“But what about paying him a bonus when his idea made them money? Lots of companies do that,” Chloe said.
“He got bonuses, but he thought he deserved more.” Grandmillie fidgeted with her cane. “I wouldn’t say these things about my own son if I didn’t think you needed to hear them. Just because a corporation is large doesn’t make it evil. You shouldn’t limit your job hunt to those fly-by-night start-ups you always choose. Or work for some dishonest salesman. You’re better than that.”
But they needed the money now, and her other applications for permanent employment hadn’t borne fruit yet. As far as she could see, there was nothing wrong with Brandt Tech’s product; it was just Larry’s lies about its capabilities that were the problem.
She rubbed her fingers against her temples, trying to massage away the headache that had begun to hammer at her skull. She would make a few phone calls tomorrow to see if she could goose along the other prospective employers. Maybe Judith had some leads on permanent spots.
“Don’t look so upset, Chloe. Nothing I said takes away from what your father accomplished or how much he loved you.”
“No, of course not. It’s just . . . not the way I thought of him.”
“He was your hero, but he had his human frailties, like us all. He was still a good man.”
It rang true from her adult perspective, but Chloe wanted to cling to her old view of the world and her father. She’d believed in her father with a child’s wholehearted acceptance. After her mother’s death, he was everything to Chloe and his view of the world became hers. Now Grandmillie had pushed her axis off center, leaving her wobbly and uncertain.
Grandmillie’s gaze was concerned. “You’ve got enough to think about for one day. And I still haven’t heard about your date last night.”
Chloe was grateful for the change of subject. “Nathan wanted lobster, so we flew to Maine.” She was curious as to whether Grandmillie would be shocked.
Her grandmother thumped her cane on the floor again. “Ha! Now that’s the proper way to court my granddaughter.”
Chloe was putting the dinner dishes in the dishwasher when her cell phone rang, showing Judith’s number. Not a good sign.
“It’s Judith, my dear. You have a new assignment for tomorrow. Tallman and Hicks Accounting in Midtown. You’ll be helping with a major audit they’re doing. They need papers organized, copied, and filed.”
Disappointment thudded into Chloe like a jackhammer. “I’m not going back to Trainor Electronics?”
“No. HR called to say all their flu victims are well enough to come in tomorrow. I know it’s a pay cut from the executive suite, but I gave you the highest paying of the new job openings.”
“You’re the best,” Chloe said, trying to shake off the blow, and sound as grateful as she should be to her boss and friend. But all she could think about was not seeing Nathan tomorrow morning.
“Just to double-check, nothing awkward happened between you and Nathan Trainor, did it? I know you were finding it uncomfortable to work in his home.”
“Awkward?” Chloe heard the squeak in her voice and swallowed hard. She wasn’t sure what to tell Judith. Now that she wasn’t working for Nathan anymore, her personal life shouldn’t be relevant to Flexitemps. “No, we ended up getting along well enough.”
“Good. That’s a very nice account for me.”
“Um, speaking of accounts,” Chloe said, “I might want you to look for a permanent place for me.”
“I’m sorry, sweetie, but you know I don’t handle start-ups. There’s not enough money in them.”
“I’ve rethought my position on large corporations,” Chloe said. She lowered her voice so Grandmillie wouldn’t hear. “And I need the job security and the higher salary.”
“I’ll see what I can find. You have a great resumé, but the job market is tight, as you know.” Judith’s voice went from businesswoman to concerned friend. “What made you change your mind? Is your grandmother doing all right?”
“She’s going to need help when I’m not here. But it was some other things too.” Not just her grandmother’s revelations. Knowing Nathan had begun to undermine her negative attitude. How could she disapprove of a big company when the man she was having incredible sex with ran one?
“Update your resumé and send it to me tonight,” Judith said. “I’ll e-mail you the address and reporting info for Tallman and Hicks.”
“Right. I’ll do that.”
Judith said good-bye, and Chloe slumped in her chair, letting the cell phone drop into her lap. She didn’t want to work on her resumé tonight; she wanted to sit in front of the television set, letting Grandmillie comment on how bad the shows were while Chloe daydreamed about Nathan.
Nathan! Did he know she wasn’t going to be at Trainor Electronics tomorrow? No, he would have called her if he did. HR wouldn’t bother the CEO on a Sunday with personnel issues; they would make sure he had whatever he needed without him ever having to think about it.
She stared down at her cell phone. She was afraid to call him, afraid her absence from outside his office wouldn’t matter to him. Even more afraid that his interest would fade when she wasn’t right there in front of him, working through his e-mails.
No, there was still the wedding next weekend. She would have at least six more days of his attention.
She picked up the phone and hit his speed dial.
He answered on the first ring. “Chloe, I’m on the terrace, staring across the Hudson River, wondering where in that glow of lights you are.”
The tension drained from her body. He’d care that she wasn’t going to be there tomorrow. “Slightly south and three counties in.”
“How’s Grandmillie?”
