by Sophia Gray
By the time he’d appeared, I felt like a nervous wreck.
“Ready to go?” Enzo actually smiled at me—one of the first times ever. I was taken aback by his expression. He looked a bit hectic and manic, but otherwise, there was no change from usual.
I wondered what was going to happen. Deep down, I was dying to know, but shamelessly all I could think about was how it would feel to kiss him again, to let him take me into his arms and hold me.
“Yeah,” I replied. I grabbed my purse and slung it over the shoulder of my pink parka.
I was sweating by the time we reached the massive front doors to LennoxCo—both from nervousness and the sheer heat that was pumped into the front of the building. “Where are we going?”
Enzo didn’t reply. He hailed a cab and opened the back door for me, sliding into the back seat. When the cab took off, he jolted against me. It was the first time that our bodies had touched all day, and a shiver of delight and pleasure went soaring through my body.
“We’re going out to dinner,” Enzo informed me casually. “French food—hope that’s okay.” He leaned forward and gave the driver an address a few blocks away. “There are some things I need to discuss with you.”
I bit my lip. “About work?” My words came out shaky, hesitant.
Enzo nodded. “Of course.” Frowning, he turned to me, and a self-conscious blush broke out over my cheeks. “Why? Did something happen?”
I shook my head and turned away, staring out the window as we passed skyscrapers and elegant people strolling around. I could never understand how some people managed to look glamorous despite the horrible Chicago weather. In the winter, my face always felt chapped and wind burned. In the summer, I could barely stop sweating long enough to keep my hair dry.
Enzo, on the other hand, was a vision in perfectly tailored gray. His chic overcoat was turned up to keep the chill away from his tanned neck, and he was wearing the same scarf I’d seen on him a handful of times. Before I knew it, I was staring at him, fantasizing about the way his lips would feel on my cold neck.
We pulled up in front of a big building, and Enzo passed the driver a twenty. “Keep the change,” he barked out, opening the door and guiding me out onto the icy sidewalk. The wind was whipping fiercely around us, and I shivered as Enzo took my elbow and led me inside.
The inside of the building was done in muted gray, cream, and a dull gold. I watched in awe as Enzo led me into a vaulted lobby with a domed ceiling. La Maison Françoise was printed in a squirmy font over the top of a door.
“This is my favorite restaurant,” Enzo said. “I’ve done some of my best thinking here.” He took my elbow and led me inside. “I hope you like French food.”
I’d never had French food before, and somehow, deep down, I knew that Enzo was aware of that. “I’m sure it’ll be nice,” I replied, wincing at the awkward sound of my Wisconsin accent. “Thanks, Enzo.”
“Mr. Lennox!” A maître d’ bowed and greeted us. “It’s been some time!” His gaze flickered over me, and I saw the faintest hint of disgust on his face. “And who is this?”
“She’s my secretary,” Enzo barked out roughly. “My usual table in the back. Wine list first, please.”
The maître d’ nodded and bowed again. His eyes were focused on Enzo’s chillingly perfect face. If I hadn’t been so worried about what Enzo was going to reveal to me, I might have found the situation funny—the man was obviously trying to snub me. But Enzo was absolutely perfect. I had a hard time believing that he’d ever been with a woman as gorgeous as he.
“Back here,” Enzo said in a low voice. He put his hand on the small of my back, guiding me forward.
I felt an electric spark jump between our bodies as we entered the mostly dark room. The restaurant was elegant but seemed out of touch. It wasn’t like the places that Enzo favored with lots of natural lighting and glass and chrome. Instead, it looked like something from an old gangster movie.
The tables were dark wood—shiny but stained from decades' worth of service. The walls were painted a dusty gold and covered with dark red velvet curtains. There were a few windows, but the overall effect of the place was a very dim one; it was private, almost like something from a mob movie.
“This is nice,” I said as I glanced around. “But I’m a little surprised. It doesn’t... well, it doesn’t exactly seem like you.” I blushed as soon as the words were out of my mouth. It seemed startlingly intimate to comment on something as personal as Enzo’s favorite restaurant.
