At The Boss's Command. Darcy Maguire

his knuckles. He’d spent the last twenty-four hours trying to work out why it mattered so much what she thought of him…

      He moved around his desk, extending his hand, offering it to her. ‘Case.’

      She nodded.

      ‘And you are Tahlia Moran, Director of Sales,’ he suggested lightly.

      She raised her eyes to meet his. ‘Guilty,’ she said, striding forward and taking his hand.

      Heat sizzled up his arm. ‘Nice shake, Miss Moran.’

      She pulled her hand from his smoothly. ‘Ditto, Mr Darrington.’

      ‘Call me Case.’

      Tahlia stepped back. ‘I have to say…before… downstairs…you caught me off-guard. I’m usually quite…sane.’

      ‘O-kay,’ he murmured, watching the rise of colour in her cheeks. Was she embarrassed?

      His body buzzed at the thought. Did she like him? Had she felt the heat between their palms too? Had she felt that buzz yesterday when they’d collided?

      Was that why she was so upset that he was her boss—because she felt the electricity between them but maybe had her own rules for not getting involved with workmates?

      Hell, he had the same ideals. But if there could be one person he’d compromise his rules for it would be her, and that incredibly sweet innocence that she’d just bubbled with yesterday morning.

      Now he’d never know…anything she said would be sugar-coated for ‘the boss’.

      Case straightened his tie. He was giving himself a headache. There was only one way to find out what was going on with Tahlia Moran and put his mind at rest…

      He just hoped he liked the answers.

      Tahlia glared at the man standing behind her desk in her office with her title as casually and comfortably as though he owned the place. ‘If we could make this quick, Mr Darrington, I have work to do.’

      He lifted an eyebrow. ‘Would you like a coffee?’ he asked, reducing the distance between them. ‘I’m just on my way to the kitchenette.’

      ‘Fine,’ she bit out, stepping well back for the man to pass by. She didn’t want to be anywhere near the guy, let alone touch him again.

      She swiped her hand against her thigh, trying to dispel the tingling in her palm.

      He stopped beside her. ‘Ladies first,’ he said smoothly, gesturing the way for her.

      ‘Fine.’ She sauntered down the hall, her breathing short and shallow, her hands clenched tightly at her sides. The promotion-stealer had to remind her of yesterday morning’s embarrassment!

      Wasn’t it enough that he’d started throwing his weight around? Meeting everyone under him and convincing them he was interested in their ideas.

      Jerk.

      So, it was a great idea, not only to meet his staff but to get friendly and supportive…especially since he was a stranger coming in, but if he was thinking it was going to be easy to get on her good side he had another think coming.

      Tahlia pushed open the door on the kitchenette and stalked across the room to get as much distance between them as she could. ‘So what can I do for you, Mr Darrington?’

      ‘Call me Case,’ he said again smoothly, striding to the coffee pot and picking it up with one hand, plucking a mug from the rack with the other. ‘How would you like it?’

      She crossed her arms over her chest, resisting a reaction to his casual friendliness, his supposed humility in the face of his superior position, the ease with which he brandished the coffee pot as though it was natural to him to make his own.

      Tahlia stiffened. ‘How would I like it?’ Pretending to be just another workmate was not going to get him anywhere with her. ‘I think honestly and straight down the line,’ she said evenly. ‘No sugar-coating or fluffy padding would be nice.’

      ‘I meant your coffee, but okay…’ He smiled, his blue eyes gleaming at her.

      Tahlia swallowed down the flutter in her belly. Snap out of it. So he was in a kick-arse deep blue suit that hugged his body like silk to pillows. So his eyes smiled as sexily as his mouth. She was not going to make any mistakes today. ‘Black, no sugar.’

      Darrington nodded. ‘I need to know all about my staff. My team. I’m reliant on them to make or break this company,’ he said, splashing the coffee into her mug and sliding it down the bench to her.

      She halted its progress, cupping the mug in her hand. ‘It sounds like you’re aiming at Raquel’s job next,’ she said slowly. He couldn’t take that off her too… ‘A little ambitious for the first week, aren’t you?’

      He put the coffee pot back, poured some milk in his mug and added three spoons of sugar. ‘I like to aim high. I like to push my staff to their potential and I like to succeed.’

      She nodded tightly. WWW Designs sure needed that sort of attitude, that optimism and drive…but from her, not some interloper!

      Case Darrington sipped his coffee. ‘So what do you have to offer, Miss Moran?’

      She paused, her nerves rippling their response down her spine and settling deep in her belly. ‘My track record speaks for itself, Mr Darrington,’ she bit out. She’d be damned if she was going to spell out her worth to a man who had undermined it.

      He leant against the counter, his attention fixed entirely on her. ‘I want to hear it from you.’

      Tahlia took a deep breath. ‘Well, that’s all well and fine but I’m a busy woman. I really don’t have time to list my skills, my achievements and my worth to this company to somebody who can’t be bothered reading my file.’

      His mouth fought a smile. ‘You’re not scared of me?’

      She took a gulp of the coffee and looked pointedly at her watch. ‘No.’

      ‘Not even wary?’

      ‘No.’

      He crossed his arms over his wide chest. ‘Aren’t you worried I’ll fire you for your lack of respect for authority?’

      Tahlia shrugged. ‘If you can’t see my worth from reading my file, by what I do around here, then I’m better off somewhere else.’

      He nodded slowly, his mouth fighting a smile. ‘You are absolutely right.’

      She met his sapphire-blue eyes warily. ‘I am?’ What was he up to? It had to be something…

      ‘Yes.’ He picked up his mug and walked to the door. ‘Maybe we can discuss any ideas you have…over lunch some time?’

      ‘Ye-es,’ she said slowly. She had a lot of ideas to improve the place that Raquel hadn’t seemed to want to hear despite numerous discussions, letters, memos and slip-anonymous-suggestions-on-to-her-desk attempts.

      It would be nice to have someone who was actually open to improvement rather than just wanting to keep doing things the way they had always been done because it was her way.

      Tahlia surveyed the man in front of her. Did the Rottie have any idea what this new guy was up to? She couldn’t wait to see her face when Darrington brought her his recommendations to change her system.

      She caught herself. Darn it. He wasn’t meant to be like this, all competent and businesslike and friendly. He was meant to be an insensitive jerk who didn’t really care about anything but his own career.

      He was…nice, and behaving like one hell of a good boss—if she could trust him. Huh. Like that would ever happen. Tahlia Moran was never going to trust a man.

      She wasn’t about to weaken, not when so much depended on her being strong, sensible and in control.