Jessica Hart - Honeymoon with the Boss

2009

WHERE would you like to go on honeymoon?

Imogen paused in surprise, her arm still extended in the act of handing her boss a folder of letters across the desk. Honeymoon? she repeated cautiously, wondering if she had heard correctly.

It was unlike Tom Maddison to ask personal questions, let alone one so unexpected. Sometimes on a Monday morning he remembered to ask her if she had had a good weekend, but never as if he cared about the answer and she always said Yes, thank you in reply, even if it had been a disaster-as, frankly, it often was.

Yes, honeymoon, said Tom with an edge of impatience. He took the folder and opened it. You know, after you get married.

ErIm not getting married, said Imogen.

Chance would be a fine thing, she thought wryly. All her friends seemed to be settling down, but she was obviously doomed to remain single-and it wasnt for lack of trying, whatever her best friend, Amanda, might say. Ever since Andrew had announced his engagement, she had thrown herself into the dating game, but no matter how promising her date seemed at first, Imogen always ended up making an excuse to leave early.

Pretend that you are, said Tom, skimming the first letter and scrawling his signature at the bottom before looking up at her with the piercingly light eyes that always reminded Imogen of stainless steel, so cool and unyielding were they.

He put down his pen. Youre a woman, he said, as if noticing the fact for the first time, which it probably was, Imogen thought. She was resigned now to the fact that, as far as Tom Maddison was concerned, she was little more than a walking, talking piece of office equipment.

I have it on good authority that most women start planning their dream weddings when theyre about six, he said, so you must have given it some thought.

Thats true, but at six youre only interested in pretty dresses, Imogen pointed out. Youre not that concerned about the groom at that stage, let alone the honeymoon.

Tom frowned as he pulled the next letter towards him. So you havent thought about it since then?

Well, I wouldnt say that, she admitted scrupulously, but my fantasies have never gone beyond getting married. Sadly, Ive never been in a position where theres any point in planning a honeymoon.

You are now. Tom cast a cursory glance over the letter and signed it before reaching for the next one.

Pardon?

I want you to plan a honeymoon, he said, his pen moving briskly over the paper.

Butwho for?

For me, said Tom, as if it were obvious.

For you?

Imogen stared at him. She shouldnt be surprised, she realised. Tom Maddison was thirty-six, single, straight and very, very rich. Why wouldnt he get married?

It wasnt as if he was unattractive, either. You couldnt call him handsome exactly, but he was tall and powerfully built and attractive in a way she couldnt quite explain. His stern face was dominated by a strong nose and those strange light eyes under formidable brows. So, no, he wasnt handsome. And yet

And yet there was something about the line of his mouth that made the breath stick in her throat sometimes, something about the big, square, capable hands and the angle of his cheek and jaw that prickled excitingly under her skin and sent a little shiver snaking down her spine.

Offset against that was the fact that she had worked for Tom Maddison for six months without any indication that he had any emotions at all. Not once had he mentioned his personal life. It was only thanks to her friend Sue in Human Resources that Imogen even knew that he was single.

She knew all about his professional reputation, though. In the City, they called him the Iceman. He was famous for the chilly precision of his negotiations and his cold-blooded approach to the failing companies that he was brought in to turn around. She knew Tom had been in New York for a number of years, transforming the fortunes of a succession of firms familiar from the Dow-Jones Index, and that he had been lured back to London at a reputedly gigantic salary to be CEO of Collocom, which had been struggling in the competitive communications market.

But really, that was all she knew. Imogen had never met anyone so driven and focused. It was like working for a machine.

Maybe that wasnt quite fair, she amended mentally. He was too brusque and impatient to be a machine. He was tough, even ruthless, but he was absolutely straight too. Tom Maddison wasnt a man who played games, and she admired that. With Tom, what you saw was what you got.

Except now it turned out that there was another side to him.

Youre getting married? she asked him, just in case she had misunderstood. It was hard to imagine Tom unbending enough to even smile at a woman, let alone ask her to marry him. He must have had a conversation about something other than work. Amazing.

Didnt I tell you?

No, she said with careful restraint, you didnt.

She was only his temporary PA, but he might have told her, she thought. Subsiding onto the chair, Imogen studied him across the desk as he scanned another letter and wondered what his fiance was like.

Thin, no doubt. And probably beautiful, she decided glumly.

Funny how men with millions to squander never chose to spend them on average-looking girls who could do with losing a few pounds, wasnt it?

Wellcongratulations! she said brightly. When did all this happen?

At New Year. Tom looked uncomfortable with the personal turn of the conversation.

When you were in New York? Imogen asked, surprised. He had certainly gone on his own-she knew because she had booked his ticket-and he didnt seem the type to spend a romantic weekend with a stranger, let alone rush into marriage.

Ive known Julia for nearly a year, said Tom, as if reading her mind. He signed the last letter and sat turning the pen between his fingers with a brooding expression, giving a very bad impression of a besotted lover. But we didnt get together until just before I came back to London four months ago.

Why didnt you say anything before?

There didnt seem to be any need. We werent going to get married until next year. Julia is a financial analyst, and she obviously has to sort out whats going to happen about her job if she moves over here, so I thought we had plenty of time.

Oh. Imogen wasnt sure what else to say. It certainly didnt sound like a mad, passionate love affair, but perhaps Tom was different behind closed doors.

With a mouth like that, it would be a shame if he wasnt.

So when are you getting married? she asked after a moment.

In six weeks.

Six weeks! Maybe it was a mad, passionate affair after all! Gosh, thats not long.

I know.

Tom could hear the glumness in his own voice, and pulled himself up. He ought to be sounding more enthusiastic at the prospect. After all, getting married had been his idea.

It had made perfect sense at the time. Julia was a high-flyer, like him. She was beautiful, intelligent, successful. Independent. To Tom, she had seemed everything he wanted in a woman. Their relationship had been mutually satisfying, with neither making any demands on the other, and Tom couldnt imagine ever meeting anyone who would fit into his life with so little effort.

But that was before he had asked her to marry him and wedding fever had gripped her, transforming her in an instant from a cool, competent businesswoman into a neurotic fiance, obsessed with dresses and guest lists and flowers and