Tempted by the Boss
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Jules Bennett
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One
“Not a damn thing seems to be working.”
Kelly Prentiss stood opposite her boss’s desk and listened to him rant once again. Same issues, different day, and burnout was threatening to become a real thing.
Trying to breathe new life into a multi-billion-dollar business after it had hit rock bottom was quite a task for anyone to take on. But Luke Holloway wasn’t just anyone. He was the Vice President of New Product Development for Wingate Enterprises, he was her boss, and he’d starred in every single fantasy she’d had for the last several years.
The poor guy didn’t even know how many hats he wore.
Thankfully it was Friday, but she knew Luke wouldn’t be taking the weekend off...which meant she wouldn’t be taking the weekend off, either.
“We need to think outside the box,” she offered.
Those dark, brooding eyes landed on her and every nerve ending stood at attention. She thought after working for Luke for so long this sexual tension would cease at some point, but each day that passed she only felt that magnetic pull more and more.
How ridiculous was it to be infatuated with her boss? Could she be any more cliché? Added to that, the man was practically married to his job. He didn’t make time to date anymore and, to her knowledge, he didn’t even find her attractive. Never once had he flirted or even tried that fun banter men and women engaged in. All work, all the time; that was Luke.
He’d had a failed engagement three years ago and, since the downward spiral of Wingate, he’d poured every waking minute into finding the next big product, or miracle, to pull the company out of the ashes.
Luke either needed some grand new hotels, some phenomenal up-and-coming businesses...or, at this point, some fairy godmother to come save the day. Anything that would give the Wingates the boost they desperately needed to restore their reputation and breathe new life into the family-owned empire.
“You think I haven’t been thinking outside the box?” he asked.
Kelly knew he’d been doing everything in his power to rescue the company, but she had to do something to get his attention. Desperate times called for desperate measures and all that. So she had a plan...an extremely risky plan. However, if Luke knew what she had in store for him, he’d fire her and never speak to her again.
And, if he realized this scheme was his brother’s idea, it might bring an abrupt end to their cozy family gatherings.
Good thing then that Luke didn’t know anything about the detailed plans that had been building up behind the scenes between Kelly and Zeke Holloway.
“Listen,” she began. “I’ve been doing some research on my own, and there’s an investor that would like to meet with you. He has some great ideas and he’s offering to help back the next project.”
His brows rose as he listened, and Kelly knew she had him.
“He’s ready to meet anytime you’re available,” she went on, not wanting to give him a chance to speak. “I can clear your schedule and contact your pilot. We could go as soon as tomorrow if that works for you.”
Her heart beat so fast in her chest she could barely think straight. Kelly couldn’t believe she was deceiving him. But the man didn’t look out for himself, so somebody had to, right? And, considering she was the closest nonfamily person in his life, she took the liberty upon herself.
Actually, his brother Ezekiel was the one who proudly concocted this plan, but Luke’s brother was the VP and had his own host of issues to deal with. Added to that, he had recently married the love of his life, Reagan.
Kelly was the one with Luke day in, day out. They spent hours upon hours together, and she knew how his mind worked, so she prayed she could pull this off. Zeke had told her point blank she was the only woman for the job.
Lying to Luke about an investor didn’t feel right. But she promised Zeke she’d whisk his brother away so he could relax and recharge, and considering he was putting up an insane amount of money for this plan, she couldn’t back out now.
Silence filled his office and did nothing to calm her nerves. Kelly came to her feet and offered a wide smile, hoping she could at least fake some confidence.
“I think this is the exact thing you need to find your footing,” she told him. “It wouldn’t hurt to hear what this man has to say.”
At least that first part of her statement was the honest truth. He needed a reset and, quite honestly, so did she. They’d both been working nonstop. She couldn’t keep watching her boss beat himself up and she was running out of steam. At some point, someone had to take over and call the loss.
Taking a break didn’t mean admitting defeat. It just meant their minds simply needed to be cleared of all the extraneous stuff that wasn’t working and to allow for ideas of things that would work.
But, she had to be honest here, this trip was also about seeing if there was a spark. She never would have taken a chance on her own, but now that Zeke insisted on getting Luke out of the office and someplace relaxing, this was her only opportunity to take the biggest risk of her life.
“You trust me?” she added, knowing he did but needing to reel him in further to pull off her plan.
“With every secret I have,” he told her.
The guilt hit her, but she had to shove it aside. Zeke had every good intention of making his brother take a forced vacation...but her carnal thoughts that were accompanying them weren’t so innocent. Still, she had to hold firm if she ever wanted to discover if this sexual attraction was only one-sided.
Kelly figured one minor lie in the grand scheme of things was nothing compared to what Luke had already been through. He would forgive her—she hoped. If this plan procured some new idea, then he might even give her a raise.
Her breath caught in her throat.
