The Bachelor Boss (O'Rourke Family 3) Read online

  She really wanted to spend more time with him—

  About as much as she wanted to slam her hand in a car door. It was more opportunity to say something foolish, something he’d laugh about. She was still squirming over the things she’d said earlier, making it sound as if just thinking about sex was a terrible sin.

  Libby thought about sex.

  She thought about it a lot.

  Actually sometimes sex was all she could think of…. But she wanted it to be with someone she loved, who loved her, someone who wanted to hold her during the night instead of calculating the fastest way out the door the minute his breathing slowed.

  That someone wasn’t Neil O’Rourke.

  Dear Reader,

  I’ve put together a list of Silhouette Romance New Year’s resolutions to help you get off to a great start in 2004!

  • Play along with our favorite boss’s daughter’s mischievous, matchmaking high jinks. In Rules of Engagement (#1702) by Carla Cassidy, Emily Winters—aka the love goddess—is hoping to unite a brooding exec and feisty businesswoman. This is the fifth title in Silhouette Romance’s exclusive, six-book MARRYING THE BOSS’S DAUGHTER series.

  • Enjoy every delightful word of The Bachelor Boss (#1703) by the always-popular Julianna Morris. In this modern romantic fairy tale, a prim plain Jane melts the heart of a sexy playboy.

  • Join the fun when a cowboy’s life is turned inside out by a softhearted beauty and the tiny charge he finds on his doorstep. Baby, Oh Baby! (#1704) is the first title in Teresa Southwick’s enchanting new three-book miniseries IF WISHES WERE…Stay tuned next month for the next title in this series that features three friends who have their dreams come true in unexpected ways.

  • Be sure not to miss The Baby Chronicles (#1705) by Lissa Manley. This heartwarming reunion romance is sure to put a satisfied smile on your face.

  Have a great New Year!

  Mavis C. Allen

  Associate Senior Editor

  The Bachelor Boss

  JULIANNA MORRIS

  With thanks to Rick and Sheila

  Books by Julianna Morris

  Silhouette Romance

  Baby Talk #1097

  Family of Three #1178

  Daddy Woke Up Married #1252

  Dr. Dad #1278

  The Marriage Stampede #1375

  *Callie, Get Your Groom #1436

  *Hannah Gets a Husband #1448

  *Jodie’s Mail-Order Man #1460

  Meeting Megan Again #1502

  Tick Tock Goes the Baby Clock #1531

  Last Chance for Baby! #1565

  A Date with a Billionaire #1590

  The Right Twin for Him #1676

  The Bachelor Boss #1703

  JULIANNA MORRIS

  has an offbeat sense of humor, which frequently gets her into trouble. She is often accused of being curious about everything…her interests ranging from oceanography and photography to traveling, antiquing, walking on the beach and reading science fiction.

  Julianna loves cats of all shapes and sizes, and recently she was adopted by a feline companion named Merlin. Like his namesake, Merlin is an alchemist—she says he can transform the house into a disaster area in nothing flat. And since he shares the premises with a writer, it’s interesting to note that he’s particularly fond of knocking books onto the floor.

  Julianna happily reports meeting Mr. Right. Together they are working on a new dream of building a shoreline home in the Great Lakes area.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  “Well, if it isn’t Miss Dumont,” said a voice from the open office door.

  Libby groaned silently.

  Neil O’Rourke.

  Her least favorite person in the world. Until now she’d been having a really good day. What made it worse was that her first instinct was to check her appearance in a mirror—Neil had that effect on women, being as revoltingly handsome as he was obnoxious.

  “Did you need something, Mr. O’Rourke?” she asked politely. As much as she didn’t like him, he was Kane O’Rourke’s brother, and Kane was the owner and founder of the company, so it didn’t make sense to be rude.

  “Yes. And don’t you think it’s time you dropped the ‘Mr. O’Rourke’ routine?” Neil asked.

  Libby’s eyes narrowed. “No. We barely know each other.”

  His smile irritated her even more, mostly because it was Neil. “I wouldn’t exactly say that,” he said.

  Drat the man.

  Yet even as Libby fumed, she squirmed at the reminder of a long ago night when she’d been young and foolishly flattered that a man like Neil O’Rourke had asked her out on a date. She’d never forget breaking away from their out-of-control kiss, pulling her clothes together…her heart pounding because she wasn’t certain that pulling her clothes together was what she really wanted. Fighting the urge to be just a little bad.

  Yeah, that pretty much covered it.

  He’d gotten his arrogant masculine nose out of joint, she’d acted like a prig, and everything went downhill from there.

  Of course, the only reason he remembered that evening was because she was probably one of the few members of the female sex who’d ever said no to him. She’d seen happily married women blush and sigh at his careless smile.

  “I have a lot of work to do,” Libby said pointedly, hoping he’d take the hint and leave.

  “So do I, but Kane wants to see us both in his office. Maybe he’s going on a second honeymoon and wants us to work together again.”

