“Yes,” I admit without looking at him. “There was no need to be so rude. I decide whom I fuck, whom I don’t fuck, and whom I discuss that with or not.”
“I realize that, Stellina. I’m sorry, speaking for you the way I did. I won’t do it again.”
“All right then.” I take another bite and try to finish my food.
Back in the truck, his hand is on my thigh the entire time, while he’s working on his laptop. Every now and then, we look at each other, but we don’t speak. Once we’ve arrived in Ingolstadt, he gives me a passionate kiss and gets out of the truck.
“See you soon,” he says.
“See you soon,” I confirm.
If my life were a highway, it would be one that keeps getting narrower and narrower, making me doubt whether I still fit.
Chapter 20 – That doesn’t work for me
NINA
“Hi, Tiger. Good morning to you. Any new gossip today?”
After turning the volume of my phone up a notch, I turn on my traffic indicator and overtake another truck. The traffic’s busy today.
“I picked up the container and I’m on my way back now. Guess who accompanied me yesterday ... Cowboy!”
“The American God has accompanied you in your truck? That is so cool. Did you enjoy it?”
“It was certainly interesting, to say the least. I’m starting to learn more and more about him. He is very protective and sweet and sexy, but you already knew that.”
“So, you’ll continue this two-week romance with him then?”
“Yes. I’ve decided that I’ve got nothing to lose and that I shouldn’t be afraid of new experiences. We shall see how this goes. I decided not to worry about it. I’m just gonna play and have fun.”
“That sounds like the right attitude. What do you guys have planned for the next couple weeks?”
I know she is actually against this temporary deal I have with Cowboy. It doesn’t shine through in her reply though, so she’s probably decided to leave that subject alone. I actually appreciate that. She will never be able to change my mind and I don’t want to fight with her.
“He said he wanted to accompany me to my salsa class tomorrow. We don’t have any other plans yet. He’s kind of a control freak, so I thought he would do the planning.”
“In the next couple of days, you’ll see each other at work anyway,” she says.
“Why?” I ask, surprised.
“Haven’t you read the e-mail?” she questions, with just as much astonishment in her voice.
“Is snow white? That’s what I have you for, to tell me everything I need to know!”
“Jeez, I’m not your personal assistant! Anyway ... Our Booty Boy has rearranged the work schedule for some people. Mine too. I’ve got several interviews scheduled with the tyrannical threesome. Score! Not! So, if I were you, I’d check my mail, because your schedule has been rearranged severely too, according to Billy.”
Excuse me?
I quickly hang up on her and open my agenda in my cell. It doesn’t take long for me to find out what Tiger was talking about.
Wednesday
09.00 a.m. - Meeting with Cristina Johnson - Head of Logistics Audi US - conference room 11 - Audi AG Ingolstadt
10.30 a.m. - Meeting with Barbara Tims - Head of Marketing Audi US - conference room 14 - Audi AG Ingolstadt
12.00 p.m. - Lunch meeting with Sebastian Strong - CEO Audi US - conference room 5 - Audi AG Ingolstadt
The nerve! Rearranging my schedule like that ... and not just Wednesday: the next two weeks are completely filled with all kinds of meetings and conferences. As of tomorrow, I won’t be on the road anymore. I will be stuck in the office all day!
COLOGNE 204 KM....
I’m simply fuming. Who the hell does he think he is? He wants a lunch meeting tomorrow? He won’t have to wait until then, I’ll pay him a visit today!
FRANKFURT 222 KM....
It’s not like he didn’t have the opportunity to tell me this in person ... He was just sitting right next to me here yesterday, in my truck! He was actually arranging all this over the phone in my face! He may be the boss of Audi USA, but he is not my boss. He can’t do this without discussing it with me, can he? The longer I think about it, the angrier I get. This is not going the way it should. Although I don’t really know how it’s supposed to go either.
INGOLSTADT 237 KM
“This doesn’t work me. This doesn’t work for me. This doesn’t work for me.”
