Resisting the CEO: Office Second Chance Romance (Dirty Hot Resistance Series Book 2)

by Emelia Blair

  I hide my amusement. “Well, Duke is well-versed in these sort of things?”

  “In ladies clothing?” Kendall asks, doubtfully, now studying the man with a considering gleam.

  “I don’t dress in women’s clothes, Miss West,” Duke says stiffly, realizing where her mind is wandering off to.

  “No, no.” Kendall blinks. “Ah, of course not.” But she sounds completely unconvinced.

  Before I can correct her, however, we arrive at the restaurant and Duke gives me a dirty look as he parks the car.

  The inside of the restaurant is as stunning as its exterior and the maître d guides us to a prepared table, ushering a server over.

  Kendall seems completely out of her element as she goes through the menu, her eyes growing wider and wider. When she settles for a dish she can’t even pronounce, I change her order to crispy duck with pasta and ravioli.

  She seems a bit annoyed by my highhandedness but hides it well.

  Not for long.

  I plan on making sure she comes out of whatever shell she’s hiding in. The girl I left behind was hot-headed, temperamental, and impulsive. She wasn’t this meek little thing sitting across from me.

  “You don’t have to come with me shopping,” she says again, insistently. “It’s hardly…” She searches for the right word but comes up empty-handed.

  “Commonplace?” I suggest lightly.

  She nods.

  I take a sip of the wine before me, my eyes on her. “You’ll have to get accustomed to it. I’m a demanding boss.”

  She’s tugging at a strand of hair that keeps escaping her braid.

  I have the urge to curl it around my finger. However, I check myself.

  The whole purpose of this arrangement is to provide Kendall with the life that I had promised her as a youth, not to seduce her. Although, I watch the way her brow furrows as she fights a losing battle with that innocent strand, seducing her into my bed and my life doesn’t seem to be such a bad idea.

  “This card that you gave me, what exactly am I supposed to use it for? M-Miss Hill said something about monthly expenditure reports…” Kendall’s tone falters over Lana’s name.

  Now, I wonder if the stubborn HR head had something to do with the panic attack I had rescued Kendall from.

  “Aside from clothing, what other expenses would I have? The salary you’re giving me is a lot, already.”

  My lips curve and I reply, “Any expenses that you incur go on the card. Once you start working for me, it’ll make sense. If I need something, you’ll have access to the money to buy it.”

  “So, it’s for you.” She sounds too relieved.

  I narrow my eyes at her deduction. “No, it’s for you. You might want to furnish your apartment anyway you see fit. You might want to get—”

  “I have a salary for that,” Kendall is starting to look frustrated, hints of her true personality shining through.

  “And you have this,” I point out.

  “I don’t need…” She pokes at the envelope, which is lying on the table, like it’s a vicious snake. “…all this. It seems too unnecessary.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” I tell her calmly. “How was your meeting with Lana?”

  My suspicions are proven correct when Kendall stiffens, and I sense the panic under her surface which struggles to control.

  “It went okay. She explained a few things to me.”

  “Like what?” I grind my teeth, furious at Lana, knowing the woman was not pleased by my choice of PA. Damn, interfering—

  “Just some small things; nothing worth mentioning,” Kendall tries to divert the topic. “You wanted to explain the projects to me?”

  I let her have this win and lean forward, stapling my fingers together, a small smirk on my lips. “Not projects, Miss West. I want to walk you through the entire empire I’ve built.”

  Spending a day with Kendall, I feel like a glutton.

  I can’t get enough of her.

  I fight off the urge to tell her who I am. It’s hard knowing her, having her within my reach and yet her thinking of me as a stranger, someone superior to her, her boss.

  I miss the girl who used to jump on me from the tree she’d been hiding in. I miss the girl who would tell me about her day, not shutting up to even breathe. I miss the girl who had looked at me with such awe and love.

  I would give anything to have all that back.

  But I can’t.

