LITMIR.BIZ

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the hole was full and the cord buckled up instead of dropping down.

      He hesitated. He’d have to step between her legs to get the leverage he needed and somehow that seemed too intimate.

      “Rick?”

      “Just a blasted minute. You have too many cords in here.” Manning up, he carefully placed his foot in the narrow opening between her shins and leaned over her to reach the tangle of cords. He shoved at the stubborn cord and his weight shifted, bringing his knee in contact with the soft cushion of her butt.

      “Aha!” she exclaimed.

      He nearly jumped out of his skin in his hurry to retreat to safety.

      “That did it.” Triumph rang in her voice.

      He kept his gaze carefully plastered to her screen saver, a picture of her with her brother and sister, as she backed out and dusted off her hands.

      “Thanks for the help.” Her leaf-green eyes smiled as she ran a hand down the length of her mahogany ponytail to check it was smooth. “What can I do for you?”

      His mind went blank. Why had he stopped at her desk?

      “You can stay out from under your desk. We have maintenance on site for a reason. Next time use them,” he ordered. Turning on his heel, he returned to his office.

      His stomach growled as he sat behind his desk, reminding him of his original mission. He ignored it. He’d rather go hungry than wander out that door again.

      The corner of Savannah Jones’s lip curled upward in perplexed amusement as she watched her boss disappear into his office. What had that been about? He’d never even said what he wanted.

      And for the first time the look in his piercing blue eyes sent a tingle zinging down her spine.

      She shook it off and took her seat.

      His high-handed attitude was nothing new. Nor was his gruffness—truly, the man could teach grim to the reaper—but his agitation and the fact he couldn’t hold her gaze was.

      Hmm. It was almost as if she’d made him nervous.

      How interesting.

      At six-one with thick dark hair, broad shoulders, narrow hips and piercing blue eyes Rick Sullivan had it all over Dr. McDreamy. And, oh, Savannah had it bad for Dr. McDreamy.

      Wait. Wait. Wait. What was she thinking?

      Rick made her tingle? She made him nervous? Neither emotion belonged in the workplace. And neither was good when there was no future for them except as colleagues.

      She loved her new job, the challenge, the diversity, the responsibility. Executive assistant to the CEO of Sullivans’ Jewels, a family-owned jewelry chain, was more than she’d ever dreamed of. More than she’d ever dared to hope for. Especially with her varied work history, from waitress to floral delivery to two years as a temp in corporate San Diego, she felt like she’d done it all.

      She was determined to do a great job. She owed the Sullivans so much, especially Mrs. Sullivan, Rick’s grandmother, not only for this opportunity but also for all they’d done for her sister. The Sullivan family donated two five-thousand-dollar scholarships a year to Paradise Pines students for their college education, renewable each year if the students maintained certain grade levels and continued to give back to the Paradise Pines community.

      Savannah’s sister, Claudia, had benefited from their generosity for the past four years. She’d be graduating with honors later this year.

      Savannah hadn’t gone to college, and she’d been well into her twenties before she got her first job. Her high-school years had been spent caring for her mom. She’d been seventeen when the cancer eventually took her mom, and her dad had just disappeared into his work, leaving Savannah to raise her younger brother and sister.

      So, yeah, she’d already done the family thing, but now Daniel was a cop in La Mesa with a beautiful wife and daughter and Claudia was about to graduate college. It was time for Savannah to think about her own career. She was done playing around, hopping from job to job. This might not be teaching, which she’d dreamed of doing long ago, but it was a career to be proud of, and she wasn’t going to screw it up.

      Even if Rick didn’t have an aversion to a workplace romance—and he’d made it more than clear he did—she had an aversion to workaholics. Been there. Done that.

      Never again.

      Rick worked, worked and worked some more. He was an expert at ignoring personal interaction on the job, to the point where he was considered positively antisocial by most of the staff.

      He wasn’t much of a talker, and, the Lord help her, she felt compelled to fill the quiet. So, while he read over reports and letters, she filled him in on all the office gossip. Nothing harmful, just birthdays, anniversaries, family events and such.

      He probably didn’t even hear her, though occasionally he’d hold up a finger for silence. So maybe he took in more than she thought.

      Taking her seat, she noticed he’d flipped the hourglass black-side-up, which meant he’d been headed out of the office. She didn’t know of any appointments, but he’d been tied up with his managers all day so he’d probably been heading for some lunch.

      So why had he retreated to his office instead?

      Hmm. Perhaps because she’d made him nervous?

      With a grin she reached for the phone to order him a sandwich from a local deli that delivered.

      The two of them might not have a future together, but it still felt good to send a man as hot and strong-willed as Rick Sullivan into an agitated retreat. Her self-esteem appreciated the boost.

      After placing the order, she reached for her mirror and refreshed her lipstick, suddenly feeling very female and proud of it.

      Being executive assistant to the president and CEO of Sullivans’ Jewels demanded a professional appearance. Unfortunately, she’d spent too many years at home not worrying about her makeup or the need to tame her thick mass of hair.

      Now a check in the morning and pop-up reminders in her email program kept her from becoming too frayed around the edges throughout the day.

      Happily, she noted that there was nothing caught in her straight white teeth, which she considered one of her best features, thanks to Dr. Stevens and three years in braces, though she’d hated them when she was twelve, both Dr. Stevens and the braces.

      Now she thanked the beauty gods for her straight teeth and plump lips, which she felt made up for her average features.

      When the sandwich arrived, she knocked on Rick’s door and got a finger wave to enter. He eyed her suspiciously as she crossed the room. Tickled by his reaction, she gave him a huge smile as she set the bag on his desk, causing his eyes to narrow even more.

      “I thought you might be hungry.”

      “Thanks,” he muttered.

      “No problem,” she said cheerfully.

      She didn’t linger but turned to leave and, because a girl had to find her fun where she could, added a little wiggle to her walk.

      A strange sound, kind of a muffled groan, followed her exit. With a wicked grin she settled behind her desk suddenly energized to tackle the afternoon.

      The next morning Savannah entered the conference room for her first monthly sales meeting juggling two boxes, a cup of coffee, her notebook and a pile of copies.

      Of course Rick already sat at the head of the table. He glanced up at her with a pained look as she dropped her load on the table.

      “You’re late, Ms. Jones. What is all that?”

      “Copies of the reports you requested plus doughnuts and a few bran muffins for the healthy-minded.” She set her work and coffee aside and opened one of the boxes. “I hope that’s okay. You forgot to tell me

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