LITMIR.BIZ

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mean your decision to invite Tania to dinner tonight. Your role as my PA does not give you the right to interfere in my private life.’

      The amber flecks had disappeared from his eyes, leaving them dark and dispassionate. His concern of a few moments ago had also gone, and she confronted the sickening realisation that his friendliness had been a callous ploy to make her lower her defences while he prepared his attack.

      ‘I didn’t invite her. Well, I suppose I did,’ Kezia qualified. ‘But she knew about the dinner party, and she gave me the impression that you expected her to attend.’

      ‘Did I specify that she should be included on the guest list?’

      ‘No, but—’

      ‘Then why take matters into your own hands? Your job as my PA does not require you to organise my love-life.’

      ‘That’s not exactly true,’ Kezia snapped, irritated by his arrogance. ‘It was left to me to dispatch flowers to your last blonde when you ended the affair. And I had to pick out a piece of jewellery,’ she added, remembering the demeaning trip to the jewellers Nik had sent her on. ‘I thought that keeping your harem happy was very much part of my duties.’

      ‘Theos, you forget your position, Kezia,’ he growled furiously.

      She swallowed, and wondered how he could switch from friend to foe so quickly.

      ‘Naturally there may be times when I need you to deal with private matters, but I assumed I could expect a certain amount of discretion. What do you think I pay you such a generous salary for?’

      ‘My staying power?’ Kezia suggested sweetly. ‘You can’t have it both ways, Nik. If Tania is suddenly off the menu, you should have said so.’ Her relief that she had misunderstood him earlier, and that he hadn’t guessed she was suffering from a massive case of hero-worship, was giving way to anger at his appallingly chauvinistic attitude. He might have the face and body of a Greek god, but he had a heart of stone. She should count herself lucky that he would never view her as anything other than his boring secretary.

      ‘You should be thankful that I had not invited another…companion for the weekend,’ Nik flung at her as he headed for the stairs leading up to the main floor. ‘It could have proved highly embarrassing for everyone.’

      ‘But that would have meant two-timing Miss Harvey,’ Kezia said slowly, frowning at the implication of his words. His long legs had already propelled him up the stairs, and she raced after him, following him into the drawing room. ‘That’s a despicable way to behave.’

      For a moment she thought he hadn’t heard her. He was standing at the bar, his back towards her, but then he turned—and she quailed at the hardness of his expression.

      ‘Let’s get one thing straight, Kezia,’ he said softly, his tone revealing a degree of cynicism that made her wince. ‘How I choose to live my life is my business. In my world, affairs have little to do with the heart, and the women I date know the score. The pursuit of mutual sexual pleasure with no strings,’ he elaborated sardonically.

      His words made her blush, but inside she felt chilled by his clinical detachment.

      His smile was devoid of warmth as his eyes raked over her mercilessly. ‘I don’t know what Tania has hinted about our relationship, but she’s under a delusion if she thinks she is about to become a permanent feature in my life. I suggest you discount any romantic notions she might have put into your head,’ he advised. ‘In the unlikely event that I should ever need your advice on my private life, I’ll ask for it. Until then I expect you to follow my orders and abide by my decisions without question. Is that clear?’

      ‘As crystal,’ Kezia replied curtly.

      Beneath his charm he possessed a ruthlessness that made her shiver, but even now she was agonisingly aware of him. Since that day when she had discovered him in her office she had been unable to put him out of her mind. He dominated her fantasies and haunted her dreams. She must have been mad to believe she could work for him, she thought grimly. When she’d learned that she had beaten the many other applicants for the job as his PA she had been filled with a mixture of fear and excitement. It was a dream job, and she had spent the past few months travelling to exotic locations aboard Nik’s private jet, but all the while she’d had to fight to hide her attraction to a man who barely noticed her while he worked his way through a variety of elegant blondes.

      Voices from the hall warned her that his guests would soon join them, and she struggled for composure. She would rather die than allow him to see her misery—or, even worse, guess the reason for it.

      ‘I think we understand one another perfectly, Nik,’ she said coldly, pride giving her the courage to meet his gaze. ‘And I can’t tell you how glad I am that I’m not part of your world.’

      CHAPTER TWO

      NIK BIT BACK a retort as his guests filed into the room, but his anger was evident in the rigid tension of his jaw. The words You’re fired hung in the air and Kezia quickly tore her eyes from his furious face.

      She was half tempted to walk out and leave him to it. Let him entertain the group of Bulgarian businessmen and their wives—particularly the wives, she thought sourly, noting the way every woman in the room was openly staring at Nik. It wasn’t surprising, she conceded bleakly. Despite the fact that all the men present were wealthy and successful—uniform in their formal dinner suits—Nik’s height and sheer magnetic presence commanded attention. He teamed sophistication with a raw, masculine sensuality that made him irresistible, and she knew she wasn’t the only woman in the room to be fascinated by the idea of taming him.

      Another of her fantasies, she reminded herself sharply. Beneath his urbane façade he possessed a wildness that no woman would ever control. Nikos Niarchou answered to no one, and she doubted his glorious arrogance would ever be subdued.

      With a sigh, she swung round and came face to face with Tania Harvey, whose late arrival ensured that she was the focal point of attention. In a stunning gold sheath, her blonde hair piled on top of her head, Tania had mastered the art of looking both elegant and sexy, and she smiled confidently as she strolled across the room.

      ‘What on earth has happened to the caterers?’ she queried loudly. ‘There appears to be a group of teenage girls serving drinks. I would have expected better organisation than this, Kezia.’

      ‘The catering company pulled out at the last minute,’ Kezia replied stiffly. ‘Becky and her friends kindly offered to help out, and I’m just about to join them in handing round canapés.’

      ‘You?’ Nik demanded with a frown, and Kezia felt a flash of impatience.

      As he had so often pointed out, it was her job to see that his life ran like clockwork, and if that meant playing the role of waitress at his damn dinner party, so be it.

      ‘Yes—unless you have another suggestion? Mrs Jessop is rushed off her feet, and Becky and the girls can’t manage by themselves.’ She knew she sounded snappy, but she was tired, her head ached, and she was sure Nik was comparing her appearance in the too-tight skirt with Tania’s cool beauty.

      He was looking at her now as if she had taken leave of her senses. He wasn’t used to being spoken to in that tone of voice, and the hardness of his stare warned her to expect the full force of his anger once they were out of earshot of his guests.

      Stifling a groan, she marched over to Becky and her friends, praying they hadn’t overheard Tania’s tactless remarks. Mrs Jessop had prepared canapés with smoked salmon and caviar to accompany the champagne. Smiling encouragingly at the girls, she picked up a tray and moved among the guests, unaware that Nik’s dark gaze followed her.

      ‘Darling, we’ll really have to think about hiring more permanent staff,’ Tania murmured in Nik’s ear, and he stiffened, fighting to control his irritation. ‘It’s silly to have to rely on the housekeeper and a gaggle of spotty teenagers your secretary has dredged up from the village every time we entertain. And God knows

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