As he lounged in front of the television, so distracted by the girl that the latest episode of ‘Allo, Allo’ played unnoticed, he grimaced. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to hire her. At least then he would be unencumbered by the rules of an employer, employee relationship. But firing her would be out of the question. Put the girl out of a job just so he could ask her out on a date? He would not be so callous. There was nothing to be done but to ask her out, regardless of their professional relationship.
Reed was just about to get up to head into the kitchen for some ice cream when he heard a familiar buzzing in his pocket. He fished the phone out and glanced at the screen. When he saw the name that flashed there his face broke into a smile. He hadn’t spoken to Max in a while.
“What’s up, big bro?” he said. “Back from your Brazil trip?”
“Just got in last night,” Max said. “Exhausting trip but it was worth it. I’m not looking forward to doing another product launch very soon. I need to recover from this one.”
“Yeah, I know how that goes. It’s been almost two months since I did mine and I’m still recovering.”
“So what’s new? You’re good?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“No wild parties?”
Reed chuckled. “Haven’t had time.” Truth be told, he hadn’t had the inclination either. During the past year he’d practically been a hermit, shunning female company outside of the fashion models he worked with. He’d resolved to ‘be good’, as his brothers put it...until the day he laid eyes on Golden Browne
Golden. Just the thought of her made him smile.
“Who’s Golden?”
Startled, Reed frowned. Had he said her name out loud?
“Who’s Golden, Reed? One of your new models?”
When Max repeated his question Reed got his confirmation. He’d said her name out loud, triggering this barrage of questions he knew could not go unanswered. Max was the sort who never let things rest, not until he’d got all the answers. Seeing that there was no getting around it he decided to come clean. “No, she’s just...a young woman I hired to cover for Sharon while she’s out on mat leave.”
“And you like her,” Max said drily.
Damn. Why did he have a brother who could read him so easily? Max didn’t even have to see him to know what was on his mind.
“Sort of,” he said, not wanting to commit to a full admission. But then he thought, what the heck. He’d already been busted so he might as well put it all out there. “I’m planning to ask her out.”
“Your employee?”
“Yeah, my employee. She can say no if she doesn’t want to go out with me. I’m not going to force her.”
Max snorted into the phone. “Just the fact that you’re asking her out is pressure. You’re her boss. You think she’s going to say no?”
That made Reed pause. Now how the hell was he going to work around that? He didn’t want to intimidate the girl and he sure as hell didn’t want to get slapped with a charge of harassment but he definitely wanted to see her, and he didn’t mean sitting behind a desk in the office.
“And aren’t you forgetting something?”
Max’s question brought Reed’s thoughts skittering back to the conversation. He frowned. He could tell where this was going and he was in no mood to go down that road. He remained silent.
“Be careful not to hurt this girl you claim to like so much.” Max’s voice was harsh. “Stop running from your past. It’s time for you to deal with it.”
Reed’s frown deepened and his grip on the phone tightened. That was the last thing he wanted to do right now but the problem was, annoying or not, he knew that his big brother was right.
***
Golden had been working for Reed Davidoff for six whole weeks, two of them without Sharon as her chaperone, when she began to feel uncomfortable.
Was it in her mind or was he watching her? It seemed like in the last few days every time she lifted her head he was standing in the doorway, his eyes on her, a dark expression on his face. Either that or he would leave his office door open, depriving her of the little privacy she used to have in the outer office. Not that she needed privacy to do her work but it was so much less stressful when she didn’t have her boss’s eyes on her the whole time.
And then there were the times when she would hear him in his office and he would give out an unexpected sigh. This had only happened a couple of times but each time she’d found it strange. He must have some serious issues on his mind.
And, to top it all off, this morning he’d come in with his face as grim as the grave and had gone straight to his office, slamming the door behind him. What in heaven’s name was going on? Reed was definitely out of sorts but she had no idea why.
The whole day Golden was on edge, jumping each time Reed called her into his office to give her instructions. There she would be sitting stiffly in the chair, notepad in hand, while he reeled off his assignments, glaring at her the whole time. The worst part was, she could think of nothing she’d done to deserve such abominable treatment.
By five o’clock that evening Golden was at the end of her rope and dying to head home. Although it was not the norm for her, this Wednesday evening as soon as the clock touched the hour, she shut down her computer and reached for her handbag. She was not about to endure a minute more of this torture, not when she was no longer on company time.
She’d slung the strap of her bag onto her shoulder and was getting ready to rise when her tormentor stepped out of his office and stood by the door. As she’d come to expect, he was not looking happy.
Golden froze then sank back into her chair, hoping against hope that he would not ask her to work late. Not tonight, please Lord. I can’t take much more of this.
“Miss Browne,” he said then cleared his throat. “Golden. There’s something I need to ask you.”
“Yes?” Clutching her handbag to her lap she held her breath. He hadn’t called her Miss Browne since her first day on the job. He must really be upset with her. Was he about to fire her? At the thought her heart quickened pace.