Chapter 5

Inside, Phoebe was a churning mass of rage and pain and fear, but she held on to her composure. With a regal inclination of her head, she said, "You know, I was positive you wouldn't want me to work for you either, and I tried to tell Mr. Steven that." She started toward the rosewood doors. "I can't even imagine how could anyone be able to work you"

"Oh really?," Cole asked.

She turned toward him with her hand on the doorknob. "Oh, definitely. Unlike all the staff working for you, I can tell you exactly what I think of you in perfect French." She saw a nerve jerk in his tightly clenched jaw, and she added in a low, scathing voice, "But it's much more satisfying to say it to you in English: you're a bastard!"

Wrenching open the door, Phoebe marched across the luxurious reception area. She was punching the button to summon an elevator when Cole's hand clamped over her wrist. "Get back into my office," he growled between his teeth.

"Take your hand off me!," she whispered furiously.

"There are six people watching us," he warned. "Either you walk into my office on your own, or I'll drag you in there in front of them."

"Go ahead and try it!," she raged right back at him. "I'll sue you for assault and subpoena all six of them as witness!"

Unexpectedly, her threat wrung a reluctant, admiring smile from him. "You have the most incredibly beautiful eyes when you're angr-"

"Save it!," Phoebe hissed, jerking violently at her wrist.

"I have been," he teased suggestively.

"Don't talk to me like that-I don't want any part of you!"

"Liar. You want every part of me."

His mocking confidence knocked the breath, out of Phoebe. Defeated, she leaned her shoulder against the marble wall and said without looking back at him. "Cole, please let go off me."

"I can't." His forehead creased into a dark frown of irritated bewilderment. "Whenever I see you, I can't seem to let you go."

"You fired me!"

He grinned. "I just rehired you."

Phoebe was too weakened by the turbulence of the last few minutes to resist that devastating smile of his, and besides, she desperately wanted this job to show to her sisters, that she's definitely over Cole. Resentfully, she shoved away from the wall and accompanied him into his secretary's office, which connected to his by a door.

"This will be where you will be doing all your work. Here is a report from the Danner project. While I'm at lunch, you can start by translating the letter that came from Danner this morning," he paused and turn to look back at her from the door. "You and I are going to have a long talk when I get back."

***

At two-thirty, the telephone rang. "Janet?"

Phoebe's blood ran cold. Patricia. "Mr. Turner is out for a luncheon. Can I take a message?"

"Well, you can tell him that Patricia Callahan called, and I'll be seeing Cole tomorrow night," Patricia said without a hint of recognition. By the way, are you his new secretary?"

"Yes I am." Phoebe said coldly.

"Do you even know who I am?," Patricia asked arrogantly.

"Should I," Phoebe asked with a bored tone.

Patricia gave a cry of outrage. "My father owns 'Pedingtion', the largest shipping company in the country."

"Good for you"

"You better watch your tongue, lady. You don't even realize that you're talking to Cole's cousin here. But soon to be his fiancé," Patricia said. Phoebe felt a spurt of jealousy. "I can fire you anytime I like"

"Fire away then". Phoebe casually hang up the phone. But sat there and starts clenching her fist. Is Cole really going to marry Patricia? I didn't realize they were that close!

But by the time Cole returned from lunch, she was calm again. For the next few weeks, she promised herself, she was going to adhere to her original plan and treat Cole with the polite friendliness she would show any of her colleagues. If he pressed her, she merely act amused, and if that annoyed him-well, good!

The intercom on her desk buzzed. Cole's rich voice sent a delicious little shiver through her, a shiver she stoically repressed. "Phoebe, will you come in here please?"

He was obviously ready to have their 'long talk' now. Phoebe picked up his messages and walked into the office. "Yes?," she said, lifting her delicate brows in inquiry.

Cole was perched on the edge of his desk, his arms crossed over his chest. "Come here," he said quietly.

Phoebe warily contemplated his relaxed stance and the lazy, caressing look in his eyes. She came forward, but stopped just out his reach.

He said, "That's not close enough."

"It's more than close enough."

Amusement gleamed in his eyes, and his voice deepened coaxingly. "We need to straighten out some personal matters between us. Why don't we do it over dinner tonight?," he suggested.

Phoebe courteously refused with a half truth, "I'm sorry. I already have a date."

"All right, how about tomorrow night?" he asked, holding out his hand for hers.

Phoebe plunked his messages into his outstretched palm. "You already have a date-Miss Patricia Callahan"

Cole ignored that reminder. "I'm leaving for China on Friday-"

"Have a good trip," Phoebe interrupted lightly.

"I'll be back on Tuesday," he continued with a trace of impatience. "We can go-"

"Sorry," Phoebe said with an amused little smile that was intended to annoy him. "I'm busy on Tuesday, and so are you. A Miss Samantha called, and you're suppose to call her back"

"I'll call her back later," Cole stated tersely.

"Oh, okay, I would like to stay and chat, but I still have that report to translate, so is there anything else?"

"Yes, dammit, there is. I hurt you and I'm sorry..."

"I accept your apology," Phoebe said brightly. "Anyway, the damage was only to my pride. Though, it costs me a divorce.."

He studied her with narrowed eyes. "Phoebe, I'm trying to apologize to you so that-"

"You already apologize," Phoebe interrupted.

"So that we can go on from here," he finished implacably. After a thoughtful pause, he continued, "For both our sakes, we'll have to be discreet in order to avoid gossip within the corporation, but I think if we're reasonably cautious when we're together, we can manage."

Fury, not pleasure, tinted Phoebe's smooth cheeks. "Manage what? A sleazy affair? You jump from woman to woman like eating candy bars? Or have you forgotten about Patricia?"

"There is nothing between Patricia and me-"

"Oh, then are you trying to have an affair with me behind her back, just like what you did to me behind my back, with her?!," she hissed. "You're sick!"

Cole lunged forward, and seized her wrists. His eyes were flaming with an alarming combination of anger and desire. "You beautiful, outrageous...". His mouth swooped down, seizing her lips with raw, devastating hunger and ruthless insistence. Phoebe clamped her teeth together, resisting the shattering persuasion of his kiss.

"Is this the 'top priority confidential' project that required Phoebe's presence up here?," Keith's amused drawl aborted the kiss, and their heads snapped around towards the door, where he was lounging in the doorway.