The Boss' Secret (Callahan's Secretary) (2 page)

CHAPTER TWO

             
It was late afternoon and the workday was winding down.  Grace smiled as she typed the last sentence of the last letter she needed to do that day.  Rising, she walked into Anthony’s office.  Through the course of the day, he’d shed his jacket and loosened his tie.  He was on the phone, but his eyes tracked her every movement as she walked toward him and took the seat across from his desk.  She could feel the weight of his gaze on her like a touch.   When he ended the call, she spoke. 

             
“If you don’t need me for anything else this afternoon, I need to leave early.  I have a few errands to run,” she said. 

             
“I always need you,”

             
She smiled and, in spite of everything that had transpired between them, still blushed.  “I was being serious.”

             
He settled back in his chair.  “Of course, you can leave arly... But I deserve a kiss to tide me over until tonight.”

             
“Seven,” she said, rising on her tiptoes and leaning across the desk.  Their lips met, and though she’d intended a quick, chaste kiss, it rapidly descended into something else.  His hands fisted in her hair and his skilled tongue invaded her mouth.  It wasn’t a lengthy kiss, but it left her flushed and wanting. “Wow.”

             
“Wow is an understatement.  Seven o’clock,” he said, and there was a promise in those words.   

             
Grace walked out and gathered her things.  She pressed the button for the elevator and when the polished doors opened, she stepped on.  They began closing with a whoosh behind her, when she heard someone calling.  She pressed the button to reopen the doors and Richard Beatty appeared as they parted.  Thinking of her conversation with Anthony that morning, she frowned a bit, wondering if perhaps she’d been too quick to dismiss his concerns.

             
“Thank you, Ms. Marcum.  I hate waiting for the elevator.”

             
“Of course, Mr. Beatty.  Taking off early for the afternoon?”

             
He cleared his throat.  “No, actually.  I saw you heading for the elevators, and I wanted to speak with you privately.”

             
Dread filled her.  “Is there a problem?”

             
“I just wanted to apologize for this morning.  I didn’t mean to get you in trouble with the boss,” he said, his voice perfectly friendly and not in the least flirtatious.

             
“Oh, you didn’t.  Everything was fine,” she offered, reassuringly. 

             
“Good.  I’m very glad, Ms. Marcum--Grace... May I call you Grace?”

             
“Mr. Beatty--” she began, but stopped as he extended a hand toward her.  His fingertips brushed her hair near her ear. 

             
“You had a bit of fuzz from your coat,” he explained.  “I’d like to ask you to dinner, Grace.  I find you very attractive and I’d like to get to know you better.”

             
Grace floundered for a moment, “I’m sorry, Mr. Beatty.  I don’t think it’s wise to get involved with people in the work place.  I’m sure you understand.”

             
His smile was stiff and his eyes were a bit cold as he nodded, “Of course, Ms. Marcum.  Please forget I said anything.”

             
“I’m very flattered, Mr. Beatty.  Thank you, and I hope you understand.”

             
“Certainly, Ms. Marcum.  It’s a good policy to have... Enjoy your afternoon off.”

             
Grace nodded and offered a sympathetic smile as she stepped off the elevator.  She was aware that he followed her with his eyes, she could feel the weight of his gaze.  It made her uncomfortable, but she resisted the urge to look back.  Instead, she focused on her plans for the evening.  She had some shopping to do. 

RICHARD Beatty watched Grace Marcum stroll from the elevator, her generous hips swaying beneath her coat.  His hand was fisted tightly around the shiny bit of jewelry he’d plucked from her mussed hair.  Looking at the cufflink, the intricately intwined A and C, he smiled bitterly.  “Oh, I understand, Grace Marcum.  I understand better than you know,” he said softly.  

             
He’d hated the Callahan’s for as long as he could remember. Making them pay for the wrongs they’d done to him, to his family, had been his mission in life.  Grace Marcum would be the key to that.  At first, he’d thought to use her as a track to inside information.   She would have been the perfect pawn to help him keep track of what Callahan was up to and what he would need to do to impress the powers that be and eventually have the board look to him as the perfect replacement for his enemy.  But now, knowing that there was only one logical way for a man to lose a cufflink in a woman’s hair, that changed matters dramatically. 

             
Grace wouldn’t be ferreting out information for him.  She would be Anthony Callahan’s achilles heel.  Considering the reputation that Johnathon Callahan had for being a stickler for work and propriety, at least in others, there was little doubt in his mind that the elder Callahan would frown on his son dallying with the help. But there were other ways, to ruin a man.  Thinking of Grace, and a woman’s scorn, he wondered what would happen if she and Anthony were to part ways.  Could he convince her to help him then?  The possibilities were endless.  All he had to do, Richard thought, was figure out how that information would serve him best.  Thinking of Grace’s curvy hips swaying, he hadn’t entirely written off the idea of making her part of the prize.  That she belonged to Anthony Callahan only made it sweeter.  With a smile curing his lips, he pressed the elevator button and headed back to his office.  He had plans to make. 

