She laughed and the pretty sound made his groin tighten a little. “The football player. Best wide receiver Cooper’s Creek has ever had.”
Chase grinned. “That’s me all right.”
Anna looked at where she still held his arm and suddenly sobered and let go. “I’m so sorry. I just got excited to meet someone from my hometown.”
“That’s okay. I don’t mind being grabbed by pretty women.” The shocked look on her face made him quickly amend his statement. “I meant that I don’t mind being touched by—shit, that’s no better than the first thing I said. I meant nothing sexual by that.”
His discomfort must have pacified Anna because her stern look relaxed and those pretty lips of hers curved into a smile. “And I don’t go around grabbing clients.”
Chase could believe that. Anna seemed too reserved to do something like that. He was glad to see that she wasn’t too offended by his unfortunate choice of words. “That’s too bad. I’m sure they’d enjoy it.”
She didn’t laugh as he expected, instead she picked up her briefcase. “I think we should take this walk so I quit saying stupid stuff.”
“Aw, c’mon. Don’t stop on my account,” Chase said. “Usually I’m the one saying stupid stuff. It’s nice to hear someone else do it for a change.” He grabbed his cellphone and motioned towards the elevator. “After you, ma’am.”
She sent him a tight smile and walked ahead of him. Chase watched her ass move under her skirt and couldn’t deny that he wanted to get his hands on it. Anna was built the way women were meant to be, at least in Chase’s estimation. Her voluptuous figure, creamy skin, and vibrant emerald eyes drew him like a bee to honey.
Not to mention her lustrous auburn hair. He’d like to take some pictures of her lying naked on his bed with her hair spread out over the pillows. Hmm. I’m gonna make that happen. However, he hadn’t missed the wariness in her eyes, and his male intuition told him that it would take more effort than usual to make that thought become a reality.
Her indifference just made him want her even more. Anna was different. She hadn’t flirted with him, or come on to him, when he turned down her designs. In fact, his world-renown charm didn’t appear to be working.
However, there was business to conduct first, so he told his dick to behave and whistled to Lola to follow them. They boarded the elevator, and Chase hit the button for the twelfth floor.
“So, what was your favorite thing to eat at the Diner?”
A blush spread across Anna’s cheeks. “Oh, lots of different things.”
“Which tells me that you’re the kind of woman I like best.”
Her startled eyes met his. “And what kind is that?”
“The kind with an appetite. I hate women who sit and pick over a salad and pretend that they’re full after three bites. Irritates the shit out of me,” Chase said. “The Triple Decker cheeseburger, fries, coleslaw, and a large chocolate shake was my favorite meal, which I ate before every game.”
Bashfully, Anna said, “I tried to tackle a Triple Decker a couple of times, but I couldn’t finish it.”
Chase patted her shoulder consolingly. “You tried, and that’s all that counts. Right, Lola?”
Lola barked and blinked at Chase.
“Does she go everywhere with you?”
“Yeah, except for in the cafeteria. Health regulations. Other than that, she’s allowed everywhere. Lola is good for my soul,” Chase said softly.
“She’s beautiful.”
Anna was beautiful. Her smile drew Chase’s attention back to her luscious mouth and he wanted to shove her up against the wall and kiss her until they were both breathless and—not a good idea to mix business and pleasure but then hell, he never played by the rules.
The elevator stopped, and they exited it.
“This floor is what I call the War Room,” Chase said. “Just a warning: it’s pretty messy.”
He opened the door directly across from the elevator and a cacophony of noise poured forth. The sound of people typing on keyboards and copiers running, mixed in with loud voices and blaring music.
“What’s going on in here?” Anna asked.
Chase grinned mysteriously. “You’ll see.”
As he escorted Anna into the War Room, Chase kept things fun and casual, but he was already thinking of how he was going to charm the gorgeous woman from his hometown into his bed.
