by Melody Anne
“I don’t know…” Cassie hedged. She hadn’t dared look at the price tags. She really did love the feel of the fabrics, but the skirts were a bit shorter than she normally wore and they were a lot more fitted. She knew she could stand to lose five pounds, but she felt slim and attractive in the perfectly cut clothes.
“Oh, please, you look so incredible in them,” Amy told her.
“Alright, you’ve talked me into it,” Cassie caved. She hadn’t bought herself new clothes in a long time and she deserved it. She’d charge them to her credit card and pray she got hired immediately after the amazing article she was going to put her heart and soul into.
If she didn’t get a job at the paper right away, she could always find something else until she got hired. It was better to have the right kind of clothes when she went for interviews, she justified to herself.
They went to the register and Cassie was thrilled with the total cost. Amy hadn’t been kidding when she said she got an amazing discount. She wanted to turn around and add about twenty more items to her pile. As if Amy could read her mind, she giggled.
“I told you I get a great price. We’ll have to do more shopping after you land your dream job. Seriously, all you have to do is call me and I’ll be there. As you can see I love to shop, and it’s even better having someone to go with. I think this is the start of a wonderful friendship,” Amy said and surprised Cassie by giving her a hug.
“I’m starving after all this walking. Why don’t we grab a bite to eat before we head back to the offices? I think Lucas will be done by then. He’s taking me on a romantic drive to the coast tonight. I can hardly wait,” Amy said, once again dragging Cassie away.
They passed by a mother who had her hands full. She had a crying baby and a toddler, who was trying with all his might, to escape her. She looked frazzled and Cassie wanted to stop and help. The sight of the precious little one made her heart swell. She’d given up on the idea of having children a couple years ago. You had to be in a secure relationship and she just didn’t see that happening anytime soon. She didn’t have time to meet the right kind of guys, and she didn’t want to find her future husband in a bar. Most men there only wanted a woman for the night. She felt doomed to eternal singleness.
The girls ate their meal and finally made it back to the offices. Amy promised to call, before rushing off to Lucas’s floor. It was in the building beside Max’s. There was a skywalk connecting the buildings, so the girls had ridden to the floor together before Amy walked across to meet Lucas. Cassie wanted to see the spectacular view of the city sometime from the skywalk, with its floor to ceiling windows all along it. She knew the view at night would be glorious.
Some people didn’t like the hustle and bustle of a large city, but the longer she was in Seattle, the more she fell in love. There were quaint little coffee shops, beautiful scenery, plenty of shopping, and parks, and if you did want some peace and quiet it wasn’t far away. She still hadn’t gone on a ferry boat ride, which she promised herself she’d do soon. She couldn’t imagine ever getting bored in the beautiful Northwest.
“You’ve been gone a long time,” was the first thing she heard as she stepped into Max’s office.
“I ran into your cousin’s wife, Amy, and we had lunch and did some shopping. We had a wonderful time,” Cassie said, before she realized she didn’t need to explain herself to the man. He wasn’t her employer.
“Well, you missed out on some valuable training Cynthia was going to provide you. You aren’t acting like you want to go on this trip,” he stated.
“Of course I want to go on this trip. We were shopping for cold-weather clothes,” Cassie snapped. If he was going to act this way in Alaska she may have to bury him in an avalanche of snow, she thought with evil glee.
There was a long pause as he looked from her to the bags dangling from her fingers, then to his desk. She was getting tired of feeling like she was being called into the principal’s office.
“Did you and Amy have a nice afternoon?”
She felt like she was being interrogated. Was there something wrong with her going out with Amy? Maybe, he was a snob and thought she wasn’t respectable enough to spend the afternoon with the president of the company’s spouse. She wiped that thought from her mind the second she had it. She knew the Andersons weren’t snobby people. She just couldn’t figure out why he’d care if she spent time with Amy. It didn’t affect him in any way. Then, it hit her that he would figure she’d drilled Amy the entire time about him.
Amy had shared some information, but nothing that would reflect on him in a negative way, she actually liked Max. She said she hadn’t gotten to know him until his family moved back home to Seattle, but since the move the cousins were closer than ever. Family meant everything in their large group and they got together for any excuse they could find. Heck, they didn’t even need excuses. They just dropped in on each other whenever they could.
“Amy is fantastic. We plan on going out again,” she stated stubbornly. Let him try and forbid her from having a friend.
“Don’t get too cozy around my family, Cassie. You’re doing an interview about me, then you’ll be gone,” he said lazily like he didn’t care, but Cassie heard the threat behind the words. She felt like she was going to explode, she was so angry with him. After they got done with the Alaska trip she was certainly going to tell him what she really thought about his arrogance. For now, he had her, and he knew it.
“Don’t worry, Max. I’m not secretly trying to get close to your family, so that ultimately I can continue to trail you. You may believe the world thinks you’re irresistible, but all I’ve ever wanted from you was an interview. When I’m done with it we’ll part ways and you never have to look at my face again,” she reassured him. She hoped she’d been successful in keeping the anger from her tone. By the narrowing of his eyes, she thought she may need to try a little harder.
