Falling for the Boss (6 page)

A slow grin spread across
Marcus’ face. “No, I think that concludes our business.” As she got up to leave, his voice, soft and dulcet, stopped her. “Did the Rose Room live up to your expectations?”

She turned back, her manner offhand
. “Certainly; it has always been my favorite room in the house.”

“
That’s no surprise – it could have been decorated with you mind. I, on the other hand, am finding the Blue Room somewhat confining, excepting its view of the garden, of course.”

She knew what he meant
, and her anger rose again. “So you saw me this morning. You did say I could read when I wasn’t otherwise occupied.”

“Do you get this
upset with everyone or is it just me?” he asked with a definite laugh in his voice.

“I think you
enjoy being deliberately provocative.”

He smiled
again, widely this time. “I suppose I do. Anyway, as long as my guests are happy, you can do whatever you like.”

A
s Marcus watched her leave, he found himself thinking that Maggie should get angry more often. For a moment, she’d looked almost pretty.

As for
Maggie, she conducted her tours faithfully, discovering that her initial fears were groundless. The so-called ‘history buffs’ shared a deep appreciation for the antiquities she so painstakingly showed them. They also evinced a more that casual interest in the mansion’s owner. On that subject, she refused to be drawn. It wasn’t for her to comment on her employer’s lifestyle.

When she next
had a moment to consult her watch it was early afternoon. Grabbing a book from her room and a sandwich from the kitchen, she ventured outdoors, eventually settling in a shady spot where she hoped to be alone for a few minutes. For a while, she got her wish. Everyone had apparently decided it was too hot to venture outside.

The
soft breeze and quiet surroundings worked their magic. Maggie’s eyes slowly closed only to fly open at the sound of feminine laughter. With a start, she instinctively glanced around, but no one was bearing down on her. She settled more comfortably in the seat and idly opened the book on her lap. This was what she needed – some peace and quiet before the evening sessions began. She hadn’t read ten words before her solitude was disturbed again.

“Darling, how can you stand having your house invaded by those boring know-it-alls?”

“Invaded is an overstatement. I invited them. And if you’ll recall, I did mention that this wasn’t the best time for you to come.”

Maggie sighed irritably.
History seemed to be repeating itself in the most vexing way. From the sounds of things, Felicia and Marcus would be upon her any moment. Closing her book, she slowly rose to her feet. The voices reached her ears again.

“So I disobeyed orders. Are you
going to throw me out?” Felicia asked with a laugh in her voice.

“
Such drastic measures won’t be necessary as long as you understand that I won’t have much time to spend with you.”

Maggie smiled
faintly, but not as a result of anything she’d heard. She’d just made the welcome discovery that her unwanted visitors were on the other side of the tall hedge behind her. If she moved fast, she could avoid them altogether.

The necessity of doing so seemed enormous at that moment. As she quickly and quietly gathered up the remains of her lunch, she couldn’t help hearing all that was passing between the other two
.

“
I understand completely.” Felicia assured Marcus. We’ll have to make the most of what time we have.”

“I’ve never met anyone better than y
ou at doing that.”

Nothing more was said and the sudden silence more than anything else got Maggie’s attention. What was going on? A
nd then Marcus laughed; a low, intimately attractive laugh that brought Maggie’s movements to an abrupt halt.

Awareness of what was most likely
going on just a few feet away brought the color surging into her pale face. If they discovered her now, it would be awful. Her mind refused to even contemplate such a thing. She had to get out of there.

In something like panic, Maggie fled
toward the safety of the house. At the point where the two paths crossed, she couldn’t resist looking back. Her steps unconsciously slowed as she realized the unlikelihood of Marcus and Felicia noticing her or anything else for that matter.

Such mundane responsibilities as giving tours
were completely forgotten. Once inside the house, she sought her room with a speed that would have raised eyebrows had there been anyone to actually witness her flight up the stairs. Sinking down onto the bed, Maggie tried to bring order to her chaotic feelings.

“
Maggie, are you there?” Luke asked from outside her door.

Maggie barely heard the knock and had no desire to acknowledge the words.
She couldn’t talk with anyone right now. Politeness had to take a backseat while she dealt with the absurd and alien notion that had leapt into her head.

Slow
ly walking to the window, she glanced down almost fearfully into the garden below. Marcus and Felicia were gone. She wished the disquieting feeling in the pit of her stomach would leave as well.

What was happening to her?
Could love come so suddenly, without preamble or even the slightest warning? Could you fall in love with someone you barely knew and what you did know, you didn’t approve of? Maggie wasn’t ready to concede anything so ridiculous.

B
y the close of a weekend which included several hectic rounds of activity, Maggie had spent considerable time wrestling with the unfamiliar feelings besetting her. The result of such painstaking soul-searching was an admission that if she wasn’t actually in love with Marcus, she was too close to the state to feel comfortable. She’d talked and smiled to any number of people, but never again to the one who had suddenly attained such importance.

Arriving
home late Sunday afternoon, Maggie hoped this return to normal surroundings would have a similar affect on her emotions. She would have preferred to go to bed and begin the process of putting the past few days behind her immediately, but it was too early for such desperate measures. Only after her suitcase had been unpacked and her neglected feline attended to did Maggie give in and lay down.

Waki
ng hours later to a dark bedroom, she decided that enough time had been wasted on what could only be temporary. Never having been in love before, she didn’t realize its contrary nature. Love doesn’t come and go on a whim; it has a habit of sticking around, even when it’s not particularly wanted.

