Page 44 of Blind Date with the Boss

?‘You’d better take a seat then.’ He wished it wasn’t so hard to be formal and businesslike with Sally. He kept thinking about kissing her.

‘Is it okay if I shut the door?’

?‘If you insist.’ Logan’s frown deepened. What on earth was this about?

?Sally pulled out a chair and sat. She was wearing a bright blue top and a neat grey skirt. Ordinary, everyday working clothes which shouldn’t have looked incredibly sexy. On her they did. Intensely so, especially when she crossed her legs with an unconscious grace that robbed him of oxygen.

?For days he’d been trying to forget how she’d felt in his arms – soft and sensuous and willing. She’d completely wrecked his powers of concentration.

‘So, what did you want to discuss?’ His voice was gruffer than he’d intended.

?‘This.’ Sally set the USB on the desk. But she didn’t speak immediately. She looked worried, almost embarrassed, and chewed at her lower lip. Her soft, pink, infinitely kissable lower lip. ‘Can you confirm that it’s OK for me to send off the contents from this device to an outside email? Maria said it was an urgent job for you, but she had a problem with her own computer and I wanted to –’

?‘Maria?’ Logan interrupted. ‘Did you say Maria asked you to send emails?’

‘Yes.’

‘Why?’

‘She said she was having trouble with the Internet. She’s been getting me to do odd jobs. The other day she asked me to save a whole stack of files onto my computer.’

‘Shewhat?’

Sally squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. ‘I feel terrible speaking about your PA behind her back. It’s probably fine. She said it was for security. An extra backup.’

No, it wasn’t fine. Logan felt stirrings of alarm. ‘We have good backup procedures. Maria didn’t need to use your computer.’

Sally shrugged unhappily. ‘I knew there was no real harm in saving a few files on my computer.’ She shook her head. ‘But I didn’t feel right about sending an email when I hadn’t been told anything about it.’

Uneasily, Logan asked, ‘So what’s on the USB?’

‘I don’t know and I didn’t think it was my business to read the files. That’s why I wanted to check with you. It seemed odd, like agreeing to take a parcel on an international flight without knowing the contents.’

‘Let’s have a look them.’ Grim-faced, he picked up the USB and slotted it into his computer.

A click of the mouse later, the list of files scrolled onto his screen and the bottom dropped from his stomach.

Sally leaned anxiously across the desk. She’d seen the shock in Logan’s eyes and the colour drain from his face and now she felt sick. ‘What is it?’

‘This is full of information that’s come straight from the boardroom. It’s supposed to be locked away on a secure file.’Logan loosened his tie, as if he needed more air, and Sally saw, with dismay, that his hand was shaking.

He clicked on another file and a groan escaped him. ‘This is Blackcorp’s strategy for the next three years. It – it’s the heart and soul of my company.’

‘But –’ Sally struggled to take this in. It was so much worse than she’d feared. It sounded disastrous.

Logan lifted his hands to his head and shuddered. ‘You haven’t sent any of this information, have you?’

‘No. Nothing.’ She was so glad she could reassure him.

‘Good girl.’ He let out a heavy sigh. ‘In the wrong hands, this would allow a competitor to second guess the next critical stage in Blackcorp’s development.’ Beckoning to her, he said, ‘Look, come and see for yourself. It lists all our company contacts. Key strategies. Pricing.’

She came around to his side of the desk, saw the lists of figures, saw the haggard fear in Logan’s eyes.

Thank heavens she’d followed her instincts and double checked with him.

‘Where were you supposed to send this?’ he asked.

‘I have the list of addresses here.’ She pulled the sheet of paper with Maria’s list from her pocket.

---