him.

And Renee Guillot was more potent than most women. She was fucking with him from every angle.

Renee felt his eyes on her back like a physical touch. Her hands shook as she poured coffee from the carafe into a clean cup. The betraying tremor upset her more than anything. Slowly she turned and faced him and started to hand him the cup. Her nervousness increased and the hot liquid spilled over onto her hand. She let out a small shriek of pain, and the coffee started wobbling more.

"
Fuck
." Robert reached out and took the cup from her and placed it on the counter. Turning her around, he reached over and turned the cold water on and picked up her hand and held it under the running water.

Renee felt assaulted on all fronts. Her hand was burning from the hot liquid, and Robert was crowding her from behind, his arms wrapped completely around her as he held her hand still under the flow of cold water.

She began shaking more violently.

"Jesus Christ, calm down. You're okay. It can't have hurt that bad." Robert snaked one arm all the way around her waist and pulled her back into him. It didn't help and the shaking continued.

Lust hit Robert all at once as he inhaled her scent and felt her body warm and soft against his. The picture of her spread out on his bed assailed his senses. His grip tightened on her.

He came back to awareness as he felt her pulling away.

Renee turned off the water and moved back from him. She picked up a dishcloth to steady her nerves and wiped her wet hand. She turned to face him and straightened her shoulders.

She motioned to the coffee. "Try it." She took a deep breath and crossed her arms protectively in front of herself.

He picked up the coffee, took a sip and grunted. "Better. I knew you could learn." He gave her one, all encompassing glare and walked back to his office.

Renee slowly let out the breath she had been holding.

The coffee was exactly the same as the first time she made it.

Chapter Two

Tuesday at mid-afternoon, Mrs. Argenot walked out of Robert's office with her arms full. "I'm going to the courthouse, Renee. I've got to get this application for permit filed, and pick up a copy of the plat map for La Fourche parish. After that, I'll be at the appraisal district. You're going to have to hold down the fort for the rest of the day."

"No problem. There's not much on this afternoon's itinerary except for a three o'clock with Cameron Industrial Supplies. Everything else is business as usual. Be careful out there."

Renee really liked the older woman. She was business first with a soft outer maternal coating. She was a pleasure to work with on a day to day basis.

Mrs. Argenot paused on her way out the door with a calculating look. "Oh, that James Cameron! You haven't met him yet, have you? We've already built two warehouses for him. This consultation is only customary. We'll get the bid." She lowered her voice. "He's a nice man, Renee. He's single, dear. Pays his bills in thirty days. And so nice looking. You'll have to tell me what you think tomorrow."

The older woman gave her a conspiratorial smile and breezed out of the office.

****

At three o'clock, Renee glanced up from the paperwork in front of her to the man that walked in from outside. She immediately saw what Mrs. Argenot meant. The man was tall and broad and very nice looking, if a bit young. He had brown hair with streaks of gold running through it. Renee immediately pushed the comparison to dark, steely strength from her mind and focused on her job.

"You must be Mr. Cameron." Renee gave him her friendliest smile.

"And you must be the new secretary Mrs. Argenot has been raving on and on about." He walked across the room and extended his hand toward her.

Renee heard a subtle
click
in the background as she stood and gave him her hand. "Yes. I'm Renee Guillot." Renee held her smile as the man continued to hold onto her hand.

"Call me James, please. We're going to be seeing a lot of each other. Now that I've seen you, I don't think I'm going to waste my time with getting other bids." Renee felt his grip tighten and subtly caress her hand. If her brain hadn't been completely absorbed with Robert Thibodeaux, she knew she would have found the touch very pleasant.

James broke eye contact with her at a sound from across the room.

Robert stood scowling in the doorway of his office. Renee felt the provocative effect he had on her every time she was in his presence.

He took his time watching them. Tension gripped Renee. Finally he spoke.

"Cameron. Good to see you. If you can let go of my secretary long enough, maybe we can do some business."

James slowly let go of her hand and followed Robert into his office.

