Who’s the Boss?

3

THE BUILDING THAT HOUSED CompuSoft was small for downtown, Caitlin thought. But it was brick and glass and strangely cozy.

There was a small coffee stand on the lobby floor, complete with doughnuts, croissants and mouth-watering pastries. Caitlin couldn’t resist stopping there before getting on the elevator, if only to drool.

After all, if she had to suffer mornings, then she needed junk food.

A lovely brunette woman, about Caitlin’s age, wearing an apron and a harassed smile came up to her. “Can I help you?”

Caitlin thought of her last dollar drowning in the bottom of her purse. “How much is that chocolate thingie over there, last one on the row?”

“In calories or cents?”

Caitlin laughed. “Either way, I’m sure it’s too expensive. Besides, I shouldn’t. Oh, man, I really shouldn’t.” Ruefully, she tapped her curvy hips.

The woman let out a reluctant smile, which softened her entire face. Her green eyes sparkled with life that hadn’t been there before. “This is what I tell myself every morning.”

Caitlin eyed her spectacular figure-all willowy and slim. “How many do you eat?” she asked doubtfully.

She shrugged. “Depends on how rude the customers are, which varies. The more annoying jerks I serve, the more I eat.”

Caitlin sighed and thought of Joe. “I’m afraid if I stopped here every time my boss annoyed me, I’d be busting out of my clothes in a week.”

The woman laughed now, and gave Caitlin a much more genuine smile. “You’re new here. I’m Amy.”

“I’m Caitlin.” She dug into her purse to appease her rumbling stomach, and accepted the huge chocolate pastry.

Amy grinned, removed her apron and grabbed a pastry for herself. “Just in case the crowd gets crazy later, I’ll take my break now.”

They pigged out together.

BY THE TIME HE GOT to his office the next morning, Joe was high on adrenaline, his mind racing ahead, thinking about his software program.

With a little luck, he figured he could make real headway today, if he got in the good ten to twelve hours he needed.

As previously arranged, he had first stopped at one of the local banks to meet with a loan officer, hoping to start the preapproval process. He wanted to be prepared when his program was complete, so he could properly promote and sell it. To do that, he’d need money-a lot of it.

Despite the hassles ahead, he grinned and silently thanked Edmund for the thousandth time. Without the old man’s generosity in deeding him CompuSoft, Joe wouldn’t even be thinking about this for himself. Edmund had provided the means for Joe to spend the time needed to work on his program. With Edmund’s death, that could have all ended for Joe, but it hadn’t.

It was a dream come true.

Whether it was just his own bad luck or his unique ability to actually forget absolutely everything but his work, he entered his office and, completely unprepared, stared stupefied at the front desk.

It had been cleaned off, or rather cleared off-everything was on the floor. Amazing piles of important-looking stuff surrounded the base of the desk.

As he took a step into the chaotic room, he tripped and nearly fell flat on his face-over a pair of ruby-red four-inch pumps.

Empty pumps, he noted.

Which would explain the barefoot woman on all fours, facing away from him, affording him the best view he’d seen all morning. Apparently, both Tim and Andy felt the same way, because the two techs, who normally couldn’t be budged from their computers, were on the floor, as well, making neat little stacks of God only knew what.

Caitlin’s head popped up when he shut the door behind him, and she craned her neck around from where she’d been pulling out more stacks of paperwork from beneath her desk.

Hard as it was to imagine, Joe had completely forgotten about his new secretary.

“Good morning,” she said in a sexy, cheerful voice that reminded him he still needed a cup of coffee.

Badly.

Tim and Andy leaped to their feet, faces red.

“Hey, Joe,” Andy said quickly, sticking his hands in his jean pockets. “How’d it go at the bank?”

“It wasn’t as exciting as it appears to have been here.” Joe lifted a brow as Caitlin stretched her lush, petite body as far as it would reach to get a file that had been shoved beneath the far corner of her desk.

Tim’s and Andy’s jaws dropped open at the sight, but Joe could hardly blame them. He couldn’t remember ever seeing a finer looking rear end.

And he’d seen his fair share.

But his quick surge of lust, coming on the heels of forgetting about his new secretary-whom he hadn’t wanted in the first place-only further annoyed him. Already half the morning was gone, and by the looks of things nothing had been accomplished except for a shifting of the mess from the front desk to the floor.

