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And as for Nikos…She’d known his faults, but she’d still fallen in love with hi into his bed What had she been thinking to allow herself to conceive a child with a man who not only wasn’t her husband but didn’t even love her?

The closed office door stared down at her reproachfully

Turning aith a heavy heart, she went to the nursery, where Misha was still napping in his crib She gently picked hi chair Tears filled her eyes as she stared out theat the pool, where for a brief ti she’d felt like she was part of a happy family

How could she fix everything she’d done wrong?

How could she ht?

The one thing she couldn’t do was ask Nikos—or anyone—for help Natalie was right Anna had caused this mess She was the one who should take care of it Alone

Closing her eyes, she held her baby as she rocked back and forth It was time to face reality

Misha shouldn’t suffer just because Anna had such a hard ti around his father No matter how much she wanted to return to New York, she couldn’t She had to live close enough to Nikos that they could raise their son together Misha deserved that much

But she wouldn’t nant, but she wouldn’thi herself to a man who didn’t even love her

Anna would share parenting with Nikos, but that was it She needed her own place Her own life Her own job

She sat up straight in her chair as her eyes flew open

She’d get Nikos to rehire her

It was the perfect solution She’d be able to travel with him around the world, so Misha would always see the as his executive assistant was not only the best job she’d ever had, he’d also paid her a high salary that would be virtually ih so that she could set up a payment plan with Victor, which she’d force him to take

Ithim date other women, but she’d deal with it She would take responsibility for the choices she’d made

Misha gave a little sigh Opening his dark eyes, so much like his father’s, he smiled up at her Anna smiled back

All she had to do was convince Nikos to hire her as his secretary—while keeping herself fro else would fall into place

It wouldn’t be easy, but, hey—Nikos had asked for her help weeding out unsuitable résuh the over the secretarial job herself She’d lull Nikos into coood mother to his child She’d prove to them both that she wasn’t a screw-up She’d prove she could do it all

“What’s wrong with this one?” Nikos dea has thirty years of experience working with CEOs of billion-dollar companies!”

“Those co the résu the line forto one Too many cooks, you know”

No, he didn’t He had no idea what she was talking about Nine days of looking through résule one But, since he’d asked specifically for her assistance, he had no choice but to continue this farce until he could get Anna to fall in love with him

It was proving to be harder than he’d thought

His plan had been to lure her with ros Instead, work had somehow taken over She’d turned the ro notes in shorthand between dainty bites of Cavaleri’s pasta priiven her flowers and chocolates, she’d thanked hi Secretaries’ Day Secretaries’ Day! As if there was any damn way he’d remember some made-up holiday like that!

The fa in the pool, taking walks along the edge of the desert, and strolling through L’Here, had certainly been enjoyable Nikos had relished holding his son as they walked across the casino floor, through the Moskva Shopping Co lobby of the turn-of-the-century-styled hotel “This will all be yours someday,” he’d whispered into his son’s ear, and he’d been filled with pride