Walking through his door, her hands loaded with mugs and messages, she kicked the door closed behind her. Stephen’s head snapped up at the sound. “Is there a problem?” he asked.
Holly carefully put the hot mug of coffee down and placed his messages on the large mahogany desk before straightening and answering. “As a matter of fact, there is.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Did Gideon and his people get in okay? Was there a problem with the car or the accommodations? Dammit, why didn’t anyone call me?” he snapped, frantically searching his desk for…anything.
“This isn’t about Gideon, Stephen, it’s about us. Here. Work. Everything!” Holly didn’t consider herself to be a particularly emotional woman, but in the past few weeks that was exactly how Stephen had made her feel—what he had brought out in her.
Taking a deep breath, she started over. “I appreciate that you have been more than considerate of my time. I have left here at five o’clock on the dot every night with the rest of the staff. And, I’ll admit, it has been nice to have some free time. But dammit, Stephen, I cannot work with someone who treats me like a complete stranger! We have worked together for three years, and in the past week I feel like we regressed all that time, and I hate it! At least in the beginning while it was awkward, you were still friendly! But now…now you treat me as if I were someone you would rather not have around, and I have to be honest with you, that’s not going to work for me.” Holly turned and paced a bit before speaking again.
“I came to a conclusion last night that I wanted to stay on here with Ballinger’s until the Gideon project is completed. I worked long and hard on this project with you, and I’d like to see it to fruition. But I cannot do it under these conditions. I can’t.” She collapsed into one of the chairs facing Stephen’s desk and rested her head in her right hand. And waited.
She didn’t have to wait long. “You know, Holly, I don’t know what the hell it is that you expect from me,” he began very softly, very calmly. “You didn’t want to have to stay late, and I made sure that you didn’t stay late. You didn’t want me bothering you on the weekends, and I haven’t called. You don’t want people thinking that there is anything going on between us, and so I have made sure that my behavior is above reproach.” With each word, his voice grew louder and Holly could see him becoming more and more agitated. “But I will not be controlled like a puppet on a damn string because now you don’t like everything that you asked for! I will not jump through fiery hoops to keep you from being uncomfortable.” He stood.
“Have you given any thought to how I have felt this past week?” He didn’t wait for a response. “I’ve been here until midnight most nights trying to finish everything up on this project. You think you put a lot of time and effort into it? Well, let me tell you, I’ve put all my time and effort into it. And you know what? This last week was freakin’ critical in some of its details, and I really could have used your help, but I would’ve rather swallowed broken glass than ask you to give up any of your precious time because I didn’t want to disturb the precarious balance and truce we made.
“You have made my life damn difficult here, Holly, and I can’t keep tiptoeing around you. You wanted things to stay impersonal to keep the gossip hounds at bay. I gave it to you. Time off? It’s yours! But with everything else that I am trying to do here, like build my business, I have to tell you, your timing really sucks!”
Holly had never seen him quite so angry or passionate before—even during their weekend together. She could tell that he was being brutally honest with her and that she had, in fact, hurt him. Yet another bitter pill to swallow.
She was ashamed of herself.
“You’re right, Stephen,” she said softly, her eyes closed. “There is no excuse for my behavior. I guess I hoped that things could go back to the way they used to be.”
“They can’t, Holly,” he said, equally quietly. “I appreciate that you are willing to stay on here and help me and keep working for me, but last weekend changed everything, and we can’t go back.”
She nodded and willed the tears that were building behind her eyelids to remain there and not fall. “I know.” It took a few moments for her to get herself together and open her eyes to look at him. If it were possible, he looked as miserable as she felt. She managed a feeble smile before slowly rising to her feet and walking out of his office, quietly closing the door behind her.
What she wanted most was to sit at her desk and be left alone. What she got was the caterer and her six assistants walking toward her and giving orders and instructions.
With a sigh of resignation, she plastered what she hoped was a believable smile on her face and began what promised to be a very long, very full, and very emotional day.
