Ms. Bravo and the Boss

  Beauty And The...Man Who’ll Never Let Her Go

  Elise Bravo needed a job, desperately. And soldier turned thriller writer Jed Walsh burned through—almost literally, it turned out—assistants like hellfire through brimstone. Turned out he had some...unusual work habits to go along with his giant talent and ego. He threw knives to relax. He cleaned his guns as he acted out scenes. And more than anything, he hated cats...

  Enter Elise, crack typist, master plotter and perfect for the live-in job in every way but one...two if you counted Mr. Wiggles, her furry companion. For though Jed had sworn he would never get “involved” with a woman who worked for him, it took only a day or two with the perfectly professional, pencil skirt–wearing Bravo beauty to realize that his interest in Elise broke all the rules. He had to make her his—even if he had to win over her kitty to do it...

  “What are you staring at?”

  “You.” He thought of the feel of Elise in his arms, the scent of her that he would know anywhere—and it hit him like the proverbial bolt from the blue.

  He was going about this all wrong. Staying away from her in order to keep her made no sense at all.

  He needed to get closer.

  Closer. Dear God. He would love that.

  Too bad he was no good at all that love and romance crap. And if he went for it with Elise and it blew up in his face, where would he be then? Zero and two—and minus the assistant who made it all hang together.

  “Jed.” She’d reached the table and now stood over him, watching him, her smile indulgent, her eyes so bright. “What’s going on in that big brain of yours?”

  “Not a thing.”

  “Liar. You’ve got your scary face on—give me your plate. I’ll warm it up.”

  He handed it over. He watched her walk away. Always a pleasure, watching Elise walk away.

  What would it be like, him and Elise, living together, working together, sleeping in the same bed night after night? He was starting to think he really needed to find out.

  * * *

  The Bravos of Justice Creek:

  Where bold hearts collide under Western skies

  Ms. Bravo and the Boss

  Christine Rimmer

  www.millsandboon.co.uk

  CHRISTINE RIMMER came to her profession the long way around. She tried everything from acting to teaching to telephone sales. Now she’s finally found work that suits her perfectly. She insists she never had a problem keeping a job—she was merely gaining “life experience” for her future as a novelist. Christine lives with her family in Oregon. Visit her at www.christinerimmer.com.

  For Nalria Wisdom Gaddy, who knows the names of all the flowers and never fails to brighten my day. Nalria, this one’s for you.

  Contents

  Cover

  Back Cover Text

  Introduction

  Title Page

  About the Author

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Extract

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Elise Bravo wanted a bath. A long, relaxing one. With lots of bubbles. She longed to shed every stitch and pile her hair up on her head. To grab a juicy paperback romance and sink into her slipper tub, the one she’d had specially installed in the big master bath of her two-bedroom apartment above her catering shop in the gorgeous old brick building she co-owned with her best friend, Tracy.

  Unfortunately, Elise’s beautiful slipper tub was no more. Neither was her apartment. Her business? Gone, too. Three months ago, the historic building on Central Street in her hometown of Justice Creek, Colorado, had burned to the ground.

  As for her lifelong best friend? Tracy had moved to Seattle to start a whole new life.

  Now, Elise lived in a tiny rented studio apartment over Deeliteful Donuts on the less attractive end of Creekside Drive. The studio had a postage stamp of a bathroom—with a shower, no tub.

  And sometimes lately, as she raced through the lunch rush at her sister Clara’s café, or manned the counter at her half sister Jody’s flower shop, Elise could almost lose heart. She was deeply disappointed in herself.

  Because it wasn’t the fire that had ruined her life. She’d been in trouble long before the idiot tenants who leased a shop on the ground floor had disabled the fire alarms and then left a hot plate turned on in the back room when they slipped out to run errands. By then, bad choices had already brought Elise to the brink of ruin. The fire had only slathered a thick helping of frosting on her own personal disaster cake.

  Elise was one of four siblings. She had five half siblings. Of the nine children of Franklin Bravo, Elise was the only one who’d blown through her very generous inheritance. Shame dogged her for every one of her stupid choices in life, in love and in business. She was circling the drain and she didn’t really know what to do about it.

  Except to hold her head high, work hard and keep moving forward.

  * * *

  After the lunch rush at the Library Café on that fateful day in June, Elise took off her waitress apron and transferred her tips to her purse. Her sister Clara waved at her as she went out the back door.

  It was a warm, sunny day. Elise had walked to the café. Now, she set out on foot along Central Street headed for Jody’s shop, Bloom. It was good exercise, walking. Not to mention, it saved on gas. Walking fast, she could reach Bloom in six minutes and be right on time to give Jody a break at two o’clock.

  She made it with a minute to spare. Jody, at the counter with a customer, glanced over at the sound of the bell. “There you are.”

  “What? Am I late? I thought we said—”

  “You’re not late,” said a voice to Elise’s left. She whipped her head around in surprise as her other half sister popped out from behind a ficus tree and grabbed Elise’s arm. “We need to talk.”

  “What the...?” Elise tried to jerk free. “Nell! Let me go.”