And if the plan produced a successful seduction? Well, she honestly didn’t know what that would mean once they returned to the office, but she couldn’t think about that right now. There was too much on her mind to crowd any more worries in there.
“Ready for me to set this up?”
Luke blew out a sigh and held out his hands. “At this point, I say we give it a try. What do you need me to do?”
“Nothing.” Kelly started toward the door. “Just leave it all to me. What time should I have the private jet ready for tomorrow?”
“Let’s do noon,” he told her. “I can’t miss the nine o’clock meeting with my brother. Ava wants to see us.”
“Perfect,” she said, her nerves now in full force. “I’ll make all the arrangements.”
Ava was their aunt who had lost her husband, Trent, to a stroke. It hadn’t taken much time for Keith Cooper to swoop in on her during a moment of weakness. While he might have been infatuated with her, Ava hadn’t returned his feelings. She’d only moved in with him platonically when her estate had been foreclosed. That had turned out to be a mess since, shortly after she moved into her own place, Keith’s nephew had revealed it was Keith who had embezzled money from Wingate Enterprises.
Among his many crimes against the family, Keith had used Ava to get closer to the Wingate money and pilfer funds, falsify records, arrange a fire, and frame them for drug trafficking over a period of time. And that’s how the free fall had started and how Keith had wound up arrested and why Luke and Zeke ended up hating Keith for taking advantage of their aunt and nearly destroying the entire family.
Really, the whole sordid nightmare was a complete disaster. Kelly was glad to escape from all of that drama for a while, too.
She left the office and closed the door at her back. Leaning against it, she shut her eyes and pulled in a deep breath. She honestly hadn’t been sure if he was going to say yes or not, but now that he had, there was no turning back.
So how was Luke going to react when he realized she’d double-crossed him and there was no investor? Not only that, but how would he respond when she finally made a move to seduce him?
The woman deserved a raise, or one hell of a hefty bonus for Christmas.
Kelly Prentiss had stood by his side through thick and thin. She’d been right there through his broken engagement, offering advice and never judging. There was something so comforting about having someone who would not only listen to him no matter what, but who he could also trust implicitly.
Then, with all of the destruction that had befallen the Wingates, she hadn’t wavered one single time. She’d put in just as many hours as he had and she had also delivered her sound advice where needed. She was literally his right-hand woman, and he would be lost without her.
Luke had never met anyone more loyal, more hardworking or more dependable than Kelly.
And now she had a lead on a possible investment that could help not only Wingate Enterprises come back from the dead, but could also boost his reputation and get them on the fast track to regaining their billions.
Kelly was still keeping the meeting location a secret, but he counted on her to bring him only the prospects that would help the company. She understood time was of the essence and not to be wasted. Bottom line? If she was so excited about this potential investor and she wanted to keep everything under wraps, then he’d go along with her plan.
His work as of late had only taken him to the office and once to Dallas for the day. Getting out of Royal, Texas was going to be refreshing, and he almost didn’t care where Kelly was taking him.
Luke relaxed against the soft leather sofa in his plane and glanced through his emails. He answered a few, but moved the others into their appropriate files to get to later. He’d barely slept last night...story of his life over these past few months.
The stress of carrying a company into a new territory and practically starting over was quite the load to bear. But Luke knew he could do it—he refused to admit defeat or ever give up and Kelly was just as much of a fighter.
He glanced across the aisle to where she sat with her laptop. Her tortoiseshell glasses outlined those remarkable green eyes, and her wavy hair had been pulled up on top of her head. With her legs crossed and her little pink toenails showing through her sandals, she looked like a mix of summer vacation and complete professional. He shouldn’t find both attractive, but he couldn’t deny Kelly was a beautiful woman.
No, beautiful seemed too tame a word to describe all of her complexities. Striking and captivating were much better descriptors.
An odd stirring shifted through him, and he chalked it up to lack of sleep and an overworked mind.
No funny business could ever happen between Kelly and him. Because no way in hell would he risk his one and only trusted right-hand woman just for a fling. And besides, he was in no position right now to even think of being with a woman. He couldn’t even get his work under control, let alone have the time to feed into anything such as a relationship.
A relationship? That was so absurd. Clearly he was so stressed from lack of sleep, he was now delusional. Luke wasn’t going to be that creeper boss. He respected the hell out of Kelly. Beauty was only part of what made her so special. She was extremely intelligent, with a sharp mind and quick wit. There was nobody else he’d ever want in the boardroom with him, fighting for his ideas and vision...just as soon as he had said ideas and visions.
Damn it, no wonder he was so confused about his unwanted attraction for his assistant. He’d never thought of her in a romantic manner, but now he couldn’t help himself. Maybe it was the way she’d gotten a little demanding and a little controlling, taking over this whole plan...whatever the plan might be.
“Are you alright?”
Kelly’s question caught him off guard, and he wondered how long he’d been staring at her. The last thing he needed was for her to think he wasn’t stable or that he found this look of hers more than attractive.
Damn it, Luke. Get a grip. She’s your employee and this isn’t a pleasure trip. This is work and that’s all there’s time for.
“Fine,” he quickly answered, then stifled a yawn. “Just anxious to get there.”
He hadn’t asked for many details, mainly because Kelly knew the ins and outs of Wingate Enterprises as much as he did. There was nothing about this situation he didn’t trust her with.
“Tell me more about the investor,” he said as he tipped his neck from side to side, trying to stay awake.
Her eyes widened a fraction before she glanced back down at her laptop. “Oh, let’s wait to discuss work until we get there. I need to answer these emails. Sutton is looking for the projected numbers as we get ready to finish out the quarter, and it seems like you’re tired.”
Luke wasn’t often dismissed by her, but they’d both been working so hard, he wasn’t going to interrupt her now. Sutton Wingate was the company CFO, and Kelly might be Luke’s assistant, but she did many things for many people within the family business, including Sutton’s twin, Sebastian.
Kelly was an extremely busy woman and she’d put all of this together for him. Luke couldn’t help but feel hopeful based on her excitement over this trip.
Finding the next big investment or backer would be the break they so desperately needed once they came up with a plan to revamp their company. Naturally, there would have to be many steps taken. It wasn’t just one miracle they were seeking, there were multiple, but they had to start somewhere to get that first leg up on rebuilding.
Luke settled back in and tried to refocus into work-mode. There was no reason he couldn’t continue following his own leads on potential investors. He’d really love to acquire some other jets or bring something brand new to the market that Wingate could sink their teeth into and call their own. Getting in on the ground floor was always the best because, while there may be risk, the only way to go was up and, at this point, they had nothing else to lose.
Unfortunately, his eyes were burning from lack of sleep and he couldn’t stop yawning. Any brilliant thoughts weren’t going to come to him during this state of exhaustion.
“Why don’t you lie down?” Kelly suggested. She removed her glasses and stared across the aisle. “I can move from the couch and take the captain chair. We still have a few hours before we land.”
Luke shifted his laptop aside and came to his feet. “No need for you to move. I’ll just stretch out right here.”
He took a seat next to her and adjusted so his feet were propped up a little.
“I never knew this couch did that,” she said with a laugh.
“That’s because we’re always working, but each seat has its own recliner.” He settled in deeper and laced his hands over his abdomen. “I won’t fall asleep. I rarely do these days.”
“Don’t worry if you do,” she assured him, staring down at her screen. “I’ll wake you when we’re close.”
He shut his eyes, focusing on the way Kelly pecked away at her keyboard and the hum of the engines. She said they had a few hours left, but he still couldn’t guess where they were headed. Maybe the mountains for some resort idea or perhaps the coast to get some inspiration from a cozy town. Wherever they were headed, Kelly must truly believe this could help break ground on a new beginning...
“Luke.”
He jerked awake, blinking against the brightness, and realized he had indeed fallen asleep.
Turning his attention toward Kelly, he adjusted his seat to sit straight up. “How long was I out?”
She shrugged as she put her laptop in the case. “About two hours.”
Damn, that was a good nap and now he at least felt refreshed and revived.
Wait. Two hours? Where had they flown to? He’d been awake a while before he’d actually fallen asleep. Hadn’t he?
No matter where they were, Luke couldn’t wait to meet this potential investor. Every time he approached a prospect, Luke couldn’t help but think this was the one that would save his ass.
Not that he was in jeopardy of losing his position within the company. He was too powerful and too wealthy to be pushed aside. But damn it, people were trusting him to bring the family business back in a major way. Luke didn’t intend to fail and he didn’t intend to do half the job, either. He would find the best investors and he would make Wingate Enterprises even more lucrative than ever.
Luke fastened his seat belt as the plane started the descent. “You must be like a security blanket or something, because I haven’t slept more than two hours in a row for a while.”
Kelly turned to face him with that stern look she always gave just before she lectured him. He’d gotten used to that look. It actually used to terrify him, but he knew his assistant only meant well. She watched out for everyone around her.
Which made him wonder who ever watched out for her?
“You can’t save the company if you can’t take care of yourself,” she scolded. “Which brings me to the reason for this trip.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Kelly bit down on her bottom lip for just a moment as she held his stare. Something was off. There was a niggle in his gut that seemed to be shooting off red flags, but he didn’t know what he should be warned about.
“Kelly?”
“This is for your own good,” she told him.
Dread replaced that niggle. “What have you done? Where are we?”
She tipped her chin and squared her shoulders. “We’re in Oahu for five days of rest and relaxation.”
“What the hell?”
“And there’s no investor,” she added. “Just you, me, and a private beach bungalow.”