ANTHONY stepped out of the taxi in front of Grace’s building.  She refused to stay at his home, part of her determined plan of secrecy.  It was true that some of the other executives lived in his building, but it still rankled.  His cell phone rang and he pulled it from the pocket of his jacket, glancing at the screen.  He frowned as he answered it. 

             
“Yes, sir?” he knew that his father would frown at being called sir.  They’d never been very close.  Between the boarding schools and the divorces, they had never had much of a relationship.  The running of Callahan Industries had been their only point of agreement. 

             
“Would it be too difficult for you to call me father?” Johnathon Callahan asked. 

             
“Is there a reason for this call?” Anthony asled grimly, as he pressed the buzzer for Grace to let him in. 

             
“Am I interrupting your busy social life, son?  You’ve been out and about an awful lot lately.  Maybe you should bring her to the gala.  Your stepmother would be very happy about that.”

             
Anthony smiled at the mention of his stepmother.  Marianne was the best decision his father had ever made.  She came from old money, but she was simply the most down to earth person he’d ever met.  He adored her and all her many causes.  “I can’t make any promises about that, but I’ll see what I can do.”

             
Johnathon made a low whistling sound.  “That’s the first time I’ve managed to get you to even admit you’re seeing someone... You know I never offer you fatherly advice, but on this occasion, I feel it’s appropriate.”

             
“Please don’t start talking about prenups,” Anthony said, heading up the stairs. 

             
“I wasn’t going to.  I was going to tell you that if she’s that special to you, don’t let anything get in your way.”

             
Anthony paused on the landing.  His father’s words hanging heavily between them. Grace was that important to him, but what worried him was that his father had clued in to it.  Was he being that obvious, or was there something amiss with his father that he didn’t know about?  “Is everything okay?”

             
Johnathon laughed.  “Yes.  I’m not checking out on you yet.  I’ve just been reflecting on life and all the wasted time... I’d like to see grandchildren before I die, Anthony, and be a better grandfather than I ever was a father.”

             
“Well, there’s no pressure there,” he said, continuing the climb.  “You’re putting a damper on the romantic evening I had planned.”

             
“I’d hate to be responsible for that.  Tell Grace I said hello.”

             
Anthony nearly dropped the phone.  By the time he recovered and was ready to issue a denial, his father had already disconnected the call.  He didn’t know how his father knew, how he’d discovered the truth, but it would require further investigating.  The one thing he did know was that he would most certainly not be passing along the message.  The last thing he needed was for Grace to go into panic mode.  He climbed the rest of the three flights up to her small apartment wondering what the hell his father was up to, but when Grace answered the door, all thought fled. 

             
She wore a simple black dress, the vintage inspired cut hugging her curves in a way that made his mouth go dry and his blood race.  The wide neckline plunged into a deep V, revealing a tantalizing amount of cleavage and the ruffled hem of the skirt ended just above her knees.  When she turned to walk away, the slit at the back of the skirt revealed a glimpse of the lacy tops of her back-seamed stockings.  “You look amazing.  Are we going out?”

             
The glance back at him over her nearly bare shoulder was pure coquette.  She replied, “Of course not.  You know we never go out here... Too many prying eyes.  That doesn’t mean I can’t dress up for you at home.”

             
Anthony looked at the small dining table where they’d shared many dinners, and many breakfasts over the past month.  She’d draped it in white linen.  Candles burned in small, glass containers.  It was a seduction scene and he appreciated the effort, even if it was totally unnecessary.  Grace could seduce him just by breathing.  “Is there some occasion that I’ve forgotten about?  Like a one week anniversary of the first time I sneezed in front of you?”

             
She laughed.  “No.  It’s just that I feel bad.  I know you hate all the secrecy, but it’s necessary... Since we’ve never gotten to go on the romantic dates or do all of those things that normal couples do, I thought I’d try to make up for it.”

             
Anthony sighed and tugged her close, kissing her.  “You could just be seen in public with me.  It would be much less trouble... Just tell me why, Grace.  Why is it so damned important to keep this secret?”

             
Grace met his earnest gaze, knowing that he truly didn’t see it, and knowing that he would never understand even when she explained it to him.  Still, he deserved that much.  “Anthony, you are incredibly wealthy, powerful and good looking.  How many magazines have named you their most eligible bachelor?”