****

Almost two hours later, Renee was clearing her desk for the day when the two men came out of the meeting. They shook hands and James Cameron looked her way, nodded, and left the building.

Robert stood with his arms crossed, glaring at her. Her heartbeat accelerated as he came prowling toward her. He crossed behind her desk to where she sat and lowered his hands to the arms of her chair and caged her in.

Her breathing went haywire. Her eyes were riveted on him.

"Don't flirt with my clients again." His words were sharp, punctuated.

Renee sucked in a breath and began shaking her head in denial.
Forty-seven more days.
"I didn't--"

"Bullshit. I saw you. I don't need your help getting the business. You just do your work and keep those sweet little smiles to yourself." His arms tightened on the chair until his hands turned white. Anger radiated from him. He was too pissed for her to try to reason with.

She nodded her head in agreement.

****

Robert stood under the stream of icy cold water and tried to contain the primal emotions running through him. It had come too damn close today. That mother fucker Cameron looking at her like he was measuring her for his bed. The smile she had given him in return. And the possession and lust that coursed through his body when she sat so still in his arms.

He was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. He needed a woman in his bed. Needed one tonight.

But only one would do
. And he couldn't have her yet.

The waiting was going to make him snap and do something stupid.

With a steady stream of cuss words, he flipped the water to hot and reached his soapy hand down and did what he had to do so he would have enough control to face her the next day.

Chapter Three

The rest of the week crawled by in slow motion for Renee. Friday morning, she found herself questioning more and more why she continued to live on this tightrope. This job had good pay and benefits, but it didn't stand between her and starvation. Especially after the conversation she had with her daughter the night before.

She was curled up watching an old movie trying to take her mind off the menacing image of Robert Thibodeaux when her cell phone rang. Her daughter's picture blinked, and her own special ringtone filled the air. "Hey, baby. How are you?"

"Mom. Guess what?" Brittany barely paused before continuing in an upbeat voice. "I got an R.A. position!" Her young voice was enthusiastic.

Renee didn't know what that meant, but could tell it must be good. "Great, baby. What's an R.A.?"

Brittany answered in a rush of sentences. "It's a resident advisor. I'm really young to get it only going into my second year. But I must have been impressive because I didn't even have to come back for a second interview. Mrs. Cobb, the lady in charge of resident life, looked at my application and resume and hired me on the spot."

"Hired you for what? What is resident life?" Renee was happy for her daughter, but didn't want her burdened with a job. She needed to keep her grades up, so the scholarship money would keep coming in.

"It means I'll continue to live in the freshmen dorms next year, and be kind of like a big sister. Kids will come to me with problems, or just questions and I help them out. Of course, I'm supposed to report any alcohol or drug use or stuff like that, but I don't think that's going to be much of an issue because I haven't run into anything like that this year. Well, not in the freshmen dorms, anyway."

"And they'll pay you for this?" Renee questioned.

"Well, not really. I just get my room for free. All you have to do is buy me a meal plan next year. And hopefully every year after that."

Renee felt a huge knot of stress dissolve and relief take its place. "Are you serious? We don't have to come up with the dorm money? And you don't actually have to work any extra? You just have to live there and answer questions?"

"Yeah, Mom. That's basically it. I didn't want to tell you before I applied for it because I didn't want you to get your hopes up. But now we can celebrate. Yay!"

Renee thought back over the conversation of the night before and was still amazed at the sense of relief she felt. The financial burden of college was almost non-existent now. She was very lucky to have a smart, responsible daughter. And now she was free to quit her job and leave this hysteria-inducing environment. So why should she stay? It dawned on her all at once the actual choice she had now.

She could quit this job or… Or she could quit dancing around him and let him catch her. Sudden images provoked her curiosity. He was absolutely the sexiest man she had ever met in her life. He had been an object of fascination for her since the first time she laid eyes on him.

There was no question he wanted her. She wasn't stupid. She knew the signs. He was like a bull with a red flag waving in front of his face. How much would it take to push him over the edge? Could she be so subtle that he never knew what hit him?