Time to rouse her before I fully morphed into dirty old man territory.
“Penny, come on, you have to get up,” I said, and I rubbed my fingers over her cheek, feeling her smooth, supple skin.
She flinched as her eyes flew open, and now both her hands were clutching mine as she blinked, looking around in surprise. “What happened?”
“You fell asleep.”
“With you?” she said confusedly, and then awareness of where she was—and what she’d just said—seeped into her expression. With a blush on her face, she released my hand and pushed herself up to a sitting position. “I—I just thought I’d sit here for a moment. I guess I must have rested my head.”
“It’s not a federal crime. You must have needed to.”
“But I shouldn’t,” she said, her voice louder now. She hadn’t bothered to smooth her hair back when she sat up, and her golden strands were in bed-head mode.
Shit, she wore that look well. Too well… I needed the blood to keep flowing to my brain, not my—
“I’m at work. I should have been professional.”
It was a damn good thing she didn’t know the unprofessional thoughts I often had about her. “You were tired. Again, not a crime. And from what I’ve heard, not uncommon for parents of young children.”
“But I have to.” Her eyes were still a bit wild. I wasn’t sure she was completely awake yet.
“Have to what?”
“Be professional. I have to earn a living. For me. For Zoe. I’m all she has.”
Sympathy had me picking up her hand and squeezing it, even though there was triumph in my mind. She was doing this by herself. Which meant no man in the picture. Which meant whoever abandoned her was a total shit, but still… I had to admit that I was glad to hear she was unattached. That made me a selfish ass, but I already knew that. “I’m sure you’re doing the best you can.”
“But I’m not,” she said, and she pushed my hand away without even seeming to notice that she was doing it. “I just—I never knew it would be so hard.”
Really? She found the work hard? Challenging was okay, but it wasn’t supposed to be hard for a bright young woman like her. “I’ll talk to Vera, and she can—”
“Not the job,” she said, sitting up straighter, and I registered the moment she remembered that I was her boss. “The job is great, I’m really glad to work here.”
“But…” I prompted, wanting her to go back to thinking she could confide in me. And perhaps to thinking that I was a pretty great guy to wake up next to.
“But… it’s so hard being away from Zoe. My little girl.”
“How old is she?” I knew nothing about babies, but at least I knew that was an expected question.
“Six months,” she said. “I get so tired at the end of the day. She wakes me up a few times during the night, then I come here and work all day, and by the time I pick her up and go home, I’m exhausted.”
“That sounds normal.”
“But it shouldn’t be. I’m her mother. I can’t afford to be in a brain fog around her. The other day, I turned my back just for a moment at the changing table, and she almost wiggled off.”
“But she didn’t,” I said, briefly wondering what a changing table changed into. “That’s what matters.”
“No, it’s not,” The fact that she was arguing meant she was thinking of me as a guy and not her boss. Not sure why that pleased me so much, but it did.
Then that pleasure turned to alarm as the floodgates opened, tears pouring down her face and words spilling out of her mouth. And I didn’t have a fucking clue what to do about either.
“She could have been badly hurt, or…or …” She wiped the back of her arm across her eyes, trying to stem the tears. “I don’t know what I’m doing half the time. If she’s getting enough milk. If she’s gaining enough weight. How much screen time is too much.”
That startled me. “She’s old enough to watch TV?” Was there some sort of Baby Netflix I didn’t know about?
“No,” she said, the tears still falling at an alarming rate. “When she gets older. There are all these articles and books and online forums about how much time kids should be able to use tablets per day, and every place says something different, and how will I know? What if she uses electronics too much and her brain turns to mush? What if she uses them too little and she lacks key tech skills? She’ll never get a scholarship and go to college, and then how will she get a decent job?”
Penny slumped forward, resting her forehead in her palms.
Not knowing what else to do, I patted her on the back, casting around for something to say. “All that because you took a nap?”
