by Sherri Hayes
Mr. Andersen informed her that for the last two years, shipments on their way to hospitals and major medical facilities had been stolen. It started just after the company began receiving harassing letters from a group who didn’t feel enough was being done in third world countries. The problem came when the shipments from paying customers were sabotaged; it caused the shipments to non-paying customers to decrease. Obviously, the people behind the threats and violence didn’t understand that concept.
This was a minor problem, compared to the next bomb he’d dropped. Starting about six months ago, her father began receiving personal threats of his own. They ran along the same lines as the threats to the company, such as “you’re not doing enough to help” and “you will be held responsible.” According to Matthew Andersen, there had been no physical violence against her father, but he wasn’t willing to bet that would hold true indefinitely. Apparently, the letters had escalated as of late.
And if that wasn’t enough, there was Matthew Andersen himself. What in the world was that today? As he spoke, all she could focus on was his mouth. It certainly wasn’t his words that held her attention. It was his lips. She had the strongest desire to know what they would feel like pressed against hers.
She had to use every bit of will power she possessed in order to pay attention. Cali knew she had to get a hold of herself. He worked for her. Well, he worked for her father and, in turn, for her for the next three months.
She sank down in the tub and let the water engulf her entire body, leaving only her head above the surface. Maybe she was over analyzing the connection with Matthew Andersen. She was a normal healthy female after all, and he was a very attractive man.
By the time Cali got out of the tub, she’d nearly convinced herself she was blowing the meeting and her body’s reaction out of proportion. But, as she drifted off to sleep, she dreamed of crystal blue eyes.
The next morning, Matthew went through his normal routine, making sure there weren’t any incidents overnight. He did a quick sweep of the security tapes and looked over the night watchman’s notes. Everything appeared to be in order, nothing out of the ordinary as far as he could tell.
Making his way into his office, he sat down at the computer and reviewed his to-do list. At the top was a note to show Cali Stanton around the building. He needed to verify her security code was functioning properly and make sure she knew how to access the areas she might need. Looking at his watch, he realized it was just now seven thirty. The chances that she was already here were slim, but he figured he didn’t have anything to lose. He picked up the phone and punched in Lisa’s number. Surely she’d be in this early.
The phone rang ten times. He was about to hang up when she answered.
“Hello?”
“Lisa?” Matthew asked. She sounded out of breath. “Is everything alright?”
He heard her giggle. “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”
Confused, he asked again, “Are you sure? Do you need me to come up there?”
“No!” she said a bit louder than normal, and he heard her take another breath. “No,” she said more calmly. “Really Matthew, I’m fine.” Then she seemed to get her bearings. “What can I help you with this morning? As much as I love to hear your voice, you don’t normally call to chat.”
He could hear the smile in her voice and knew that whatever was going on with her this morning, she wasn’t in any danger. “I need Ms. Stanton for about three hours at some point today so that I can walk her through the building’s security. Do you think you could clear some time in her schedule?”
She was quiet for several minutes. He could hear her fingers clicking away at the keyboard. “It looks like she should have some time around ten. Would that work?”
Checking his schedule, he answered, “That should be fine.”
“Anything else?”
“No. Thank you, Lisa. I’ll see you at ten.” Before he could say anything more, the phone went dead.
Shaking his head at her odd behavior, he turned back to his computer and focused on the logistics for Friday’s shipment. This needed to go without a hitch. It was their third attempt at the same delivery. If it didn’t get to its destination soon, the receiving hospital would most likely start looking for another supplier. Matthew wasn’t willing to let happen.
Lisa placed the phone back in its cradle as gently as she could, considering her distraction. Jason currently had one hand snaking up her leg under her skirt and the other brushing the small hairs at the base of her neck, making her shiver. This was dangerous. Cali could walk in on them at any minute. “Jason?”
“Hmm?” he mumbled as his lips began nipping on her neck, her ear.
