But when she saw Rock the look in his eyes told her that her fears were unfounded. As she approached, his lips softened into a slow smile.
“Did you rest well?” he asked, his voice low. “I left early this morning. I didn’t want to wake you.”
Dana’s body almost sagged with relief. So he didn’t hate her. Maybe there was still hope…
Hope for what, Dana? That your billionaire boss will fall in love with someone like you? Get real. She shook her head, trying to drive the warring thoughts from her mind. She wouldn’t think about that now. One day at a time, that was how she would go. And today wasn’t starting out so bad. She would enjoy the happy times as long as they lasted.
The flight back was short. At least that was the way it seemed to Dana. Rock engaged her in entertaining conversation the whole way, avoiding any mention of what had happened between them. And that was a good thing, wasn’t it? Now, on the plane, was not the time, after all.
And then, when they were only half an hour away from their destination, Rock told her something that made her heart sink.
Someone was stealing money from Premier Holdings. And it had been going on since before Mr. French left.
Dana’s initial reaction was confusion followed by distress then, as strange as it seemed, relief. At first she’d wondered who in the world would do such a thing to a wonderful man like Richard French, and who would want to hurt the company? How would they ever find out who was behind it? But then a realization struck her – Rock had taken her into his confidence. He’d shared a major secret, one that could affect the future of the company. He’d trusted her enough to make her aware of his suspicions and his investigation.
That had to mean something.
And maybe what that meant was, boss or not, maybe she did have a chance - if only a slim one – with Rock St. Stephens.
But then, only time would tell.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Soon after they got back to the New York office Rock had to leave for yet another issue with one of his companies in Alaska. He would only be gone a week, he assured her, but Dana had to fight hard to hide her disappointment when he told her. She knew she would miss him every day that he was gone.
But her problem ran far deeper than just missing Rock. She’d been on edge since that first day they returned to office. Would anything change between them? Would he expect a repeat performance?
Even worse, from here on, would he ignore her completely? Dana knew she would not breathe easy until she knew what the future held for her.
In the meanwhile she would do her work and count the days till Rock’s return.
And then she had an idea. What if she could solve the mystery of the embezzled funds before Rock got back? He would be so shocked and impressed, and he would sing her praises to Mr. French. And maybe, just maybe, it would make him like her just a wee bit more. Maybe even love her? Dared she even think it?
She would have to be discreet in her investigations, though. Outside of Rock, no-one knew of this but her, and she had to keep it that way.
The first day of Rock’s absence Dana finished her work early then put on her sleuth’s hat. Grabbing a notepad and a pen she began to think. Now where should she start? It had to be someone inside the company and, more than Rock, she knew each employee intimately. Her thoughts went to Sean Johnson. He was the logical first stop, being the financial controller of the corporation. And he wasn’t very friendly. She wrote his name on her list.
Then she thought of Sean’s second in command, the chief accountant and bookkeeper, Terrence Trust. She chuckled softly to herself as she wrote his name. With a name like Trust he shouldn’t even have made it on her list. Tapping her pen against her chin, she thought some more. This was harder than she’d thought. From what she knew of her co-workers, every one seemed clean and above board. There really was no-one she could say had been acting suspiciously. And then, like the flick of a light switch, she remembered something…something her friendly stalker had said. “Don’t think just because I’m a sales agent I can’t take you to nice restaurants and buy you gifts. Don’t worry about money. I’m good for it.” She gasped at the thought. Could Jason Blake be the one?
Then she shook her head and gave a soft chuckle. No. Impossible. There was no way Jason would have access to the company’s books. He was in sales, not accounting.
Still, he had been dressing pretty well, lately. And, now that she thought about it, he had been throwing a bit of money around, offering to buy drinks for everyone whenever the staff went out. She tightened her lips and frowned. For what it was worth, she would start getting friendly with Mr. Jason Blake. He was definitely worth checking out.
And so it was that the very next day Dana accepted Jason’s invitation to dinner.
Okay, so she’d orchestrated the whole thing, putting irresistible crumbs under his nose, dropping hints that she hadn’t had a dinner date in soo long and she was soo bored that she’d go out with anybody who asked her.
And it had worked like she’d known it would. And tomorrow, if all went well, she would know if Jason Blake was her man.
**
Rock could not believe it. After he’d thought all had been resolved at the Alaska station here he was again, on a plane to that very location. He gritted his teeth even as he thought about it. He’d told his president he would need the next several weeks to get things in order at his recently acquired company. He hadn’t expected to have to leave again so soon.
And this had happened just when events at the new company had taken a turn for the better. And that ‘better’ came in the form of one highly attractive, irresistible executive assistant by the name of Dana Daniels.
At the thought of Dana, Rock’s face relaxed and a smile crept across his lips. He’d known he had the hots for Dana, had been attracted to her since day one, but who could have known that she would have returned the sentiment?
That trip to the Bahamas had been a blessing in disguise because she probably hadn’t realized how she felt until they’d had a chance to spend time alone together, getting to know each other. And then her true feelings had come to the surface.