In the Eye of the Storm / Catering to the CEO

by Samantha Chase

  “Have a nice night,” she said cheerily, unwilling to engage in a discussion over the fact that in six years the man had never left the office before seven.

  Adam gave her a curt nod as he walked past her desk and to the elevator. He didn’t notice the shocked looks of his employees as he strode with purpose. He didn’t notice the people who merely stepped aside and let him pass. By the time the doors on the elevator closed and he was safely inside, Adam found himself to be feeling something he hadn’t in a very long time.

  Nervous.

  Why on earth should I be nervous? he thought to himself. He was stopping by to see a friend. A family friend. A family friend who happened to be an attractive woman.

  Adam loosened his tie as he stepped off the elevator and made his way out to the parking garage and his car. He hadn’t felt this nervous or ridiculous since he was a teen.

  He pulled up in front of one of his favorite Italian restaurants and went in to place his order. Making small talk with the manager, he bided his time, trying not to be obvious by checking his watch often.

  Figuring Cassie may still be on pain medication, Adam bypassed the liquor store and opted for something a little less traditional that he thought would cheer her up.

  Pulling into the parking lot, he figured she’d be by herself and then felt bad that he’d be making her walk down the stairs to open the door. “Dammit,” he grumbled as he pulled dinner out of the car and walked to the door. He hit the doorbell and waited.

  He hadn’t noticed the intercom before, but suddenly he heard Cassie’s voice. “Hello?”

  “Um…hello, Cassandra, it’s Adam. Can I come up?” She didn’t answer right away, and he had a brief moment of uncertainty and fear that she’d send him away. A solid minute passed that had him feeling more and more foolish for coming.

  A buzzer sounded, and Adam heard the lock click. “It’s a friendly dinner,” he mumbled to himself as he climbed the stairs. “No big deal.”

  Cassie met him at the top of the stairs wearing a similar ensemble to what she’d worn Saturday night: flannel pajama pants, this time in red, with a dark-red tank top. “Adam, this is a surprise.” The words were out before she fully saw him, and then the items in his hands caught her attention. “Pizza? You brought me pizza?” Her smile widened to pure delight as she stepped aside and let him in.

  “I figured I owed you a meal since you sent me home with leftovers last time. I hope you like pepperoni.” Placing the pizza on the table, he then placed a bag in the freezer.

  “What was that?”

  He gave her a wicked smile. “Milk shakes. Chocolate milk shakes.”

  Cassie’s smile lit up the room, and in that moment Adam understood what the Grinch must have felt on that fateful Christmas morning when his heart grew three sizes. “Wow! This is quite a treat! You came at the perfect time. I was trying to decide what to have for dinner, and I didn’t want to cook. You are my hero.”

  At that moment, Adam truly believed her. Most women would say that to get something from him, but he was finding out bit by bit that Cassie wasn’t like any woman he’d ever met before. The occasional women he’d dated casually would never have been happy with pizza and milk shakes; they’d want lobster and champagne. This was definitely new territory for him, and as he shed his jacket and tie, Adam realized he liked it.

  Cassie was getting plates and napkins and carrying them into the living room. “What are you doing?” Adam asked, clearly confused that she wasn’t setting the kitchen table.

  “I thought we’d eat over here. Katie downloaded a couple of movies for me, and we could watch one while we eat. Is that okay?”

  Probably a chick flick, he thought. “Um…sure. I’m right behind you with the pizza.”

  “Don’t forget the milk shakes…”

  Adam chuckled, grabbed the bag from the freezer, and walked into the living room. Opening the pizza box, he was about to take a slice, waiting for the girly music to start, when he looked up and saw Robert DeNiro’s name on the screen. “DeNiro?”

  “Oh, it’s Midnight Run. Robert DeNiro, Charles Grodin? It’s one of my favorites.”