She couldn’t take it and leaned back into him. His hand was just inches from the heat between her legs. They couldn’t do this here. She couldn’t understand what it was about this man that made her ready for him at a moment’s notice. All he had to do was touch her, and her body went up in flames. “We need to stop, Jason. We…someone could…”
Lisa couldn’t get out the rest.
When the bell on the elevator dinged, Jason instantly removed his hands and took a step back. With only seconds to right her appearance, Lisa quickly sat down behind her desk. She was still trying to adjust her clothing as the elevator doors opened and Cali stepped through.
“Good morning, Cali,” Lisa said with the best smile she could muster. Just what she didn’t need, her boss finding her making out with her—boyfriend? That was as good a term as any, she supposed.
Cali crossed the large lobby, stopping right in front of Lisa’s desk. She reached out her hand to Jason. “Hello.” She smiled. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Cali Stanton.”
Jason took her hand in greeting. So this is Alvin’s daughter, he thought. She wasn’t what he’d expected. Cali was pretty with wavy red hair and deep brown eyes. Not at all his type, but he wasn’t blind. Her handshake was firm but still feminine, and she didn’t flinch at his obvious appraisal. Maybe he’d been wrong about the princess. “Jason Andersen. Nice to meet you.”
Cali paused a minute, and he could see the wheels turning in her head. “You work in security too, right?”
Jason smiled. “Yes.”
Cali quickly looked over at Lisa and then back to Jason. “Is everything alright?” she asked with an edge in her voice. Jason’s eyes darted to Lisa hoping they hadn’t been found out. Though, he’d learned a long time ago not to assume, so he just waited her out. “Did something happen? Is that why you’re here so early in the morning?”
Jason breathed an internal sigh of relief. “Oh, no. I just happened to run into Lisa on my way in this morning and helped her carry some files.”
“Well, I guess a thank you is in order.”
“Yes. Well…um. I should be getting downstairs. It was nice meeting you, Ms. Stanton.”
“You too,” she answered before he walked to the elevators.
Cali watched him retreat before turning back to her assistant. “So…”
Lisa took one look at Cali and had to look away. Her boss knew or suspected at the least. This was horrible. She and Jason had been seeing each other for over two months, and Alvin hadn’t caught on, but his daughter saw them together for less than five minutes and knew.
Before Cali could ask, Lisa changed the subject. “You have a meeting with the board at nine this morning. I laid all the information you’ll need to know on your desk for you to review. And Matthew Andersen needs a few hours with you to go over security, so I blocked out your schedule from ten to two. I figured you’d need to catch lunch at some point. And then there’s your meeting with Mr. Carson at three to go over the financials.” When she finally did look up at Cali, the woman looked defeated, and the day hadn’t started yet. “You’ll be fine.”
Cali took a deep breath. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”
She turned, walked into her office, and closed the door. Cali knew she needed to go over the files on her desk before the board meeting so she�
�d know what she was talking about, the pile of folders visible from where she stood. But, the only thing she could think about was seeing Matthew Andersen again.
Knowing she would spend three hours with him today was tearing at her weak assurances to herself that she’d imagined her reaction to him yesterday. No, she couldn’t think about that. It wasn’t as bad as she’d made it out to be. It couldn’t be. She’d been attracted to men she worked with before and was able to block it from her mind and control her body’s responses so she could work with them. She could do the same thing now. Squaring her shoulders, she moved to her desk and began looking over the information for her morning meeting. She would treat Matthew Andersen like any other employee. She would.
Cali was the only female in the board meeting with a bunch of stuffy men old enough to be her father, most of them she’d known since birth. It was pointless as far as she was concerned. No one really said anything new, just rehashed the information she’d reviewed only an hour ago. The board had accepted her position in her father’s stead without question, instantly including her, for which she was grateful. It would have made her job much harder without their acceptance.
The meeting finally ended just after ten o’clock, and she politely shook hands with each of the men before going back to her office one floor up. The moment the elevator doors opened, she saw him, and everything she’d told herself about overreacting went out the window. Her heart accelerated just at the sight of him, and then he looked up. Their eyes met. For a moment, she thought she saw something flicker in them, but then it was gone.