He sighed.

Hadn’t he known this would happen if he kept her?

And dammit, hadn’t he asked her to wear something to hide that body?

Women, like his work, received his full attention. But they were also simply a diversion-a pleasant one, but temporary nonetheless.

It had to be that way.

He’d grown up in emotional chaos. Painful emotional chaos. That’s what personal attachments did. Chopped up the heart and spit it back out. Brought nothing but the opportunity for hurt. With hurt came weakness, and he couldn’t allow that.

He relied on himself, and that was it. He’d been remarkably relationship free. By choice. And any entanglements he’d enjoyed had been short but sweet.

An involvement with a co-worker couldn’t be temporary, couldn’t be short and sweet and therefore couldn’t be contemplated. No matter how fine the…assets.

To prove it, he purposely turned his gaze away from the incredible sight before him.

Tim and Andy still stood there stupidly, gawking like teenagers. Joe opened his mouth to bark at them, but Vince appeared in the doorway, glasses on his nose, disk in hand.

“Guys,” Vince said sternly. “You came out here to check on Caitlin half an hour ago. What’s going on-” He broke off at the sight that had rendered both Tim and Andy and then Joe speechless. Carefully, he closed his mouth. Then he glanced at Joe, both amusement and irritation swimming in his gaze.

Joe jerked his head sharply, and Vince nodded. “Tim, Andy, let’s hit it.”

Joe sighed when they disappeared and wondered exactly how long it would be before the socialite decided she didn’t want to play at working anymore.

Hopefully very soon.

“Well, I beat you in,” Caitlin announced, obviously expecting a medal.

“You should,” he said, watching her wiggle up to her knees in the tightest, shortest, reddest skirt he’d ever seen. How had she gotten into that thing? “It’s ten o’clock. What the hell are you doing?”

“Filing.” She slapped her hands together to rid them of dust. “This place is a disaster. Don’t you ever clean?”

“No, and I knew where everything is…was,” he protested, trying not to panic.

“It’ll be better,” she promised him. “You’ll see.”

He doubted that and was about to tell her so but his phone rang. He watched, fascinated, as Caitlin stood and yanked down the short little jacket that matched her siren-red skirt before scooping up the receiver. “Hello?” Quickly, she covered the mouthpiece and batted her warm brown eyes at Joe. “Should I tell them this is CompuSoft?” she asked in a loud whisper. “Or is that redundant, do you think, since they called us and they most likely know who it is they dialed?” She bit her full, red bottom lip in indecision.

“Just find out who it is,” Joe suggested through his teeth. “That might be a good place to start.”

She nodded quite seriously and turned back to the phone. “Yes, who is this, please?” Her brow creased in concentration. Her hair settled around her flushed face. Then she lit up with the most dazzling smile Joe had ever seen. “Oh, isn’t that sweet of you,” she gushed. “I’m sure he’d love that, yes. Thanks so much.” She hung up the phone and dropped back to her knees amid the mess she’d created all over his floor.

Joe found himself once again staring at her very cute wriggling butt. “Caitlin.” His voice came out slightly strangled, and he had no idea if it were irritation or something more basic, such as his own software became hardware.

She stopped wriggling and smiled at him. “Yes, Mr. Brownley?”

He knew for a damn fact she was only eight years younger than him and she was calling him mister. “Joe.”

“Okay. Joe.” She turned back to whatever the hell it was she thought she was doing.

“Who was on the phone?” he demanded.

“Oh. AT &T.” She sent him that same dazzling smile, the one that did funny things to his knees. “They’re going to send you a one-hundred-dollar credit for switching to their service for a trial period of two weeks. Isn’t that sweet of them? Though you probably shouldn’t have left them in the first place. I understand from that nice operator I just spoke with they have the best prices in the country.”

Joe closed his eyes briefly and reminded himself that though he relied only on himself, rarely allowing another into his life, he had loved Edmund. He owed the man, and this woman-this crazy, out-of-control, messy woman-was his debt “I’ll be in my office,” he managed to say finally.

She sent him a vague smile from where she was shuffling papers-his papers-around. “No problem.”

As he turned to go, he tripped over her pumps, again.

