Prologue
“It’s just not right Katherine!” Joseph slammed his fist down on the table, making the dinnerware shake.
“Those kids simply don’t listen to us, not one of them. Can’t they see we aren’t getting any younger? I should’ve had grandbabies bouncing on my knees years ago.” Katherine smiled to herself as she listened to her husband complain about his disobedient children.
She knew what he said was nothing but empty words. He adored their kids as much as she did.
She had to agree with him though that women holding babies would be an excellent addition to the house. She’d always dreamed of rocking grandkids and chasing down toddlers.
“Now Joseph, you know if you go meddling again the boys are going to disown you,” Katherine warned her husband.
“If they don’t do something about this grandbaby situation I’m going to disown them,” he growled, though with zero conviction in his voice.
“Since you retired last year you’ve had way too much time on your hands Joseph Anderson. The boys have all been tossed a lot of responsibility already. Are you sure you want to add more to their plates?” she finished, knowing the answer already.
“The boys are ready for love and marriage. They just need a helping push.” The decision had been made. He would have at least one grandchild in his empty house before Christmas.
Katherine suppressed her sigh, knowing there was nothing she could say that would change her willful husband’s mind. Where did he think their sons’ acquired that particular trait? Even with their flaws she couldn’t possibly love any of them, including her husband, more than she already did.
“Lucas will be first,” Joseph said in his booming voice startling Katherine out of her reverie.
“I’ve already found him the perfect bride.”
Joseph leaned back in his chair with a very pleased expression on his face. Finally he had a project to keep himself occupied, with the prize of grandkids as a reward. Lucas was in for some wild adventures come Monday morning.
Chapter One
“You can do this. Walk in there with complete confidence. Who cares if this family is worth more than Bill Gates and Donald Trump combined. You were hired for this position and you need this job. ” Amy Harper continued to lecture herself on the elevator ride up to the twenty-fifth floor.
She brushed the few strands of escaped golden hair from her face, more out of nervousness than necessity. She considered herself to be of average looks and actually tried to downplay the assets she’d been given. She wanted to be respected, not lusted after like her mother. She had long hair that she couldn’t find the will to cut off, although when out she always placed it in an unflattering bun.
She always hid her curves from the world. She’d been well endowed, in what an ex-boyfriend had called all the right places. Her green eyes gave away every emotion that she was feeling and no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t manage to eliminate, what she considered, a fatal flaw.
She still couldn’t believe she’d been hired as executive secretary for Lucas Anderson. Anyone who’d lived within a thousand mile radius of Seattle Washington knew who the Andersons were.
Their company had many different divisions, which required a very large staff. They dealt in everything from construction and farming, to high end corporate takeovers. Although their headquarters were in the US, they did business all around the world and she was excited to be a part of it all.
As she made the long ride up in the elevator her mind flashed back to the previous week when she’d interviewed for the job.
Her interview with the head of the family had terrified her, but she’d found he was a really decent guy. He was kind and if she’d met him at a café instead of his million dollar mansion she wouldn’t have even known he was worth more than royalty.
She’d gone to his place expecting a very formal interview with a rigid man. She’d been pleasantly surprised by the reality. He’d welcomed her into his home and seemed to care more about her as a person than what was on her resume. That was a good thing considering she’d recently graduated college and the only other jobs she’d held had been anything but corporate.
She’d originally met Joseph at a college fair towards the end of her senior year and he’d given her his card and told her to call after graduation. She’d done so and he got her in for an interview faster than she’d ever imagined possible. She assumed it was because she’d graduated in the top five percent of her class.
Amy snapped back to the present as the elevator chimed her arrival. “Do not blow this job Amy.
If it all works out you could have that child you want so badly by Christmas time next year.” With her final words of encouragement to herself she took a deep breath and waited for the doors to open.
When she stepped onto the twenty-fifth floor she was momentarily paralyzed with fear. It was the most beautiful office she’d ever seen. The doors opened up to a massive lobby area with a round cherry wood desk. Behind the desk was a stunning blonde who looked more efficient than Amy ever hoped to be. She felt increasingly frumpy and inadequate as she stepped forward.
Behind the desk was a hallway to the right, where she assumed the offices were.
“Can I help you?” the woman asked Amy.
Amy snapped out of her temporary paralysis and walked forward. “Yes, I’m Amy Harper. I’m the new executive secretary for Mr. Anderson. I start today,” she finished with as much confidence as she could rally.
The woman looked at her blankly for a moment before finally reaching for her phone. “Mr.
