Married To The Boss Read Free Page B

needed her as more than a competent secretary, and her heart swelled with the satisfaction of being the one he turned to.
    She’d loved him forever, it seemed.
    Not that he knew of her love. Dana had far too much pride to expose her feelings like that. On the rare occasions when R.J. got involved with a woman, if fleeting affairs could be termed as involved, he’d gravitated to the type of sophisticated, sexy femininity that Dana could never achieve. The women he was seen with were elegant and beautiful and confident.
    They were everything Dana was not.
    R.J. had always treated her with full respect for her abilities in the office, and he was generous to a fault, showing his appreciation for her dedication with raises and hefty holiday bonuses. He gave to her, but never in the way of a personal gift.
    Not once had he looked at her as a man looks at a woman he desires. And she knew he never would.
    As president of Maitland Maternity and a member of Texas’s wealthiest families, R.J. was considered a prime catch. He had money, status and connections—all qualities that drew women in droves.
    But Dana knew that even if he’d been dirt poor and unknown in the community, women would have flocked to his side. At thirty-nine, R. J. Maitland was a handsome man in the prime of his life.
    He stood easily six feet two inches tall, all of him hard and strong and capable. He had broad shoulders and a lean physique that looked equally gorgeous in a formal tux or well-worn jeans. His hands were large and sure, and he possessed an innate virility that overrode his sophistication, making him seem almost primitive on occasion—just often enough to keep any woman around him slightly breathless and filled with anticipation.
    Dana understood that feeling firsthand, because she’d been close to him for many years now as his personal secretary.
    She closed her eyes and sighed, picturing him in her mind. R.J.’s straight sandy hair and probing hazel eyes set him apart from the other Maitlands, who tended toward darker hair and blue eyes.
    Dana’s love for R.J. meant she’d never even been tempted by another man, though there had been a few times when she’d tried. Dating had been a severe disappointment, and she’d long since decided it was easier to skip it altogether than to suffer the dissatisfaction of being held or kissed by a man she didn’t want.
    Talking quietly with R.J. about his problems, having him listen to her opinion helped soften the pain of his usual aloofness. Knowing he was upset and that she’d been able to make him smile for just a bit had filled her with conflicting emotions. She felt guilt for enjoying this time with him when he was so obviously burdened with frustration and rage. And she worried because no one could predict how this entire mess would be resolved, or how badly the Maitlands, R.J. in particular, might be hurt in the bargain.
    R.J. was a man used to taking charge. In both his work and his personal life, he controlled the people and events around him. But always with a velvet glove, and with the best of intentions. In many ways, he controlled Dana, too, though she fought him on it often, and she knew he respected her for it.
    However, in this instance, there was little he could do. He was virtually helpless against his former girlfriend’s spite and the gleeful condemnation of thepress, and Dana knew how impossible that would be for R.J. to accept.
    She also felt sick with the fear that he might prove to be that little baby’s father. She didn’t think she could stand it if that happened, but what could she do? She had no claim on him, and reality told her she never would.
    Her thoughts were interrupted when R.J. stepped into the office, his face dark with anger after forcing his way through the crowd of reporters who’d been camping outside day after day.
    Dana was on her feet in an instant, going to the coffee pot and pouring him his