“You can’t watch a movie in a theater without popcorn.” She shrugged.
“I’m sorry, but is the neighborhood joining us?” he teased.
Holly looked around and suddenly felt self-conscious. “I guess I did get carried away…”
“Ya think?” When she made to apologize, he stopped her and went about finding trays to carry their bounty on.
“Should I grab drinks?” she asked.
“I’ve got a fully stocked refrigerator downstairs and a bar. I think we’re good. Now come on before all this gets cold.” They made their way down the stairs and into the theater. “What shall we watch?”
“I don’t know…what have you got?”
Stephen flipped a switch, and one wall lit up. He took her by the hand and led her to the back of the room to a flat-screen computer monitor. Steven touched the screen, and it came to life. “You can scan this list of all the movies I can stream for us. Click on the genre you want, and it will prompt you from there.”
She looked at him slyly. “This place must be a real babe magnet.”
“Well, since you’re the first and only ‘babe’ to see it, you’ll have to let me know.”
“Seriously?” He nodded. “How can that be? Don’t you date?”
“Of course I date. I just don’t bring them home.” Man, did that sound shallow. “Come on, pick a movie while I get everything else set up. You want a beer? Soda? Milk shake?”
The last option piqued her interest, but considering how much food she had prepared, she settled on a Coke. She muttered thanks as she continued to scan the movies. After much deliberation, she found a favorite, Speed, with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. Stephen nodded his approval when she told him. “I figured you for a Pride and Prejudice kind of gal.”
“Only when I’m alone,” she quipped. “Besides, I’d hate for you to fall asleep from boredom and let all this food go to waste.”
They laughed; they ate; they shared a running commentary throughout the movie. Stephen was discovering that his assistant was quite intriguing. She was passionate in her conversation, and he couldn’t remember ever having such a pointless conversation and enjoying it quite so much.
Holly, on the other hand, wasn’t quite so focused on Stephen; she was too busy enjoying the luxury that surrounded her. Snuggling deeper into the buttery softness of the recliner, she was sure than she had never been in a more comfortable chair and found herself thoroughly content. Between them, they did manage to go through quite a bit of the food, and her stomach protested that fact by the end of the movie.
“It’s a rare combination of love story and action adventure,” she said as the credits rolled. “I’m a sucker for a happy ending.” She looked around, and the thought of moving and cleaning up the mess was not appealing at all. Beside her, Stephen’s expression told her the same thing.
“How about a double feature?”
With a sigh of relief and giving in to the urge to recline, Holly looked over at him and smiled. “It’s like you read my mind. This one’s your choice.” Within minutes they were watching the intro to Jackie Chan’s Shanghai Noon. With mindless abandon, Holly reached for several squares of cheese and crackers as Stephen took the mini hot dogs and potato skins and warmed them in the microwave he kept behind the bar.
“I know there’s not really a love story here, but it’s still a great movie,” Stephen said conversationally while he waited for the ding of the microwave.
“That’s fine. I enjoy a good comedy, too. But I have to tell you, if I don’t stop eating, the only thing I’m going to do after this movie is go across the hall to your mini YMCA and walk on the treadmill until Monday.”
Well, at least she wasn’t trying to leave anymore, Stephen thought to himself. He removed the food from the microwave and placed the plates between them again, refreshed both of their drinks, and sat back down as Jackie Chan watched the Princess escape in the night. For a minute, he glanced at Holly and watched her nibbling on a cracker, so relaxed, so at ease. She truly looked different from the woman he worked with every day. Was he really that bad to work for that having a day off actually changed her appearance?
Turning to the movie again, he couldn’t seem to break that train of thought. He looked at Holly again. Yes, she looked transformed. It was more than the hair or the glasses; her whole face was relaxed. Her posture was relaxed. During the week, she held herself as stiff and upright as a ruler. Sitting here now, curled up with her feet tucked under her, watching a movie, she looked too young to be anyone’s personal assistant. She looked like she should be hanging out at a sorority house, not her boss’s house. Her older boss’s house.
He had never thought of himself as old until that moment, and thirty-two wasn’t that old, but looking at Holly suddenly made him feel that way. Old. And creepy for staring at her. Shaking his head, he put all his effort into watching the movie.
“Do I have something on my face?” That got his attention, and as much as he wanted not to look at Holly again, he could not ignore her question.
“Excuse me?” He coughed.
“I said, is there something on my face? You were staring at me.”
“Oh, that, well, it struck me how truly different you look today.”
She huffed with annoyance. “I thought we covered this last night. Yes, my hair is down. Yes, I’m in sweats, I don’t have my makeup with me… Geez, Stephen, I’m self-conscious enough about it. Thanks for bringing it up.” She was mortified. She rested her face in her hand to cover the side of her face that was facing Stephen and went back to watching the movie, hoping that he didn’t want to keep talking.
