Louisa Neil Read Online Free PDF

employees but not to be friends with them. She was adamant about her work and private life staying separate. What she did in her off time wasn’t anybody’s business, and she certainly didn’t want it spread around the office. In reality, she had nothing to hide. Maybe that was why her privacy was so important. Nobody she worked with should know just how quiet her downtime was.
    She had considered Walter her friend, but she understood him not telling her about the deal. She understood, but it still stung a bit to know he hadn’t trusted her with the knowledge.
    By five o’clock, she was ready to leave and prayed silently that the rest of the employees were busy or gone for the day. When she’d made it halfway to the front door, she stilled when she heard Dane’s voice call to her.
    “Diana, can you give me a minute?”
    She turned, feeling nothing but dread and seeing all eyes on her as she took the steps back to what was now his office. She stood in the doorway, refusing to go inside and make it look like they were acquaintances. “Yes, Dane?”
    “Thanks for helping out today,” he said. He gave her a slight nod, and she couldn’t hold back her taunt. She refused to look at him as anything more than a new boss, a nuisance she’d now have to deal with on a daily basis. Diana kept her eyes cast downward, not wanting to let him see her appraising him on a sexual level. It ran through her mind that, yes, he was handsome, and there was something about him she was drawn to. But that didn’t mean she had to act on her initial feelings, especially in this tenacious situation. If she wanted an orgasm, she could provide for herself. Frankly, she reminded herself, men were not in her overall game plan right now. When the right man came along, she’d know. For now, she saw Dane as dangerous in several directions. Beyond being her new boss, wondering how he’d be in bed with her wasn’t productive. She straightened and adopted an attitude of indifference.
    “And thanks for calling me to help, making everyone think we knew each other and I held out the information on them.”
    “But we did know each other. We met earlier in the day.”
    “We know that, but they’ll all think I had previous knowledge and held out.” She let her body lean on the doorframe as she stared at him, annoyed he was ignoring the situation he’d put her in.
    “Don’t worry about it,” he told her. “Have a good night.”
    “I’m dismissed?”
    “Unless you have something else to discuss.”
    “You said your partner would be here this afternoon. I didn’t notice anybody new.”
    “Who said he wasn’t here. Sloan was in the office on the telephone when the festivities started. If you’d stayed a bit longer, you would have met him.”
    “I suppose I’ll meet him one day. Is there anything else?”
    “No, have a good evening.”
    She took a step back into the main area, and in a louder tone, he added, “It was nice to have met you this afternoon.”
    She turned on her heel and headed out the door before anyone could stop her. She paused outside the building and tried Walter’s cell phone. The call didn’t go through, the message telling her the number had been disconnected. It was the longest walk home she’d had since working there. Wind and rain weren’t as daunting as this day had been. She just wanted to soak in a hot tub and forget everything that happened. Diana didn’t deal well with change, and today her life had taken a very unexpected turn. Whether it was for the better or not remained to be seen. She had a fleeting notion that she could rent her driveway for some extra cash if she lost her job and needed time to find a new one. She tried Walter’s cell phone one more time and got the same message, that the number had been disconnected. Out of desperation, she tried his home number. All she got was a continuous ringing. His machine or voice mail wasn’t picking up. She supposed he didn’t want to talk to anyone