Accidentally Seduced (The Naked Truth Series Book 3) Read online

  “Yes, he’s available for lunch on Monday if you are.”

  The buzz of her iPhone inside her tight pocket made him raise his head from reading something on his Mac and look at her.

  She simply jammed her hand inside the pocket and clicked it.

  He frowned. “Do you need to take that, Elena?”

  “What? No. Sorry, Mr. Wilder.”

  “Devon. Remember? Call me Devon.”

  “Of course.” She pulled her most informal voice and shot at him what she hoped was a genuine smile. Darn it. She sucked at this. If Matthew hadn’t scooped her up from the crappiest time in her life, she wouldn’t have agreed in a million years to spy on the man who gave Morris Chestnut a run for his money.

  He rocked back in his chair and tossed his pen on the table. “Is everything okay?”

  “No,” the word spilled from her mouth. He leaned back on his chair, interest sparking in his eyes. What did I just do? “Yes. I mean yes… Nothing I can’t handle.”

  “Tell me about it.” He crossed his hands behind his shaven, smooth head.

  “It was probably a text from my brother Emilio. He’s asked his girlfriend Tiffany to marry him and now they’re having an engagement party and they disagree on about everything other than they love each other, which I hope will still be the case by they time they marry.” Not a lie. Next week, she was expected to return to New York City, and face her family, and worst of all, the man who broke her in a million pieces. Her stomach churned just thinking about that craptastic reunion.

  A grin teased his lips. “Interesting. I didn’t know there were more of you out there.”

  “My family is Catholic. Trust me, there’s always more of us,” she said, more to herself than to him. Then, she realized he was watching her closely, and a smile she hadn’t seen before curled the corner of his gorgeous lips. Lifting her shoulders, she took a deep breath.

  “How many?”

  “I have four older brothers.” A fact that usually scared guys away growing up in a small town upstate New York. Too bad it didn’t scare away my ex-husband. That would have saved me a lot of headache. Although, Timothy had taken advantage of the fact they trusted him as a friend to get on their good side and date her. Pursue her. Trap her.

  “There seems to be a lot about you I don’t know.” The expression on his face shifted. He stared at her without ceremony, aggressively, like he could slice the invisible barrier between them and extract whatever he wanted. Take it.

  She cleared her throat, a bit louder than intended. “I’m not…that exciting.”

  “Somehow I doubt that,” he said, his voice almost growly. What the hell was happening? In those three months, he had been friendly and cordial, but never used any innuendos.

  For longer than what was appropriate, their gazes met and locked. She parted her lips, and her palm slicked against the iPad. Lord. Three years, and her vagina had been like a comatose patient. Ever since she started to work for him, little signs of awakening threatened to put her whole plan at risk. She believed in paying back. Which was why she had to do this for Matthew.

  After all, Matthew scooped her up from the hardest part of her life. He had been her only friend who knew exactly what broke her marriage, and what broke her. He could have been kind and superficial, but no. Matthew took her to the hospital. He held her hand while they stitched her up. He… did all the brotherly things she couldn’t allow any of her brothers to. Because she couldn’t tell them what really happened with Timothy, for everyone’s sake.

  A dull sound yanked her from her thoughts, and she blinked a couple of times. He silenced his phone.

  “Time for a meeting.” He rose up from his chair, and she stepped back—the immediate response she had gotten used to.

  “Yes,” she whispered, and watched him stride out of his office with powerful footfalls. Having the see-through setting was a bit of a distraction. If Holly worked on the twelfth floor, she wouldn’t get any work done for sure. When he turned around the corner, she grabbed her phone from her pocket and glanced at the message.

  Get some reports on his nightclub.

  She put the phone in her pocket, as if the gadget had just branded her skin. Shit. She eyed his laptop on his desk. Of course he had shared his business password with her, as he often needed her to do stuff for him. Taking a breath deeper than the Pacific Ocean, she peered around. The spacious waiting area and her desk seemed like an eerie oasis. The other assistants to the main executives were far from view. It was lunchtime, and they probably mingled at the cafeteria.

  00045B. She had seen him type the password for his personal files a few times. At first, she had been distracted by his long, dark fingers working the sleek keyboard. But then she had come to her senses, and focused.

  Slanting another look over her shoulder, she confirmed there was nobody in the area. Even if they saw her, so what? She was his personal assistant. Taking care of his things was in her job description.

  A pang of guilt stabbed at her. Great way to rationalize it, Elena. Well, if he in fact was stealing money from the company, he needed to pay for his actions. If he wasn’t, she would report to Matthew and her job would be done. A walk in the park.

  She slid onto the chair, and typed his password to get access to his personal account. Maybe, if she dug deeper, she would find financial reports from his club. That had to be motivation, right? If he stole from the company, maybe it was because his other business was going belly up. Maybe…he had even helped Regina with her business. Who cared if rumor had it they were no longer together? Maybe his ex had something else on him. Something bigger, that he had stopped by giving her the club.

  The screen popped in front of her, and she went straight for the files, since he was known for saving them on his computer and the USB drive. Well, since the drive was nowhere in sight, she had to have better luck snooping in his things. She searched for his nightclub, spelling out the name. Smolder. Shit. The file was password protected. Could he be using a different password?

