She sat quietly while he went on a rant.
"Did you know that my family has several businesses?"
She sipped her coffee before answering. "I would assume that your family would not become billionaires through having just one business. It could happen, but I doubt it."
"So we are on the same page then. Great. Now, Hart, do you want to get back to my training?"
Hart bit her lip. Apparently, this whole training thing was not going to get any easier. Tony Ciarelli planned on making it as difficult as possible for her. She was not going to enjoy this at all.
Chapter Four
"This is the conference room. We do most of our meetings with clients here. And here are the offices for our agents. Each agent has an assistant. We feel that doing so helps the agent focus on client care versus the mundane administrative tasks. It keeps us pretty efficient here."
"What do you do all day, Hart?"
"I am the Executive Marketing Director."
"That means?"
Ciarelli stood there smug, arms crossed, waiting for an answer.
"That means, I am responsible for the way that company is perceived in the public eye, for the branding. It makes all of the difference how we bring in our clientele and how our clientele trusts us and keeps coming back."
"Sounds pretty important."
Hart could not tell if Ciarelli was being genuine or the jerk that he had been the entire time since they met.
"It is. But I don't toot my own horn much."
Ciarelli bit his lip, staring directly at her. The intensity of his concentration was unbearable. Hart could feel a heat rising, an awakening in the pit of her being as his eye penetrated her.
Why was he always staring at her like that? Like he knew what was on her mind. Like he was trying to get her to confess all that she felt.
"You should toot your own horn more often, Hart. You do a hell of a job here."
All of a sudden, she could feel him standing right behind her. She closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of his cologne. Today, it was not overpowering, but slight and calming.
"Thank you, Mr. Ciarelli."
He stepped closer, speaking slowly. "I told you to call me Tony."
His voice sent a chill down her spine. Hart's head was spinning. With him standing so close, she was losing control of her senses.
"Tony. Fine." She tried to regain her composure.
His glance was flirty, and Hart could not deny the attraction she felt. It was obvious by the way that he watched her every move that he felt the attraction as well.
"Now that we are on a first name basis, Hart. How about lunch?"
"We have work to do."
"And everyone needs to eat."
"Fine. What do you suggest? We will have about an hour or so."
"No. You are the Executive Marketing Director. You can take lunch when you please. What does your schedule look like today?"
When Tony spoke, his eyes traveled from her eyes down to her breasts, then lower to her hips.
"Lunch. One hour. It's all you have from me today."
Tony stepped closer to her. "I'll take it. If that's all of the time that you will give me."
"That's all of the time that I have." She could not bring herself to look at him. Hart knew if she did, she would not be held accountable for what may happen next.
"Let's keep moving. There is more to show you."
Hart smoothed her hands over her hips, trying to straighten her clothing.
"Lead the way." Tony held his hand out, motioning for her to start out.
Hart could barely keep her mind on the task at hand. Tony being so close to her was making her swoon. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. An attraction so strong that she could not understand where it was coming from.
"I'd like to take you to the numbers department."
Hart was practically power walking on the way to the elevator. She was trying to make sense of all that she was feeling so suddenly.
Tony followed slowly behind her. It was as if he had this confidence about what was developing between them.
As soon as the elevator opened, Hart slid inside, hoping that it would be full as usual. When it wasn't, she panicked and it was too late to turn back. Tony hopped on as the doors closed. Neither of them pressed any buttons, just stood there, staring at one another.
Tony took a few steps, Hart holding her breath. "So where are we going?"
"To the numbers department. It's where you can meet the chief financial officer and learn a bit about what they do up there."
Dizziness settled in and Hart could not figure out how she could keep herself together. She tried to lean forward and press the number ten for the financial offices floor. Tony blocked her way and instead she ended up falling into his chest.
"Oh," she cried out under her breath.
Tony caught her, his embrace was surprisingly comforting. He did not speak, just held on to her with one hand while he pressed the red stop button with the other.
"What are you doing?" Hart could barely speak, breathless.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Tony pushed his chest out, pulling her in even closer.
"I- I don't know." What on earth was going on? She had never been the type to stutter. She tried to avoid eye contact with him, but it was damned near impossible.
Tony tilted her chin up, forcing their eyes to meet.
"So, Hart. I don't normally do things like this. I mean, being so forward. But I noticed an immediate attraction between us when I first walked in to your office. Did you?"
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
He lifted her face higher. "So you don't want to admit that there is chemistry between us, Hart?"
When he spoke her name, she was sure that she was going to melt. He ran his fingertips along her jaw line. His touch felt amazing, invigorating. Hart allowed herself to feel it for a moment before she forced herself back to reality.
