Expecting the Boss’s Baby by Christine Rimmer Read Free Book Online Page B

flights.”
    She ground her teeth together and reminded herself that he was the boss, that she was very grateful to him for giving her this chance when she’d been his assistant for only a month. “Yes, Dax. All right.”
    â€œI love it when you’re obsequious. It happens so seldom. And guess what?”
    â€œI have no idea.”
    â€œI’ve already found our photographer.” He paused, sipped more coffee.
    â€œI’m listening.” No, she had no illusions it was going to be her.
    And it wasn’t. “I called Ramón Esquevar. He’ll be in Guatemala next week and he’s promised to meet us in San Cristóbal.”
    Okay, she was totally impressed. She sighed. She couldn’t help it. Esquevar was world-class. His photographs appeared in Time and National Geographic. She’d always hoped someday she might meet him. Now she would get to watch him work.
    Dax was grinning at her. “You’re speechless.”
    She let her smile bloom wide. “Esquevar. I can hardly believe it. That’s fabulous.”
    â€œWe got lucky. The timing just happened to be right for him.” He spotted her ring finger, where a ring that looked exactly like the one she had broken the day before glittered, big and bright. “That was fast.”
    She kept on smiling. Let him think what he wanted. She’d gone back to the same shop last night, got there just before it closed. The tattooed shopkeeper had dug up another ring for her—even given her a discount after she gave him a hard time for selling shoddy goods.
    Dax sipped his coffee and watched her for a minute, no doubt waiting for her to confess that there was no Johnny and there never had been.
    She did no such thing. The deception might be a little frayed around the edges. But it still did the job, still made it clear to Dax—to both of them—that she was off-limits to him as a potential bed partner.
    Finally, he growled at her, “What are you grinning about? Why aren’t you working?” and turned and disappeared into his office.
    Â 
    The rest of that week and the one that followed were hectic. There were a thousand and one things to dobefore they could be ready to go. And the time line to get everything in order was scarily short. Preparations for the Spotlight trips usually took months of careful planning. But not this time. Dax had decided they were changing everything up. And Dax, after all, was the boss.
    Over a stolen hour for lunch the Friday before they left, Lin said it was his nature. “Things go too smoothly for too long, he can’t stand it. He needs challenge, a little crisis theater, some spice in his life.”
    Zoe sipped her iced tea. “You know he’s flying us?”
    â€œWhy not? He owns three or four planes. Might as well use one of them.”
    â€œA small plane, he said. A single-engine plane. Ugh.”
    â€œLook on the bright side. Commercial flights are a zoo these days, planes breaking down, the nightmare of security checkpoints. With an airline, you could land in Mexico City and never leave.”
    â€œWe have to stop just over the border at Nuevo Laredo anyway, and deal with customs. The checklist of papers we have to carry and file is endless. We even had to get third-party liability insurance from a Mexican company.”
    Lin waved a hand. “Travel’s a pain, it’s true.”
    â€œThat’s not what I’m talking about. I love to travel, under any circumstances. I love luxury destinations. And I don’t mind roughing it.”
    â€œBut you hate small planes, is that it?”
    â€œNo, I can take a small plane. I get a little motion sickness, but I have the pills to handle that.”
    Lin shrugged. “Then what is it? Is Johnny upset that you’ll be gone for a week?”
    â€œNo. Of course not. Johnny…supports me. Completely.”
    â€œThen what is the problem?”
    Zoe thought about Dax. His