His Challenging Lover by Elizabeth Lennox

just kissed Xander? In a conference room?! Where anyone could, and did, interrupt them! She shook her head and practically fell into her chair, her whole body shaking from the impact of him. Well, actually, she was shaking from her reaction to him and not the man himself.
    Okay, so it was most likely a combination of both the man and the way he touched her and the way she reacted to him.
    Stop! She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.
    “Are you okay?” a female voice asked.
    Autumn’s eyes popped open and she looked back up at her assistant. “Yes. I’m fine,” she said and sat forward, placing her hands over her keyboard. She tried to look as if she were working but knew she was failing miserably. It was probably the guilty look in her eyes that gave her away so she looked down at her keyboard. “Why do you ask?”
    Mary looked at her curiously. “You rushed in here like the hounds of hell were chasing after you. I guess you’ve been acting a bit strangely this week so I shouldn’t think anything of it, but it just feels like something more is going on.” She hesitated for a moment, looking curiously at her boss from the doorway. “And your cheeks are all pink, like you might have a fever or something.” Mary walked over to Autumn’s desk and handed her a sheaf of papers. “Are you not feeling well? Maybe you’re coming down with something. This crazy fall weather, cold in the morning, hot in the afternoon, can do that to a person’s system. Our bodies don’t know whether to produce heat or find air conditioning. Do you need to go home? I can cover for you. It’s Friday so most people are already heading out.”
    Autumn thought longingly of her home and the solace it would provide. Her comfortable townhouse was exactly what she needed right now. She could skip out of here and hide her head under a pillow, pretend like she never had to come out again.
    But what would Xander say if he found out she’d left early. He’d probably show up at her door, just to make sure she was okay. He’d been fairly protective of her lately.
    Well one day did not make a protector, she corrected herself. She smiled back to the memory of the three other Thorpe brothers confronting Xander when she’d worn her flat shoes. That made her feel good, all of them ganging up on him to make sure she was okay. She almost chuckled at the confused expression in his eyes, and all because she’d worn a pair of flats. Boy, she’d really thrown everyone off that day!
    She shook her head, banishing the memory and all those warm fuzzy feelings Xander tended to generate inside of her whenever he did the he-man-my-woman routine for her benefit. He was probably like that with all the women. He definitely did it to all of his female clients, making sure they were financially protected when their husbands finalized a divorce. She actually liked that about him. Unless he was doing it to the women he dated. She wouldn’t like that at all.
    Mary was still waiting for a response and she focused on the work she had to get done today. “I’m fine,” she smiled wearily. “Just tired. It’s been a hectic week.”
    Mary smiled back and handed her the other reports Autumn had asked for earlier. “The client system is up and running now. All the cases are fully loaded from prior years and can be cross-referenced for any issue or keyword. Several people have already stopped by my desk to compliment you on fighting for that system,” Mary commented as she walked out of Autumn’s office.
    Autumn smiled, feeling a huge sense of victory wash over her with those words. She’d fought hard for that system, arguing with Xander mostly. He’d said they hadn’t needed something like that because there were already research databases that were online and the firm subscribed to them. What was the point, he’d asked over and over again. She’d given him several arguments, fighting with him about productivity, the statistics she’d gathered about