Free Curves for Casanova by Seraphina Donavan

 
    CHAPTER ONE
     
    Libby Jones stepped into the elevator.  She hated them and always had. The small enclosed spaces made her nervous. However, given that her only other option was to run into the last person in the world she wanted to see, she would use the closet like contraption.
    Accepting this job a few months ago, she’d thought it was a godsend. But…that was before she’d realized who the McBray in McBray Enterprises was. Humiliation burned through her at the memory of the one time they’d met before and all she wanted was to dig a hole and crawl into it. For two months now, she’d avoided seeing him, or more correctly, she’d avoided letting him see her.
    Pressing the button in a flurry of panic, she let out a startled yelp as the closing doors slid open again and a man shouldere d his way inside.
    Her luck had indeed run out on this particular afternoon, when he nearly appeared beside her in the elevator. 
    Lookin g up, she felt her heart sink. Finding herself alone in the elevator with none other than Gavin McBray, tech genius and billionaire playboy, was her worst nightmare. 
    Memories of their previous meeting, of hot and steamy kisses in a darkened hallway while a party raged beyond the doors, passed through her mind. Visions of his hands sliding over her body and pressing tightly against her, assaulted her senses once more.
    T hey were near to ravaging each other when buzzing of his phone, incessant and intrusive had brought her crashing back to sanity. 
    While he’d taken the call, apparently a very important one, she’d slipped away and made her way down the dock to a waiting taxi . At the time, she’d told herself it was for the best, because one night stands weren’t her thing, even if they were with men who looked like her most secret fantasy come to life. 
    It was only after taking the job at McBray that she’d discov ered who her almost lover was. Desperate for work, she’d told herself she could manage it. As a lowly secretary, they were hardly likely to even see one another, she’d told herself. In fact, they were about as far apart socially as any two humans could be. 
    N ow they were face to face, and she was caught…completely and utterly caught.
    She’d only been at that party because her cousin, a model, had woun d up with an extra invitation. Recalling the slow dance they’d shared, and how he’d led her from the dance floor to a deserted hallway, Libby felt like she couldn’t quite catch her breath. Trying to remind herself that he was her boss now and that it was unacceptable to jump on him and climb him like a tree.
    Her saner half told her it would be utterly humiliating if she did that and he fired her, or worse if wasn’t attracted at all. She braced herself for the awkward silence.
    Libby then tried to distract herself from the feeling of an overwhelming attraction as her gaze fell to her feet. She abruptly became too aware of her outfit now, her shoes were from a thrift store and her clothes had come from the clearance rack of a close-out store. Hoping, that he wouldn’t even look at her, she felt immediately uncomfortable. 
    “You’re Jones,” he said. 
    Libby was fairly certain she squeaked aloud as she said a fervent prayer that perhaps he’d enough champagne that night not to remember her. Turning to look at him, her eyes wide and feeling like an idiot, she answered, “Yes, sir. Libby Jones.”
    “Liberty, i f I remember correctly,” he prompted. 
    S he could have groaned at that. “Yes, sir.”
    He nodded. “How do you like working for me, Miss Jones?”
    “ I love my job, sir,” she lied. She hated her job. Oh, of course she loved the pay, but the work itself was about as challenging as a game of tic-tac-toe. 
    “Really?” he challenged. 
    Libby saw the gleam in his eye.
    It seemed h e knew she’d lied. 
    “Honestly?” she muttered , seeing that at this point fessing up was her only option, “I feel that I’m being underutilized. I