Master of Fortune / Marrying the Lone Star Maverick. Katherine Garbera

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СКАЧАТЬ hard way at rugby that if he didn’t go for his goals he’d never achieve them. And teamwork was paramount to winning.

      “Astrid, bring me the personnel files on all of the staff. After I’ve reviewed them, you can schedule the meetings. Does anyone have anything that’s pressing?”

      “Just legal and accounting. You need to be added to the signature authority card before you can sign this contract.”

      “Do you have that form?” he asked.

      “It’s at the bottom of your stack. I’ll walk it down to accounting once you sign it.”

      He pulled the paper out of the stack and signed it. There were a few other housekeeping-type forms for him to sign. Astrid had prepared them with his name and flagged the places where he was supposed to sign.

      “Thank you, Astrid,” he said, handing them back to her. “You’re a very efficient assistant. I’m sure Daniel was devastated to lose you.”

      She flushed and looked away, but didn’t respond. “You’re welcome, sir. Was there anything else before I go?”

      He stared at her mouth for a minute, knowing his obsession with her lips was going to get him into big trouble. All he really wanted was to taste them.

       Two

      Astrid hoped that Henry never called Daniel to find out why she left her last job. Despite how close she and Daniel had become during their affair she knew he wouldn’t give her a good reference. Hell, he’d said as much earlier.

      At the end … there’d been all those sick days…. Daniel hadn’t been very understanding. She wrapped an arm around her own waist as she struggled for a moment to keep the past where it belonged.

      Astrid spent the rest of the day trying to stay focused on her job. But Henry seemed to need her in his office a lot as he got acclimated. And she found herself entranced just the tiniest bit.

      He was smart and funny. Yet even innocent flirtations in the office were dangerous. Hadn’t she learned that the hard way?

      She walked down to the legal office and left the paperwork that Henry had signed with the proper legal secretary.

      Henry’s office was empty when she returned to her desk; she’d poked her head in his office to see if he needed anything. She’d listened to a few songs that Steph Cordo had sang … and that she’d heard on the morning talk radio.

      She downloaded the song on iTunes and added them to her playlist. One thing she’d learned working with Daniel was to be very familiar with the artists and groups that label was pursuing. So Steph was the first of many new artists she’d be listening to. It would help give her a feel for what Henry liked, too.

      Henry entered the office a few minutes later with three other men, none of whom she knew. He directed the men into his office.

      “Hold my calls,” Henry said.

      “Certainly, sir. May I speak to you for a moment?” she asked.

      “What’s up?”

      “These men aren’t on your calendar…. Do you not want me to make your appointments?”

      “Oh, of course I do. I’m just not used to having an assistant,” Henry said.

      She nodded. “Do you need anything for the next thirty minutes?”

      “That’s pretty specific,” Henry said.

      “Sorry about that. I’d like to go for lunch. My sister just rang and said she could meet me,” Astrid clarified.

      “Go on then. I’ll be in this meeting for at least that long.”

      “Do you want me to bring you back something?”

      “No. I’m meeting my … half brothers. That still sounds strange to me when I say it.”

      “I’d heard you all were getting together lately.”

      “Heard where?”

      “Um … well, I read about it in Hello!” Astrid refused to be apologetic about it. Hello! and other celebrity magazines were a resource for people in their industry. Daniel used to have her keep clippings of their artists so they could track their popularity.

      “Gossip rags?”

      She arched one eyebrow at him. “Where else would I hear about your meeting them? We don’t exactly run in the same circles.”

      He rubbed the back of his neck. “I know the feeling. They aren’t my crowd either.”

      “No, celebrities and footballers are more your speed,” she said. “I guess that’s how you have your finger on the pulse of what’s next.”

      “Maybe. I think it’s more a feel for what the public is hungry for.”

      He had a point. “I think you’re a very savvy man.”

      “I am,” he said. “Before you head to lunch, will you call Marcus Wills for me? I’m supposed to have drinks with him, but I don’t think I’ll have time between meeting with the other Devonshire heirs.”

      “Not a problem. Do you have his number handy? I haven’t merged your contents file with mine yet,” she said.

      “I’ll IM it to you.”

      “Great. I’ll take care of it.”

      He nodded and walked away, and she couldn’t help but admire his butt. He stopped in the doorway and glanced back over his shoulder. She blushed when he gave her a knowing smile.

      “I guess you still work out even though you don’t play anymore,” she said.

      “Didn’t Hello! magazine have the scoop on my gym membership?” he asked.

      She shook her head. “No, they didn’t. I’m hoping to make a little on the side by selling them the exclusive story.”

      He threw his head back and laughed. And Astrid couldn’t help chuckling along with him. He was fun and after the heartache she’d endured for the past year of her life she needed that.

      “You’ll do, Astrid.”

      She winked at him. “I know I will.”

      Henry went into his office, and Astrid made the call he’d asked her to before leaving to meet her sister, Bethann.

      Bethann was sitting in the sun on one of the benches that lined the walkway along the Thames—the exact spot Astrid had met Daniel earlier. This part of London was newer and lined with glass-and-steel buildings, but across the river was the old Tower of London. Her sister looked up as she approached and waved.

      Astrid hugged her sister as soon as she was close enough.

      “How is the new job going?” СКАЧАТЬ