Temptation

By K.M. Golland
Book 1 in The Temptation Series
First Published 2012
First Australian Paperback Edition 2014

ISBN 978 1 74356 801 9

TEMPTATION
© 2012 by K. M. Golland

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the
product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely
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 PROLOGUE

‘Uh-oh’ and ‘I didn’t mean it’ are two sentences a mother hates
hearing materialise from the mouth of her five-year-old child.
‘Fuck’ and ‘Mum, I’m stuck’ are another two ... but we’ll talk
about that another day.
Those dreaded words ‘uh-oh’ were only spoken moments
ago by my daughter, Charlotte. And as per usual, they were
spoken while I was in the middle of something I did not
want to interrupt, such as what I was currently immersed
in — washing.
‘Uh-oh what?’ I shouted, while trying to balance the wash-
ing basket on my hip, inevitably freeing my other hand to
shut the lid of the machine.
‘Nothing, Mum,’ Charlotte replied, her voice slightly hesi-
tant. ‘Nothing’ was another word a mother was not fond of
hearing when clearly ‘nothing’ always meant ‘something’.
 K.M. Golland

‘That did not sound like nothing, Charli,’ I grumbled.

‘Where are you?’
An intuitive dread started to bubble inside my stomach at
the thought of what my daughter was obviously trying to hide,
so in order to find out I made my way down the hallway toward
my bedroom, where I could hear Charlotte making noises.
As I was about to enter the threshold of my room, the phone
rang. ‘Ah, crap!’ I swivelled around, careful not to squash
myself between the wall and the washing basket, which was
still balanced on my hip, and walked briskly to where my
phone sat in its cradle on the kitchen bench.
‘Hello,’ I answered with little enthusiasm.
‘Alexis, darling. Have I caught you at a bad time?’ my
mother asked.
‘Umm ... no, well ... kind of, yes,’ I replied, holding the
phone to my ear with my shoulder. Like most women, I was
quite good at securing objects with body parts other than my
hands. This was a skill us stay-at-home mums excelled at,
because, let’s face it, our hands were always full.
As I stood there in my awkward phone shoulder-hold posi-
tion, I noticed the Bolognese sauce bubbling at more than a
gentle simmer. I retrieved the wooden spoon which was sit-
ting on a dish by the stove and quickly stirred the pot. ‘I’m
just in the middle of cooking tea and doing the washing,
Mum,’ I explained.
‘Oh, okay. Never mind,’ she replied dismissively.
Burnt remnants of sauce started to make their way to the
surface as I stirred, so I turned the stovetop burner down.
Shit! Crap! Balls!
‘Mum, you obviously called for a reason,’ I responded, a
little too grumpily, stirring the burnt bits back into the sauce.
 Te m p t a t i o n

What my husband and kids don’t know won’t hurt them. Besides,
a little charcoal adds to the flavour, right? That, or I’ll just tell
them it’s spaghetti with a smoked beef Bolognese sauce — the
newest craze.
Feeling a little guilty for snapping at my mother, I softened
my frazzled demeanour and apologised. After all, my multi-
tasking failure wasn’t her fault. ‘Sorry, Mum. I just have a lot
to do today and nothing is going as planned.’
‘Anything I can help you with?’
‘No, not really ... unless you can do my washing, clean the
bathroom and toilet, and sew Nate’s school pants for me?’
‘Sorry, sweetheart. If I lived closer to you, you know that I
would.’
I sighed and turned the stove burner to the lowest possible
setting then hoisted the washing basket on the bench, giving
my hip instant relief. ‘I know, Mum. So what did you call for?’
‘Well ... just quickly. When you have a second, can you
please send me some Bejeweled Blitz coins?’
Mum’s request instantly had me rolling my eyes with a
smile. I slapped my hand to my forehead and rested my elbow
on the benchtop. Unfortunately, this action resulted in me
accidentally clipping the tip of the wooden spoon, catapult-
ing it forward and sending a spray of Bolognese sauce across
my face.
‘Ah, shit!’ I moaned.
‘What?’
‘Nothing.’
‘That wasn’t a “nothing”, Alexis,’ she replied, knowingly.
Instantaneously, a feeling of déjà vu hit me at my mother’s
words and, whether I liked to admit it or not, I was more like
her than I realised at times.
 K.M. Golland

‘It’s fine, Mum. I just spilled some sauce.’

