Married by Midnight (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Series, #12) (8 page)

“No, not like that.  I only meant he’s a nice...employer.  I didn’t mean...” Golden’s voice trailed off.  From the expression on Claire’s face she could see the woman was buying none of what she was selling.  And who could blame her?  Golden was convincing no-one, not even herself.  “I just work for him, Claire,” she said finally. “That’s all.”

Claire only chuckled and gave her a knowing look.

But Golden knew a lot more than Claire did and what she knew, without a doubt, was that any interest she might have in Reed Davidoff was hopeless.  Outside of the fact that, compared to her the man was royalty, there was also that dreadful stipulation in her father’s will.

As much as she despised the thought, for the sake of her mother she knew she would eventually give in.

And Reed Davidoff would fit nowhere in that picture.

H
ad it been a month already?  That Monday when Sharon came in to remind him that Friday would be her last day Reed almost did a double-take.  It seemed like Golden had only been there a couple of weeks but no, Sharon had promised she would be there for a month to train her and a glance at the calendar told him she’d been true to her word.  But where had the time gone so fast?

And now it was Friday and time to see Sharon off.  “You tell that husband of yours to take good care of you and the little one or he’ll have to answer to me.”  Reed gave Sharon a broad smile as she shrugged into her sweater.  Employee or not he would have given her a hug if he’d been brave enough but by now she was so huge he was afraid his hug would send her into premature labor.

Sharon laughed.  “I’ll give him your message.  He’ll be shaking in his boots.”

Reed gave her a mock scowl.  “Are you saying he’s not afraid of me?  Is there anybody who is?”  He looked around and, the only person in the room being Golden, his gaze alighted on her.  She rewarded him with a soft blush.  “Might you, per chance, be afraid of me?”  He lifted his eyebrows.

“Say yes,” Sharon said, still chuckling.  “Make him feel good.”

“Yes,” the girl said, following the instruction of her mentor.  “I am.”

Somehow, he couldn’t believe her.  Not when, in spite of her shy blush, her pink lips were curled in a smile.  And, of course, despite his play at being an ogre he was more than pleased to know that Golden was finally growing comfortable with him.  She had better be, because from here on she would fill Sharon’s role as his right-hand person.

“Now you take good care of Golden while I’m gone.”  Sharon gave Reed a stern look.  “Do not overwork her.”

“Would I ever?” he asked with a wounded look.

“Now come here, hon. Give us a hug.”  She opened her arms wide to Golden and the girl stepped into her embrace.  “Just ring me if you need me,” she whispered.

“You know I won’t,” Golden whispered back.  “Don’t worry.  I’ll be fine.”

But even after Sharon had gone through the door she stood there, staring wistfully after her friend and guide, a hint of apprehension in her eyes.  Maybe she wasn’t quite as confident as she’d pretended to be.

That evening when it was time for Golden to leave she gave a soft knock and stepped into his office.  “I’m off,” she said, a forced air of cheeriness in her voice.  “Have a great weekend.”

“You, too,” he said as he leaned back in his chair and regarded her through narrowed eyes.  The slight droop at the corners of her mouth belied her cheery farewell.  “Missing her already?”

She smiled.  “How did you know?”

“It will be all right,” he said by way of reassurance.  “Enjoy your weekend.”

Demurely she nodded then went out, pulling the door shut behind her.

Long after she’d gone Reed sat staring at the door.  Now he would have Golden Browne all to himself and the good thing was, she seemed as intrigued about him as he was about her. 

He had to be careful, though.  Interested or not, he was still her employer.  There was a line that could not be crossed...unless, of course, she wanted it crossed. 

Even after he got home that night Golden Browne was still on Reed’s mind.  He’d known the girl less than two months but, as quiet and unassuming as she was, she’d still managed to creep into his mind and dominate his thoughts.  She had a strange power, a gentle pull that he could not resist.

As he lounged in front of the television, so distracted by the girl that the latest episode of ‘Allo, Allo’ played unnoticed, he grimaced.  Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to hire her.  At least then he would be unencumbered by the rules of an employer, employee relationship.  But firing her would be out of the question.  Put the girl out of a job just so he could ask her out on a date?  He would not be so callous.  There was nothing to be done but to ask her out, regardless of their professional relationship.

