The Tycoon's Very Personal Assistant. Heidi Rice

knowledge she’d have to throw herself on the mercy of the man in front of her made her stomach hurt. She hated to be indebted to anyone. Especially someone like him. Someone so rich, self-assured and domineering. But her pride had taken so many hits already today, how much damage could one more do?

      Kate curled her hands into fists. ‘I know it’s a bit cheeky, but if I start work tomorrow could you give me an advance on my salary?’

      Zack could see the request had cost her. The colour had washed out of her already pale face and she sat so rigidly on the edge of her chair it was a miracle she didn’t topple off onto the floor. Even so, the urge to take that defeated look out of her eyes surprised him.

      He wasn’t the kind of guy who rescued damsels in distress. Especially not damsels in distress with enough attitude to make Joan Rivers look like Snow White.

      But try as he might, he couldn’t quite shake the desire to help her out.

      Maybe it was that combination of guts and vulnerability. Or maybe it was just her honesty. She could have used her looks, could have resorted to the usual feminine wiles, but she hadn’t. He had to give her points for that.

      ‘The suite’s paid up till the day after tomorrow,’ he lied smoothly, knowing Rocastle would have got a refund on the booking. ‘I’ll get the concierge to let you in and we’ll send up some clothes.’

      Surprise and relief flittered across her face, but then a wary look came into her eyes. Small white teeth raked over her bottom lip. ‘I’m not…’ Whatever she was going to say she stopped herself. ‘That’s very generous of you.’ She hesitated again, but only for a moment, before she stood up. ‘I’m sorry if I was rude earlier.’ She sighed, the little gush of breath making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. ‘It’s been a difficult day.’

      ‘No problem.’ He shrugged, feeling a slither of guilt for having baited her. ‘No harm done.’

      She held out her hand. ‘My name’s Kate, by the way. Kate Denton.’

      Kate. Sweet, simple and kind of plain. It didn’t suit her one bit he decided as he gripped her fingers.

      ‘Zack Boudreaux. Good to meet you, Kate,’ he said, surprised to realise it was true. He felt a slight jolt run through her before she pulled her hand out of his grasp. ‘What size are you?’ he asked, glancing down at her figure. It was impossible to tell beneath all that terry cloth.

      ‘I’m an American size eight.’

      The tint of colour that hit her cheeks amused him. Good to know she wasn’t entirely indifferent to him.

      ‘I’ll start work first thing tomorrow,’ she continued, all businesslike.

      He smiled.

      ‘I’ll probably be up at the crack of dawn anyway because of the jet lag,’ she said, rushing the words.

      Yeah, he was definitely making her nervous. The thought pleased him. ‘The personnel manager will be in touch,’ he said, with no intention of following through.

      No way was he giving her a job. He’d get the concierge to give her a couple hundred bucks, send her up some clothes and organise a plane ticket home. It was the least he could do for the entertainment value.

      ‘Don’t forget to take the cost of the clothes out of my salary,’ she said over her shoulder as she turned to go. His gaze drifted down her back as she walked to the door. Her bare feet sank into the carpet, making her seem almost childlike. But then he noticed the stiff set of her shoulders and the seductive sway of her hips through the shapeless knee-length garment.

      She was quite something, he thought as the door clicked closed behind her. He was going to miss her. Which was dumb, considering he’d only just met her and during that time she hadn’t exactly been coming on to him.

      He sat at his desk and picked up his pen to begin jotting a ‘to-do’ list for his trip to California at the end of the week.

      Twenty minutes later Zack still sat at the desk, pen in hand, without having put a single solitary item on the list.

      ‘Hell!’ He ripped the sheet of paper off the jotter, balled it up and sent it flying into the trash. No wonder he couldn’t think—a certain blue-eyed pixie with blonde hair and an attitude problem kept popping into his head.

      Why did Kate Denton fascinate him? She was pretty, but she was hardly his type. He liked his women sleek, sophisticated and most of all predictable. On the evidence of their brief encounter, Little Miss Proper Knickers was about as predictable as Lady Luck.

      He stood up, dumping the pen on the desk, and rubbed the back of his neck.

      Maybe that was it.

      Since he’d given up gambling ten years ago, invested all his time and money into building his hotel empire, the women he’d dated had looked beautiful, behaved impeccably and never once made him work for what he wanted. They’d certainly never talked back to him, challenged him the way Kate Denton had. How many years was it since he’d felt the thrill of the chase?

      He’d once thrived on the rush of adrenaline that came with the turn of the cards, and he’d transferred all of that drive, all of that ambition into his quest to change his life—to drag it out of the shadowy world he’d grown up in of gambling dens and back-alley casinos. At thirty-two, after ten long years of hard work, he’d been featured on the cover of Fortune magazine, was ranked as one of America’s top-ten entrepreneurs by Newsweek. He owned a beach house in the Bahamas and a Lear jet. And The Phoenix franchise had evolved from a small casino hotel in Vegas into the most vibrant, sought-after hospitality brand in the South West.

      He strolled over to the office’s window. Resting his hand on the glass, he looked down. Twenty floors below, the afternoon sunlight laid The Strip bare. Without the cloaking spell of nighttime, the glamour of a million colourful neon lights, the famous street looked jaded, its seedy underbelly plain for everyone to see. This was a town that had been built on the promise of an easy buck, the promise of a quick green-backed fix to life’s woes. It was a promise that could destroy lives—it had almost destroyed his—and he’d decided over the last decade that, if he was ever going to truly escape his past, he couldn’t be a party to that promise any more. He’d already expanded The Phoenix brand into New Mexico and Arizona with huge success and now, at last, he was ready to sell his flagship hotel and get the hell out of Vegas—and the casino business—for good.

      He let his arm drop back to his side. From what Monty, his best friend and business manager, had said in his call from California yesterday, Zack was only a few weeks away from taking that last crucial step into the light. He didn’t really need any distractions right now.

      But with his dream about to be realised, why did he still feel as jaded as the city he had come to despise?

      After his run-in with the feisty, fascinating Kate Denton and her big mouth, it occurred to him that fulfilling his long-term business plans was only going to solve part of the problem. His personal life needed a makeover too. During the last ten years he’d allowed himself to drift through a series of lazy and unfulfilling affairs. What was that old saying about all work and no play? He had a few days off for the first time in, well, for ever. Surely there’d never be a better time to play.

      Zack turned to stare at the empty chair opposite his desk. Yeah, Kate Denton would be one heck of a distraction. But she’d also be a challenge. And he always thrived on challenges.

      As Zack picked up the phone, he pictured her captivating face, the wild blonde hair, those striking sky-blue eyes, her plump, kissable Cupid’s bow mouth, and didn’t try to deny the sharp tug of sexual desire.

      Volatile or not, she’d be worth the effort, he’d lay odds on it.

      As he tapped out the concierge’s number Zack let the heady mix of adrenaline and arousal pulse through his veins. Damned if he didn’t feel better already. More alive, more excited than he had in years.

      They might only have