anticipation. He felt alive .
From the corner of his eye he saw her stand up. She remained standing in front of the desk, as if she were waiting for him to change his mind. After several moments, he looked up, his eyes locked with hers in a powerful, magnetic gaze. He stood up unhurriedly, moving carefully so as not to frighten her. He leaned across the desk and reached out to touch her hand. He felt the sizzle of her touch deep inside.
“Did you want to say something else, Ms. Best?” He bit his lip to stop himself from laughing at her startled expression.
She jerked her hand away as if it’d been burned. “No... Just... thank you. You won’t regret it!” She backed away awkwardly before bolting from the room.
“I hope you’re right,” he murmured, watching her fleeing form.
Katie stared at him, her mouth agape.
“What? I hired someone. Are you happy?”
“Yes, Mr. Gherring. Astonished, but happy,” she said, as a huge smile slid onto her face. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak to your new personal executive assistant before the clock strikes twelve and her carriage turns into a pumpkin.”
Chapter Five
“I’ve reserved the ballroo m for the International Gala,” said Katie as they reviewed their progress on Tuesday morning. “And I reserved a bank of rooms at the Hyatt.”
“And the conference rooms?” asked Gherring.
“We have conference rooms for large presentations on Thursday and Friday. But I’m assuming you’ll have your meetings here earlier in the week. That’s what you’ve always done before.”
“We did?” He was so distracted. His concentration had been shot ever since the interview with Anne Best. He kept replaying the episode over in his mind. Remembering the thrill of the confrontation. Reliving the spark of her touch.
“Yes, we did. I can’t believe you don’t remember.”
“Okay. But we might want to reserve one larger conference room for Tuesday and Wednesday, depending on what our attendance is. How’s it looking?”
“Early reservations are up twenty percent from last year, so...”
“Right. Better to have the space reserved. We can always cancel if we need to. Now about flight reservations...”
“You know, Ms. Best will be taking over some of these responsibilities. She’ll be here a week before the International Business Conference. And I’m going to be out several days the week of the conference.”
He swallowed hard. He’d second-guessed himself multiple times about hiring Anne Best as his executive assistant. It was such an irrational choice. He’d never done anything so spontaneous where business was concerned. He always planned and calculated, carefully considering all of his options. Yet, he’d made this hiring decision based on his feelings rather than his intellect. And later, he realized he didn’t even know if she was single. Her resume indicated she had two grown daughters, but it didn’t mention a husband. He assumed she was divorced, but he didn’t know for sure.
“Where did you make arrangements for Ms. Best to live?” he asked, attempting to keep a casual tone in his voice.
“I assumed you’d provide the apartment as part of the package like you normally do for new employees who move from out of town. Was that correct?”
“Yes, of course. Especially since we have her on a trial basis.”
Katie narrowed her eyes. “Wait a minute... You’re not planning to let her go after three months and try to get me back again, are you? Because I won’t do it.”
“No, no,” he said impatiently. “I just wondered about her apartment.”
“There’s a studio apartment available in my building. I assumed you’d want her there, since it’s close to work.”
“But, will a studio be big enough? I mean, will she have any family living with her?”
“No, her children are grown,” Katie said. “That was on her resume.”
“Yes, but if she had a spouse, they would probably need a one bedroom instead