Chase turned her attention back to work. Her hand brushed against a tall stack of folders resting on the edge of her desk, and they teetered precariously. She tried to grab them, but they cascaded in a waterfall to the floor.

Crap!

Chewing her bottom lip in frustration, she stretched over the desk to view the pieces of letterhead, pictures and reference correspondence that littered the multicolored carpeting.

With a deep breath, she chastised herself. Okay, if you had kept everything neater, you’d have saved a lot more time. And if you’d keep your mind on your work, you might be a little less careless!

She walked around and stood over the mess. An unsettling face stared up at her from one of the photographs on the carpet...Damien Sloan, the newest applicant for the recently advertised Research Associate position. The very file she needed. His smirking grin made her feel as though he was peering up her skirt. She quickly stepped aside, feeling a bit foolish.

It’s only a photo, for heaven’s sake.

Still, his leering expression sent a shiver running through her body.

The air was too warm for the blazer she wore, and Chase hung it on the coat rack. She sighed loudly as she hiked up her black sheath dress and dropped to her knees to gather the scattered paperwork. With Dr. Sloane’s disturbing snapshot tucked snuggly back inside his folder, she crawled from one paper to another to sort through the rubble and return each piece to its own file. This seemed to take forever, but her newfound determination kept her focused. She vowed to not let her stacks get so out of hand in the future.

Her files in order, she leaned back on her heels and heaved another sigh. As she surveyed the office from her new perspective, a stray wisp of blonde hair fluttered annoying close to her eye. She flicked it away.

A certificate signifying completion of her correspondence course hung crooked on the wall behind her desk. She’d given thought to community college, but found an institution on the Internet that simplified her career goals. She made a mental note to straighten her diploma, and a landscape displayed on the adjacent wall. It seemed they needed an adjustment each time someone opened or closed her door.

Checking to make sure she’d gotten all the paperwork, she spotted an elusive sheet between the file cabinet and the edge of her desk. She crawled closer and extended her arm between the two pieces of furniture.

Damn, I can’t reach it!

Crouched with her fanny in the air, she inched nearer, wedged her shoulder firmly against the desk and stretched her fingers as far as she could to grasp the stray sheet. Just as her fingers touched the paper, her office door opened. A cool breeze crept up her dress.

“Ahem.”

Someone behind her cleared their throat. A flush blossomed up her neck and set her cheeks ablaze as she realized her predicament.

Great. This must look really professional.

Clutching the errant paper, she turned to focus on a pair of shiny black shoes. She straightened and peered up into eyes as blue as a summer sky and clear as a mountain stream.

“Hell...hello there....”

The rest stuck in her throat as her gaze broadened to his stunning smile and wavy black hair, then drifted to massive shoulders and thick biceps encased in a blinding white dress shirt. Her eyes locked on the zipper of perfectly creased slacks that encased a pair of very muscular thighs.

“Are you Chase Holmes?”

“Ah, yes I am,” she said as she stood with a distinct lack of grace.

She waved the piece of paper at him as evidence. “I was just trying to retrieve a stray document, and I’m afraid you caught me at the worst possible moment. I apologize!”

He shrugged his shoulders and waggled one eyebrow. “No need. Though I must say, whether it was truly your worst moment depends upon ones viewpoint.”

 Available now from Eternal Press