CHAPTER ONE

      WHEN the stretch limo pulled up outside, the executives waiting in the foyer fell silent. The new owner of Devlin Systems, the Greek multimillionaire, Leos Kiriakos, had arrived. His ruthless reputation had preceded him and the tension was electric. Everyone was expecting a huge round of redundancies by the end of the month.

      Susie Marshall, the slender redhead on reception, was pale as death, her entire concentration centered on the entrance doors being swept open. In just seconds, she would see him for the first time in fourteen long, endless months …

      Her co-worker, Jayne, a chatty blonde, whispered, “Bet he’s not anything as attractive as his publicity photos!”

      Susie snatched in an unsteady breath and clenched her hands tightly together. From the instant Leos Kiriakos had added Devlin Systems to his global business empire, nobody had been interested in talking about anything else. Frantically trying to calculate how to avoid being seen by Leos when she had the misfortune to work on the front desk had run Susie’s nerves ragged.

      “In fact, it’s my bet that below chin level, our Leos will be short and round, and about as sexy as a socks-wash!” Jayne said ruefully.

      In immediate contradiction of that forecast, a male who was an easy six foot four inches tall strode in. With his wide shoulders, lean hips and long powerful legs, he had the well-honed physique of a natural athlete. From the crown of his proud dark head to the soles of his hand-made shoes, he was, by any standard, spectacular.

      “I have just died and gone to heaven….” Jayne swore as the executives engulfed Leos Kiriakos, desperate to make a good first impression. “Drop dead gorgeous and loaded!”

      “Yes …” Susie mumbled shakily, unable to drag her eyes from those bold, bronzed features. She was dizzy with a longing that shamed her, for the bitter-sweet memory of the last night she had spent in Leos’s arms now felt like a guilty secret.

      While Leos appeared fully occupied, Susie left the desk and headed for the cloakroom, intending to stay there until the coast was clear.

      “Susie …?”

      In shock, she froze in her tracks, the startling intervention of that rich, dark voice on a clear and rising question so horrifically unexpected, she almost died right there and then. Slowly, she turned. The men surrounding Leos had parted like the Red Sea.

      Heart racing so fast she was afraid she would faint, Susie collided with glittering tawny-golden eyes set between black, spiky lashes. Having initially moved forward, Leos stilled and moved an authorative hand to indicate that she should come to him. His lean, strong face was as hard as granite.

      “You work here?” Leos enquired grimly.

      Painfully conscious that they were now the focus of astonished stares and surrounded by total silence, Susie nodded jerkily.

      “In what capacity?” His fabulous bone structure was taut, the long-lashed brilliance of his eyes raking over her like slashing shards of ice.

      “I’m on reception.” Susie practically whispered.

      His aggressive jawline squared. With a bleak nod of dismissal, Leos swung away from her—again.