In the Boss's Bed (Harlequin Blaze) (3 page)

“That’s great. It’s important to stay focused on your goals.” Jamie’s phone started ringing in his left hand, and he held out his right to Maya. “Maya, it was a pleasure meeting you
today
,” he added for emphasis, before turning to his mentor. “Dr. C., I’ll be in touch. Let’s have dinner some night when I’m not quite so bogged down with work.”

The professor smiled. “Well, son, unless you’ve changed your ways recently, I don’t know when that will be.”

Jamie regretted not having time to catch up with his mentor. A man who had done so much for him and his career. “Thanks for having me.”

“Thanks for coming in, Jamie.” The man shook his hand and gave him a pat on the shoulder before releasing him, his eyes twinkling with obvious pride. “Look after yourself. But make sure you focus on what’s really important in life.”

Jamie looked quizzically at the professor before putting his phone to his ear, turning his back on the old man and the single most beautiful woman he had ever met. He had important business to conduct with the contractor on the other end, but it didn’t stop him from thinking about the woman who had come into his life, catching him off guard for the second time in just under twelve hours. He pushed all thoughts of Maya out of his mind. He had work to do, and he certainly didn’t have time for indulging fantasies of gorgeous graduate students.

“Scott, good to hear from you,” he said into the phone, pushing through the doors to the warm spring air.

3

L
ATER
THAT
NIGHT
, Jamie still sat at his desk. Almost everyone else had gone home for the day, but Jamie remained. He needed to review some construction estimates and vendor contracts in order to begin construction on the new hotel he planned to build. This was the next step in his company’s future—upscale boutique hotels boasting the Sellers and Swerve name. Jamie shuffled through the stacks of papers and file folders on his desk.
How did I get so unorganized?

Out of habit he looked over at the empty desk in the corner of the room that Martin once occupied. He sighed, lamenting his assistant’s absence and realized more every day how much he had come to depend on having someone else to help him shoulder the considerable workload. He thumbed through another stack of contracts, looking for a contractor’s quote that he needed for his newest acquisition—a small building he had bought in foreclosure near the downtown Swerve. He threw down the papers with a frustrated sigh and picked up his phone. Moving his fingers quickly, he typed out a message to his secretary, Mary, asking her to place an ad for a new assistant as soon as possible.

Jamie didn’t know what he would do without Mary. Like Trevor, she had been with him since the beginning, and she was integral in making sure the day-to-day operations ran smoothly.

He rubbed his eyes and let his thoughts roam once again to Maya Connor. With a smile, he recalled their encounters in the past twenty-four hours. First, she had kissed him and then she was sitting front-row center in Dr. C.’s class for his lecture, and then she approached him afterward, apologizing and offering to repay him in the most adorable way possible. Dr. Carmichael had called her his best student, and she must be to have earned his adoration. She would be finishing school in a couple of weeks, no actual job lined up just yet. Perhaps. Just perhaps...

Before he could stop himself, tell himself that it was a bad idea, Jamie picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.

* * *

C
URLED
UP
ON
the couch with a wool blanket over her legs, Maya settled in after she reached for her bowl of popcorn. She didn’t care what Abby thought. Curling up on the couch and binge-watching Netflix was fun.
All the fun I need, in fact.
She queued up the next episode of
Orange Is the New Black
and sat back, letting the plush couch cuddle her in a way that no man would ever know how.

Jamie Sellers might know how
, she conceded. The man looked as wicked as sin, and those strong arms she’d felt wrap around her, and those delicious lips she’d touched with her own, would certainly know how to hold and caress all of the most sensitive parts of her body.

Realizing that she had been lost in thoughts of Jamie Sellers and not paying attention to the beginning of the episode, she stopped to rewind it when her phone rang. She picked it up to look at the screen and frowned when she didn’t recognize the number as she brought it to her ear. “Hello?” she mumbled through a mouthful of popcorn.

“Is this Maya Connor?” a masculine voice that she knew, but couldn’t place, rumbled into her ear and throughout her body.

“Um, yes.” Try as she might, she couldn’t place the familiar voice.

“Hi, this is Jamie Sellers.”

What? She choked slightly as she swallowed her popcorn with her now-dry throat. “Oh, hello.”

“Well, this might seem like it’s coming out of nowhere.” Now it was Jamie’s turn to hesitate. He cleared his throat. “And I’m sorry to bother you at home. I got your number from Dr. Carmichael. But I recall you saying you didn’t yet have a job lined up after graduation.”

