Chasing Chelsea (NSFW Book 4)

by C. C. Wood

  By the time he finished cooking breakfast, I was definitely feeling hot and bothered. So much so that the emptiness in my stomach was overshadowed by the hunger for something that was in no way related to food.

  I smiled when he brought the plates over and set one in front of me. With his muscled torso, messy hair, sleepy eyes, and cooking skills, I was certain there were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of women who would pay good money to sit right where I was sitting.

  Trying to distract myself from the desire spiraling in my belly, I picked up my fork and watched as he rounded the island to sit next to me. “So what’s the plan for today? Do you need me to get out of your hair?”

  He stared at me, his face hard. “Are you eager to leave?”

  I shook my head as I picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite. After I chewed and swallowed, I answered, “No, just want to make sure I’m not wearing out my welcome.”

  Landen reached out and snagged the back of my neck, pulling me closer. “I told you I wanted you here this weekend.”

  I shook my head. “Uh, no. You’re telling me that now but this is the first I’ve heard of it.”

  The corner of his mouth tilted up. “Well, it’s true either way. Feel like hanging out with me this weekend?”

  I pretended to consider this even though my stomach was turning somersaults at the idea of spending an entire weekend with this man. “Maybe, but I don’t have anything to wear.”

  His lips touched mine lightly. “Why would you need clothes?”

  When he leaned back, I opened eyes that I hadn’t realized I closed. “Well, I saw what’s in your fridge this morning and it isn’t a lot. At some point you’re going to have to feed me again. I imagine most restaurants would frown on naked patrons.”

  He grinned. “Good point. But you forgot that we could always order take-out.”

  “True.”

  Landen gave my neck a gentle squeeze. “Spend the weekend with me.”

  “I’ll think about it,” I hedged. I wanted to spend time with him, but my heart was getting involved and I knew that two more days together would have me firmly moving into relationship territory. At least in my mind. I didn’t want to risk getting in too deep if we weren’t on the same page, emotionally speaking.

  “I have a pool,” he murmured, his lips brushing my cheek. “And a sauna.”

  “Well, that certainly changes things,” I muttered.

  He laughed softly. “Just be with me for a couple of days, Chelsea.”

  His quiet request broke through my hesitancy. Even though I knew it was probably a mistake in the long run, I relented. “I’ll stay.”

  The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled wider. “Good.”

  As I ate the delicious pancakes, crispy bacon, and fluffy scrambled eggs that Landen cooked, I thought that it didn’t feel like a mistake at all.

  Chapter Nineteen

  After a spectacular weekend spent mostly naked with Landen Weber, I walked into work Monday morning with a spring in my step. I was definitely feeling good. A session in Landen’s sauna followed by a swim in his amazing pool had relaxed me tremendously. Not to mention more orgasms than I could count.

  I had never enjoyed a weekend like that with a man in my life. Sure, I’d gone on short trips with past boyfriends, but by Sunday night, I was usually more than ready to get home because I wasn’t used to having someone in my space twenty-four hours a day. I usually found it exhausting.

  That wasn’t the case with Landen. Yes, he exhausted my body, but he didn’t annoy me. Not truly. I wasn’t counting the bickering we did because it felt fun, a light verbal sparring that made me feel alive rather than mean-spirited. We talked and laughed. A lot. We also sat around and did our own thing, even though we were in the same room. He had some work to finish up on Saturday morning, so he sat on one end of the couch with his laptop while I stretched out on the other side and alternated between watching television and reading a book with an app on my phone.

  It rained until around noon then the sky cleared. It was humid and hot, the perfect day for a swim. So after Landen’s work was finished, we went skinny-dipping in his pool, which ended with me sitting on the edge of the pool while he went down on me. Though he had neighbors, the neighborhood he lived in had huge lots and none of the houses were close enough to have a clear view of the backyard.

  Though I did have to work at muffling the sounds I made when he brought me to orgasm.

