The CEO Gets Her Man Read Online Free PDF

door. He blinked several times against its ferocity as he flung himself down on a sofa in the corner. He had too much on his plate right now to allow himself to be sidetracked by the possibility of an unwise liaison with the new waitress.
    Instead of letting his mind—and his body—play silly tricks on him, he should be considering why an off-duty waitress was in the hotel in the early hours of the morning. Why she was so obviously still in the uniform she’d worn yesterday, where she had spent the night, and—equally important—with whom. He fidgeted with the leather binding of the sofa.
    His psyche rebelled against her being a good-time girl, but he’d encountered so many during his playing days he knew they came in every shape and form. What other explanation could there be? She’d only been here for one day, hardly long enough to make any lasting impressions on anyone—except maybe him.
    ****
    Toward the end of her shift last night George had tentatively suggested Debra report to him after today’s breakfast. With her normal excess of self-assurance, she strode toward his office, her head high.
    With her hand already moving the door handle, she stopped and tightened her lips. She’d almost continued straight on into her boss’s office—in clear view. A glance over her shoulder showed other staff members were indeed watching the new waitress. They’d have noticed her audacity. Damn, I need to be careful.
    With a deep breath she tapped lightly on the door and forced herself to wait for his invitation to enter.
    “Good morning, Miss Laurie.” George leapt to his feet and rushed around his desk as she cruised into his office. She sat in the chair he indicated, making herself comfortable and crossing her legs while he continued to hover over her.
    Debra smiled at his obvious edginess. The smile wasn’t to put him at ease, but because she was calmed by his nervousness. Nervous tension was what she expected from those she worked with, not the unsettling friendliness she was being subjected to here.
    “I think our situation calls for a little less formality, don’t you?” Any loss of self-assurance her bungled breakfast service had eroded returned at his apparent subservience as he scurried back behind his desk, nodding his head. “My name is Debra.” Recalling the arrogant modifying of her name by Jase last night, she glared across and added. “Debra, not Debbie, never Debbie. Understand?”
    Her lips twitched at his bobbing head. “I’m not sure why you felt we needed to talk this morning, George.” Glad to be off her already-tired feet, Debra blew the bangs out of her eyes. “The staff seemed a little surprised.”
    George became fascinated with something on his desk. He picked up a pen and fidgeted with it. Flicking the nib in and out, he refused to make eye contact. He cleared his throat repeatedly, before finally finding his voice. “How do you feel your shift progressed this morning?”
    Although confident of her answer, and certain she hadn’t made too many mistakes in the short couple of hours she’d been working, Debra paused.
    George’s raised eyebrows forced her to revisit her shift. The chefs’ bells had dinged annoyingly often, and she recalled muffled laughter coming from the kitchen each time she rushed to answer them. On reflection, she recalled more than once when other wait staff had stepped up to cover her ineptness.
    “If you’re determined to carry on with this undercover idea and pretend to be a waitress, Miss Laurie, ahh, Debra,”—George got to his feet—“then you must at least try to act like one.” Indignant steel shot through Debra’s back and her eyes narrowed as her subordinate paced around his small office. “To date...” he stopped in front of her, eyeballed her, and after a deep breath allowed words to rush from his mouth. “Nothing you have done even remotely suggests you know anything about this profession.”
    Cold anger stirred inside her, building to