  She wrinkled her nose. When Kane had met Beth and gotten married he’d asked Neil to run the company during his absence—much to her consternation. The man was impossible. She’d heaved a sigh of relief when he returned to the international branch, because she didn’t have to see or think about him there.

  “I’m not Kane’s executive assistant any longer.”

  His grin was faintly wicked. “That’s right. I keep forgetting you’re the administrative officer now.”

  Huh.

  Neil never forgot anything, especially how to annoy the living daylights out of her. Of course, being annoying must be a natural talent since he didn’t know her well enough to understand which buttons to push.

  “Shall we go?” he murmured.

  Libby stayed silent as they walked the short distance to the CEO’s office, resisting the urge to smooth her hair and make sure her blouse was tucked into the waistband of her skirt. Feminine vanity had a habit of rearing its head around Neil, no matter how hard she fought it.

  “Hey, bro,” Neil said as they walked into Kane’s inner sanctum.

  “Hey.” Kane smiled and waited until they were seated, then leaned forward. “Libby, you’re aware that I’m delegating authority in the company so I have more time to spend with Beth.” He beamed at his wife’s name. “As part of the reorganization I’ve named Neil as the president of the New Business Developments division. I told him about it earlier.”

  “That’s…nice,” she murmured.

  “Yes, but what he hasn’t heard is that I’m appointing you as his vice president. I wanted you both to be here for the news.”

  Libby’s heart lodged in her throat.

  “What?” she demanded in unison with Neil. She looked at him and was glad to see he appeared as thunderstruck as she felt.

  Kane lifted his sh
oulders in a small shrug. “I realize you haven’t always gotten along, but you have skills that complement each other, and you managed to work together earlier this year.” He shot a look at his brother. “You’ll find Libby’s abilities are just what you need.”

  She blinked, torn between shock and hysteria.

  This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t possibly be Neil O’Rourke’s vice president. He was too…everything. The two brothers were nearly identical in appearance, though Neil had cool gray eyes in contrast to Kane’s blue. Both were high-powered and driven for success, but Kane managed to be kind and friendly, while Neil was distant and impatient.

  Darn it all. She’d just gotten rid of the man and now he was back. Wasn’t a few weeks working with him enough punishment for one lifetime? It wasn’t that she didn’t want the new position. Being promoted so quickly might be a little unconventional, but Kane never did things in the usual way. And since he’d built O’Rourke Enterprises into a multibillion-dollar corporation, people usually had the good sense to agree with his wishes.

  Still, how could she work with someone so impossible?

  Libby sneaked a glance at the impossible man in question and saw he didn’t look any happier than she felt.

  Well, fine.

  Let him be the one to tell Kane it was out of the question.

  “Libby?” Kane prompted.

  “Uh…that’s wonderful,” she said, lying through her teeth.

  “You’ve earned it. I’m still working out the final details, but I’ve decided to have each of my division presidents and vice presidents directly involved in a project together in order to build teamwork.”

  Neil cleared his throat. “That’s an interesting idea, but we’ll be busy with our own duties.”

  “And one of those duties will be cooperating on a project together.”

  Libby recognized the expression on her boss’s face, even if his brother didn’t. Kane had mentioned his plans, but she hadn’t thought much about it other than sparing a moment of sympathy for the poor sap who ended up working with Neil O’Rourke. Before his short stint in the CEO’s office she’d avoided Neil for nebulous reasons she’d never really thought about. Now she actively disliked him.

  “What project are you thinking about?” she asked.

  “The bed-and-breakfast inn proposal.” Kane handed her the file. “You were particularly interested in it, so I thought it would be the perfect place to start your collaboration.”

  Lord, Kane should never have picked something so homey and small scale if he hoped to get Neil excited. Neil loved glitz and glamour, the fast pace of international wheeling and dealing and high finance. He was a brilliant maverick. Developing a line of historic bed-and-breakfast inns was the last thing he’d want to do.

  “B and B’s?” Neil sounded predictably appalled, as if he’d just been asked to work on a line of brothels. “I think that’s a project Libby could handle on her own.”

  Kane shook his head. “I want both of you involved. This is Beth’s idea, and it goes at the top of the list.”

  Beth.

  Kane’s wife.

  The magic word.

  A warm smile crossed Neil’s face, so apparently he was fond of his new sister-in-law. “Beth does love old places. We’ll make it our first priority.”

  “Good. The two of you can go over the proposal this afternoon. You’ll have until after Christmas to get things moving on it before we start the formal reorganization.”

  Libby’s fingers tightened on the file. She’d worked on putting the proposal together and had hoped to be assigned to the project, but this wasn’t what she’d had in mind.

  “Today?” Neil asked. He cast her a sideways glance that made her squirm.

  What was it about him that made her so…aware?

  “Today,” Kane said firmly.

  Libby edged toward the door. “In that case, I’ve got a lot to do in the meantime. Thanks again, Kane.”

  “No thanks are necessary. Your contract will be ready in a few days, along with a generous salary boost. You’ll always have a place with us, Libby.” From years of working with Kane, Libby knew he was reassuring her that no matter how things turned out with Neil, her place with the company was guaranteed.

