Page 30 of Captivated By You

“You know,” she began. “I’m going to forget the list, because, really, it boils down to one simple request.”

Request. Not demand. That meant I could say no.

I kicked my chin up. “Go ahead.”

“If I am to accept the position here, then you and I have to keep things on a professional footing. Forget what happened between us that night. And you must promise me you will never,evertell anyone or let it influence a single decision about my employment here.”

I ran my thumb along my bottom lip, and her gaze went there. She fidgeted, and I smiled. Whatever she said about keeping things professional, she was far from immune to me.

And that I could—and would—exploit.

I understood her request, and I’d accept it. For now. But if Kiana thought I’d leave it there, she was sadly mistaken. I might be her boss in the truest sense of the word, but our roles were so far removed that we’d hardly ever come across each other in the work environment. I’d happily accept a secret liaison if that was what she preferred. But for now, the set to her jaw and determination in her spine meant I’d have to go along with her petition if I wanted her to accept the role in my organization.

I’d work on persuasion later. I had time. Plenty of it. And persistence in abundance.

“I promise to keep things professional for as long as you wish, but I’m afraid that forgetting the incredible night we spent together is beyond my capabilities.”

I knitted my fingers together and leaned the edges of my hands on my desk. “The reality is that we’ll rarely see each other. I am only here right now because the hotel is without a general manager.”

She flinched, and a fresh deluge of rage rose within me. That fucker Forster had better hope our paths never crossed again.

“But I’ll have that vacancy filled in the next couple of days. The manager from our Portland branch is taking over here. Philippe is one of the top managers in the group, and I think you’ll get along with him very well.”

“What happened to the other guy?”

“I told you. I fired him.”

“Uh-huh. And?”

My forehead creased. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know.” She narrowed her eyes. “Something tells me you didn’t just fire him.”

A shiver of pleasure raced through me. From our first meeting, Kiana had easily read me. It was a gift that few possessed, other than my family.

“Let’s just say that he’ll struggle to get a job manning the Great Wheel down by the waterfront, let alone holding down a position that allows him to abuse his power.”

She touched a hand to her chest. “You did that for me?”

“What Forster did to you made me dig a little deeper.” I rubbed my lips together. “I have a lot to thank you for, Kiana. If you hadn’t shared your pain with me that night, then Forster would still be here and I’d have remained in the dark that he was behaving inappropriately with my staff. He got off lightly, believe me.”

“You said the other women he… touched…didn’t want to go to the cops either?”

I shook my head. “Their opinions were similar to yours. Little point.” My jaw locked. “It pisses me off.”

She gave me the first genuine smile I’d seen in what felt like years, and my heart swelled.

“The more men there are like you in the world and maybe, just maybe, attitudes might start to change.”

I returned her smile. “I’ll take that as a great compliment.”

“You should. I don’t hand them out often.”

I chuckled. “There’s the sassy woman I remember.”

She dipped her chin, gazing up at me from beneath her lashes. I didn’t think she was trying to be coy. More, she didn’t want to acknowledge my comment. That was cool. I’d wait. Bide my time. But eventually, I’d win her over. Slow and steady wins the race, and I planned to ace this one.

“You’ve made an enemy, though, no doubt.”

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