‘Spills are easily cleaned, darling. Now, speaking of messes
and things that need cleaning, where is that granddaughter of
mine?’
Mum’s mention of Charlotte triggered my earlier unease,
reminding me that before I answered the phone I was on my
way to find out what she was up to. I realised I needed to end
the current conversation to go find her. ‘Mum, I’ve got to go.
Talk to you later, okay?’ I hung up before she could object and
quickly swiped my face with the tea towel.
‘Charlotte?’ I called out.
‘Yeah?’
‘Don’t “yeah” me, you cheeky ratbag. Come here.’
‘Um ... okay. I’m coming.’
As I turned around with the intention to hunt her down
if need be, my incredibly inquisitive — and it would appear,
artistic — daughter rounded the corner with tentative steps
and a proud smile.
I couldn’t help but take in her appearance and wasn’t sure
whether to laugh or cry at what I saw. ‘Charli! What have you
done?’
‘Mummy, I’m Kiera from Barbie: The Princess & the Pop-
star,’ she answered, smiling and turning in a circle while hold-
ing out her skirt.
I watched in horror — and what seemed like slow
motion — as Charli twirled, her blonde hair streaked with
purple texta marker, her eyelids densely covered in my pink
eye shadow, and her lips and parts of her cheeks smeared with
fire-engine red lipstick.
Slowly, I became aware that my mouth was agape and
my breathing hitched. So I closed my eyes and reined in the
 Te m p t a t i o n

pending outburst of laughter, tears or anger — or God knows

what else — and took some deep breaths.
Just as I was able to compose myself, a knock sounded at
the front door.
‘Urgh! Wait here, Charli,’ I huffed, annoyed at whoever was
interrupting our Barbie makeover crisis.
Pivoting, I quickly made my way to the front door and,
before I had even a chance to open it completely, I was greeted
by a young man.
‘Hello, ma’am. My name is Anil, and I am from Energy
Australia. How are you today?’
Oh, for the love of fuck. My eyes uncontrollably rolled back
in annoyance and irritation. The timing of these utility com-
pany representatives was bloody impeccable.
The young man’s expression instantly morphed from over-
exaggerated enthusiasm to curiosity when he looked up to
meet my frustrated scowl.
‘Honestly, Anil, I’m really not in the mood for whatever it
is you wish to try and sell me. I’m kind of busy.’ I took a step
back.
‘Ma’am, you —’
Raising my hand to indicate he stop, I interrupted. ‘Look,
I don’t want to be rude. I know you are only trying to do
your job, but I don’t want to switch electricity companies.
Okay?’
‘But, ma’am, you have —’
‘What I have, Anil, is a good electricity rate already. I’m
happy with my current situation.’
‘No. You have a —’
‘I’m sorry. What I don’t have is time for this. Have a nice
day,’ I said quickly before closing the door. Seriously, fuck off.
 K.M. Golland

As I turned back to face my clown-like daughter, I caught

sight of my reflection in the mirror on the entryway wall.
‘Oh, great! Could this day get any worse?’ I cursed to
myself, taking in the spaghetti sauce smeared across my nose,
cheek and forehead.
‘Mum,’ Charli said tentatively, ‘I have to tell you something.’
Squinting with a scrutinising glare, I took in the way she
was nervously playing with her fingers.
‘I promise, I didn’t mean it,’ she squeaked.
‘Didn’t. Mean. What?’
‘It got stuck. It wasn’t my fault.’
‘What got stuck?’
‘The toilet roll. It accidentally fell into the toilet and got
stuck.’
I laughed a little too sarcastically. Yes, Alexis, of course your
day can get worse.
Allowing my head to fall quite heavily onto the wall beside
me, I closed my eyes for a brief moment in order to get a grip
on the control I was very close to losing.
Slumped against the entryway wall in my house, it was in
that short-lived moment of time-out when I decided that after
Christmas I was going back to work. I was going to rediscover
the Alexis Summers I had been before motherhood had taken
over my life.
I was going to find my life’s balance.
 CHAPTER