Ninety minutes later, she had to move; she had to. The credits were rolling as Holly stood and stretched. Stephen followed suit, and now it was her turn to stare. Earlier, she had been so preoccupied with prepping the food and coming down to watch the movie that she hadn’t taken the time to notice that he had showered, shaved, and dressed casually. Twice in one day of seeing Stephen dressed like a normal person was devastating to her senses.
As he stretched, his plain black T-shirt rose up about the waistband of snug, well-worn jeans. The word yummy came to mind, and she decided the only thing she could do was start collecting dishes so that she stopped staring before she started to drool. How uncool would that be? Stephen joined in, and between the two of them, the theater was back to normal in less than ten minutes.
Holly followed Stephen up the stairs and into the kitchen where they continued to work together in silence, scraping and rinsing the dishes before loading them in the dishwasher. When the task was done, they stood awkwardly facing one another, each unsure what to do next.
“So, um…I don’t think either of us is going to want to eat anytime soon, right?” he said for lack of anything else to say.
“Definitely not.” A glance at the clock revealed that it was only six o’clock. What were they supposed to do for the rest of the night? She walked over to the kitchen window and saw that it was almost dark and the rain was still coming down. The theater was soundproof with no windows. The rain could have stopped, but no such luck. “I cannot believe that this storm has not passed yet!”
“Maybe we should turn on the news and see what they have to say. Come on, I’ll turn on the TV in the den.” Holly followed, and for the next thirty minutes they sat at opposite ends of the sofa and watched the local news. Then, still unsure what to do, Stephen turned on the Weather Channel to verify what the local news had said. By seven o’clock, Holly had had enough of staring at a TV screen and had to get up and move around.
“Okay, I have not sat around so much in my entire life. I can’t do it anymore!” Her tone was light, but Stephen knew that she was serious. “I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m out of sorts, and I can’t help thinking about all the things I’m supposed to be doing at home!” Holly was pacing from pent-up energy.
&
nbsp; “I know what you mean. I’ve got to be honest with you, Holly, I promised myself that I would not bring up work or the Gideon project, and as pleasant as this whole afternoon has been, deep down I am going crazy with the need to go work on it!” He could have kicked himself. Sure, being honest was great, but in that moment Stephen was sure he had blown everything; all the headway he’d made in the friendship category was gone.
“As much as I hate to admit it, I wouldn’t mind having something productive to do. As long as we set a time limit, I’ll help you. I am not going to stay up all night working, though. Is that okay?”
He could have kissed her right then and there, but Stephen was sure that if he did, the topic of work and friendship would certainly be the furthest thing from his mind. Watching Holly all day, laughing with her, had been mildly arousing. He wasn’t used to being attracted to a woman under these circumstances, and he certainly shouldn’t be feeling anything toward his assistant. He had to get things back on track fast!
This whole afternoon had been for her, and yet she was still willing to help him out. It took every ounce of willpower not to ask her if this meant that she’d changed her mind about quitting. He wanted an answer! But a good businessman knew when to push and when to bide his time. Right now he had no choice but to wait her out. She was graciously helping him, and that would be enough for now.
Chapter 4
Three hours later, Holly politely called an end to their work session. She had been expecting Stephen to put up a fight, but he simply nodded, closed the folder he was using, and shut down the computer. If only he was this agreeable during the week! She didn’t realize she had spoken that out loud until Stephen said, “You never say when you want the day to end, so I keep going.”
Unfortunately, he had a point. Proper manners instilled in her from an early age had taught her to respect her employer, and that meant working when she was needed and not complaining about it.
“I really wish you had told me how you felt about working late so much, you know. I’m not such an ogre that you couldn’t come talk to me, am I?” He looked so vulnerable. He had run his hands through his hair about a hundred times during the past three hours, and for some inexplicable reason, her hands itched to do the same.
Distance. She needed to put distance between them. It was ten o’clock. She could easily go to bed at this hour and not feel like she was running away. Unfortunately, she knew that Stephen was going to want an answer before he let her go. “No, you’re not an ogre. It’s like I told you in the car earlier. Last night brought everything to the surface. I didn’t realize how much it was bothering me until then. Does that seem weird?”
“I’m not sure that weird is the right word, but I guess sometimes we have no control over where our breaking point is on certain things.” With his hands in his pockets, Stephen stared at the floor before looking at Holly and saying solemnly, “I really am sorry about working you so hard, keeping you from having a social life, calling you at two a.m.…everything.”
“How could you know that it was bothering me if I never said anything? I’m as much to blame as you are. Sort of.” She looked at him through veiled lashes and grinned. “You are definitely to blame for the two a.m. thing, though.”
“Agreed.” Seeming satisfied, Holly went about straightening up the office before telling Stephen that she was tired and was going to go to bed.
“I’m going to grab my gym bag so I have a change of clothes for the morning, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to borrow another T-shirt to sleep in.” He agreed, and they left the office; Holly went down the hall and grabbed her bag while Stephen went upstairs to get a shirt for her. They met at the top of the stairs.
“Here you go. Is there anything else you need?”
“There was the chocolate rumor…” When he turned to go down the stairs, Holly reached out and stopped him.
