“What?” Adam looked up and frowned as if just noticing her. “Oh. Sorry. You’re leaving? That’s fine. Have a good evening.”

“What’s wrong?”

He paged through the file, his mouth set in a grim line. “Something’s missing from this file.”

Trish’s eyes widened. “I-I put everything on your desk.”

“I’m sure you did.” He thumbed through both stacks of papers clipped into the file. “But there’s a lease amendment missing. It’s got to be somewhere in the files, or maybe it’s around Cheryl’s-er-your desk.”

“I’ll check.” In a panic, she rushed back to her area and rifled through the desk drawers. Had she subconsciously sabotaged a file? Of course she hadn’t. She stopped and took a deep breath. Tried to relax. Then she carefully checked the file drawer, nearest to the place she’d first found the Mansfield documents.

“I think I found it,” she said, walking back into Adam’s office.

He jumped up from his desk and met her halfway. “Where was it?” he demanded.

“It was tucked inside the Manning file.”

He rolled his eyes. “Manning. Great. I suppose that’s close to Mansfield.”

“Next file over.”

“Good to know.” He walked back to his desk where papers were scattered everywhere. “Thanks for finding this. It would’ve been disastrous if the client found out we’d lost it.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

“I just wonder how many more mistakes like this one are waiting to be found.”

“I can start checking through the files tomorrow if you’d like.”

“Good idea.” He rubbed his knuckles across his jaw. “I guess Cheryl was under more pressure than she let on. This never would’ve happened if she was on top of her game.”

“Three months’ pregnant and trying to plan a wedding?” Trish said. “I’d call that pressure.”

Adam chuckled ruefully. “Yeah, yeah. I guess I didn’t help much. Still, this could’ve been a costly mistake. I’d appreciate it if you’d start going through the files more closely tomorrow.”

“Of course.” Trish almost laughed out loud at the request. She now had a legitimate reason to pore through the files and he’d handed it to her on a silver platter. She almost felt guilty, but refused to let herself go there. “Do you need anything else tonight?”

“No, thanks,” Adam said as he sat back down at his desk. “You go and enjoy your evening.”

She watched as he rolled his sleeves up his muscular arms. He’d long ago removed his jacket and his tie was off now. His usually well-groomed thick, dark hair was unruly and looked as if he’d combed it with his fingers more than once that afternoon.

A shiver ran up her back that had nothing to do with any temperature shift and everything to do with the ruggedly handsome man sitting before her.

She realized that she was staring. Flustered, she said, “You’re working late tonight?”

“It’s not that late.”

She checked her watch. “It’s after six.”

He shrugged. “That’s not late. I’ll be here another few hours getting these documents finished for another meeting tomorrow.”

“I can stay if you need help.”

He glanced at the work spread out on his desk, then looked at her. “You don’t have to.”

“At least let me order you dinner before I leave.”

“Not necessary.”

But it was necessary. She would feel guilty all night long if she left him working alone without food. “It’s not a problem.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” he said, then pulled his wallet out and handed her a $50 bill. “That would be great. Thanks. I think Cheryl’s got Angelo’s Pizza on speed dial.”

“Pizza? Are you sure?”

“I always order pizza when I work late.”

Trish’s eyes narrowed. “How often do you work late?”

“Almost every night.”

“You eat pizza every night?”

He calculated, then shrugged. “Just about.”

“That’s not very healthy.”

He grinned. “It’s got all the food groups.”

She simply shook her head and walked out to her desk where she found the file folder of local restaurant menus she’d seen earlier. She placed an order with a nearby restaurant for grilled chicken and rice with green beans and a salad.

She busied herself by starting on the filing project, going through each of the folders more closely, as he’d requested. It also gave her the chance to continue her search for something incriminating, but so far, there was nothing.

After forty minutes, the food delivery arrived. She found a tray in the kitchen down the hall, laid the food out and took it into his office.

He did a double-take when she placed the tray on his desk. “What’s this?”

“It’s real food,” she said.

He grinned. “You’re pretty bossy, aren’t you?”

“I just believe in good nutrition,” she said defensively, and waited while he tasted everything.

He watched her with amusement as he took the first bite of chicken. “It’s good.”

