Page 43 of Temptation at His Door

Joa jumped a foot high and slapped her hand on her heart. Catching her breath, she saw Ronan standing in the doorway to his office, arms folded across his chest, biceps bulging under his cream shirt, amusement dancing in his eyes.

“Holy crap. You scared me.”

“You were a million miles away. What on earth were you thinking about?”

She might as well tell him and he’d confirm that she didn’t have a hope in hell of getting the CEO position if she applied. Maybe he could help her find a way to still be involved with the foundation, to work with the new CEO, maybe as a consultant? She respected Ronan’s sharp brain; she was sure he could help her figure it out.

“I was thinking about Isabel’s foundation and how much I would like to run it,” Joa admitted.

“What, as the new CEO?”

Joa nodded. “Crazy, isn’t it? I’m not qualified, I don’t have a business degree or know anything about accounting. And Keels is the one who can schmooze with donors—she can get blood from a rock. I’m not good at that. I feel out of place and tongue-tied at fund-raisers, very much like the girl from the wrong side of the tracks.”

She waited for Ronan to speak but when he didn’t, she jammed her hands in the pockets of her jacket and tried not to let the disappointment show on her face. His nonanswer was an answer in itself. She wasn’t suitable for the position. It was obvious...

“So why did you ask me to come down here?”

“We’ll get to that in a minute,” Ronan replied, his posture indolent but his eyes as sharp as razors. “We’re still discussing the open CEO position at the foundation.”

“Well, I was. You weren’t saying anything,” Joa pointed out, a little peeved.

“I was thinking.”

“And?” Joa demanded, wondering if she could slap a response out of him.

“I think you need to get over yourself,” Ronan said, his tone and words blunt. “You’re finding reasons why you can’t take the position and you’re missing the most obvious reason why you can.”

“Sorry?”

“A, you can talk to anyone. You are one of the wealthiest women on the East Coast. People don’t give a rat’s ass where you or your money came from. The only person who seems to have an issue with that is you.”

Wow.Ouch.

“B, so you don’t have a business or accounting degree, but you have a brain behind that gorgeous face and great instincts. You can hire people to look over a contract, to dissect balance sheets, but finding someone who is as passionate as you would be impossible.”

“But the board makes the decision...”

“Do you really think the board is going to vote against you and Keely, the two most powerful trustees? Tell your sister you want to do this and she’ll persuade, possibly bully, everyone else to support you.” Ronan skimmed his knuckle over her cheekbone. “Can I ask one favor, though?”

Joa blinked, trying to make sense of what he’d just said. He hadn’t dismissed her; in fact, he seemed to take her suitability for the job as a given. She had his unqualified support and, while she didn’t need it, it was wonderful to have.

Empowering, heart-warming...

Joa remembered that he’d asked her for a favor. “Yeah, sorry, what do you need?”

“Before you join the foundation on a full-time basis, can you please, please find me a nanny?”

Oh, she had... She just hadn’t had a moment to tell him about Abigail. And a part of her still didn’t want to. She still wanted to be involved in the boys’ lives, be able to pick them up from school, play Legos on the carpet, take them skating at Frog Pond.

She wanted to run the foundation, but she still wanted the boys. And Ronan, she wanted him most of all...

Joa’s gaze met his and she watched as desire, hot and heavy, turned his eyes to a deep gold-green. Ronan’s eyes dropped to her mouth and Joa shifted on her feet, her blood heating by a degree. He wanted her; she knew that. On the floor, up against the wall, anyway he could take her...

Oh, God, she wanted him, too. She wanted him in a big bed, rolling around, a tangle of hands and limbs and feet and tongues, creating sparks and mind-numbing pleasure.

Joa, feeling a little shaky, placed her hand against the wall because her knees had turned to mush and her brain to slush.

This man could send her from nanny to naughty in five seconds flat.

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