I keep repeating the words my grandma taught me in my head, like a mantra. You can’t change another person, but you can set your own limits.
INGOLSTADT 108 KM
Mr. Control Freak. Maybe he’s used to bossing people around like that, but if he thinks he can just burst into my life like that, this is the moment he will learn that doesn’t work for me!
WILLKOMMEN IN INGOLSTADT
COMPLETELY OUT OF BREATH, I reach the building where his office is located. At least I assume that’s the building because all the high chiefs reside there. I never need to come here for my job, so I have no clue which way to go. Maybe next time, when I have less steam coming out of my ears, I’ll take the time to admire the decoration because it really is a unique building with a highly modern interior.
But I don’t have time for that now. I storm in and start looking around frantically, trying to figure out where to go. Then I realize I don’t have any idea where his office is. I don’t even know if he has an office here. Someone passes me, heading towards the elevator. I stop her with my hand on her arm, startling her.
“Sebastian Strong?” is all I manage to get out.
“Keine Ahnung,” she replies, shaking her head.
Okay, Nina, calm down now. Men are allergic to hysterical, angry women. You won’t achieve anything with this frantic attitude. Think about what you’re doing and what you think you will achieve with it. Do you really want to attack him like this? You gotta be smart about this, Nina. Breathe in, breathe out. In and out. In and out.
Luckily, in my fit of rage, I was clear-minded enough to bring my cell phone along. It only rings once when I call Tiger, my savior.
“Hey, girl, what’s up?”
“Hi. Listen, I don’t have much time. I need your help. Can you tell me where to find Sebastian Strong right now?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have access to his agenda or anything. Why?”
“Sorry, I thought ... I don’t know what I thought. You always seem to know everything about everyone, so I assumed you might know where I can find him.” Nervously, I walk to and fro in front of the elevator on ground level. People have to pass me to get in and out of the elevator. I’m really in the way, but I don’t care right.
“No girl, I don’t. You could try his secretary. But why don’t you just call him? You have his number, don’t you?”
“Of course! Why didn’t I think of that myself? I really don’t have brains, man. Thanks, Tiger!” I can hear her ask me what’s going on, but I don’t have time for that. I’m already hanging up on her and search my contacts for his number.
He picks up immediately. “Stellina,” I hear him say with his swoony voice. I’m not falling for that now and go straight to the point.
“Where are you?”
“What do you mean, where am I? In Ingolstadt, of course. Where are you?”
“That doesn’t matter right now. I want to know exactly where you are at this moment. Where in Ingolstadt? I want to know the exact location.”
“I’m on the sixth floor in the main building, Room Number Eight.”
I end the call and get into the elevator, pressing the button for the sixth floor. When the doors open, I exit the elevator and look at the small signs next to the doors, looking for number eight.
Then I hear him talk. That deep voice is unmistakably his. I follow it like a dog searching for a bone.
Behind a closed door, I hear the voice of an American woman in addition to his. He’s in the middle of a conversati
on, but I don’t give a rat’s ass. Just like he doesn’t give a damn about the fact that he thinks he can mess up my life without consulting me first.
Without knocking, I push the door open. I want to yell at him, big time. I don’t care who he’s with. But that jerk ... he looks to die for, as if he came straight out of some magazine, in a tightly fitting, dark-blue, tailored suit. He closes his little black notebook and looks at me through his glasses. Blondie, that sales and marketing twat who makes up one third of Louie, Huey, and Dewey, looks at me in shock.
“Stellina,” I hear him say, in the sweetest voice I’ve ever heard. Slowly, his eyes take in every inch of my body. That look alone dissolves my panties into nothingness. But not now. Oh, no. I won’t let that happen. Not before I’ve told him what I came here for.
In my most frosty voice, I say, “Hello, Cowboy.” Shit. That came out a little harsher than I intended. Hadn’t I just agreed with myself not to throw a hissy fit now?