She nodded. “And good for you.”

He took another bite. “No, it’s really good.”

“I’m glad.” She sat on the edge of the chair in front of his desk. “It’ll keep you going better than pizza will.”

“You may be right.” After a few more bites, he said, “Marjorie mentioned you have an MBA.”

“You were listening?”

His lips twisted in a self-deprecating grin. “Okay, fine, I deserved that.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, I didn’t mean-”

“It’s okay,” he said with a laugh. “But in my own defense, I’ve had to deal with some of our floaters before. You haven’t.”

“Did you mean special assignment assistants?” Trish said, biting back a smile.

He laughed again. “Okay, I was an ass.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “I wouldn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to say it,” he said wryly.

“But you had a right to be angry,” Trish allowed. “I can’t imagine someone leaving you high and dry in the middle of such an important deal.”

He bit into a green bean. “I’m still angry. But I suppose I’m somewhat to blame. Cheryl did mention getting married a few times, but I’ve been so wrapped up in the Fantasy Mountain deal, I guess I let it go in one ear and out the other.”

“This is the ski resort I’ve heard so much about?” She’d seen the photographs of the resort lining the walls of the lobby downstairs.

“Yeah,” Adam said, taking another bite of chicken. “We’re closing the deal at the end of the month and we’ve planned a major celebration. The investors and their families will be staying there for a long weekend. There’ll be a big formal party and lots of hoopla. If we can get our act together.”

“I’m sure it’ll come together nicely,” Trish said. “The photos of the resort look beautiful.”

He sat forward in his chair. “It’s a great place, Trish. Top-of-the-line luxury, with a spa and a world-class restaurant, great trails and ski runs. It’s fabulous. The rooms are rustic, but warm and beautiful and elegant at the same time. I can’t wait to show it off.”

Trish couldn’t help but get caught up in his enthusiasm. “It sounds wonderful.”

Adam looked thoughtful. “Cheryl was in charge of the big opening-night gala we’re throwing for the investors.”

“A gala?”

“Red carpet, formal ball, the whole bit.”

“Sounds exciting.”

He stabbed at a small piece of chicken. “It will be if we can still pull it off. That’s something else I’ll need to bring you up to speed on tomorrow.”

“Oh, I’d love to work on something like that. I’ve always dreamed-” She stopped. Whoa. No dreaming, please. What was she thinking? She’d been drawn in by his charm again. She carefully checked her watch, then stood. “Naturally, I’ll be glad to do whatever you need me to do. I’d better be going now. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Adam seemed surprised by her abrupt change in attitude, but said smoothly, “Of course, it’s late. Thanks again for everything. See you tomorrow.”

“Yes, good night.” She hurried out of his office, grabbed her purse off her desktop and raced to the elevator. As she waited, she berated herself. What was wrong with her, sitting around chatting with him as though they were the best of friends? Lest she forget, Adam Duke was not her friend and never would be.

And furthermore, as far as the opening-night gala was concerned, if she managed to complete the real job she’d come here to do, she’d be long gone before the Fantasy Mountain formal ball ever took place.

Three

She should’ve quit yesterday.

It was now Trish’s fourth day on the job. She’d been through every file drawer along one long wall of her workspace but had found absolutely nothing incriminating about Adam Duke. Nothing that could be used to create even the tiniest public outcry against him and his company. On the contrary, yesterday she’d stumbled upon a full drawer of files containing the many charitable foundations he served on, along with pages and pages of donations he’d given over the years. The man seemed to be a veritable paragon.

“He even wants to save the whales,” she muttered.

But that’s not why she should’ve quit. She wanted whales to have a good life, too. And it was great that he supported all those charities. But did Adam have to come across as such a Boy Scout? She knew he wasn’t, knew all those good deeds were just a façade to cover up the slimier projects his company carried out. There were plenty more files to search and she knew she’d find something eventually. She had to. She’d been here almost a week and so far he’d treated her so nicely, she was racked with guilt.

But that wasn’t the reason why she should’ve quit, either. No, the reason was that she was starting to like Adam Duke. And not just because he was beyond handsome, not just because her heart stammered whenever he got close to her and not just because she was starting to dream of him at night. God help her.