  But Nell, who worked in construction, had a grip like a sumo wrestler. “Come on in back.”

  Elise sent Jody a pleading look as Nell dragged her toward the swinging café doors on the far side of the counter. “Jody, will you tell her to let go of—”

  “Hear her out,” Jody interrupted. She was tucking a stunning arrangement of succulents and red anthuriums into one of Bloom’s trademark green-and-pink boxes. “This could be good for you.”

  “This? What?” Elise huffed in frustration as Nell knocked the doors wide and dragged Elise into the back room. “Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”

  “This way.” Nell pulled her into Jody’s office and shut the door. “Sit.”

  Elise plunked her purse on Jody’s desk. “This is ridiculous.”

  “Just sit down and listen.”

  “Fine.” Elise dropped into the guest chair. “But Jody has errands to run and she needs me out front.”

  “Don’t worry about Jody. She’ll manage without you.” Nell braced a hip against the desk and crossed her arms over her spectacular breasts.

  Actually, Nell was spectacular all over. She had legs for days and long, thick auburn hair and lips like Angelina Jolie. A half sleeve of gorgeous ink accentuated her shapely left arm. Elise, on the other ha
nd, possessed neither the style nor the courage to get a tattoo. She had dark brown hair, ordinary lips and a body that was heavier than it used to be due to some serious stress eating since the fire. Really, how could she and the gorgeous creature in front of her possibly share half of the same genes?

  Elise and Nell had a difficult history. Recently, they’d healed the old wounds. But Elise still felt guilty about the way she’d treated Nell when Nell’s mother married their father. And lately, with all that had gone wrong in Elise’s life, the guilt was worse than ever. Now, she looked back on her earlier sense of entitlement and verging-on-mean-girl behavior and couldn’t help wondering if she deserved the hard knocks she kept taking.

  Still. Nellie had no right to go dragging her all over the place.

  Elise folded her own arms tight and hard to match her sister’s pose and demanded, “All right, I’m listening. What do you just have to talk to me about?”

  Nell tossed her glorious hair. “A job, that’s what. A lot better job than busting your butt waiting tables for Clara and running the register for Jody.”

  “What job?” Elise tried to stay pissed off, mostly in order not to get her hopes up. But still, she could feel it. A sudden pulse of optimism, a lifting sensation under her ribs. She used to love it when she got that feeling. Not anymore. Lately, hope only led to disappointment. She’d had way more than enough of that already, thank you very much.

  Nell uncrossed her arms and hitched a long jean-clad leg up on the desk. “This is the deal. Jed Walsh is in need of another assistant.” Jed Walsh, so the story went, had grown up in a one-room cabin on a mountain not far from Justice Creek. He’d moved away right out of high school, eventually becoming the world-famous author of a series of bestselling adventure novels. Several months ago, he’d come back to town.

  And yep. There it was. The sinking sensation that came when each new hope was dashed. “Of course Jed Walsh needs a new assistant. He always needs a new assistant. How many has he been through now?” Since his return to town, Walsh’s inability to keep an assistant had become downright legendary.

  “Don’t be negative,” her sister muttered.

  “Nellie. They run away screaming. He’s that bad.”

  “Let me finish. I was at Walsh’s house an hour ago switching out custom hardware and—”

  “What are you doing switching out hardware?”

  “Stop changing the subject.” Nell worked with their brother Garrett running Bravo Construction. They’d built Walsh’s new house.

  “But switching out hardware is way below your pay grade.”

  “If you must know, when Jed Walsh wants a tweak or an upgrade, I handle it. He can be annoying and I don’t want him giving our people any crap. And because I was just there at his house, I heard him fire the woman he hired a few days ago.” She leaned toward Elise. “I know you can type, Leesie. I remember you took keyboarding class back in high school and Mrs. Clemo kissed your ass because you were so good at it.”

  “So what? I hate typing.”

  “Yeah, maybe. But you can do it and do it well. And that’s what Jed Walsh needs. Someone to type his book while he dictates it. The man pays big bucks.”

  “Come on. No one ever lasts. They all say he’s a slave driver. And just possibly borderline insane. I’ve heard the stories. He terrorizes them. Seriously, why would I last when no one else has?”

  “Because it’s a lot of money.”

  “Not if I run away screaming, it’s not.”

  “You’re not running anywhere. You’ll be the one who lasts.”

  “And you say that because...?”

  “You’re motivated. And deep down, where it counts, you’re as tough as they come.”

  “Thanks. But no thanks.” Elise reached for her purse.

  Nell got to it first. She shoved it away to the center of the desk.

  “Enough now, I mean it.” Elise rose. “Cut it out.”

  “Please stop.” Nell looked straight in her eyes and spoke with heartfelt intensity. “Come on, Leesie. Give up the act. You need the money and you need it bad. Stop pretending you don’t.”

  Elise realized her mouth was hanging open and snapped it shut. She’d been so sure that nobody knew the extent of her problem. She sank back into the chair and hung her head. “Just tell me. Please. Does everybody in the family know?” Silence from Nell. Elise made herself lift her head and pull her shoulders up straight. “Do they?”