Many of us have been faced with moments when our reflec-

tion in the mirror stared back and resembled someone we did
not recognise. That was the case today as I fastened the last
bobby pin into my hair. Having recently lost twenty kilograms
as a result of a mad affair with my local gym, I now fitted into
a size 12 which I was more than happy with.
As I stood there and took myself in, it wasn’t my size or shape
that had me screwing up my nose. It was the fact that I hon-
estly did not know how to look the corporate part any more.
In the mirror before me was a thirty-five-year-old woman with
just a touch of make-up on. My blonde hair was neatly twirled
into a bun, and I was wearing a black pinstriped skirt-suit, a
pale pink blouse, and black peep-toe heels. Your feet are going
to hate you tonight, Alexis. Surely you realise this?
I looked down at my feet with sympathy, knowing these
shoes were sure to punish me. Unfortunately, my fluffy slippers
14 K.M. Golland

were not an option for today, nor would they complement my

skirt. Gone were the days of comfortable clothing.
For the past nine years, I had been shrugging on a pair of
jeggings and t-shirt, or gym pants and a singlet, as those years
had been spent getting the kids ready for school and kinder-
garten. I guess that was the reason why make-up and corpo-
rate attire were the last things on my mind. If anything, my
daily self-appraisal had been a quick glance in the mirror on
my way out of the house, checking that I had no food stuck
to my face or teeth.
Today was an entirely different day, though. Because today
was the day I started my first full-time job since having my
two children, and I was beyond nervous.
Sighing at my lame attempt to look professional, I smoothed
down my skirt. Ugh! This will have to do. ‘Okay, ratbags, are
you ready?’ I shouted from the bathroom. ‘We need to leave
or Mummy will be late for her first day at work.’
I took one last look at my reflection before making my way
into the living room where both my adorable children were
waiting by the garage door. I couldn’t help but lovingly smile
at them. ‘Charli-Bear, your shoes are on the wrong feet. Nate,
can you please help her fix them?’
Nate rolled his eyes, then bent down and fixed his little sis-
ter’s shoes. Like most siblings, they were both each other’s best
friends when not being worst enemies. Charlotte was six years
old and in her first year of primary school, and Nate was three
years her senior and living in his own land of sovereignty.
‘Mum, do I have to go to before-school care? I really don’t
want to. It’s for babies.’
‘Nate, it’s not for babies. And yes, you do have to go. Please
don’t make this difficult. I’m really excited about my new job,
 Te m p t a t i o n 15

and anyway, you’ll get the chance to sit quietly and draw your
pictures.’ I raised my eyebrows encouragingly and tilted my
head.
Nate dropped his head in disappointment and turned for
the car, momentarily filling me with guilt. My nine-year-old
son, despite being extremely independent, was still very much
a mummy’s boy and not very happy about my decision to go
back to work.
‘What time will you be home, Mum?’ he sulked.
I reached forward and snagged his arm, pulling him in for
a cuddle. ‘I’m not sure, sweetheart. Hopefully before dinner.
Dad will pick you both up at the gate after school. And ... I
have your favourite meal cooking in the slow cooker, so it’s all
sorted.’ I kissed his golden head and gently pushed him toward
the car where his sister was already seated and buckled in.

