Tempting Donovan Ford Read Online Free PDF Page B

not where they wanted to go, which was to see what Donovan was doing with his blonde date.
    “Really? Then why can’t he stop staring at you?”
    “He’s not.” But she looked because she couldn’t help herself. It was instinctual. Anyone would look. And found Donovan’s dark eyes on her. Heat flamed in her cheeks. He shouldn’t be looking at her like that when he had his hand on another woman. Except he didn’t anymore. He’d taken a step away from the lovely Tatiana, his hand resting by his side.
    Julia reminded herself that he was her de facto boss. That he’d bought the restaurant out from under her. That she needed to focus on her career if she wanted to reach her goals.
    And wondered what that hand would feel like on her waist.

CHAPTER THREE
    J ULIA SLID HER arms into the sleeves of her charcoal suit jacket and eyed herself in her bedroom mirror. It had been a week since Donovan Ford had barged into her restaurant and her life. And although she’d realized almost immediately that her options were limited, she’d felt obligated to take the full seven days just to ensure he knew he wasn’t calling all the shots. He might sign the checks and be the one with his name on the deed, but the kitchen and everyone in it were hers.
    She ran a lint brush over her jacket, making sure there were no extraneous pieces of fluff on the dark wool, before fixing the collar of her crisp white dress shirt. Paired with a matching pencil skirt, her mother’s pearls and a pair of simple black heels, she knew she looked stylish and in control. Exactly the look she was going for in her meeting with Donovan Ford about the contract she still hadn’t signed. She grabbed her purse, did one last check in the mirror and headed out the door.
    The day was cool, one that brought color to her cheeks and made her glad she kept a pair of leather gloves in the pocket of her winter coat. She slipped them on, covering up her short nails, nicked hands—the badges of honor every chef had—and caught a cab from her downtown West End apartment to Yaletown, where the Ford Group had their administrative offices.
    She’d done her research and knew they owned the entire building. She peeked through the windows of Elephants, cheeks flushing as she recalled the flash of jealousy that had accosted her there when she’d seen Donovan walk in with his date. But that was a week ago, and in the interim, Julia had come to realize that she was over it. Over him.
    She was surprised to see how full the wine bar was for a Monday at lunchtime. Tables of business professionals with bottles of sparkling water instead of wine. It was as full as La Petite Bouchéehad been on Saturday night, a sobering realization, but not one she needed to analyze now.
    Julia continued past the wine bar’s entrance to a smaller, less ostentatious door that had the company name written on it in gold font and opened into a tiny entry with an elevator and stairwell.
    After a quick debate, she took the stairs. She appreciated the echo of her heels off the concrete walls. Strong, powerful, just as she was. She’d worked with some of the toughest chefs in Europe. A meeting with her new owner wouldn’t rattle her. Even if she did find herself thinking of him at the most inopportune times. Though she blamed much of that on Sasha, who’d somehow gotten the crazy idea that Julia liked Donovan.
    Julia shook her head. Of course she didn’t like him. For one thing, he was thwarting her plans to buy the restaurant herself. For another, he wasn’t her type. She liked creative types who worked with their hands and weren’t afraid to get dirty. Plus, she barely knew him.
    So no, she didn’t like Donovan so much as she knew they needed to have a good working relationship. Nothing more, nothing less.
    She reached the top of the stairwell and rolled her shoulders. Breathed in and out. No reason to linger even if she did have a bit of time before the kitchen expected her. She affected her best