The morning session of their meeting went well. The catered breakfast buffet was perfect—tons of fresh fruit, pastries, and muffins along with a gourmet coffee bar. For lunch, Holly had the caterers set up in a different room so that people would feel free to get up and stretch and not feel like they were being held captive in the conference room. As Holly sat with one of Gideon’s assistants while nibbling on a slice of quiche, she looked around and felt pride in what she had accomplished. The lunch reception had something for everyone without seeming to be trying too hard. There was a salad bar, a sandwich buffet, and an assortment of soups and quiches all spread out on individual stations in different corners of the room. Tables had been moved into the room and covered in snowy-white tablecloths with a lovely yet simple floral arrangement on each one.
All the plates were plain china, and they utilized simple yet sturdy silverware and linen napkins. All in all, the basic multipurpose room had been transformed, and judging by the looks on everyone’s faces, no one was disappointed about not leaving the building for lunch.
After the ninety-minute break, they all headed back into the conference room where a light dessert buffet had been set up for anyone who still had an appetite or who had a sweet tooth as the afternoon wore on. Holly did her portion of the presentation, and by four o’clock things looked as if they were heading toward a positive conclusion.
Everyone stood and seemed to talk at once, and while Holly made the rounds throughout the room thanking everyone, she saw that Stephen and Mr. Gideon were deep in discussion. It didn’t take long for the room to clear down to the three of them, and instead of attempting to join their conversation or move it to Stephen’s office, Holly began the silent task of cleaning up. The caterers had been instructed to come back after four thirty to clean up, but Holly didn’t mind getting started; she hated to see a mess sitting there.
Sure enough, at four thirty, the caterer and her staff arrived in the conference room to gather their belongings. Holly felt that a sufficient amount of time had passed that she could go over, gently interrupt the men’s conversation, ask them if they’d be more comfortable in Stephen’s office, and offer to make them coffee.
“That won’t be necessary,” Mr. Gideon said with a smile as he turned to face Holly. “My wife is expecting me back at the hotel. We have a massage booked before dinner, and I fully intend to enjoy it.” He turned back to Stephen, shook his hand, thanked him, and told him that they were all looking forward to dinner at seven thirty.
Stephen walked to his office while Holly oversaw the final stages of cleanup. She paid the caterer, looked at the clock, and saw that it was five thirty. She had brought a change of clothes with her so that she would not have to drive all the way home to Wake Forest and then back to Raleigh for dinner. Stephen had provided a very lovely executive ladies’ room for her, and so except for taking a shower, she would be able to get ready for this important dinner without feeling cramped in a public bathroom stall. She was about to walk down to her car to get her things but stopped to tell Stephen where she was going first.
“I think it all went extremely well, don’t you?” he asked when she stepped into his office.
; “Absolutely! I don’t know what the two of you were discussing there at the end, but he looked like a man who was ready to sign on the dotted line.” She waited to see if Stephen was going to fill her in on any of the details, but he didn’t. Instead he got up and walked around his desk to the door of his office. He shut it. He locked it. His walk was like that of a predator as he closed in on Holly, took her in his arms, and kissed her.
She was too stunned to speak, to move. It didn’t take long for her to kiss him back. It was wonderful. It was glorious. It was exactly what she had been wanting for more than a week! His hands ran up and down Holly’s back while hers snaked around his neck and threaded through his hair.
When his mouth finally released hers, it was only to find other places to kiss her. Holly arched her neck to give him better access, and when he walked her backward toward his desk, she was as mindless with need as he was. Her thighs hit the desk, and Stephen leaned over her to once again revel in the feel of her body beneath his.
“This is crazy,” Holly whispered against his throat, kissing him, biting him, wanting him more than she’d thought possible. Where had this all come from? They’d been fine an hour ago—not a hint of sexual tension. But now? Oh, now it was too late to turn back, too late to stop.