There was a long pause, and then her shoulders shook. Fuck, when was I going to learn that I didn’t possess the skills to deal with an upset female? I should have called Vera in here to deal with this the minute I saw her asleep in my bed. In my home, in a hotel room, in some random redhead’s apartment, I knew exactly what to do with a woman in bed. Yet now, when I was trying to be a good man, I didn’t have a fucking clue. And now I’d made her cry harder.
Except her crying sounded weird, coming out in little bursts of air. Almost like—
I peeled one hand away from her face and tilted her chin upward. The tear tracks down her face did nothing to detract from her beauty, but to my great relief, no new moisture was forming on her lashes. In fact, one corner of her pale pink mouth tilted upward. “Are you laughing?”
“Well… it was funny.”
“It was a stupid thing to say.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “But a funny stupid thing to say.”
“I can live with that,” I slid my hand across her back to her shoulder, pulling her against me. She leaned into me willingly, her head resting against my chest. Gently, I stroked up and down her arm. When had I last held a woman like this? With no ulterior motive? With no impure thoughts? Well… okay, my thoughts were never 100 percent pure, but this young woman had a lot going on. Juggling the responsibilities of motherhood had been a tough task for my own mother, and she’d had full-time staff to help her. Penny had none of that.
The feeling of Penny’s soft blonde hair under my arm was tempting. I wanted to run my fingers through it, but I knew I should at least attempt not to make this any more personal than it already was. We were at work, she was my employee. More importantly, she was still upset.
I wished I could help her, but I knew nothing about parenthood. Nothing about babies keeping you up all night. Nothing about being solely responsible for a tiny human being.
But I did know when someone needed to give themselves a break, and Penny clearly needed to. And if she wasn’t prepared to do that herself, then I’d have to make her.
It was time for Penny to take a night off.
Penny
“You wanted to see me, sir?”
It was strange entering the CEO office through the main door instead of from the side entrance. I saw Blake several times a day when I used his private suite to pump, but this was different. That was a nice man doing something kind for the single mom. This was the CEO of the entire company summoning me.
“Come in,” he said without looking up from his computer. “And call me Blake.”
I took advantage of the fact that he was typing on his laptop and wouldn’t catch me staring at him. It was a rare pleasure; he had his suit coat off, and his white shirt was open at the neck. The sleeves were rolled up revealing muscular forearms with a smattering of brown hair. His skin was tanned, so clearly he didn’t spend every second in the office, though he appeared to.
What kind of things did he do in his free time? I didn’t have the slightest clue though it was evident he spent some time in the gym. Was he on a sports team? Did he play video games with his buddies on the weekend? Those seemed like far too normal pastimes for someone that handsome. That rich. His family was worth a fortune—my new coworkers gossiped about it all the time.
They didn’t know much information about him
personally, though, and I had to admit I was curious. Too curious. I had a baby. A baby with a missing father.
I faltered a few steps from Blake’s desk. My stomach dropped as my thoughts turned to Zorro. What it was like being in his arms. How we’d genuinely connected. He was the man I should be thinking about, not Blake. Zorro was kind, handsome, considerate, and most importantly, he was Zoe’s father. I shouldn’t be thinking about anyone else until I’d found him. If I ever did.
“You can come closer than that.”
Startled, I looked up. Blake’s deep brown eyes were on me now. He nodded his head, indicating one of the chairs in front of his desk. I sat down and crossed my legs, looking at the back of his laptop to keep myself from staring again.
“How are you?” he said.
“Fine, sir. I mean Blake.”
“You don’t need to…?” His eyes went to the door of his private suite, and I bit back a laugh. He was adorably clueless when it came to absolutely everything about babies.
“I’m good.”
“Good,” he said, echoing me, looking relieved. Which was funny—he didn’t seem like a man who’d shy away from talking about female anatomy under ordinary circumstances. A few times, I’d caught him looking at me in a way that made shivers dance across my skin. It had to have been my imagination-a man who looked like that could have any woman he wanted. Doubtful he’d pick an employee who had a baby.
