Simon Diesel had never had to personally fire anyone.

Until today.

Five years as the CEO of Technologies, and he’d managed to keep his hands clean. It wasn’t as if anybody on staff had never been fired. They had been. Not many, since he ran a tight ship, but when it did happen someone else did the dirty work.

Unfortunately, not this time.

He tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for the elevator to get to the right floor. When the elevator finally came to a stop and the doors slid open, he hurried out. Glancing around the open concept office where all the engineers had gathered to start the week, he trained his gaze on one employee in particular.

“Linda!” he barked.

His media relations officer, Linda Schaffer, jerked her head around to focus on him. Her eyes widened, her graying hair disheveled. Linda always looked a bit frazzled, but this morning she had an especially exhausted air about her.

Not that Simon could blame her. Firing someone out of the blue like this wasn’t exactly conducive to the type of cool, calm culture he’d been trying to foster at Dover, Inc. all these years.

“Simon?” Linda’s voice shook. “I mean, Mr. Diesel?”

Good. If Linda was nervous this morning, that meant the rest of the staff was liable to fall in line. And he needed them to fall in line. Needed them focused. Because if any of them so much as thought of double-crossing him, Dover’s future, and the future of thousands of people, would be in jeopardy.

“In my office,” he commanded. “Now.”

The engineers all trained their eyes to him. Every one of them looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Fine with him. He’d tolerated far too much. That ended today.

He spun around on his heel and marched into his office.

His personal assistant, Xander, was already inside, serving coffee to Simon’s lawyer at the table on the far side of his expansive office.

Xander looked like a wreck. Pale as a ghost. And his hands were trembling as he handed the coffee cup over to the lawyer.

“Good morning, Xander,” Simon said icily.

Xander didn’t meet his gaze. Merely nodded and said, “Sir.”

Simon narrowed his eyes. He was caught somewhere between anger and a strange sense of loss over such a betrayal. Bitterness rose within him. Pushing it all aside, he headed over to the table and took a seat. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to trust anyone ever again.

Linda appeared, with one of Dover’s senior executives in tow. “Is everyone here?” she asked.

“Yes.” Simon gestured for her and the executive to sit down.

Better to get this over with quickly. The press had already called him for a statement. A statement he refused to give until he got this matter settled. Reporters had been calling non-stop all weekend and all this morning. It had gotten so bad the frenzy had forced Simon to do something else he’d never done. Turn his phone off.

Linda took a seat beside him. Meanwhile, Xander sat down across from him and started typing away on his laptop.

“Has everybody heard the news this morning?” Simon found it impossible to keep the dangerous edge out of his voice.

Nobody said a word. Everybody trained their eyes on something other than him. Linda cleared her throat loudly, her discomfort evident.

Simon arched an eyebrow. “Linda? You expect me to believe you haven’t heard today’s news? Aren’t you my media relations officer?”

Linda turned bright red. “Of course, I heard. You called me with the news on Saturday.”

“That’s right,” he muttered. “I did. Do you know why I called you with the news before the story broke, Linda?”

“No,” Linda replied, her voice a squeak.

“Because I know you wouldn’t take so much as a paper clip from Dover. Because I still trust you.” He paused for emphasis. “For now.”

“I’ve been at Dover since day one, and I would never do anything to hurt this company,” Linda said desperately.

“Since Linda has so vigorously defended herself,” Simon went on, “would the rest of you like to take a stab at today’s news? Any thoughts on the insider trading that’s been going on at Dover?”

Another uncomfortable silence. He didn’t have time for this. If nobody was going to come out and admit what they had done, he had no choice but to throw them out of his office.

“Never mind,” he bit out harshly. “You’ve been given a chance to come clean and refused to do so. You’re all dismissed.”

“But Simon—”

“I’m not going to repeat myself,” he growled through clenched teeth, cutting Linda off.

Typically, he had a good relationship with his staff, especially Linda, but now wasn’t the time for sentiment. If he was going to protect the thousands of workers who depended on him, he had to lay down the law. It was the only way to maintain respect and keep control. He was the CEO. The tough decisions were up to him to make.

They all jumped to their feet and one by one started scurrying out of the office.

“Except for you, Xander,” Simon said in a menacing tone. “There’s something we need to discuss.”

The office emptied almost immediately, with him and Xander left behind. Reluctantly, Xander resumed his seat, his eyes darting around the office.

“I’m not going to beat around the bush here,” Simon said. “I know you did it, Xander.”

His assistant’s face was the picture of panic. “But, I didn’t—”

“Hand over your key card, your company ID, and your company-issued phone and leave immediately.” Simon got to his feet. “If you refuse to go quietly, I’ll have security here in less than sixty seconds.”

Xander sighed heavily. “How’d you figure out that it was me?”

“You’re joking, right?” Simon glared down at his assistant. “Think about who you’re talking to.”

It wasn’t arrogance to remind the people around him that he was more than likely smarter than them. Ever since he was a child, he had been the smartest person in the room at any given moment. That had started off as a curse but ended up paying off in high school. Then it had paid off even more through college and after, when he helped Dover Incorporated go from a tiny little start-up to one of the biggest tech companies on earth.