She wiggled her hands around Tony's waist, feeling for the elevator buttons. When he realized what she was doing, he stepped aside, giving her access to the panel. Hart fumbled to press the number ten. When the elevator car did not start rising, she pressed the button several more times, trying not to get out of sorts.
Tony, cool and collected, stepped over, and pressed the green button marked start. The car cranked to life and started moving.
Hart took a deep breath, smoothing her brown tresses back into her bun. She wanted her heart to stop racing and she wanted Tony out of her way. His very presence was causing an uproar in her life and she was not going to keep letting it happen.
She kept her attention focused on the elevator numbers as they rose higher and higher. A panic was threatening to take over if she did not reach the tenth floor soon.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
The doors slid open, and she did not turn around to see if Tony even walked out after her. It took a moment to remember that she had to calm herself before entering the floor and talking with the other employees.
She whirled around. "Are you ready?"
The grin on his face infuriated Hart, but she started down the hallway, trying to clear her mind.
She exhaled and turned on her smile. There was no way that she was going to let Tony know that he was getting under her skin.
Chapter five
By the time they finished walking the floor, Hart introduced Tony to everyone in the department and tried her best to make the rounds quickly. It was almost lunch time and she desperately needed a break from being in Tony's presence.
"Hart, can I see you for a moment?" She turned around to see Smith running up to her.
"Hi, Smith. How can I help you?"
"I just wanted to let you know that the final figures are in on the last concept that we put together. I can get those to you by lunchtime."
The young boy smiled brightly.
"Thanks, Smith. I would appreciate that. You are a
lifesaver."
"Great. I'll get those figures to you."
Smith stood there, still smiling.
"Well, have a good day, Smith. I will contact you after you get those numbers to me. I'm ready to close that project out."
Hart turned to continue toward the elevator. She was walking at such a quick pace, she left Tony behind. She could avoid him in the hallway, but not in the elevator.
"So you know that you can't rush past me and avoid me right?"
He chose to speak as soon as the doors closed, leaving her feeling trapped in such a small space with him.
"I am not trying to avoid you."
"Are you sure?" His eyebrow raised, he waited for her answer.
"I am not trying to avoid you."
"Fine. I get it."
Hart was happy to see Tony back off. Once the elevator door opened, she darted off and went directly to her office. She made sure that Tony did not follow her and when he didn't she felt like for the first time she could get her head on straight that day.
She rushed past Lana and into her office. Closing the door behind her, Hart struggled to gather her thoughts. Nothing about this morning was what she wanted it to be. The only thing that worked out successfully was the fact that she had taken Tony on a tour of all of the departments and given him a once over of all of the components of what went into her doing her job.
All she could think to do was sit behind her desk and massage her temples. Her jaw tightened with stress and frustration. Never had she lost composure like that, on a job or just in life in general. None the less, she had never lost her composure over a man. And a pompous one at that.
What in the world happened? She asked herself the question over and over again, because at some point, she had to come up with the answer. But nothing came immediately to mind. She could not figure out what about Tony Ciarelli had sent her into this free fall. The only thing that was supposed to happen was that he was supposed to come in, get the specifics on the job, and pretend that he cared while she spoke, so he could go back home and let his father deal with him.
Instead, he had added an extra wrench to the plan and had come to her, igniting a passion and a fervor that she had not felt before in her life. Not even for work. There was this magnetism between the two of them and it was something that she was not willing to explore or delve into for any reason.
Tony Ciarelli was the son of her boss. The man was a spoiled heir that had nothing better to do with his time than waste it on whatever billionaire playboys wasted their time on.
Hart shoved the paperwork on her desk back a bit and decided that now was the best time to do a little deep breathing and mindful meditation. She had to change the energy around her and get her mind focused on work. Tony Ciarelli was not serious about anything in his life and there was no need for her to let him get her all out of sorts for any reason.
*
After meditating, Hart started to feel more in control of her feelings. Her head was not swarming with thoughts of what Tony would do to her if he truly got her alone. Hopefully, he would not be back for the rest of the afternoon and she could totally focus before she had to meet with him again for the next day.
Just as she hit her stride with her paperwork, she heard the door to her office open. Looking up, she fully expected to see Lana standing there. She could not help but to frown when she saw who was there.
"I come in peace."
Tony stood there with bags of food.
"Lunch. A working lunch if you please."
Hart bit her tongue. She wanted to spout off in anger, but she was much too hungry to protest. The way that the food smelled, she was in no position to turn Tony's gesture down.
"Fine." She figured if she kept her responses to a minimum, there would be less room for error and she would not yell out something that she did not mean in the meanwhile.
He took her approval and entered the office slowly. Approaching the desk with the food, he at least had a look of apology on his face.
"No. We can sit over there at the table. If I eat in the office, that is where I have my lunch."
"As you wish."
Tony headed over to the table and set out the food.