When
Maggie woke again, the sun was shining brightly through the window, and Mittens was curled up in a ball beside her. Jumping out of bed, she didn’t need the clock on the wall to know she was going to be late for work.

Rushing
toward the side entrance of the mansion, she cannoned into Marcus, dressed in one of his attractive suits, on his way to the garage. His hands reached out to steady her, and as she moved away, an unfamiliar yet pleasurable wave of feeling went through her.

“
Cutting it close this morning, aren’t you?” he asked with an adorable half smile.

Maggie w
ished she could stop the silly fluttering of her heart. “I overslept.” Hardly the words from which interesting conversation is made, she thought wryly. Where were her wits this morning?

“
You disappeared yesterday before I got the chance to thank you for the wonderful job you did. I received more compliments that I can count on my ‘fabulous’ tour guide. I think a bonus would be an appropriate reward in this case, don’t you? I’ll speak to Brenda about it later today.”

These promising words
hardly registered. Maggie was lost in a world of her own – a world where Marcus suddenly found her as attractive as she found him. Fingers snapped in front of her eyes.

“
What are you staring at? Do I have jelly on my tie or something?”

“
Of course not! I was thinking of all the things I have to do today.”

S
hrugging his powerful shoulders, Marcus turned sideways to let her pass. “We’ll discuss this matter another time when you’re not so distracted. I imagine there are hoards of tourists impatiently awaiting you in the foyer. I only hope you’re awake enough to give them their money’s worth.” With a mocking salute, he went on his way.

Maggie
winced at the sarcasm evident in his suave voice as she opened the door and hurried into the house. She’d acted like a teenager, gawking at him like that. It was inexcusable to allow her feelings to cloud her good sense. She must do better than this.

Her
common sense managed fairly well when she knew Marcus to be away from Bradford House. It was the occasional glimpses of him coming and going and the unexpected face-to-face meetings that made nonsense of such measures, carrying their own particular thrill and torment. A teasing remark made in passing or the appearance of that slow smile had the power to make a difference in her day.

This preoccupation with her own affairs was so profound that
when Brenda mentioned not only her bonus, but her upcoming vacation, she could only stare at her blankly.

“
Had you forgotten? You’re off next week.” Brenda laughingly brandished a calendar in front of her face.

Maggie had indeed forgotten. How would she bear not seeing Marcus for a week?
“Already? I hadn’t realized.”

“
Dedication to work can be carried too far. You need a break from this place.”

During the ride home, Maggie tried to convince herself that
Brenda was right. Maybe some time away from Bradford House wouldn’t be a bad thing. It might put everything in perspective. By everything, she meant her feelings for Marcus, which with maddening tenacity seemed to be increasing despite her efforts to relegate them to unimportance.

All of this
sounded plausible, but the more realistic side of her wasn’t buying it. In a sense, she knew nothing would ever be the same again.

Never had a work week seemed so short or so frustrating. Despite going in early and staying late, Maggie was unable to engineer any kind of meeting with Marcus. Their paths simply did not cross.

In her harried state, she even entertained the thought that he might be purposely avoiding her. Fortunately, her sense of humor came to her rescue before she could do anything silly. To Marcus, nothing had changed. She must keep telling herself that.

Her last day arrived
and as she approached Bradford House, she tried to still her fast beating heart. Never would she have believed she could have so little control over that organ.

The tours were
heavy which kept Maggie’s mind on her job and off the whereabouts of Marcus. All too soon, she was heading to the foyer for the last time. This final group turned out to be surprisingly lively as well as stubbornly resistant to the idea that at some point the tour must end. Amused by their questions as well as their perseverance, Maggie was nevertheless relieved when she watched the last of them meander down the stairs into the garden.

She never heard Marcus come up behind her.
When he tapped her on the shoulder, she jumped a mile, and her look of surprise brought an apologetic grin to his handsome face.

“
Brenda tells me you’re on vacation next week. Are you staying in town or going somewhere exciting?”

Maggie did her best to look composed despite feeling the opposite. “I
haven’t made any definite plans.”

“That doesn’t sound like you.
” His eyes studied her with an intentness that made her think he could see right into her mind. “You do look as if you could use some time off – we’re working you too hard.”

Work was the least of her problems.
“I’m not working any more than usual for this time of year. This is the height of the tourist season.”

“
Well, take things easy, but have fun, too. You’re only young once.”

Maggie
laughed inwardly. She was certainly going to take things easy, but she was also going to solve this problem once and for all. Marcus was too astute to be fooled for long. And the last thing she needed was for him to figure out she was falling for the boss.

With a calm she was far from feeling, she forced herself to meet his eyes. “I’ll come back refreshed and ready to go.”

“Good girl. I can’t have my best tour guide getting worn down.”

Maggie
stared unseeingly through the window of the bus, taking in none of the lush beauty of ornamental gardens full of their summer blooms. If she’d been foolish enough to hope that Marcus might possibly think of her as more than an employee, now was the time to face facts.

His demeanor had shown
only impersonal interest and polite concern. The heart-stopping smiles, teasing comments, and unforgettable kisses that had helped steal her heart must be taken at their face value. Marcus was the consummate flirt – his attentions gave an illusion of affection that tantalized, but in the end, promised far more than he was prepared to give in return.