Anderson, I have Amy Harper here who says she’s your new executive secretary.” She paused for a few moments, “okay…yes sir.”
She hung up the phone and turned back towards Amy, “Mr. Anderson says he already has an executive secretary and has hired no one new. He also said if you’re a reporter, trying for another story on his family, all his answers are no comment.” The woman looked dismissively at Amy and then said “have a nice day Ms. Harper.”
She didn’t give Amy another glance. She just turned towards her computer and acted like Amy wasn’t in the room. As far as she was concerned Amy was dismissed.
“Um, excuse me,” Amy looked at the secretary’s name plate. “Shelly, I was interviewed last week by Mr. Anderson. He told me to be in the office at eight am sharp, so you may want to just check again,” she said a little bit more powerfully. Shelly glanced up, as if shocked the disturbing woman was still there.
Just then the elevator chimed and in walked an older woman with smiling blue eyes. “You must be Amy. I’m sorry that I’m late. I got stuck behind an auto accident,” the woman said as she approached. “My name’s Esther and I will be working with you this week, getting you all trained to be on your own. Joseph called me and let me know he found my perfect replacement,” she said with humor in her voice.
Amy took a deep breath and felt some relief that the job really wasn’t just in her imagination.
“It’s so good to meet you Esther. I was a little nervous when Shelly said there was no job,” she finished, not even glancing at the secretary.
Esther looked over at the woman in question with disapproval. “She answers the phones here temporarily and didn’t know that I’m retiring. I’m sorry about any lack of communication,” she said. It was obvious there wasn’t any love lost between the two of them.
“Walk with me and I’ll show you your new office. You should love it but if you want to make any changes please feel free to do so. You’ll be spending many hours in there, as I’m sure Joseph already told you, so it needs to be comfortable for you.” They walked down the hallway and through a large oak doorway into a massive office. Was everything in the building done on a much grander scale than your average building? There were floor to ceiling windows against the back wall, letting the early morning light shine through. She was grateful for the natural light.
In the middle of the room was a huge three sided desk. On top of it sat a top of the line computer and an overflowing in and out box.
“Come in, come in. Have a seat. I’ll show you what you need to get started and before you know it you’ll be excellent on your own,” Esther said kindly.
The two women worked together the rest of the morning. Amy felt slightly overwhelmed, but she really enjoyed the company of Esther and was starting to pick up on some of the tasks they were doing. After lunch she felt comfortable enough to admit to Esther she really wasn’t qualified for the position, but she was a very fast learner and would study day and night to learn the systems.
Esther reassured her that Joseph had obviously seen something in her and he only hired the best.
“Esther, I need those Niles reports please and can you cancel my appointments for the rest of the day. My father needs me to come over to his place.” Amy glanced up as the most stunning man she’d ever seen walked through the door. He was looking down at a paper in his hand, which gave her time to secretly observe him from head to toe.
The first thing she noticed was his stature. He had to be at least six foot four with wide, strong looking shoulders. Lithe muscles could be perfectly seen, even through the obviously tailored business suit, which was dark and worked to clearly accentuate his golden tan. The outfit was complete with a loosened tie, making him look like he could’ve just stepped out of a photo shoot for GQ magazine.
His hair was dark brown and looked as if he’d been running his hand through it all morning. In the next moment he finally looked up and his deep azure blue eyes met her startled green ones.
“I’m sorry Esther, I didn’t know you had someone in here with you.”
“Hello, I’m Lucas Anderson,” he finished and held his hand out to her.
Lucas was known for his ability to read a person. It was how he was so successful in the corporate world. The woman seemed to be going through a myriad of emotions, from nervousness to desire and everything in between as she stared back at him. She was sparking his curiosity.
When she sat there in silence he raised his eyebrows at her questioningly. Her face turned a nice shade of red and then she finally broke eye contact.
She snapped out of her trance realizing that he was waiting for her to introduce herself so she stood up and gave him her hand, “Hello, I’m Amy Harper.” The moment her fingers touched his Lucas felt like a bolt of lightning went racing through their joined fingers, straight to his groin. She was beautiful, sure, but so were many other women he was in contact with each day. None of them had the power to electrify him with the mere touch of hands.
Lucas turned toward Esther, while releasing Amy’s hand at the same time. “When your guest leaves can you come into the office to take care of a few things,” he said and then turned away.
“Has your father not spoken with you yet Lucas?” Esther asked, stopping him.
“Talked to me about what?”
“I sent you my notice last month and told you your father would be hiring a new assistant for you,” she simply stated.