  Then Landen had carried me into the house because the condoms were all upstairs in his bedroom.

  Lunch consisted of fruit, cheese, and slices of roasted chicken. We consumed all of this while lounging naked in his bed. It felt decadent.

  Sunday had gone along the same lines, only Landen didn’t touch his computer or phone all day. I had his undivided attention and I found that I loved it. We argued and debated about a variety of topics. This bickering invariably ended with us back in his bed.

  When I’d gone to bed alone in my apartment on Sunday night, I felt oddly bereft. In just two days I’d become accustomed to having Landen next to me, his arm wrapped around me or my body draped over his back.

  But even sleeping alone didn’t dim my good mood on Monday morning. I unlocked the office, disarmed the alarm, and went about turning on the lights and making a cup of coffee. I was twenty minutes earlier than usual, having woken up before my alarm, feeling refreshed and energized.

  I carried my mug to my desk and settled in my chair. As I turned on the computer and waited for it to boot up, my cell phone rang. When I saw Landen’s name on the screen, I couldn’t suppress my smile.

  I lifted it to my ear. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning to you too,” he replied. “You sound…perky today.”

  I made a face even though he couldn’t see me. I was in a good mood, but perky had never been an adjective I’d associated with myself. “Well, I had an awesome weekend.”

  He chuckled in my ear. “I’m feeling perky today myself.”

  I rolled my eyes but didn’t reply. I discovered this weekend that while Landen could be intense, sexy, and serious, he also had a bit of a dorky side. I doubted he would agree, but I thought it was cute. I liked seeing glimpses of it.

  “Unfortunately, I got a call this morning that dampened that a bit,” he continued. “I have to go back to Oregon this week, this afternoon in fact. I’ll be there until Saturday or Sunday, maybe even longer.”

  I frowned. “I know things aren’t okay so I won’t ask that, but is the situation getting worse?”

  He sighed. “Yes and no. With law enforcement involved, it’s likely I’ll be going out there regularly until this is resolved. They need more information and my cooperation.”

  “Are they still considering you a…” I trailed off, unsure of how to word my question.

  “A suspect?” Landen supplied. He chuckled, but it was dry and held little humor. “No, definitely not. But they need my compliance to complete their investigation. And I want to be there so my employees know that I am doing everything I can to fix this. Any kind of criminal investigation is bad for company morale.”

  I choked back a laugh at his words because I shouldn’t find them funny. Unfortunately, that was me. I found humor in the most inappropriate things. So much so that Yancy once sent me a meme that explained it perfectly. It was a Venn diagram with two circles. One was labeled Things I Find Funny, the other Reasons I’m Going to Hell. They were very nearly superimposed over one another, meaning that most of the things I found humorous would likely result in a one-way ticket to Hell. I’d laughed uproariously at the graph and nearly printed it out to hang up in the kitchenette in the office, but I figured Chris would draw the line there.

  I heard the smile in his voice when he said, “I want to see you when I get back.” Clearly, Landen didn’t mind my tendency to laugh at things that weren’t funny to anyone else.

  For a moment, I flashed back to a few weeks ago when he disappeared without a word. Since we t
alked it out, he’d texted me a few times a day and called regularly. Not daily, but often enough that I knew he was thinking about me.

  “Okay,” I murmured.

  “And I’ll keep in touch,” he stated.

  I smiled and knew he would be able to hear it as well. “That would be nice.”

  “Well, I don’t like to make the same mistake twice.”

  My smile widened. “Good to know.”

  “I have to go.”

  “Okay. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Bye, Chelsea,” he murmured in my ear, his voice warm and deep.

  I liked the sound of him saying my name. Maybe too much. “Bye, Landen. Have a safe trip.”

  A few moments after we disconnected, the door to the office opened and Chris came in. I noticed that he too had a lightness in his step and knew that the honeymoon phase still wasn’t over for my newlywed boss and my best friend. He wasn’t smiling but he definitely looked relaxed.

