Chapter One
Rika
How can a man who designs sex toys for a living be so awkward around women? I work for the hottest guy on the planet, who has the hottest British accent on the planet, but I might as well be a robot sitting behind this desk for all the attention he gives me. Dane Dixon can barely look me in the eye, and as for conversation… Jeez, it’s like watching a blind biker roaring down a curvy road on his Harley. You just know he’s about to careen off the edge and go splat.
But damn, he’s one sexy wreck.
This morning is no different. I’m waiting patiently at my desk for my boss to arrive—as his personal assistant, I make it a point to get here before him—when Dane walks out of the elevator and straight to my desk. Head down, he seems focused on the issue of Forbes magazine he’s holding in one hand.
“Good morning, Miss Solberg,” he says. When he glances at me for half a second, he swallows hard and resorts to staring at his magazine again. “Do I have any pointers—uh, I mean, appointments today?”
“Yes, Mr. Dixon. Today’s agenda is already on your desk.” Like it has been every day for the past twelve business days since I started working for him.
“Oh. Of course.” He swallows again, his Adam’s apple jumping. “Let me know when—if I, uh, have…calls or whatnot.”
“I will.” Rising from my chair, I tug my jacket down. “May I get you a cup of coffee, Mr. Dixon?”
“Yes. Thank you, Miss Solberg. One sugar, no cream.”
He always tells me that, like I don’t know how he likes his coffee after twelve business days with him.
Not once has he ever called me Rika. I told him he could, but he said it wasn’t “professional.” He also never smiles at me. I long to see his smile because I’m pretty sure it will be devastating. I’d love to hear him laugh too, but no, he never does that either.
Is he always like this with women?
Dane rakes a hand through his dirty-blond hair. The light glints on his glasses, so I can’t see his eyes. But I know they’re gorgeous. I got a good look at them on my first day here, when he’d taken his glasses off to clean them. He has deep-blue eyes that I’d love to gaze into for hours while his body is above mine and his hips are thrusting into me.
I haven’t had sex in months. Working for a hot guy who ignores me is sure to drive me bonkers.
“Do I have a meeting with Celeste today?” Dane asks.
Wow, he got out a complete sentence with no “uhs” or “ums.” I feel like I should mark this momentous day on my calendar.
He does seem kind of sweet, in an uptight way.
“Yes, sir,” I tell him. “Ms. Arnaud is coming at ten.”
He nods, head bowed. “Thank you.”
Then he hurries into his office and shuts the door.
And I wonder again if he’s like this with all women or just me. I’ve only seen him talking to men, so it will be interesting to find out how he interacts with Celeste Arnaud, the CEO of Bonsoir Beauty Inc., which owns Dane’s company. He signed a deal with Bonsoir six months back, and now he’s spending some time in New York at the company headquarters to prepare for the re-launch of his brand of sexual wellness devices.
That’s about all I know. And I found that out from Celeste Arnaud’s PA, who gave me the grand tour of the headquarters and dished about all the good gossip. Not that I like to gossip. But it’s the only way I could find out anything about my new boss. My friends Elena and Arden know Dane, but they haven’t said much about him. He has two brothers, but I didn’t learn that fact from office gossip. I’ve met Dane’s brothers, because they’re married to Elena and Arden, though I hadn’t met Dane himself until I started working here.
I trot down the hall to the break room and get two cups of coffee, one with cream and sugar for me and one with just sugar for him. After that, I hurry back to my desk, dropping my coffee off there. When I knock on the door to Dane’s office, he invites me in, so I swing the door open and waltz up to his desk. As I set his cup down in front of him, he glances up at me.
For about a nanosecond.
“Thank you, Miss Solberg,” he mutters.
And then he goes back to staring at the papers on his desk.
I’ve just sat down at my desk again when the phone rings. I answer with my standard professional greeting. “Dane Dixon’s office. This is Rika Solberg speaking. How may I help you?”
“Hey, girlfriend, how’s the new job going?”
I feel better already after hearing my friend’s voice. Elena Linwood, now Elena Dixon, married my boss’s older brother. Elena and I met a month before she hooked up with Chance Dixon, but we hadn’t become good friends until after that. I’d missed their wedding because my appendix decided the day before the big day was a good time for it to explode. Elena had introduced me to Arden, who married Reese Dixon, but I missed that event too. A hurricane grounded all flights that time.
