Island Affair (Escape Into Romance)

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Home at last. Lacey shut her front door with a sigh of relief. With only a couple of days to go until Christmas the crowds had been maddening as she had waded through them, trying to get home in one piece.

She really dreaded this time of the year. What with tripping over department store Santas at every turn. Not to mention the canned Christmas carols emanating from every store. And if that wasn't bad enough the bright and garishly colored Christmas decorations assaulting her from every direction just made her want to scream.

She dropped her bag on the side table and flopped into the nearest chair. Letting out another sigh of relief she kicked off her shoes and settled back into the chair more fully, to relax. It wasn't really the fault of Christmas that she was in such a bad mood. If she was really honest she could admit that it was more to do with the frustration she felt with her boss.

Lacey couldn't keep going on like this. For almost two years she had worked closely with Jonathan Tyler of Tyler Technologies as his executive assistant. It was getting so hard to pretend that she felt nothing for the man. The attraction that had begun the day of her interview was growing stronger every day. Every time he came within a couple of feet of her she could feel herself melting and it was getting harder not to let go of her restraint and just throw herself at him.

Not that it would do any good. He would probably just push her away. He barely noticed her as it was. He had never treated her any other way but professionally. While she had wild fantasies about the two of them together. She wondered how she managed to get any work done at all.

No, this couldn't continue. It was time to move on. Time to put Jonathan Tyler and Tyler Technologies behind her. She jumped up from her seat, now was as good a time as any to set things in motion. She sat down in front of her computer and opened up Word. It didn't take long for her to draft a resignation letter. When she was completely happy with the wording she printed out a copy and slipped it into an envelope.

Looking at her watch she saw that it was late enough that Jonathan should be gone for the day. It should be safe enough for her to go back to work and leave the letter in his office without having to confront him. Before she could change her mind she hurried out of her apartment.

Jonathan Tyler poured himself a large whisky. He was going to need it to get through Christmas. He absolutely hated the holiday; in fact he absolutely hated any holiday. They were an annoyance that caused business to shut down. He was sure that he was the only person left in the building. Everyone else had left much earlier to get an early start on the holiday season.

He sat down at his desk and took a big swig of his drink. He swung his chair around so that he was facing the window. Daylight was almost gone from the sky now. All of the surrounding buildings appeared to be in semi darkness. It seemed as though he was the only person left in the business district. Isolated and alone.

He took another swig of his drink. He could feel the fire of the alcohol sliding down his throat and travelling to his stomach, which rumbled loudly. He tried to remember when he ate last. It must have been breakfast time.

Jonathan didn't relish the thought of navigating the throng of Christmas revellers just to get something to eat. He could order something in; it would be the easiest solution, but the thought of eating alone again wasn't very inviting.

He really needed to get out more. It had been too long since he'd had a date. It wasn't that there was a shortage of willing women, quite the opposite, but no one he'd been out with had been able to captivate him for any length of time.

He found his thoughts drifting towards his executive assistant, Lacey. Now there was a woman that could keep him interested. He'd had to call upon his formidable control to keep from taking her whenever she was within touching distance.

He was getting sick of her pretence that she didn't feel the same way about him. He could tell that she wasn't immune to him by the way her breath hitched each time he came close. Or in the way she'd eat him up with her eyes when she thought he wasn't looking. But not once had she done anything to let him know that she would like to explore their mutual attraction.

The more she ignored what was going on between them, the more it fuelled his desire for her. But he couldn't afford to lose her because she made his business run like a well- oiled machine. He knew that if he were to make a move then he would surely lose her.

It only took Lacey forty minutes to get back to the office, instead of the usual fifty. The place looked deserted. She would quickly slip into Jonathan's office, leave her resignation letter on his desk and quickly slip out. Hopefully she wouldn't run into anyone and have to explain what she was doing.

She waved to the security guard, Joe, as she made her way into the Tyler Technologies building. She wasted no time heading for the elevator that would take her to the executive floor. Within minutes she was walking her way towards Jonathan's office.

She paused at his door and took a deep breath. Was this really what she wanted? No, not really. But she couldn't have what she really wanted and working with him had become unbearable.

She placed a tentative hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it. She pushed the door open and silently slipped inside the opulent room. It was dark inside; only the desk lamp illuminated the interior. She slowly let a relieved breath out when she saw that there was no one sitting behind the desk.