  Though I didn’t want to think about the details, it was still nice to know that Lucy was happy and made her new husband happy as well.

  Chris glanced over at me as he walked in. “Good morning, Chelsea.”

  “Morning, boss,” I replied. “Did you have a good weekend?”

  “Definitely.” His response was firm and I had to bite back a grin. Then he stopped and looked at me. Really looked at me. “You look relaxed for first thing on a Monday morning. I take it your weekend was good.”

  I couldn’t suppress my smile then and nodded. “Very good. Thank you.”

  Before he and Lucy became engaged, Chris never would have asked me that question. He would have entered with a grumbled good morning and gone straight back to his office rather than stopping in front of my desk for a quick chat.

  That was the effect that Lucy had on him and I had to admit it was a good one. Chris would never be open or charming, but he was no longer as stoic or harsh as he once had been.

  “I’m free until ten, yes?” he asked, jerking me out of my thoughts.

  I nodded.

  “Good. Grab your coffee and tablet and meet me in my office. We have some things to discuss.”

  Curious, I did as he asked, stopping briefly in the kitchenette to make another cup of coffee.

  When I entered, he was already seated at his desk, his laptop open in front of him. I set my mug on his desk and opened the note app on my tablet so I could take notes of our conversation to refer to later.

  I looked up and found Chris studying me, his body leaned back in his chair and his hands folded over his abdomen.

  “I need you to put out an ad for an executive assistant,” he stated quietly.

  My stomach dipped, hard and fast, and I swallowed reflexively. Oh shit, was he about to fire me? “I’m sorry?” I squeaked.

  He shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have led with that.” He straightened. “Look, we’re swamped and I’m sick of working ten and twelve-hour days all the time. I need someone else to handle some of my consultancy work and, honestly, I think you’d be a good fit for it. You’ve been a tremendous help over the last year and you’re more than qualified. Too qualified to be my assistant. Therefore, I’m hiring another assistant and promoting you to Vice President with the option to buy in as a partner at a later date.”

  My fear vanished as I gaped at him. A promotion? “I’m sorry?” I repeated, my voice still little more than a squawk.

  Chris grinned and it freaked me out a little. The man never ever smiled like that. Well, at least not at me. He smiled at Lucy regularly, but she was one of the only ones who could elicit such a response from him. Sometimes I’d get a lip twitch, maybe even a small grin, but that was about it.

  He leaned forward, resting his clasped hands on the desk. “Chelsea, you and I both know that you are overqualified for your position. I know that being my assistant isn’t a cakewalk, but it’s something that anyone with a few years of corporate experience could do. You have good instincts, you have a degree that you haven’t utilized, and I know from the year that you’ve worked here that you’re reliable. You could easily share my workload and we would both work less in the long run.” He relaxed once again as he continued, “Plus you’re one of the few people that don’t annoy the shit out of me.”

  I smirked then because I would have believed him in the beginning if he led with that statement. I took a deep breath and studied him, my thoughts whirling. He was offering me my dream. I loved working with him. It was a challenge and he always appreciated my contributions. He might be taciturn, but he was never unreasonable. He never yelled or threw tantrums as my old boss had and he never took credit for my ideas, even in front of clients.

  Though Lucy would probably disagree, I thought he was a good boss. I imagined that he would be an even better business partner. Well, when I had the money to buy in, that was.

  “Okay, what’s the first step?” I asked. My grip tightened on the stylus in my hand to keep my fingers from visibly trembling.

  “Well, you need to put out an ad for an assistant. We’ll interview them together. Though I’m tempted to let you deal with that alone, I want to be sure that they can handle dealing with me.”

  “Dealing with you?” I asked.

  “Did Lucy ever tell you about the day she came in to interview?”

  A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “A little.”