She sucked in a breath as his words touched that fresh bruise on her heart. “She’s doing fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
Even though he couldn’t see her, Chloe shook her head. “She had a little health issue last week that she just shared with me, but it’s nothing to worry about.”
“I’ll have Ben take a look at her. It will give him someone else to badger, so he’ll leave me alone.”
The temptation to have the highly qualified Cavill give Grandmillie a thorough checkup nearly overwhelmed her, but it was a favor she couldn’t accept. Nor would her grandmother want her to. “Thank you, but it’s not necessary. She saw her own doctor.”
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
He was using his strategy of retreating to fight another day, but she was too weary to tell him she wouldn’t change her mind. “That’s why I called. I won’t be there tomorrow. Everyone at Trainor Electronics is healthy again.”
He swore, making Chloe’s sore heart flip with delight. “Where will you be working?”
“Tallman and Hicks Accounting in Midtown.”
“We’ll meet for lunch. At my apartment. I’ll send Oskar for you.”
She laughed. “You’d have to come in the car with Oskar. Remember, I only get half an hour for lunch.”
He muttered another curse. She loved his frustration. “Isn’t that against some labor law?” he asked.
“Not for a temp. We’re just hired guns.”
“I’ll be there in the Rolls when you get off work. We’ll drive to New Jersey together.”
She knew she should say no. She needed to keep him separate from her real world. But the thought of not seeing him tomorrow made all her good sense evaporate like dew under an August sun. “Okay. I’ll send you Tallman’s address.”
His voice came through the phone in a low, sexy rumble. “I hope the rush-hour traffic is horrific.”
CHAPTER 18
Nathan usually enjoyed the quiet of early morning on the executive floor when he was the only one in. Today it felt empty.
He paced over to the wall of windows and stared outward without seeing the skyscrapers spiking up into the sky. He wanted Chloe here.
He’d checked and there were currently four open positions—
with generous salaries—listed on the internal job roster that she could fill perfectly. In one stroke, he could ease her financial problems and satisfy his own need.
He was well aware that it would be more appropriate to find her a job at another corporation, something he could do easily, but he had to know she was in this building somewhere.
They would have to be discreet. That might be the most difficult part for him, since he had an almost constant desire to see her. But he would not tarnish her reputation.
He looked at his watch for the third time since he’d started work. Another hour before Roberta got into the HR office.
Chloe had never been so grateful for a mindless temporary assignment. As she copied and collated sheet after sheet of numbers and legal jargon, she veered among worrying about how to keep Grandmillie from signing herself into Crestmont Village, redrawing her image of her father, and having her knees go weak in anticipation of what she and Nathan might do in the back of the Rolls. It was an exhausting roil of emotions.
Her cell phone vibrated in her trousers pocket, indicating a text message had come in. She finished putting together a packet of papers before she pulled her phone out. It was from Nathan.
Call me when you break for lunch.
She glanced at the clock on the wall of the conference room where she was working, the papers spread across the vast mahogany tabletop in neat piles. The executive assistant she was working for had told her to take lunch whenever she wanted, so she could start it right now.
She plunked down in one of the huge leather chairs and shoved it away from the table, swiveling toward the windows as she called Nathan.
He answered halfway through the ring. “I needed to hear your voice.”
“That’s the best hello I’ve ever gotten.” Chloe felt her worries lighten.
“I didn’t manage my expectations well.” His voice held an edge of self-mockery.
“In what way?”
“I spent all day yesterday imagining you in my office today. When you weren’t here, I had a problem with it.”
The powerful and brilliant Nathan Trainor missed her. How could she not feel thrilled by that? “At least you have weighty executive decisions to distract you. I’m only using about a quarter of my brain to collate a bunch of audit reports.”
“I’m interested in hearing what you’re using the other three-quarters for.”
Chloe felt heat bloom in her cheeks. “That’s for you to find out when you pick me up this afternoon.”
There was a pause before he said with a rasp in his voice, “Advance planning is always wise. I look forward to combining your ideas with mine, because I suspect the effect will be explosive.”
His words danced along her nerve endings, making her squirm on the leather cushion. Before she could respond, he said, “You only have a half hour for lunch, so go eat.”
“Because I’ll need my strength?” It came out sounding as though she couldn’t quite catch her breath.
“Be ready the moment you get in the car. I will be.”
He ended the call, leaving her hot and aching in private places. She closed her eyes and imagined him touching her where she ached the most, which only made it worse. She hauled herself out of the chair, sending her cell phone thudding onto the beige carpeting.
When it rang, she jumped and then scooped it up, hoping Nathan wanted to continue their phone foreplay.
It was Judith. “Sweetie, I’ve got a last-minute interview for you. Are you free today after work?”
Chloe straightened in the chair. “Not really. How about tomorrow?”
“The cutoff for the hiring decision is today.”
Her stomach clenched. “How good is the position?”
Judith quoted a nice salary and decent benefits at a medium-sized but growing corporation. “And the position has significant upside.”
“There has to be a catch.”
“This is your last chance to interview for it,” Judith said. “Seriously, I found out about this by sheer luck. Their HR director called me to check one candidate’s employment record because I placed him in a job before this. They wanted to make sure he wasn’t violating his employment contract.”
