Dangerous (The Complete Erotic Romance Novel) by Ella Ardent Read Free Book Online

company and run it for twenty years instead of Leon. He showed appreciation of the workers’ skills and no small amount of charm, even as he kept to a relentless schedule. He made it look easy to be in charge, easier than Kendra knew it was, and she respected that.
    She wondered why he’d gone to so much trouble, particularly if Ginger was right.
    Had she made a difference in his thinking? Kendra couldn’t be sure. She doubted it was that easy to change his mind about anything.
    Maybe they’d just been in agreement.
    Because he made a definite effort to set fears at rest, assuring everyone that if there were changes to how the company was run, they would not be made abruptly. He convinced them all that their jobs were comparatively safe, even as he talked about the challenges of the market and economy. Kendra watched in awe as he started to build consensus amongst the staff. He solicited ideas from everyone in the place, and challenged the sales and marketing team to brainstorm. He insisted that the employees of the company knew its strengths better than he could, and shared his conviction that the building was filled with resources and ideas.
    Their ideas.
    By noon, there was a palpable sense of energy in the building, one that had been lacking for a long time.
    And he hadn’t even taken off his suit jacket, much less broken a sweat. Leon would have had his sleeves rolled up and his tie loosened by now, but Mr. Stirling was as crisp as if he’d just stepped in the door.
    “I regret that I must interfere with your lunch plans today, Miss Jones,” he said, pausing by her desk on the way to his office. “But I hope it will be an isolated incident.”
    “That’s all right,” Kendra said with a smile, hoping he was making a reference to her lunch intervals with Leon.
    He went into his office then, standing at the door as he waited for her to follow. She assured Ginger that she’d get the phone for an hour, and the other women in the office grabbed their purses to leave. She knew what they were going to talk about at lunch and wished she could have been there.
    On the other hand, she couldn’t regret being alone with Mr. Stirling, even if it was all business. When she followed him into his office with her notepad, he flicked the door shut with his fingertips, then gestured to the chair opposite his desk. Kendra sat down and crossed her legs, wondering what he wanted to talk about.
    And hoping that she knew.
    He took his seat and waited, fingers steepled before himself and his gaze fixed upon her. He barely seemed to blink, and Kendra suddenly had a bad feeling about her employment future. When the shared office had fallen silent and still he didn’t say anything, she couldn’t stand it.
    “Are you going to fire me?”
    “Not unless you want me to. Do you?”
    “I’m not sure.”
    He smiled and reached into his briefcase. He removed a folder, opened it and set a photo on the edge of the desk closest to her.
    It was the shot of Kendra in black and red, the fishnet stockings that she loved and the merry widow and red high heels she was wearing on this day. She was wrapped in a kneeling position with red ribbon that curled around her ankles. She was smiling and had her back arched, like a pinup girl.
    Kendra swallowed, knowing there was nothing she could say to explain it.
    He could only know she was wearing the shoes, couldn’t he?
    He set down another photograph beside it, his movement deliberate.
    It was the one of Kendra in pink lingerie, hogtied on the conference table with white cotton rope. It looked a little rougher, although it hadn’t really been. The sight of the rope knotted around her was exciting though and Kendra felt herself getting wet. She’d never considered that it could be hot to look at erotic pictures with someone else, but she was certainly getting turned on. She stole a glance at him and saw him swallow before he looked at her. Their gazes locked and held.
    “It wasn’t even knotted,”