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silky dark hair falling across his face, and snorted a line of coke.
    This wasn’t an area of expertise of mine, but I’d seen enough TV programmes to have a rough idea of what was going on. He flipped his head back, and I watched as the high hit him. Then he wiped his nostrils and looked over at me, his ice-blue eyes extra bright.
    Part of me was tempted to tell him he shouldn’t be there—it was meant to be staff only—but then I reminded myself that he was the owner’s son. I guessed he could be wherever he wanted.
    He was regarding me expectantly, and I realised I was still just standing there, staring at him.
    â€œSorry,” I muttered. “I just needed to change my top.”
    â€œWell, go right ahead. No one’s stopping you.”
    He seemed to be showing no signs of leaving, so I had no choice but to go to my locker. I kept the door open to shield my body from him as I changed.
    As I closed it, I saw that he was frowning up at me, those wolf eyes studying me intently. When I went to walk by him,he rose, moving in front of me, his huge frame blocking my way.
    â€œNow where do I know you from?” His voice was like honey—posh, yes, but also low and husky, in a way that jarred with his rugged appearance. I was about to tell him where he’d seen me, but a second later his expression cleared. “That’s it. I saw you yesterday. Over at the Wharf. You’re the chauffeur’s daughter, right?”
    There was something mocking about the way he said it that immediately put me on my guard. “That’s right. I’m Nina. Nina Baxter.”
    â€œMiss Baxter.” He gave a little bow of his head, his long dark hair falling across his sharp cheekbones. “Lovely to meet you. My father told me all about you.” He held out his hand. “I’m Alex, by the way. Alex Noble.”
    I hesitated for a second, and then took the hand that he’d offered. His cool fingers closed around my slightly clammy ones. Everything about him seemed so calm and in control, whereas I felt like I’d been wrong-footed from the start of this exchange, and that I was out of my depth.
    â€œDuncan Noble’s son,” he added, probably mistaking my silence for confusion. “In case you were wondering.”
    â€œI know who you are.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth I felt myself flush, realising that it sounded like I’d been specifically asking after him.
    Any hope I had that he might not have picked up on itwas quashed as he raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he drawled. “Been doing our homework, have we?”
    â€œOne of the other staff was telling me who all the customers were . . . that’s all.”
    â€œHmm,” he said, in a way that made it clear he didn’t believe me. “Whatever you say.”
    His eyes drifted over me again, appraising me in a blatantly sexual way. I was aware that he was too close, too much in my personal space. I swallowed hard, conscious that I should be putting an end to whatever this was, but not able to do it quite yet. But then he seemed to be moving closer, his hand reaching out behind me. It took me a split second to realise that he was trying to grab my bottom.
    That was too much. Instinctively I took a step back, trying to put some distance between us.
    â€œWhat the hell are you doing?”
    I’d assumed my outraged tone would shame him, but he looked unperturbed. He cocked his head to one side, studying me through heavily lidded eyes. “What exactly do you think I was doing?”
    I crossed my arms over my chest. “It seems pretty obvious.”
    â€œReally?” An amused smile played on his lips. “Because I get the feeling you thought I was trying to touch you up. When actually all I was going to do was this—”
    Before I could stop him, he reached out again, exactly ashe had done before. I felt his hand graze the back of my