LITMIR.BIZ

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gaze snapped to hers. “You’re sure?”

      “First thing I did this morning,” she admitted, handing him a sheet of paper that had come through on the fax just ahead of the bid from the smaller shipping company in Germany. “The shipyard in France where Max’s ship is being finalized was very helpful. I simply asked for an example of their latest work, and they were happy to send me the full specs of the cruise liner they’re finishing at the moment. And ours is at least three hundred feet longer. Better built for the Atlantic routes.”

      He tapped the sheet of paper with the tips of his fingers and gave her a smile that lit up her insides like a flash of neon. Oh, good god. She really did need that vacation.

      Getting a firm grip on clearly hysterical hormones, she shifted and turned in her chair, keeping her gaze determinedly fixed on her desk. “Is there anything else you wanted, Jefferson?”

      “Yeah. Actually, I wanted to make sure you had the arrangements for the Portugal trip locked down.”

      Glad to have him shift back to business as usual, Caitlyn shifted on her chair, picked up a manila folder and handed it to him. “All the details are right there. The Palacio Estoril is holding your usual suite. Your pilot’s notified, so the company jet will be ready whenever you are. And the meetings at the shipyard are set up. The times are all listed there and the hotel will provide a car and driver.”

      He idly flipped through the papers, then glanced at her as he turned to head back into his office. “Get yourself a suite, too.”

      “That’s not necessary.”

      “I know that, but we may as well both be comfortable.”

      “No,” she said, taking a deep breath and holding it just long enough to quiet the ripples in the pit of her stomach. This wasn’t going to be easy. Nothing with Jefferson ever was. “That’s not what I meant.”

      Only yesterday, she’d told him she wasn’t getting married and he’d assumed she’d be available for this business trip to Portugal. Now she had to tell him she’d be taking her four weeks off, anyway. And she didn’t want to be sitting down when she did it. Better to be standing on her own two feet and less at a disadvantage.

      That thought clearly in mind, she stood up, walked around him to the coffeepot and refilled her cup.

      “What’re you talking about?”

      “I won’t be going with you to Portugal after all, Jefferson. I’m taking my four weeks’ vacation.”

      He frowned and his sharp blue eyes narrowed. “You’re not getting married—why do you need the time?”

      “Because I put in for it and I want it.”

      He pushed away from the wall and stalked across the room. Stopping right beside her, he picked up the coffeepot, filled a cup for himself and took a sip before shifting a look at her. “It’s not convenient right now.”

      Her fingers tightened on the handle of the cup. “Of course it’s convenient. I put in for this time nearly six months ago. Everything’s arranged.”

      “Things have changed.”

      “What things?” She still had to tip her head back to look at him, and just at that moment, she wished she stood taller than her five feet eight inches.

      “You’re not getting married now. Therefore, you’re able to accompany me to Portugal.”

      “You don’t need me there, Jefferson.”

      Those eyes of his focused on her and she felt the sheer power that shone from the man. “I decide what I need, Caitlyn. And as my assistant, your presence is required.”

      She swallowed hard. “Tough.”

      “I beg your pardon?”

      Setting her coffee cup down—because her hands were shaking—Caitlyn blew out a breath and told herself that if she was ever going to stand up for herself, now was the time to start. “You heard me. I work for you, Jefferson, but I’m not your indentured servant. I put in for that vacation time. It’s mine and I’m taking it.”

      He gave her a long, narrowed look. “Take it after the Portugal trip.”

      “No. Not this time.”

      Damn it, she wasn’t going to cave to him. Not today.

      The year before, her bags had been packed, she’d had her plane ticket to Florida in her purse along with the itinerary for the cruise she’d spent three months planning. Jefferson had called just as she’d been getting into a cab, insisting she cancel her plans and accompany him to a shipyard in France. Her cruise to the Bahamas had sailed without her and she’d spent the next two weeks taking notes and in general being Jefferson’s gofer.

      Granted, France wasn’t exactly a hardship … though she hadn’t had five minutes to herself to explore the countryside or get into Paris.

      And the year before that, her long-awaited trip to Ireland had been cut short when Jefferson flew the company jet into Shannon Airport and insisted she join him for an important conference in Brazil.

      So this time Caitlyn was sticking to her guns.

      She was going on this trip with her friends, and if Jefferson Lyon didn’t like it … too bad. Caitlyn felt a buzz through her system as she silently declared her own private Independence Day. No more pesky work ethic. No more putting her own wants and needs on the back burner to make sure everyone else got just what they wanted.

      I am Caitlyn, hear me roar, she thought, and lifted her chin defiantly as she faced down her boss.

      Four

      “You’re being selfish.”

      “I’m selfish?” Caitlyn repeated, completely flabbergasted that he could even say such a thing. The man who believed the world revolved around him? The man who expected everyone in his life to jump whenever he entered a room? The man who’d ruined every vacation she’d ever tried to take with his own demands? “Are you serious?”

      “This isn’t like you, Caitlyn,” he said tightly, his voice dropping to a snarl that usually had his employees in a mad dash for the closest exit.

      “No,” she agreed, not even flustered by that snarl. She’d heard it too often to be dismayed by it at this late date. “It’s not like me at all. That’s why I’m doing it.”

      “That makes no sense at all,” he pointed out, taking a sip of coffee, then setting his cup down on the credenza beside hers.

      “It makes perfect sense.” She threw her hands high, let them drop again and did a quick about-face. Marching away from him for five or six steps, she felt fury rumbling through her, and for the first time in her life, she welcomed it. Stopping dead, she whirled around to face him and pointed her index finger at him accusingly. “You totally expect me to drop everything and do whatever you want me to do. And how can I even blame you for it? My whole life I’ve done exactly what I was supposed to.”

      “Admirable.”

      “Or weak,” she countered, stalking right back to him. “My parents, my brothers, Peter, you. You’ve all steamrolled over me because I kept lying down on the street and assuming the position. Allowing you all to get away with bossing me around. Well, no more. I’m done.”

      “Caitlyn, you work for me.” His voice was deliberately cold. Tolerant. She knew the tone. She’d heard him use it on those who were trying his very limited amount of patience. But Caitlyn wasn’t going to back down.

      “I tell you when you take a vacation and when your presence is required,” he said tightly. “I require you with me in Portugal.”

      “But you really don’t, Jefferson,” she said, and wondered why she was bothering to repeat herself. He hadn’t heard her the first time; he wouldn’t

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