Chapter 2
It was mid-afternoon by the time Anna got back to Innovative Graphics in downtown L.A. While she was mad as hell at Tom for giving her misinformation, she was also grateful to him in a way. Spending the day with Chase had been the most fun she’d had in a while, and she hadn’t wanted it to end.
Towards lunchtime, she’d called Tom to tell him that things were going well, but that she’d be a little longer. He’d told her to do whatever it took to secure the contract, so she’d gladly stayed at Horizon longer, learning more about their corporation—and Chase.
Anna greeted people as she walked by cubicles and offices on her way to her own, but after seeing Chase’s operation, her workplace seemed dull and lifeless. Entering her own office, she smiled over the way Chase had interacted with his employees. None of them acted like he was the boss. He’d been the butt of many jokes and had given as good as he’d gotten.
There were some people who dressed in business attire, but the vast majority of Horizon’s people wore casual clothes. Chase’s cargo shorts and tank top didn’t seem out of place among the jeans, shorts, and T-shirts that dominated the dress code. She’d never witnessed such a relaxed business atmosphere before.
As she pulled her laptop from her briefcase and sat at her desk, someone rapped on her open door. Anna looked up to see an older man with graying hair and blue eyes smiling at her.
“I should give you the silent treatment, Tom,” Anna said coolly.
“Did it not go well?” Tom closed the door and sat in an empty chair.
Anna glared at him. “Not very well, at first. You didn’t tell me that they were rebranding. The presentation I had pulled together was way off the mark.”
Tom’s expression turned contrite. “Shit.”
Anna’s voice rose. “You should have let me talk with Chase directly and feel out the direction he wanted.”
Tom’s shoulders slumped. “So, we’ve blown it?”
Anna crossed her arms over her chest and lifted an eyebrow. “No. I have another chance to impress him, no thanks to you.”
Tom shifted a little nervously. “I thought he was just your typical playboy investment banker and his company would be like any other that deals in moneyed clients.”
“It would appear he’s not like anyone you know and definitely not your typical playboy investment banker. I felt like a complete moron. I was so embarrassed,” Anna said.
“Then I owe you a big thanks if you’ve managed to talk him into letting us resubmit?”
Anna couldn’t resist his impish grin and gave up fighting her own smile. “You’re lucky I love you. Yes, I worked my magic! You owe me…”
Tom clapped his hands together once in a delighted gesture. “We’ll see. You have to get his business yet. So, what’s your impression of him and what he’s after?”
Anna said, “Chase is all about fun. He makes everyone laugh and feel good about themselves. He eats constantly, and he’s always on the move. He’s unpredictable, sort of like the wind.”
“Okay. So, what’s he after?”
“Horizon is going in a completely different direction. They want to make their investment company seem more approachable. They’re willing to help any sized business raise money, not just the big guys. And so their logo and positioning has to be a bit softer while still looking professional. I’ll write up a report for you that outlines everything, along with my ideas. I’ve got a ton of them.” Anna sobered. “But being unpredictable, who knows what will happen. I could do all this work, and still he doesn’t like it.”
Tom nodded. “But at leas
t we have the chance to win the contract, thank you.”
Anna shook her head as her wily boss left her office. Although she was still annoyed with Tom’s lack of homework before giving her the job, she knew that Tom was indeed desperate for that contract. It made her even more determined to win Horizon’s business.
Taking out her laptop, she turned it on and got out a legal pad and pen from one of her desk drawers. Getting up, she went over to a file credenza, upon which sat a coffeemaker. She put a pot on while she waited for her computer to boot up. The ideas were flowing, and she didn’t plan to stop working until she’d gotten a concrete strategy in place. Coffee was a necessity.
Sitting back down, Anna brought up her email and started going through it. Five lines down from the top, she saw one from “[email protected]” and chuckled. The man turned everything into a selling opportunity, even his email address.
Opening the email, she read, “Hit me up on Skype when you get a chance. Same handle as my email.” That was it. No formal thank you for coming to their meeting, no “Dear Anna,” just that simple message. Anna didn’t like being kept off kilter in business, but even more so where men were concerned. Chase’s quirky personality, devastating good looks, and keen business acumen wasn’t a combination she’d ever come across before, and, while he made her uneasy, Chase also fascinated her.
