Temporary Boss, Permanent Mistress

Praise for Kate Hardy’s writing:

‘Kate Hardy’s ONE NIGHT, ONE BABY is a terrific attraction-at-first-sight story. He’s hot, sexy and vulnerable, and she’s patient because, in the end, she knows he’ll be worth it.’

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

‘Kate Hardy is a writer readers can count on in order to deliver an entertaining page-turner which they will devour in a single sitting. BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S is certainly no exception, so take the phone off the hook, put your feet up and lose yourself.’

—Cataromance.com

‘Lydia.’ He touched the back of his fingers lightly against her cheek. ‘I think we need to talk.’

Uh-oh. Here it came.

‘I need to be fair with you, Lydia. Whatever this thing is between us—and I can’t explain it either—I can’t offer you a future. But there’s no reason why we can’t have a mad fling and blow each other’s minds for the next few days. Well, apart from the fact that I’m your boss, and ethically that makes this completely wrong.’

But at that precise moment he couldn’t give a damn about ethics.

The only thing that filled his head was the need to touch her again.

‘I have a suggestion.’ He paused. ‘We spend a week here. Together. And this thing between us…we can get it out of our systems.’

‘You’re saying we should have an affair?’

‘With limits. So we know the deal right from the start.’

‘An affair,’ she repeated. ‘For a week. A seven-night stand.’

‘Put like that, it sounds tacky.’ He grimaced. ‘I’m trying not to be dishonourable. I can’t offer you more than an affair, Lydia. I can’t offer anyone more than that.’

She licked her lower lip, and he almost lost control again.

‘This is mad,’ she whispered. ‘You’re my boss.’

Dear Reader

I’ve always, always wanted to see the Northern Lights—ever since I was a tiny child. I’ve seen pictures and films, but the real thing must be amazing. I’d dearly love to visit the Arctic Circle on a February night (that’s the best time for seeing the lights), to see the heavens shimmering among the stars.

Lydia, my heroine, shares this dream. But the man who can make it come true for her is a workaholic who refuses to commit to a relationship: Mr Wrong. Or is he? When they agree to spend a week in Norway together it teaches them a lot about themselves, about love, and about possibilities. Not to mention discovering a passion that could melt the ice hotel!

I thoroughly enjoyed discovering the glamorous side of Norway: the art and architecture, the history and the amazing ice hotels. And I did some physical research, too: while I was writing the book the UK had its coldest snap for years, so when I fed the birds in my back garden I could experience precisely what the temperature was like inside an ice hotel. My daughter was delighted to help me cook and taste-test Norwegian waffles, and we all went to see some reindeer. And that set me thinking about the perfect fairytale wedding in a land of ice and snow…

I’m always delighted to hear from readers, so do come and visit me at www.katehardy.com

With love

Kate Hardy

Kate Hardy lives in Norwich, in the east of England, with her husband, two young children, and too many books to count! When she’s not busy writing romance or researching local history, she helps out at her children’s schools; she’s a school governor and chair of the PTA. She also loves cooking—see if you can spot the recipes sneaked into her books! (They’re also on her website, along with extracts and stories behind the books.)

Writing for Mills & Boon has been a dream come true for Kate—something she wanted to do ever since she was twelve. She’s been writing Mills & Boon® Medical™ Romances for nearly five years now, and also writes for Modern Heat™. She says it’s the best of both worlds because she gets to learn lots of new things when she’s researching the background to a book: add a touch of passion, drama and danger, a new gorgeous hero every time, and it’s the perfect job!

Kate is always delighted to hear from readers, so do visit her at www.katehardy.com

Recent titles by the same author:

Modern Heat™

PLAYBOY BOSS, PREGNANCY OF PASSION (To Tame a Playboy duet)

SURRENDER TO THE PLAYBOY SHEIKH (To Tame a Playboy duet)

Medical™ Romance

THE CHILDREN’S DOCTOR’S SPECIAL PROPOSAL (The London Victoria duet)

THE GREEK DOCTOR’S NEW-YEAR BABY (The London Victoria duet)

Dedication

For Nicola Cornick—whose friendship and books I value enormously—with thanks for letting me grill her about her own Arctic Circle adventure.