* * *
Not even an hour later, I drove onto the entry ramp of the
Tullamarine Freeway and headed toward the city. Oh, my God!
Alexis, you are actually doing this, you are going back to work.
Apprehension, excitement and a little bit of dread started to
stir in the pit of my stomach. Of course, I had known that this
day would eventually come, but being a stay-at-home mum
for the past nine years was what I had grown accustomed to;
it was routine ... comfortable. Then again, to say that it was
comfortable is not an entirely accurate statement, because my
life wasn’t comfortable. In fact, it was far from it at times and
certainly not easy.
I don’t deny that by staying home and raising my children,
I’ve had the perk of not having to deal with clients, custom-
ers or an overbearing boss on a daily basis. And, admittedly,
16 K.M. Golland

I could wear my slippers most days and throw my hair into a

ponytail without even brushing it. So yes, that part was com-
fortable. But being a stay-at-home mum for nearly a third of
my life was also draining, and lonely, and not very exciting.
And because of this, I could honestly say that I was more than
ready to welcome a change.
Speaking of change, driving into the city at 7.30 in the
morning was definitely something I was not used to. The
traffic was horrendous: stop, start, stop, start. How my hus-
band did this day in and day out, I would never know. It was
crazy!
Prior to stopping work and having children, I had been a
secretary to a suburban solicitor close to home, thereby never
actually having dealt with bumper to bumper traffic before.
So this mayhem called ‘peak hour’ was new to me and abso-
lutely absurd.
Needing a distraction from the traffic around me, I pressed
play on my CD player and let the sounds of Kings of Leon
filter through my car. As I did this, an impatient arsehole
in a silver BMW, tried to sneak into the space — or lack
thereof — in front of me. Don’t honk your horn at me, you
idiot, I was in this lane first.
Clearly, I was out of my comfort zone, not only amongst
crazy city commuters, but also in the sense that the job I was
about to embark on was a complete career change for me.
That prospect alone was beyond terrifying.
My new role was as one of the Concierge Attendants at City
Towers, which was part of the biggest entertainment complex
in Victoria. City Towers was a luxury five-star hotel with forty-
three floors, four hundred and eighty-one rooms, thirty villas,
and the penthouse residence. I had always loved City Towers
 Te m p t a t i o n 17

and I’d had the privilege to stay in a suite with my fiancé —

now husband, Rick — a year after we got engaged. And at that
time, and for us, that in itself was quite an exclusive event.

* * *
As I pulled into the city complex staff car park, I noticed I was
running short on time. I hated being in a rush. Really hated
it. You’d think that after nine years of raising my babies I’d be
used to it, but I wasn’t. And, of all the days I could be late,
today was not going to be one of them.
Finding the closest parking spot, I rushed out of my car and
beelined straight for the entry door, knowing exactly where I
had to be by 9 a.m.
Despite my crazy, busy lifestyle with sports, pick-ups,
drop-offs, running errands and shopping, etc, I was brilliant
at organisation and multitasking, having already visited the
complex three times in the past fortnight to become familiar
with where I was going to be starting my new career. Thank-
fully, due to this obsessive preparation, I had made up some
time by taking a few shortcuts, thus allowing me a minute to
pop into Gloria Jean’s for my favourite drink — hot white-
chocolate with a marshmallow.
As I waited at the counter, it was obvious that the young,
bright and bubbly attendant enjoyed her job, happily going
about her task of preparing my drink. But it wasn’t until
after she proudly handed me the paper cup that I noticed her
cheeks flush and her entire demeanour change.
‘Thank ... you,’ I said with confusion, due to her sudden
shift of personality.
Dubiously, I turned around and that’s when I slammed
straight into the person in line behind me, spilling my entire
18 K.M. Golland

white-chocolate down the front of the both of us. ‘Oh, shit!

