It Started With... Collection. Miranda Lee

that a problem with my job?’ she bit out, irritated with herself for going to mush inside again.

      ‘I don’t see why it should be. You have your little girl in day-care, it says here.’

      ‘Yes, but there will be times when she gets sick. Or I might have to attend a school concert. Or some emergency.’

      ‘Work conditions here at Wild Ideas are very flexible. You can work your own hours, or at home if you want. All that is required is that the work is done, meetings are attended and deadlines met. Your immediate boss is the mother of a little girl herself, with another baby on the way, so I’m sure she will be very understanding about such matters. Speaking of Michele, I think perhaps I should take you along to meet her shortly. She rang earlier with instructions to have someone sitting at the computer by her side before lunchtime. Or else.’

      ‘You mean you want me to start straight away, today?’ Jessie gasped.

      He raised a single eyebrow at her. ‘I thought you understood that. Is there any reason you have to leave?’

      ‘No…no, I guess not. But I will have to ring the day-care centre and tell them I’ll be a bit later than usual picking Emily up.’

      ‘Will that worry your little girl?’

      ‘No. But it might worry me. I’m not sure how often the trains run and how long it will take me to get there. I have to pick Emily up before six. They close at six.’

      ‘You don’t have a car?’

      ‘No,’ she admitted. ‘I haven’t been able to afford to run one.’

      ‘You should be able to now. Your pay is sixty-five thousand dollars a year, with bonuses.’

      All the breath was punched from Jessie’s lungs. ‘You’re joking! Sixty-five thousand?’ Before she’d had Emily, she’d only been on forty thousand.

      ‘That’s right. Your basic salary will be reviewed every six months, with rises given on performance.’

      ‘That’s incredible.’

      ‘Don’t worry. You’ll have to deliver.’

      ‘I’ll deliver. Don’t you worry about that.’

      Their eyes met once more, with Jessie wondering if their conversation still carried a double meaning. She hoped not. She’d hate to think that underneath his impressive surface, Kane Marshall was just another divorced creep.

      ‘You should consider leasing a car,’ he went on. ‘Curtis always tells me that leasing is a much more sensible option in business. My brother is an accountant,’ he added.

      Unnecessarily. Jessie already knew that. But she could hardly say so. Still, it sent her wondering exactly where Kane Marshall usually worked. Karen had said he was an excellent manager and motivator. But for what company?

      ‘If you like,’ he was saying, ‘I could get Karen to organise the leasing for you. All you have to do is tell me what kind of car you’d like.’

      ‘I…I don’t really know. I’ll have to think about it.’

      ‘If you tell me the make and model in the morning, it can be ready for you by the time you finish up tomorrow. Meanwhile, I’m quite happy to drive you home after work tonight. I wouldn’t want you to worry about your little girl.’

      Jessie stared at him. He certainly wasn’t wasting any time in making his move.

      ‘You don’t have to do that,’ she said. ‘I do have a friend I could ring to pick Emily up if I think I can’t make it.’

      ‘A man friend?’

      The question sounded casual, but Jessie could see more than curiosity in his eyes. Insane to imagine he was jealous. But it felt as if he was.

      ‘No,’ she said, and was sure he looked relieved. ‘An elderly lady. My landlady, in fact. I rent a granny flat from her. But she’s also a good friend.’

      ‘It’s no trouble for me to drive you home, Jessie,’ he said. ‘You don’t live that far away. Besides, I’d like the opportunity to talk to you some more. Out of the office.’

      ‘All right, then,’ she agreed, if a bit stiffly. She wished she could get the thought out of her head that she was being weak. ‘Thank you.’

      ‘It’s my pleasure.’ And he smiled at her again.

      Jessie suppressed a moan. Oh, he was just so gorgeous. How could she possibly say no?

      Yet she hated for him to think she was easy.

      Jessie was well used to the way most men thought about single mothers. They were considered desperates. Desperate for sex. Desperate for company. Desperate for some man—any man—to give them the emotional and financial support they obviously weren’t getting from whoever had fathered their child.

      In truth, there were quite a lot of single mothers who did act that way.

      But Jessie wasn’t normally like most single mothers. She’d always prided herself on her self-sufficiency. After Lyall, she’d never wanted to rely on any man for anything. Not even for sex.

      Not till she’d met Kane Marshall.

      Now he was all she could think about. Already, she was looking forward to his driving her home. Her skin actually broke into goose-pimples at the thought.

      Yet she should have been concentrating on the job she’d just been given.

      Jessie jumped to her feet. ‘Now that that’s all settled, I’d better get started, don’t you think?’

      He was much slower in rising, buttoning up his jacket as he did so.

      His action drew her eyes to his suit. It wasn’t the same pale grey number he’d worn on Friday night. This one was a darker grey. But it was just as expensive-looking and stylish. Not a wrinkle marred the line of its sleeves, or where the collar sat neatly around his solid neck.

      He was a big man, she noticed once more. Not overweight. Just tall, and strong, with the broadest shoulders.

      He would look good, naked. Feel good, too.

      Oh, dear, Jessie groaned to herself. I’m in trouble here. Big, big trouble.

      ‘This way,’ he said as he walked around and gestured towards the door.

      Thankfully he didn’t touch her. His eyes were bad enough. The way they kept running over her.

      He wasn’t all that different from those other divorced creeps who’d pursued her, Jessie realised as she bolted through the door ahead of him.

      The difference lay in her. Those other men hadn’t made her tremble with a look. They hadn’t made her forget every wise word of warning her mother had ever given her about men.

      No, that wasn’t true. She hadn’t forgotten any of her mother’s warnings. She knew what Kane Marshall was, and what he wanted.

      The difference this time was that she wanted exactly the same thing he did.

       CHAPTER SEVEN

      JESSIE could not believe how quickly the day went, and how nice everyone was at Wild Ideas, especially her immediate boss.

      In her early thirties, Michele was an attractive brunette, married, with one little girl and another baby on the way. She was warm and welcoming to Jessie, but at the same time efficient and precise. Very precise with her directions. She knew what she wanted—art-wise—and expected things to be done exactly as she wanted.

      But Jessie was used to that. Jackson & Phelps had been a demanding company to work for. They had high standards and had trained her well.

      But