Reed was just about to get up to head into the kitchen for some ice cream when he heard a familiar buzzing in his pocket.  He fished the phone out and glanced at the screen.  When he saw the name that flashed there his face broke into a smile.  He hadn’t spoken to Max in a while.

“What’s up, big bro?” he said.  “Back from your Brazil trip?”

“Just got in last night,” Max said.  “Exhausting trip but it was worth it.  I’m not looking forward to doing another product launch very soon.  I need to recover from this one.”

“Yeah, I know how that goes.  It’s been almost two months since I did mine and I’m still recovering.”

“So what’s new?  You’re good?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“No wild parties?”

Reed chuckled.  “Haven’t had time.”  Truth be told, he hadn’t had the inclination either.  During the past year he’d practically been a hermit, shunning female company outside of the fashion models he worked with.  He’d resolved to ‘be good’, as his brothers put it...until the day he laid eyes on Golden Browne

Golden.  Just the thought of her made him smile.

“Who’s Golden?”

Startled, Reed frowned.  Had he said her name out loud?

“Who’s Golden, Reed?  One of your new models?”

When Max repeated his question Reed got his confirmation.  He’d said her name out loud, triggering this barrage of questions he knew could not go unanswered.  Max was the sort who never let things rest, not until he’d got all the answers.  Seeing that there was no getting around it he decided to come clean.  “No, she’s just...a young woman I hired to cover for Sharon while she’s out on mat leave.”

“And you like her,” Max said drily.

Damn.  Why did he have a brother who could read him so easily?  Max didn’t even have to see him to know what was on his mind.

“Sort of,” he said, not wanting to commit to a full admission.  But then he thought, what the heck.  He’d already been busted so he might as well put it all out there.  “I’m planning to ask her out.”

“Your employee?”

“Yeah, my employee.  She can say no if she doesn’t want to go out with me.  I’m not going to force her.”

Max snorted into the phone.  “Just the fact that you’re asking her out is pressure.  You’re her boss.  You think she’s going to say no?”

That made Reed pause.  Now how the hell was he going to work around that?  He didn’t want to intimidate the girl and he sure as hell didn’t want to get slapped with a charge of harassment but he definitely wanted to see her, and he didn’t mean sitting behind a desk in the office.

“And aren’t you forgetting something?”

Max’s question brought Reed’s thoughts skittering back to the conversation.  He frowned.  He could tell where this was going and he was in no mood to go down that road.  He remained silent.

“Be careful not to hurt this girl you claim to like so much.”  Max’s voice was harsh.  “Stop running from your past.  It’s time for you to deal with it.”

Reed’s frown deepened and his grip on the phone tightened.  That was the last thing he wanted to do right now but the problem was, annoying or not, he knew that his big brother was right. 

***

G
olden had been working for Reed Davidoff for six whole weeks, two of them without Sharon as her chaperone, when she began to feel uncomfortable.

Was it in her mind or was he watching her?  It seemed like in the last few days every time she lifted her head he was standing in the doorway, his eyes on her, a dark expression on his face.  Either that or he would leave his office door open, depriving her of the little privacy she used to have in the outer office.  Not that she needed privacy to do her work but it was so much less stressful when she didn’t have her boss’s eyes on her the whole time.

And then there were the times when she would hear him in his office and he would give out an unexpected sigh.  This had only happened a couple of times but each time she’d found it strange.  He must have some serious issues on his mind.

And, to top it all off, this morning he’d come in with his face as grim as the grave and had gone straight to his office, slamming the door behind him.  What in heaven’s name was going on?  Reed was definitely out of sorts but she had no idea why.

The whole day Golden was on edge, jumping each time Reed called her into his office to give her instructions.  There she would be sitting stiffly in the chair, notepad in hand, while he reeled off his assignments, glaring at her the whole time.  The worst part was, she could think of nothing she’d done to deserve such abominable treatment.