  “That’s nice to hear.” She forced herself to leave at a dignified pace, only to have Neil follow her.

  “It isn’t afternoon yet,” she snapped. As a rule she tried to be calmly courteous with him, but Kane’s announcement had scrambled her brains worse than an eggbeater.

  “Now is as good a time as any. Kane likes the teamwork approach, remember?”

  Libby practically snorted. Neil O’Rourke wasn’t a team player. He enjoyed being in charge too much for that. Thankfully, except for his brief time as acting CEO, she’d hardly seen him over the years. He’d traveled all over the world for the company, earning a reputation as a tough and able negotiator.

  Too bad he wasn’t better with people. She wasn’t the only employee who avoided him; his cool direct gaze could cut right through a person.

  “A leopard can’t change his spots,” she muttered, not that he’d understand. Neil honestly didn’t seem to know he had the corporate persona of a runaway locomotive, mashing everyone in his path. Kane was indulging in wishful thinking if he thought his brother would listen to anyone on how to run the new division, much less to her.

  Maybe Neil was different with his family.

  Maybe.

  She was acquainted with two of his sisters, Shannon and Kathleen, and thought his mother was a lovely woman, but Neil was a puzzle beyond words.

  A small frown creased his forehead. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Oh, come on. Teamwork? You?”

  The note of amused disbelief in Libby’s voice irritated Neil. He knew it was his fault they didn’t get along—he’d acted like an oversexed jock on the one date they’d had years ago. A naive preacher’s daughter and a former college football star weren’t a good mix. People who thought that all preacher’s daughters were wild as sin didn’t know anything. Jeez, she was practically a nun.

  Yet he didn’t dislike Libby, he just didn’t think she was vice president material. She was too softhearted, an innocent with the cutthroat business sense of a newborn kitten.

  “You can’t know how I feel about teamwork,” he said slowly.

  “I have a pretty good idea.”

  His eyebrows shot upward. “I don’t think a single date gives you that much insight to my character. Especially since we’ve hardly said ‘boo’ to each other ever since.”

  It was the first time since that disastrous night the subject had been directly raised, and relief crept through him. They should have cleared the air a long time ago instead of just going their own way and avoiding contact.

  Hell, he probably wouldn’t have thought about it again if she hadn’t been so damned desirable…and so very prudish with her sexy little body. If he’d learned nothing else, it was that dating co-workers was a lousy idea.

  “Maybe, but it was instructive,” she snapped. Her green eyes were stormy and Neil restrained a grin. This was an interesting side to Libby; he wanted to see more. It was like watching the kitten discover she had claws.

  “That was a date, this is business,” he said.

  “I’ve heard about the way you work. And I saw it for myself when you were in the CEO’s office. You obviously have to be in control, no matter what.”

  “Isn’t that what we all want?” he asked.

  She made a disgusted gesture. “Not all of us have a fetish about it. You must be ready to chew nails over Kane making me a vice president.”

  Neil wasn’t thrilled, but he’d never admit it to Libby. And since he planned to make the New Developments division the most successful in the company, he would have to deal with her one way or another. Besides, it could be a lot of fun teasing that pink color into her cheeks.

  “Especially with me being a woman,” Libby added.

 
; “What?” He scowled, no longer amused. “I don’t have a problem with qualified women in business, so don’t put words into my mouth.”

  “Ah, but you don’t think I’m qualified.”

  “That remains to be seen. Your qualifications, that is,” Neil said, giving her a measuring glance. Libby certainly looked the part of a career woman…now. But the day they met she’d been wearing an unstructured sweater and skirt.

  That damned bulky sweater should have been his first clue, he thought irritably. It had practically screamed small-town innocent, but even the most sophisticated women had been wearing the down-home earthy look back then. If he’d known she was a naive virgin he would have stayed a thousand miles away.

  “I’m sure you’ll do a fine job,” he said, distracted by the memory. Or was it the memory of sweet curves that fitted perfectly against him?

  Damn. Where had that come from? Libby had a fine body—not that she did anything to advertise it—but he’d been with his share of gorgeous women. Willing women who didn’t have marriage and a baby carriage on the mind.

  “Marriage and a baby carriage? What do you mean by that?” Libby demanded.

  Neil winced, realizing he’d muttered the last part aloud. “Er…I was thinking about Kane,” he said. “He’s turned into a huge advocate of marriage and children ever since he met Beth.”

  “Is that so terrible?”

  “Depends on how you see it. I think it must be hard to keep your focus while at the same time dealing with a nagging spouse and kids.”

  “You mean a nagging wife. But for your information, not all wives nag,” Libby shot back, though she didn’t know why she bothered. Neil’s views on the incompatibility of marriage and business were infamous.

  “I just meant…” He shrugged. “Forget it. I guess marriage is all right for other people.”

  “Wow. Isn’t that big of you.”

  Neil looked surprised by her sarcastic tone, and to be honest, Libby was surprised herself. She’d never spoken her mind to him, not since that embarrassing night when she’d said all sorts of things about men who expected to sleep with a woman on the first date.