“I’ll go quietly,” Xander said, holding up his hands.

“That’s the smart play,” Simon said with a hard nod. “I don’t know why in hell you would hand over private information about my company shares to one of our biggest rivals.”

Xander crossed his arms. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“You know what the rules are,” Simon reminded him. “That kind of information is confidential. Not to mention revealing it to someone you know would act on it is illegal. You deliberately told someone about my private financial information to help them game the system.”

“We all do what we have to.” Xander stood up, tossed his key card, ID, and phone onto the table and glowered. “I’m looking out for my best interests.”

“What I don’t understand is why you did it,” Simon said. “Your salary’s far higher than the going rate. Your benefits are incredible. Why put a job like this in jeopardy?”

“That’s for me to know,” Xander said coldly.

“Fine, keep it to yourself,” Simon said, his voice hard. “You can leave. Police will escort you if you can’t figure out how to leave without so much as a paperclip in your hand. You’ll get your severance pay and I’ll say you resigned.”

It was a better deal than Xander deserved, but it looked like sentiment was about to win out after all.

“I’ll clear out my stuff and then leave,” Xander said.

“No. You leave your stuff. Just leave.”

His former assistant marched towards the door and turned the knob.

“Xander?” Simon said as he opened the door.

Xander turned to him, his eyebrow raised in a question.

“I hope it was worth it,” Simon said darkly.

“Damn right it was.” With that, Xander stepped out of his office without another word in response, slamming the door behind him.

Simon leaned forward, held his head in his hands, and let out a groan. Frustration was already taking its toll. He had no room for distractions like this. Anytime someone was let go, it was messy. To be avoided. Dover, Inc. ran like a well- oiled machine. Having a wrench tossed into the works like this set him on edge. One thing Simon hated more than anything was surprises. Unpredictability and he did not mix well. He hated the unexpected.

A knock on his office door made him lift his head. “Come in.”

Linda poked her head it. “It was Xander, wasn’t it?”

“Close the door,” Simon instructed.

She did as she was told and walked over to him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she exhaled loudly. “You did the right thing.”

“Did I?” He grimaced, feeling the twinge of one of his famous headaches coming on. “I know it had to be done, but it felt damn awful.”

“Now you know what it feels like,” she murmured.

“Part of me wanted to slug him. The other part wanted to shake him and ask why. I just can’t believe it,” Simon said. “Xander has been a loyal employee for years.”

“How long has he been giving out company secrets?”

Simon shrugged. “I’ve got a lawyer on the case now who is digging into it. I hope to hell it hasn’t been from the beginning.” He sighed, feeling older than he should. “I’m sure the police will come down hard on him soon enough.”

“How’re you feeling?” Linda asked. “Want to take the morning off? How about the whole day?”

Truth was, if he had time to do irritating things like process emotions he would have to admit that the discovery was devastating. And he wasn’t exactly friends with Xander. Simon didn’t have time for friends. Didn’t have time for relationships in general.

Sure, there were a few women here and there, but he liked being a bachelor just fine. There wasn’t enough room in his head or his life for anything other than running Dover, Inc. Besides, if he hadn’t met the woman he was supposed to settle down with by now, he figured it was never going to happen.

His temples throbbed. The headache was coming on fast. Simon shot to his feet. Discovering that Xander had been disloyal was one hell of a blow, but he had to put it behind him. Push forward. Find a replacement for his personal assistant. Someone he could trust. How the hell was he going to that? And fast? “I don’t have time to slow down. My big speech at the inter-company conference is next week and I’ve just lost my PA.”

“Are you ready to hire somebody?” Linda asked.

“I need to, but how am I going to get someone on such short notice? Someone qualified and trustworthy. Before the news hits the press on who was responsible.”

Lindo grinned knowingly.

Actually, kind of smugly. Simon knew that look. She was up to something. “What?”

Her grin expanded into a smile. “I’m interviewing candidates for my own personal assistant. Remember how we discussed that I now need someone since the company’s grown? I’ve gone through about thirty applicants and narrowed it down to three. Of all days, and scheduled times, I have them today,” Linda replied. “Interview my three candidates and pick one of them. I can choose from the other two.”

“Sounds a bit too convenient if you ask me.”

She laughed. “You don’t have to interview them. I’d rather pick first, but since you’re in a bit of a rut...”

“I’ll interview them. But I can’t promise you anything. Chances are—”

“Chances are, one of them might just work for you,” she interrupted.

Simon sighed. It was going to be one hell of a long day. “Thanks, Linda. I appreciate it.” Thanking anyone this profusely was rare for him. Linda was a bit of a mother figure for him, though he would never admit such a thing out loud. She was the closest thing he had to a friend, and he had probably scared the hell out of her earlier. “I’m sorry I had to be so hard on you. You understand, don’t you? I can’t play favorites.”

Linda waved her hand dismissively. “Water under the bridge. It’s time to get back to work. I’ll email you the list of the PA candidates and send the first one in to be interviewed within the hour.”