“I’ve got a project I’d like you to help me with. Did Vera explain it to you?”
“No, sir. Blake.” Damnit, why couldn’t I remember that? He was such an impressive figure in a suit. Authority radiated off of him. But I remembered the way he’d held me yesterday when I’d been so upset. I’d thought of him as a regular man then. There had to be some way I could talk to him normally without going to either extreme—a sobbing mess or an awed underling.
“This corporation hosts a lot of meetings and conferences. We have our own in-house food production, but for big events, sometimes I prefer to order food from specific restaurants and have their staff cater the event.”
I nodded as I listened to him. Catering was something I knew about, given that it used to be my job. Before Zoe. Before Zorro.
“Vera usually deals with that,” he continued. “Occasionally, though, I like to try out new places that we can use. What can I say,” he said with a grin. “I like good food.”
He patted his stomach, but it was a wasted effort. I’d bet my car that he had at least six-pack abs under his shirt. I’d seen the way he moved and the way his dress shirt flattened against his stomach. Not that I was supposed to be noticing those things about the CEO.
“There’s a new Italian place I’m considering for an important meeting next week, a get-together of several other CEOs, both friends and rivals. The spread has to impress, so I want to check the restaurant out. And I need you to come and take notes.”
“Of course,” I said. Talk about a dream assignment! Eating at a fancy restaurant with a gorgeous man? Count me in. “Anytime.”
“Good. We have reservations at six.”
“Tonight?”
“You just said anytime.”
Oh. Right. I had. “I—I have to pick up my daughter.”
He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers together. “From daycare?”
“From the sitter.” I tried not to let disappointment leak into my voice. The image of him sitting across the table with one of the other women on his personal staff was a disturbing one.
“Maybe she wouldn’t mind watching your baby for longer. I could pay—“
“No,” I said in alarm. He’d already given me access to his private suite—I wasn’t about to let him pay a babysitter as if we were a couple. Besides, Hazel wasn’t just any run-of-the-mill sitter. She’d do whatever I asked because she was a wonderful woman. It didn’t seem right to ask her to do even more. She already went above and beyond by treating Zoe and me as if we were her own flesh and blood. Like Jana.
Jana! Maybe she could go pick up Zoe. But then I remembered she was at some kind of teacher conference today and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow night.
“Call her. Maybe she won’t mind.” Blake’s words were mild, but something about the tone reminded me that I was talking to my CEO. It had sounded like an order.
He pushed the phone on his desk a few inches toward me, but I shook my head, pulling my phone out of my bag. I stood up and walked a few feet away, toward the sofas on the other side of the room. Seeing those reminded me of when Blake had walked in on me half naked that first day. That thought made my cheeks redden as Hazel answered.
Quickly, I explained that my boss wanted me to work late. As I suspected, she said it was no problem to keep Zoe for longer, but I wasn’t entirely sure that was true. Watching a baby all day was extremely tiring. I had six months’ worth of proof of that fact. Hazel was three times my age—she had to be exhausted. But she’d never admit it.
“Don’t worry about it at all. Zoe and I are fine. We’re about to make cookies. Well, I am. She’s going to supervise, so we’ll both be spending our evening with our bosses.”
I chuckled at her joke. Hazel and Zoe would be okay, but still… this still felt like an imposition. Or was it that I was apprehensive about going somewhere with Blake? That thought came out of nowhere, and on its heels were additional concerns. I was wearing a black skirt and a floral, button-down shirt. Not exactly proper attire for a fancy restaurant. Not proper attire to dine with a man who looked like a Greek god, either.
Thanking Hazel, I hung up the phone, facing Blake. He’d obviously been listening in to my side of the conversation.
“I’ll have a car out front at quarter till. See you then.”
Yes, he would. Whether it was a good idea or not.