Shit! Jesus, that is hot! Oh, I am so sorry!’
I apologetically looked up, expecting to see an extremely
livid gentleman. After all, I had stupidly and clumsily doused
him in my milky drink.
Staring down at me, however, could only be described as
the most delectable specimen of a man I had ever seen, and he
was smirking at me. Yes ... smirking. Not livid or furious as I
had expected, but arrogantly smirking. Well, more of a know-
ing grin, that charmed rather than offended.
I blushed ever so slightly with embarrassment for the simple
reason that I had spilled my drink over somebody. But to top
it off, I just happened to have spilled it on an extremely sexy
man, and that was ... well ... that was just beyond horrifying.
‘I am so sorry. I didn’t even stop to think that someone was
behind me. I’ll get you a towel, hang on a second,’ I babbled
apologetically as I looked around in desperation for some-
thing to wipe us both with.
Mr Sexy Handsome Gentleman gently brushed himself
down. ‘Never mind that, Alexis, it’s fine.’
‘Mr Clark, I’ll get you a wet cloth,’ the bubbly attendant
offered, her friendly persona toward me from moments ago
now appearing quite volatile. She glared in my direction, giv-
ing me the sense that she was about ready to pounce over the
counter and scratch my eyes out.
‘No, Stacey, that’s quite all right. Alexis and I will have to
change.’
With that, the sexy beast of a man, gently — yet with com-
plete command and control — grabbed me by the arm and
directed me out of the café.
 Te m p t a t i o n 19

It was mere moments later that I snapped out of my

stunned state and became aware I was being led to some
place, by some person I knew absolutely nothing about. And
regardless of how gorgeous this particular person was, or how
unusually wonderful his hand felt against the skin of my arm,
every fibre in me told me stop.
I gently shrugged out of his grasp and halted my steps. ‘I’m
sorry, who are you and how do you know my name?’
He appeared somewhat amused at my perfectly reasonable
question and this time placed his hand on the small of my
back, his touch sending excited currents right up and down
my spine. The sensation shocked me but, unexpectedly, not
in a bad way.
‘Ms Summers, your name is on that ID tag which is pinned
to that soaking blouse of yours. And I am Bryce Clark, your
employer.’
Oh, shit! Crap! Balls! What have I done?
What I had done was spill my drink over my boss before I
had even started my first shift. Great start to the rest of your life,
Alexis. You fucking idiot.
Mr Clark leaned in closer and spoke directly into my ear.
‘I don’t know about you, Ms Summers,’ he said, lowering his
voice, his tone sexually intoxicating, ‘but I don’t like to wear
hot chocolate to work.’
‘No,’ I stuttered, feeling highly mortified yet a little turned
on. ‘I don’t blame you.’
Suddenly realising my predicament, my mind started to
race. Crap! I don’t have any spare clothes, and I certainly don’t
have a spare pair of trousers or shirt for Bryce ... I mean, Mr
Clark.
20 K.M. Golland

Before panic could set in any further, he applied a gentle

pressure to my back and ushered me forward. ‘Come with me.’

* * *
Moments later, we were in front of Versace, one of the high-
end fashion stores in the City Towers precinct. The entire
situation had me feeling utterly ridiculous. So much so that
during the short time it took us to get there, I hadn’t really
said anything to him. My muteness was probably a result of
shock due to the fact I had spilled my drink on someone and
that it had been my boss. I was not normally so clumsy.
‘After you, Ms Summers,’ he directed with his sexy voice,
guiding me into the glamorous store.
Upon entering, I felt even more overwhelmed and out
of place. I had never been into such a prestigious shop and
it made me feel very uncomfortable — not to mention the
minor issue of my attire being covered in hot chocolate.
Bryce approached the lady behind the counter. The
woman — possibly a little younger than me — had an aura
of sophistication and was a naturally beautiful brunette with
flawless skin.
‘Clarissa,’ he said warmly, ‘Ms Summers and I had a bit of
an accident with a hot chocolate. I’ll need a suit and she will
need something suitable for the hotel’s front office.’
‘Certainly, Mr Clark,’ Clarissa replied sweetly. ‘Follow me.’
Having no choice but to follow like a little lost puppy, I did
just that as she led us both into the change area. I still felt like
a complete idiot.
As I stepped into the new room, I glanced around, unable
to stop myself appreciating the overly large room. The decor
was elegant with rich brown carpets, gold trimmings and
 Te m p t a t i o n 21

