Jessie frowned over his words, ‘in the flesh’. Maybe his offering her this job had nothing to do with her talents and everything to do with his wanting to see more of her in the flesh, so to speak.
Still, if she was strictly honest with herself, she wanted the same thing. Whenever his eyes were upon her—which was all the time—she could think of nothing but being in his arms once more.
Hadn’t she come to the conclusion at one stage over the weekend that she needed a man in her life? A boyfriend? A lover? Why not Kane Marshall? He wasn’t married. Clearly, he fancied her as much as she fancied him. Crazy to fight an attraction as strong as this was. She would only lose.
‘Even if I wasn’t comparing you to the last applicant,’ he went on suavely, ‘I would be suitably impressed, and very happy to offer you the job. If you’re still interested, that is.’
Jessie suspected he was asking her if she was still interested in him, as well as the job.
‘Yes, of course I am,’ she said, deciding it would be hypocritical to say anything else.
‘Good,’ he said, then delivered another of those dazzling smiles of his.
He was smooth! And incredibly confident.
He both excited and rattled her. A strange combination. She’d always been attracted to physically strong men, but Kane Marshall represented more than just physical strength. His persona carried exceptional charisma. A magnetism which perturbed her. His steely gaze had the capacity to sap her will-power. But it was his sexy smile that could do the most damage. She suspected that if they became lovers, he could make her do things. Wild things. Wicked things.
Her thoughts sent an erotically charged quiver rippling down her spine. Suddenly, her knees felt like jelly.
‘I…I think I’d better sit down,’ she said, reefing her eyes away from his and pulling up one of the upright wooden chairs adjacent to the desk. She sank down onto its solid surface, grateful not to have to look at him for a while. But eventually, she had to face him once more. When she did, her shoulders were rammed back against the chair-back, her back was as stiff as a board and her legs were tightly crossed.
Her rigid body language was wasted, however. He wasn’t looking at her. His handsome face was down, and he was going through what looked like her résumé.
‘I see here that you’re a single mother,’ he remarked before finally glancing back up at her.
Jessie’s chin lifted defiantly. ‘Is that a problem?’
‘Absolutely not. I admire unmarried women who keep their babies,’ he added with warmth in his voice and another of those winning smiles.
‘I meant, is that a problem with my job?’ she bit out, irritated with herself for going to mush inside again.
‘I don’t see why it should be. You have your little girl in day-care, it says here.’
‘Yes, but there will be times when she gets sick. Or I might have to attend a school concert. Or some emergency.’
‘Work conditions here at Wild Ideas are very flexible. You can work your own hours, or at home if you want. All that is required is that the work is done, meetings are attended and deadlines met. Your immediate boss is the mother of a little girl herself, with another baby on the way, so I’m sure she will be very understanding about such matters. Speaking of Michele, I think perhaps I should take you along to meet her shortly. She rang earlier with instructions to have someone sitting at the computer by her side before lunchtime. Or else.’
‘You mean you want me to start straight away, today?’ Jessie gasped.
He raised a single eyebrow at her. ‘I thought you understood that. Is there any reason you have to leave?’
‘No…no, I guess not. But I will have to ring the day-care centre and tell them I’ll be a bit later than usual picking Emily up.’
‘Will that worry your little girl?’
‘No. But it might worry me. I’m not sure how often the trains run and how long it will take me to get there. I have to pick Emily up before six. They close at six.’
‘You don’t have a car?’
‘No,’ she admitted. ‘I haven’t been able to afford to run one.’
‘You should be able to now. Your pay is sixty-five thousand dollars a year, with bonuses.’
All the breath was punched from Jessie’s lungs. ‘You’re joking! Sixty-five thousand?’ Before she’d had Emily, she’d only been on forty thousand.
‘That’s right. Your basic salary will be reviewed every six months, with rises given on performance.’
‘That’s incredible.’
‘Don’t worry. You’ll have to deliver.’
‘I’ll deliver. Don’t you worry about that.’
Their eyes met once more, with Jessie wondering if their conversation still carried a double meaning. She hoped not. She’d hate to think that underneath his impressive surface, Kane Marshall was just another divorced creep.
‘You should consider leasing a car,’ he went on. ‘Curtis always tells me that leasing is a much more sensible option in business. My brother is an accountant,’ he added.
Unnecessarily. Jessie already knew that. But she could hardly say so. Still, it sent her wondering exactly where Kane Marshall usually worked. Karen had said he was an excellent manager and motivator. But for what company?
‘If you like,’ he was saying, ‘I could get Karen to organise the leasing for you. All you have to do is tell me what kind of car you’d like.’
‘I…I don’t really know. I’ll have to think about it.’
‘If you tell me the make and model in the morning, it can be ready for you by the time you finish up tomorrow. Meanwhile, I’m quite happy to drive you home after work tonight. I wouldn’t want you to worry about your little girl.’
Jessie stared at him. He certainly wasn’t wasting any time in making his move.
‘You don’t have to do that,’ she said. ‘I do have a friend I could ring to pick Emily up if I think I can’t make it.’
‘A man friend?’
The question sounded casual, but Jessie could see more than curiosity in his eyes. Insane to imagine he was jealous. But it felt as if he was.
‘No,’ she said, and was sure he looked relieved. ‘An elderly lady. My landlady, in fact. I rent a granny flat from her. But she’s also a good friend.’
‘It’s no trouble for me to drive you home, Jessie,’ he said. ‘You don’t live that far away. Besides, I’d like the opportunity to talk to you some more. Out of the office.’
‘All right, then,’ she agreed, if a bit stiffly. She wished she could get the thought out of her head that she was being weak. ‘Thank you.’
‘It’s my pleasure.’ And he smiled at her again.
Jessie suppressed a moan. Oh, he was just so gorgeous. How could she possibly say no?
Yet she hated for him to think she was easy.
Jessie was well used to the way most men thought about single mothers. They were considered desperates. Desperate for sex. Desperate for company. Desperate for some man—any man—to give them the emotional and financial support they obviously weren’t getting from whoever had fathered their child.
In truth, there were quite a lot of single mothers who did act that way.
But Jessie wasn’t normally like most single mothers. She’d always prided herself on her self-sufficiency.