—So, you'll have the report finished by three. Fantastic.

Dani froze upon hearing that male voice.

"No problem," the secretary he was talking to replied breathlessly.

Dani knew she'd have him by two at the latest. Alex Carlisle, president of the Carlisle Financial Corporation, was gliding through the offices, bewitching his besotted employees to do their jobs better than ever.

And she was the latest in a long line. Not looking at him was impossible. In fact, she was probably the only employee whose work suffered because of Alex Carlisle. He distracted her so much that she wasn't doing half of what she was supposed to. On the one hand, she wished he would leave so her heart would beat at a normal rate, but on the other, she didn't want to stop looking at him.

He was so easy on the eyes that she'd been keeping an eye on him all week, waiting for him to come down from the executive floor to talk to his employees, all of whom were typing like mad to complete work he'd assigned. Charismatic and self-confident, Alex Carlisle got everything he wanted, always. And, according to office gossip, women were his great passion. He dated many, always beautiful and elegant, high-society girls. Apparently, he changed partners often, and all his employees wanted to be on that list.

Dani understood why, but she wasn't going to admit that the same thing happened to her. Besides, she couldn't waste time with absurd obsessions, she thought, looking at her clock. There were only a few minutes left until lunchtime. She liked her job, and normally the hours flew by, but she had a mission. Besides, something about that place made her nervous. Well, he made her nervous. She was waiting for him to show up, as always, and since he'd shown up, she was expecting... something, though she didn't know what.
Unable to resist this force of nature, she raised her head to look at him again. What a fool. She looked like a kid smitten by a high school boy .

So much excitement for nothing. The other secretaries had told her that, although he went out with women all the time, he never did so with employees.

Dani saw him chatting with one of the supervisors. He was tall, with very long legs. He had taken off his jacket and was wearing a pale blue shirt underneath, the sleeves rolled up to the elbow.

He turned at that moment and caught her looking at him, his green eyes imprisoning her.

The office noises faded away, and so did her nervousness, replaced by a strange feeling of warmth.

He took a step forward. Was he going to talk to her?

Someone called him then, and he turned around, a smile on his face. And suddenly, the warmth, the tranquility, all of that, disappeared.

Dani shook her head and let out the breath she'd been holding.

Ridiculous.

And it was a good thing he hadn't come any closer, because when he looked at her he was unable to form a coherent thought.

It was as if his brain had suddenly shut down. He couldn't understand why the other secretaries could work when he was there.