fixtures, and seats covered in deep blue velvet. What was also
unusually captivating was that the change cubicles circled the
outside of the room, giving you the sense of standing in the
middle of a clock face.
‘If you’d like to go in here, Ms Summers,’ Clarissa smiled,
directing me to the cubicle at the three o’clock position. ‘I will
be back in just a minute with a beautiful day dress for you.
And, Mr Clark, if you’d like to go in here,’ she said, pointing
him to the one at the two o’clock position, ‘I will be back with
your replacement.’
Intrigued and basically continuing with my new-found
ability to just do as I was told, I stepped into the cubicle as
Clarissa left the room. ‘Mr Clark, I really don’t think I need a
new dress,’ I called out, pleadingly. ‘My blouse isn’t too bad. I
can just wear my blazer over the top.’
I assessed my blouse in the mirror with the realisation of hav-
ing just lied: the stain was bad, really bad, and because of this,
anxiety settled over me as I stood there focussing on my reflec-
tion. It was in that moment — and for only a second or two —
that I debated whether or not I had made the right decision to
go back to work. Maybe I just wasn’t ready. Maybe I had been
premature with the notion of needing to establish myself in the
workforce again. Maybe this just wasn’t me any more.
The curtain behind moved ever so slightly, startling me
from my inner turmoil. I quickly gathered my bearings only
to find Bryce standing there holding a lovely black wrap-dress,
the dress in question draped over a hanger and dangling from
his middle finger. It looked very smart and definitely some-
thing I would wear if I could ever afford it. The man standing
before me also looked very smart, not to mention suave, and
incredibly sexy.
22 K.M. Golland

He handed me the dress and raised his eyebrows in a seduc-

tive glare that twisted my stomach. ‘Alexis, please put on the
dress. You are not wearing a blouse soaked in hot chocolate
around my hotel.’
Realising I had no choice but to accept, I gave him a sheep-
ish grin. ‘Of course not, thank you.’
He nodded and stepped backward, closing the curtain
behind him. And it was then that the past hour and a half ’s
events hit me like a Mack truck.
Oh my God! What am I doing here in Versace, holding a ...
shit! ... a $2,000 dress? And holy crap, my boss is so fucking hot.
I fanned my face with my hand and nearly stumbled into the
wall. He is the most glorious-looking man I have ever seen. And
that hair — that clean-cut, dark-blond hair which falls to just
above his ears. I just want to touch it. Not to mention those chis-
elled cheekbones and jawline, and let’s not forget those eyes. They
are probably the most alluring blue eyes imaginable.
I groaned to myself. Well, at least I hope I groaned to
myself. I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure that I hadn’t
just opened my mouth and let that groan come out. What
also had me in a state of perplexity was the sense that perhaps
he was flirting with me. Surely not, why would he be flirting
with me? Alexis Summers, thirty-five-year-old mother of two, and
married. Yes ... happily married to Rick Summers, my ­childhood
sweetheart. I shook my head. No, I’m imagining it.
Stripping off my damp blouse and skirt, I put on the dress
and stood there looking in the mirror. I barely recognised
myself, it not being too long ago that I was a size 16 and very
plump in all the wrong places, always having struggled with
my weight. And after giving birth twice, I’d stacked on a hor-
rible twenty kilograms. But after finding out, in recent times,
 Te m p t a t i o n 23

that I had fructose malabsorption, I was finally put on a diet

that didn’t make me horribly ill. That, together with a lot of
exercise, had allowed me to reach a weight and body shape I
was happy with. I was no skinny supermodel, but I had curves
and was toned, so I could not complain.
The Versace dress I was now adorned with suited me. It
felt wonderful and I could honestly say I loved it, except I
couldn’t get the damn zipper up.
‘Clarissa, would you mind giving me a hand?’ I called out
from my cubicle while desperately trying to reach the zip at
the centre of my back.
‘Is everything all right, Alexis?’ Bryce answered instead.
‘Um ... yes, Mr Clark,’ I replied, my attempts to secure the
dress failing. ‘I just need a little help with the zip. Is Clarissa there?’
He moved the curtain aside and answered. ‘No, but I’ll
help you.’
Shocked by his brazenness, I stood still and just stared.
Bryce did the same, eyeing me from top to toe, neither of
us saying a word for what seemed like several minutes. The
silence between us had me quivering with anticipation. I felt
my face flush, and had no doubt it resembled a beetroot.
Realising he was not about to leave and was there to zip me
up as he had said he would, I turned, baring my back to him
and accepting his offer of assistance.
Waiting for the feel of his fingers to caress the sensitive
skin between my shoulder blades, the oxygen in the cubicle
appeared to suddenly evaporate, a result of my anxious deep
inhalation of air. For some reason, I couldn’t for the life of me
let out the breath I had just taken in — the anticipation of his
touch, the knowledge that it was coming, causing my frozen
state. Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.
24 K.M. Golland