“Yes, that’s right.” She furrowed her brow and pulled her lip between her teeth.
What is this? Why is he calling?

“Well, I was wondering if you would consider coming to work for me.”

What?
“I’m sorry?”

“My assistant just quit, and I’m getting buried with more work than I can manage with each passing day. And I know it’s not a post-graduate-level job and you’re probably overqualified for it, but I’m being straightforward, working for me would provide you with a stepping-stone in your career path. I could give you some great work experience and introduce you to some important people.”

He was right. While she hadn’t counted on doing the work of an assistant after she graduated, working for Jamie Sellers would be a golden opportunity she couldn’t turn down. Her thoughts turned to the stack of job ads that she had printed, waiting for her on her desk. And then she pictured the faces of the twenty-seven other people in her graduating class, all of whom would be vying for the same jobs in a matter of weeks. Maya could guarantee that none of them currently had Jamie Sellers on the phone offering them a position.

“So how about it?”

“I’m still in school.” She closed her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t change his mind and hire someone who was actually available right away. “I still have finals.”

“That’s fine. I understand that. We can work around your class and exam schedule until you finish up. I’m just afraid that if I wait much longer, I’ll be buried alive in stacks of paper,” he chuckled, before pausing. “So, you’ll do it?”

Maya remained silent.

“Ms. Connor?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Shock had her sitting up straight, eyes wide. So, she took a deep breath, confident that her life was about to change. “I’ll do it, Mr. Sellers. Thank you for the opportunity.”

Jamie breathed a sigh. Was he holding his breath? “That’s great, you won’t regret it. Why don’t you call me back tomorrow morning, anytime between 9:00 and 12:00 would be great. You can talk to my secretary, Mary. She’ll be expecting your call and she’ll get your information and find a convenient time for you to come in for a face-to-face.”

* * *

A
FEW
DAYS
LATER
,
Maya sat in the waiting area of Jamie’s office. She drummed her nails on her thigh and thought about how quickly her life was changing. In just a few days she would finally be finished with her degree. After years of hard work just to put some letters after her name, being so close to the end felt incredible. Maya Connor,
MBA
. To top it all off, she would be skipping the grueling cycle of résumé writing and job interviews to start her career right out of the gate as Jamie Sellers’s assistant.

Sitting outside Jamie’s office, about to start her career, was exciting. She had been surprised when she was told to meet him at Swerve Nightclub. The evening that she’d kissed him, she had caught a final glimpse of him, as he climbed the stairs, but she’d had no idea that those stairs led to the swanky, upscale, trendy offices and waiting room that the space above the club boasted. The large panels of glass, most likely double-sided and definitely soundproofed, looked down on the club, and she could see it all from a different perspective. From the vantage point of her chair in Jamie’s waiting room, she was brought back to the night she and Abby had been here. She could see the booth where she and Abby had sat and the dance floor where they had gyrated and swayed the night away. She saw the bar where she had kissed Jamie. She flushed slightly at the memory. She wondered whether or not he looked out those windows at her after he disappeared up the stairs.
Of course not
, she scolded herself.
Don’t be ridiculous, Maya
.

She covertly sneaked glances at Mary, the somewhat older, but still quite beautiful, receptionist behind the desk. She was perfectly coifed, styled and polished within an inch of her life. Of course she was. Jamie Sellers’s office gatekeeper could only be the pinnacle of style and grace.

She thought about Jamie’s reputation. It’s not like she had Googled him, but—okay, she’d Googled him. A quick search had revealed many news stories. Well, mostly postings on
Montreal Secrets
, in which he was reputed to have bedded all sorts of famous, glamorous and beautiful women.

Maya looked down and took in her own suit. A gray jacket and slim pants and a white blouse paired with some killer dark red heels which normally made her feel like a million bucks. She thought the ensemble was stylish and had always felt comfortable in it. However, next to Mary she felt bland and boring. She sighed quietly and consulted her watch, while her left leg twitched up and down—a nervous tic she had been scolded about since childhood.

Maya was nervous. She knew that she was overqualified for the job, but a small part of her thought that maybe, just maybe, she had been hired because she kissed him. Had her parents been right? Had he hired her because he thought she would be easy access for a little afternoon delight in the office?
I mean, he probably thinks I’m some easy girl who wouldn’t think twice about lifting her skirt for her boss.
Her nerves somehow turned to anger.
How dare he? Well, I’m here to work, and if he’s just looking for some office sidepiece to fill his needs, if that’s what he thinks I’ll be, he’s wrong. I’ll show him just how hard I can work as his assistant.

