Page 24 of Bedding his Innocent Mistress

But gratitude throbbed in her, winning out over her need to keep firm boundaries in place. “Thank you for that. I didn’t stop for lunch.”

She walked deeper in the apartment and his hands wrapped around her shoulders, reminding her of the night before, when he’d grabbed her and kissed her like she was his only hope of survival. He pushed her coat gently down her arms, removing it deftly and tossing it over the back of a chair.

The table was set, take-away containers lined up, two bowls, and a bottle of wine.

“Been slaving over a hot stove?” She teased, peering into the tubs of Chinese food with relief.

“Oh, yeah. Apron and all.” He held her chair out for her and she flicked her gaze towards him. His smile was impossible to read. It was as enigmatic as a male version of the Mona Lisa’s.

“Now, that I’d like to see.”

He laughed. “One day.”

One day spoke of the future. One day was a lie. She changed the subject quickly. “Were any of your other businesses affected by the outage today?”

“Yes.” He took the seat opposite, his feet brushing hers beneath the table. Desire warred with hunger.

“So your day was even worse than mine?”

He poured two glasses of wine and leaned back in his chair. “It’s looking up now.”

Colour bloomed in her cheeks. “I’m glad.” And she was. Contentment spread through her like warm honey.

“It was bedlam. We finally got most things restored, but it took hours and hours. I have no idea what could cause such a wide-spread disaster…”

“A fan stopped working,” he said, sipping his wine, watching as she scooped fried rice and sweet and sour pork out onto her plate. “It caused a block of servers to overheat. Just a small but crucial part that triggered a melt-down across the board. Usually load-sharing kicks in but it didn’t, so technicians had to get in and manually move the pieces around. Or so I’m told.” He shrugged. “I’m sure you know more about it than I do.”

“Not really,” she said with a shrug. ?

?That side of things isn’t my forte.”

“What is your forte?” He prompted curiously.

Her eyes lifted to his. “This is running dangerously close to a job interview.”

“You already work for me,” he pointed out with a wink.

“Ah, true.” She lifted some pork into her mouth, closing her eyes in appreciation as the piquant flavours filled her. “I’m good at software,” she said thoughtfully. “And spotting trends. Working out what technology is emerging as a consumer favourite and capitalising on that. Margerite was dead-set against a dedicated news app, but it’s now got the highest hit and read rate across any of our platforms.”

“I see,” he murmured.

Guilty and misplaced loyalty swarmed in her. “I don’t mean to make it sound like Margerite is inept. Just … a bit of a luddite.”

He laughed softly. “Is that any different in this day and age?”

“She’s not into tech,” Ivy said, choosing her words carefully. “In fact, if she had to run the tech division of GBRTV you probably would have paid a tenth of the purchase price.”

He arched a brow, a smile twitching on his lips. Ivy crossed one leg over the other, her mind deep in thought.

“But what Margerite is good at is people. She promoted the hell out of me. I’m twenty-four, that’s at least ten years younger than any of the other management heads. She copped huge flack for choosing me over other more experienced candidates.”

“So why did she?”

“Because I’m great at what I do.” She said truthfully. “I don’t mean to sound like I’m bragging, but I live and breathe apps and news and I just love that stuff.” She spoke in a way that was completely without vanity. He admired that. Her honesty, too, where some people might have hidden their skillset for fear of seeming to big-note themselves. “What Margerite does well is find the right person for the job. Then she drives them a little bit crazy once they take it,” she joked.

“Crazy how?” He prompted, curiously.

And a warning flashed in her mind. It was so easy to forget herself when around him, but this man had just acquired the company at which she worked. The last thing she wanted to do was pillow talk someone out of a job.

---