“I can’t wait to start working with you,” she’d said. Heather’s smile was so familiar to him that he found himself staring at her for a moment too long.

When she glanced at him and caught him staring, Simon quickly looked away and pushed the lobby button in the elevator. They were the only people in the elevator, and the scent of her perfume filled the air. There was something so arresting about the surprisingly seductive scent that clung to her. It wasn’t the perfume he would have expected for someone so primly dressed. Heather’s perfume was the scent of a seductress. Not a professional PA.

He groaned inwardly. His head was swimming with the most insane, inappropriate thoughts. It must have been the ebbing headache. And the fact that Heather Hall reminded him so much of his childhood friend.

“I look forward to us working together, too,” he finally said stiffly.

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped out into the gleaming lobby of Dover, Inc. headquarters.

“I figured we could start the tour from the bottom floor and make our way up,” he suggested. “I want to introduce you to the security personnel at the front.”

He led her across the lobby to the huge front desk. He introduced her to the receptionist and the security guards.

As Heather started to ask the receptionist questions about Dover, Simon found himself staring at her. She resembled his high school sweetheart so much that it was making his heart race. Why the distraction now? He hadn’t seen Heather Monroe since he was seventeen, maybe eighteen years old. More than ten years ago. Yes, he had fond memories of the time they had dated in high school, but that didn’t explain why he literally couldn’t breathe right now.

Just being around a woman who reminded him of his childhood sweetheart was affecting him. It put his mind in an unfamiliar daze. It was rare for him to react to a woman like this. Surely, it must have been the headache putting him in such a fog. Or the stress from having to fire Xander earlier in the morning.

“Will I be able to get my key card today?” Heather’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“What?”

Her hazel eyes were staring at him expectantly. “Simon?”

“Yes.” He nodded to the receptionist and security guards before leading Heather away from the front desk. “You’ll get your key card today. And your ID card, if you’re game for taking a photo.”

She walked beside him, quickly trying to keep up. “A photo? Today? I don’t know if I want to take a photo with my glasses on. I probably look way too nerdy to take a good photo.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” he said. “You look fine. Perfectly adequate.”

Adequate? He cringed the moment the word left his mouth. What woman alive wanted to be told she looked adequate?

Her eyebrows shot up as they stopped in front of the elevator. “Oh. I see.”

“No. I mean, you look more than adequate,” he rushed on. “Lovely, in fact. And you have the most remarkable eyes...” Damn it, he was staring at her again. Right into her eyes like a crazy person. He started pressing the elevator button, pressing it so hard he was surprised he hadn’t broken his fingers.

A blush turned her cheeks the most becoming shade of pink. “Thank you. I get that a lot.”

“I just meant that your eyes are like Heather’s eyes,” he said. “The other Heather. The one I went to school with.”

“Oh.” She bit her lower lip, drawing his attention away from her eyes to her full, pink lips. “She must have meant a lot to you.”

“She was a great... friend,” he said. “She’s the one who encouraged me to start all this. Before Heather, nobody really believed in me.”

Her eyes widened. “So, you’re hiring me based on someone you knew in the past?”

“No! Your resumé speaks for itself. I apologize for the comparison. Again, I sound unprofessional. Just ignore the comments today. It’s been one hell of a weekend.”

Mercifully, the elevator doors opened again, and they stepped inside. The tiny space was crammed with staff who greeted him, which meant his agonizing conversation with Heather was cut short.

Once they got to the right floor, Simon waited while Heather took her ID photo. When she finally walked back out, ID in hand, she was putting her glasses back on.

“I took off my glasses for the photo,” she said, not sure why she was explaining it to him. “I couldn’t see a thing, but I think the photo turned out okay.” She held the ID out to him and he glanced at it. She really was a stunner. Maybe not in the way celebrity magazines went crazy over, but there was something so wholesome about her.

“Looks great. They’re IDs. Like a driver’s license. We’re not supposed to look like we’re posing.” His gaze flicked back to her and he drank her in. Heather wasn’t very tall, but she was slender. Willowy. With a very upright posture and a poise that struck him. Despite how uptight she came across, Simon sensed what smoldered underneath.

More than anything he wanted to yank the pins out of her auburn hair and let it cascade down her shoulders. Run his fingers through the silky strands. The way he had when they were together.

No. This wasn’t his old neighbor. The resemblance might be startling, but that was just his own mind going haywire. His intelligence had always made his thoughts race a million miles a minute. He could solve multiple puzzles in his head at once. That’s all this was. His own thoughts getting the best of him. That would soon stop, once he got to know this Heather a bit better. She was simply another puzzle, like everything else.

Granted, people didn’t often interest him this much. Software and hardware. Engineering. Brainstorming. Trial and error. That was what he knew. Those were the easy questions because, ultimately, there was always an answer. What was the answer to a woman like this, who intrigued him so much because she reminded him of someone else?