  Because all this, it’s for her.

  Now is not the right time to tell her anything.

  So, I content myself with watching her as the salesgirl shows her different blouses, dresses, skirts. I don’t ask her to model for me. Now, that would be inappropriate. But I do pick and choose items and colors.

  It appeases a part of me that now she’ll be wearing clothes I have bought her, living in an apartment I have paid for. She doesn’t have to know any of that.

  The sun is setting by the time we leave the last shop and while I am strangely energized, Kendall looks ready to drop dead.

  “I was thinking of four skirts and seven blouses,” she mutters as we are seated in the car. “Not clothes in double digits. I cannot possibly wear all of them, Mr. Starr.”

  “Which is why I’m glad I came with you. Now…” I glance at her. “We can have dinner and I’ll drop you home.”

  She pales. “You don’t have to do that!”

  “Nonsense.” I wave off her protests, suddenly wanting to know what her home looks like. I have her address on file but haven’t yet managed to visit the place. “Besides, all these bags need to be carried. You can’t carry all of them yourself.”

  She bites her lower lip and I wonder what she’s thinking as she turns her head to gaze out the window.

  Dinner is at a small Vietnamese restaurant that I frequent, and I order more for Kendall, feeling she’s too malnourished and then I insist on her taking the leftovers home, which are three containers in total.

  This whole day has been a bewildering experience for Kendall, I can tell.

  As we drive towards her home, her form gets tenser by the minute and her hand is tightly clenched in her lap.

  The neighborhood we enter is a particularly shady one and Duke meets my eyes through the rearview mirror. My lips press into a thin line, as I imagine Kendall living here in an area ripe with crime. “How long have you lived here?” I ask tightly.

  She shoots me a sharp look before replying, “Eight years.” Her voice is even and her chin is held high when she meets my eye, as if daring me to make a comment about this place.

  I wonder, dimly, how she would react if I told her that there had been a time when I had scourged dumpsters to find food.

  Her apartment building is a faded four-story building which has clearly seen better days.

  Duke parks the car in front of the building and when the car attracts unwanted attention, he steps out and reaches for his gun. However, his menacing presence alone makes people wary of him.

  Kendall steps out of the car and looks in dismay at all the shopping bags. She knows she can’t carry all of them.

  “I…” She glances at the building, and then turns to me. “If you’ll give me ten minutes, I’ll take some up and then come back for the rest.”

  There’s a reason why I hadn’t simply asked the parcels to be delivered to her address. I slide out of the car. “I’ll help.” And before she can stop me, I’ve gathered some of the bags.

  She’s looking at me in stunned horror as if realizing that her new boss is carrying her clothes up to her apartment. “Mr. Starr!” Her voice is a squeak. “You don’t have to—?”

  “Lead the way.” I gesture, holding some of the bags.

  She visibly deflates, knowing I’m not backing off.

  As she carries some of the bags herself, I hear her mutter under her breath, “This is all kinds of fucking wrong.”

  Her apartment is on the third floor and when she unlocks the door, she says quietly, “Don’t make a sou
nd. Max might be sleeping.”

  The shock is sudden, even for me.

  Max?

  I hadn’t even considered that there might be a man in her life. The irritation surging through me is so foreign, that it takes me a moment to place it as jealousy.

  I scowl inwardly. I’m not jealous of some—

  “Kendall!” an excited shout bellows at us before something tiny hurtles itself across the room towards Kendall.

  I’m stepping in its way just as Kendall opens her arms and embraces the naked creature who turns out to be a little boy.

  “Max, where are your clothes?!” Kendall sounds horrified.

  Max is a kid.

  A glance at the woman next to me makes me reel. Max is Kendall’s son?! How had I not found out anything about—?

  “Where’s your mom?” Kendall is reaching out to grab a shawl that’s lying on a raggedy couch and throwing it over the little boy.

  “Max, you little brat! Get your ass back here!” A completely soaked woman enters the room now from what is presumably a bathroom and she stills when her eyes land on me.

