âIt takes everything Iâve got not to touch you when I see you sitting there like that.â
There was a long silence, and then her voice again. âWhy donât you?â
Liamâs jaw was flexed tight, his whole body tense, as he tried to hold back the desire for her that was building inside. âI didnât think it was a good idea. Iâm your boss. We have to work together. Things would get weird. Wouldnât they?â
Please let her say no.
âI donât think so,â she said, slowly climbing to her knees. âWeâre both adults. We know what this is and what it means.â She crawled leisurely across the elevator floor, stopping in front of him. Her hands went to his belt buckle as she looked up at him through her thick, coal-black lashes. âWhat happens in the elevator stays in the elevator, right?â
To my series matesâ
Barbara, Michelle, Robyn, Rachel and Jennifer
It was a pleasure working with each of you.
Thanks for welcoming a newbie to the club.
And our editor, Charles
Sei fantastico. Ã stato bello lavorare con voi. Grazie per il cioccolato le sardine.
Figliodi un allevatore di maiali.
Liam Crowe didnât speak Italian. The new owner of the American News Service network could barely order Italian food, and he was pretty sure his Executive Vice President of Community Outreach knew it.
Francesca Orr had muttered the words under her breath during todayâs emergency board meeting. Heâd written down what sheâd saidâor at least a close enough approximationâin his notebook so he could look it up later. The words had fallen from her dark red lips in such a seductive way. Italian was a powerful language. You could order cheese and it would sound like a sincere declaration of love. Especially when spoken by the dark, exotic beauty whoâd sat across the table from him.
And yet, he had the distinct impression that he wasnât going to like what sheâd said to him.
He hadnât expected taking over the company from Graham Boyle to be a cakewalk. The former owner and several employees were in jail following a phonehacking scandal that had targeted the president of the United States. The first item on the agenda for the board meeting had been to suspend ANS reporter Angelica Pierce for suspicion of misconduct. Hayden Black was continuing his congressional investigation into the role Angelica may have played in the affair. Right now, they had enough cause for the suspension. When Black completed his investigationâand hopefully uncovered some hard evidenceâLiam and his Board of Directors would determine what additional action to take.
He was walking into a corporate and political maelstrom, but that was the only reason he had been able to afford to buy controlling stock in the company in the first place. ANS was the crown jewel of broadcast media. The prize heâd always had his eye on. The backlash of the hacking scandal had brought the network and its owner, Graham Boyle, to their knees. Even with Graham behind bars and the network coming in last in the ratings for most time slots, Liam knew he couldnât pass up the opportunity to buy ANS.
So, they had a major scandal to overcome. A reputation to rebuild. Nothing in life was easy, and Liam liked a challenge. But heâd certainly hoped that the employees of ANS, and especially his own Board of Directors, would be supportive. From the night janitor to the CFO, jobs were on the line. Most of the people he spoke to were excited about him coming aboard and hopeful they could put the hacking scandal behind them to rebuild the network.
But not Francesca. It didnât make any sense. Sure, she had a rich and famous movie producer father to support her if she lost her position with ANS, but charity was her job. Surely she cared about the employees of the company as much as she cared about starving orphans and cancer patients.
It didnât seem like it, though. Francesca had sat at the conference room table in her formfitting flame-red suit and lit into him like she was the devil incarnate. Liam had been warned that she was a passionate and stubborn womanâthat it wouldnât be personal if they bumped headsâbut he wasnât prepared for this. The mere mention of streamlining the corporate budget to help absorb the losses had sent her on a tirade. But they simply couldnât throw millions at charitable causes when they were in such a tight financial position.
Suffice it to say, she disagreed.
With a sigh, Liam closed the lid on his briefcase and headed out of the executive conference room to find some lunch on his own. Heâd planned to take some of the board members out, but everyone had scattered after the awkward meeting came to an end. He didnât blame them. Liam had managed to keep control of it, making sure they covered everything on the agenda, but it was a painful process.