  She rubbed her forehead, and was about to start trying every number known to man, when she heard strides behind her. Her blood froze. By the time she swiveled her chair in the direction of the door, she heard a certain deep drawl, “Looking for something, Elena?”

  Devon stood in the middle of the room, legs apart and shoulders rigid.

  “Yes.” She surged to her feet, so quickly that the chair rolled against the polished floor and slammed into the wall. The thumpy sound reverberated through her, and she lifted her hand to her racing heart. “Sorry. You scared me, Mr.— Devon.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “What were you doing?”

  “I wanted to make sure I didn’t overbook you.”

  “But my schedule is on your iPad.”

  “Yes, but I’ve been trying to transfer and sync the stuff you have in your calendar with mine.”

  He stared at her in silence for a moment. She twisted her hands together, and couldn’t ignore the dampness of her palms. Crap. A beat later, his lips broke into a smile, flashing his white straight teeth. “Of course. Good idea,” he said.

  Phew. Off the hook. Or am I?

  Chapter Two

  He clicked his car key, and turned on his engine as he walked through the empty parking lot. Loosening his tie, he let out a long breath. There was something going on, and his delectable assistant was in the middle of it all. After she had left him alone in his office, he checked which profile she had used, and confirmed she had tried to login with his personal profile. Thankfully, she didn’t have the password.

  Over the past two weeks, he’d noticed her leaning forward, her eyes wandering whenever he punched in his code. Which had been why he had purposely chosen the easiest one, so he would login and check if there had been any movement. Now…now that he knew money was being stolen from the company, the pieces of the puzzle started to fit together. Some of them, anyway.

  He slid into his car, and started to drive inside the covered garage. Mos
t employees had gone home already, but there was one vehicle parked at the corner of the lot. A woman shook her head, while she opened the trunk of her car.

  Well, well… He scratched his chin, and brought his car to a stop next to hers. Elena Moretti. What was she up to now?

  “Do you need help?” He rolled up his sleeves.

  She stepped back, her eyes widened at him. “Mr.—

  “Devon,” he said, and averted his gaze to her silver Beamer 328i. Who knew his personal assistant had such taste for nice cars? How did she get the money? “Engine problem?”

  She rubbed her temple. “Yeah. The road assistance service will send someone to fix it, but I’m just too tired to wait. I was about to hang out next to the security guy and call a cab.”

  “I’ll give you a ride.” He opened the passenger door for her. “Hop inside.”

  She shuffled her weight from foot to foot, and opened her mouth but no sound came out. “I’m not going to bite, Elena,” he reminded her, although a quick skim over her full bottom lip almost changed his resolve. His body tensed, and his jeans tightened a notch. Whatcha thinking, man? This chick is off-limits.

  Regina had shared with the whole world the open dynamic of their relationship, and he had irked some conservative shareholders. The last thing he needed was to fantasize about the mysterious assistant who could very well be the one who was stealing from his company.

  Hhhmmm… If that was really the case, he would have to expose her. But first, he would have to find out what was going on.

  “You just passed the security office.” She pointed out at the station where Darnell was probably eating a day old Burrito and watching the football game. Even though he did rounds in the parking lot, there was never much action in the building.

  He slanted her a look. “I know. I figure, I can give you a ride home. Save you some money.”

  “No,” she rushed to say. “You totally don’t have to. I mean, it’s nice, thank you. But unnecessary. You have your life and things to do—”

  “You are giving me a lot of credit, Elena. I have no plans tonight.” Except for starting to crack whatever got her so nervous when around him.

  Though she rested her head against the seat, her stiff shoulders and the hard lines bracketing her mouth couldn’t hide her tension. Interesting. Not only did his assistant have a nicer car than he would have thought, she didn’t want him to visit her home. Why was that?

  “Okay then.”

  She proceeded to give him her address, and although it sounded like a nice neighborhood in an established part of Denver, all he focused on was the rich texture of her lips. As they moved, he imagined them under his. That would never become reality. Not when she was his primary embezzling suspect. He hadn’t bedded a woman for months—a promise he made to himself to keep his eye on the prize.

  He could just focus on his successful nightclub business. But, especially after the scandal, he had yearned for something more— and to prove to everyone he was the responsible hard working guy his father hadn’t been topped the list. Matthew never got labeled as Caleb’s bad son. Matthew always excelled at things and had gone to the best private schools. He never had to endure crummy living conditions and a pushover mother who was a step above a whore.

  Devon wanted respect. And bedding his assistant was the last thing he should do. It was dumb, juvenile, and he was so done with making bad decisions. So, so done.

  Instead, he’d focus on what his assistant was up to and determine if she was the company’s embezzler. No way was he taking her home yet when he had a ton to figure out.

  She pointed at the window. “You missed my exit.”

  “I’m not driving you home yet.”

  She shifted in the seat. “W-what does that mean?”

  “I’m hungry. Since it’s dinnertime, I take it you must eat, too. So, why not do it together? I’ve neglected you. I never took the time to get to know my assistant.”

  “What is there to know?” she asked.

