Free The Personal Assistant by Penny Ward Page A

you smile again.”
    What am I supposed to say to that?
    I mean, he’s gorgeous and says sweet stuff to strange women like me. But although deflated and forlorn is right, but I’m not being stupid again.
    Not today!
    Let him play his games with some other sucker.
    But his figure catches my attention.
    Oh my, he is stunning… and I do feel lousy. Maybe I should listen to him for a moment? What am I rushing back home to?
    An angry landlord who wants to evict me and take everything I own in lieu of rent?
    It doesn’t even feel like my home anymore. Not since I broke up with Greg “I’m-going-to-rip-you-off-and-sleep-with-your-hairdresser-then-disappear” Johnson.
    “What are you thinking?” he asks.
    “What?” his honeyed tones burst through my thoughts. “Nothing.”
    “Tell me your name.”
    I look at his suit, his sports car, and his incredible face.
    This guy has serious wealth and a wicked sparkle in his eyes.
    “How do you propose to make me smile, and why would you bother? We don’t even know each other.”
    “You like to get right down to business, too.” He steps closer and his gaze darkens. “A girl after my own heart. First, won’t you tell me your name?”
    I swear, one of my knees actually weakens beneath me and makes me wobble.
    I never knew this kind of thing actually happens. It’s certainly never happened to me before.
    I have to shuffle my weight to the other side to remain stable.
    “You are as vague as a politician. I’m Amelia. You?”
    “Sharp too.” One perfectly arched eyebrow shoots toward his solid hairline, and his full lips twitches. “I approve. I’m Bryce. Bryce Morgan.”
    Even his name is lush.
    “What do you want, Bryce Morgan?” I look at my watch, which is broken, but he doesn’t know that. “I have to catch my bus.”
    I signal behind me with my thumb, as though the bus stop isn’t in fact several blocks away.
    “You do? That’s a shame.”
    “Really?” I say, trying not to smile at his cheeky manner. “Why’s that then?”
    He leans his perfect mouth down to my ear and whispers, “Because I’d like to offer you $100,000 to spend one night with me.”
    His breath on my neck sends shivers down my spine, and my ego swells at an alarming rate.
    After the initial rush though, my chest constricts at the implication that I’m somehow for sale.
    “What about my husband?” I lie.
    He scoffs. He’s so close to me that his scent stirs my loins.
    “Husband?” he points to my left hand, “I don’t see a wedding ring.”
    I shove my hands in my pockets, enraged he should think the only reason I might say no to prostituting myself is if another man in my life told me I couldn’t.
    “Well… I might not be wearing it now.”
    He grins. “Do you have a boyfriend, Amelia? Do you have a lover at home you need to consider?”
    “What? That’s none of your business.”
    I’m mad at him, but also at myself for thinking I would love to spend the night with someone like him.
    If he’d asked to take me out, if we’d gotten on well, and if we’d dated a little while...I flex my fists in my pockets and grind my jaw, staring at my feet, hating how much I need to say yes.
    “What are you doing?” I ask him.
    “I’m offering you a job. For one night.”
    I stare at him in a state of confusion.
    He wants to pay for a no-strings screw and he thinks that’s all it’ll take to make me smile?
    Men.
    “I know what this is: You see a girl leave the employment agency looking upset and think, ‘We’ve got a desperado here. Bet she’ll do anything for a bit of cash.’ Well, I’m not that desperate.”
    Bryce bends down a bit and lowers his head to glance up at me from behind killer thick, black lashes. “You haven’t said no yet.”
    “Haven’t I?”
    He’s right. I haven’t said no.
    Why haven’t I said no?
    “$100,000,” he whispers in my ear again. “For one night.”
    Say no?
    How do I say no to a night with an Adonis?
    To a bank balance of