Stephen’s hand ran up her thigh and under her skirt, hooked onto her panties, and yanked them away. Holly gasped in both surprise and excitement, and before either had the chance to think about what they were doing, Stephen was unbuttoning his trousers and inside her. Holly very nearly came from the sensations. Never before had she felt so desired, so necessary.
Stephen made her feel that way. Items went flying off his desk as they moved to accommodate themselves. It was fast and furious, hard and exciting. Holly felt herself on the verge of release and wanted to will her body to wait longer so that she could enjoy being one with him again, but Stephen would have none of that. He touched her where their bodies were joined with the pad of his thumb, and she went up in flames. She bit into his shoulder to keep from screaming out as she wanted to. Seconds later, it was his turn to bite her as he came inside her.
Their breaths were ragged; their bodies shone with sweat. Stephen lifted off her and gently kissed her lips, which were now red and swollen from their kisses earlier. “Are you okay?”
Holly laughed nervously. “I think so.” Doing his best to stand and fix his clothes, he got one last look at her sprawled across his desk. Her blouse was open to reveal a black lacy bra, and her charcoal-colored skirt was pushed up so that nothing was hidden from him. Damn, he’d either have to bronze this desk or burn it, but there was no way he was ever going to be able to work at it again and not remember this image.
There were too many places etched with the memory of Holly. His home and now his office. There was no excuse for what happened except that he still wanted her. Hell, he wanted her again right now. Putting his own needs aside, he helped Holly up from the desk and watched as she straightened her clothes.
“I…um…I have to go down to my car and get my stuff still,” she said as she buttoned her blouse.
“Give me your keys,” Stephen said. “I’ll go get it. You can use my bathroom; it has a shower. You can freshen up in there, and I’ll be back with your things in no time, okay?”
Too afraid to risk looking at him, Holly merely nodded, walked directly to his en suite bathroom, closed the door behind her, and locked it. A little late for that, she realized, but she needed a few minutes to wrap her mind around what in the world had happened.
After their argument this morning, Holly had assumed he would still be ticked off at her. The last thing she could have imagined was him wanting to make love to her! Well, didn’t this complicate things even more! Who was she kidding, complications or not, there was no way she could regret their wild coupling. It was a bit of an ego boost to know that he had needed her so desperately that there was no time to prepare for it.
Remembering where she was, Holly quickly undressed, twisted her hair up, and stepped under the shower to wash off before Stephen got back. Secretly she hoped that he would come back to the office and join her in the shower but then remembered that she had locked the door. Stupid, stupid move, Holly, she chided herself.
With a little squeal as the cold air hit her, Holly stepped out of the shower and quickly unlocked the door.
Just in case.
While she was getting all soapy and lathering up under the steamy water, Stephen ran across the street to the parking garage and grabbed Holly’s dress and bag. Luckily the place was deserted, or he might have found himself answering some awkward questions about why he was fetching her clothes and where exactly she was.
He called himself every vile name he could think of. Stephen had no idea what had come over him minutes before. He’d been sitting in his office, basking in the afterglow of an enormously successful meeting and mentally making plans for which of Gideon’s offices he was going to travel to and when, when all of a sudden there Holly was in his office. The only thought to enter his mind was that for one minute, one short minute, he wanted to have it all—the contract, the successful business, and the girl. Hell if he could regret it. The building could have burned down around them, and Stephen wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from making love to her. He had a cocky grin on his face as he rode the elevator back up to the eighth floor.
It was worth it.
That was the only way to describe it. She could hate him; she could damn him to hell for all eternity, but for those few brief minutes, Stephen Ballinger knew what it was like to have everything he had ever wanted. Walking through the door of his office, he noticed that the bathroom door was open, and only one thing came to his mind…
He wanted it all again.
Chapter 9
Pulling up to the restaurant together in Stephen’s car, Holly wished they could have skipped the dinner and gone back to either her house or Stephen’s. Sitting around talking business for the next three hours while her body was still tingly was so not what she had in mind for tonight.