  Kendall swallows and says, “Tracy, this is my boss, Caleb Starr.”

  Tracy stares at me, and then groans, “Well, fuck me!”

  I can’t help but feel highly entertained.

  Max has been banished to the bathroom while Tracy has gone to change.

  Kendall looks seven shades of mortified as she hands me a glass of water. “I’m so sorry for that. That was not – It wasn’t – I’m so sorry,” she ends on that note.

  I purse my lips to keep from laughing.

  It’s strange.

  Laughter, amusement, they don’t’ come to me so often but around Kendall, they seem natural. Chaos has always been attracted to her like she’s its own personal gravity. “Your roommates are interesting,” I offer.

  When Kendall gives me a considering look, I recognize it for what it is. She’s about to try to wheedle something out of me.

  I can’t wait, I think with anticipation.

  “I’ve raised Max along with Tracy.” She’s choosing her words with care. “I can’t abandon him once I move into my new apartment. But I can’t separate him from his mother as well. So, I was thinking that instead of taking the company apartment, I just look for a two-bedroom place on my own salary, so my family can move with me.”

  I applaud her in my mind.

  She’s smart, trying to manipulate me into giving her what she wants. A fissure of pleasure and pride moves through me and instead of smiling, I look grave, as if thinking about this situation. “Well, that is certainly troubling. And you won’t move without them?” I glance at her, already knowing her answer.

  “I can’t. It would be cruel to Max.”

  I stroke my jaw, and then sigh. “Well, then. I guess there’s only one course of action then.”

  Does she really think she can manipulate me, without me taking something in return?

  “My penthouse is near the office and since I own the building, I can give you the floor beneath mine. There’s a lovely four-room apartment, with a balcony.”

  Got you. I smile with satisfaction, when she looks startled on hearing that she’ll be living so close to me.

  Kendall looks uneasy at the prospect.

  Casually, I cross my legs, watching her, going for the finishing blow. “It’s not as comfortable as your original apartment might have been but it’s comfortable enough for three people.”

  She now looks a little suspicious at how accommodating I’m being.

  She has every right to be.

  I’m going over and above for her and she’s smart enough not to look the gift horse in the mouth.

  Her lips part and then she closes them, before saying slowly, “Thank you. That’s very kind of you.”

  I smile in return. “Don’t even mention it.”

  Kendall will spend the next few days looking me up on the internet.

  4

  Kendall

  “I already pressed you, you stupid thing!” I growl at the coffee machine as it splutters and throws out a few drops in retaliation.

  It’s my second day at the office and the coffee machine is the only thing I can’t seem to work out how to use.

  Mr. Starr’s been in his office all day, and I’m hesitant to ask him how to get it to work.

  I press the button again, vowing, “I swear to God, if you don’t give me that cup of coffee, I’ll throw you out the window!” I can already imagine the satisfaction of seeing this sack of crap break into a thousand pieces on the ground.

  “Problem?”

  I jump at the voice and whirl around to see Mr. Starr standing in the doorway, trying not to laugh.

  His face is smooth and impassive, but I can tell from the way his eyes are dancing that he finds my situation hilarious.

  His eyes are the most curious shade of amber I’ve ever seen. The only other person I’ve known to have that color of eyes – I force the thought from my head, not wanting to think about the past, the past that walked out on me, leaving me at the mercy of those who wanted to hurt me. “I’m just trying to get you that cup of coffee,” I mutter. The one that you asked for an hour ago. I add the last part silently.

  He’s about to say something when the elevator dings and the doors part to reveal a tall man with sandy hair and blue eyes. He’s a head taller than Mr. Starr, but Caleb has the more imposing presence in the room.

  I see the transformation of the man before me, from a curious man who’s amused by my ‘antics’ to the steely-eyed man with a face carved from stone. Caleb is suddenly more aloof, unapproachable, and I wonder if I’m now seeing the man who has created an empire for himself, where he sits on the top, untouchable.

