The Secretary's Scandalous Secret by Cathy Williams Page B

was I to know that you were such a quick study?’
    Agatha flushed with pleasure at the compliment.
    ‘I’ve had a number of temps over the years,’ Luc said, musing. ‘And none of them have matched you for efficiency. In fact, a number of them fell to pieces the minute the going got a little tough.’
    Agatha had no trouble believing that. She, at least, had known the nature of the beast and had adapted accordingly. Luc was brilliant, relentless, impatient with mistakes and never expected to explain anything more than once. Glimpses of his character over the years had stood her in good stead.
    ‘Poor things,’ she said sympathetically, visualising a procession of weeping, broken young girls.
    ‘Poor things?’ Luc laughed, folded his hands behind his head. ‘I am the most considerate employer anyone could wish for.’
    ‘Really?’
    ‘Yes. Really. You seem to have managed perfectly.’ He paused significantly. ‘Do you think that might have something to do with our special relationship?’ He trained his sharp, green eyes on her, enjoying the sight: pink cheeks,that full mouth and curly blond hair half-escaping the loose bun at the nape of her neck. Working with her was a constant challenge to suppress his rampant libido. Moreover, and to his surprise, he had quickly discovered that he had acquired a top-rate worker who was much brighter and cleverer than she gave herself credit for. He considered her wasted talking to plants in some tin-pot garden centre, but he would approach his offer to keep her on in a brand-new position later.
    For the moment, he was frustrated by cravings over which he seemed to have little control. Even when he was safely out of her radius and in meetings, he had still found his concentration lapsing.
    Playing the waiting game was not in his nature and he knew, more positively with each passing hour, that he needed to get a conclusion going.
    ‘We don’t have a special relationship,’ Agatha said crisply.
    ‘We had sex. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten. Some might say that qualifies us as having a special relationship.’ He sat forward, resting both elbows on his highly polished desk and afforded her a penitent look. ‘My apologies. Talking about sex in a working environment is inappropriate. What
is
appropriate,’ he continued, ‘Is I take you out to lunch. You deserve it; point taken that I may not always be the easiest person to work with.’
    ‘That’s very nice, thank you, but I’ve got some stuff I need to do at lunch time.’
    Luc frowned. ‘What sort of stuff? I’m the boss. I’m giving you full permission to ignore work for an hour and a half.’
    ‘Actually, I wasn’t going to work.’
    ‘What exactly are you planning on doing? You have to eat.’
    ‘I’ve brought some sandwiches in. I…I have some thingsto do on the computer. Emails to write, if that’s okay. Keeping in touch! I told mum that I would probably be handing in my notice and she’s worried.’
    ‘Right. Maybe another day.’
    ‘Maybe…’ Agatha looked away. ‘So…is that all?’
    Luc had never felt so instantly dispatched. For someone who gave the impression of being a pushover, she was as tough as nails, he thought with ill humour. What email could be so pressing that she would give up lunch with him?
    ‘I won’t be here this afternoon.’ Frustration ratcheted through him as he walked over to the cupboard in which his jacket was hanging. ‘Wall-to-wall meetings until six. I’ll expect that due-diligence report to be completed by the time I return to the office. If it’s not, you’ll have to work overtime. The lawyers need it first thing in the morning.’
    ‘Of course.’ She sprang to her feet. ‘Anything else?’
    ‘That’s a rather open-ended question. What did you have in mind?’ He enjoyed the way she went bright red at that. His sharp eyes took in the way she stuck her hands behind her back, as though scared that they might somehow betray her, the way her pupils dilated