His black, single-breasted business suit was sleek and expensive, tailored to complement his tall, elegantly lean body. He’d matched it with a deep blue shirt that highlighted his olive skin. His silvery grey tie was classy, and nicely understated. So was his watch, also silver, with a black leather band.
By the time she reached him, Leah imagined—mistakenly, as it turned out—that she could shake his hand and come away unscathed.
But the moment his hands—both of them—enclosed hers, she’d been totally rattled, reduced to stammering when he asked her name.
Yet she never stammered. Or felt swamped by the kind of feelings that had overtaken her.
Within moments, she’d wanted to forget where she was and who he was. When he’d stared deep into her eyes, she’d dissolved inside. When he’d glanced down at her left hand—rather pointedly, she’d thought—she’d wanted to blurt out that, yes, she was free, free to do whatever he wanted, wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted it.
The wanton submissiveness that overwhelmed her had been mind-blowing. And totally shocking. Leah had never experienced anything like it. Not even with Carl, whom she’d loved.
But this had nothing to do with love, Leah realised shakily after he released her hand.
His no longer touching her helped Leah gather herself a little. Now, if only he would stop looking at her the way he was looking at her, she might be able to pull herself totally together. But he continued to gobble her up with his eyes.
Leah knew men found her attractive. What was on show, that is. Jason Pollack might not be so interested if she revealed her left thigh to him.
Thinking about her scars did what it always did to Leah. Brought her sharply back to the real world, reminding her also that Jason Pollack had once married an older woman for money, a crime on a par with marrying a girl for her physical perfection alone. The last man on earth Leah would want to become involved with was another cold-blooded, conscienceless devil who had a computer chip for a heart.
Even if he was the sexiest man she’d ever met!
‘I must get to my desk, Mr Pollack,’ she said, her manner and tone suitably frosty. ‘It’s gone eight thirty.’ And, turning her back on him, she walked with stiffly held shoulders to her work station, not looking back at him as she settled herself at her desk.
But she could feel his eyes still on her, burning right through her clothes.
Jim Matheson charging down the hallway into the reception area was a godsend.
‘Mr Pollack! So there you are! They just rang from the factory to say you left some time ago. Leah, why didn’t you let us know Mr Pollack was here?’ Jim snapped at her.
‘I’ve only just walked in,’ came the new boss’s smooth reply before she could defend herself. ‘And, please, make it Jason. I don’t stand on ceremony. And you’d be?’
‘Jim. Jim Matheson. I’m the national sales manager here at Beville Holdings.’
And the biggest creep in the place, thought Leah. Matheson had made a pass at her on her very first day, but she’d soon put him in his place. Still, he hadn’t forgotten and was never nice to her.
‘Jim,’ the new boss said warmly, coming forward to shake his hand. ‘Nice to meet you. And you too, Leah,’ he added, throwing her a look and a small smile that carried several subtle messages which Leah understood only too well.
One—I’m interested.
Two—You don’t fool me for a minute with that cold-shoulder act.
And three—I’ll get back to you later.
A shiver ran down Leah’s spine as she watched the two men walk together down the corridor that led to the sales and marketing divisions. He was going to ask her out. She could feel it. He was going to ask her out and she wasn’t going to have the willpower to say no.
But by lunchtime that day, events hadn’t developed quite as Leah had expected. For one thing, she hadn’t set eyes on Jason Pollack again that morning. He’d stayed down in Jim’s office, having meetings with the various section managers. She’d been informed of this by the general office girl who relieved Leah at the reception desk at eleven every day so she could have her morning tea break.
Mandy hadn’t met the great man herself, but she’d already heard on the grapevine that he was a hunk of the first order. All good-looking men were hunks to Mandy, who was eighteen, a slightly plump, rosy-faced girl with an infectious smile and a happy manner.
Leah had spent her morning tea break in the canteen, listening to the gossip from the factory girls who were there, having their lunch break, as their hours were from seven till three. Leah got sick and tired of hearing how drop-dead gorgeous the new boss was.
Leah had returned to her desk, resenting Jason Pollack all the more because she knew he was being gushed over, mainly because for his looks. She’d learned to hate that kind of superficial attraction, yet there she was, suffering from it herself.
Trays of coffee and food had appeared from the canteen around twelve thirty, delivered to Jim’s office by two of the female kitchen hands who’d been literally swooning as they hurried back past reception.
‘He’s so hot!’ Leah heard one of them say. ‘And he smiled at me.’
‘He smiled at me too, honey,’ the older woman said. A bit more drily. ‘He’s a charmer all right. But don’t get your hopes up. Men like that don’t take out waitresses,’ she added as they both swept out the door.
Or receptionists, Leah realised with a perverse rush of disappointment.
What a fool she’d been, getting herself all het up over nothing. He hadn’t been coming on to her earlier. He was just being his so-called charming self. Hadn’t her father said Jason Pollack had originally been a top salesmen?
Since working here, Leah had met quite a few salesmen and most of them had the gift of the gab. Most of them were good-looking men, too. And outrageous flirts. There wasn’t a sales rep at Beville Holdings who hadn’t asked her out. And that included the married ones.
Except for Peter. The one with the sick wife. He’d never asked her out. That was why Leah liked him so much. He was a really decent guy. Honest and hard working, unlike some of the others around here. If Jason Pollack even thought about making Peter redundant, she would have something to say about it.
No, she would have a lot to say about it. After all, what was the worst that could happen to her? Okay, so she could lose her job. Not a total disaster, since she didn’t rely on her salary to survive. Unlike poor Peter.
But she wouldn’t go quietly. She’d take Prince Charming to the unfair dismissal board if he dared do that. She’d take him to the unfair dismissal board if he sacked Peter as well! She’d make him wish he’d never bought Beville Holdings before she was finished. That’s what she’d do!
‘Would you come and have lunch with me, Leah?’
Leah’s head snapped up to find Trish standing there, looking anxious. Trish was Jim’s secretary, an attractive redhead in her late twenties who deserved better, in Leah’s opinion, than to be sleeping with her married boss.
Of all the women who worked at Beville Holdings, Leah liked Trish the most. They often had lunch together out on the lawns, and Leah usually sat with Trish when they all trundled down to the local pub for drinks after work every Friday night.
Trish claimed she wanted a husband and children of her own, but wouldn’t listen to Leah’s advice to break it off with Jim and find herself someone who was free. The last time they’d had a woman-to-woman chat over lunch, Trish had confided to Leah that Jim promised to leave his wife when his kids were older.
Famous