When they’d gone to the War Room, Anna had been shocked to see what to her seemed like sheer chaos. The huge room contained numerous work stations, many of which were piled down with computers, laptops, and tablets. People dressed every which way bustled about, calling out numbers to each other as they talked on phones or typed away on computers.
Chase had leaned close and told her that it was his very own New York Stock Exchange. His people worked in shifts around the clock doing business with the rest of the world.
“These are my worker bees,” he’d said. “And they’re a little uptight. I don’t interrupt them a whole lot because I always get my ass chewed out when I do.”
Although she’d been sure that he’d been joking, it had been her first clue that Chase’s managing style was like nothing she’d ever seen.
As she stared at her laptop screen, Anna contemplated contacting Chase on Skype. There were only a few people she talked to on social media. She was religious about changing her passwords frequently and all of her anti-virus, malware, and firewall software was the best money could buy. Her cellphone was similarly outfitted. She hated being so paranoid, but she had reason to be. You could track people through social media.
Sighing resignedly, Anna logged onto Skype and searched for Chase’s ID. Finding it, she sent him a contact request. She’d barely gotten out of her chair to retrieve some coffee from the finished pot when her Skype call notification went off. She grabbed her coffee and sat back at her desk. Her pulse rate rose when she saw that it was him.
Then she laughed at his silly icon. It was a picture of his face smushed against a window. His right eye looked huge, his nose was flattened against the glass, and his mouth resembled fish lips.
Still giggling, she hit the accept button for a video call, and soon his handsome face appeared on the screen. “Hi, Chase.”
“Hey, Anna. Got a minute?”
“I guess since I called you that means I do.”
“So you did. Now, I have something very important I need your help with,” Chase said, strumming on a guitar.
With a shock, Anna realized that Chase was shirtless. The guitar only partially blocked her view of his bare upper body. His large biceps and forearm muscles flexed as he quietly picked on the strings. Totally inappropriate, but God help her, she wanted him to move the guitar so that she could see the rest of him.
Pulling her cloak of professionalism around her, Anna cleared her throat and tried to ignore her baser desires. “Chase, why do you have a guitar? And please put a shirt on.”
“I will in a minute, but this won’t take long. I need your unbiased opinion. You’ve never heard me sing and play before, and I need to know if this sounds like crap,” Chase said. “My friends sometimes ask me to sing at their weddings or parties, and my buddy, Lindsey, is getting married next weekend.”
“I see,” Anna said, even though she didn’t.
“She asked me to sing a song for the father/daughter dance, and I couldn’t refuse, of course. So, I think I found the perfect song, but I’d like your opinion on it. Everyone around here will just say, yes, it’s great. You won’t lie though, will you?” He gave her a lopsided smile that was equal parts sexy and adorable. “Please?”
Even though she had a lot of work ahead of her, Anna kept in mind that this was the man she was trying to win a contract from. It wasn’t a good idea to offend him. She just hoped that he was a good singer.
“All right, but just one song. I’m buried in work,” Anna said.
Chase nodded. “Deal. Since you’re a country girl, you gotta know Tim McGraw’s stuff.”
“I love Tim McGraw,” she said. “He’s one of my favorite singers.”
“Mine, too,” Chase said. “Okay. Here goes. I’ll try to get through it without cryin’.”
That certainly wasn’t something she was used to hearing men say. “Really?”
Chase smiled as he started playing in earnest, but he didn’t respond to her question. Goosebumps broke out along her arms as she recognized the intro of My Little Girl, and when Chase began singing, a shiver ran down her spine.
Anna knew by the time Chase had sung the first verse that he was as good as any country singer on the radio. Seeing him perform was just as pleasurable as listening to him, and she felt like she was watching CMT.