Slowly, I walk up to his desk and place both my palms on it. Standing like this, he has a clear view of my cleavage. Shit. That was not my intention either. I quickly straighten up and hope my fierce look will scare him.
“I have something important to tell you, so you and Blondie can continue your little talk later.” My words don’t sound as powerful as I wanted them to. The fact that he keeps looking at me like he’s going to devour me throws me off a little. I decide to wait until his gaze reaches my eyes again before I continue.
With one hand, he takes his glasses off and puts them on his desk calmly. Staring into my eyes, he puts his other hand on my left hand. Is he trying to calm me down?
“Barbara, as you can see, this has a higher priority. Leave us.” His tone is confident, but calm. Barbara? Is her name Barbara? Barbie! But of course! She immediately turns around and walks out of the office.
Sarcastically, I say, “Would you give us a moment, please? Would you mind checking if you have some time later? Could we continue this conversation at another time? I don’t know, there are so many other, friendlier ways to ask Barbie to leave. You are such an asshole!”
“Would you prefer that I start yelling and screaming, like you’re doing now? Would that be better?” My rage doesn’t put him off one bit.
“I’m not yelling!” I snarl. “I’m angry, so I’m glad you think I’m yelling because that means you understand that I’m angry. Because you should.” Unbelievable, the nonsense that is coming out of my mouth.
“I should understand that you’re angry?”
“Yes!” Jesus. I sound like some moron.
“Are you mad because I wasn’t nice enough to Barbara when I asked her to leave us? Is that the reason you come storming into my office in a fury and interrupt my conversation?” The corners of his mouth rise slightly. It’s like he’s having a hard time trying not to laugh. The son of a bitch just thinks this is funny!
“You know why I’m angry.” I’m putting an effort into talking less loudly now. Really. I suddenly notice the office has gotten a lot quieter. Could it be it’s quieter now than it was when I stormed in? My voice seems to pierce through the walls.
Then I hear footfalls in the hallway, followed by a soft knock on the door. An irritated look crosses Sebastian’s face. “I’m not here and when I’m not here, I do not want to be disturbed. How many times do I have to tell you that?” Huh? What is that about?
“But the door’s open and I can see you,” the voice on the other side of the door replies. It’s a woman, talking in English.
I turn around and walk up to the door with the intention of quickly but quietly closing it. I think it’s Noa, one of the tyrannical threesome. I close the door with an apologetic look, while she’s standing there, staring at me. Maybe it’s a little rude closing the door in her face like that, but I’ve made a big enough fool of myself in front of everyone already. That door needs to be shut, because I don’t want to cause another scene.
Come on, Nina, you got this. Hysterical housewife out, corporate, calculating Nina in. Wait ...corporate, calculating... who am I kidding? At least try to calm down. Don’t let your Italian temper ruin this for you!
While I turn around, I’m trying as hard as I can to calm down and at the same time, not let the force that is pulling me towards him get to me. He looks breathtaking. That amazing suit he’s wearing, he looks like a damn model. It makes my belly tingle. I take a few deep breaths. Breathe in, breathe out. In, out. In, out.
Suddenly I realize what I need to do to make him understand he cannot treat me like that. He just can’t control my life like this! Apparently, I’m not as go with the flow as I’ve always thought, but I don’t have time to doubt myself right now. I need to show him that he can’t do this. So, I let myself fall into his chair.
“Why are you sitting in my chair?” he asks, half-laughing, half-surprised.
“I’m taking the liberty to sit in your chair. Why? Does that bother you?”
“Ehm ... yes, that bothers me. It’s my chair.”
I’m getting a bit more comfortable by leaning back in the chair and placing my hands behind my head. I cross my legs up on his desk. I don’t care that I’m wearing a short skirt.
“And what if I ask you nicely? Will you let me sit in your chair then?”
“It would be very nice if you asked me first indeed,” he says.