  He kept his eyes on the highway. Two more exits, and he’d be dining on 14th street. With his assistant. To try and find out whatever he could. He knew enough about people in general, especially the ones with a hidden agenda, that the best way to catch them with their pants down would be by distracting them with something else. “What’s your favorite type of food, for starters?”

  “I like everything, really.”

  “Seafood okay?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  By the time he stopped his car in front of an upscale seafood restaurant, the valet approached them and opened the door. He could feel her gaze on him, although as he gestured for her to walk in front, that sensation disappeared. What was she thinking?

  “Nice to see you again, Mr. Wilder.” The hostess winked at him, even though he hadn’t seen her or set foot in that restaurant for a few months. “Your usual table?”

  “Yes.”

  She picked up two menus and checked a circled section in her hostess chart. “Follow me.”

  “Excellent.” He nodded and gestured for Elena to walk through the dimly lit space behind the hostess’ trim figure as she led them through the narrow hallways. When a group of people walked in the opposite direction, he put his hand at the small of Elena’s back, trying to guide her to the quiet corner that the hostess was sauntering to.

  Elena locked her spine into place, and hurried her pace to the booth. No doubt she didn’t dare risk getting close to him. Chances were, she could be stealing from the company, and he’d bet his next stock dividend that she wasn’t working alone. A crime of this magnitude required more than one brain.

  They sat opposite each other—after all, the round booth would comfortably sit four more people. Despite the distance, there was a hint of intimacy in the air. Vanilla scented candles flickered between them. Heavy drops of rain fell on the window overlooking the city, leaving the view of Denver foggy and gray.

  “Sir, the wine list,” the sommelier offered, but he didn’t need to see it.

  “Bring me a 1997 red Soto, please.”

  The sommelier nodded. “Right away sir.”

  “Would you like something different?”

  “What? Me? No. Wine is fine.” She ran her fingers through her hair, which was straying from the bun. If he ever had a sexy librarian fantasy, this woman would fit the bill. The dark red lips contrasted against her white blouse, which was ruffled and silky. Looked expensive.

  “So, what did you do before you became an executive assistant?”

  “Does that mean you never read my resume?” she said, before taking a glass of water to her lips.

  “Touché.” He flashed her a smile. “Remember, when my assistant went on maternity leave, I barely had time to interview much.” Regrettably, he had left that job up to the human resources manager. Maybe it had been God’s way to punish him for his wicked and sexual past, by bringing Elena Moretti into his office.

  She shifted in her seat, and looked away. “I dabbled…in things.”

  An image assaulted his mind. There were tiny buttons on her top, and what wouldn’t he give to see them flying in the air, as he ripped the blouse off her. His pants tightened, and a violent arousal surged through him. Four months. He hadn’t screwed anyone in four months. Which was why he fantasized about his delicious, edible assistant, who may very well be a traitor.

  When she turned her face back to him, her gaze landed on his. Did she read his mind? Even in the poor lighting, he noticed the shade of red spreading across her cheeks, and her parted lips.

  “Sir?” the sommelier returned, and the bubble of awareness burst.

  As the guy started to do the honors and serve him the wine, all Devon could think of was Elena. He didn’t take his eyes off her for a moment, even when the sommelier asked, “How do you like it?”

  “It’s delicious,” he said.

  The flush deepened on her cheeks, and she scooted to the back of the booth. She drew a breath and her breasts rose and fell, stretching the fa
bric of her blouse.

  He leaned over the table, and watched her lift the glass of wine to her lips, and for an instant, he envied the glass. Fuck, this wasn’t supposed to happen.

  When the sommelier left them, he realized being alone with her outside the office was beyond dangerous. The woman was sexy as hell, and he couldn’t just sleep with her. He had to gain her trust, or at least enough to snoop into her business and find out what exactly she was up to. “What was it like growing up with three older brothers?”

  The corner of her lips quirked up. “Four.”

  “Four.”

  She sighed. “Intimidating.”

  “To the boys?” he asked, and brought the glass to his lips. The red wine went down smoothly, but the aftertaste was complex and effervescent.

  “To… me,” she said, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her shoulders sagged a bit, as if that confession somehow took a load off.

  Placing his glass on the table, he leaned closer, and erased some of the distance between them. “How could it be intimidating to you?”

  “They meant well, but they almost made me feel like not dating. They always wanted to get some dirt on whomever I dated, or threatened them on the first date. Not a lot of guys asked me on a second date after they met my brothers.” A nervous smile spread over her face, and she rolled her eyes.

  “Then they were fools. I’m sure you were worth the trouble,” he said, and dipped down his head to stare at her. The air shifted, and a zingy energy swirled between them. It was as invisible as it was powerful. Her eyes widened, pupils dilated. They were beautiful—she was beautiful. Too beautiful.

  “I…need to go to the restroom.” She placed her napkin on the table.

  “Of course.” He watched her go, and the way she walked, a bit faster than necessary, as if she were running from a ghost.

  Well, better this way. He reached for her bag, and although snooping in women’s bags wasn’t his deal, he had to know what she was up to. Hell, she searched in his computer, didn’t she? And she would have found his personal files—had he not been diligent from the beginning.