LITMIR.BIZ

       One

      “I found it.”

      Georgia Adams eyed Carson Newport from her position in his office doorway. He looked up from the paperwork on his desk, arched one golden eyebrow in curiosity and leaned back in his chair. “You found what?”

      Georgia stifled a frown of disappointment. She’d imagined this moment differently. She was carrying a chilled bottle of champagne in her purse to celebrate her discovery. Not once in her imagination had he stared at her blankly.

      How could he not know that she had found it? The Holy Grail of real estate. The very thing they’d been searching for, for months. “I found the spot where the Newport Corporation is going to be building the Cynthia Newport Memorial Hospital for Children.”

      That got his attention. Carson straightened up in his leather executive chair and pinned her with his gaze. “Are you serious?”

      Georgia grinned. This was more like it. “As a heart attack.”

      “Come in.” He waved her into his office. “Tell me all about it.”

      She shook her head and crooked her finger to beckon him. “I think I need to show you. Come on.”

      Carson didn’t so much as look at his calendar for conflicts before he leaped from his chair. Finding the land for their next real estate development project had been that hard and that important. There wasn’t a lot of space in Chicago to do what they wanted. At least, not at a price that made any kind of financial sense.

      He moved swiftly around his massive mahogany desk, buttoning the black suit coat he was wearing as he joined her in the doorway. “Lead on, Miss Adams.”

      Georgia spun on her heel and headed for the elevators. “We’re taking your car,” she reminded him as she hit the down button.

      He leaned his palm against the wall and looked down at her. “You know, Georgia, you’re the director of public relations at a Fortune 500 company. I think I pay you enough to get a car. I pay you enough to get a really nice car. There’s even a reserved spot in the garage for you that sits open every day.”

      Georgia just shrugged. She didn’t want the responsibility of a car. In truth, she didn’t need one. Her apartment was a block away from the “L.” Chicago’s elevated train was efficient and cheap, and that’s how she liked things. She’d never owned a car before. Public transportation was all she’d ever really known. To some people who grew up the way she had, finally getting their own car would be a milestone that showed they had made something of themselves. To her, it was an unnecessary expense. She never knew when she might need that money for something else.

      “You look like a Jaguar girl to me.” Carson continued to ponder aloud as they stepped out of the elevator to the employee parking deck. “Graceful, attractive and just a little bit naughty.”

      Georgia stopped beside Carson’s pearl-white Range Rover. She brushed her loose platinum-blond hair over her shoulder and planted a hand on her hip. “Mr. Newport, am I going to have to report you to human resources?” she asked with a smile that took the teeth out of the threat.

      Carson winced as he opened the door for her to get inside. “It was just a compliment. Please don’t make me go to the second floor. Our HR director reminds me of my third-grade teacher. She was always mean to me.”

      “Were you poorly behaved?” Georgia challenged him.

      Carson grinned, showcasing his bright smile. His sea-green eyes twinkled mischievously. “Maybe,” he admitted before slamming the door.

      She took the next ten seconds alone to take a deep breath. Being around Carson Newport was hard on Georgia’s nerves. Not because he was a difficult boss—he was anything but. That was part of the problem. He was handsome, charming, smart and a miserable flirt. All the Newport brothers were that way, but only Carson made Georgia’s heart race. His flattering banter was harmless. She knew that. He’d never so much as touched her in the year she’d worked for his company.

      That didn’t mean she didn’t secretly want him to. It was a stupid fantasy, one that kept her up nights as she imagined his hands running over her bare skin. But it had to stay a fantasy. She’d worked damn hard to get into a good college and climb the corporate ladder. Landing this job at the Newport Corporation was a dream come true. She’d found a family among her coworkers here. She was good at her job. Everything had turned out just as she’d hoped. Georgia wasn’t about to risk that just because she had the hots for her boss.

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