When Stephen had come back into the office after getting her things, he had joined her in the bathroom, and they had spent the better part of an hour pleasuring each other mindlessly. Holly was thankful for the darkness in the interior of the car because she knew that she was blushing. Stephen pulled up to the valet, got out of the car, and walked around to help Holly out.
They arrived before the Gideons, which was perfect for Holly. She needed to compose herself a little more and find a way to block the last few hours out of her mind. Stephen escorted her to the bar while they waited for their table and ordered each of them a drink. Not sure when the Gideons were going to arrive, he had to fight off every urge to take Holly to a corner table, pull her close, nuzzle her neck, and have the freedom to touch her the way he longed to do. But this was a business dinner, and recalling their arrangement of a week ago, for the remainder of this time, she was off-limits and back to being his assistant only.
They made small talk about the presentation and all the things she knew Mrs. Gideon had wanted to do today so that Stephen might be able to talk to her about her day and involve her in the conversation. Holly always made sure Stephen was coached in such things when they dined with spouses of clients because she knew it made the wives feel like part of the negotiations.
The Gideons arrived within ten minutes, and they were seated not five minutes after that. With no prompting from Holly, Stephen asked Mrs. Gideon about her day touring the museums and shopping at the Streets at Southpoint. He knew she was an avid collector of Lladró figurines and asked her if she had found anything new to add to her collection. The woman positively beamed at him, and after that, dinner flew by in a flurry of conversation that never lulled.
As the evening was coming to an end and Stephen was waiting for the check, Mr. Gideon leaned back in his chair and smiled at Holly and then at Stephen. He seemed to app
rove of something in his own mind because he nodded his head and then spoke. “You know, Ballinger, I like you. I really do. I think our companies are going to work wonderfully together.”
Stephen had to stop himself before he yelled “yippee!” or something else completely inappropriate. “I couldn’t agree more,” he said simply.
“I look forward to seeing you out on the West Coast and being able to treat you and Holly to the same wonderful hospitality that you have shown me and my wife.” Rising from the table, he assisted his wife, taking her hand and then placing his arm around her waist. “I’ll be in your office tomorrow morning around ten to sign the contracts.” Stephen rose, shook Mr. Gideon’s hand, and leaned in to kiss Mrs. Gideon on the cheek. They all laughed and said good night, and Stephen stood at his seat watching them leave the restaurant.
“Is it too soon to let out the victory cheer?” Holly asked, glancing up at Stephen, who looked like a kid on Christmas morning, grinning from ear to ear.
He chuckled, looked down at her, and felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked from the room. She was breathtaking. Her smile was radiant, and he saw as much excitement over the deal that they had sealed in her eyes as he knew shone in his. She was truly his partner. Could she be more? Could he allow himself to let her be more?
“Not yet,” he whispered, remembering that she had asked him a question. Sitting himself back down in his chair and finishing off his glass of wine, Stephen felt more content than he ever had—even more so than earlier in his office. Why was he fighting this thing with Holly? Surely after what they had shared earlier, she might be more open to them exploring a relationship—perhaps a permanent one. If she truly cared for him, as he suspected she might, all the gossip in the world wouldn’t stop her from wanting them to be together, right?
Their waiter appeared with the check, and after taking care of the bill, Stephen rose and helped Holly to her feet. They walked out of the restaurant and over to the valet where Stephen handed the driver his ticket. While waiting, Holly stared at the star-filled sky. What was in store for them for the rest of the night? Her car was still back at the parking garage at Ballinger’s, so there was a very real possibility that Stephen would take her back there to get it. But what about after that? Would he ask her to follow him home? Would he follow her home? She did not have the guts to ask—her mouth had gotten her into enough trouble lately, it seemed, so she would leave the decision up to him. If Stephen wanted to spend the night with her, she would not turn him down or deny him. All that she had managed to accomplish by demanding that they leave the weekend at the weekend was making them both miserable. And for goodness’ sake, she thought, we deserve to be happy!
In the Eye of the Storm / Catering to the CEO Page 11