She settled on a skirt that she’d already rejected twice because it was maybe just a touch too short, which brought her to another standstill—hose or no?

“This is definitely not just about the first day at a new job.”

Andy startled at her sister’s voice. She turned to see Lacy leaning against the door frame, her arms folded across her chest.

Andy rolled her eyes, dismissing the accusation while hating the feeling that her sister may have hit the nail squarely on the head. “I’m not going through this again.” She decided no hose, slipping her feet into a pair of stylish black pumps. She kicked them back off and put on ballet flats. Kicked again and went back to the heels.

“Stop for a second, will you?”

With a sigh, Andy pivoted to give Lacy her attention. “What?”

Lacy approached her, settling her hands on Andy’s upper arms. “You look great. You are a good worker. You will not burn the office down. You got this.”

Andy giggled, the reassurance from her sister releasing the knot of tension in her belly.

“And if you’re worried about the impression you’re going to make on your hot boss,” Lacy went on, “no need. You’ve already impressed him big time. I saw the look on his face before he went after you in the bar.”

“I’m not concerned about that in the least.” Her voice wasn’t quite as convincing as she’d hoped. She turned to the mirror to apply a final swipe of mascara. “I’ll admit he’s … attractive.” Sexy as hell was more like it, but she’d never admit that out loud. “Only on the outside, though. Trust me.” Except his behavior the other night had removed him from the total-douche category. Now he was only somewhat of a douche. Medium douchiness. Average douche-dom. Boss material.

Lacy leaned her chin on Andy’s shoulder and met her eyes in the reflection. “The worst sort of contradiction Mother Nature can provide, isn’t it? Lucky for you he’s got the looks. It will make your job easier.”

That was an excellent point, Andy decided. Thank God for his looks or her job would be impossible. Anytime the recall of his handsome face made her insides flutter against her will, she’d remind herself that this was his one and only selling point and revel in the effect he had on her—or, rather, the effect he had on women in general.

With her plan of attack in place, she thanked her sister, threw her purse over her shoulder, and headed out the door toward the nearest subway station.

Even with a stop for coffee, Andy still got to the building a good twenty minutes early. She was a little peeved that she’d been made to start before Monday, but less so than she should have been. It was her first day and she didn’t know how long it would take to get there—that had to have been the reason she’d gotten there before she needed to. Not because she was eager to get to work. Or see Donovan. Especially not that.

Afraid that her earliness would be mistaken for something else, Andy decided to linger before going up. Luckily, the lobby had a newsstand, and she still had some change left from the Donovan signing bonus. She was perusing the gossip rags when she smelled a familiar, expensive scent. Blake’s scent.

Andy was frozen to the spot, not able to turn and see if her guess was correct. She knew it was. And she wasn’t ready to see him—she had yet to pop one of the breath mints she’d just purchased. Not to mention the absolute trash she was reading—what an impression to make.

“Drea.”

At the sound of her name that wasn’t really her name at all, her thighs began to quiver and her entire core tensed. Man, what was with her body and its mixed signals? She understood why she immediately felt like punching him, but the tingle in her legs was completely ridiculous. Neither reaction was in line with her new plan to make the best of the situation.

Pull yourself together, Andy.

Taking a deep breath, she put on her most cordial smile and turned to greet her new boss. “Blake.”

“You’re early. I didn’t expect to see you for another quarter of an hour.”

It was impossible to keep her eyes from flickering to his lips as he talked. Dear God, please let him not have noticed. Forcing her gaze to meet his, she said, “I mistimed the T. First day and all.”

“Oh. That makes sense.” He glanced at the magazine in her hand but, thankfully, didn’t poke at her choice of reading material. “Well, I’m about to go up. Would you like to accompany me or should I meet you up there?”

If Andy could read people—and she could—she’d say the man seemed nervous. But that didn’t make sense. Why would Blake Donovan be anxious about orienting a new employee? She obviously was still rusty with her skills. After all, she’d actually pinned the bar job as a potential career move.

What she was certain of was her own nervousness. But delaying the inevitable was not going to ease her in any way. Plus, she was still working on that make-the-best-of-the-situation thing, and surely that included being nice to her employer. So, widening her smile a fraction of an inch, she said, “I’d be happy to accompany you.”

“Very good.” He glanced at his watch even though he’d only a second ago noted the correct time. “They should be finished setting up your space. Shall we?” He gestured toward the elevators, inviting her to proceed before him.

Andy twisted her lips as she walked past him. He’d indicated in his ad that she would be spending a week or so getting to know him, but after that she assumed she’d be able to get at least some of her hours in at home. Having a space set up for her in the building didn’t bode well for working remotely. And her job was of a personal nature—why was she stationed at Donovan InfoTech anyway? What was she supposed to say her title was? Surely Blake didn’t want his entire company to know the real purpose of her presence. She made a mental note to clear those questions up first thing.

They caught the elevator just as it was about to go up. It was crowded, and in order to get everyone in, Andy had to press closer to her boss than she would have liked. Or maybe it was exactly as close as she liked. The shudder that ran through her at the touch of his body pressed against her back seemed to suggest as much.

He leaned into her ear. “Are you okay?”

His breath skated across her neck, sending yet another chill down her spine. Unwilling memories of the night at the bar invaded her mind—the taste of his lips, his body melding into hers, the unmistakable bulge pressed against her hip. A third shiver rolled through her limbs.

Dammit.

“I’m fine,” she snapped before he could ask again. “Cold. It’s cold. I’m cold.” Yeah, he’d buy that. It was only seventy-five degrees outside and the air-conditioning hadn’t been turned on, at least not in the elevator. She gestured to the skirt that now seemed obscenely short under his gaze.

“Maybe I should warm you up.”

Did he really just say that? And if he did, did he mean it the way it sounded? She pivoted toward him. “What was that?”

He cleared his throat, something he seemed to do frequently. “I said that maybe some tea would warm you up. Or coffee, if you’re not a tea drinker. We have both in the employee lounge. My secretary could get some for you, if you like.”

She raised her near-empty coffee. “I have some already. Thanks.” Then she turned away from him, hoping he hadn’t noticed her flush. Of course he hadn’t said what she’d thought. She was ridiculous for thinking that he had.

Andy spent the rest of the ride admonishing herself. She really had to get a grip if this job was going to work out. First of all, she didn’t even like the man. Her body simply kept reacting to an unfortunate encounter they’d had nearly thirty-six hours ago. It was physiological, that was all. It meant nothing.

Second, she was supposed to be finding a match for Blake Donovan, not daydreaming about being his match.