“Was he? That would eliminate some of my competition.” Chloe was stalling as she struggled with the inevitable. She was going to have to tell Nathan she couldn’t meet him after work.
“No. He cleared his commitment by forty-three days.”
“Darn.” Chloe sighed inwardly as she worked hard to inject gratitude and enthusiasm into her voice. “I’ll rearrange my schedule so I can take the interview. Thanks so much for giving me such a great opportunity.”
She glanced down at her outfit of a slim navy skirt, high-heeled black pumps, and a peach silk blouse. She’d dressed up more than usual because she was meeting Nathan, so her clothing would work for an interview.
“It’s pure self-interest,” Judith said. “You’ll make me a nice finder’s fee when you get the job. I’ll text you the address and contact information. Knock ’em dead!”
Chloe hung up and sagged in the chair. She was a little nervous about calling Nathan. A man like him was used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it. He might understand her decision to take the interview, but he wouldn’t be happy about it. She wasn’t happy about it either.
She had to think long-term, though. This thing with Nathan would burn out sooner rather than later, while the job was a more permanent proposition.
She hit his speed-dial button and waited, her grip so tight the edges of the phone cut into her fingers.
“Chloe.” His voice was warm with pleasure. “Have you eaten lunch already?”
“No. I got another call. I have an unexpected job interview right after work. It’s for a great permanent position, so I couldn’t turn it down. I’m sorry.”
There was a long moment of silence and she held her breath. Then his voice came through, sounding calm and matter-of-fact. “Not a problem. I can use the extra time to finish the work from last week. Call me as soon as you’re done.”
“I, um, thank you for understanding.”
“Delay will make our encounter all the more . . . satisfying.”
The pause before his last word was loaded with the promise of mind-bending sex. Chloe felt the build of desire begin again. “You’re a more patient man than I thought.”
“Only when the end result is worth waiting for.”
Focusing on the interview was going to take every ounce of mental discipline she possessed.
Nathan hung up the phone and let loose a string of profanity. It wasn’t the postponement of his sexual gratification that had him cursing like a Marine. It was the damned job interview. He had hoped to handle the offer of the position at Trainor Electronics subtly so no one—and especially Chloe—suspected that he had set it in motion. This new development would force him to cut corners for the sake of speed. He would also have to make sure the offer from his company was so much better than the other one that she would have a hard time turning it down.
He swiveled around to his computer and began to type a private message to Roberta.
There was no point in being the CEO if you couldn’t use your power for a friend.
CHAPTER 19
“We’ll be in touch.” The interviewer stood and shook Chloe’s hand.
Chloe gave him her best professional smile. “It was a pleasure talking with you.” She walked out the door and straight to the ladies’ room.
The adrenaline surging through her was making her jittery, but the interview had gone well. The HR fellow hadn’t commented on the fact that the last three companies she’d worked for had folded, so maybe he hadn’t noticed the Russell jinx. However, she had found the catch: the job was dull and unchallenging, and the upside that Judith had mentioned didn’t sound much better. However, she couldn’t overlook the salary and benefits at this point, so she had given the meeting her best.
Yet part of her mind had been on Natha
n the entire time.
“He’s just a man,” she told herself in the mirror. “And a temporary one. You have to focus on Grandmillie and your future.”
She wished she could splash cold water on her face to snap herself out of the spell Nathan exerted on her, but she didn’t want to ruin her makeup. She took three deep breaths and felt more in control.
Sitting down on a chrome stool in front of a vanity mirror, she fired off a text to Judith, telling her she felt she would be in the running for the job. Her friend responded with a thumbs-up and the promise to let Chloe know as soon as she heard something further.
She brought up a text box under Nathan’s cell number and stared at the blinking cursor. Nothing clever came to mind, so she went with the facts. “Interview completed. Will be at the front entrance in ten minutes.”
“Already there,” was the near-instant response.
She shouldn’t be flattered. After all, he could sit in his Rolls and use his laptop or his cell phone, but the thought of the workaholic Nathan Trainor waiting for her was as heady an aphrodisiac as any oysters.
She’d been debating all day whether she had the nerve to do it, but this made her decision. She put her cell phone in her big handbag and went into one of the stalls. She’d worn thigh-high stockings for the occasion, and now she hiked up her skirt and tugged her panties down so she could step out of them. Balling up the white lace, she tucked them in her purse before exiting the bathroom.
As she walked down the corridor, she had the sense that everyone she passed could tell she had no underwear on. It was ridiculous, because her hem stopped a very proper quarter inch above her knees. Yet she felt exposed and turned on at the same time.
Stepping into the elevator with four other people, she flashed back to vivid images of making love at Nathan’s apartment in the same kind of enclosed space. She could feel the heat building low in her body. As the door opened on the ground floor, she took a firm grip on the strap of her handbag and stepped out into the lobby as though she wasn’t about to go up in flames.
The CEO Buys in (Wager of Hearts #1) Page 19