Chapter 1
"Memo to self—cancel all employee vacations,"
Brandon Duke muttered as he reached for his coffee cup and
realized it was empty. Yet another reminder that his
invaluable assistant, Kelly Meredith, was still away on
vacation. She'd been gone for the past two weeks, and that
was fourteen days too long as far as he was concerned.
It wasn't like Brandon couldn't get his own cup of
coffee. He wasn't that lame. It was just that Kelly always
beat him to it, showing up with a piping hot refill at the
right time, every time. She was a dynamo in every other way,
too. Clients loved her. Spreadsheets didn't intimidate her.
And she was an excellent judge of character, something he'd
recognized early on. That was a quality worth its weight in
gold and he'd taken advantage of it from the start by having
Kelly accompany him to various business meetings all over
the country.
Brandon's own instincts were spot on when it came to
judging a potential business partner or the motives of a
competitor, but Kelly was a strong backup. Even his brothers
had gotten into the habit of calling Kelly to vet new hires
and solve other problems. They called her the miracle
worker, for good reason. If there was a thankless job that
needed handling, Kelly grabbed it with both hands and worked
her magic. Everything ran more smoothly because of Kelly.
Taking advantage of the early morning quiet in the still
empty office suite, Brandon grabbed a legal pad and began to
scribble notes for a meeting with his brothers later today.
Now that the Mansion at Silverado Trail, the Dukes' newest
resort in Napa Valley and the jewel in the crown of the Duke
hotel empire, was about to celebrate its grand opening, it
was time to focus his energies on new properties and new
challenges.
Reading back what he'd written, he was reminded of
another reason he needed his assistant to come back from
vacation: she could decipher his handwriting.
In the middle of bullet-pointing several options for a
takeover bid on a small chain of luxury hotels along the
picturesque Oregon coast, Brandon checked his calendar.
Every hour of the day was filled with appointments,
conference calls and deadlines, many of them connected to
the grand opening celebration. Good thing his assistant
would be back today, and about damn time. The temp
replacement had been competent, but Kelly was the only one
who could handle the myriad pressures and scheduling
conflicts involved in the upcoming festivities.
And speaking of pressures, his brother's wife was about
to pop out a baby soon. This would be Mom's first grandkid,
and you would've thought no other child had ever been born
before. Talk about a major celebration. But what in the
world was Brandon supposed to buy the kid? Season tickets on
the 49ers' fifty-yard line he could swing, but otherwise, he
was clueless. Didn't matter. Kelly would know the absolute
perfect gift to buy and she'd probably wrap it herself,
too.
Brandon heard rustling and the sound of drawers opening
just outside his partly opened door.
"Good morning, Brandon," a cheery voice called out.
"About time you got back, Kelly," he said with relief.
"Come see me after you've had a chance to settle in."
"You bet. I'll just make a pot of coffee first."
Brandon checked his watch. Sure enough, she was fifteen
minutes early, one more indication that she was an ideal
employee who deserved all the perks the job offered. But he
still planned to outlaw vacations from now on.
#
"Ah, it's good to be back," Kelly murmured as she powered
up her computer. Hard to believe, but she'd actually missed
Brandon Duke while she was gone. The sound of his deep voice
gave her a little thrill she attributed to the fact that she
loved her job.
She stashed her tote bag and purse in the credenza behind
her desk and quickly made a new pot of coffee. Her hand
shook as she filled the pot with water at the small kitchen
kiosk across from her office and she forced herself to
relax. She really was happy to be back at the job she loved,
so why was she so nervous? Okay, she'd made a few changes
while on vacation, but nobody would notice, right? Nobody
ever noticed anything about her except for her savvy
business sense and can-do attitude, and that was just the
way she wanted it. So if she happened to be wearing a dress
today instead of one of her usual pantsuits, who would care?
The fact that she'd never worn a dress to the office before
wouldn't occur to anyone here. Even if that dress was a
beautiful dark gray knit that buttoned up the front and
clung subtly to her curves. And that was just fine and dandy
with her.
And if she'd finally changed over to contact lenses, so
what? She'd been wearing the same boring eyeglasses for the
past five years. Change was a good thing.
"Kelly," Brandon called from his office. "Bring the Dream
Coast file with you when you come in, will you?"
"Be right there."
The familiar sound of Brandon Duke's voice made Kelly
smile. He should've intimidated her from day one. At six
feet four inches tall, he towered over her, and she knew for
a fact that he was rock solid muscle underneath his designer
suits. She knew, because she'd run into him more than once
at the hotel gym and seen him in shorts and a t-shirt. It
was quite a sight to see the former NFL quarterback bench
pressing those ridiculously heavy barbells. Sometimes while
watching him, she found it a little hard to breathe
steadily, but she chalked those moments up to spending too
much time on the treadmill.
She chuckled at the thought of some of her girlfriends
who'd told her they would kill for a chance to see the
stunningly handsome Brandon Duke working out in gym shorts.
Luckily for Kelly, she'd never been tempted by her boss.
Yes, he was gorgeous, almost unbelievably so, but to
Kelly, having a great job meant a lot more than having a
brief, meaningless affair with some superstar athlete like
Brandon Duke. And yes, an affair with Brandon Duke would
never be anything but brief and meaningless. She'd seen
firsthand the women who lined up to date him, and she'd seen
them flicked off without a backward glance within a couple
of weeks. It wasn't pretty and she never wanted to find
herself in that line. Not that she would ever qualify to
even stand in that line, but—
"What are you thinking?" she hissed to herself. She'd
never thought of her boss in those terms and she never
would. Shaking her head in disgust, she had to wonder if
maybe she'd taken too many days off.
