He turned the key and listened to the finely tuned, high-performance engine roar to life. It was beyond ridiculous to imagine his mother going to that much trouble. He realized that he was buying into Brandon’s paranoia and he shook it off.

But, meanwhile, he would do everything he could to avoid spending too much time with the gorgeous brunette who seemed destined, through no fault of her own, to make his calm and ordered life a living hell.

After a quick glass of water and a few cleansing breaths, Trish was ready to get to work. After all, she was being paid well and her work ethic was strong, so just because she was out to ruin the man didn’t mean she wouldn’t do a good job for him while she was here.

She started by exploring her new workspace. It was bright and spacious, just outside the doors to Adam Duke’s palatial office. Everything was big and impressive, befitting the executive assistant to the president and CEO of Duke Development International.

The cherrywood desk was almost as big as her apartment’s actual living room. And while it wasn’t quite as dramatic as the floor-to-ceiling view of the coast from Adam’s office, Trish actually had a view of the ocean from the window directly across from her desk. If she wasn’t careful, she could get used to all this extravagance. “But you will be careful,” she admonished herself. She wasn’t here to get comfortable, to enjoy any perks of the job. Just as she wasn’t here to sigh over Adam Duke like some starstruck teenager.

But really, why couldn’t the guy look like a troll?

“Let it go, Trish,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Just get to work.”

Forty minutes later, after she’d finished revising Adam’s letters and documents and completed the cost analysis he’d left, Trish faced the file drawers. She wasn’t even sure what she was looking for, but the faster she found something incriminating inside these drawers, the faster she’d be able to give up this sham job and be on her way. Maybe she would find what she needed today. That would certainly save her from weeks of turmoil, working side by side with the most delectable man on the planet.