  Placing a slice of pizza on Cassie’s plate, he turned, pulled the milk shakes out of the bag, put a straw in each of them, and handed one to Cassie. This woman was becoming more and more intriguing by the minute. She was sitting cross-legged on the couch, a plate of pizza in her lap, her milk shake on the floor in front of her. The mass of chestnut hair was wavier than he’d ever seen it, and she didn’t have on a scrap of makeup, yet she looked more appealing than he’d ever seen her.

  Taking a bite of his dinner, Adam turned his attention to the movie and away from the woman, and he waited a full five minutes before he spoke and asked how she was feeling.

  “Much better today, thanks.” She took a sip of her milk shake. “Oh, that is perfect,” she purred. “I’m actually much sorer than I was yesterday, but that’s to be expected. Katie was here all day and took care of me. This is way better than being mothered.”

  “Mothered?”

  “You know, fussing about, fluffing pillows, asking if I need anything… It was sweet of her, and I appreciate every minute of her time, but I didn’t have a limb amputated or anything. She had Ella with her, and I loved getting to spend time with them, but by the time they left, I was more exhausted than relaxed.”

  Adam chuckled. “Well, you have my promise not to fluff pillows or to fuss.”

  Cassie let out a laugh of her own. “Thanks.”

  They resumed watching the movie with minimal conversation and shared laughs. It was the most pleasant time she’d had in a long time. By the time the credits rolled, Cassie had eaten way more pizza than she should have and had polished off the milk shake. Her head rested on the couch, and she felt completely relaxed. With a sigh of contentment, she turned toward Adam. “At the risk of being redundant, thank you.”

  He turned and smiled. “And at the risk of answering with redundancy, you are welcome.” They sat like that for long moments, smiling. Adam started to feel a pull toward her and knew that he had to do or say something to break the hypnotic spell. “You know, I’m still hearing buzz from people about the food at the retreat. Everything was a big hit.” It was on the tip of his tongue to say that she was right about not changing the menu choices, but he wasn’t ready for that kind of admission.

  “I’m so glad. How did the training go? Are you getting the feedback you want from it?” Another first, Adam thought. No woman besides his mother ever asked about his business with any interest, and the look on Cassie’s face as she spoke told him she was truly interested.

  “Well, I’ve had a couple of smaller meetings with a select group of programmers and salesmen. I have some executives from three smaller companies in Europe coming over in a few weeks to talk about having LSS rebuild their computer systems.”

  “Wow, that’s impressive. So you’ll be entertaining them at the office?”

  “That’s the plan. I was thinking of moving the meetings off-site since their spouses are coming, but I couldn’t think of anything to do that would include everyone and yet give us the uninterrupted time I’d like to have.”

  Cassie nodded with understanding. “You mean maybe like an actual retreat type of environment?” It was Adam’s turn to nod. “Well, if I could make a suggestion…”

  At any other time, Adam would have resented her insinuating herself into his business, but he was relaxed and genuinely curious about what she could come up with.

  “If you want an environment where the spouses could be included and you’d have time to get to know them without interruptions, I would suggest a house either in the mountains or at the beach.” She stopped and studied Adam for a moment. “I’m betting that you at least have a beach house, am I right?”

  He nodded. “Indeed you are. Now tell me why I want to take them to the beach?�
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  “For starters, it’s more personal. It shows that you are interested in them on more than a business level, and you won’t have all the distractions of being in your own office. Since they’re business executives, they’ve seen offices. Plus, their spouses will be bored hanging out at a hotel in Raleigh all day.

  “At the beach, you’re all in the house together, you have the great scenery, and the spouses can go shopping or enjoy the water while the execs are inside talking business. You can bring in a maid and a cook, and no one has to worry about anything.”

  Standing, Cassie went to the kitchen to get something to drink and asked Adam if he wanted anything. When he declined, she grabbed some water and returned to the couch. “You could book spa treatments or have a car pick the spouses up and take them shopping… I’m telling you, you’d come across as the best guy to do business with.”