By five o’clock that evening Golden was at the end of her rope and dying to head home.  Although it was not the norm for her, this Wednesday evening as soon as the clock touched the hour, she shut down her computer and reached for her handbag.  She was not about to endure a minute more of this torture, not when she was no longer on company time.

She’d slung the strap of her bag onto her shoulder and was getting ready to rise when her tormentor stepped out of his office and stood by the door.  As she’d come to expect, he was not looking happy.

Golden froze then sank back into her chair, hoping against hope that he would not ask her to work late. 
Not tonight, please Lord.  I can’t take much more of this
.

“Miss Browne,” he said then cleared his throat.  “Golden.  There’s something I need to ask you.”

“Yes?”  Clutching her handbag to her lap she held her breath.  He hadn’t called her Miss Browne since her first day on the job.  He must really be upset with her.  Was he about to fire her?  At the thought her heart quickened pace.

“Would you...” Reed’s frown deepened and he raised a hand to rake his fingers through his hair.  “Would you like to have dinner with me?  This Saturday night?  If you have the time?”  Each question came out more rushed than the one before as if he wanted to say it all before he chickened out.

But if there was one thing Golden knew about Reed Davidoff it was that he was no chicken, not a man like him who took huge business risks every day, calculated risks that invariably paid off, making him a very rich man.  Right now he was nervous, that was all, and as far as Golden was concerned that was so sweet.  Her boss was human, after all.

And then the enormity of his question hit her.  Reed had just asked her out.  Her.  A nobody and probably the least sophisticated of his employees.  Had she heard him right?  “Dinner?” she asked, her voice breathless.  “With you?”

His glare deepened into a full-fledged scowl.  “You don’t have to say yes.  I don’t want to force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

“But I do,” she said quickly then she caught herself.  It would not do to seem too eager.  She drew in her breath and when she spoke again her voice was steady.  “I would love to have dinner with you.”

The scowl lightened somewhat but it still qualified as a frown.  “You do?  Are you sure?”  He cocked his head to one side as he looked at her.  “You’re not just saying that because I’m your boss?”

Smiling, she shook her head.  “I would have said yes even if you didn’t sign my paycheck.”

To her relief that brought a smile to his face.  It was the first time she’d seen him smile all week.  “Good.  I’ll pick you up Saturday evening, six o’clock.  You can give me your address on Friday.”  And with that he turned and walked back into his office, closing the door behind him. 

Alone again, Golden sagged back into her chair and gave a soft sigh of relief.  She finally had the answer to her boss’s mysterious behavior and it was an answer that filled her heart with joy.  Reed liked her.  So much, in fact, that he’d asked her out on a date.

Now the burning question was how to pull this off without her overbearing stepfather finding out.

G
olden didn’t let the evening end before she dashed over to Sunnybrook Nursing Home to give Claire the good news.  Normally she would have waited until the weekend but this was just too wonderful to keep to herself.  The most eligible bachelor in all of London – well, as far as she knew – had asked her out.  Why, she had no idea but now was not the time for questions.  Now was the time for celebration.

And who better to celebrate with than someone who understood her, someone with whom she could speak freely without fear of any of it getting back to a certain person, namely her stepfather.

“What a lovely surprise.”  Claire’s face light up as Golden walked into the room.  “What brings you here in the middle of the week?”

“Love.”  The word slipped out, shocking Golden into momentary silence.  Now where had that come from?  “I mean, good news,” she stuttered, trying to cover her awful slip of the tongue.  “I came over because I wanted to tell you about something wonderful that happened.”

“Well, don’t keep it to yourself, child.  Sit.”  Claire waved her over to the empty chair, eyes eager, a wide smile on her face.

Golden smiled back, relieved that she seemed not to have noticed the blunder.  If she’d picked up on that one Golden knew she would never hear the end of it, not for a long, long time.  In a place like Sunnybrook Nursing Home there was not much to keep one busy and the primary form of entertainment was gossip.  Golden’s slip would have been the topic of many a conversation, she was sure.

Now, at least, she would have the chance to share her news in her own way and love had absolutely nothing to do with it.  How could she love a man she’d known for all of two months?  Her mind and her tongue were playing tricks on her, that was all.