The breath Jacey had been holding eased out as she sat behind her desk. Well! Making out with her boss wasn’t at all how she’d originally planned to distract him, but she couldn’t help feeling at least a wee bit exultant at her success. He'd actually failed to log off his computer system.

She picked up her phone and dialed the Vice President of Operations at DRAW Corporation, the only person in her family still speaking to her.

Alora Maddox’s voice trilled across the line. "Well, well, well. If it isn't my favorite little black sheep. How are you holding up, dear?"

"I’m better, thank you, but I need a favor."

"Of course you do, chickadee.” Her older sister didn’t sound the least surprised. The good thing was she didn’t sound affronted either though it had been nearly a month since they’d last spoken. “What's it going to be this time?"

"A bit of insurance in the form of a press release."

"Breaking news on the new job front, eh? Details, details!"

“Actually, it’s something I might need to keep my job.” Jacey hastily explained what she wanted the press release to say. “Is that something you can do for me?

"Is my name Alora Maddox?"

It sure was. All day long. Her sister had the press release written and texted to her in ten minutes, quick enough for her to retype it and send it to the paparazzi from Luca’s own computer before he returned.

Jacey couldn't wait to show off the new flavoring syrup their experimental team had developed with such haste. She hoped when Luca saw it, he would finally recognize her contribution to his firm despite their rough start working together.

Byron had pulled together a team of apprentices over their lunch break and really come through for her. He assured her it was little more than melted down Candy Corn mixed with water in its current state, but it should remain in liquid form for the duration of their appointment. The real kicker was the bulbous black bottle they'd unearthed with the beauteous white question mark emblazoned across the front.

One o'clock ticked past. She tapped the toe of her shoe against the chrome leg of Luca's desk. She'd set everything out for him to review — speaker's notes, handouts, tiny favors of candy corn wrapped in black lace and tied with translucent webbing, the Mystery Mix itself. She was neither a statistician nor a strategist. Creativity was the one thing she had to offer, and she was pretty sure she'd outdone herself this time.

There was a small risk her burst of creative energy might have something to do with the way Luca had kissed her earlier. She blushed at the memory. It had invigorated her beyond belief. She almost felt like her old self again. However, the feel-good vibe was punctuated with a wee bit of guilt at the way Luca had acted afterwards, as if she’d used him or something. All they’d done was share a few kisses. She bit her lower lip. Okay, so maybe kissing Luca Calcagni had felt a little more monumental than that, but they were two consenting adults. There was no crime in kissing. Sure, it was a little awkward that it happened with her boss, but . . .

She examined a small chip in her nail polish, flicking at it with a sudden spurt of edginess. Luca’s kisses had been pretty wonderful, actually. More than wonderful! He’d been gentler than she imagined he would be. His touch had been cherishing, bordering on worshipful. She sighed out loud and smoothed a hand over her hair. Easton had never been so polished and classy. So utterly dreamy.

She gave herself a fierce mental shake. It was wildly wrong to compare the two brothers. Probably a capital sin.

Still, her brain slipped stubbornly back to her previous line of thought. It had come as a surprise to find out how well Luca could treat a woman after he had pretty much convinced her he despised her. Which meant he should have been relieved to discover she wanted to walk away from their kisses with no strings attached. Instead, he’d been as growly as ever, as if she’d offended him somehow. Or hurt his feelings. Was such a thing even possible? That would mean the man would have to have feelings, which she highly doubted. Or did he?

She smoothed the side darts of her navy pencil skirt, wondering what cues she’d missed with him. He clearly was attracted to her — against his better judgement, no less — but could it be something more than that? Did he have feelings for her?

The thought made her dizzy. What an uproar that would cause in his family, given her past marriage to their youngest son. Her stomach started to hurt. Or feel weird. Something was definitely off with her stomach. Even though she was positive she hadn’t gained an ounce the past few weeks, her suit felt tighter today. Maybe it was just her imagination. Or all the zinging nerves at the thought of facing Luca again.

She tried to shake off her unsettling mood. She could probably quit worrying about his threat of firing her this afternoon. Kiss or no kiss, the fact remained he was a businessman. He'd be a fool to let her go after she single-handedly salvaged the Pillmeyer contract in the next hour. If he so much as tried to follow through with his threat, the press release Alora had composed would serve as her safety net, one that would force him to reconsider keeping her on his payroll at least a few more weeks. It was on its way now to Alora’s personal contact at every local news station.

The best part was how they’d made it look like Luca himself had sent it. Mercy, but he was going to be furious when he found out! It would be too late, of course, for him to do anything about it…other than keep her employed. Or so she hoped.

One fifteen rolled around, and it finally dawned on her that Luca wasn't going to make it back to the office to review what she’d come up with. It was the first time he'd completely stood her up. Was he avoiding her on purpose? Whorls of fear cramped her stomach. Their presentation was in less than forty-five minutes. As much as she dreaded his criticism of her work, she was learning to respect it in a completely twisted sort of way. He was the king of last-minute demands, but his instincts were rarely wrong. He forced her to dot every i and cross every t. His arrogant input made her insanely angry at times but kept her razor sharp. She would have very much appreciated his input on the first solo assignment he’d given her.

Where are you? At quarter ‘til two, she gave up all hope of a preparatory hazing from her boss and transferred her entire presentation to a zip drive and all her props to a wire basket. She hoped he was okay. His last meeting had been halfway across town, and city traffic could be treacherous on Friday afternoons.