Enzo chuckled. “There are a lot of things about me that you don’t know, Audrey,” he said in a low, silky voice. “Trust me on that one.”
I shivered. Even with my parka on, I could tell that the interior of the room was chilly. Enzo watched me intently as I slipped out of my jacket. Instantly, a waiter was at my side. I felt startled—I hadn’t even seen him walk up to us. Had he been waiting?
“I’ll take that for you, ma’am,” he said smoothly, pawing my jacket and bag away from me before I could resist.
I felt naked without my parka. The restaurant was so sexy, so intimate, that I had the same feeling as I’d had last night in bed—that Enzo and I were the only two people in the world.
“So,” Enzo said. He picked up a leatherette folder and glanced down. “I take it you’re fine with a Malbec?”
I swallowed. “Um, yeah,” I replied. I didn’t want to tell him that I’d never had nice wine before. I’d had a couple of glasses at events hosted by the college, but that had been years ago. Now, I wasn’t really much of a drinker. Something about being drunk had never appealed to me—I never wanted to lose control of my faculties in public. Besides, being with Enzo was thrilling enough. But a little spark of excitement went through me when I realized that it would be like a scene from a movie: I’d be drinking wine with a sexy guy, alone in the chicest restaurant I’d ever seen.
“It goes well with the food,” Enzo said smoothly. He folded the menus together and held onto them. I felt perplexed; I hadn’t even gotten a chance to look at the offerings yet.
When the waiter appeared, Enzo ordered the same meal for each of us: herb-crusted rack of lamb with a small Caesar salad to start, plus a bottle of wine. I gulped as the waiter carried the menus away with a swift grace.
“This is so funny,” I said. My voice echoed in the big room, and I blushed. “I mean, it feels like we’re alone in here. Is it always like that?”
“When the staff knows that I’m arriving, they clear out the other patrons,” Enzo said. He took a sip of water, his features perfectly composed in the dim lighting. “I prefer to be alone, usually, but there are some things we need to discuss.” He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands in his lap, and stared at me. “Audrey, I don’t want to frighten you, but Hodges is a very powerful man. He knows that I’ve gone out of my way to avoid working with him in the past. He almost ruined me, you know. LennoxCo almost went under as a result of his scheming.”
I blinked. “Wow. And now he’s badgering you for help?”
Enzo shook his head. “No, not exactly.” He chuckled.
The waiter arrived with a bottle of wine, which he opened and poured into Enzo’s glass. “How is it, sir?”
“Perfect,” Enzo said drily. “Thank you.” When the waiter had gone, Enzo picked up the bottle and poured a generous amount of wine into my glass. “Audrey, Richard’s a dangerous man. He’s very powerful.”
I nodded. “I understand.” When I sipped the Malbec, it wasn’t at all how I’d imagined. It was fruity and chocolatey and dark, almost like a piece of candy. At the same time, I could tell that it was savory, too, and that it would pair perfectly with the lamb. I began to feel overwhelmed again. This was just another way that Enzo and I were polar opposites. He knew about wine and fancy dining. I, well, didn’t.
“I’m worried that he’s going to try to buy me out of LennoxCo,” Enzo said carefully. He lifted his glass of wine to his mouth and drank deeply. “He’s threatened as much, an
d I know that’s what he wants. He can’t stand how I managed to survive what happened all those years ago.”
“I see. But why you? What about LennoxCo is so appealing to him? Why not find some other company? If he’s as powerful and rich as you say, he shouldn’t have a hard time finding someone willing to sell to him.”
Enzo chuckled and sighed. “I wish I could give you a good answer to that. But unfortunately, I have a feeling that the only reason he’s interested is because of me. He resents me for building the company back up to a level of greatness. He’s jealous he hasn’t managed to do that.”
“What is he doing right now?”
“He was just hired as a temporary CEO for a banking company, which doesn’t bode well. I’m surprised the company didn’t look into his background—it’s pretty spotty.”
I bit my lip. “If he’s as bad as that, why did you work with him all those years ago?” I blushed as Enzo chuckled in response to my question. “I mean, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be impertinent. I just don’t understand.”