“It’s almost lunchtime,” he said, glancing at his Dover-made smartwatch. “I can show you where the staff eats and then we can continue the tour after.”

She smiled. “I’d like that. Lead the way.”

He tried to ignore what her smile did to him. Instead, he headed to one of the company cafeterias for lunch. His relationship with Heather Hall was strictly professional. Even though Dover permitted romantic relationships—if they were disclosed—to Simon, employees, especially subordinates, were off limits. Whatever feelings his new PA stirred in him were merely biological. A trick of a brain reminded of the past.

The cafeteria wasn’t particularly crowded, so he grabbed a seat for the two of them and handed her a menu.

“Thanks,” she said she scanned the menu.

Even though he knew the menu by heart, he forced himself to focus on it rather than steal a glance at her. Right now, Dover, Inc. needed him to get through this week and deliver one hell of a speech. A new generation of software and hardware was going to be released soon, and he needed to be on his A game at the inter-company conference.

Still, considering his former PA’s insider trading, suspicion nagged at him. The only way to set those suspicions aside was to do a background check on Heather.

Starting today.

~~*~~

LUNCH WAS DIVINE. EVEN better than anything she had ever had at her previous job. And best of all, lunch at Dover, Inc. was free.

As Heather took a bite of her delicious stir-fried rice, she realized how easy it would be to get used to all this. Simon might have been a genius CEO who obsessed over keeping everything running smoothly, but there was a very laid-back culture at Dover. She could eat whatever she wanted for free, unlike at VLA Tech where employees had to pay for food.

“So, Heather, how do you like things so far?” Simon asked from across the lunch table.

“Great,” she said. “Everyone seems friendly.” While they had waited to get lunch, Simon had called a few colleagues over and introduced her. She had literally just been hired this morning, and everyone she had spoken to had enthusiastically offered to help her adjust.

“Right. Friendly.” He took a bite out of his ham sandwich. No, that wasn’t a bite. Simon was practically inhaling it. Not taking the time to even taste it.

“Are you in a hurry?” she asked, glancing at the quickly disappearing sandwich.

He swallowed hard. “Sorry. I’m a fast eater. I just eat and get right back to work.”

“Yes, but it’s lunch time,” she said. “You can take a break for an hour.”

Simon cleared his throat. Feeling ridiculous for some reason. “I don’t usually take such long breaks.” Damn it, it was his company. He didn’t have to explain this to his new PA.

“You’re kidding.”

“No, I work all the time,” he said. “Can’t keep still for very long. My brain won’t let me.”

“Oh. I remember.” Her face went all hot the moment the words escaped her mouth.

He gave her a funny look. “Remember?”

“I mean, I remember how that feels. The business. I get that when I’m heading to bed at night. Go, go go,” she stammered as her face flushed with heat. She really needed to work on her lies if she hoped to keep this up for three months or more. “The joys of being a workaholic.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He gave her a lopsided grin.

Damn, he looked so absurdly handsome. Plus, he was the type of man who probably had no idea the effect he had on women. Sure, girls started throwing themselves at him back in high school after his growth spurt, but Simon always seemed to be a mix of grudging and amused by the attention.

It was like he really had no idea what those blue eyes of his could do. One look alone had her body trembling. Burning with a need she thought she had buried so long ago. She had never burned with this kind of desire during her marriage to Gary.

And the desire wasn’t solely based on looks. What drew her to him was his mind. His intelligence. The way Simon looked at the world. The way he wanted to use his gift to make the world a better place.

There was something about the way he made her feel that she couldn’t shake. In the lobby earlier, he had told her that Heather had been the one to encourage his dreams. If only he knew that she was the Heather he had been referring to. Even as she was forced to keep up her lies it still touched her that, in some way, Simon attributed his success to her encouragement. His gratitude had warmed her heart, which surprised her.

“Hard work isn’t a bad thing,” she said finally. “But you said Dover doesn’t like people getting burned out from so much work.”

“That’s a policy for staff,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “That rule doesn’t apply to me.”

“Do any rules apply to you?”

His eyebrow went up. “I don’t like playing by typical corporate or media rules, if that’s what you’re asking, Heather. Work is important to me. Slowing down isn’t an option.”

“Not even for a social life?” She knew she was probably pushing it by prying. Especially since Simon guarded his privacy. But she was so curious. So curious about what her high school sweetheart had been up to all these years.

“What are you asking?” His gaze held hers.

Damn. There it was again. That hunger that darkened his eyes and made her burn with need.

Air squeezed out of her lungs. She could hardly breathe. Those ice-blue eyes hypnotized her. Made every sane thought in her head vanish. It was crazy how enthralled she was in his presence. Somehow, she was going to have to shake the remnants of this high school crush if she had any hope of keeping this job. “I guess I was wondering if you have any friends.” That was a cop-out, but she couldn’t exactly ask her new boss if he had a girlfriend. “Outside of work.”