“Just as long as you don’t forget that,” he said in an almost seductive tone. She fought the shudder his voice invoked. He made her angry one moment, and burning with need the next.
Cassie took a deep breath, making sure her voice would be under control before she spoke again. She didn’t need their argument to escalate any further.
“Believe me, Max, I won’t be forgetting my place around you,” she said in a sugary sweet voice that made her sick. He looked at her suspiciously, but thankfully let the topic drop.
“I need you to fill out these forms. You’ll be acting as my secretary on this trip so you need to get paid,” he said, pushing some paperwork toward her. She immediately began to protest. She in no way wanted him to be her employer, but on the other hand she was grateful he was dropping the whole scheming conversation.
“I don’t have time to argue with you, Cassie. We leave first thing in the morning and I have to leave here in twenty minutes for a business dinner. Fill them out if you want to go, or leave them if you don’t,” he said. He turned back to his computer and started typing as if he didn’t care what she did at that point.
With a bit of a pout, Cassie placed her bags down, picked up the papers and walked out of his office. Cynthia was gone for the day, as were most of the other employees, so she sat at her desk and began filling out the huge stack of papers. She was only half finished when Max walked out of the room and paused at her desk.
“Leave those in Cynthia’s out box. She’ll be in for a half day tomorrow and will make sure they get to HR. Meet me here by six A.M. on the dot. We’ll be able to fly directly into Cordova with the company jet but have to stop in Anchorage first and dump some fuel. The runway is small in Cordova and the jet has weight restrictions.” He was speaking to her as if she knew what he was talking about. She nodded her head to let him know she understood. He looked at her for a moment longer before he finally left.
Cassie finished her paperwork, left it for Cynthia, grabbed her bags and headed toward the elevators. She was tired and wanted nothing more than to go home, get packed, have a hot
shower, and try to catch some sleep before they left.
Upon arriving at her apartment, she popped a dinner into her microwave and sat down in her favorite chair. She was just beginning to drift off when her telephone rang. She almost let it go to voicemail, but thought it may be Max with some last minute demands before their trip.
“I’m so glad I caught you at home. With this time difference, it’s almost impossible to reach you,” her best friend’s voice came over the line.
“Kinsey, I’m so glad to hear from you! It’s been way too long. You’ve got to check in more often so I know you’re still alive,” Cassie said, overcome with excitement to hear her voice.
“I know. I’m a terrible best friend. I’ve been so busy, and it’s really hard to get to a phone, but I haven’t been able to get you off my mind so I took a trip into town to give you a call. Before you give me a well-deserved lecture, be aware that this call is costing mega-bucks,” Kinsey said in her naturally good humored voice.
“Okay, I suppose I won’t lecture you this time, but when you finally get back here, be prepared for an earful,” Cassie warned.
“I have zero doubts about it. How are you doing?”
“I finally got Max Anderson to agree to my interview. I’m doing an in-depth, month long interview and I know it’s going to give me my big break,” Cassie told her excitedly.
“Oh my gosh, Cassie, that’s amazing. I can’t wait for you to tell me all the details. I knew you wouldn’t give up. You’re the most amazing person I know. You’re going to have to tell me about it when I get home next month,” Kinsey said. It took a few moments for her words to sink in.
“You’re coming home? For real? Please don’t be toying with me because I miss you too much for that,” Cassie fired questions at her.
“I’m definitely coming home. This village is thriving now. There’s still so much more work to be done, but thankfully many volunteers are coming over, now, and I’m missing you and my family too much to be away any longer. I’m coming home and will be staying. I’m sure I’ll get the bug to come back over, but it will be for much shorter visits. You’ll have to come with me since you’re going to be a big city reporter. You can get Pulitzer Prize articles written in places like the village I’m in,” Kinsey said.
Her words brought tears to Cassie’s eyes. They’d always believed in each other more than anyone else ever had. She knew with her best friend back she’d have much more confidence in herself. She knew it was going to be the longest month she’d ever had to endure. She didn’t want to tell her about the accident and have her worrying, so they chatted for several more moments, before Kinsey had to end the call. Both girls were crying as they hung up their phones.
Cassie tiredly got to her feet and decided not to eat her pathetic dinner. She climbed into her warm bed instead and fell asleep within minutes. The next day was going to be her first ride on a jet and she couldn’t wait.
Chapter Six
The sound of her alarm clock dragged Cassie from a restless sleep. She blindly reached out in the dark, taking several tries before she managed to hit the snooze button, shutting up the obnoxious machine. She turned over and quickly fell back asleep, only to be rudely interrupted by the buzzing again after only a few moments.
She gave up on snoozing any further, dragged herself from bed and made her way to her small bathroom. She didn’t dare look in the mirror. She was sure the sight would frighten her worse than if she saw a ghost.
A hot shower woke her up a little bit, but she was still grumpy. Cassie had never been a morning person and getting up at four in the morning, when she hadn’t gotten to sleep until after midnight wasn’t helping.
She climbed from the shower, quickly dressed and headed to the kitchen, where thankfully her coffee pot’s automatic start had actually worked. It decided on the days it would work and when it wouldn’t. She poured herself a cup, then sat at the table, allowing herself a few moments to properly wake up. She started feeling more human after the first cup. She quickly poured herself a second one and drank it while gathering everything she’d need to take with her.
