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He swung round to perch on the edge of her desk and Kate automatically inched back in her chair

Hardly a faht sarcastically Unless your family runs into thousands and happens to be scattered to the four corners of the globe Big family

‘What can I do for you, Alessandro?’

‘Actually, I came to leave some papers for Cape Where is he? And why are you the only one alive and kicking here? Where are the rest of the accounts team?’

‘It’s after six-thirtyerAlessandro They all left a while ago’

Alessandro consulted his watch and frowned ‘You’re right Not that it’s stretching the outer liination to think that at least a few ’ He looked at her, eyes narrowed ‘So what are you still doing here?’

‘I had a few reports I wanted to get through before I left It’s a productive ti’

Alessandro looked at her consideringly, head tilted to one side

What was it about this wos with her over the past few ent, had been fast-tracked by George Cape He certainly had not been able to fault the quickness of her h the crap and finding the source of problems—which wasn’t that easy in the fiddly arena of finance

Everything about her was professional, but there was so

The cool green eyes were guarded, the full ht and polite, the hair never out of place

His eyes roved lower, taking in a body that ell sheathed behind a pri-sleeved shirt, neatly cuffed at the wrists and buttoned to the neck

Outside, the te for the past three weeks—and yet you would never guess, looking at her, that it was summer beyond the office walls He would bet his fortune that she would be wearing tights

He, personally, thrived on a rich diet of sexy women who flaunted their assets, so Ms Kate Watson’s severe veneer never failed to arouse his curiosity

The last time he had worked with her—for several days, on a tricky tax issue hich she had seee Cape, whose head had recently been in the clouds—he had tried to find out a bit more about her Had asked her a few questions about what she did outside workher hobbies, her interests Polite chit-chat as they had taken time out over the food that had been delivered to his office suite

Most wo up They couldn’t wait to tell him all about themselves They preened and blossomed when he looked at theh, in fairness, his attention wasn’t always exclusively on what they were talking about

Kate Watson? Not a bit of it She had stared at hied to divert the conversation without giving anything of herself away

‘You’re here every evening at this hour?’

Still perched on her desk, invading her space, Alessandro picked up a glass paperweight in the shape of a goldfish and twirled it thoughtfully between his fingers

‘No, of course not’ But far too often, all things considered

‘No? Just today? Even though it’s the hottest day of the year?’

‘I’ fan of hot weather’ She lowered her eyes, suddenly a little angry at some kind of unspoken, aish’

‘It would,’ Alessandro pointed out, duoldfish back on the desk where he had found it, ‘if you wear long-sleeved shirts and starched skirts’

‘If you’d like to leave the papers with e when he’s back’

‘Back from where?’

‘He’s on holiday at the moment Canada He’s not due back for another teeks’

‘Teeks!’

‘It’s not that long Most people book teek holidays during summer’

‘Have you?’

‘Well, nobut’

‘Not sure this can wait until Cape decides to grace us with his presence’

He stood up and slapped a sheaf of papers on her desk, then placed his hands, palms down, squarely on either side of the papers and leaned into her