The Secretary's Scandalous Secret by Cathy Williams Read Free Book Online Page A

beginning to feel giddy. ‘Are you sure about all this? I mean, it’s easy to confuse people…tothink you recognise someone when you don’t know them really…’
    ‘I don’t make those kinds of mistakes.’
    Agatha was immediately silenced.
    ‘Everyone makes mistakes,’ she muttered eventually.
    Luc ignored that. ‘I could find out what outfit Dexter managed to inveigle his way into and get him fired, not least because he would have had to forge his references from my company.’
    ‘I’m not a child! If Stewart is really the person you think he is, then I can just ask him outright.’
    ‘And I’m sure he would come up with a very convincing story.’
    ‘And I would be so easy to convince, wouldn’t I? Because I’m green round the ears.’
    ‘How is it that you are so good at making me feel like a monster?’ he murmured softly. An unnatural urge to put his arms around her was squashed before it could take form. ‘I’m actually doing you a favour by telling you this.’
    ‘It doesn’t feel like a favour. Even if Stewart is who you say he is—and I’m still not certain that you haven’t got it wrong; people do get things wrong, even people like you—well, what does that have to do with
me?’
    ‘I think Dexter sought you out.’
    ‘Sought me out? That sounds like a bit of a conspiracy theory.’ Agatha’s head was in a whirl.
    ‘Course, it all could be pure coincidence, but my gut feel is that he decided to set up in competition. Have you any idea of the value of gaming software? Which is why it’s one of the most highly confidential areas of all my companies. I have computer-game designers working to create games that could outrun some of the biggest sellers. After Dexter’s hacking attempts, I made sure that all entries were closed down. If he really wanted to get his hands on some of mydeveloping ideas, he might have thought that he needed to go down a different route.’
    Realisation was beginning to dawn for Agatha. Naturally, Luc could be off target with his assumptions, but would he really ever make a mistake like that? When it came to business, his acumen was legendary. Everyone in the company reverently believed that everything he touched turned to gold; only someone blessed with an ability to make sound decisions would ever have possessed that Midas touch.
    ‘Question: has Dexter been asking you all sorts of questions about the company?’
    Agatha twisted in her chair so that she could look at him. ‘Of course he’s been interested in what I have to say.’
    ‘I’ll bet.’
    If only there had been a part of her that could really and truly believe that she hadn’t been used, she would have run with it. Instead, all she could volunteer feebly, was, ‘Everyone deserves a second chance. Even people who come out of prison get second chances.’
    She belatedly realised how often the subject of her work had cropped up in the conversation. She had been flattered at the interest and had downplayed her role in the company. In fact, she hadn’t mentioned the broom cupboard once.
    ‘I think Dexter is manipulating you to access information,’ Luc told her bluntly.
    ‘What sort of information? This is too much. My head’s beginning to spin.’
    Feeling disadvantaged on the chair, Agatha stood up and weaved a wobbly path to the kitchen so that she could pour herself a glass of water. She returned to find Luc standing by the window and idly peering out. He turned when he heard her but remained where he was, six foot two of towering alpha male with the subtlety of a sledge hammer.
    Suddenly she was really angry that Luc was the one whohad taken it upon himself to point her in the right direction by humiliating her and then calling it doing her a favour.
    She realised how much she preferred the comfort of lusting from afar. Having her heart flutter whenever she glimpsed him at a distance had been a little inconvenient but it had never threatened her peace of mind. She could remember sitting in