Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

J udd surveyed his new office. He never thought he'd see the day when he gave up his travelling lifestyle and put down roots in one city.

Then again, he hadn't banked on becoming so besotted with Abby he couldn't see straight let alone think.

He clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back in the leather ergonomic chair, wondering how she'd react when she heard Mark's news. Knowing Abby she'd probably tear strips off the guy. Judd knew how much she loved her job and Mark's offer would be too good to refuse, but considering who she'd be working with one-on-one…

He glanced at his watch. She should be here any moment and Mark said he'd send her in to see him once he'd presented the offer to her.

Oh yeah, there would be definite fireworks and, lucky for him, he'd have a ringside seat.

Abby might be singing the ‘let's be friends' tune, but he had every intention of changing her mind, starting with a celebratory dinner to toast their new working relationship.

Maybe if he was lucky she'd wear those sexy red shoes…

His body tightened in remembrance as an image of Abby, standing in his hotel room wearing lacy briefs, those hot shoes, and a smile, flashed across his mind.

No doubt about it, he had to talk sense into her and ditch the platonic plan she'd stipulated. Either that or face a year of icy cold showers, which wasn't fair considering Australia was in the grip of a drought and he should be conserving water. Never let it be said he didn't do his part for the environment.

A knock sounded at the door and he straightened, adjusting his tie as Mark Pyman entered the room. For a CEO of a huge media conglomerate, he appeared surprisingly laid back and lacked the formality Judd had expected.

"What can I do for you, Mark?"

Mark barged across the room and took a seat. "This office okay?"

"Yeah, no problems."

"Good." Mark nodded, shot his phone a glare as it beeped and slid it into his pocket. "We didn't get around to finalising the length of your contract earlier. I was thinking a year to start, see how it suits us both?"

Judd struggled not to squirm in his chair. Twelve months wasn't a huge amount of time in the grand scheme of things, but for a guy who'd spent the last eight years moving around, it sounded like a life sentence.

Crazy, considering he wanted this; a chance to settle down for a while, to see where his life was headed, to give Abby and him a chance, but having it spelled out in contract terms put a different slant on proceedings.

"A year sounds fair, but considering I haven't done fashion work before, could we leave the time frame open-ended? Until I find my feet, see if it's a good fit for us both?"

"Our contracts aren't usually open-ended." Mark fixed him with a glare somewhere between disbelief and admiration. "You're not jerking me around? Or planning to leave me in the lurch?"

"No way. I'm looking forward to the challenge of working here, but I don't want to be tied into anything long term. Call it a personal phobia."

Mark paused. "This is highly unusual, but I'm trusting my gut instinct and taking a chance you won't let me down." He stood and headed for the door, his expression grim. "Make sure you don't."

"I won't," he said, but Mark had already left his office.

This couldn't get much better. Judd had a chance at a new job in a city he loved with a woman who'd come to mean more to him than he could've possibly imagined. And he wasn't tied into anything so if it didn't work out he could do as he'd always done.

Leave.

However, that wasn't on the agenda, not if he had any say in it. Especially if Abby relented as he hoped.