Page 1 of Tempting Her Forbidden Boss

ONE

‘You’ll havethatfor me by three? Fantastic.’

Dani forced her body to freeze at the sound of that voice.

‘No problem.’

Dani knew the breathless assistant would have it for him by two at the latest—just as she would if he’d asked her.

Alex Carlisle, CEO of Carlisle Finance Corporation, on his rounds again—gliding through the open-plan area and bewitching his staff so they performed above and beyond. She wondered if he even knew the effect he had on his legions of adoring employees.

And Dani was the latest. Not looking was impossible. Her lashes lifted.

Truthfully she was probably the only one whose work wassufferingbecause of him. She found him so distracting she wasn’t getting half as much done as she should. Half of her wished he’d go away so her insides wouldn’t be so pummelled, but all of her wanted him to stay.

He was so good to look at, she’d been watching him all week. She’d seen how he abandoned his lavish office suite at the top of the building and came to talk with his worker ants—all of whom then frantically tapped faster at keyboards to get the work done for him. Charismatic, confident, Alex Carlisle got everything he wanted, every time. And if the water-cooler gossip she’d got from one of the secretaries was anything to go by, women were a big part of what he wanted—beautiful, highflying, high-society women. He played a lot, apparently. And all his female employees wished like crazy he’d play with them.

Dani totally understood why they did, but she wasn’t going to admit she was floored by him too. So predictable. Anyway she couldn’t afford to fixate like this. She checked the time. Only a few minutes and she could go to lunch. She’d never clock-watched before, usually enjoyed her work so the hours flew, but she had a mission to fulfil. Besides, something about this place made her antsy. Okay it was him. She was waiting, always waiting for him to appear. Now he had, she couldn’t wait to bust a move, so restless it was as if she had creepy-crawlies infesting every inch of her clothing.

Unable to resist the compelling force of him, she lifted her head and looked again. She was such an idiot. It was as if she’d been tossed into a stormy kind of teen crush—she’d never experienced one in her youth, but it seemed there was a time for everything. She only had to hear his voice for her heart to thunder and the adrenalin to flood her system, so sitting still was no longer possible.

Concentrate, you fool.

The excitement was a waste of energy anyway. The water-cooler woman had also informed her that, while the man might play fast and loose in his own social set, he never ever fooled around at work. Big shame. She watched as he stood talking with her supervisor. He was tall; his tailored trousers seemed to go on forever.

Yeah, Dani, all the way to the floor.

But her self-mockery didn’t stop her looking. He’d shed his jacket so he wore just the pale blue shirt, sleeves rolled partially up his arms—the ultimate ad for corporate wear. He turned. Caught her look on the full. And then held it prisoner.

Oh. Wow.

All but his face blurred. The low noise of the office became a distant hum. The sudden silence was nice and her antsy body stopped still, bathed in his gaze.

Dani’s favourite colour was green.

Alex Carlisle’s eyes were very, very green.

He moved, one small step. Was he coming over? To talk to her?

Someone called his name. He turned away, his smile flashing back on. And it was gone—the stillness, the warmth, the quiet. All disappeared the instant she blinked.

Good grief, what was she doing sitting there like aMuppet?Unable to move or speak or even breathe? She shook her head and released the air held too long in her straining lungs.

Ridiculous.

But how glad was she that he hadn’t come over? Because when he’d looked at her she’d been unable to think of anything. Not a thing. All power had gone from her brain to somewhere else entirely—and was warming her up. She couldn’t see how any of them got any work done when he was on the floor.

Okay so it was two minutes ’til lunch. But she’d arrived early, as she always did, and had already promised to work late tonight, so she needn’t feel guilty about stepping out now. Because she desperately needed to get outside and gasp in some fresh air.

She walked down the length of the floor to the lift, keeping well to the side of the room. She was short enough not to be noticed and she was only the temp, after all. She moved fast. Usually she took the stairs but he was near the stairs and, as much as she was drawn to him, her instinct told her equally loudly to stay well away. And this instinct was just strong enough to beat the one that made her avoid small, confined spaces. She could do it. Sure she could.

But when she got to the lift and pressed the button, her nerves sharpened. She counted to ten as she waited, trying to slow her breathing to match it with her mental chanting. It was only a lift. People went up and down them millions of times a day without accident. People didn’t get trapped in them.

Trapped.Her scalp prickled as if she were under one of those huge cover-your-whole-head driers at the hairdresser—and it was on too hot and she couldn’t get it off. She didn’t want to be trapped.

She redirected her thoughts. Forced the fear to the back. Focused on a plan. If she ate on the run, she’d have time to go to the public library and be able to check the message boards on the Internet. The search was all that mattered.

The lift chimed and she made herself move into it, closing her eyes as the doors slid together. It would be over in a whirl. Such fears were childish.

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