back there when she’d first taken the koala into her arms and seemed so surprised and devastated, and he’d wanted to hold her, just scoop her up and take her somewhere and cuddle and comfort her.
‘Yes, Ozzie smelled of eucalyptus and warm furry animal.’ She buckled her seat belt and sat very primly in the seat, her back stiff enough to suggest that she didn’t want to delve too deeply into her reaction to holding the animal. ‘His coat was a little oily. Thanks for the hint to keep my cardigan on.’
She’d seemed empty somehow, and he’d wanted to give her what was missing, but his response had been on an instinctive level he couldn’t begin to fathom. Well, it didn’t matter anyway because she was his secretary, nothing more, and since that was exactly how he wanted things to be … ‘You’re welcome.’
He glanced at her. She was dressed conservatively, but the prissy white blouse just made her hair look fluffier and made him think all the more about the curves hidden away beneath the shirt’s modest exterior.
So much for his vow not to think about her as an attractive woman after having his arms around her for those brief moments last night.
‘You seemed well prepared for the koala experience.’ Her voice held a deliberate calm and good cheer. ‘Have you—’
‘Held one? Yes. Once.’ It hadn’t left any notable impact on him, unlike watching her experience today.
Perhaps his instincts towards Marissa weren’t entirely dissimilar to those he felt towards his sisters and nieces—a certain protectiveness that rose up because his father had failed to be there for them.
Rick tried to stop the thoughts there. Stephen Morgan was a decent enough man.
Except to Darla, and unless any kind of genuine emotional commitment was required of him. Then Stephen simply dropped the ball as he always had.
Rick forced the thoughts aside. There was nothing he could do about any of that, no way to change a man who inherently wouldn’t change. No way to know if Rick himself would be as bad or worse than his father in the same circumstances.
‘We often take our overseas business contacts places like this.’ It didn’t matter what he’d felt for Marissa—or thought he’d felt. By choice he wouldn’t act on any response to her, and that was as much for her good as anything else. ‘They have a good time and happy businesspeople are more inclined to want to make deals. Those deals mean money and building the business.’
He relaxed into this assertion. It felt comfortable. Familiar. Safe.
When Marissa turned her head to face him, her gaze was curiously flat. ‘You’re a corporate high-flyer and success means everything to you. I understand.’
She made it sound abhorrent. Why? And success wasn’t everything to him.
No? That’s not what you’ve been telling yourself and the world for a very long time now.
He did not need to suggest she got to know him better to see other facets of him—all the facets of him. Instead, he agreed with her. ‘Success is very important to me. You’re quite right.’
CHAPTER FIVE
MARISSA hadn’t meant to offend Rick. Surely she hadn’t? And he was a great deal like Michael Unsworth, only more so. She didn’t hold that against him, but she had the right to protect herself by remembering the fact.
She didn’t want to think about Michael. It was best if she didn’t think about Rick in any light other than as her employer. And she certainly didn’t want to dwell on that hormonal whammy that had hit her back at the petting zoo.
If she wanted something to cuddle, she probably needed a kitten or something.
Do you hear me, hormones and non-existent clock? This is my destiny and I choose what I want and need and don’t need.
She refused to be dictated to on the topic by any internal systems. With that thought in mind, she worked hard for the rest of the day, and cursed the stubborn part of her that insisted on admiring Rick’s business acumen as she came to see more and more of it in play. Couldn’t she ignore that at least?
Maybe she should simply admit it. She liked his drive and determination. With a frown, she shoved another file away in the room dedicated to that purpose just off their suite’s reception room.
More files were slapped home. Not because she was fed up with herself. She was simply being efficient.
Yes. Sure. That was the truth of it. A pity she didn’t seem capable of the same single-mindedness when it came to finding Mr Right through Blinddatebrides.com. She’d yet to initiate any kind of invitation to a man, had cancelled that second drink yesterday, and hadn’t looked at those ten profiles as she’d told herself she would. She’d been bored by all the candidates she’d met so far.
Grace had dated a man straight up on joining the site, even if she had panicked about it at the time.
Dani remained tight-lipped so far about dates but she sure seemed to have her head together about the whole process, right down to the site’s efficiency and how it all worked. Why couldn’t Marissa follow her plan there, and stop fixating on the boss?
Marissa had logged on in her tea break, anyway. It wasn’t her fault she’d run out of time before she could do more than read some of the contact messages.
Shove, shuffle, push.
‘I’ll be on the top level for the next hour.’ Rick spoke from the doorway in a tone that didn’t reveal even the smallest amount of any kind of sensual anticipation he surely should feel in the face of yet another ‘meeting’ with the mysterious Julia, who seemed to have a place reserved for her almost daily in his diary.
That was something Marissa had discovered today as she’d scanned ahead further in the BlackBerry to try to gauge the kind of workload they might have ahead of them.
Well, good on him for seeing this Julia. With such a knowledge foremost in her thoughts, Marissa simply wouldn’t look at him as an available man, which was all to the good.
It was just as well the woman didn’t mind being slotted in like a visit to the dentist or a board meeting or teleconference, though.
Marissa shoved two more files away and forced herself to face him. ‘You won’t mind if I take a short break myself? I’ll just talk on the Internet with friends. There’s nothing in the diary—’
Marissa broke off a little uneasily, but Rick wasn’t to know those friends were on an Internet dating site with her. Not that she cared who knew she had a subscription to a dating website. She could do what she liked. It was her life and just because she hadn’t even told her parents she’d joined Blinddatebrides.com didn’t mean she felt uncomfortable about it or anything.
Grace and Dani knew she wanted to find a nice man. Marissa had been very open with them really.
Her online friends were signed up to the dating site, of course, so Marissa hadn’t exactly been exposing deep secrets by admitting she wanted to meet some men. And she hadn’t told Grace and Dani everything about herself by any means. She certainly hadn’t told them her plan to clinically vet those men until she found one she was prepared to fall in love with.
Well, that was her business, and it mightn’t even happen and her vetting ideas made a lot of sense.
‘Please do take a break.’ Rick turned. ‘I sought you out to suggest that.’
A moment later, after delivering that piece of thoughtfulness, he was gone.
Marissa appreciated the reprieve from close contact with him. That was what made her feel all mushy and approving, not only his consideration for her. She told herself this as she logged onto Blinddatebrides.com and scrolled through the messages she’d skimmed earlier. This time she made herself read them and follow through to look at profiles.