“Then why did you change my entire work schedule for the next two weeks without asking me? Don’t I deserve the same treatment?”
“Because I’m the boss and I decide how you are deployed. I need you for the internal project the next couple of weeks.”
“Listen. The fact that you think you can boss people around without considering their interests in any way, doesn’t mean I simply accept that when you do it to me.”
After having taken in another gulp of air, I tell him what my grandma taught me to say in these situations. “That. Doesn’t. Work. For. Me.”
The next thing that comes out of his mouth make my pants drop. In a manner of speaking, of course, since I’m wearing a skirt.
“You are all about seizing the day, aren’t you? Going with the flow? Then why give me a hard time about this?”
That’s below the belt. Really below the belt. He’s using my life’s philosophy against me again!
“God, you really are an asshole, aren’t you! This is not about that. This is about sitting in my truck the entire day yesterday and not mentioning one word about this! You even arranged it while I was sitting right there next to you, didn’t you? You didn’t think to ask me how I felt about it?”
The calm way in which he reacts to my argument makes me feel like my point is nothing more than an unreasonable tirade.
“And if I had done that? What would you have said?” He pauses and looks me in the eye, as if he’s waiting for an answer. When I don’t give him one, he calmly continues. “No! Of course. You would have said no. But you don’t get a say in this. As employee of Audi, we can deploy you wherever we deem fit. Your opinion doesn’t matter.”
I find it hard to believe he doesn’t get my point. “This is about the way you treat people! Even if you have precedence, it doesn’t mean you get to use it!”
I can see him take a deep breath. Obviously, this discussion is affecting him on some level, even though you wouldn’t think so from the calm way in which he talks. “You’re right.”
I’m thinking about a hundred other things I want to say to him to make him see why he simply can’t treat me like that. He can’t treat anyone like that. I get up quickly and continue my ranting. “You are just like a bulldozer, you waltz over everyone ... wait, what? Did you just say I’m right?” I ask, unsure of myself.
“Come here.” It’s not a question. With eyes that burn with fire, he studies me from head to toe, as if he wants to eat me. In his pants, I can see something growing rapidly in the crotch area and it’s not a small thing.
“Come here,” he demands again, tugging at my hand. But I won’t. No, no. He needs
to learn to ask nicely first.
“Can you ask me nicely?”
“Do you like nice? Or do you like dominant?”
“In normal life, I like nice. In the bedroom, I like dominant.”
“Pretend you’re in my bedroom then.”
Oh. My. God. That’s the single most hottest thing I’ve ever heard.
Slowly, and a little apprehensive, I walk around the desk, like my body is being pulled towards him. One part of me wants nothing more than to surrender to him and forget about this whole thing. Another part wishes to be smart and walk away right now, but that’s not what I want.
His arms slip around me and his hands grab the back of my thighs. We are very close to each other now. His familiar aftershave does weird things to my mental well-being.
“You’re right,” he repeats into my neck, planting soft little kisses under my ear.
“I don’t wanna be right. I want you to be sorry and to never do it again.” While his wonderful lips kiss my neck and his teeth softly bite the skin, I give myself a mental pat on the back for having been able to say something remotely sensible at this point.
“I’m sorry,” I hear him whisper in my ear. His warm breath touches my throat. His soft lips give me goose bumps.
“Are you saying that because I want you to, or because you are truly sorry?”
“I never say anything I don’t want to say, Stellina. So, yes, I’m really sorry.”
“How are you going to make up for this?” I ask him playfully.
“You know perfectly well how I’m gonna make up for this. I’m going to turn you around and push you up against the window. You will press those lovely tits of yours against the glass while I put my hand under your skirt, pull down your panties, and shove my fingers between your legs. With my other hand, I will tug at your hair, while my fingers pump in and out of your wet little pussy.”
Oh. My. God. Who talks like that? That damned strict sexiness of his ... but it works. I’ve never felt this aroused in my life.
Chasing the CEO (The CEO duet Book 1) Page 16