“Elena,” I say, relaxing in my chair. “How’s your hot husband? Are you wearing him out?”
“This is me you’re talking to, not Arden. I give my hubby time to recover in between sex marathons. Poor Reese never gets a break.”
Yeah, Arden is very…ardent. But Reese never seems exhausted to me.
“How’s your hot boss?” Elena asks.
“Ignoring me. Does he always stammer?”
“Dane? No, he’s well-spoken. You should’ve heard the pitch he gave Celeste when she was considering merging his company with Bonsoir. Chance and I listened to him rehearsing it, and Dane rocked his speech.”
Which is the exact opposite of what I’ve experienced with him. God, it must be me. He thinks I’m repulsive or stupid or something.
“I’ll take your word for that,” I tell Elena. “Did you just call to chat? Because I am at work, you know.”
“Yeah, I know. I called to ask if you want to have lunch with me and Arden on Thursday. She’s flying in from England with Reese the evening before, so we’re going on a shopping spree.”
These ladies can out-shop anyone—including me, but that’s not much of an accomplishment. I don’t like shopping. Yeah, that makes me a freak of nature.
“Sure,” I say, “I’d love to see you guys.”
“Great. We girls really need to catch up.” She hesitates, then asks, “Does Dane really stammer when he talks to you?”
“Oh yes. He stammers, he blushes, he avoids looking at me… You get the picture.”
“Wow. He must like you a lot.”
I hold the phone away from my face to stare at it for half a second, then I return it to my ear. “Are you nuts? He acts like he can’t stand being around me.”
Elena laughs. “Oh sweetie, that’s not how Dane acts when he doesn’t like someone. If he can’t untie his tongue around you, then he definitely has a giant crush on you.”
A crush? Oh please. A giant crush? Double oh please.
No one has ever had a crush on me, as far as I know, so I can’t say for sure how men act when they feel that way. Men like me, sure, but there’s been no crushing. And come on, Dane Dixon cannot like me that way.
What, am I twelve years old again? A crush. That’s just plain silly.
I tell Elena that, and she laughs again.
“Time will tell,” she says in a knowing tone. “This is Monday. When I see you on Thursday, I predict you will have changed your opinion about Dane Dixon.”
“After more than two weeks with him, I rather doubt he’s suddenly going to start acting smitten.”
“We’ll see.” She switches to a whisper when she adds, “I’ll get Chance to talk to Dane.”
“About me? No way, Elena. Don’t you dare do that.”
“To be honest, Chance will probably do that anyway. He likes to keep tabs on his brothers.”
“Does ‘keeping tabs’ mean meddling?”
“Um…probably.”
I stifle a pathetic moan. “I have to get back to work. See you Thursday.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Elena and I hang up, and I go back to sorting through emails. Dane likes everything to be organized in subfolders so he can tell at a glance which messages are the most urgent. I’m in the middle of doing that when Celeste Arnaud walks out of the elevator into my little domain.
She stops at my desk. “Good morning, Rika darling. You look lovely today. Has Dane told you that?”
“No.” I squirm a little, uncomfortable with her question after what Elena suggested concerning my boss. “It wouldn’t be professional.”
“Nonsense. Complimenting someone is not unethical.”
I hike up my shoulders. “Mr. Dixon thinks a lot of things are unprofessional, unethical, un-whatever. Honestly, Ms. Arnaud, I don’t think he likes me. Maybe you should get him a different PA.”
She waves a hand to dismiss my claim. “He’s anxious, that’s all. Not used to the corporate lifestyle yet. And please, call me Celeste. I’ve told you before I don’t stand on formality.”
“Yes, I remember. Sorry, Celeste.”
“That’s all right.” She glances at the closed door to Dane’s office, then smirks at me. “Should I wait for you to announce me, like we’re at King Henry’s court?”
“No, but I will let him know you’re here.” I grab the phone off my desk and punch in the extension for Dane’s office phone. When he picks up, I say, “Celeste Arnaud is here, Mr. Dixon.”
“Please send her in. Thank you, Miss Solberg.”
I hang up and motion toward the door. “He’s ready for you.”
Celeste leans in to pat my hand. “Don’t worry, dear, I’ll take care of Dane.”
She strides into his office and shuts the door.
Take care of him? What on earth does that mean?
I have a feeling whatever she does will not put my boss in a good mood.