  Slowly, Nell nodded. “We love you and we are not blind. You’re working yourself into the ground. And if you had the money, you would have reopened Bravo Catering when the insurance paid out.” She would have, it was true. But half of that money had been Tracy’s and Tracy had finally admitted that the catering business wasn’t for her. Plus, Elise had had all those debts to pay. In the end, they’d split the insurance money and sold the lot to a merchant next door who wanted to expand. Once Elise had paid off what she owed, there wasn’t much left. Nell went on, “That’s why you need to go see Jed Walsh. Leesie, we are talking thousands a week if you can last.”

  “Oh, come on. Thousands? For a secretary?”

  “The woman he just fired said so. I asked her as she was stomping out the door.”

  “She must have been exaggerating. If he pays thousands, someone would have stayed.”

  “No. I think he’s actually that bad. And he’s evidently damn picky. Most of them he fires, so they can’t stick no matter how much they want the money he’s paying. But the good news is, he’s really desperate now. I heard he’s blown off his book deadline over and over. At some point he’s got to keep an assistant and get the damn book done.”

  Elise sighed in defeat. “Be realistic. If none of the others can put up with him, what makes you think I can?”

  “Because you’re a Bravo and a Bravo gets out there and gets it done.” Nell stood. “Jed Walsh is going to get the assistant he needs, which is you. And that means Jed Walsh is going to put you back in the black.”

  “Oh, I doubt that.”

  Nell braced her hands on her shapely hips. “You know, Leesie... On second thought, you’re right. You should just give up now. We all love you and we’re all doing great financially. We can help and we will. No one’s going to hold it against you if you let your family rescue you from the consequences of your own stupid pride and bad decision-making.”

  Elise rose again, slowly. She said in a low voice that sounded like a threatening growl, “No. Freaking. Way. I’ll rescue myself, just you watch me.”

  A slow grin tipped the corners of Nell’s impossibly sexy lips. “That’s the spirit.” She grabbed a square of paper from the pad on the desk and bent to scribble on it. Then she took Elise’s hand and slapped the paper in it. “Here’s the address. Now get over there and show Mr. Number One New York Times Bestselling Author that you’re the assistant he’s been looking for.”

  * * *

  Walsh’s new house was really something, Elise thought. Bravo Construction must be proud. Surrounded by giant pines and Douglas firs, the gorgeous, rustic, wood-and-stone home sprawled impressively on the crest of a hill.

  I really, truly do not want to do this, Elise repeated to herself for the hundredth time as she parked her SUV in front of the slate walk that meandered upward toward the massive front door. Excuses scrolled through her mind: She really should at least have called first. Her typing was rusty. She hated to be shouted at and everyone said that Walsh was a yeller.

  But then again, her family knew. She could no longer lie to herself that her abject failure to take care of herself and her future was her own little secret. They knew and they worried for her and if she didn’t pull herself out of this hole she was in, they would do it for her.

  Uh-uh. No way. Not going to happen. She’d dug this hole and then fallen into it. One way or another, she would get hers
elf out of it. If there was any possibility that Jed Walsh might provide the solution she’d so desperately been seeking, she needed to convince the madman to hire her.

  Elise smoothed her hair, straightened her white button-down shirt and put one foot in front of the other all the way up the winding stone walk. The front porch was really something, made of rough-hewn rock and thick unfinished planks cut from various exotic-looking woods. The studded door had copper sculptures of leaves and vines attached to the windows on either side. No doorbell, just a giant cast-iron boar’s-head knocker.

  Elise lifted the knocker and banged it three times against the door. The thing was loud. She could hear the sound echoing on the other side. She waited for a full count of twenty for someone to answer. When no one did, she lifted the ring through the boar’s snout to knock again.

  Before she could lower it, the big door swung inward.

  And there stood Jed Walsh, a giant of a man in jeans and a black T-shirt with muscles on his muscles, a scruff of beard on his rocklike jaw and a phone at his ear.

  He shouted into the phone, “I don’t care about any of that, Holly. She didn’t work out and I need someone else now.” The person on the other end started talking. Walsh pulled the phone from his ear and looked Elise up and down with a way-too-observant pair of icy green eyes. “Who are you and what do you want?”

  “I’m Elise Bravo and—”

  “With the construction company?” he barked. “The hardware’s great and I’m happy with the copper sink. No problems.” He started to swing the door shut in her face.

  Elise talked fast. “You need an assistant and I’m here for the job.”

  He grunted, swung the door wide once more and spoke into the phone again. “Never mind for now.” Whoever Holly was, she was still talking as he disconnected the call. And Walsh was giving Elise another leisurely once-over, from the top of her head to the toes of her practical black shoes.

  The look was way too assessing. Please. The last thing she needed right now was to have some man—any man, crazy or otherwise—looking her over. She was not at her best, all frazzled and tired, with the buttons down the front of her shirt on the verge of popping and her black pants clinging tighter than they ought to. She was an excellent cook, after all. Plus, there was the donut shop right downstairs from her cramped apartment. Food could offer great comfort when your world went up in flames.