CHAPTER ONE

‘MATT rang in first thing this morning. The kids have brought a bug home from school and he’s been throwing up practically all night—he doesn’t think he’ll be back until Friday at the earliest,’ Judith explained apologetically.

It was much better that the head of the legal department should stay at home rather than struggle into work and share the virus with his colleagues. Jake had no problem with that. He didn’t bother asking about Adam, because he already knew where Matt’s second in command was. On paternity leave.

Babies and kids everywhere.

Everywhere except…

He pushed the thought away. With Matt away, he needed to make alternative arrangements. ‘So that leaves Lydia and Tim.’

‘I’m sorry.’ The secretary made a face, looking embarrassed. ‘They’re both at lunch right now.’

‘Don’t keep apologising. It’s not your fault.’ Jake frowned. He could reschedule the trip to Norway, but he was keen to get this deal sorted. And out of the two remaining members of the legal team…Tim could talk the talk, all right, but he didn’t have Lydia’s experience or knowledge, and he was perhaps a little too hungry for results. Jake needed someone calm, someone confident, someone who would pay attention to detail.

‘Lydia will have to do. Ask her to come and see me when she gets back from lunch, would you, please?’

‘Yes, Mr Ande—’

‘Jake,’ he cut in gently. ‘We don’t do formality at Andersen’s.’ It was the first thing he’d changed, the day his father retired and he took over as CEO: dropping the formality and opening things up a bit. But, nearly two years later, some of the staff still hadn’t quite got used to calling the boss by his first name.

‘Yes, M—Jake,’ the secretary corrected herself quickly.

‘Thank you, Judith.’ He gave her a swift smile, and headed for his office.

Lydia will have to do.

That said it all.

And it rankled, even though Lydia acknowledged the justice of the remark. Jakob Andersen was sharp enough to know exactly what was going on in every single division of the company. To know what every member of his staff was capable of doing, to know what worked and what didn’t, and where things needed moving around. He’d spent six months working in each department before he’d taken over as CEO, so he knew what every part of the company did and what challenges his employees faced. Anyone who’d been tempted to grumble that he’d only walked into the job because he was the boss’s son had quickly changed their minds. Jake wasn’t a delegator who spent all his time wafting around or in long lunches. He was a hands-on leader who saw what needed doing and made sure it was done and, if need be, he rolled up his sleeves and did it himself.

So doubtless he’d already spotted that Lydia Sheridan just wasn’t cut out to be a corporate lawyer.

Lydia had the right background and the right training. What she didn’t have was the shark instinct.

She’d been trying to kid herself for years. Trying to be the child her parents had wanted. Trying to be the person everyone else wanted her to be. Now, maybe, she thought, it was time to stop trying and just be herself.

So she would go to see Jake, at his request. But she had a feeling that he wasn’t going to like what she was going to say. Because Lydia Sheridan wasn’t going to ‘do’ at all.

‘Oh, good, Lydia, you’re back,’ Judith said as she walked into the reception area. ‘The CEO just came by—he wants to see you asap.’

‘Sure.’ Lydia summoned a smile. It wasn’t Judith’s fault that Lydia wasn’t cut out for her job, so she wasn’t going to take out her frustrations on the departmental secretary. ‘I’ll go now.’

When she reached Jake’s office, his door was wide open, but she knocked anyway.

He looked up from his desk. ‘Come in. Take a seat.’

As always, she found herself assessing him, itching to pick up pastels and a sketchpad and start drawing him. Jakob Andersen was simply beautiful. His piercing blue eyes demanded—no, commanded—attention and, teamed with his dark spiky hair and pale Nordic skin, were absolutely stunning. Though his face was maybe a little too thin and angular, and the slight dark smudges beneath his eyes said that he drove himself too hard. Since his two-month sabbatical, eighteen months before, he’d put in ridiculous hours. From what Lydia had heard, he was always the first one in the office and the last to leave.

What was he running from?

