Page 10 of Just a Little Tempted

The problem wasn’t scaring Raina off. The problem was the way my pulse had kicked up when she’d walked through my office door. The way I’d found myself cataloging details I had no business noticing—the exact shade of her blonde hair, the fullness of her lower lip, the way she’d bitten it when she was nervous.

Attraction would only lead to trouble. I knew that. I’d built my professional life on clean boundaries and compartmentalized thinking. Women I worked with were off-limits,full stop. I’d never even been tempted to blur those lines.

Until this morning.

Raina Seager was the first assistant to make me want things I absolutely could not have. Which meant I needed to shut it down. Bury whatever this was and focus on what mattered: determining whether she could actually do the job.

Nothing else was relevant.

I’d told Raina she could take lunch when I returned, so the office wouldn’t be left unattended. But when I stepped off the elevator, I found her still at her desk, a half-eaten sandwichbeside her keyboard, her attention locked on the computer screen.

She didn’t notice me. I stopped in the hallway, telling myself I was just assessing her work ethic. Observing how she operated when she thought no one was watching. That was all.

But my gaze lingered longer than observation required.

In profile, her features were delicate—high cheekbones, a straight, narrow nose, a jaw that curved gracefully toward her chin. Her blue eyes were framed by long, dark lashes, and her blonde hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders, catching the light from the windows.

She was wearing a pale pink blouse, silk or something like it, tucked into a black pencil skirt that hugged her hips. I’d noticed when she walked into my office this morning. I’d also noticed the way her blouse accentuated her full breasts, and how that same skirt emphasized her narrow waist. When she’d turned to leave, I’d noticed even more—the subtle sway of her hips, and the perfect curve of her ass that made me think about bending her over my desk and—

I immediately cut off that train of thought. I shouldn’t have been looking. I definitely shouldn’t have remembered every detail about her hours later. But I did.

Now I watched her nibble on her bottom lip as she worked, a small furrow of concentration between her brows, and felt heat coil low in my stomach. Desire. Pure and inconvenient and completely inappropriate.

I needed to stop this. Right now.

I walked toward her desk, irritation at myself sharpening my tone. “You have an hour-long lunch break built into your schedule. You don’t need to eat at your desk.”

Raina’s eyes snapped to mine, and a pink flush spread across her cheeks. It made her even prettier; I resented thatandthe way my body responded to something as simple as a blush.

“Oh—sorry,” she said, looking genuinely contrite. “I didn’t realize it would be a problem.”

That sheepish expression bothered me more than it should have. Even worse was knowing I’d put it there.

I was being too hard on her. Iknewthat. But acknowledging it meant examining why I was on edge around her, and that was the last thing I wanted to do.

I cleared my throat, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly and forcing myself to use a softer tone this time. “It’s fine. It’s just… not necessary.”

Her gaze dropped to the desk, and I followed it to the printed pages beside her keyboard—my email outlining her duties, dense with text. Seeing it laid out like that, I understood what she wasn’t saying. The workload I’d given her was substantial. If she wanted to actually complete it, eating her lunch away from her desk probably wasn’t optional.

A pang of something uncomfortable moved through my chest. Guilt, maybe.

No.This was the job. If she wanted to work for me, she’d have to adapt. I paid well enough to compensate for my expectations.

“What are you working on?” I asked, redirecting.

Raina turned her monitor so I could see the screen. “I’ve been switching you over to a new scheduling system.”

I frowned. “A new one? Why?”

“This one is better.” Her voice carried a confidence that hadn’t been there this morning. “I used it at my old job to manage the calendar of a very busy executive. Someone a lot like you.”

I came around her desk to get a closer look, and her perfume hit me—vanilla and something floral, warm and soft and distinctly feminine. I inhaled before I could stop myself, and for a moment, my thoughts scattered.

Focus, goddamn it. This wasn’t like me at all.

“See here?” Raina pointed to the screen, seemingly oblivious to the effect she was having on me, which I was grateful for. “The interface is much more intuitive than what you’ve been using. It integrates with your calendar to prevent double-booking and sends automated email reminders to clients before meetings.” She clicked through a few screens. “There’s also a synced mobile app. I’ll install it on your phone later today.”

I studied the system, looking for flaws, for reasons to criticize the change. I’d been prepared to push back on her making alterations without permission.