Buttoned-Up Secretary, British Boss by Susanne James

like that, of other women in his life—why did it bother her? And of course it didn’t, not a bit.
    Decisively, Sabrina finished what she was doing before putting away all the cleaning stuff she’d been using. Then, letting herself out of the back entrance, she slipped outside into the garden to pick an armful of foliage to put in the jug. It cheered that black grate up no end. Looking around at her afternoon’s handiwork, she felt satisfyingly gratified. The whole room looked pleasant now, almost habitable.
    Glancing at her watch, Sabrina saw that it was already five-thirty—and she hadn’t done a scrap of that typing he’d left for her! Help! He would be back soon, because he hadn’t rung to say he was delayed.
    Suddenly feeling quite exhausted, Sabrina moved over to the chaise longue and without thinking collapsed down on to it, lying down and resting her head back, closing her eyes. Just for a few moments, she thought. Just a few moments to recover.
    Alexander looked down at the sleeping form of his secretary, a strange expression on his face. His gaze swept around the room, taking in the shining floorboards, the amazingly bright rug, the books on his shelves standing to attention, the smell of polish and fresh air and the casually elegant display of greenery in the fireplace. A slow smile touched his lips as he stood, motionless, for afew moments. Well, she’d asked permission to clean up and he’d agreed. He had to admit that an unusual sense of well-being came over him as he looked around. It was a very pleasant experience to see his study—which sometimes felt like his prison—so cared-for .
    Then his eyes softened as he looked back at Sabrina. Even with a bright-yellow duster tied around her head and a dark smudge of dust on her nose, she looked, well, wonderful, he thought. Wonderful, vulnerable…He turned abruptly to leave the room just as her eyes flickered open, and she struggled to sit up.
    ‘Heavens! What’s the time?’ she faltered, looking up at him. ‘I only meant to sit down for a moment. I must have dozed off…’
    ‘Well, from what I can see all around me, I’m not surprised,’ Alexander said, reaching his hand out to raise her up. ‘It’s six. It took me a bit longer to get back, I’m afraid.’ He paused. ‘Sabrina, you’ve transformed the study. Thank you—thank you very much.’
    She smiled up at him. ‘I quite enjoyed doing it, but I haven’t done any of the rather more important work you left for me, Alexander…’
    He placed his hand briefly on her shoulder. ‘There’s always tomorrow,’ he said. ‘And now I’m going to take you home. You’ve had a long, long day.’

Chapter Six
    O N T HURSDAY , two weeks later, Sabrina was feeling so involved with Alexander McDonald’s work and lifestyle, she felt she’d known him for ever. They seemed to have developed a rapport so quickly that any dread she might have felt about working for such an important man—who’d left her in no doubt at the interview that a lot would be expected of her—had disappeared almost overnight. But she did concede that her own qualifications had been an advantage because she had learned to read his mindset straight away, and knew when it was wise to say something or when to keep quiet. And she took it as a great compliment that he sometimes asked her opinion about something he was agonizing over as he wrote. She realized, with some surprise, that even great writers seemed to need constant reassurance and encouragement. The fact that he ran something by her occasionally made her feel ridiculously proud.
    To her relief, the penultimate chapter of his current novel had been approved, and now they were well into the final moments, the denouement of the story. How on earth was he going to bring it all together? she asked herself.
    As she typed up the first draft of the last chapter, she felt herself completely caught up with the plot, as ifthis total fiction of his mattered, really mattered.