As the coffee pot filled, Kelly took a moment to glance
out the wide bay window and felt both proud and lucky to be
here in this job. Who wouldn't want to work in a luxury
resort nestled on a hilltop in the heart of Napa Valley,
overlooking lush fields of grapevines as far as the eye
could see?
Brandon and his small corporate staff had been working on
site at the Mansion at Silverado Trail for the past four
months. They would stay here another month or so, until the
resort was up and running and the grape harvest was over.
Then they would all relocate back to Duke headquarters in
Dunsmuir Bay.
By then, Kelly's plan of action would be complete and her
life would settle back down to normal. But until then, she
would simply have to remind herself to relax and breathe.
"Do you hear me, self? Just relax," she murmured as she
ran her hands over her dress to smooth away any possible
wrinkles, then filled two large mugs with hot coffee.
"Breathe."
She stopped at her desk to drop off her own mug and pick
up a short stack of mail, then pushed her boss's door fully
open.
"Good morning, Brandon," she said breezily, and placed
the mail in his In Box.
"Morning, Kelly," he said, as he wrote rapidly on a legal
pad. "Great to have you back."
"Thank you, it's nice to be back." She placed his mug on
his desk blotter. "Coffee for you."
"Thanks," he said absently, still writing. After a
moment, he reached for his coffee and looked up. His eyes
widened as he cautiously put the cup down. "Kelly?"
"Yes?" She gazed at him, then blinked. "Oh, sorry. You
wanted the Dream Coast file. I'll be right back with it."
"Kelly?" His voice sounded strained.
She stopped and turned. "Yes, Brandon?"
He was staring at her in ... disbelief? Shock? Horror?
Oh, dear. Not a good sign. And the longer he stared the more
nervous she became.
"Oh, come on," she said. "I don't look bad enough to have
stunned you into speechlessness." She fiddled with her dress
collar as she felt heat moving up her neck and settling into
her cheeks. No need to be embarrassed, she scolded herself.
"But, what did you do to ..." His voice trailed off as he
continued to stare at her face.
"Oh, you mean the contact lenses? Yeah. It was time for a
change. Be right back with the file."
"Kelly." His tone was demanding.
She turned again. He was still staring, this time at her
hair. With a sigh, she brushed a strand back from her cheek.
"I had it lightened and shaped. No big deal." Then she waved
him off and rushed to find the file.
Great. If Brandon was any example, people were going to
be staring at her as if she were an alien. How was she
supposed to relax and breathe under those circumstances,
darn it?
As she anxiously rifled through the file drawer, she
heard the distinctive sound of Brandon's leather executive
chair rolling back from his desk. Seconds later, he was
standing in the doorway. Still staring.
"Kelly?" he said.
She stared up at him from the files. "Why do you keep
saying my name?"
"Just making sure it's you."
"Well, it is, so cut it out," she told him, then found
what she was looking for. "Ah, here's that file."
"What did you do?"
"You asked me that already."
"And I'm still waiting for an answer."
Her shoulders drooped for a split second, then she
straightened. There was no reason to feel self-conscious,
especially not with Brandon. He'd given her glowing reviews
and generous raises. He respected and admired her ability to
work hard and solve problems. He was her employer, not her
warlord, for goodness sake. "I got a little makeover."
"Little?"
She raised one shoulder in a casual shrug. "That's right.
I lost a few pounds, got a haircut, some contact lenses. No
big deal."
"It is from where I'm standing. You don't even look like
you."
"Of course I look like me." She wasn't about to mention
the week spent at the pricey spa or the private etiquette
and speech lessons. He would think she'd gone insane. Maybe
she had. She'd always been so level-headed and rational to
the point of being called a nerd back in college. Now she
wasn't sure what they would call her.
"But you're wearing a dress," he said accusingly.
She looked down, then back at him. "Why, yes, I am. Is
that a problem?"
It was his turn to look discomfited as he took a step
back. "No. God, no. No problem at all. You look great. It's
just that ..." Scrubbing his jaw with his knuckles, he
searched for the words. "You don't wear dresses."
He'd noticed? Color her surprised. With a resolute smile,
she said, "I do now."
"I guess so," he said, searching her face, still looking
doubtful. "Well, like I said, you look great. Really
great."
"Thank you," she said, still smiling. "I feel great."
"Yeah. That's great." He nodded, then gritted his teeth
and exhaled heavily.
If everything was great, why was he scowling?
"Oh!" she said, feeling ridiculous as she thrust the
thick manila folder at him. "Here's the Dream Coast file."
His hand grazed hers as the file passed between them and
she felt a buzz of awareness all the way up her arm.
Brandon's frown lines deepened. "Thanks."
"Sure thing."
He walked back into his office, then turned. "It's great
to have you back."
And that was how many 'greats' so far? she wondered.
"Thank you," she said. "And I'll have the month-end sales
figures calculated for you in twenty minutes."
He closed the door and she sagged down into her chair.
Grabbing her own cup of coffee, she took a big gulp. "Oh
yeah, it's great to be back."