SHE COULD DO THIS, Caitlin told herself. No problem. She’d gone through most of her life figuring things out by herself. She’d dealt with the death of her mother all those years ago. She’d dealt with traveling alone, celebrating holidays alone, generally being completely alone.

She could certainly answer a few phones and straighten up an office, especially since she didn’t have much choice.

The bills had to be paid. She’d come home the night before to several messages from credit collectors.

They were getting nasty.

The phones had been blissfully quiet for a while. So had the men, though they were checking on her often, which brought a smile. They were so sweet.

Except for Joe. No one in their right mind would call that powerfully built thug, masquerading as a mild-mannered computer geek, sweet.

She headed down the hallway to the small lunchroom, which held a refrigerator, a microwave, a sink and counter and a small table with chairs.

She glanced at the coffee machine and grimaced. Empty, of course. It would never occur to whoever had taken the last cup to make more. Automatically, her hostess skills leaping to life, she made the coffee. Then, because the room was disgusting, she cleaned it. Maybe, she thought as she scrubbed, she’d been looking at this all wrong. She was an organizer, and these men certainly needed her.

Needed her.

The mere idea stopped her cold. And warmed her heart. No one had ever needed her before.

“How’s it going?”

Caitlin, her eyes still misty, smiled at Vince as he came in. “Good.” She finished with the sponge on the counter and started sweeping.

“Really?” He didn’t look convinced; he looked worried. “I should congratulate you. You made it past the dreaded two-hour mark without quitting.”

She thought of her late car payments. Of her rent, which was late, as well. She tried not to think of the stack of bills she’d filed away under her kitchen sink so she wouldn’t have to look at them. “Oh, I’m not going to quit,” she said with certainty.

“Well, that’s a relief. You’re like a ray of sunshine around here.”

Caitlin glanced quickly at him, trying to decide if that had been a come-on. She’d become a pro at spotting them since she’d gotten curves at the tender age of twelve. But Vince simply smiled kindly. With that shock of deep red hair and Clark Kent-type glasses slipping down his nose, he was really kind of cute.

But Caitlin had decided long ago, the cute ones were rarely harmless. “That’s me, just a ray of sunshine. I’m so bright you need sunglasses to look at me.”

Vince laughed, but didn’t make a move to come closer. Unbearably relieved to find someone genuinely nice, Caitlin relaxed. “Is it always so…uptight around here?” She graduated back to the sponge and wiped down the table that had an inch of grime on it.

“You mean Joe.” Vince shook his head and leaned back against the sink, watching her dean with fascination. “He’s just preoccupied. Ignore him. It’s the best way.” He frowned. “He didn’t hurt your feelings, I hope, because he would hate that. He just doesn’t have a wide focus. Work is pretty much all he concentrates on, and he really hates it when things get in the way of that.”

“Well, someone should mention that work isn’t everything in life.”

“You handled him well.”

“If that was well done, I’d hate to see him when he isn’t handled properly.”

“He’s a good guy, Caitlin. Really. He’s just under pressure right now. And he just lost Edmund-” He stopped, horrified. Color flooded his face. “I’m sorry. He was your father, so you know exactly how much Joe is hurting.”

Yes, she knew and the thought of Joe mourning her father disconcerted and warmed her at the same time.

Joseph’s grieving brought an image she hadn’t anticipated and didn’t know if she was ready to accept. “Which would explain how chipper he’s been.”

Vince let out a smile. “Well… truth is, he’s just about always that way.”

“But the rest of you-you and Tim and Andy-you’re all so nice and welcoming. How do you do it?”

“Tim and Andy are really great. We’ve all been friends since…well, forever.”

How wonderful those sort of ties must be. There was no one in her past with whom she kept in contact. “Tell me about all of you.”

Vince laughed without embarrassment. “We were the proverbial school geeks. You know, the ones girls wouldn’t even look at? Luckily, we’ll get the last laugh. At our five-year reunion, we realized most of our school buddies are struggling with jobs like bagging groceries. Nothing beats this. Plus we still have hair.”

She laughed. “And you’re fit. At my reunion, the cheerleaders had gotten fat.”

“See?” He grinned. “We’re not fat. And we’re doing what we love.”

They were, Caitlin realized with a spurt of envy. She’d never found her place. She’d never really been satisfied. Maybe that was because she’d never really challenged herself, never held a real job.

