Page 27 of The Boss's Forbidden Assistant

Her head hurt. She reached for a glass, filled it with some water from a bottle and drained it, then took in her reflection.

It had been a long day and she was a mess. Using her fingers, she combed her hair over one shoulder and pinched her cheeks, but that was the best she could do without her cosmetics, still stowed in a bag in the hotel room.

A moment later, she emerged, eyes not meeting Salvador’s as she reached for her handbag and removed her lipstick, moving to the mirror above the desk and carefully applying a fresh coat. It was amazing what a difference it made. She clicked the lid back in place, turned to locate her bag and found Salvador staring at her, a fulminating frown on his handsome features that spiked her blood pressure all over again. She stared and couldn’t move. It was as though she was trapped by his gaze.

‘We should go,’ he said finally, voice hoarse.

She nodded, but neither of them moved. It took her a moment to galvanise herself against the waves of awareness bouncing off the walls.

‘I’m ready.’

Neither moved. Salvador was backlit by the afternoon sun, and he looked god-like in stature, glowing with gold. She frowned as her feet finally stepped, but in the wrong direction, towards him, across the carpet. She stopped, feeling like an idiot. He was like a gravitational well; she found it almost impossible to pull away from him.

‘This isn’t a big deal.’

She frowned, not understanding what he meant.

‘It’s just one night.’

‘Oh.’ She nodded, turning to look at the bed, swallowing.

‘I’ll take the floor.’

‘Don’t be stupid, Mr da Rocha. The bed is more than big enough for both of us. We can be adult about this.’

His expression showed cynicism and a healthy degree of doubt on that score.

‘Nothing’s going to happen,’ Harper repeated.

‘Are you trying to convince me or yourself?’

She grimaced. ‘Nothing’s going to happen.’ Her heart stitched strangely. ‘We really should go. Now.’

It felt as though the building were on fire. She had to escape. Grabbing her bag, she turned and finally moved in the right direction: towards the door, out of the room and into a space that wasn’t completely overpowered by Salvador.

She checked her watch again, frowning. The meeting had gone on longer than she’d anticipated. The allotted two hours had bled towards three, the manager prone to waffling and wanting to apologise again and again for the mix up with rooms—which had worn thin after the first time, let alone after at least ten attempts at explaining the problem with their computer system.

Salvador, who clearly didn’t suffer fools gladly, had been in no mood to tolerate the excuses.

As time passed, Harper knew she’d have to excuse herself: something she hated doing because it seemed inattentive and unprofessional but she was due to call her mother soon and there was no way she could delay.

As the manager moved towards the banquet rooms to show off the new parquetry, Harper reached out, touching Salvador’s arm lightly to arrest his attention. It worked a little too well. He stopped as though he’d been electrified so she quickly dropped her hand.

She felt nervous! Harper, who’d tamed Goliaths for breakfast, was terrified of disappointing this man, of having him think badly of her. She ground her teeth, irritated by her own weakness, refusing to give into it. This was about her mother, and there was nothing that would come between Harper and her commitments there.

‘I have a personal matter to attend to,’ she said stiltedly. ‘I have to go.’

‘Go?’ He frowned. ‘Is this about the room?’

‘What? No. I don’t mean “go”, as in leave Prague.’ She shook her head. ‘I have to go upstairs to the room. To make a call.’ Her stomach twisted. ‘It’s important.’

He nodded thoughtfully. ‘Your thirty minutes?’

She expelled a soft breath. ‘It’s prearranged. I can’t reschedule it at this late notice. I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t apologise. Meet me in the bar afterwards to discuss the meeting.’ His eyes flicked to the manager, who was waiting by an open door. ‘I’ll be done by then.’

Harper’s smile was automatic. She could see that Salvador was growing impatient, and she suspected he was about to rapidly draw this tour to a close, but she couldn’t stick around to enjoy watching that. Her mum was waiting.

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