  “At least from the spousal point of view,” he quipped with a smile. “Actually, it’s a great idea.” It almost pained him to admit it while at the same time his mind was spinning with possibilities. It all seemed so simple that he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it himself! “They could fly to Raleigh on Thursday, tour the offices, and meet with our people, and then I could have a car drive them to the beach on Friday where lunch would be waiting. We would have the afternoon to get settled in and relax, talk a little business, have dinner together, and start with negotiations on Saturday morning after breakfast while the spouses do their thing. Interesting, Cassandra. It has possibilities.”

  That made her smile. “I am known to have a good idea or two.” She wanted to ask Adam to hire her to do the job, to hire her to be at the beach house to do all the cooking and planning and whatnot, but she knew that the request would be way out of line, and that if she’d learned anything about Adam, it was that the idea had to be his or he didn’t like it.

  Well, except for this beach idea. He seemed to take well to that, and she didn’t want to push her luck. Right now, Cassie didn’t want to do or say anything that was going to put an end to the relationship they seemed to be building. It felt good to be here with him. It was comfortable, and if she wasn’t recovering from that damn surgery, she’d probably be playing at seduction right now. But knowing that she was no raving beauty on her best days, there was no way a man like Adam would find her attractive in her pajamas with bed hair and no makeup.

  Again.

  Well, wasn’t that a bucket of cold water in the face? Okay, back to reality, she told herself and sighed. “With the right amount of planning, you’d be a big hit. After all, if the spouses or significant others are happy…well, you would witness the trickle-down effect.”

  Adam nodded. She was intelligent and considerate, and even without makeup she was stunning. Leaning in a bit closer and lowering his voice a notch, he asked, “Know anyone who would be willing to take on such a task?”

  The corners of Cassie’s lips twitched with the urge to smile, but she kept her response low-key. “Well, I’m sure you could call some temp agency for someone familiar with the area who would be willing to come in and cook and clean for a few days. You could get references…”

  She almost had him, but he noticed the twitch and decided to play along. “True, true…I mean, how hard could it be to cook a couple meals for seven people? I’m sure they have temps for that sort of easy work.” There was no way he could look at her as he finished the statement. Adam was sure she was seething at the direct jibe at her livelihood.

  And she was. Mildly. She stood and began cleaning up their dinner mess. “I suppose,” she began. “I guess you could take them out for every meal, you know, to play it safe and make sure no one gets food poisoning. Or you could take your chances and hope that your European guests like casseroles and chicken pot pie…” She left that thought hanging as she walked into the kitchen. The smile tugging at her lips couldn’t be helped; this teasing and bantering with Adam was making her feel light and happy. After placing her water glass in the sink, Cassie nearly screeched when she turned around and found Adam directly behind her.

  He placed his hands on the counter on either side of her, effectively caging her in and keeping her close. “You sound like a bit of a food snob, Cassandra. I never knew that about you.” Adam looked into her face and saw, for the first time, how blue her eyes were. He scanned her face and noticed the freckles, faint though they were, that were scattered across the bridge of her nose, and how long her lashes were without the help of mascara. All in all she made a very fetching picture.

  “Who’s to say that they don’t enjoy a good casserole?” His tone was deep and husky, and Cassie felt his breath on her face and found herself focusing on his mouth.

  She swayed slightly and closed her eyes to break the spell but found that she enjoyed looking at him way too much. Clearing her throat, she said, “I guess that’s always a possibility.”

  After that, they moved as if of one mind toward one another. When Adam’s lips touched Cassie’s, all thought of food and Europeans drained from her mind. She was still caged in close against his body, and she slowly lifted her arms to twine them around Adam’s neck and pull him closer. In turn, Adam took his hands from the countertop and first placed them on her waist and then let them travel slowly up and down her spine.

  When his tongue reached out and touched Cassie’s bottom lip, she tilted her head and gave him entry, her tongue dueling with his in an erotic dance that had her straining against him. For a mouth that always seemed so hard and firm, his was quite soft and thrilling, Cassie thought, as Adam began to work his way from her mouth to her cheek to her throat.

