Annie stared at the single sheet of paper. The one that said the tuition had been paid for for the rest of the year. Not just the quarter but the year. Paid in full.

Just looking at the total made her feel queasy. But the big “Paid” next to it wasn’t possible. She hadn’t and it wasn’t as if Jenny had suddenly come into a bunch of money.

Annie walked into the house and looked through the mail again. There was also an envelope from Julie’s college. The letter said the same thing. Tuition was paid for for the rest of the year. In full.

The shock made sense. The information, not to mention the action required, was unexpected. Before last night she might have been a little upset but more grateful. Now she felt all twisted up inside. Confused and slightly tarnished.

Dropping the rest of the mail, she returned to her car. The drive to Duncan’s office wasn’t far. His shipping empire was run out of a huge complex of buildings close to the Port of Los Angeles. She gave her name to the guard at the gate and had to wait while a series of calls were made. Finally she was given a visitor’s parking permit and directions to where she should park.

She passed large warehouses and eighteen-wheelers waiting to be loaded. There were dozens of people walking and driving in every direction. Following the signs that pointed to the corporate offices, she managed to find the visitors’ parking spaces and make her way into the six-story building.

It was an empire and a half, she thought as she stood in the lobby of Patrick Industries. A huge lit board showed a world map. Thousands of lights indicated the location of various company vehicles. Little icons indicated trucks, railcars and ships.

Annie had always known Duncan was a rich, powerful man. But those were just words. They hadn’t been real. An intellectual understanding wasn’t the same as looking at that map and seeing how incredibly successful he was.

She tugged at the sleeve of her oversize sweater, aware that the Christmas elves dancing across the front and back of it were great for a kindergarten classroom but a little out of place in corporate America. There was a big paint stain on her skirt and the back was wrinkled from the time she’d spent sitting on the floor while reading to her students.

“Ms. McCoy?”

Annie turned toward the speaker. A well-dressed woman in her thirties smiled.

“Mr. Patrick is expecting you. If you’ll follow me, please.”

Annie nodded.

They took the elevator to the sixth floor and stepped out onto a quiet floor of conference rooms and offices. People in suits moved purposefully, barely glancing at her. She followed the woman to an open double door. Inside, a middle-aged woman nodded.

“You can go right in.”

Annie stared at the tall, wood door in front of her. It looked heavy and impressive. Unexpected nerves danced in her stomach.

Still clutching the letters from the colleges, she opened the door and walked into Duncan’s office.

The space was even larger than his condo. Big windows overlooked the shipping yard on one side and the lobby on the other. Apparently this particular king enjoyed looking at his empire.

His desk was practically big enough for a plane to land on. There was a grouping of sofas in one corner and a conference table in another.

The man himself sat looking at a computer screen. He tapped a few keys, then glanced at her and raised his eyebrows.

“An unexpected pleasure,” he said as he stood and walked around the desk.

He looked good. Too good. She’d seen him in his tailored suits before, so that wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. Maybe the problem was less than twelve hours ago, she’d been in his bed and they’d both been naked. They’d slept in a tangle of legs and arms, only to awaken and make love again.

He stopped in front of her. “Everything all right?” he asked. “You look pale. Don’t you feel well?”

Apparently unable to speak, she thrust the letters at him, then managed to find her voice. “You did this, didn’t you? I won’t even ask how you got the information to make the payments. It was the twins, wasn’t it? You talked to them.”

One corner of his mouth curved up. “I thought you weren’t going to ask.”

She shook the papers. “This isn’t funny. You can’t go around doing this.”

“Helping people? I would have thought you would approve. Aren’t you the one who told me it would be easier to actually be nice than to hire you and pretend?”

“What?” She dropped her arm to her side. “Duncan, why did you do this?”

“Because I could. Are you the only one who gets to be nice?”

“Don’t be reasonable.” She was tired from lack of sleep and felt the beginnings of a headache. “It makes me uncomfortable.”

His smile faded. “That’s not what I wanted. It’s just a check, Annie. Don’t make it into anything else.”

“A big check. Two big checks.” She glanced around to make sure they were alone, then lowered her voice. “We had sex. You can’t buy me stuff.”