Enzo shrugged. “It was my own fault,” he admitted. “I was stupid enough to be taken in by the idea of being able to make so much money, so quickly. I bought everything he sold me, hook, line, and sinker. If I’d been more careful, he’d probably be in a white-collar prison somewhere, doing time for embezzlement and money laundering.”
My mouth felt dry. I picked up my wine glass and took another long sip. The Malbec was beginning to warm up, and I felt a slightly hot sensation in my throat. I wasn’t used to it, but it felt good. My head felt a little watery, almost floaty. I swallowed hard. “This is good wine,” I murmured. “Thank you.”
Enzo waved his hand in the air. “This isn’t the best place around, but I’ve made some solid business decisions here.” He sighed, and I watched the long curve of his neck. Desire prickled at my body, making me feel alien in my own skin. “I had a feeling you’d like it.”
“It’s wonderful,” I said honestly. “I’ve never been somewhere so posh.”
“So now that you know what’s happening,” Enzo continued, as if we’d never broken in conversation, “you have to be on your guard, Audrey. Make sure that Hodges doesn’t hear anything scandalous. Always try to hold him off. If he wants to come in, suggest it in a couple of weeks. Don’t act like he’s worth as much as he is. Make him feel like we’re interested, but not interested enough.”
“I don’t know that I can do that,” I replied. “I’m not a very good liar.” My cheeks were burning hot, but somehow, I knew that it wasn’t just from the wine. “I’ve never been able to lie convincingly. What if he knows? What if he calls my bluff?”
“He won’t,” Enzo said smoothly. “He won’t know because you’ll lie very well. Understand?”
I nodded. An odd feeling came over my stomach, and I licked my lips. “Enzo, this isn’t... illegal or anything, right? I mean, I’m not doing anything that’s really wrong?”
Enzo waved his hand in the air again. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he chided me. “Of course not. This is all part of business. I just don’t want him getting any designs or ideas. Not until I’ve come up with a good way to get him the hell away from my company.” Enzo’s nostrils flared, and he looked almost angry. “This company is the only thing I have,” he said bitterly. “I’ve spent so much time working on it, I couldn’t let it fall now. I couldn’t let that asshole take it away from me.”
I stared at him in quiet surprise. I’d always known that Enzo’s company was incredibly important to him, but it almost came as a shock to hear him sound so passionate. I’d never heard him sound like that about anything, especially not work. Slowly, in my wine-addled brain, I began to realize that there was a lot about Enzo that I didn’t know.
The waiter swooped down in front of me, placing a small salad to the side and a tasteful rack of lamb chops on the table. My mouth watered at the delicious smell of the roasted meat. I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten anything this good, if ever before in my life. Most dinners consisted of sandwiches with Pepper on the couch, or sometimes takeout cheeseburgers if I was feeling really lazy. Back in college, sometimes I’d go out for pizza or cheap Italian food with my study groups, but none of that had ever come close to this.
“Are you okay?” Enzo’s voice shook me out of my reverie. “You’re staring down at your food.”
I nodded quickly as I grabbed my wine glass and tilted the last of the red liquid into my mouth. “I don’t think I’ve ever had lamb before,” I said shyly. “It smells amazing.”
“They do a good job here,” Enzo said. He winked at me. As he refilled my wine glass, I went to yank it away.
“Oh, no,” I said with a giggle. “I think I’ve had too much already.”
“I insist,” Enzo replied. He gently pried my fingers apart and took the glass from my hand. “This wine is excellent with the lamb. You should try.”
I swallowed uncomfortably. “What happens if I get drunk?”
Enzo raised his eyebrows. “Then you get drunk,” he replied simply.
I giggled. “What if you have to carry me home?”
Enzo chuckled darkly. “Don’t worry,” he said in a silken voice, reaching for his knife and cutting a delicate bite of lamb away from the bone. “I’ll make sure no harm comes to you.”
I shivered. There was something about eating with him, alone, that was almost more sensual than our sex had been. The lamb was delicious, unlike any other meat I’d ever tried, and Enzo was right, it matched perfectly with the wine. The combination of spicy, heady, and rich flavors on my tongue filled me with a kind of ecstasy that I’d never felt before. The wine was swimming in my brain and making me feel sexy, fluid, relaxed. For once in my life, I actually felt comfortable in my own skin.