The wait was torturous, his touch not instantaneous, and I

couldn’t help but feel as if he were deliberately dragging it out.
Finally feeling the soft graze of his fingers against the surface
of my skin, I buzzed with expectation as he gently grasped
the zip. He placed his other hand just above my bra strap and
began to pull the zip up, slowly … very slowly. Oh, holy crap!
I shouldn’t be feeling this, I’m a married woman.
I couldn’t help but flinch at his touch, and I think he
noticed.
‘Are my hands cold?’ he asked, almost defensively, letting
go and rubbing them together.
If anything, his touch burned me. ‘No, not at all.’ I giggled
with nervousness. ‘They are fine.’ Giggled? They are fine? Really,
Alexis, get a grip.
He resumed zipping the dress up, placed both his hands on my
shoulders and spun me around, seeming quite pleased. ‘There,
now you look very much the part of Concierge Attendant.’
Bryce’s obvious satisfaction projected upon me, helping me
feel a little more comfortable. Not to mention that I was now
fully dressed. ‘Let me ask you something, Mr Clark. Do you
give this much attention to all of your staff?’
‘No, Ms Summers, only the ones who share their drinks
with me,’ he said with a wink as he walked back out of my
cubicle and into his own. I had to admit, his playfulness was
not lost on me and left me feeling somewhat naughty.
Smiling, I picked up my soiled clothes and stepped out
after him, stopping momentarily when I noticed his curtain
partly open. And being a woman who appreciates the sight
of a very nice-looking man, I couldn’t help myself, squint-
ing just enough so that I could get a glimpse. Oh, fuck! He is
magnificent.
 Te m p t a t i o n 25

I could only see his back but it was enough to make me

blush and fumble with my clothes. What am I doing? Stop it,
Alexis, you dirty little perve. Ashamed of my pervy self, I once
again picked up my clothes and then sat patiently on the sofa
in the middle of the change area.
Clarissa returned moments later just as Bryce stepped out
from his cubicle. ‘Mr Clark, I suspect you are happy with the
fit?’
‘As always, Clarissa, thank you. If you don’t mind, could
you possibly arrange for the hotel’s housekeeping to collect
our clothes, have them dry-cleaned and then delivered to my
room later today?’
‘Certainly.’ She smiled and collected our damp clothes then
headed out of the room.
Bryce nodded toward the door. ‘After you, Ms Summers,’
and we exited the store.

* * *
I looked at my watch as we made our way toward the hotel,
noticing it read 10.30 a.m. Oh crap! I was an hour and a half
late.
‘Come along, Ms Summers. I will need to explain your
tardiness.’ Tardiness? What? Are we back at school? He really is
quite cute.
‘Aren’t you my boss?’ I asked, slightly confused as to why he
would have to explain.
‘Yes, but you are supposed to be in a briefing, are you not?’
‘Yes, with Ms Maroney.’
‘Exactly, so I will need to explain to her. Unless you would
like to do it yourself?’ he suggested, lifting that sexy eyebrow
again. Is he challenging me?
26 K.M. Golland

