The Fatal Fortune Read Online Free PDF

careful. Zac will probably be a difficult employer. He can be short-tempered, dictatorial, and difficult. No one knows that better than I. It will take a very calm, mature person to work in his office."
    Trina was trying to stifle a broad grin. "By calm, you mean placid, and by mature, you mean someone over fifty, right? You can't kid me, Guinevere Jones. You've turned down every potential candidate for a week, because each one has been cute and under thirty."
    "Zac doesn't need an ex-cheerleader in his office," Guinevere informed her loftily.
    "He needs someone who can type and answer phones. Ninety percent of the people you've interviewed could probably have handled the job, Gwen." Trina held up a hand. "But don't worry, I understand, even if Zac wouldn't. This time you don't have to fret. Evelyn Pemberton is exactly what you want for Zac. She's fifty-three, well groomed, intelligent, well mannered, and poised. She's also happily married, with grandchildren."
    "How's her typing?"
    Trina pretended to look surprised. "I didn't know that was as important as the fact that she's not likely to seduce Zac."
    Guinevere laughed ruefully. "Have I been so obvious?"
    "Just a tad, but I won't tell. Evelyn Pemberton types seventy-five words a minute. Flawlessly. I tested her on your machine."
    "Okay, Trina. Set up an appointment with her for me." Guinevere leaned forward to study her calendar. "How about on my lunch hour tomorrow?"
    "I already have," Trina informed her blandly. "I made one for her with Zac for the day after tomorrow."
    "You're that sure?"
    "I'm positive this is the one you've been looking for, Gwen. Take my word for it. But you know , you've been worrying needlessly about putting temptation in Zac's office. I've seen the way that man looks at you. He's got a one-track mind, and that applies to his love life, as well as everything else. You're the only woman on the track."
    Guinevere sighed. "I just want to make sure it stays that way."
    That night after dinner Guinevere told Zac she thought his opening for a secretary was about to be filled. It gave her a marvelously self-righteous feeling to be able to say that Trina Hood had found the likely candidate. This way Zac couldn't accuse her of being too picky. Curled up beside him on the black leather couch in her brightly colored apartment, Guinevere sipped a small glass of brandy and told him about Evelyn Pemberton.
    "Trina said she sounds perfect. Types seventy-five words a minute and is very poised. I'm going to meet her tomorrow. If everything clicks, I'll send her over for you to interview the next day. How's that?"
    Zac cradled her against his shoulder, his fingertips resting lightly over the small curve of her breast. "It's about time. What took you so long? You've got dozens of secretaries, who probably all want to go to work full time for a great employer like me."
    "I wanted someone very special for you, Zac," she told him sweetly.
    "I'll bet. A nice, robust, grandmotherly type, right? Has it taken you this long to find someone gray-haired and over fifty?"
    Guinevere blinked. "Now, Zac . . ."
    He grinned and pulled her closer. "It's all right. I understand completely. Besides, I've always had a thing for older women."
    "Zachariah Justis!"
    He tightened his grip as she indignantly tried to pull away. "Calm down. You didn't have to worry, you know. It wears me out just keeping up with you. I wouldn't have the energy to make it with my secretary even if she looked like a Playboy centerfold."
    "Hah. That's what they all say."
    To Guinevere's surprise, Zac took the remark seriously. "Who all says that? The guy who got off the elevator with you, maybe? I could see him having an affair with his secretary, while his wife waits at home. He looks the type."
    In spite of Zac's enveloping warmth, a tiny shiver went through Guinevere. She suppressed it almost at once, but she was afraid Zac might have sensed it. "I was making a generalization," she said with a deliberate