my boss in my bed

WHAT ON EARTH WAS SHE DOING HERE?

The helicopter swooped low over the trees and Grace felt her stomach

roll.

Beneath her lay acres and acres of lush tropical rainforest, the canopy

forming a dense green umbrella that sheltered and concealed the exotic

mysteries of the forest floor. At any other time she would have been

captivated by the wild, breathtaking beauty of her surroundings, but she

was far too tense to think about anything except the meeting that lay

ahead of her. The meeting and the man.

What on earth was she doing dressed in this ridiculously hot, scratchy

suit, flying over the top of the Brazilian rainforest to throw herself at the

mercy of a man who apparently didn’t know the meaning of the word?

Rafael Cordeiro.

Brilliant, dangerous, damaged. So many words came to mind when

thinking of him, none of them tame or soothing. Shockingly wealthy and

wielding more power than kings and presidents, he was reputedly so

clever with figures that the financial press had likened him to a walking

computer. Which didn’t bode well, Grace thought gloomily as she

clutched at her seat, given her allergy to technology.

Beneath her, the trees parted and a swollen river snaked through a

deep gorge and plunged over rocks in an explosion of white froth. ‘He

has properties all over the world—’ she turned to the pilot, seeking

answers to the questions bubbling in her mind ‘—so why is he living all

the way out here?’

The pilot kept his eyes on the treetops. ‘Because the world won’t leave

the man alone. He likes his privacy.’

Which fitted with what she’d heard about him. Ruthless, unemotional,

unsentimental—the list of unflattering adjectives went on and on.

Considering the man never gave interviews, there was no shortage of

information on him. ‘He’s a loner?’

‘Well, I wouldn’t exactly call him soft and cuddly, if that’s what you’re

asking, not that women seem to mind. Being bad and dangerous just

seems to bring them flocking. That and the power. Women can sniff out

power from a hundred paces. Power and money.’ The pilot fingered the

controls and then glanced towards her. ‘You don’t look like his usual

type.’

His usual type?

Wondering how anyone could possibly mistake her for a billionaire’s

girlfriend, Grace almost laughed. ‘I have a meeting with Mr Cordeiro.

His company put up the original investment for my business.’ And that

investment had changed her life. ‘He’s what they call a business angel, but

I expect you know that, given that you work for him.’

‘Angel?’ The pilot convulsed with laughter and the helicopter swooped

alarmingly close to the treetops. ‘Rafael Cordeiro—angel?’

‘It’s an expression. It means that he invests in small businesses that

interest him.’ And he’d been interested in hers. Until recently. The sick

feeling in her stomach was suddenly back and Grace lifted her briefcase

onto her lap and stroked the surface, trying to solder her fractured

confidence.

The pilot was still laughing. ‘Angel. I don’t know what he does to

make his money but I can tell you one thing,’ he fixed his gaze on the

horizon and fiddled with the controls, ‘the man is no angel.’

Refusing to let him frighten her, Grace straightened in her seat. ‘I

don’t believe everything I read in the papers.’

‘Obviously—’ he glanced towards her and the smile on his craggy,

weathered face was faintly pitying ‘—or you wouldn’t be here. I can see

you’re a gutsy girl with a mind of your own and that’s good, it will get

you a long way out here in the jungle.’

‘There’s nothing gutsy about attending a business meeting.’

‘That would depend on who you’re doing business with.’ The

mountains rose and dipped and the helicopter swooped through a green-

clad valley. ‘And where. Not many people have the courage to visit the

wolf in his lair.’

Despite her determination to keep an open mind, Grace felt her mouth

dry. ‘You call him the wolf?’

‘Not me. That’s what everyone else calls him. I just call him the boss.’

His hands shifted on the controls and the helicopter lost height.

Losing her stomach and her nerve, Grace closed her eyes briefly and

tried not to also lose her lunch. She’d never been any good on roller

coasters. ‘I’m sure Mr Cordeiro is a very reasonable man.’

‘Are you?’ He fixed his eyes on a spot far below them. ‘Then you’ve

obviously never met him. Hold on. We’re going down.’

‘Going down?’ Grace stared at him in alarm, her worries about

sickness and the dangers of Rafael Cordeiro momentarily eclipsed by

that less than reassuring statement. ‘Do you mean we’re landing or we’re

crashing?’

But the pilot didn’t answer. His eyes were narrowed and his jaw

clenched as he played with the controls. For a moment it looked as

though they were going to plunge into the