‘Oh ... I don’t mind explaining. I really shouldn’t take up any

more of your time. I can only imagine how incredibly busy you
are.’ I felt terrible occupying him for as long as I already had.
He smirked again — stop doing that — and ushered me
along until we stopped at the City Towers front office where an
immaculate-looking young man was standing behind the desk.
‘Good morning, Mr Clark. How may I assist you today, sir?’
‘Good morning, Liam. Where is Abigail?’
‘Just a moment, sir, I’ll track her down for you.’ Liam flit-
tered along the large desk to his computer and started typing
away. ‘She’s in Conference Room Three, sir. Is there anything
else I can help you with?’ he asked with a raised eyebrow while
giving me a kind but curious look.
‘No, that will be all thank you. Oh, by the way, Liam, have
you met Alexis Summers? She will be training as Concierge
Attendant.’
Liam’s smile grew wide. ‘Alexis, it’s a pleasure. I look forward
to working with you,’ he stated, seeming quite genuine.
His pleasant demeanour had me feeling that the two of
us would get along very well. ‘Nice to meet you, too, Liam.
Hopefully we’ll have time later to get better acquainted.’
‘Yes, I hope we do. Mr Clark, would you like me to escort
Alexis to Conference Room Three for you?’
‘No, Liam, I will take her there myself.’
Blushing bright red yet again — which before this day I
had not done very often — and feeling like a schoolgirl being
escorted to the principal’s office, Bryce returned his hand to
the small of my back and gestured me forward with a sexy
smile. Liam nodded, and in turning to answer the phone,
curiously smiled at me once more. Honestly, I felt as if I were
in the middle of The Twilight Zone.
 Te m p t a t i o n 27

Moments later we were standing in front of the elevators

and waiting, awkwardly glancing sideways at each other with
polite smiles. Thankfully, the elevators were those rare ones:
the types you are not standing around and waiting for all
day. The doors opened and guests disembarked before Bryce
politely gestured for me to enter before him. We both stepped
in and he pushed the button to take us to level five.
‘Thank you, Mr Clark. I am terribly sorry for this,’ I said,
apologetically.
He glanced at me again, displaying his smirk, the smirk
that made me feel like a naughty child. ‘I remember my first
day, Ms Summers. It wasn’t as action-packed as yours, but it
was nerve-racking nonetheless.’
I found it hard to imagine this handsome, perfectly dressed
and extremely assertive man ever being nervous about any-
thing. He oozed confidence and self-possession.
I smiled back at him, amused at his obvious attempt to rid
me of any embarrassment I held — it really was quite sweet of
him. In all honesty, he could’ve been the complete opposite:
furious, angry, and understandably rude. He could have fired
me on the spot, but he hadn’t.

* * *
We reached the fifth floor and he led me along a corridor to
Conference Room Three, then gently knocked on the door.
A short middle-aged lady opened it and greeted us both
with uncertainty. ‘Mr Clark. Is everything all right?’
‘Yes, Abigail. Sorry to interrupt, but I believe you are miss-
ing a Ms Summers from your Concierge Attendants’ briefing
this morning?’
‘Yes, sir. I am.’
28 K.M. Golland

‘Well, I bumped into Ms Summers this morning and,

unfortunately for her, spilled my coffee down the both of us.
So of course I had to see she was well looked after and deliv-
ered to you.’
I subtly gasped and shot him a shocked glance.
He ignored me and continued. ‘Abigail, this is Alexis Sum-
mers. Ms Summers, Abigail Maroney.’
Abigail gave me a strange look, then smiled and thanked
Mr Clark. ‘Come in, Alexis, and take a seat.’ She turned and
headed for the large oval desk in the centre of the room.
Before entering and following after her, I turned to Bryce.
‘It was a pleasure meeting you today, Mr Clark.’ And, in a
whispered voice, I added, ‘Again, I’m so sorry.’
He stepped backward and nodded while giving me that
trademark smirk. ‘Ah, Ms Summers, the pleasure has been all
mine.’
I couldn’t help but smile back at him. ‘Oh, Mr Clark, by
the way, it’s Mrs, not Ms.’
Putting two fingers to his lips, he winked and turned. ‘I
know,’ he called behind him, and then he was gone.
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