That could change, she thought with hope. She could find her place. Maybe even right here.

The phone rang. “Just a sec,” she said quickly, and then raced down the hall. “Good morning, CompuSoft-No, wait,” she managed to say, breathless from her dash down the hall. “It’s almost afternoon, now isn’t it?” Rambling. A very unattractive trait. “Oh, forget it. Just hello.”

She got a dial tone. “Well, hell.”

“Nice phone manners.”

Caitlin nearly leaped out of her skin at Joe’s low, husky voice coming from directly behind her. Careful to roll her eyes before she turned to face him, she planted a smile on her lips. “So. You’ve come out of your cage.”

“I smelled coffee-” He broke off abruptly when she suddenly shrugged out of her jacket.

Beneath the splashy red, she wore a sleeveless white silk blouse, pretty enough, and unremarkable but for the body beneath it. The soft material dung to her ripe curves in a way that made his pulse race. “What are you doing?” he demanded, backing up a step.

She laughed at the expression on his face. “Whatever you’re thinking, that’s not it.” She dropped the jacket carelessly into her chair, kicked off her pumps and put her hands on her hips. “For your information, I just cleaned your filthy kitchen and I’m hot. Hence the jacket removal.” She sent him a nasty look. “You guys are pigs.”

She swung her hand out for emphasis and hit the lamp on the credenza.

Joe grabbed for it-a split second after it crashed to the floor, where it shattered into millions of jagged shards.

“Dammit!” he roared, falling to his knees besides his brand-new, very expensive zip drive. “What’s this doing on the floor?”

“I was dusting. Do you have any idea how bad dust is for your computer?”

Strangling her was definitely wrong, he told himself. Carefully, he brushed away some of the lamp glass, but stabbed his thumb on a sharp, jagged piece. Swearing again, he pulled the sliver out of his skin and glared up at the woman who’d single-handedly brought chaos into his life.

Big mistake, looking up.

Kneeling at her feet, he found his face came to a very interesting level on her body. Interesting and erotic as hell. He forced his gaze past her tempting thighs, past the juncture between them, past the rest of her lovely curves and on to her unsettled, melting brown eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, wringing her hands. “It’s just that I’m-” Her stomach, inches from his face, growled noisily. “Hungry,” she finished lamely. “I’m…very hungry.”

Joe closed his eyes. “You’re hungry.”

“Yes.” She nodded emphatically, pressing her hands to her belly.

At that moment, Vince walked in, his gaze widening slightly at Joseph’s and Caitlin’s suggestive pose. “Did I interrupt something?”

“Just me about to get fired,” Caitlin said with a sigh.

Tim and Andy pushed their curious way into the front office, too.

“What’s wrong?” Andy asked, after taking note of Joseph’s fierce scowl.

“Everything,” Joe said, glaring at Caitlin.

“It’s really been nice knowing you guys,” said Caitlin, smiling shakily at the three techs.

“Wait,” Vince said quietly. He looked at Joe. “Wait a minute. Don’t do anything rash.”

“Yeah, Joe,” Tim piped up. “You can’t fire her. She made coffee. Great coffee.”

“And she cleaned,” Andy added. “Did you know the tile in the kitchen is white?”

Instead of detonating, as Caitlin fully expected, Joe just shook his head.

Then burst out laughing. A full, rich, very pleasant and contagious sound she’d never expected of him. While everyone stared at him, he laughed so hard, he doubled over, hands on his thighs.

Caitlin didn’t get the joke. “I’m sorry about the zip drive,” she whispered.

Silence. Apparently, for once not even Tim, Andy or Vince had anything positive or hopeful to say.

Instead, they all looked in unison at Joe, their expressions filled with the uneasy worry one gives another before shipping him off to the mental ward.

Joe sniffed, straightened, took a deep breath and said, “Well, shit. I guess it’s lunchtime.”

“Really, Joe?”

He looked directly at Caitlin, his eyes hooded. “Yeah. What the hell.”

Relief and hope surged, made her laugh a little giddily. In that moment, Caitlin forgot that he didn’t like silly, untrained women, and that she didn’t like hard, know-it-all men who looked too tasty for their own good.

Maybe, just maybe, this would work out after all.

That’s when the coffeemaker, still plugged in, burst into flames.