Raye Morgan - Blackmailed By The Boss.pdf

(316 KB) Pobierz
57180359 UNPDF
Page 1 of 33
Blackmailed by the
Boss!
by
Raye Morgan
file://C:\Documents and Settings\Danna\My Documents\Azureus Downloads\Harlequin\H...
9/13/2007
57180359.002.png
Page 2 of 33
Chapter One
Chynna Braden stopped and listened, her heart beating wildly.
Had she heard an elevator stop? She waited in the gloom of the
empty room, but she didn’t hear another sound. She was all alone
in an executive office at Kane Haley, Inc., and it was definitely
after hours. The building was deserted.
She squinted into the dim light. Did they call this breaking and
entering? Well, entering, anyway — entering handsome director
of legal services Trent Payton’s office when she shouldn’t even
be on this floor.
"Oh, Melinda," she muttered, half in despair, half in
amusement. Her irrepressible sister always managed to put her
into sticky situations like this. It happened all the time. Melinda
got into messes and Chynna got her out of them.
"Just look for a green folder with a plastic clip at the top,"
Melinda had told her, anxiously wringing her hands. "If you can
manage to bring that folder to me, you’ll save my life!"
"And risk losing my own in the process," Chynna murmured
after bumping into a sharp corner and bruising her knee. She
clicked on the little flashlight she’d brought along and shined the
feeble beam around the walls, looking for the filing cabinets. A
ray of light fell on a picture of Trent Payton with Kane Haley, the
owner and president of the accounting firm and she paused for a
moment, studying it.
The two had been college roommates, from what she’d heard,
and they looked like men who had a strong bond of affection
between them. They were both tall, dark-haired, and good-
looking, but something in Trent appealed to her in an inexplicable
way. Something in his eyes, something in the way his mouth
twisted, something in his face, all told her he didn’t trust life to be
fair — that he didn’t give his heart easily.
But it was silly for her to be thinking that way. She’d seen the
man from a distance, but she didn’t know him at all. And from
what her sister, who had worked as his administrative assistant for
file://C:\Documents and Settings\Danna\My Documents\Azureus Downloads\Harlequin\H...
9/13/2007
57180359.003.png
Page 3 of 33
a short time, had told her, he was as vain and arrogant as they
came. Still, there was something in his eyes.…
A small clicking sound made her jump, but it was just the air-
conditioning system coming on and she collected herself. She had
to get this done!
Quickly, she moved toward the wooden filing cabinet, hoping
the drawers weren’t locked. The first drawer pulled open with no
problem, but the orderly files didn’t include any hint of green.
She tried the second drawer, then the third, and finally hit pay
dirt. There it was, right at the back behind the tightly packed
folders.
She reached out to take it and her fingers actually touched the
clip for a fraction of a second. And then a larger, darker hand
grabbed hers. Her flashlight went flying and she let out a shriek.
"Looking for something, Melinda?"
The lights came on and the room spun as she whirled. Her
gaze rose, taking in the impeccable Italian suit, the crisp white
shirt, the extravagantly wide shoulders, the smooth, tan skin…and
finally stared up into Trent Payton’s cool blue gaze.
There was certainly nothing appealing in his eyes now!
Chapter Two
The beautiful intruder had stunning green eyes and Trent saw
the startled look in them change with quick intelligence as she got
her bearings.
"Melinda?" she said innocently, blinking at him. "Sorry, I’m
not Melinda. You must have the wrong office." And she turned to
go, head in the air.
His flash of original anger faded, replaced by a sense of
grudging admiration for her cheek. But he wasn’t about to let her
get away with it. She brushed past him, leaving a trail of rose-
flavored scent as she moved, but he reached out and took
possession of her upper arm before she got out the door.
"Nice try," he said, pulling her back and speaking in a low
file://C:\Documents and Settings\Danna\My Documents\Azureus Downloads\Harlequin\H...