She moved quickly to the massive desk in front of the window and dropped the resignation letter onto the top of it. As she was turning to leave she caught a movement to the side of her and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Jonathan leaning up against the wet bar. His face was in shadow. He was standing so still he could have been carved from granite.

He moved slowly towards her. "So what do I owe the pleasure of this after hours visit to?"

Lacey tensed at his tone. It sounded cold and distant. She had hoped to avoid a confrontation. That was why she had chosen now to deliver the letter and not wait to give it to him personally tomorrow. She never expected to be confronted by him while delivering it.

"Cat got your tongue, Lacey?" He moved in closer to her, backing her up against the desk. He slammed the glass he held down onto the desk sloshing the liquid all over the surface. His eyes bored into hers, penetrating deep into her soul.

"No..." She croaked the response out and had to clear her throat before she continued. "No, of course not. You startled me. I wasn't expecting anyone to be here."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "So why are you sneaking around after hours then?"

His proximity was unnerving her so she quickly moved away from him. Taking a couple of deep breaths to get her equilibrium back she said, "I'm not sneaking around." It came out more defensive than she would have liked.

A sly grin spread across his face. "Oh, I think you are sneaking around. What was that you just dropped on my desk?"

Before she could stop him he had scooped up the letter and was examining it. "Well, what is this?" He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Flicking the envelope from side to side he said, "Seems to be addressed to me." In one swift movement he ripped the envelope open.

Lacey was frozen to the spot. His eyes bored into hers as he extracted the letter from the envelope. As he unfolded the letter he lowered his gaze to read it. She watched for his reaction, uncertain what it would be. Perhaps he would be happy that she was leaving.

Seconds later that assumption was thrown out of the window when he raised his head to look at her with fire in his eyes. His face was stormy. "What the hell is this?" His voice was deceptively quiet. Lacey knew that she was in trouble.

"I thought that it was perfectly obvious what it is." Her momentary bravado dissipated as his face darkened even further.

"Don't try and be funny. This is serious. Why would you want to leave?" Lacey panicked. She didn't have a reasonable excuse for wanting to leave. She couldn't very well tell him the truth.

"I need a change." It was the best she could come up with on short notice. He scowled at her.

"You need a change? Really?" He hadn't raised his voice once. She knew that was a bad sign. She had seen it time and again in negotiations and usually the other person came off worse.

Trying to stay calm she said, "Yes, a change. I have been working with you for two years now and it can be quite intense. I need to do something a bit more sedate."

She was startled when he laughed out loud at that. "Oh come on, you can do better than that. Make up a better excuse. You would be bored stiff within a day doing something a bit more sedate. You thrive on the excitement."

She couldn't argue with that. It was true. But she also couldn't tell him the real reason she wanted to leave. She decided to go for the jugular. "Okay, you're right. It was an excuse, and a pretty poor one at that. The truth is I need to get away from you. I don't like working for you. I don't particularly like you very much."

The grin fell from his face and the thunderous look was back. "Since when?"

"Since...well, for a long time." Was that her voice all squeaky and timid? That wouldn't do. She stood up straighter and glared at him. He stared right back at her for a long few minutes. Her nerves were taut and just as she couldn't stand the tension any longer he looked back at the letter. He then proceeded to violently rip it to shreds and the pieces fell to the floor.

"You aren't leaving me. I won't let you." He crossed his arms over his chest and stood tall.

Lacey's heart was pounding. This wasn't going the way it should have. She was supposed to resign and he was supposed to accept it. "Yes I am. I have given you four weeks notice. I will find someone competent to replace me. Someone just like me. You don't need to worry. I'll take care of it. You won't be inconvenienced at all."

"Are you crazy? There is no one else like you. No one will be able to replace you. You know exactly how I like things done. You won't find someone who can do what you do." He moved in closer to her and her breath hitched. His blue eyes narrowed and she watched in fascination as they darkened. "There is only one of you. You're irreplaceable."

"I'm leaving and there's not a damn thing you can do about it." She lifted her head in defiance, staring deep into his eyes.

"You should know me well enough by now, Lacey. I always get what I want. And what I want is for you to stay. So you will."

She wanted to wipe the smug look right off his face. "And you should know me well enough by now to know that when I say I'm going to do something, I do it. I will be leaving." She could feel the anger welling up inside of her as her voice got louder.

He backed away from her abruptly and slammed his hands down onto his desk. "I don't think so." He turned to look at her and she was surprised to see hurt in his eyes. Why would he be hurt? What did it matter to him whether she stayed or went?