She descended the elevator to the first floor and hurried to the conference room. The familiar clack of her heels resounded down the long hallway. In an unexpected way, Genesis was starting to feel like her home away from home. An employee crossed the hall ahead of her and waved. She smiled and waved back. After five years on the road with Easton (mostly in the southern states), it was nice to finally belong somewhere again. To be home.

She sailed through the conference room door and stopped at the sight of Luca dropping his briefcase on the table.

"Mr. Calcagni! Where have you been?" She set her wire basket in the chair next to his, fearing the wire mesh might leave a scratch mark if she set it on the white marble tabletop.

"Working," he informed her coldly, piercing her with a harder look than usual.

"You don't write. You don't call," she teased. "I've been worried about you."

"Have you, now?" His tone was clipped and impersonal. He took his seat and hunched over his electronic notebook.

He was still mad at her. Either that, or something else was wrong.

"Of course I have. There was no one to take a bite out of my backside the past several hours." Or help me prepare for this appointment. "Here are your speaker's notes."

He spared little attention to the stapled packet she slid his way. He slid it back across the table to her. "I don’t have time to review it. This one's on you, Ms. Maddox."

She frowned at the dull tenor to his voice and the tiredness in his features. In that moment, he didn’t look or sound anything like the Luca Calcagni she knew. "You want me to give the presentation? Alone?" When he didn’t answer, she swallowed hard and hurried to the side cabinet to pour herself a bracing cup of coffee. She took a gulp, scalded her tongue, and coughed. I can do this. I have to do this. He’s not giving me a choice.

She poured a second cup for her irascible boss. He liked his black and strong. She returned to the table and set both their mugs on felt-bottomed coasters.

"What's this?" he growled.

"A peace offering. You resemble a bear ready to maul something. I'd prefer it not be me."

To her increasing despair, he ignored the cup and continued working on his tablet. Her inner sense that something was wrong increased several notches.

Frank Pillmeyer arrived with his secretary, forming a much a smaller entourage than she'd been expecting. Where was their marketing manager? Their sales team?

Luca rose long enough to give the two a cursory greeting and returned to his seat.

She set her notes on the table in front of her and lifted the bottle of Mystery Mix, hissing to her boss, "If you need to be somewhere else, I can handle this." She preferred him to stay, of course.

"Just get on with it, Jacey."

It was the first time he'd ever used her first name in public. She almost dropped the bottle. They shared a long look. His unguarded expression wrenched her heart. It contained so much bleak acceptance and bitterness, she wanted to beg him to tell her what was wrong. Right now.

But as quickly as it had appeared, his bitterness vanished. Like turning off a switch, he schooled his features to their usual hard, enigmatic lines.

She sighed and clicked the remote control in her hand to display the first slide of her presentation. "The flavors and scents of autumn add up to one of the most captivating times of the year. Cinnamon spice. Pumpkin. Nutmeg. Eggnog. Peppermint. They stir old memories and inspire us to create new ones while the crisper temperatures bustle us ever closer to the holidays and our family and cultural traditions. But you want to spice it up a little more this year, Mr. Pillmeyer."

He smiled benignly at her, his body language urging her to get to the point. Neither he nor his secretary had touched their candy corn favors.

This is not going as well as I hoped. She flipped to the next screen. "And what better way to spice up the holidays than by adding a little mystery?" She flew through the presentation, sticking to the highlights. The last part of her pitch included pouring a fresh round of coffee and inviting them to try the mystery flavor.

They did, and their faces brightened. "It's good." Mr. Pillmeyer nodded, sounding surprised. "Really good, Ms. Maddox. Which makes what I'm about to say that much harder. Mr. Calcagni?” He stood and pushed his chair away from the table. "The only reason I kept our appointment was to thank you for three straight years of profit across every one of our product lines. We've had a good run together, and I hope we find ourselves working together at some point again in the future."

Jacey gripped the back of the nearest conference chair while her insides deflated like a popped balloon. They'd lost the contract? No-o-o-o-o! Sickness twisted its way painfully through her gut at the knowledge her first solo mission had been a complete bust. Even worse, it sounded as if they'd lost the contract before the appointment ever began, a fact that wouldn’t likely carry any weight with Luca. He would blame her for failing to win it back. She couldn’t catch a break with the guy.

She forced her smile to remain in place while numbly watching him rise for a final round of handshakes.

Mr. Pillmeyer glanced her way from the door. "You have some real talent in Ms. Maddox. No doubt her family was devastated to lose her."

The door shut behind their guests, and she was alone again with Luca.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry." It was their first defeat together. No, it was her defeat. Hers alone. She wished he'd say something. Criticize her. Blame her. She preferred just about anything over his stoic silence.

"Meet me in my office, Ms. Maddox. I'll be needing you to sign a few forms before you go."

So that was it. He was firing her after all. She pressed a hand to her stomach. He was giving her no anger. No emotion at all. Just a pink slip. Oh, this was harsh! Even for him. The man who’d kissed her so passionately earlier in the day was long gone. She’d never felt so defeated in all her life.

So what if her insurance policy was blaring across every major news station in town? She shouldn't have bothered. Luca’s total censure, his absolute rejection of her and all her efforts on his behalf and the behalf of his company had finally worn her beyond her endurance. She couldn’t wait to sign his blasted papers and leave his miserable self behind once and for all.