Hart did not know how to take this newfound attitude of his. She decided to just keep quiet and let it be what it was. There was no conversation at first. Partly because Hart was starving. Then there was the fact that she was not sure what to say to the man.
The quiet was necessary and she loved the fact that the two of them could sit there and not have to say much to one another. It worked out best that way it seemed for the two of them. Finally, she could get things back on track to being all about business.
"Ms. Jacobs. I'll be taking my lunch break now. I will be back in an hour."
"Thank you, Lana," Hart replied over the intercom. "Actually. You can take a little longer if you would like. We don't have our meeting until one. So if you could be back a little before then, that would be great."
"See you then."
"So we have some time together then before we have to get back to work."
Hart looked at him. "Incredible! Is that what you think?"
Tony got up to throw his empty plate away. "Why are you such a prude?"
Hart stood up out of her chair, the chair floating back with the force of her weight pushing it back.
"A prude? Really? Is that in comparison to your immature, man child ways?"
"I guess, if that is the way that you see me. Then yes, it is."
Tony was cool as he cleared the table and wiped it down with one of the extra napkins in the bag. Hart was fuming. She could not believe that he would have the nerve to insult her like that, in her own office at that. Then he had the gall to do it and remain calm about it.
"So you don't consider yourself a rude and immature jerk?" She stood there, arms crossed, issuing him a challenge.
"Sometimes I can be." He looked up in the air as if the answer was going to float down from the ceiling. "Okay. I can be most of the time. And I probably have been toward you." He turned his focus back to her.
"Now, your turn."
"What?" Hart asked. She wanted to make sure she heard him correctly.
He stepped closer, accepting her challenge. "I said, your turn." Tony spoke slowly as if the reason for her question was that she did not understand him.
Hart could not understand why she did not throw him out of the office or call for security. There was something in their exchange that made her want to win. She wanted to make sure that he knew that he was not going to get one up on her.
It was like he was baiting her. Hart did not want to give in.
"I have no clue what you are talking about, Ciarelli."
"So, we are back to being professional are we?"
"We have always been professional." Her tone was sharp.
Tony walked away to the office door. Hart smiled at the thought of him leaving. When he did not exit, she could feel the frustration boil within her.
He clicked the lock on the door and turned back to face Hart.
"You do realize where all of this tension is coming from right, Hart?"
There was that smirk on his face again. And the fact that he used her first name instead of calling her by her last name.
"No. But it seems you are the expert on this situation. So tell me where the tension is coming from."
He paced the floor, making it over to where she stood. With him standing so close again, Hart felt that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach again.
"I can tell that Smith has a thing for you." Tony was about a foot away from her.
"So what? I've known that for a while. He's a smart kid, good head on his shoulders. He will find the right girl for him. What does Smith have to do with the tension between us?"
In the moment that she replied, Tony had already come even closer to her. Hart did not find herself moving away from him. Her eyes met his gaze.
"Nothing. I just wanted to point out
what it looks like when a man has eyes for you."
"Why would you assume that I don't know what that looks like?"
He was confusing her now with his line of questioning.
"I'm not. I'm simply trying to gauge if you are aware of these types of things. Because as far as I see things, you seem to be all work and no play. I wanted to make sure you were the type of woman that could see it coming if a man approached you."
"Are you insinuating that I am blind? No wait, what exactly are you trying to say here, Ciarelli?"
She was pretty sure of what it was that he was saying, but she wanted to make Tony say it out of his own mouth.
He did not speak. Instead, he stood there, in front of her. They were practically chest to chest. She could feel his warm breath on her skin. Hart was pretty sure that his next move was a kiss her.
"Tomorrow morning? Same time?"
His words were like a pin, inflating her balloon.
"What?" Hart was not sure if she had heard him correctly.
He did not repeat himself. Instead, waited for her mind to connect what he had just said.
"No." Hart began to back away. "Nine o'clock." She ran over to her desk, sitting in the chair behind the massive furniture. Her knees were shaking.
She pretended to busy herself with the paperwork on her desk.
He chuckled. "Nine o'clock it is. See you in the morning, Hart Jacobs."
*
It took all that she had to pay attention in the client meeting she had later that afternoon. This man was exasperating. Hart wanted to scream when she thought about how he had barged in and turned everything completely upside down for her.
There had never been a man that had done anything like that to her. When Tony Ciarelli entered the room, she suddenly became weak in the knees and unable to put her thoughts together. That was a stark contrast from the well composed business woman she was. She got paid to keep her composure and think on her feet, yet when Ciarelli was around, she could not seem to find the right words to say or even begin to figure out what was going on in the moment.
Boss: The Encounter With The Bad Boy Billionaire: Bad Boy Billionaire Romance (BOSS: A Contemporary Bad Boy Billionaire Romance) Page 2