Adam Powell bit back a curse and tossed his cell phone onto the leather seat next to him. His plane was ready to leave, his guests would be here any moment and Isabella had chosen now to tell him that she wasn't getting what she needed from their relationship.

Frankly, he couldn't give her anything else. If diamonds, furs, and a brand-new jaguar weren't good enough she'd have to look elsewhere.

Normally, being without a mistress wasn't any big deal. He was a grown man he could live without sex but the coming two weeks were important to his company. Adam had been trying to acquire La Perla Negra resort for the last five years and had been getting no where.

The owner, Ray Angelini, refused to sell his resort to anyone. Out of the blue Adam had received a call last week inviting him to come to the resort to discuss the possibility of a sale. Adam had jumped at the chance.

Angelini had asked for Adam to bring his wife. Which had led to an awkward conversation. Angelini wanted a happily married couple to run the resort as he and his wife had been doing for the last twenty years.

Adam had always believed in doing anything to close a sale but pretending to be married was going too far. He told Angelini he'd bring the woman he'd been living with. Angelini had warned Adam than unless he believed Adam was a man who understood love and relationships there'd be no sale.

"I understand they're both a crock," he muttered.

He left his seat in the back of the jet, exiting the plane. He'd have to make up some excuse for Isabella and see if Jayne Montrose, his executive assistant, could find another woman who'd meet him in the Caribbean.

Damn, it was hot. New Orleans in the summer time was no one's ideal place to be. The humidity soaked into his skin. He threw his head back, breathing through his teeth. It reminded him of the days when he'd worked the swamp in his uncle's old pirogue. Taking tourists for jaunts to see gators and swamp lilies.

God, he'd come a long way from that boy. And he intended to go even further. And no woman was going to throw him off track for too long.

"Ooo, someone looks pissed," said Jayne coming up from behind him.

He'd hired Jayne because she was sassy and smart. She made life at the office flow smoothly and in the down time always made him laugh. "Don't give me any lip, Montrose. Isabella is not going with me and the Angelinis are due in less than fifteen minutes."

"I'm sorry. I told you not to count on her," Jayne said. She reached into the large bag she always carried and drew out a sheaf of papers. "I need your signature on these before I leave for vacation."

"You can't leave on vacation until I find a woman to accompany me to the Caribbean."

"Listen, boss, we've been over this before. I don't procure women for you," Jayne said. She narrowed her eyes and handed him a Mont Blanc pen to sign the documents she'd brought.

Jayne wasn't a particularly tall woman but she carried herself like she was an Amazon. Some of the hotel industries toughest figures backed down when Jayne negotiated with them. Hiring her had been a stroke of genius and he secretly feared some day she'd get tired of working for him and move on.

"I only asked you to get a phone number one time," he said.

That had been a big mistake. Jayne had almost quit over the matter and he'd had to do some fancy talking to convince her to stay. Jayne had a strong core of morality and integrity and she'd do just about anything he asked her to as long as it didn't compromise her own values.

"Once was too many times as far as I'm concerned," Jayne said tartly.

Jayne was the best personal assistant he'd ever had. She'd been with him longer than any of her predecessors almost eight months.

He studied her as he signed the papers she put before him. Her short cap of brown hair was tucked behind her ears, framing her heart-shaped face. Her eyes were cool blue radiating both intelligence and humor most of the time. Her mouth strictly speaking was too large for her face. She should have thin lips but instead had a lush mouth that made men think of kissing her.

Since Adam had a zero-tolerance policy toward fraternization in the workplace, he tried to always avoid looking at her mouth. But wasn't very successful.

"Why are you staring at me?" Jayne asked.

"I'm not staring at you," he said, signing the last of the papers.

He'd have to cancel the trip and stay home instead. There were other resorts in the Caribbean. None as elegant as La Perla Negra, but he'd find another property to buy.

"Listen, Jayne, I'm going to have to cancel your vacation. Without Isabella, Angelini won't talk to me."

Jayne's eyes narrowed again. He noticed they were tipped the slightest bit at the edge. "I haven't had more than a day off since I started working for you."

"You can have time off in a week. I need you here to help me handle this. I'll make it worth your while."

"How?"

"Name your price," Adam said. Early on in life he'd realized everyone had a price. Especially for things that they didn't want to do.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Let's handle it now. Get out your little black book and call another one of your lady friends."

"I don't have a black book. That's a cliché and women don't like it."

"You used to have one, right?"

"No," he said. He'd never had a black book. He'd never had any problem remembering phone numbers. Strictly speaking Jayne was right. He could probably make a few calls and find another woman but he didn't want to. He was tired of the whole thing. And he'd been hoping that Isabella would prove to be different.

But none of them would be the right fit for this trip to the Caribbean. Angelini had to be handled carefully and he didn't want to risk anything else going wrong. The perfect solution would be for Jayne to go with him.

"Jayne?"

"Yes?" She shoved the papers he'd just returned to her into her bag. Her hair fell forward over one eye and she shifted the bag impatiently to her left hand to tuck her hair back behind her ear again.

"Want to come with me and be my mistress?"

A flush spread up from her neck. Her mouth opened the slightest bit and for the first time he noticed how creamy her skin was.

She shook her head. "No."

"Why not?" Aside from the phone number incident this was the first time Jayne had said no to him.

"I can't be your mistress--what about Powell International's policy toward fraternization?"

"You wouldn't really be my mistress. We'd act like we were involved. We're not really fraternizing."

"That won't work. I don't like to pretend to be something I'm not.

"I have to take these papers back to the office. And I booked a non-refundable airline ticket to Little Rock."

"I'll reimburse your airfare and rebook you a first class ticket for the week we return," Adam said.

"I don't know."

She bit her lip and dug in her purse, pulling out a pair of sunglasses and putting them on. "No, Adam I'm sorry, but I can't postpone my trip to Arkansas."

"Jayne, you're my last hope. I've waited five years to talk to Angelini.