9/13/2007
57180359.004.png
Page 4 of 33
voice very near her ear. "But not quite good enough."
She glanced up at him and he noted once again that she did
look a lot like a certain Melinda Braden who had worked in this
office with him for a couple of months. Where Melinda’s beauty
had been all flash and no substance, this one had a softer, quieter
charm; still, they looked very much alike. He had no doubt that
had been Melinda’s file she had been reaching for. Most likely,
she was cut from the same con-artist cloth.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
She hesitated, gaze flickering toward the doorway and escape.
"I’m not accustomed to giving my name to strangers," she began,
but he cut her off with a rude oath.
"I just caught you burglarizing my office."
"I was not burglarizing your office," she said indignantly, her
eyes shining with offended innocence. "Now please let me go."
"Not so fast," he murmured, his gaze trailing down the
graceful curve of her neck and back again.
Her eyes were wary, hiding any emotions behind a calm
facade. The thick curls of her blond hair were rebelling against
the professional twist she’d tried to tame them with and wiry
strands were escaping all around her pretty face.
Despite everything, she had a look he liked. For just a
moment, he almost felt as though a part of him yearned for
something he saw in her. But that was pure fancy and he shrugged
it away. Sentiments like that didn’t fit with his cynical view of
relationships. "Yearning" was for chumps.
Still, he knew she was more his type than the women he was
going to be meeting tonight at the cocktail party his mother had
arranged. Margaret Payton wanted her son married and she was
sparing no expense. She was also forcing him to deal with an
endless string of eligible yet unappealing women and demanding
he choose one to spend his life with. If only more of them looked
like this one.
"I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to wait here while I
contact Security." He reached for the telephone with his free
hand. "I’m sure they’ll want to notify the police about an intruder
in the building."
She caught her breath, her eyes luminous, visions of her job
going down the drain creating nightmares in her head. "Please…
please don’t."
file://C:\Documents and Settings\Danna\My Documents\Azureus Downloads\Harlequin\H...
9/13/2007
57180359.005.png
Page 5 of 33
He gazed at her coolly. "Give me a reason not to."
She hesitated and he shrugged and resumed punching in the
number. Mercy wasn’t in the cards, no matter how much her soft
curves and pretty face appealed to him.
Chapter Three
Chynna grabbed Trent’s hand, stopping him before he’d
finished the number. "I’m not an intruder," she insisted. "I…I
work here."
He cocked a skeptical eyebrow. A face like this he would have
noticed. "Identify yourself."
Taking a deep breath, she met his gaze. "I’m Chynna Braden.
I’m a designer, doing the decorating in the new day care center. I
just started this week."
"Ah." He replaced the receiver, his dark eyes scanning hers.
"You’re related to Melinda, aren’t you?"
She nodded, looking stubborn but resigned. "I know she
worked for you."
"For a few weeks, yes." His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
They were still filled with the wary cynicism she’d noticed in the
picture. "I suppose you were just sightseeing then? Taking a look
at where your sister once worked?"
She looked into his face with hope, but immediately saw that
he was mocking her. "I’ve told you who I am. You can see that
I’m not a threat to you in any way. Why don’t you let me go?"
The fingers that held her arm moved, feeling more like a
caress than a punishment. A tiny shiver slithered down her spine.
Suddenly his smile seemed dangerous in a whole new way.
"We’re all alone, you know," he said softly. "The night
cleaning crew hasn’t even arrived. Except for Security down on
the first floor, there’s only you and me."
"That’s exactly what’s worrying me," she retorted, giving him
an impudent frown. "You do have a reputation, you know."
He stared at her for a moment, and then he laughed aloud. " I
have a reputation," he said, chuckling. "You’re the one I caught
rifling through my files." He grinned at her. "Are you trying to
file://C:\Documents and Settings\Danna\My Documents\Azureus Downloads\Harlequin\H...
9/13/2007
57180359.001.png

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin