A Man You Can Trust. Jo McNally

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ than Nick, but he had no doubt Randall could hold his own in a physical challenge. Blake spotted Cassie on the other side of the desk. “Oh, good, you’ve met Cassie. You’re going to want to treat this girl right because she’s the one who can make or break you, man.”

      Nick met Cassie’s gaze. Her moods were as changeable as her eyes. Now that Blake was here, she was clearly more relaxed.

       ...she’s the one who can make or break you...

      Even after Blake’s warning, Nick couldn’t resist teasing her.

      “Oh, don’t worry, Blake. Cassie’s made quite an impression already.” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “She’s already throwing things...I mean...ideas...at me.” Her hands clenched into fists, and he was surprised his skin wasn’t blistering under the heat of her glare. “She even took a stab at trying to define her job responsibilities.”

      Blake was oblivious to the tension buzzing in the room. “Trust me, there is no way to define her job duties. Cassie’s always surprising you by doing more than expected.” Nick’s smirk grew into a wide smile.

      “Yeah, she’s full of surprises. Oh, look, the stapler fell off the desk.” He bent over to pick it up from where it had landed earlier. He couldn’t help wondering if exposing his back to the woman, with scissors still nearby, was a good idea. “We don’t want the boss to think you were throwing things at me, now, do we?”

      “No, we don’t.” She watched as he set the stapler on the desk. Her voice was cold as ice. “But Blake knows me well enough to know I’d never launch an unprovoked attack.”

      Nick looked up in surprise. Touché. She was playing along. He winked at her, and a little crease appeared between her brows.

      Blake chuckled behind him. “I can’t imagine Cassie throwing things at anyone.” Her cheeks went pink, but Blake didn’t seem to notice. “Come on, Nick, let’s grab lunch and I’ll make some introductions. Would you like to join us, Cass?”

      “No, thanks. I have work to do. You and Mr. West go ahead and...”

      “Mr. West?” Blake looked at Nick and frowned. “We’re on a first-name basis up here, Nick.”

      “No problem. Cassie and I were joking around earlier and she’s just trying to get a rise out of me.” Now it was her turn to be surprised. She looked at him and her mouth opened, but she didn’t speak.

      For the first time, Blake seemed to pick up on the undercurrent of...something...that was swirling around them.

      “Really?” He looked at Cassie with clear surprise. Apparently she wasn’t known for cracking jokes. She gave Blake a quick nod and smiled. It was the first smile Nick had seen from her, and it was worth waiting for, even if it was aimed at someone else. Her whole face softened, and her eyes went more green than gold.

      “You two go on to lunch, and let me get back to work, okay?”

      His curiosity was definitely piqued. Cassie Smith had a story.

      * * *

      On Thursday morning, Cassie was still trying to put a finger on her riled-up emotions. It started before Nick West’s arrival, so she couldn’t place all the blame on him for this low rumble of frustration and anger that simmered in her. In no mood to deal with her tangled hair, she pulled it into a messy knot on top of her head and frowned at the mirror. Simple khakis, sensible shoes and a dark green Gallant Lake polo shirt. Practical attire for a busy day. She was giving Nick a tour of the grounds today and wanted to be able to keep up with his long strides.

      The man was always in motion, leaving her constantly on edge. He paced when he talked and bounced when he sat. He had a foam basketball that he tossed around his office when he was alone in there, and it drove her crazy. Yesterday she’d moved her computer so her back was to his door, trying to avoid the distraction of the ball flying through the air. Nick started laughing the minute he walked into the office and saw the new arrangement, and laughed every time he walked by. Jerk.

      She went downstairs in the loft apartment and poured herself a cup of tea, adding three spoonfuls of sugar. She usually joined Nora in the coffee shop before heading to the resort, but Nora had her hands full watching Amanda and Blake’s teenaged son and toddler daughter this week. Mel might be down in the shop, but it was more likely Amanda’s other cousin would be enjoying her coffee with her fiancé on the deck of their waterfront home. So Cassie fixed herself a bagel and sat at the kitchen island, feeling almost as restless as Nick West.

      Ugh! She’d known the man only three days, and he was in her head constantly. His big laugh when he was kidding around with employees—who all seemed to adore both him and his practical jokes. The way he started every conversation with a booming “Hey! Whatcha doing?” The way he rapped the corner of everyone’s desk sharply with his knuckles every time he passed it. Except hers. After the first time he did it and she’d squeaked in surprise, he’d left her desk alone.

      But she hadn’t managed to stop his infuriating running joke of putting her stapler—the bright blue one she’d flung at him on their first meeting—in a different place every day. Monday afternoon she’d found it on her chair. Tuesday, it was next to the coffee maker. And yesterday, when she attended a meeting in the surveillance room with Nick and the entire security staff, the blue stapler was sitting on the circular console that faced the wall of monitors. She spotted it immediately and turned to glare at him, only to find him laughing at her. Ass.

      Sure enough, when she walked into the office later that morning, the stapler was sitting next to a small vase of daffodils on her desk. Wait. Where did the daffodils come from? The sunny flowers were in a simple vase, which on closer inspection turned out to be a water glass.

      “They reminded me of you, slugger.”

      Nick West was leaning against the doorway to his office. He’d taken his jacket and tie off and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. That was his usual uniform during the day. He always looked ready for action.

      “Excuse me?”

      “You know—sunny and bright and happy?” He was baiting her. Yesterday, he’d asked her why she was so serious all the time. Deciding the misogynistic question didn’t deserve an answer, she’d walked away, but she should have known he wouldn’t drop it. She dropped her purse into a drawer and clarified her comment.

      “I was referring to the ‘slugger’ part.”

      “Well, you’ve got pretty good aim with that arm of yours, and you’re a fighter. Slugger seems to fit you.”

      Cassie’s breath caught in her throat. He thought she was a fighter?

      “And what should I call you? Ducky, for how fast you dodged the stapler?” He gave her an odd look, somewhere between surprise and admiration. Then his face scrunched up.

      “Ducky is a hard pass. Let’s stick with Nick.”

      She looked at the flowers. “Please tell me the director of security didn’t steal these flowers from the garden in front of the resort.”

      Nick winked at her. He was a big winker. She did her best to tell herself those twinkling brown eyes of his had no effect on her. “They actually haven’t left the property, so at best, the director of security has just misappropriated СКАЧАТЬ