Romance: Edge of Desire Read Online Free PDF Page A

could I have been so taken in by such a player?
    I decide against texting Nicole about Brad’s shortcomings, and I muse over it while sitting next to my coffee machine. I think Nancy must know what happened – the look on her face is one of pure sorrow. I genuinely think that she likes me and was looking out for me.
    It appears that Brad is so much of a bastard that even his closest personal assistant knows it.
    “Goodbye Harper,” Nancy pops her head into the room. “You can clean up now. I’m going to head home, so I’ll see you in the morning.”
    I nod but she can tell my sadness.
    Nancy nods in acknowledgment, sighs and then leaves the room. I’m sure she looks like she is disappointed in Brad, and not me.
    Just as I am starting to clean the coffee machine to end my day, Brad bursts in the door.
    “We have issues with one of our contracts and this is a major problem for us. I need you to stay late tonight. I need to work very late and I am going to need a coffee every half-hour until the early hours of the morning.”
    His voice is blunt, demanding and void of any emotion.
    Powerful and in control.
    As much as I want too, as much as I think he is a bastard right now, I can’t say no – not after the amount that he offered to pay me. I have to put aside any feelings I had for him and recognize that this is a business transaction.
    I want to stay in the city and he wants to pay me to be here.
    That’s all our relationship is.
    Nothing more.
    I go to say something in reply but he has already left the room.
    Damn – I really wanted him to stay for a while.
    I wanted him to flirt with me just a little bit more.
    No.
    I have to let those thoughts go. I am here to do a job and that is what I should focus on.
    The day quickly turns into night and every half-hour I quietly walk into Brad’s office to place a freshly brewed cup of coffee on his desk. He doesn’t acknowledgement my presence once, instead he is frantically talking on the phone, or typing at his computer, or pacing the room.
    At one point during the night, I hear a loud crash and I think about going in there but I decide against it. When I deliver the next coffee, I see documents and books have been thrown across the room, clearly in anger.
    “Clean that up,” he demands when I walk back in.
    I want to say that it’s not my job to be a cleaner, but I don’t want to argue with him right now. Clearly, he is going through a very stressful time and he doesn’t need me to be pushing his buttons.
    His executive team sits in a separate office, and I provide the same service for them. At least they say thank you when I give them the coffee.
    There is tension in the air tonight. 
    Something must have gone really wrong.
    For every coffee I make, I make myself a double strength espresso. 
    But even after the regular shots of caffeine, by the time the clock reaches two o’clock in the morning, my eyes are starting to droop.
    At least I’m getting paid by the hour.
    I walk into the executive room to deliver the next coffee, but they have all gone. I must have dozed off and not have heard them leave.
    I wonder if Brad is still there? I take one of the coffees into his office, and I see his figure highlighted by the soft glow of the computer screen.
    Placing the coffee on his desk, I turn to walk back out.
    “Harper,” Brad’s voice stops me.
    “Yes?” I turn around.
    “Thank you for the coffee. It has got us through a really tough night. Thank you.”
    His compliment sends a shiver through my body. Damn. I don’t want this guy to have so much control over me.
    Maybe it’s because it is two o’clock in the morning, but my resistance has disappeared.
    “Is everything alright now?” I ask.
    “It is. We’ve sorted the problem, just in time too. If we’d left it until tomorrow, we might have lost thirty million dollars.”
    “That’s a lot of money.”
    Brad nods, stands and slowly strolls over to where I am. His presence dwarfs me and my tired