At the Tycoon's Command by Shawna Delacourt Read Free Book Online

was far too distracting to have around.
    He forced himself to work but could not wipe the vision of Kim Donaldson from his mind, nor could he erase the sensation of her hand in his. A hint of trepidation told him the days ahead would be anything but normal. And the notion of exactly what that meant caused another twinge of anxiety to assail his senses.
    Kim Donaldson spelled trouble with a capital “T” and he had no one to blame but himself.

Three
    K im could not settle the nervous jitter that appeared the moment she slid behind the wheel of Jared’s silver Porsche. It was the same nervousness she experienced earlier when she had driven the expensive sports car to the detailers. It was a beautiful car, sleek and powerful, just like its owner, she reluctantly admitted. She had been surprised when he had handed her the keys with no more fanfare than to ask her if she knew how to drive a manual transmission.
    If she owned a car like that there was no way she would ever let anyone else drive it, certainly not someone who might have a motive to damage it. Although she wouldn’t do such a thing. What if it accidentally got scratched or dented? Would he think she had done it on purpose just to spite him? She didn’t know what to think anymore. During the course of the day she had entertained one thought after another about what type of man Jared Stevens really was.She came up with a different answer each time. He had clouded her thoughts from the moment she met him.
    She glanced at her watch as she put the car in gear. It was almost five o’clock. All she had to do was return Jared’s car to him, then she could call it a day. All in all, it hadn’t been such a bad day. She had made friends with Lurch, who was definitely just a big, overgrown puppy in spite of the fact that he was three years old.
    But the big, overgrown puppy’s owner was a different story. Every time she returned to the office complex, every time she was in the same room with Jared, the electrical energy that filled the air almost overwhelmed her, leaving her with very unsettled thoughts and feelings. It was as if she could reach out and actually touch his sexual magnetism.
    He had given her a few office tasks to do—routine letters about one of the corporation’s holdings taking out an ad in a trade periodical, employee participation in a civic fund-raiser, a couple of requests from charitable organizations and some memos to department heads, but it was obvious that he had kept her away from anything someone could use to compromise his business concerns. It was apparent he didn’t trust her, but she had to admit she understood why. If their roles were reversed, she certainly wouldn’t trust him with any confidential business matters.
    Most of the office chores were related to personal business rather than company functions. He had given her a list of phone calls to make, changing the day of the week for the pool service to clean the swimming pool, making arrangements for a newly purchased billiard table to be delivered, having the liquor store deliver several cases of wine and scheduling a time for the carpeting to be cleaned. They were all chores she thought Fred Kemper, the estate caretaker, would have handled.
    Even when she had her back to Jared she could feel him watching her. It left her uncomfortable and excited all at the same time. What kind of a man was Jared Stevens? So far, in spite of the fact that he had misled her about the nature of the work she would be doing, he didn’t seem to be the same type of jerk as his brother.
    Terry Stevens had been cruel with his cutting comments and put-downs. He had lorded his family position over everyone, especially Kim. He had done his best to belittle and humiliate her, and she had never forgiven him for it. Jared, on the other hand, had pretty much left her alone all day, other than to outline what he wanted her to do. She did have to reluctantly admit that