And sitting across the table from Enzo was its own kind of amazing reward. Every time he looked at me, every time his perfect gray eyes flicked over my body, I felt a rush of warmth and lust. I wondered if we’d sleep together again. Did he still desire me?
I was always horrible at trying to figure things like that out, but somehow, I knew that the answer was yes.
When we were finished eating, I watched as Enzo declined the dessert menu. “I have something in my apartment,” he said with a smirk, handing his credit card to the waiter. I hadn’t even glanced at the menu, but I knew the meal couldn’t have been cheap—it was some of the most luscious food I’d ever tasted in my entire life.
I swallowed as I stood up. The room seemed to shake, or spin, just a little bit. I steadied myself with a hand at the back of my chair. The waiter had returned my parka and my bag, and he held out the coat for me to slip into. Even though I didn’t want to put it on while we were still inside, I felt like I couldn’t refuse.
As soon as the jacket was on my shoulders, I felt uncomfortably warm.
“Shall we go to my apartment?” Enzo raised his eyebrows at me. “I think that would be for the best.”
I frowned. “I can’t leave Pepper. I mean, I’ll have to call the dog sitter or put her in a facility or something.”
Enzo grimaced. “I don’t love dogs. Is she well-behaved?”
I swallowed again and nodded. “Of course,” I said quickly. “She’s perfectly well-behaved.” That wasn’t exactly true—Pepper had a few accidents over the course of the last year. But I didn’t want Enzo to forbid her from entering his place. I vowed that I’d keep an eye on her.
“We’ll take a cab to your place, of course,” Enzo said smoothly. He stepped forward to the road and raised his arm.
I shivered at the sight of his face in the moonlight—he looked cold and determined, but also sexier than I’d ever seen him. The alcohol kept rising inside of me, almost like something wanting to get out of my belly. I shuddered with lust as Enzo turned around and locked eyes with me. When he glanced at me like that, I felt like we were the only people left in the world.
Chapter 3
An hour later, Pepper and I we
re sitting in Enzo’s living room. He lived in a beautiful high-rise building downtown with an infinity pool on his balcony and a ton of space. It looked big enough to have three or four bedrooms, and I was relieved to see that the floor was a dark wood.
“Good girl,” I whispered to Pepper, scratching her between the ears. “You settle in and don’t cause any trouble, okay?”
Now that we were alone, I felt nervous again. Some of the effects of the wine had worn off, and I was beginning to feel both tired and anxious at the same time.
Enzo reappeared with two glasses of red wine. “Here,” Enzo said. He thrust one glass at me. “This will help.”
“Help?” I frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Enzo chuckled as he lowered himself down next to me on the couch. His condo was beautiful, and just like I’d imagined, it was all glass, leather, and chrome. The furniture was black leather. In the kitchen, I’d briefly glimpsed stainless steel and chrome appliances with a silver-tiled floor. It looked chic and modern, but almost like a model home. Aside from his pair of leather loafers at the door, there was hardly a sign that anyone lived here.
“Audrey, you should look into moving someplace nicer,” Enzo said. He leaned back on the couch and took a long sip of wine. “That neighborhood is dangerous.” He raised his eyebrows. “And think about getting a new wardrobe, too.”
I glanced down at the jumper and turtleneck I was wearing. “This is fine,” I said with a shrug. “I mean, they’re just clothes.”
Enzo inched closer, and a wave of lust washed over my body. “Audrey, that may be the truth, but in my industry, at LennoxCo, people judge you based on your appearance. For me, I know that I have to look professional all the time. And technically that would extend to you as well. You’re my secretary. People are going to think of me based on what you look like.”
I blushed. I’d never thought about that before, but I didn’t think he was wrong exactly. Still, it was embarrassing to know that the man I was becoming obsessed with found my clothes ugly. I knew that I wasn’t exactly fashionable by any stretch of the imagination. But usually, I didn’t think I looked that bad.