Millionaire Boss

She seated herself in the chair next to his. “You’ve met her, then,” she said, looking pleased with herself.

“Yeah. And she’s a mouse. What were you thinking? She’ll never work out.”

“But she’s perfect,” she insisted, as if surprised by his assessment. “Very organized, extremely intelligent, loyal to a fault. Plus, she’s single and more than willing to work the odd hours your schedule demands.”

“She’s a mouse,” he repeated disagreeably. “She’ll never be able to stand up to the pressures of this job.”

“You mean she’ll never be able to withstand your temper tantrums.”

He frowned at the reprimand in her tone and snatched up a salt shaker, narrowing an eye at it as he turned it in his hand. “That, too,” he muttered, reluctant to admit that his former secretary had hit the nail on the head.

“Then maybe you ought to learn to control your temper,” she suggested, sounding more like a mother than a former employee.

Erik glanced over at her and set down the shaker, unable to suppress the half smile her scolding drew. God, but he was going to miss the old girl. “Why don’t you give up on this retirement nonsense and come back to work for me? You know as well as I do that no one can replace you.”

“Can’t. My grandchildren need me.”

“I need you,” he argued. “Those rugrats have their own mothers to take care of them. I only have you.”

“You’re a big boy,” she was quick to remind him, “and more than capable of taking care of yourself.”

He let her argument pass without comment, allowing the silence to stretch out between them. He knew it was the right tactic when she began to wring her hands.

“When was the last time you ate?” she asked uneasily.

“Can’t remember. At least a day. Maybe two.”

“Erik Thompson!” she cried, and pushed herself from the table. “For heaven’s sake,” she fussed as she bustled about, setting a griddle on the stove and turning on a burner beneath it. “A man needs food to keep up his strength.”

“Yeah, I know,” he replied, smiling smugly. “That’s why I need you.”

She pursed her lips and gave him her best you’re-not-fooling-me-for-a-minute-young-man look over her shoulder, then turned her attention to pouring pancake batter over the griddle.

Chuckling, Erik reared back in his chair and hooked his thumbs in the waist of his jeans as he glanced around the cozy kitchen. God, but he loved this room with its never-ending supply of mouthwatering aromas, ridiculous clutter of useless knickknacks, the jumble of artwork and pictures that papered the refrigerator door. He figured he’d spent more time at this table and in this room than he had in those of his childhood home, a fact that spoke volumes about his relationship with his parents.

“Have you heard anything more from Boy Wonder?” she asked as she flipped a pancake.

Erik frowned, reminded of the irritating and mysterious hacker that jumped from machine to machine and server to server, continuing to elude Erik. “Yeah. A couple of times. He’s still around, slipping in back doors and into systems where he has no business.”

“Has he done any damage?”

“None that I can determine. I figure he’s due to do something big soon, though. He’s been hanging around way too long.”

“You’ll catch him,” she told him confidently.

“Damn straight,” he muttered, irritated that the hacker had thus far managed to dodge the traps he’d set for him.

“She’ll do a fine job.”

He glanced up, mentally thrown off balance by the quick change in topic. Then, realizing she was referring to his new secretary, he scowled and pushed back, giving her room to set a plate in front of him. “Not as good as you.”

She smiled, obviously pleased by the compliment as she sank down on the chair next to his. She placed a hand over his, her smile turning wistful. “I’m grateful for the job you offered me after Red died. I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done, if not for you.”

Reminded of the death five years earlier of the man who had been more a father to him than his own father ever had been, Erik firmed his lips against the emotion that crowded his throat. He turned his hand over and gripped his fingers around hers. “Red was a good man. The best.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “He would be so proud of the work you’re doing.”

“He gave me my first chance. Taught me everything he knew.”

“Yes, and he’d be even prouder to know that you took that knowledge and continued his work.”

“We continued it,” he argued, reminding her that she was very much a part of the work he’d carried on after her husband’s death.

She laughed and gave his hand a squeeze before releasing it. “And I enjoyed every minute of it. But it’s time for me to enter the next stage of my life, that of doting grandmother.”

“You’ll be bored out of your mind in a month’s time, I guarantee it.”

“No,” she told him, and lifted her apron’s skirt to dab the telltale tears from her eyes. “I’m really looking forward to spending time with my grandbabies.”

He braced his forearms on the table and leaned toward her, his expression growing earnest. “Then just go part-time at the office. There’s no reason why you can’t continue to work for me and spend time with your grandchildren, too.”

Chuckling, she shook her head. “You’re just afraid that if I retire completely I won’t cook for you anymore.”

He scowled, but picked up his fork. “That’s not it at all. I need you, Mrs. H. We’re a team.”

“And you and Penny will make a good team, too.” She smiled and placed a hand on his cheek. “Give her a chance,” she urged gently. “You’ll see. Penny Rawley is exactly the woman you need in your life.”

Hours later Erik was still scowling, wondering what Mrs. H. had meant by that last comment.

Penny Rawley is exactly the woman you need in your life.

Was the old girl playing matchmaker? he wondered as he glanced over at his secretary, who sat before a computer terminal at the end of his credenza, transcribing from tapes the data he’d recorded during his meetings in Japan.

He quickly looked away, discarding the troublesome thought. No, he told himself. Though Mrs. H. had run roughshod over his life for more than fifteen years, ever since Red had brought Erik home with him the first time, and over Erik’s office since her husband’s death, she’d never once tried to fix him up with a woman.

He glanced up again as his new secretary rose and headed for her adjoining office. Her hand was on the doorknob when he called out, “Hold up a sec.”

Penny stopped, startled by her employer’s barked command, her heart seeming to stop, too. It leaped into a pounding, joyous beat as she turned to face him, as she was sure that he had at last remembered her. “Yes?” she asked expectantly.

“Do you have any family?”

“Well…no,” she replied, caught off guard by the unexpected question. “Other than a brother, two nieces and a nephew,” she added prudently.

“Good.” He spun his chair around and grabbed the mouse next to his keyboard and began to scroll through a complicated table of computer codes. “’Cause you’re going to California with me this afternoon.”

Her eyes widened as she stared at the back of his head. “To California? With you?”

“Yeah. Go home and pack a bag. Throw in something fancy,” he added.