Not that it was any of her business. Besides, she wasn’t supposed to be wool-gathering. He’d summoned her, which no doubt meant he needed her to sort out some legal nicety for him.

She sat down on the chair he’d indicated. ‘Judith said you wanted to see me.’

‘I have to go to Norway tomorrow to sort out some contracts. I need you to come with me.’

Abrupt and straight to the point.

Only…she wasn’t quite buying this. Not after what she’d heard him say to Judith. And, given the reason she’d already decided to see him, she didn’t need to be polite and pussyfoot around. She could be just as straight—all the way back. ‘You need me.’

He frowned, clearly picking up the scorn in her tone. ‘Yes.’

‘That’s a bit hard to believe,’ she said.

His frown deepened. ‘Meaning?’

‘I overheard you saying that I’d have to do.’

He leaned back in his chair and raked a hand through his hair. ‘Ah. That.’

At least he wasn’t denying it.

‘Actually, I didn’t mean it quite in that way,’ he said.

‘No?’

‘No. I admit, you’re not my first choice,’ he said. ‘I’d arranged to go with Matt, but he’s off sick and Adam’s away. I know that both of them have dealt with this kind of thing before, and Matt speaks Norwegian, so it would have saved some time. But it’s no matter. I’ll translate for you, where necessary.’

‘There’s no need.’

It was his turn to question her. ‘You speak Norwegian?’

‘No. I was going to come and see you anyway, this afternoon,’ she said quietly. ‘To hand in my notice.’

He blinked, obviously taken by surprise. ‘Why?’

‘Because you’re right. I’m not cut out to be a corporate lawyer.’

‘I didn’t say that. At all.’ He looked straight at her. ‘Your work is meticulous, Lydia.’

Because she made damn sure it was. It was a point of pride. Her work wasn’t the problem. She was. ‘I’m not like Tim—I’m not hungry to win.’

‘Tim,’ he said, ‘would be completely the wrong lawyer for this deal. He needs to tone down.’

What? Weren’t all corporate lawyers supposed to be driven, hungry for success? ‘How do you mean, tone down?’ she asked carefully.

‘He needs to be able to sum up a situation quickly and know the right tactics to use—when to take it softly and when to push. If you go in with high-pressure tactics in Norway, you’ll lose out. I need someone who’s calm and competent, who knows the facts and will cut through the hype, and who’ll meet deadlines and commitments.’ He ticked the requirements off on his fingers. ‘Someone straightforward. From what Matt tells me of your work, you’re perfectly capable of all that, or you wouldn’t be working at Andersen’s.’ His gaze met hers. ‘Your problem is, you lack confidence.’

How would he know? Although she was aware that he’d spent time working in the legal department, it had been before she’d joined the company. She’d only ever worked with him on projects as part of a larger team, never one-to-one.

Before she had the chance to protest, he added, ‘You’re good enough to do the job; you just don’t think you are. You need to work on that. I’ll tell Adam to add that to your objectives at your next appraisal and send you on some assertiveness training.’

Businesslike and to the point. And Lydia felt as if she’d been steamrollered. This wasn’t how the conversation was supposed to go. At all. He thought she’d got cold feet, was having a minor confidence wobble? That wasn’t the half of it. ‘I was trying to resign,’ she reminded him.

‘I know. And I’m not accepting your resignation. Apart from the fact that the legal team is under strength right now—so it’d put us in a mess if I let you go—you do your job well. So there’s no reason for you to leave.’ He rested both elbows on his desk, steepling his fingers, and looked her straight in the eye. ‘Unless you’ve had a better offer elsewhere?’

This was her cue to negotiate a pay rise. To claim that she’d been offered a huge salary and longer holidays with a rival company, so Jake would offer to match the deal.

Except…She wasn’t a shark.

This wasn’t about negotiating more money.

This was about facing what she’d known even before she took the job. About finding her real place in the world. The timing was all wrong, she knew—who in their right mind would leave a steady job to chase a dream, in the middle of a recession?

But it wasn’t as if she had any dependants.

And she had savings.

She’d manage.

