Project: Runaway Heiress Read Free

cream, just the way he liked it.
    She placed the pile of envelopes directly in front of him, and he flipped through, noticing that it seemed to be all business correspondence, no fluff to waste his time sorting out.
    As first impressions went, she was making a rather positive one.
    “Is there anything else I can get you?”
    “No, thank you,” he replied slowly.
    With a nod, she turned on her heel and started back toward the door.
    “Lillian.” He stopped her just before she reached the doorway.
    Spine straight, she returned her attention to him. “Yes, sir?”
    “Are those Ashdown Abbey designs you’re wearing?” he asked. “The blouse and skirt?”
    She offered him a small smile. “Of course.”
    He considered that for a moment, almost afraid to believe that his luck in the personal-assistant department might actually be changing for the better.
    Clearing his throat, he said carefully, “You wouldn’t happen to be an actress, would you?” He resisted the urge to use the term aspiring, but only barely.
    A slight frown drew her light brows together. “No, sir.”
    “What about modeling? Any interest in that?”
    That question brought out a short chuckle. “Definitely not.”
    He thought back to some of the bullet points from her résumé. She hadn’t simply wandered in from the street, that was for certain. Her background was in both business and design, with a degree in the former and a few very strong courses in the latter.
    On paper she was rather ideal, but he knew as well as anyone that everybody became a bit of a fiction writer when it came to cooking up a résumé.
    “And your interest in the fashion industry is...” He trailed off, leaving her to fill in the blank on her own.
    For the blink of an eye, she seemed to consider what response he might be looking for. Then she replied in a firm tone, “Strictly business. And the opportunity to get my hands on fresh designs sooner than the rest of the world. I’m a bit of a clotheshorse, I’m afraid.” She ended with a guileless half grin that brought out the tiniest hint of dimple in the center of her right cheek.
    Almost in spite of himself, he caught his own lips turning upward. “Well, then, you’ve certainly come to the right place. Employees get a discount at our company store, you know.”
    “Yes, I know,” she said slowly, and he could have sworn he saw a sparkle of devilment in her eye.
    “Excellent,” he murmured, feeling better about her employment already.
    He hadn’t exactly seen her in action, but she had, as they say, passed the first hurdle. At the very least, she hadn’t walked in with a wide smile and an IQ equal to her age.
    “If you haven’t already, please familiarize yourself with my daily schedule and appointments for the week. There may be a few meetings and events to which I’ll need you to accompany me, so watch for those notations. And be sure to review the schedule frequently, as I tend to change or update it regularly and without warning.”
    Picking up his coffee, he took a sip, surprised to find it quite tasty. Almost the exact ratio of cream to coffee that he preferred.
    “Yes, sir. Not a problem.”
    “Thank you. That will be all for now,” he told her.
    Once again, she turned for the door. And once again, he stopped her just before she stepped out of his office.
    “Oh, and, Lillian?”
    “Yes, sir?” she intoned, tipping her head in his direction.
    “Excellent coffee. I hope you can make an equally satisfying cup of tea.”
    “I’ll certainly try.”
    With that, she closed the door behind her, leaving Nigel with a strangely unexpected smile on his face.
    * * *
    As soon as the door to Nigel Statham’s stately, expansive office clicked shut and she was alone—blessedly, blissfully alone—Lily rushed on weak legs to the plush office chair behind her large, executive secretary’s desk and dropped into it like a sack of lead.
    She was shaking from head to toe, her heart both racing and pounding at