Simon laughed. “Friends? Who has the time?”

“Pushing the mad, reclusive genius angle hard, huh?” she asked playfully, trying to compose herself.

“Someone has to,” he replied. “But in all seriousness, I work this hard because for years I never thought I’d be here. Before Heather, nobody thought I could do anything. Let alone run a company like this. My parents weren’t very encouraging of me when I was growing up.”

Her heart ached for him as memories came flooding back. His parents could be downright cruel. There were times when Heather had witnessed it. Simon’s father had thought his intelligence was a waste, while his mother always told him that sports would lead nowhere. In their minds he was destined to work in a factory like his father, and nothing else. As it turned out, they were both wrong. With his talents, he had gotten a scholarship. Changed the course of his life, instead of ending up resigned and bitter like his parents.

“What do they think of you now?” she asked softly. “They have to be proud of everything you’ve accomplished.”

Simon’s face turned to stone. His entire body went rigid and he leaned away from her. “No.” His voice was as cold as marble.

From his tone and change in demeanor, Heather knew that the topic of his parents was no longer up for discussion. Whatever had gone on in their years apart, it looked like Simon still didn’t have a good relationship with his parents.

“Well, how about we discuss your upcoming speech?” she asked, trying to steer the conversation away from his personal life.

“Good idea,” he said. “I plan on doing a rehearsal at the venue the day before. That way we can check the acoustics, do a sound check, and make sure everything is running smoothly.”

“You’ll also have to choose something to wear,” she said.

He frowned. “You say that like you don’t trust me to wear something appropriate.”

“That’s not it,” she said. “It’s just...you may need a more cohesive look.”

“Cohesive?”

What he was wearing wasn’t actually a problem. He had on a sweater vest and a jacket that were both designer-made. Simon was also wearing jeans that were designer-made. No matter how hard he tried to act like he didn’t care about certain things, she had a good enough eye to know that his clothes cost a fortune. “What you’re wearing makes you look like too much of a mystery,” she explained. “The jeans are casual, but the jacket is so formal. You’ve just fired your PA, hired a new one, and the press is dying to prove that you, or your company, can’t handle it.”

There was something both effortlessly masculine and sharply intellectual about him. It was like the jock and the nerd inside him were at war with each other. Try as she might to fight it, it intrigued her. Fueled her attraction to him. But the press was going to be there. Being a mystery might make it tougher for him to get his message across.

“So?”

“Don’t you want to open yourself up?” she asked. “Get the public to get to know you?”

“No.” His frown deepened. “I don’t care what people think of me.”

“You’re selling the public a product,” she pointed out. “Their opinions are going to drive whether Dover’s new generation of products can succeed. I hate to show my own personal life, but sometimes, with business, you have to let a little show. Give them a little taste to prove the product.”

“You’re right, I am selling a product,” he said, his face unreadable. “Which means I’m selling efficiency, cutting-edge technology. Not myself.”

“You are selling yourself, though,” she insisted. “I’ve spent years learning from VLA’s marketing department, and I took my share of online marketing and PR courses on VLA’s dime. I might not have the fanciest degree, but I promise I’m not trying to steer you wrong.”

“VLA is run by flashy personalities who think slick salespeople are the way to go,” he muttered. “No offense to your former employees, but their CEO is a showman. He knows nothing about engineering or creating things that improve people’s lives.”

She tapped her fingers lightly on the lunch table. “So, you’d rather continue to be a mystery to people?”

“What’s wrong with a little mystery?” he asked. “The less people know about me, the better. Dover is about the products we sell. Not the personalities behind them.”

His stubbornness was already infuriating her. How could he hope to get the public interested in his speech if he didn’t care about how he was selling it? Unless...

“Maybe we could use the mystery as a fallback,” she suggested. “Mysterious billionaire CEO gives major speech at Dover conference. Kind of like, Simon Diesel finally breaks his silence, or something. It’s pretty well known that you avoid the limelight.”

“So, my conflicting wardrobe could be an asset.” He sounded serious, but the corners of his sensuous mouth quirked up slightly. There was that look of faint amusement. It was arrogance personified. As if Simon was in on a secret nobody else knew. As if he was the smartest man in the room and knew it.

“Was there often this much pushback when your former assistant made suggestions?” she asked. She might have been mousy and withdrawn in high school, but working in such a cutthroat corporate environment had steeled her spine. Simon had said he welcomed her ideas. She intended to hold him to that.

“You ask a lot of questions, Heather.”

“You’re my boss,” she said smoothly. “It’s my business to find out everything I can so that I can anticipate your every need.”

Simon surged to his feet and grabbed his tray. “We’ll talk some more about the speech when your lunch break is over.” His eyes landed on her, the expression on his handsome face inscrutable. “Let’s see if you’re able to keep up with me.”