  “Oliver.” Caleb’s voice is cool. “What can I do for you?”

  Oliver Thornton.

  I’ve read about him. His marriage to Lana Hill made the papers.

  I haven’t run into the HR Head since I started working here. Honestly, I have no desire to meet her husband or see her. Not that I can avoid her forever.

  I feel a pair of eyes on me and look up to see Oliver staring at me. I nod in greeting, trying to look severe, but when the corner of his lip quirks up, I can see I’ve failed.

  “Miss West, have two coffees sent in for us. Stop gawking at my assistant, Oliver.” Caleb’s voice is sharp.

  Now, I wonder what is wrong.

  “All right,” I say as Oliver follows him in and before the door closes behind them, I hear him say, in a British accent, “Quite rude of you not to introduce us. After all –”

  The rest of the sentences are muffled and I ignore that to now consider my major problem at hand.

  The stupid coffee.

  Taking a deep breath, I pick up the phone and call the reception.

  Elise arrives within five minutes, out of breath, and grinning from ear to ear. “Hoo boy! Okay, give me a minute. Let me tell you…” She looks up at me from where she has her hands on her knees. “This baby does not like exercise.”

  “Maybe some water,” I offer, concerned.

  She waves me off. “Tempt me not, Devil. If I go to the bathroom one more time within this hour, I’m forcing myself to go into labor.” She looks at the innocent coffee machine. “Let’s get this working then.”

  Twenty minutes later, after I’ve promised to go with her for lunch tomorrow, I watch Elise leave and knock on Caleb’s door before carrying two cups of coffee inside.

  Caleb is standing by the window, which seems to be his favorite spot. He looks over his shoulder at me.

  I can’t help the frisson of fear that runs inside of me at the naked fury in his eyes.

  However, his voice is steady as he says, “Thank you, Miss West. Make sure we’re not disturbed.”

  Oliver is looking pissed off and I find it odd that he avoids my eyes.

  Confused, I return to my station only find it occupied by someone.

  Lucas is leaning over my computer and looks up w
hen I enter. “You’ve been busy, Miss West.”

  “It’s research,” I say stiffly, hurrying over and minimizing the open tabs that he’s studying.

  “On your boss?” Lucas looks intrigued. “You could just ask him what you want to know. I doubt he’ll keep anything from you.”

  I find this to be an odd statement. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He shrugs, a gleam in his eye. “Nothing. So, did you find anything of interest?”

  “No,” I retort shortly. “What can I help you with, Mr. Black?”

  “Call me Lucas,” he says, adding a dash of charm to his words.

  I’m not impressed. “Mr. Starr’s in a meeting,” I tell him. “You’re welcome to take a seat and wait.”

  He straightens up from where he’s been leaning on my desk and starts strolling towards the office. “He won’t mind.”

  My body moves of its own volition, and I’m standing in front of him, my brow raised sternly. “Take a seat, Mr. Black.”

  He stares at me for a few seconds in surprise before taking the offered seat.

  Pleased at having defended my boss’ office, I kindly offer him a coffee.

  He scowls at me. “Does that thing have hot chocolate?”

  “No.” I return my attention to the contracts I had been going through. “But I have a Kit Kat in my bag.”

  When Caleb emerges from his office ten minutes later, it’s to see Lucas hunched in a chair, his face sullen, munching on a piece of chocolate.

  He gives me a questioning look.

  I look up from where I’m making notes for myself, to meet his gaze calmly. “He was trying to enter the office when you didn’t want to be disturbed. So, I gave him a chocolate and told him to sit down.”

  Caleb’s lip twitches and he stares at Lucas.

  “I only stayed for the chocolate.”

  Caleb holds the door open for him. “Come in. Oliver’s also here.”

  Once Lucas has gone inside, Caleb says, “Order us some dinner. We’ll be here a while.”