.

“Yes?”

      “I said that I could be here whenever necessary. This will not be just a job to me.”

      “It’s a temporary job,” he warned. “Once the hotel opens, my involvement and this position end.”

      She paled slightly. “Okay.”

      “Okay?”

      “I can deal with that. It will still look good on my résumé.”

      “I haven’t hired you yet.” More and more he was thinking that while she was definitely the most enthusiastic and driven—and therefore the most promising—candidate, hiring her might prove to be a mistake—on a personal level. There was something intriguing about her, and he couldn’t afford to be intrigued by a down-on-her-luck employee.

      “I know you haven’t hired me.”

      “Tell me about your last job.”

      She blanched and then she blushed. “I was a customer service representative in an automotive parts store.”

      “And you left for what reason?”

      For the first time she looked away.

      Ah. “Were you…let go?” he asked quietly.

      “Yes, in a sense.”

      He could see she wanted to leave it at that. No chance. “In what sense?”

      “In the sense that…” She sighed and turned her attention back to him. “I’ll be honest, Mr. Banick. In my younger days I was a bit wild. I did things that got me into trouble and made my already overprotective family even more protective. They knew my last employer and they thought he would make a great husband for me. He seemed to think the same thing. Since I’m not interested in a relationship or in getting married, I was the only one who didn’t think Barry and I were well suited.

      “No one was forcing me into anything, of course, but the situation still became very awkward. When I declared my lack of interest, Barry asked me to leave. But rest assured that I didn’t get fired because of incompetence. And also rest assured that my youthful ways are behind me. If you hire me for this job you won’t regret it. I need this position and I do exemplary work. I hope you won’t hold the circumstances of my last job against me. For what it’s worth, I was very good with the customers. I just wasn’t very good at telling my boss that I wasn’t interested in him as a man.”

      Beth finished this long speech, two bright spots of color in her cheeks. It was obvious that the subject of her last employer was more than a little uncomfortable.

      She didn’t realize it but she had just said exactly the right things. She had been a bit wild in her younger days. So had he, so he knew about trying to move past that. More importantly, she wasn’t interested in romance. That simplified things. In a working relationship this close he couldn’t afford even the possibility of an inappropriate entanglement, especially given the fact that he’d finally accepted that he needed to marry and produce an heir to keep the Banick line going. Still…

      “Ms. Krayton,” he began, knowing that his tone was enough to ready her for bad news.

      “Don’t say no yet. I realize my background isn’t ideal, but…why don’t you hire me on a trial basis?” she offered suddenly. “If I don’t prove useful in two weeks I’ll help you find a replacement. I’d even be willing to work those two weeks for free.”

      Carson raised a brow. She didn’t look like someone who could go without a paycheck for two weeks. “That’s very accommodating of you, Ms. Krayton.”

      Carson looked at the clock and then at the calendar. When Patrick began this project, he had planned to complete it by the end of the year. Since his accident three months ago, little had been done and the shareholders were getting restless. Disaster threatened, and the future of the business, Patrick’s pride and joy, was at stake. Carson had waited too long to step in. Now he had to move mountains.

      The truth was that he didn’t know if Beth Krayton was the best candidate, but she appeared to be totally committed to acquiring the position and proving herself. That was more than he could say for any of the other people he’d interviewed, most of whom had been more interested in the salary and benefits than in the job itself. And she had offered him an easy out if things didn’t work.

      It was tempting to hedge his bets. He was almost as new at this as she was. But there would be no tiptoeing around for him or for anyone who worked for him. Once they began, life would become a whirlwind. The schedule for the hotel was being stepped up.

      “No trial period,” he said. “I’ll hire you until you do something that justifies firing you. Banicks treat their employees fairly.” Carson held back a groan. He sounded just like his father. Beth grinned.

      “What?” he said.

      “You said you would hire me.”

      Carson allowed himself a hint of a smile. “Yes, I did, didn’t I?”

      He looked across the desk and saw that his new, petite assistant was practically bouncing. “Thank you, Mr. Banick. And thank you for not making me go through a trial period. I would have gone through with it, but being able to eat for the next two weeks will be nice, too.”

      He shook his head and smiled again. “I wouldn’t want my assistant missing meals. You’ll let me know if that’s ever a problem, won’t you?”

      Bright pink suffused her face. “I shouldn’t have said that. I was kidding.”

      She hadn’t been. He was sure of that. “Of course. Still, you’ll let me know if you need anything.”

      A curt nod from her was the best he would get. Carson nearly sighed. So the woman was proud and he would have to waltz around that pride. That didn’t exactly bode well for their working relationship, but it was too late for regrets. Beth Krayton was officially his new assistant.

      He held out his hand and she placed hers in it. Her fingers were unusually long and graceful.

      He frowned.

      She looked alarmed, and he shook his head.

      “Welcome to Banick Enterprises,” he told her, trying to smile the way Patrick or his father might have.

      She smiled back. “I’m happy to be here.”

      “You’ll start at nine tomorrow morning.”

      Beth nodded. “I’ll let you know where I’m staying as soon as I have an address.” She started to withdraw her hand, but Carson was still holding on.

      “You don’t even have a place to live?”

      She shrugged and blushed. “I left home suddenly.”

      “Suddenly?”

      “This morning.”

      Carson nodded, wondering what exactly he had gotten himself into. He was, of course, going to do a background check on Beth Krayton. He wondered what it would turn up.

      Not that it really mattered. He wasn’t interested in anything about her except for her ability to help him get this job done.

      He was on a mission and nothing, especially not a pint-size woman, was going to stop him.

      CHAPTER TWO

      BREATHE DEEPLY.

      The next morning, standing in the doorway of her creepy little rental room on the far edge of town, Beth coached herself to breathe, trying not to think of how much had changed in one day. This temporary home had been all she could afford, and it wasn’t exactly pleasant. It was a far cry from the clean, bustling beauty of most of the lakeside town, but that was all right. For the first time in her twenty-five years she was living on her own, a fact that brought a sense of triumph to her soul. Moreover, she had survived her interview with Carson Banick and she’d landed a decent job. Now all she had to do was keep