She always felt she was forgetting something when she left on a trip. It was frustrating because she knew she’d triple checked already, but she feared she may have a bit of obsessive compulsiveness in her.
She locked her apartment and made her way downstairs, where she had a cab waiting. She loaded her bags and sat back while the driver breezed down the normally busy Seattle streets. She thought it was nice to leave so early, before there were hoards of traffic. The only downfall was she arrived much earlier than she needed to be there. Max told her to meet him in the lobby, so she didn’t want to head to his office, which left her sitting in the nearly vacant security area.
She took out a magazine and made herself comfortable. She hoped he got there a bit early, as she was anxious to leave. She’d never before been to Alaska and hoped she’d have a little time to explore the area. She didn’t even care if the temperatures were below freezing. She didn’t get the chance to see much snow and couldn’t imagine the hills covered with foot after foot of the beautiful white powder.
As she relaxed in the chair she found her thoughts turning to Max. She pictured his beautiful face, how his eyes had permanent laugh lines around them and how when he was happy about something his sexy dimple would pop out on his right cheek. She’d spent so much time looking at the man over the last few weeks, she had everything about him memorized. The way his voice was like satin, sliding against her skin, causing quivers through her. How his incredibly bright eyes could mesmerize her, making her stomach tighten in need. She didn’t even want to think about the way his lean and muscular body caused her sleepless nights. Everything about Max screamed sex.
Cassie shook her head, tossing the magazine aside in disgust. She jumped up and went to the vending machine to purchase the biggest chocolate bar she could find. She’d heard chocolate set off the same hormones in your body that sex did so she’d give it a whirl. She had a feeling she’d be munching a lot of chocolate during her Alaska trip. She purchased a few extras and stashed them in her purse.
Max walked in the door as she was finishing the treat, and she frowned. The chocolate hadn’t done its trick. One look at him in his casual wear of fitted black slacks, a polo shirt that seemed to be made just for him, and a sweater slung over his shoulder, and her stomach clenched. She devoured him with her eyes. Before she could turn away, his head swung around, catching her appraising look. His lips turned up in a knowing smile and he slowly made his way toward her. Even the man’s walk was sexy, his thighs flexing under the tight material. She was almost in a trance.
“Ready to leave,” Max practically purred, as he stepped too close to her for appropriateness.
“Um…yeah…I…I have everything here,” she stuttered, wanting to kick herself. She blamed her lack of sophistication on the early hour of the day. He reached his hand up, slowing brushing a piece of her hair from her face, taking his time, tucking it behind her ear as he’d done before. His fingers traced the back of her ear in a whisper soft movement, causing goosebumps to instantly appear on her skin. His eyes were locked to hers and she forgot how to move. His smile slowly grew bigger and she wanted nothing more than for him to lean the scant few inches separating them and connect his lips to hers.
“I’ll get your bags,” he said, bending down and picking up her two suitcases. He walked a few feet before she snapped out of her trance and watched his retreating back. Heck, his backside was just as appealing as the front. She shook her head and then the self-lecture started as she followed him out the front doors. You will not lust after Max. He’s off limits and you’re strictly here to interview him. Don’t be an idiot. He goes through women faster than underwear, so back the heck off!
There was a car waiting and Max quickly placed her bags into the trunk, then stood by the back door with it open, waiting for her to climb inside.
She quickly did and scooted as far to the windo
w as she possibly could. Max slid in next to her. She hoped the ride didn’t take too long. Max pulled out his PDA and started going through his email, while she watched the darkened streets start coming to life.
“We’ll be there in about twenty minutes,” he said, almost absentmindedly. She nodded her head in acknowledgement. She didn’t trust her voice, since his leg was pressed against hers and no matter how she wiggled she couldn’t break the connection. She finally stopped moving around and sat ramrod straight, never taking her eyes off the window, though there was nothing to see.
They arrived at the bustling airport, bypassing the commercial terminal and heading to the private section. The car pulled to a building, where a man immediately stepped out with a cart and loaded their bags. He disappeared before she was fully out of the vehicle. Max took her arm in his and led her through the doors. She wanted to pull away, but refused to be so obvious about his touch affecting her. She walked with him through the small building and out a back door, where she saw the corporate jet lit up and ready to go.
They climbed the stairs and she couldn’t stop the small gasp that escaped. The jet was beautiful and certainly the only way to fly if you had the amount of money the Andersons had.
“Sit wherever you like,” Max directed. He went to the front of the jet while she chose her seat.
“Would you like something to drink before we lift off?” a woman asked.
“I’d love some coffee, extra strong and sweet,” Cassie replied. The woman nodded and was back within a few moments with a large, steaming mug. She wrapped her hands around it and took small sips as she looked around. She wasn’t a fan of flying but she wouldn’t show the weakness in front of Max, so she took her alone time to take some deep breaths and calm her nerves.
“We’re ready to go. It’s only a couple hour flight so barely enough time to have breakfast and look over papers,” Max said, startling her out of her self pep-talk.