‘No, I haven’t had a better offer,’ she said quietly. At least, not ‘better’ in the way that any businessman would see it.

Concern flickered in his face. ‘Is there a problem you’re not telling me about? Harassment of any sort?’

‘Of course not.’ She found Tim a bit wearing, for precisely the reasons that Jake had outlined, but she enjoyed working with Matt and Adam.

‘Then I don’t see any reason for you to resign. Except maybe the fact that you’re undervaluing yourself.’

Maybe she was. Which was why she’d become a lawyer in the first place. In some ways, although it had meant years of hard work, it had been an easier option. Easier to give in instead of being stubborn and holding out for what she knew she really wanted out of life. To paint. She’d wanted to paint for years, but when she’d told her parents she wanted to take Art as one of her A levels they’d reacted badly. Why would the daughter of a QC and a top solicitor want to become an artist—to go and starve in a Parisian garret, doing a job that wouldn’t even pay her rent? Ridiculous. And they’d refused to listen to her art teacher, too.

So she’d tried to please them. She’d studied History and Economics and Law, ending up with top marks and a place to read law at university. She’d trained as a solicitor and found herself a job as a corporate lawyer.

And she’d kept her sketching a secret between herself and her godmother, Polly.

‘I don’t want to be a lawyer any more,’ she said.

He leaned back in his chair. ‘You’ve fallen out of love with your job? It happens.’

He actually seemed to understand—and she really hadn’t expected that. So Jake knew other people who’d reached a point in their career where they just stopped wanting to do it?

Almost as if she’d asked the question out loud, he said, ‘Been there, done that, myself.’ For a brief moment, there was something in his eyes, but he’d masked it before she could read it. ‘And the way round it is to give yourself a new challenge. I think this job might do that for you.’

She wasn’t convinced. She’d stopped loving what she did a long time ago. If she was honest, she’d never really loved it in the first place. She’d just done it because she’d thought it was the right thing to do.

And over the years it had begun to feel so very much the wrong thing. She didn’t see how she could ever fall in love with her job again. ‘What if it doesn’t?’

‘Do this one job for me,’ he said, ‘and if you still feel the same way afterwards, then I’ll accept your resignation—backdated to today.’

Put that way, it seemed reasonable. And what difference would another few days make? ‘All right.’

He glanced at his watch. ‘I imagine this gives you enough time to rearrange your meetings for the next couple of days?’

‘Yes.’

‘Good. Now, clothes.’ He appraised her. ‘Your suit’s fine for business. We’ll be in the south of the country, so it won’t be quite as cold as the north, but you’ll still need a windproof coat and boots—do you have any?’

Jake clearly didn’t believe in social chat. And this was the longest conversation Lydia could remember having with him. It was the only meeting she’d had with him, one-to-one, in the three years she’d been working at Andersen’s; though she remembered he’d been just as incisive in the presentations and meetings she’d attended along with Matt or Adam.

‘Coat and boots?’ he repeated, raising his eyebrows.

Oh, great. Now he’d think she had the attention span of a gnat. ‘Yes, I have a coat and boots.’

‘Good.’

‘How long are we going for?’

‘Until Friday—though if there are complications we might need to work on Saturday morning and fly back on Sunday. Have you been to Norway before?’

‘No. Though I’ve always wanted to see the fjords and the Northern Lights,’ she admitted. To sketch them—to capture the pure, clean Nordic light in pastels.

He regarded her thoughtfully. ‘If you wanted to stay for a couple of days afterwards and take the chance to do a bit of sightseeing, I can arrange for you to have an open return flight. Andersen’s will pick up your hotel bill, to make up for eating into your weekend and evenings.’

That was an offer she definitely wasn’t going to refuse. ‘Thank you. I appreciate that. Though I’d better call Matt and check it’s OK for me to take time off next week.’

‘Sure. I’ll get Ingrid to sort out the travel details and let you know what’s happening.’

It was a dismissal. Polite enough, but still a dismissal. She smiled politely, and left his office.

Jake couldn’t settle back to work when Lydia had gone; every time he looked at the figures on his computer screen, his mind kept supplying a picture of Lydia.