  His hands came up and cupped her face and then moved into her hair and lightly gripped. In turn, Cassie mimicked the move as she purred with satisfaction. Adam leaned into her, his hardness to her softness, and she let out a gasp that wasn’t of pleasure but of pain. He backed off immediately.

  “Are you all right?”

  Placing her hand on her stomach, she merely nodded and took a deep breath. “I managed to forget that I had surgery yesterday.” Her voice was laced with pain, and in that instant, Adam felt like the world’s biggest heel.

  Placing an arm around her waist, he guided Cassie to the sofa and helped her sit down. With a sense of needing to fix what he’d done, he strode to the kitchen, fetched her another glass of water, and found her pain medication next to the sink.

  They communicated without words. Handing Cassie the prescription bottle and drink, Adam went in search of the heating pad she’d used the last time he was here. Within minutes he had her settled and comfortable while he felt anything but. “Should I call anyone? Your sisters? Your dad?”

  Cassie shook her head. “Really, I’m fine. It was kind of amazing that I hadn’t had a whole lot of pain tonight, so I guess I was due.” She tried to smile but failed. The pain was ebbing but not completely gone. “Thank you for helping me out, Adam. I appreciate it.”

  When she looked at him, he was no longer the sexy man who had been in her kitchen but the hard CEO she normally worked with. The transformation was swift, and Cassie had known Adam long enough to know that he was not pleased with the situation. “I’m sorry that you had to take care of me. Again.”

  He could only stare. She had scared the life out of him, again, made him lose his own head, again, and she was apologizing! “Damn it, Cassandra, I’m the one who’s sorry. I knew that you had surgery, and there I was nearly attacking you in your kitchen!” Adam raked a hand through his hair in frustration and started to pace. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

  The tone of his voice wasn’t quite as clipped as it had been moments before, and Cassie could tell by the look on his face that while he wasn’t pleased, it had nothing to do with anger and everything to do with concern. She wanted to smile at the thought, but the pain was still too intense to ignore.

  “No, I’ll be fine in a little while. The doctor told me
that I’d feel pretty bad for a couple days but that by next week I’d be back to my old self.” Adam didn’t look convinced. “Actually, I think I’ve had all the excitement I can take for one day, so if you don’t mind, I think it’s time for me to go to bed.”

  Brows furrowed, Adam stepped forward and helped Cassie get up; as he had earlier, he placed his arm around her and walked her to her room, where he said good night.

  “Thank you again for dinner, Adam. It was a very nice surprise.” Her tone was soft, almost sleepy. As Cassie watched him standing next to her bed, her mind immediately played back their kiss and the night he’d spent with her when she’d been in pain the previous weekend. She was sorely tempted to ask him to do the same for her again right now, but Adam took a step away.

  * * *

  “Dinner was my pleasure. Get some rest, Cassandra, and thank you for the input on my upcoming meetings. I’m going to explore that option.” For a man who was normally so confident in everything he did, Adam was unsure what his next move should be. Did he dare kiss her good night the way he longed to do, or would it be best to go?

  Seeing Cassie wince as she moved around her room gave Adam his answer. “Good night,” he said firmly. “Get some rest.” With that he was gone.

  Once Adam had left Cassie’s apartment and was in his car, he simply sat. What exactly was he doing? This was a relationship that was supposed to be at an end, and yet here he was starting a new aspect to it. It made no sense! And to a man who made sure that he always made sense, it was maddening!

  As he drove into the night, his mind raced. Sure, the whole “parents getting married” thing prolonged the relationship that he and Cassie had, but he’d intended their working relationship to be over. So why was he considering hiring her to handle a beach house retreat?

  In business, Adam was not known to change his mind; when he made a decision about someone or something, he stuck to it. Why wasn’t that the case with Cassie?