“Jamie’s running a little late this morning,” Mary told her, interrupting her thoughts. “He shouldn’t be much longer.”

“Thank you,” she responded with a small smile, grateful for the break from her thoughts.

“Can I get you anything? Some espresso or sparkling water?”

“No, thank you. I’m fine.”

Something buzzed on Mary’s desk. She touched a button on her headset. “Certainly, Jamie. She’ll be right in.” She turned to Maya. “You can go in now.”

Maya stood and brushed imaginary lint from her pants and jacket. “Thank you.” She pushed through the heavy door. And with her heart pounding against the inside of her chest, she walked slowly into the large office. She took in her surroundings and she was astounded by what she saw—a seating area with a sleek leather couch and armchair, a wet bar with a small selection of premium alcoholic beverages and a kitchenette with an espresso machine. One large window showed the city skyline for miles.

“Oh, wow, what a view,” she spoke softly, to herself.

He was seated at his desk, his face obscured as he looked down at some documents. His dark hair was shiny from the sunlight that was pouring in. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t even register her appearance in his office until she was standing in front of the desk. His head rose and she was hit with that face once again, making her gasp a little. His light blue eyes, high cheekbones, straight nose and that strong square jaw which seemed to be perpetually covered with a five o’clock shadow, even at ten in the morning, all combined to send her uncontrollable hormones into a tizzy.

“Ms. Connor,” he said with a smile before standing to shake her hand. “Thanks for accepting my offer and for coming in today.”

“Thank you so much for the opportunity.”

He smiled again, his white teeth glistened. “Please sit down. I’ll just go through the details of the job and expectations, and then you can head over to HR to get settled away with your compensation and other personnel details.”

Maya relaxed when he started talking about the job. Of course, he would be professional. He didn’t hire her to be his personal bedmate. He was a businessman, after all. He passed over documents and folders and explained what each one was. She nodded, attempting to keep it all straight in her head.

“If it feels like too much right now, you’ll get it in time.”

“I’ll be fine. Thanks,” she told him, balancing the files in her arms. “I do better when there’s a heavy workload, or a tight deadline.”

“Not a bad quality in someone working for me,” he said. “We’ve got quite a few balls in the air right now.”

“Well, I can’t wait to start,” she said, smiling over the reams and reams of paper that she held in her arms.

When it seemed as if he was done discussing the workload, he hesitated. He breathed deeply and sat on the corner of his desk, closest to her, and his voice got lower. “And, Maya, just so we’re clear, I hired you because of the recommendation that came from Dr. Carmichael and your desire to work in hotel management. It didn’t have anything to do with us kissing.” He averted his gaze, as if he were nervous. Did she make him nervous? “But, let me be firm. That’s not the type of organization I run here. I feel that relationships between coworkers can only lead to disaster. And nothing like that can ever happen between us again.”

Maya breathed a sigh of relief. After hearing him lay out his position on their kiss, she was certain that he hired her for her professional attributes. She could do this. She could do this if they promised to keep it professional. She nodded. “It absolutely will not happen again. I wish I could take that kiss back. I really do. Thank you for the opportunity, Jamie. You won’t regret it.”

“I know I won’t,” he said, smiling at her.

* * *

H
E
ALREADY
REGRETTED
IT
.

After he had sent her off to the human resources department, Jamie sighed and rubbed his hands through his dark hair.
What was I thinking hiring her?
The short time she had been in his office, he found it impossible to think of anything but how her black hair shimmered, the smell of her perfume, her sharp eyes, her smile. How could he be expected to get any work done with her sitting in his office, day in and day out?

Since the night that she’d kissed him, she was all he had been able to think about. All he wanted to do was kiss her again. To feel her hair in his hands. To rip that amazing-looking suit from her body and to feel her soft skin against his own. He groaned in frustration.
Well, she’s here now. You’ve got to make it work somehow, Sellers.

Steeling himself, he made a decision and pounded his fist on his desk.
I’ll just do my work. Stay busy. Ignore her. That’s the only way this is going to work, and we’ve got to keep this professional.
It wouldn’t be hard to do. He regarded the stacks of paper in front of him and the phone messages that Mary had just given him. He puffed his cheeks and quickly blew out the air that he had been holding in his lungs.
All right now. Pull it together.