On the face of it, Lydia Sheridan was the perfect corporate lawyer, with her power business suit, her mid-brown hair groomed into a sleek, shiny bob, and the ‘barely there’ makeup that told you she was serious rather than playing up her feminine charms.

She looked the part. He knew that she could certainly do the part; Matt had said several times that Lydia quietly picked up details other people missed.

But something in her dark eyes had told him that it wasn’t who she was.

She’d even said it herself: I don’t want to be a lawyer any more.

Ha. He knew that crossroads well. The point in your life when you wondered if you’d wasted years doing something you hadn’t really wanted to do all along—something you just didn’t want to do any more. The point in your life where you wondered just what it was that you really, really wanted.

And he stood by his own advice. The way forward was to give yourself a new challenge. Something to strive for. Something to help you ignore the questions.

He dismissed the thought that he hadn’t found his own challenge yet. Or that he was filling his hours with a ridiculous level of work so he didn’t have to think about what he really wanted from life—and how far it was from what he could actually have.

Jake shook himself and went back to poring over a set of figures. But then his email pinged: his PA had organised the flights and booked the accommodation.

Really, he should ask Ingrid to email the details to Lydia.

Then again, he still needed to brief her about the deal in Oslo.

It was something he could do perfectly adequately—and probably more quickly—by email. Or by sending Ingrid over to Lydia with the file. But somehow he found himself with the file in his hand, striding towards the legal department.

Lydia looked up from her desk as he walked into the openplan office.

‘You might want to read this before tomorrow,’ he said, handing her the file. ‘It’s the background to the deal I’m setting up with Nils Pedersen’s company in Oslo. Call me if you have any questions. I’ll leave my mobile switched on this evening.’

‘Noted,’ she said coolly, and he knew she wouldn’t call him.

He should go back to his own desk. Right now. Not linger and try to work out what that soft perfume was. Not wonder if her mouth was as soft as it looked.

‘Did you manage to move your meetings?’

She nodded. ‘No problem.’

‘And you’ve spoken to Matt?’

‘Via his wife, yes. He says it’s OK for me to take next week off because he’ll be back then.’

‘Good. I’ll see you at the airport at half-past nine tomorrow.’

‘Nine-thirty it is.’

She was in brisk, professional lawyer mode. Efficient and quiet. Though he had a feeling that she was wearing a mask as smooth as his own. What would make her light up from the inside? he wondered.

Realising where his thoughts were going, he shook himself mentally. No. He didn’t get involved nowadays. The one constant in his life was work, and he had no intentions of messing that up by having an affair with someone in the office

Besides, Lydia Sheridan wasn’t the type who’d have a temporary fling, and that was all he could offer. Jakob Andersen, heir to a shipping dynasty and CEO of Andersen Marine, couldn’t offer a woman a future. Couldn’t offer her anything other than wealth.

And that wasn’t nearly enough.

CHAPTER TWO

WHEN Lydia walked into the departure lounge at twenty-five past nine, the next morning, Jake was already there, sitting on a chair with his right ankle resting on his left knee to make a temporary desk and a sheaf of papers cradled on his lap. There was a pen in his right hand and a mobile phone in his left, and he looked completely in command of the situation.

No wonder he was drawing admiring glances from every single female in the vicinity. That aura of confidence was incredibly sexy.

Add the fact that he had the most beautiful mouth, and…

Lydia shook herself, horrified to find herself actually fantasising about walking up to Jake and kissing him stupid. Apart from the fact that he was her boss, and therefore off limits, she’d steered clear of serious relationships since she was twenty.

Ever since she’d dated the unsuitable artist she’d overheard her father buying off.

Her disillusionment had been total. Before that fateful afternoon, she’d seriously considered dropping out of university and following her heart, despite the fact that she’d known she’d be disappointing her parents. Because it would have meant being with the man she loved and making a living out of doing what she really wanted to do. It hadn’t mattered that she and Robbie would have been practically penniless; she’d known they’d work it out, somehow, because they were a team. She’d been so sure that Robbie had loved her just as much as she had loved him.