Temporary Boss...Forever Husband. Stacy Connelly

timing. Martha will be back, so we won’t need Allison as a receptionist anymore. From what she’s said, she doesn’t have another temp assignment yet, so I’m sure she’ll be eager to stay on. It’s a chance for advancement that could lead to a permanent position here.”

      Permanent. Sweat broke out on the back of Zach’s neck at the thought of seeing Allison day after day. The past two months had been bad enough, and that was before he’d kissed her.

      How was he supposed to work with her now that he knew the softness of her skin? The taste of her kiss?

      He’d deal with it, Zach thought grimly. He’d never had trouble focusing on work before and that wouldn’t change, even if it meant working with Allison Warner.

       I can’t wait until you’re gone.

      The line might not have been the most romantic Allison had ever heard, yet every time Zach’s voice echoed in her thoughts, tiny quivers seemed to shoot out along every nerve ending. She couldn’t hear the words without picturing the intensity in his gaze or remembering the hunger in his touch. She’d been right about one thing—Zach Wilder certainly knew how to kiss.

      He’d surprised her by starting with an almost innocent touch. But it wasn’t just any kiss on the cheek. It was like those ridiculously small, bite-sized candy bars. One was supposed to satisfy a sweet craving, yet only left her wanting more, more, more.

      But the question was, had she been wrong about everything else? She’d been so sure that Zach was an all work, all the time kind of guy. Yet he’d been the one to suggest … what, exactly? A relationship? Or merely the chance to finish what they’d started in the parking garage?

      Allison didn’t know. Like a refrain from a long-forgotten song—she couldn’t remember the rest of the verses, so that one line kept playing over and over and over again. Even though it was killing her that she’d have to wait to find the answer, she respected Zach’s decision. After the complete personal and professional disaster that was her ex-boyfriend, the last thing Allison wanted was an office romance.

      So, it was with the hope that the next few days would fly by that Allison walked into the office Friday morning. As she slid her purse into the desk drawer, a masculine voice called out, “Hey, Allison. Daryl wants to see you in his office.”

      She glanced over her shoulder with a puzzled frown. “Why would he want to see me?”

      Brett Mitchell, one of Knox’s sales assistants, grinned. “Who wouldn’t want to see you? Always makes my day.”

      “Hmm, you try kissing up to Martha like that?”

      “Are you kidding?” Brett gave a mock shiver. “That woman is scary.”

      “You only say that because she can see right through your act. You can’t charm everyone all the time.”

      “Ouch. That hurts, especially since I plan on making a career based on my charm,” he said with a wink as he backed down the hall.

      Allison shook her head at the younger man’s antics, but her smile fell away as she considered the message he’d relayed. Why would Daryl Evans ask to see her? Before taking leave for her surgery, Martha had introduced Allison to Knox’s division president. With his wire-rimmed glasses and his brown hair graying slightly at the temples, he’d reminded Allison of a college professor. He smiled at her in the mornings and asked for things like coffee and files and copies rather than demanding them, which was nice and not always the case.

      But beyond transferring calls, setting up video conferences and handling some light administrative tasks, she’d had little contact with Daryl. Certainly nothing that merited a closed-door meeting. Maybe he just wanted to say goodbye and wish her luck on her next job. Despite the positive thought, Allison’s steps slowed on the patterned carpet as she walked down the corridor to his office. While she didn’t technically work for Knox Security, a performance review would be turned in to the temp agency. Those reviews had always been favorable in the past, and Allison had expected this one to be as well until now.

      She’d done a good job, hadn’t made any major mistakes … until she kissed Zach Wilder last night. Was that the reason? Had someone seen them in the parking garage? Heat crept to her face at the thought of someone having witnessed that kiss.

      But it had been after eight by the time Zach dropped her at her car. No one would have been around that late. The meeting had to be about something else. Convinced of that, Allison gave Daryl Evans’s door a quick knock and walked inside.

      “Good morning, Daryl. Brett said—”

      Her words lodged in her throat. Zach stood across from Daryl’s desk, a frown on his too handsome face. Certainty crashed into a world of doubt. “Zach …”

      His well-controlled nod didn’t do much to ease her nerves. “Allison.”

      Searching his gaze, Allison didn’t know what she was looking for, but she knew she didn’t find it in the remote, businesslike mask he wore. Any sign of the man who’d kissed her last night was completely gone. She should have expected it, but the loss hit harder than anticipated, like something incredible had just slipped though her hands. Which was crazy. She barely knew Zach. Her feelings were nothing more than a silly crush, and she’d have no trouble letting go.

      None at all.

      “Brett said you wanted to see me.”

      “Have a seat.”

      As Allison sank into the soft chair, she realized Zach must have sat there only moments earlier. The leather cushion still held the heat from his body, a warmth that enveloped her along with the hint of Zach’s aftershave. The combination had her body playing tricks on her—her lips started to tingle, her stomach muscles trembled, and her bones threatened to melt into a weak puddle.

      A movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. Zach, crossing his arms over his chest. Zach, strong, solid, irretractable …

      The memory of another meeting she’d walked into—ignorant and blind—crowded her thoughts until she felt claustrophobic, trapped in her own skin. Allison sucked in a deep gulp of air and forced the memory of Kevin aside until she once again had room to breathe, to think.

       Let it go. Just … forget all about it. All of it.

      If her time in New York taught her anything, it was to hold her head high even in the worst of situations. She hammered some steel back into her spine and sat up straight, ready to face whatever this meeting held in store. But even with her gaze fixed intently on her boss, her peripheral vision was suddenly twenty-twenty. She could see the cool blue of Zach’s shirt, the tanned, leanly muscled forearms revealed by the rolled up cuffs, the narrow black leather belt around his flat abs, the crisp cut to the long line of his slate gray trousers.

      She could even see the tension working his jaw and feel it coming off him in waves. Not so different from the masculine energy he’d barely held in check when she broke away from their kiss …

      “Tuesday is your last day under contract with Knox Security.”

      Allison started at Daryl’s words. “Yes, that’s right.”

      He leaned back in his chair and studied her from across the polished expanse of his cherry desk. “You’ll be pleased to know that Knox has extended that contract. Not as our receptionist, though. This will be a step up.”

      A step up. How could Daryl know she’d taken the short-term temp jobs as a way to avoid stepping up? She didn’t want to climb the corporate ladder again. She’d learned the hard way that the higher you rise, the farther you fall. “Daryl, thank you. But—”

      “You’ll do fine,” he reassured her with a fatherly smile that sent an ache to her heart.

      But the pain only reminded her why she couldn’t say yes. She’d already sacrificed too much of her personal life to the quest for business success. “I can’t. Really.”

      “Of