Page 1 of Marriage Masquerade

Chapter One

Gemma Green paused in the office doorway, holding a stack of files and letters. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at her boss — Nikos Petropoulos.

She swallowed hard. He hadn’t a clue she was watching him. As long as she was quiet, stood still, he wouldn’t notice her. As usual, his concentration was fierce. He could tune out the rest of the world when he focused on one particular thing.

She loved looking at him. His dark hair was meticulously styled, but often became disheveled when he ran his fingers through it or came in from a windy day. At his dark straight brows, frowning now as he perused the spreadsheet. Over six feet tall, he stood a good seven inches above her own five-foot-six height. And every inch honed as if he worked out like a body builder instead of working in a high-rise office building in Manhattan.

The seconds ticked by as she studied him, memorizing every detail. How many times in the five years she’d worked for him had she done this? More than a thousand, she knew.

And in two weeks she’d be gone, she thought with a pang. She nearly faltered for a moment.It wasn’t fair.

Studying the spreadsheet before him, Nikos frowned as if he didn’t like the totals. She wondered what he was reading—and didn’t envy the writer. Nikos was ruthless in business. Which accounted for his meteoric rise in the company—through sheer ability, not nepotism.

During the afternoon, he’d discarded his suit jacket and loosened his tie. He rolled up his shirtsleeves, revealing his muscular tanned forearms. The snowy white shirt fit perfectly across broad shoulders before tapering to his waist. She couldn’t see his eyes as he read, but their dark gaze never failed to cause a shiver down her spine.

He was a beautiful man, exotic and exciting in a way that had the office secretaries sighing whenever he walked by. But he was her boss, and Gemma always kept that thought firmly in mind.

Besides, since the fiasco with James, she’d sworn never to become involved with another man. Once trust had been shattered, it became impossible to rebuild. She no longer had confidence in her judgment, her perception of others. And it’d be a long time before she’d trust anyone again.

It was late. The rest of the staff had already left for the weekend. Gemma was ready to go as soon as she gave Nikos the folders. She allowed herself the indulgence of watching him for a little longer.

For a second, she wondered how he’d take her resignation. He was a curious mixture of Western education and Mediterranean tradition, making it very hard to gauge his reactions. Their company operated more formally than many in the United States, the style set by their boss with his manner of treating everything rather distantly. Did he ever lighten up, she wondered suddenly.

She’d never know.

Dusk was falling, visible through the large windows at his back. The scattered lights from the windows of the other skyscrapers sparkled. She’d seen this expanse of Manhattan every day for almost five years. It felt familiar, like home.

She smiled wryly. Nikos would never approve of such blatant sentimentality. He was a tough, no-nonsense businessman first, last and always. As he expected his personal assistant to be.

And if she had emulated him, she would never have found herself in the fix she was in now. Too bad she’d learned that lesson so late.

“I have the analysis you requested, and I brought the McCaffrey file,” Gemma said, putting an abrupt end to her musing. “Elise finished the dictation you gave her, and those letters are on top. If you sign them now, I’ll post them on my way out.”

Elise Templer had been Nikos' secretary since before Gemma started working for him as his personal assistant.

She placed the stack on his desk, relinquishing her own letter of resignation reluctantly. She didn’t know what he was going to say, and hoped she could hold on to her control until she was alone.

Resigning proved far more difficult than she’d expected.

He looked up and nodded, his dark eyes focused on her.

“You read my mind about McCaffrey. I found a discrepancy in the latest numbers Hank reported. I need to compare them with our earlier report in their folder.”

She nodded with satisfaction. It had become almost a joke at first, when she’d started anticipating his needs. Over the past few years, however, they’d just accepted it as a part of their relationship. She knew the shipping business almost as well as he did, her ideas and thoughts usually paralleling his. And she always knew what information he needed almost beforeheknew.

“Does the merger still look promising?” she asked, perching gingerly on the edge of one of the visitor’s chairs opposite Nikos.

She let none of her impatience or trepidation show. He’d get to her letter when he got to it.

Taking a deep breath, she held it a moment before letting it slowly out. It didn’t calm her. So much for that theory.

Nikos tossed down his pen and leaned back in his chair.

“Yes. Though the rate of return may not occur as quickly as I initially thought.”

He glanced at the stack, distracted.

Gemma swallowed and waited patiently. She wouldn’t look at her watch again. Doing so wouldn’t change the pace of time.