The Boss and His Cowgirl Read Free Page A

father or brothers when it came to women. He refused to be, but damn if he wasn’t suddenly aware that Georgie had been hiding some very interesting attributes behind her boxy suits and thick glasses—said attributes all but staring him in the face, despite the modest cut of that red lingerie and the robe.
    â€œI’ll have the house doctor check you once the electricity—” The lights flickered, steadied and remained on. “Speaking of. Ready to get into the shower now?”
    Clay stood and extended his hand to help her up. Just as she clasped his fingers, another clap of thunder shook the building and the lights extinguished. He felt her tremble and hunkered down beside her once more. “It’s okay, Georgie.”
    He swiped his phone and when the screen lit up, he tapped the flashlight app once more. “See? We have light.”
    Georgie was panting again and a thin sheen of perspiration covered her face. “I’m sorry. This is stupid. I know it’s stupid and irrational.”
    â€œFear is—” The light on his phone dimmed and he glanced at the battery indicator. He flicked off the flashlight app, but the home-screen light cast a soft glow over Georgie’s face. “Sorry. I’m down to the dregs of battery life. We can go outside, into the bedroom.”
    â€œNo. There might be monsters under the bed.”
    Clay studied her face in the ghostly glow of his cell. A hint of a smile tweaked her lips. Good. This was the Georgie he knew and...liked. Yes, definitely liked. He liked Georgie. She was his employee. He was only keeping her company in his bathroom because she’d had a traumatic day.
    â€œI promise to slay the monsters.”
    â€œOr legislate them out of existence?”
    â€œI can do that. I’ll introduce a bill in the Senate. And then I’ll take you dancing in the dark.”
    â€œIsn’t that a song?”
    â€œSpringsteen.”
    She blinked at him, her eyes owlish behind the lenses of her glasses. “You’re a fan of the Boss?”
    â€œHey, just because I grew up on Waylon, Willie and the boys, doesn’t mean I don’t have refined tastes in music.”
    That elicited a giggle. “Are you trying to distract me?”
    â€œDepends. Is it working?”
    â€œSort of.”
    â€œThen yes.” He eased down to the floor, stretching his legs out. “I’m going to take a shot in the dark here—”
    â€œPeter Sellers!”
    â€œI’m sorry. You didn’t phrase that in the form of question.” He winked at her.
    â€œOh, getting technical, are we? Fine. I’ll take Dark for three hundred, Alex.”
    â€œHmm. Okay.” The light from his phone blinked out. Clay didn’t like Georgie’s quick inhalation. He tapped the phone, thinking it had just gone into sleep mode. Nothing happened. “Sorry, Georgie. I think the battery died.”
    â€œO-okay. Um...can we keep playing?”
    â€œSure. Dark for three hundred, right?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œHa! Got one. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the family matriarch in this—”
    â€œWhat is Dark Shadows ?”
    Georgie laughed as he huffed in pretended frustration. “How did you know that?”
    â€œClay, your crush on Michelle Pfeiffer is not exactly a secret around the office.”
    â€œIt isn’t?” He did his best to sound both shocked and innocent, but damn if he didn’t like the sound of his name coming from between her lips. He couldn’t remember if she’d ever called him by his first name—at least not up close and personal like this.
    â€œI’ll take Dark for a thousand, Alex.”
    He racked his brain for an answer and when it came to him, he grinned. “Come to the dark side. We have cookies.”
    A sound that was a cross between a giggle and snort erupted from Georgie. “How do you even know that?”
    The next thing Clay knew, Georgie was