return.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said but couldn’t resist reaching out to touch her soft cheek gently.
Helen didn’t think she’d be able to sleep that night. Her skin was still tingling from where he’d casually touched her face and she was so excited about the move and being in the bright sunshine. But as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep.
Chapter 5
The next morning was frantic as she showed her replacement the ropes and still answered all of Dimitri’s requests.
It was late afternoon and Helen finally had a moment to breathe as she briefed Dimitri on her progress. When she was finished, she lowered her notepad and looked across the desk at him, eagerly waiting for the next round of instructions for the day.
Dimitri watched her, and counted the hours. Fifteen. “I like the outfit, by the way,” he said, and enjoyed the soft blush that came over her features. This particular skirt was a soft blue paired with a blue silk shirt that exactly matched her eyes. He had noticed her lipstick as well. Today’s was a pretty pink that only highlighted the full lips that he’d been aching to taste for more months than he wanted to think about.
And her eyes! Good grief! She was wearing mascara now that darkened the lashes, making her beautiful blue eyes stand out. She looked like a soft, pretty kitten that blinked curiously in his direction.
“Thank you,” she said softly, unable to look him in the eye as she smoothed the flattering fabric over her knees as she sat primly on the edge of her chair. Dimitri was glad she’d forgotten about the instructions for the rest of the day. He wanted her to go home and relax, enjoy her last night in town. Would she do it?
They were suddenly interrupted by Jim Miller, his financial expert in the London office who immediately stopped and took in Helen’s new attire. The man whistled and smiled broadly. “Helen! I like it. Great new look.”
Helen’s reaction to this man immediately soothed the rage that filled Dimitri after that effusive compliment. Helen’s blush didn’t appear and she was not flustered in any way. She simply looked the man professionally in the eye and said a polite thank you, turning on her heel and walking out of the office. Her head was high and shoulders back, ignoring the man’s rude behavior completely.
When Jim turned to watch Helen walk out of the office, blatantly ignoring Dimitri, his temper flared once again. “Watch it,” Dimitri growled. “She’s not for public consumption.”
Jim’s eyes snapped back to Dimitri’s and blinked, as if he were unaware of how inappropriate his actions were. “Sorry, Helen’s always been a knockout but now…Wow!” he exclaimed. “I’ve been asking her out to dinner or lunch for months but with no luck.” He looked back at the now empty door where Helen had just disappeared and shook his head. “I might just ramp up my efforts now.”
Dimitri’s eyes sliced the man. “Forget her. As I said, she’s not available,” Dimitri said coldly.
Jim’s face flushed with color as he finally received the intended message. “Oh.. Umm….I see,” he said. “Is that why she’s leaving for Greece Saturday?” he said, finally putting two and two together. He smiled a little forlornly. “Are you sure she’s interested?” he asked bravely.
Dimitri raised one eyebrow at the man’s audacity but since he wasn’t being malicious about it, he decided to answer his question. “Yes.” Was all he said, keeping the fact that he’d have to convince Helen that she was allowed to be interested to himself. For some reason, Helen didn’t think she could be the type of woman Dimitri was interested in. He had solid plans to disabuse her of that ridiculous notion as soon as he could get her alone with him and away from the office. Helen tended to hide behind work when she got nervous instead of confronting the reason for that anxiety.
He’d take it slow, Dimitri told himself. He’d make sure she understood how long he’d been thinking about her, tell her how gorgeous and sexy she was down underneath all that professionalism. But now that the plan was in action, there was no stopping it. He was going to have her.
“Well…” Jim started off after a prolonged wait for more information. “I guess that says it all, doesn’t it?” he stammered out. “But…” he took a deep breath, obviously nervous about what he was about to say but determined to say