How to Seduce a Billionaire

How to Seduce a Billionaire
Kate Carlisle

“The idea that I would ever be stupid enough to fall for you is pretty funny.”

“Stupid enough?”

“Yes, stupid enough. Let me count the ways.” She held up one hand and began ticking off fingers. “First, you’re a grouch in the morning. You leave newspapers lying around everywhere. You date a woman once and then never call back. You’re a big baby when you’re sick.”

Brandon had heard enough. He placed the file on the chair in front of her desk and stalked closer. He brushed against her, then slipped his hand around her nape and urged her closer.

She moaned. “What are you doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I am.”

And then he kissed her.

Dear Reader,

I grew up in California and always loved visiting the Napa Valley wine country. So it didn’t take much arm-twisting for me to choose those romantic, grapevine-studded hills and valleys as the backdrop for Brandon Duke’s story.

Confident, handsome Brandon is the third of the Duke men to face his comeuppance from his mother, Sally Duke. The most determined of the brothers to fend off his mum’s matchmaking manoeuvrings, Brandon is nevertheless taken by complete surprise when his bespectacled, sensible secretary, Kelly, returns from vacation looking absolutely stunning. But then he finds out her true reason for getting a fashion makeover—and that’s when he really gets into trouble!

I’ve always enjoyed the forbidden fantasy of the boss and secretary love affair. I suppose you might attribute it to the fact that I worked as a legal secretary for many years. But trust me on this: I never worked for such a gorgeous boss as Brandon Duke! I would’ve remembered!

I hope you love reading Brandon and Kelly’s story as much as I loved writing it. Please stop by my website at http://katecarlisle.com and let me know. While there, you’ll find pictures and links to some fantasy resorts I imagine the Duke men might’ve owned, as well as background stories and fun facts about me and my books.

Happy reading!

Kate

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author KATE CARLISLE was born and raised by the beach in Southern California. After more than twenty years in television production, Kate turned to writing the types of mysteries and romance novels she always loved to read. She still lives by the beach in Southern California with her husband, and when they’re not taking long walks in the sand or cooking or reading or painting or taking bookbinding classes or trying to learn a new language, they’re traveling the world, visiting family and friends in the strangest places. Kate loves to hear from readers. Visit her website at www.katecarlisle.com.

How to Seduce

a Billionaire

Kate Carlisle

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Champagne, chocolate and many thanks go to my brilliant editor, Stacy Boyd, for helping me give Brandon and Kelly’s romance a truly happy ending.

One

“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 having Kelly vet new hires and solve problems in other departments. 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 her.

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 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. 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 perfect gift to buy and she’d probably wrap it, 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 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 stand out to anyone here. Even if today’s 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.

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. A former NFL quarterback bench-pressing ridiculously heavy barbells was quite a sight. Sometimes, while watching him, she found it hard to breathe steadily, but she chalked up those moments 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. 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 qualify to stand in that line, but—

“What are you thinking?” she whispered to herself. She’d never thought of her boss in those terms before and she wouldn’t start now. Shaking her head in disgust, she had to wonder if maybe she’d taken too many days off.

As the coffeepot 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 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 would be complete, and her life would settle down to normal. But until then, she would simply have to remind herself to relax and breathe.