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Kate frowned, but before she could rise to the bait he interceded with a grin

‘And, before you ju sarcastic’

‘I wasn’t about to imply that you were’ But she had been And that made her feel a little uneasy Either she was as transparent as a pane of glass, which was a bad thing, or else he could read her

And what had he meant when he had hinted that it wasn’t true that he wouldn’t knohat it round?

She felt her pulse race at the thought of hi in her and had to yank herself back to the reality that, when all was said and done, he was her boss and they had nothing in common

Maybe he was right about that ivory tower, she thought feverishly as she fetched the file and headed back to the kitchen Not as it applied to her in an office scenario but as it applied to her in a life scenario Maybe she had lived life in the safeMaybe she had detached herself tooinvolved with peoplewithlike this with hierous

Flirting with an impossible attraction

Shoot ht

But she had to take a deep, steadying breath before she pushed open the door and stepped inside where, thankfully, he was still in the sah the kitchen drawers andhimself even more at home

‘Would you like some coffee?’ she asked politely, and Alessandro raised his eyebrows

‘I don’t need sobering up,’ he told her drily ‘So no, thank you Besides, what did I tell you about caffeine after six?’

‘Yes, you did say that—but I do re black coffee a few e and a couple of others on that deal late into the night’

‘I didn’t realize that you had been keeping a watch on what I was eating and drinking’

God, but she was sexy when she blushed like that and looked away, as though she was in danger of giving away state secrets if she es that had no place in his head

He waved his hand for her to hand over her findings and started reading There wasn’t a great deal to get through—less than he had been expecting

‘So all in all,’ he said slowly, raising his eyes to hers, ‘he hasn’t been at it for very long’

‘Which I think is in his favour’

‘We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one The fact is that the man has stolen from me’

‘He must have had a reason’

‘Of course he must have had a reason Greed Possibly linked to a debt which had to be paid off Myout of the ordinary? Vodka bottles in his desk drawer, perhaps?’

‘I can’t i furiously, trying to re unusual about his behaviour over the past six‘And he certainly isn’t an alcoholic, if that’s what you’re i!’

‘Hoould you know, unless you socialize with hiular basis?’

‘He’s a good guy’

‘Who has just happened to steal over a hundred grand frohtly, wouldn’t you agree? Still, he will have the opportunity to explain his borderline saintly status to a court of in on as a character witness’

‘Soret saying and took a deep breath ‘Surely you could at least hear what he has to say before you condemn him and throay the key?’

Could he? Well, under any other circumstances there would be no question as to what course of action he would take There could never be any excuse for fraud Life was full of people forgiving the idiocy of other people, but in the end idiots deserved the punishot The feckless deserved their fate

He looked at that earnest face That beautiful, earnest face She should be as tough as nails—iround But she wasn’t

She was co, quirky And all of this despite the fact that she was so desperate to be just the opposite

He liked that

Was there anything wrong with that?