The humor returned. “Most women would tell you the opposite. That after sex is when the buying begins.”

“Maybe. If we were dating. But we’re not. We have an arrangement. A deal. This isn’t part of the deal.”

“You’re complaining because I’m giving you more?”

No. She was worried that if he was nice, if he was approachable and kind, she wouldn’t have a chance of getting out of this with her heart in one piece.

The truth slammed into her and it was all she could do to stay standing. Of course. Why hadn’t she realized it before? Duncan was a force of nature and she was just a regular person. He was rich and strong and powerful and unlike anyone she’d ever known. She’d been in trouble from the second they’d met.

“I…” She swallowed. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to.”

“It will make things a lot easier. Thank you.”

He moved close and cupped her face in his large hands. “Was that so hard?”

“No.”

He was going to kiss her and she was going to let him. It was already too late to try to protect herself. The best she could do was see this to the end and pray she wasn’t totally devastated when it was over. A test of strength, she thought. A trial by fire.

His mouth moved against hers in a way that had become familiar. There was always the taking, but it was tempered somehow. Maybe by her own hunger, her need for him.

She released the papers and let them fall to the floor so she could wrap her arms around his neck. He drew her against him and she went willingly. The kiss deepened. Passion swept through her. Now, she thought, burning with hunger. She wanted him now.

She squirmed to get closer and felt his arousal, thick and hard against her belly. It would be so easy, right here on his big desk. The one in the room with all the windows. Where anyone could see or walk in.

He drew back and looked into her eyes. “Reality check.”

She nodded. “There are a lot of people all around.”

“At the time, the windows seemed like a good idea.”

Now it was her turn to smile. “And today?”

“Not so good.”

He kissed her again, more lightly this time. Then he released her.

She stepped away reluctantly. He picked up the papers she’d dropped and handed them to her.

She folded them and put them in her purse. “Thank you for doing this. It really helps.”

“You’re welcome.” He put his arm around her and guided her to the door. “My uncle Lawrence wants to meet you.”

“I’d like to meet him, too.” she said. Maybe find a moment to ask what Duncan had been like when he’d been younger.

“How about Sunday for dinner? My place?”

“I’d like that.”

She’d like a lot more, she thought as she made her way back to her car. A chance to make this all real. A foolish wish, she reminded herself. Duncan had been clear about what he wanted from the beginning. From all that she knew, he wasn’t the kind of man who changed his mind about anything.

After Annie left, Duncan found it difficult to refocus on work. The report on his computer was a lot less interesting than it had been before she’d stopped by. He found himself wanting to go after her. Maybe take her to his place for the rest of the afternoon…and the evening. But he had meetings and something inside him warned him that he would have to be careful. He didn’t want her reading too much into their relationship. He appreciated all that Annie had done and didn’t want her getting hurt.

At four, his assistant buzzed to tell him a Ms. Morgan had arrived for their meeting. Duncan glanced at his calendar, then frowned as he couldn’t place the name. Someone from accounting, the note said.

“Send her in.”

Seconds later a short, fifty-something woman walked in and smiled shyly. She wore her hair short and had on a drab suit and sensible shoes.

“Ms. Morgan,” he said, pointing to the chair on the other side of his desk.

“Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Patrick.”

The woman had a folder in her hands. She looked both determined and nervous.

When she was seated, he offered her coffee, which she refused. She cleared her throat.

“I talked to Annie at the Christmas party,” she began. “She’s very nice and when I mentioned I had some ideas about making a few changes, she encouraged me to come talk to you.”

Typical, he thought, both annoyed and unsurprised. “Annie is a big believer in communication,” he said shortly.

Ms. Morgan swallowed. “Yes, well, I thought about what she said and decided to make the appointment. I’m a CPA, Mr. Patrick. I wasn’t sure if you knew that. I’m required to take continuing education every year. I recently attended a class on depreciation.”

“Rather you than me,” he murmured.

She flashed him a smile. “It was more interesting than it sounds. There have been several changes in the tax code that could have a big impact on the bottom line. If I could just show you.”