Winning the Boss's Heart by Hayson Manning

Author:Hayson Manning [Manning, Hayson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: hayson manning, indulgence, auckland, architect, widower, tortured hero, home renovation, contemporary romance, boss/employee
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 2013-08-14T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Billie scanned the sea of shocked faces. Who said that? Was this some kind of sick joke? She waited for someone to yell, “Gotcha,” then run away flinging Monopoly money at her.

A hush filled the tent as the crowd turned toward the back.

The auctioneer shifted from foot to foot. “Right…um…do I hear an advance on ten thousand?”

The weight of expectation pressed down on her.

“Going once.”

Crap.

“Going twice.”

Was it Hector?

“Sold, if you know what I mean, to the gentleman in the back. A night out with Billie MacLeod.” His gavel hit the makeshift desk with a resounding whack.

Silence filled the hall. She peered through the crowd, searching until a shape materialized. Her lungs stopped working. Piercing blue eyes held hers and wouldn’t let go. The man walking toward her was a testament to what made a woman unconsciously play with her hair. He ran his hand across his forehead, exposing a flash of tanned stomach. For some insane reason, she noted there was no underwear band. She’d been doing the laundry for a while now, and it appeared the man went commando quite a bit. Her eyes dropped to the zipper on his jeans, and she licked dry lips.

Man Magic, walking her way.

A slow rumble of applause turned into a roar.

The man moved like fluid. Even with his mouth set, his long legs ate the space between them easily. Even in a plain tee and faded jeans, he owned his clothes. The man would ooze male hotness even in nothing more than bobby socks and pom-poms.

He held out his hand.

She’d become a statue.

A twitch danced beside his eye, and he started to get that pissed-off look she had come to know well.

“Take my hand,” he rasped.

The room faded until it was just him standing before her, his hand outstretched. “What are you doing?”

“Take my hand, Billie.”

She grasped his hand, his fingers wrapped around hers, and he helped her from the stage. Sarah morphed into view, her eyes huge, sporting a shit-eating grin with her thumbs up. Her brain still in meltdown, Billie let Mason pull her towards Councilman Andrew, a wide grin on his face.

“I’ll drop off a check in the morning,” he told the man. “And I’d appreciate ten minutes of your time.”

She blinked.

Right.

She sucked in a breath and turned her head, allowing him to guide her and Stanley from the tent to his car. She couldn’t shake her surprise and didn’t understand why she was shocked. Despite their chemistry, despite everything she’d thought she’d found in him, he hadn’t bid on her for personal reasons. He’d done it for an in with the council.

Well, two can play at this.

…

The haunting notes of Vivaldi drifted from Mason’s Land Rover. Seemed he’d grown tired of the sad and lonely people he usually listened to. Billie absently rubbed her throbbing knee and stared out the passenger window. Try as she might, she couldn’t make sense of her thoughts. They lay like wreckage in her mind. One question flashed red, though. Her grip on the passenger door tightened.

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