Page 3 of The Boss

Fishing her favourite stilettos out of the bag, she slipped off the ugly pumps and wriggled her fuchsia painted toes into the sandals, sighing in relief at the luxurious feel of designer shoes adorning her feet once again.

Pushing aside the thought that sexy black patent sandals with tiny straps and adorned with feathers weren’t appropriate tour guide footwear, she strode toward the museum as fast as her three inch stilettos could carry her.

With the correct footwear, a girl could face anything and right then, Beth knew her day was looking up.

* * *

Those shoes are something else,Aidan Voss thought, as he caught sight of the new tour guide strutting across the polished marble floor toward him, her nose ten feet in the air.

She looked like she didn’t have a care in the world rather than a woman who was five minutes late for her first day on the job.

“Miss Walker?”

“Yes?”

If her shoes were something else, her dazzling green eyes captured his attention and shot his interest into the stratosphere. They sparkled with intelligence and even a hint of wariness couldn’t hide the glint of fun in their moss-green depths.

“You’re late,” he said, his gaze roaming over her heart-shaped face with the high cheekbones, pert nose, and lush mouth a tad on the full side.

Her features should’ve clashed. Instead, they melded into a heart-stopping combination and for a guy who appreciated beautiful things on a daily basis, and had since he could first walk and talk, he couldn’t tear his gaze away.

“And you are?”

Surprised by her cocky comeback when she should’ve been on the back foot, and more than a little annoyed at his urge to laugh, he said, “Someone who could have your butt for waltzing in here late on your first day.”

If her confidence surprised him, her glossed lips curving into a saucy smile shocked the hell out of him.

“You could have my butt, huh? Sounds like an interesting way to foster employee relations.”

His mouth twitched despite the urge to send this woman packing before she’d begun. From what his father had said he’d expected a mouse-like woman. Instead, apart from her sun-streaked blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun and a drab black suit, this woman screamed sexy rather than tour guide.

Sexy? Where had that come from?

Lowering his gaze to her feet and those funky shoes, he knew exactly what had put the idea into his head. He was a leg man through and through, and the sight of her curvy stockingless calves and dainty feet thrust into shoes belonging on a stripper rather than a conservative tour guide had his head in a spin.

He chose to ignore her sassy remark, considering his obsession with her legs didn’t need the added burden of thinking about her butt too.

“I’m not an employee.” He mustered his best glower, the one that made most employees jump to his attention on various digs around the world.

Her eyes lit up, sparking green fire as she tilted her chin up. “In that case, you have no right bailing me up. So if you don’t mind—”

“I’m youremployer.”

He expected to see fear or the glimmer of an apology replacing the sassy spark in her eyes. Once again, she proved him wrong.

“Pleased to meet you. Beth Walker, tour guide extraordinaire at your service.” She stuck out her hand, her wide grin irresistible, and he found himself unwittingly returning her smile while he shook her hand.

“Aidan Voss, the new boss around here.”

A boss who had no right noticing how her eyes twinkled when she smiled or the cheeky lilt in her voice when she spoke, as if challenging him to do goodness knows what.

“Do you personally greet all your employees?”

“Only the ones who are late on their first day.” He sent a pointed glare at his watch. “I must say your lack of punctuality surprises me, Miss Walker.”

“Call me Beth.” She dropped her gaze, but not before he’d seen a flicker of fear, the first sign she was anything other than confident. “And I’m really sorry for being late. I was running on time until I had a shoe crisis.”

Once again, his lips gave a decided twitch and he clamped down his urge to laugh out loud. “Speaking of your shoes, do you think they’re appropriate for your role here?”

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