“I love these mushrooms,” Blake said. He popped another one in his mouth, and his eyes closed in enjoyment.
“Me too,” I said.
“Add it to the list.” He somehow managed to open his eyes and wink at me at the same time. Oh. Right. The list. I was supposed to be taking notes. Trouble was, Blake didn’t seem very interested in dictating anything. So far, after forty-five minutes of trying an incredible array of delicacies, I’d only filled a dozen or so lines in my notebook.
I had to admit the food was first rate. And so was my dining companion. I may have been underdressed, but he fit right in with his black suit that probably cost more than the dress I’d worn at the ball.
Oops. Thinking of that always made me feel guilty that I shouldn’t be enjoying another man’s company when I still hadn’t found my masked stranger. The man who’d given me Zoe. Despite that concern, I was still enjoying his company, and unless I was very much mistaken, he was enjoying mine as well—which was something of a novelty.
The past half year had all been about parenting for me. Cleaning up messes. Dashing to the store for diapers wearing sweats and holding a screaming baby. Putting my hair in a ponytail because I hadn’t had time for anything else. Needless to say, none of that seemed to draw in men. Not that I had time for them anyway.
But right now, thanks to Hazel’s kindness, I had a gorgeous man in front of me—which still felt surreal. To anyone passing by, unless they noticed the notebook, this probably looked like a date. I knew better, and Blake knew better, but still, this was the first thing in a heck of a long time that even appeared date-like. An image of Zorro and me in the greenhouse, sharing the bottle of wine, that magnificent Latour, flashed through my head. I pushed it aside. He wasn’t here. I wished he were, but he’d vanished. There wasn’t anything I could do about that now.
“Try some of this cheese.”
Blake held out a white cube with darker swirls in it. I wasn’t sure what it was, but everything I’d tasted so far had been utterly delicious. Leaning toward him, I opened my mouth. He placed the cheese on my tongue, and for a moment, his index finger grazed my bottom lip. Warmth radiated from the spot he touched. Suddenly, I wished I could clos
e my lips around his finger and taste him. Tease him. Too bad he wasn’t on the menu.
And even if he was—that wasn’t what I should be ordering. I had a baby. A job. That meant eating healthy if boring food. Not rich, decadent food. If Blake were edible, he’d clearly fall into the latter category. Though in his dark suit with his flashing brown eyes, he looked pretty damn edible to me. Damn.
“So tell me about yourself.”
Ugh. I hated questions like that. There were so many directions I could go, and I didn’t want to head toward any of them. “I’m twenty-five. I work at Hollister Holdings. In the CEO’s office, in fact.”
His eyes gleamed as he grinned at me. Oh god, had I made him think I wanted to play? Or worse, flirt? He was my boss. A fact that I’d just tried to remind him of.
“And how’s that working out for you?”
“So far, so good.”
“What’s your boss like?”
“Competent,” I said instantly. “In-charge. A strong leader.”
His smile widened, and his chest visibly expanded with pride. I almost felt bad about what I was going to say next. “Her name’s Vera. You’d like her.”
Blake blinked twice and then chuckled. He raised his glass of a deep, rich red into the air and clinked it against my water glass. No wine for me until I stopped nursing. “She is a treasure, I’ll give you that. But what’s her boss like?”
“He’s… umm…” I wasn’t sure what to say to that. In the first place, I didn’t know how I felt about him. In the second place, I didn’t want to encourage him. Despite his statement that this was a business dinner, it truly felt like a date. And that was one thing I couldn’t do right now, even if I wanted to. I had a baby to raise. A baby with a missing father—a fact that made me feel guilty every time I admired the way Blake’s muscles moved under his shirt. Every time he said something that made me smile. “I guess I don’t know him that well.”
“Yet,” he said instantly.
“Yet?” I echoed, less certainly.
“Well, you’re off to a good start. You’ve known him for just two weeks, and you’ve already woken up next to him.”
Tempting: A Cinderella Billionaire Story Page 9