“Great. Thanks again.”

She ducked out of the room, and within minutes Simon checked his email for Linda’s message. He scanned the list of names, his eyes falling on one.

Heather Hall. He had no idea who that was, but the name Heather always stirred something in him. Reminded him of a girl back in high school. Simon had thought of her often. Just fleeting memories of good times. He was grateful she’d been the one person during his childhood who had seen something in him that he didn’t even know he had.

Memories flashed through his mind. Heather had been his first serious girlfriend. Well, as serious as a high school girlfriend could be anyway. Though he suspected their breakup had been more devastating for her than she had let on. Then again, it was high school. What did he know?

There had been other women since Heather, but they all sort of blurred together in his mind. Not Heather. She wasn’t a blur at all. Even now he could see her laughing hazel eyes. Her freckles. Those braces she had sported all through middle school.

They had both been so similar. All through his childhood he had been the awkward, bullied nerd. Meanwhile, geeky, shy Heather Monroe had been his childhood neighbor. His only friend. Hell, she had even been his first kiss back when they were in middle school. A sloppy, awkward kiss that he could never forget because she had smiled right after it. A stupid party game.

Then, he’d had a growth spurt in high school, played sports, and the dynamics of his social life changed. Girls had started to pay attention to him. But Heather had paid attention long before the growth spurt, and they briefly dated. She’d been the one to encourage him to follow his dreams of getting into tech. Hell, he had even lost his virginity to her. That’s probably why he’d always remember her. What a night that was.

“What are you smiling about?”

Linda’s voice dragged him from his thoughts. His media relations officer had stepped back into his office.

He cleared his throat. “Nothing.”

“Xander has left the premises,” Linda said. “So, I can let in the first interview candidate in if you’d like.”

“Yes, do that. Let’s get this over and done with.” It was going to take weeks to train someone to keep up with him. That’s probably what peeved him off more than Xander being a turncoat.

Minutes later, the first candidate stepped into his office and introduced herself. Simon sat across from her, glancing over her resumé. Nothing stood out, but she still seemed like a solid enough candidate. After conducting the short interview he led her out of his office, promising to get in touch if he decided to hire her.

As soon as he resumed his seat there was a knock on his office door.

“Come in,” he said as he scribbled down notes about the interview he’d just finished.

His eyes still focused on the notepad on his desk, he heard the office door swing open. The sound of high heels clicking on the floor made him look up.

Holy. The woman walking into his room was a knockout. Long legs. Auburn hair tied up in a severe bun. Glasses perched primly on her delicate nose. A splash of freckles on her face. She didn’t look like a model or anything. It was just...something about her.

She had a natural beauty that no enhancement could ever improve upon. She reminded him of a librarian. All business. No nonsense. There was a chilly air about her. Her hazel eyes reminded him of a cool autumn day. But then her eyes flashed, revealing that beneath the chill, something hot smoldered underneath.

Beauty aside, her looks weren’t the reason his heart had suddenly stopped. To Simon, looks were often irrelevant. What was relevant was the fact that he recognized her. Standing right in front of him was Heather. His Heather.

He got to his feet and walked over to her. Took her soft, warm hand in his and shook it. “It’s you.” The touch of her hand sent an unexpected jolt of electricity through him. He almost lost his train of thought. “What have you been doing with yourself all these years?”

Heather’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sorry?”

Simon paused. “Heather? Heather Monroe?”

She pursed her lips and pulled her hand back. “Actually, it’s Heather Hall.”

“You don’t recognize me?”

“Of course, I do.” She laughed. “You’re Simon Diesel. There might not be many public photos of you, but just about anyone would know you on sight.”

“What high school did you go to?” he asked.

“Roosevelt Prep.” She pulled out a print out from the folder in her hands. “It’s right here on my resumé.”

He frowned. Roosevelt Prep was one of the most elite high schools in the city. It was where people with money sent their children. Growing up, his parents had absolutely no money, so he had never had a hope in hell of going to a school like that.

Simon took her folder and her resumé from her and looked it over. She really had graduated from Roosevelt Prep. So, they hadn’t gone to the same high school. But, she looked exactly like Heather Monroe. Well, the grown-up version of his Heather. He shook his head. He had to stop calling her that. She was a little bit taller and slimmer, but it had to be her. Otherwise, the physical similarities would have been extraordinary.

She stared at him, her face totally blank. Was it possible? Did she really not remember him?

Maybe he had been mistaken, and this woman wasn’t the girl he’d grown up with. Wasn’t the first girl who had ever taken an interest in him.

No. It was her. Had to be. Simon didn’t make mistakes. It was her.

“So, you’re not Heather Monroe?” he prodded. “You didn’t live next door to me?” He could always bring up the fact that they had dated, but what purpose would that serve? Hey, remember me, the fumbling idiot you lost your virginity to?

During that first night of sex on prom night, he had come a little too early. Fuck it. Way too damn early. Poor girl never stood a chance. No way in hell was he going to remind her of that.

Heather blinked and shook her head. “I think I’d remember living next door to Simon Diesel. I’m sorry, but I really don’t know you.”