“Stephen! I was kidding! I’m still full from all our movie food. The last thing I need right now is chocolate!” Her laughter was infectious, and Stephen found himself laughing yet again. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to bed. I’ll see you in the morning—but not too early, okay?”
Agreeing, Stephen watched her walk down the hall to her room and waited until he heard her door click. It had been a strange day all around. Mostly pleasant, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so laid-back and carefree. Descending the stairs, he played over the day in his mind: Holly at breakfast, leaving and coming back, cooking in his kitchen… She fit in his home, in his life, and he could not lose her!
Why had he called her last night? She had a point with that one, and luckily she’d let it go after a while, but the truth was that he could have called a cab or he could have called his driver. But after all that Will and Derek had said to him regarding Holly, she was on his mind. Heavily. And he had to prove to himself that they were wrong, that there was nothing there, no attraction, no anything.
But the joke was on him. All he’d managed to accomplish was discovering that she was a fascinating woman who was way more attractive than he had ever noticed, and she’d made him laugh and smile more in one day than he had in years. She made his work easier, she brought happiness to this big house. What was he going to do if she really did quit on him?
Wandering around the main floor of the house—the house that he usually loved—he felt lonely. Growing up poor had made him determined to have the best of everything. When Holly had mentioned the house being too big for one person, Stephen realized that he had never thought of it that way. To his way of thinking, it was a house that represented everything that he had ever wanted. Never again would he wonder if there was enough food to eat or if there was going to be heat or hot water.
He was this house. It gave Stephen a sense of pride. Often he would walk around it and feel satisfaction. Tonight, it seemed like a foolish way of thinking. Damn! It was a lot easier when Holly was his personal assistant who kept her opinions to herself. In less than twenty-four hours, she had turned everything upside down. Walking into the darkened dining room, he went to the bar and poured himself a brandy. He drank it in the dark, which fit his mood.
Deciding that he needed something, anything, to do to get his mind off the woman sleeping upstairs, he headed to his office in search of his cell phone and decided that he had to talk to Will and at least try to mend that situation. They had been friends for far too long and had been through far too much together to let something like last night come between them. Suddenly remembering that the last place he’d had his phone was the kitchen, he headed there, found it on the counter next to the cordless phone, and then decided to make the call from the sofa in the living room rather than the office. Again sitting in the dark, he dialed Will’s number. He was surprised when he heard his friend’s voice.
“Hey,” Will answered.
“Hey,” Stephen began, feeling nervous suddenly. “So, um, how are you feeling today?” Will went on to tell him that his left eye was purple, and his nose, while bruised, wasn’t broken.
“What the hell happened last night? I mean, Derek was no more obnoxious than usual, so why not ignore him like we normally do?”
“I wish I knew, man. I wish I knew.”
“How’d you get home? Did you have to call a cab, or did George come to get you?”
“I called Holly.” Stephen sat and waited for Will to respond. He waited several long moments before his friend spoke.
“Seriously? You still want to cling to your story that there’s nothing going on between the two of you? Because I’ve got to tell you, buddy, a normal, unattached guy would have called a cab or his driver, not his beautiful assistant.”
Will thought Holly was beautiful? Stephen felt himself getting defensive again and had to take a deep breath before continuing, “I don’t even know why I called her, and five minutes after she got there I wished I hadn’t.”
; “Why?”
“She gave me hell for it. She yelled at me most of the way home.”
“Holly? Sweet, friendly, quiet Holly yelled at you? Come on now, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
Stephen went on to tell Will all about their discussion in the car, leaving nothing out. Stephen had always been able to trust Will, and that was why it was so important that they talk right now. Stephen was confused about so many things, and he needed the sounding board of his close friend.
“Unfortunately, no. Listen, man, I need to know if we’re cool again. Can you forgive me for being such an ass last night?”
“Yeah, we’re cool. I know it wasn’t me you were pissed at. I was stupid enough to let myself get in the middle. I should have kicked back and let the two of you pound on each other for a while. If it’s any consolation, I lit into Derek pretty good, too, all the way home. He hasn’t called today, so I guess he’s still sulking. I don’t think anyone’s ever told Derek what a prick he can be at times.” Stephen agreed.
“I…well, I need you to know that I really am sorry. I have no excuses. I’m not going to try to make any. I was wrong, and I’m sorry.” He paused. “Listen, now that we’ve got that squared away, I need your advice.”
Will sighed. “Is it about Holly?”
Stephen pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment in disbelief. “How’d you know?”
“A hunch. So what’s the problem? You pissed because she yelled at you?”
“I was, but I got over it when I realized how much I deserved it. No, my problem is that she wants to quit.” Will stayed silent. “I convinced her to think on it for a little bit longer, and then she stayed the night and…”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute!” Will interrupted. “You slept with Holly?”
“No! It was three thirty in the morning, and it was storming, and I already felt like crap for getting her out of bed in the middle of the night, so I set her up in one of the guest rooms.”
In the Eye of the Storm / Catering to the CEO Page 5