His expressions vacillated between smiles and intense emotions and she was completely captivated. During the musical interludes, he concentrated on the guitar, his beautiful hands nimbly manipulating the strings. His dark hair spilled over his chest, brushing the guitar as he rocked a little in time with the music.
He poured everything into the song, and as he neared the end of it, Anna’s lips quivered and tears spilled from her eyes to slide down her cheeks. As the last strains of the song died away, she couldn’t hold back a little hiccupping sob.
“Damn you, Chase!” she chastised him as she reached for a tissue.
He laughed, but it gave her satisfaction to see that he had tears in his eyes. How did the man make masculine sentimentality look sexy? “Does that mean that you liked it?”
“Liked it? Liked it? I freaking loved it!” Anna dabbed at her eyes, trying to minimize the damage to her mascara. “But now I’m all weepy. Everyone at that wedding will be, too. They’ll all be puddles by the time you’re done.”
Chase brushed tears away and then took a swig of beer. Watching his Adam’s apple bob, Anna had the sudden desire to kiss all along his neck. She’d never been so affected by a man. That may be, but this is a business relationship. Besides, I’m not the type that men like him go for.
Ignoring the stab of dismay that jabbed her, Anna said, “It was truly beautiful, Chase.”
“Thanks. I appreciate the objective opinion.”
“Sure. It was my pleasure.”
He shot her a coaxing grin. “Wanna hear another one? I’ll sing something happy.”
Anna laughed. “Don’t you have anything better to do? Like work?”
“Not until later. I’m taking a breather.” He made a face. “I have to go entertain some muckety-mucks later on.”
“Some what?”
“Uptight business execs who wouldn’t know fun if it bit them on the ass.”
Anna snorted in laughter as she stared into his eyes, which crinkled as he laughed with her. “You’re terrible.”
“Oh, you ain’t heard the half—no, make that a tenth of it,” Chase responded. “Just one more song and I’ll let you go.”
Anna figured that if he was going to keep her from work, it would be on her terms. “Only if it’s another Tim McGraw song.”
His grin practic
ally made her melt. “Making demands. I like it. I know just the song, too.”
Oh, no. Not that song, she thought when he struck up the chords to Real Good Man. With its lyrics about a real bad boy being a real good man with velvet hands, the damn song could’ve been written about him. Between the suggestive way he sang and his sheer hotness factor, Anna felt like she was sitting in a sauna instead of an air-conditioned office.
Things tingled in places they hadn’t in quite some time, and she knew that not even a visit to Catholic confessional would absolve her of all the carnal sin happening in her mind right then. She squirmed a little as he finished and sat the guitar off to the side.
To hide her discomfort, she clapped a little. “Bravo, Mr. McIntyre. Bravo.”
He bowed slightly as he smiled. “Thanks.”
The action drew her attention to his bare torso. She noted that his chest and ab muscles weren’t the kind that long hours in the gym produced. Instead, his well-defined physique had a more natural appearance, and the skin on his chest was the same tone as his arms. Did he use a spray-on tan to achieve that rich color? His skin was completely smooth, too. Did he wax?
Anna mentally shook herself. “Thank you for the mini concert, Chase, but I really do have to get going.”
“I feel ya. Me, too. I’m going for a swim, and then I gotta get cleaned up for my business meeting.” He sounded like he was being led off to the gallows.
“You poor thing.”
“Yeah. Normally on Tuesdays I play beach volleyball with the team from work, but I’ll be missing it tonight.”
“Beach volley ball, ugh. Doesn’t the sand get everywhere?”
Chase laughed. “True, but I love being at the beach. Sun, sand,
and—“
“—Sex?” Anna asked with raised eyebrow.
“Noooo. I was going to say a swim afterwards,” Chase said. “I’m out for revenge. The boys and I got beat last week which meant I lost my bet.”
“Bet?”
“If our team lost, we have to wear Bugs Bunny outfits for the next game. Such a shame I can’t make tonight’s rematch. There has to be some benefits to being the boss.” He winked at her. “Who do you think set the meeting time.”
Want Me (Coopers Creek Book 3) Page 2