He’s nothing like Cameron, the more romantic, hopeful side of her inner voice insisted. He’s kind and sweet and sexy and... she exhaled heavily. So was Cameron, the sensible inner voice pointed out. And he had been, at least at first. Cameron had swept her off her feet, showering her with flowers and expensive meals out. She’d loved him, and she’d thought he loved her. But then she’d gotten pregnant and everything had changed. Men are all the same, her cynical inner voice stated. Matthew is going to break your heart just as surely as Cameron did, if you let him.
Jilly suppressed a groan. Vanessa had just gotten into the lift as they stepped into the grand glass foyer with the grey marble floor and held it open for them with her hands against both side of the open doors, grinning widely. Jilly didn’t even have to guess to know what she was thinking—it was written all over her face. She felt herself blush. Again. She’d have to invest in better coverage foundation. This blushing business was getting ridiculous. For the second time in one day, she felt like a teenager on a first date.
“Get to work, Miss Watson,” Matthew ordered as he dropped her at her desk and headed to his own office up the corridor. “Don’t let me catch you gossiping.”
“No, sir. I mean yes, sir, I mean...” She broke off, flustered, as he grinned and continued walking and Vanessa erupted in giggles.
“You’ve got it bad, girl!”
“I do not!” Jilly denied hotly.
“You like the bossy ones, do you?”
“No!” Cameron hadn’t been bossy. He’d been the opposite. Amenable to a fault, leaving her to make most of the decisions.
Still giggling, Vanessa patted her shoulder. “It’s okay. I’m just teasing. But I know why you turned me down for lunch! I’d turn me down for lunch with him, too!”
Jilly shook her head. “It wasn’t like that.”
Vanessa laughed. “Sure it wasn’t. So where did you go? What did you do? What did he say? What’s he like?”
The questions came thick and fast and Jilly couldn’t get a word in edgeways.
“It was a very innocent lunch,” Jilly insisted. “He didn’t really say anything interesting. Truly.” Except for telling you you’re his type of girl.
Vanessa raised an eyebrow. “You expect me to believe that? You have lunch with a spunky lawyer but it was dull and boring and completely unmemorable?”
Jilly just smiled in a way that she hoped was both bored and mysterious. “Yep.” She glanced across the office. Janice was watching them, peering at them over the top of her glasses with her lips pursed in a way that made Jilly feel like a naughty schoolgirl.
“Janice is watching,” Jilly warned her friend. “You better go. Don’t want you getting in trouble.”
“Yeah, better get back to the grindstone,” Vanessa agreed. “But this isn’t finished!” she insisted. “I want to know everything! Every little detail.”
“There’s nothing to tell!” Jilly insisted again, but Vanessa was already walking away.
Chapter Four
Preparing for trial, the biggest of his career so far, kept Matthew busy. Too busy. He was in his office first thing in the morning and often didn’t leave until nearly midnight, leaving him no time for anything else. No time to take Jilly out for lunch, no time to make it clear to her how he felt about her. No time to find out more about her, to show her he was interested, to see if she was interested in him.
But sometimes, no matter how hard he tried to focus, there were times he couldn’t get Jilly out of his mind. Her gorgeous smile, the one that lit up her whole face, would flash into his head. The way her hips moved under her clingy skirt as she walked across the office, obviously ever so slightly awkward balancing on those high heels, embedded itself in his brain. He wanted her.
Even though he knew he shouldn’t, he kept making up excuses to see her—coming up with errands for her to run for him, just so he could see her again, see the way she responded to his orders, the easy way she submitted to his authority.
He definitely had an ulterior motive when he asked her to do his filing—in his office, where he could see her. Sitting at his desk, where he could pretend to be busy, he could see the outline of her breasts under the taut fabric of her blouse. His cock hardened in approval as he got the briefest peek between the gaping buttons when she reached forward. Then he sucked in his breath at the glimpse down her top when she bent down to retrieve a paper she dropped on the floor.
The mischievous smile she couldn’t quite hide as she straightened up, clutching the paper, made his cock harden even more. The sassy minx! She’d done that deliberately! He stifled a groan, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He loosened his tie that now felt too tight, constricting his breath. His office was claustrophobic with her in it, way too small for the electricity that was crackling in the air between them.
She finished the filing, turning to him with an innocent expression. “Anything else you would like me to do, sir?” Her voice was a throaty purr, seductive, alluring.
He swallowed, silently telling his cock to behave. “That will be all, thank you, Miss Watson,” he told her in a tone as neutral as he could muster.
“I’ll get back to work then,” she informed him cheerily, flashing him a dazzling smile, flicking her hair off her shoulders ever so casually, before flouncing out of his office without a care in the world.
This was a game to her! Or was it his imagination? Was it wishful thinking on his part? If it was a game, it was a game he was going to win. In him, Miss Watson had met her match. And, if he was guessing correctly, Miss Watson’s very subtle display of flirtatious defiance was actually