  Chris shook his head, the lines around his mouth softening just a bit. “The candidate before her ran out of here in tears. When she came into my office, she immediately stated that she didn’t think she would be a good fit, for that very reason.” His gaze lowered to the platinum band on his finger, the one Lucy had placed there when she recited her wedding vows. “I think I fell in love with her then and there. She was the first applicant who actually had a spine and a brain in her head.”

  I drew in a soft, deep breath, not wanting to interrupt his reverie. After a moment, he blinked and lifted his gaze to me.

  “You’re damn good at your job, Chelsea, even better than Lucy.” He shot me a sharp look. “And if you tell her that, I’ll deny it until my last breath.”

  I grinned and nodded. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Good.” He tapped the top of his desk with the tips of his fingers. “Now, go put the ad together and get it up this afternoon. I’ll speak with my attorney and we’ll get the ball rolling on the contracts and other paperwork. We’ll also talk salary and other benefits in the next couple of days.”

  Since I couldn’t string a sentence together, I nodded again. I probably looked like a damn bobblehead, but my brain was racing a hundred miles per hour and I couldn’t latch on to a single word amongst my teeming thoughts.

  After so many years of remaining unacknowledged and underappreciated, I finally had an opportunity to not only prove myself but to accomplish something worthwhile.

  I wanted this, fiercely and deeply, but it also terrified me. If I failed, then it wouldn’t affect only me. It would affect Chris, and by association Lucy, and the enormity of that responsibility was intimidating.

  As I left Chris’ office, I took a deep breath and released it slowly, imagining all my doubts and worries escaping with the air in my lungs. If I envisioned failure before I’d even begun, then failure would be the result. I had to remain calm, confident, and focused because success was my only option.

  “You look…relaxed,” Tanya commented.

  I glanced at her briefly before returning my gaze to the menu in my hands.

  After my talk with Chris that morning, I’d spent some time drafting the job listing and downloading it to several sites. Then I’d struggled to concentrate on the accounts Chris was currently handling until lunchtime. I paid extra attention to the information in the files since it was likely I would take over a few of these clients once I’d hired and trained my replacement.

  I’d completely forgotten about lunch with Tanya and Grier until she called me at noon and asked, “Where are y
ou?”

  It was just the three of us today. Yancy was working from home since her daughter, Carolena, was ill with a cold. Carolena had cystic fibrosis and even a “simple cold” was never simple. It could easily result in a hospital stay for the little girl.

  “You aren’t the first person to tell me that today,” I murmured.

  “So why exactly are you so relaxed?” Tanya probed. Her expression was knowing and her tone sly. She understood exactly why I appeared so loose.

  “I had a nice, quiet weekend.”

  She blinked at me. “I thought you had a date with Landen on Friday.”

  “I did.”

  Her expression fell. “Oh.”

  She looked so disappointed that I relented. “But I didn’t say I spent the weekend at my apartment.”

  Tanya’s eyes lit up before shifting to Grier’s phone as it buzzed frantically against the table again. With a sharp sigh, Grier snatched the device up and shoved it in her purse. I could tell that Tanya wanted to ask her if there was a problem, but she wisely kept her mouth shut and looked at me once again.

  “You spent the weekend with Landen?” she asked.

  “Yep.”

  Her eyes narrowed when I didn’t expand on my answer. “Well, how was it?”

  “How was what?” I asked innocently as I glanced over the menu. It was all for show because I knew exactly what I wanted to eat. We came here so often I had the lunch items memorized.

  Tanya tapped the top of the menu with her finger. “Hey, now. Spill.”

  I groaned quietly and laid down the plastic page. “It was great.”

  “What was?” she prodded.

  Damn, this was the reason she was a good lawyer. She could dig information out of your very soul if she wanted.

  “The weekend.”

  “The sex or everything else?” Her eyes narrowed further until they were barely slits. Normally it would have been an intimidating look but now that her baby bump was getting big enough that she waddled, she no longer scared me. Much.