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CHAPTER ONE
JUDE MESCAL walked through the office and Cleo thought, as she had thought so nificent cat
She had heard other adjectives ascribed to the chief executive of Mescal Slade—cold, re the personal assistant to the ious ree of invulnerability Jude Mescal didn't frighten her; nannies were rarely afraid of their charges, they knew thearded hie
He appeared to be in one of his thankfully rare irascible , she decided with a serene half- sed at her desk The way the sedateher shoulders and trying to look invisible et her own problems just for a moment
Jude paused at the heavy, highly polished door to that inner sanctuoodclench of brows that thundered down above the al azure of his eyes and the forceful line of his nose attested to his ill te no one today, Cleo Cancel all appointravelly voice that had the power to h he felt like a five-year-old on his first day at school
'Certainly, Mr Mescal' Cleo dipped her ss of her hair brush against the perfect ivory of her pointed face, hiding the amused smile that hovered around the full, curved contours of herto be one of those days
'And bring in the Research file on Ches' He slewed round quickly on the balls of his feet, the blue steel of his eyes turning Dawn Goodall to stone at her desk 'And if anyone from First Union calls, I'ed for tomorrow Got that, Mrs Goodall?'
An agonised squaas the nearest Dawn could get to an acknowledgement, but Cleo chimed in, ultra-sweet and smooth as silk, 'As ru around Could tomorrow's lunch be the preliminary to a hostile bid?'
She hadn't been able to resist that dig, and for a moment the muscles of his wide shoulders tensed beneath the dark silk and , then his mouth quirked acidly 'No one makes a bid, hostile or otherwise, for an efficient house And Mescal Slade's one of the top rankers Your job is safe, Miss Slade For the h'
In the silence following the thud as heavy any closed on its frame Dawn let out a pent-up breath,
'The file's right here I had it brought up fro And rather you than me I'd ask for a transfer to washroo here' She scowled at a typing error and Cleo picked up the file, shaking her head,
'You're a da there,' she told the older wo for hi ie He's a sweetie underneath'