He waited until she was almost in front of him before getting to his feet. “Ms. Stanton.”
She told herself to snap out of it. “Good morning, Mr. Andersen.” She was going for polite and professional but didn’t know if she’d pulled it off. Her heart had not calmed down. “Um…Give me just a minute to…to put these things on my desk, and then I’ll be ready.”
He just nodded as she walked passed him and into her office. She needed to get control of herself if she was going to be spending the next three hours with this man. Closing the door, she quickly deposited the folders on her desk. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her heart thudding in her chest. Once it was under control, she left her office.
This time, she was a little more prepared when she caught sight of him. Her heart still picked up its pace, but she didn’t think anyone besides her would be able to hear it. Stopping a few feet in front of him, she said, “After you.” Matthew hesitated for only a moment before turning toward the elevator doors. She followed, trying to keep her eyes only on the back of his head rather than where the bottom of his suit jacket was brushing up against his backside.
Two and a half hours later, Cali didn’t think there was an inch of Stanton Enterprises they hadn’t covered. They’d even been to the warehouse where the equipment was stored prior to shipping. At every stop, he’d made her use her security code to enter the department.
She had to admit the security set up was quite extensive, at least to her untrained eye. Matthew had pointed out some of the security cameras and explained their strategic placement. There were even a few places where fingerprints were required. Cali had no idea how they’d gotten hold of her fingerprints, maybe from her Doctors Without Borders application? She didn’t know and wasn’t going to ask. After what she’d seen, the man beside her was very good at what he did. She doubted there was anything he couldn’t accomplish if he put his mind to it.
They slowly walked down stairs to the first floor. As they came out of the stairwell and into the main lobby, Matthew took her over to the main reception desk and showed her the small monitors fed from the various security cameras placed directly in front of the building. There was also a panic button, which would alert not only security inside the facility but also the police. The amount of money the system cost had to be staggering, which left her with little doubt how serious the threats that Matthew had told her about yesterday were.
Other than asking a few questions for clarification, Cali hadn’t said much over the last few hours. Matthew had been very professional. They both moved to the front doors, and he pointed out the two cameras situated to monitor the entrance. Then, he turned to face her.
Placing both hands in his pockets, he studied her face. She wasn’t exactly sure what he was looking for, but whatever it was, he must have found it. “Are you hungry?”
Okay. Not what she expected. “Excuse me?”
He looked mildly uneasy, but continued. “It’s lunch time. And I thought maybe if you were hungry…” He paused as if waiting for her to say something. She didn’t. She had no idea what to say. Given the internal chaos he was causing her, the first thing her mind screamed was, No! Thankfully, she kept a firm hold on her initial and very unprofessional reaction.
Seeing he wasn’t getting a response, he figured he might as well just come out and ask. “Would you like to go to lunch?”
Cali felt the need to say the words out loud. Just for clarification. Well, that and allowing her to wrap her mind around what was happening and figure out how to deal with it. “You’re asking me to go to lunch with you?”
The side of his mouth pulled up in a hint of a smile, and Cali’s heart skipped a beat. “Yes.”
She swallowed. Did she want to go to lunch with Matthew Andersen? Yes. Should she go to lunch with Matthew Andersen? She mentally sighed. Probably not.
Obviously, she was taking too long to answer, and Matthew shifted his weight. “Look it’s no big deal. Don’t worry about it. I just thought—”
She interrupted him. “Sure.”
He gave her a full-fledged smile this time in response, and she knew if she didn’t move soon, she wouldn’t be able to remain standing.
Matthew opened the door. “After you,” he said mimicking her from earlier.
Cali just smiled at him before walking through the open door.
What in this world am I doing? he chided himself. After working so hard all morning to keep things professional, he now found himself in a cozy little Italian restaurant with her. They’d passed two cafes on the way here, but they hadn’t interested him. He told himself it was because he wanted to talk to her more about the situation and brief her on what was happening this Friday, but he knew better. Matthew had no desire to talk business. He wanted to find out what made her tick. Then maybe she would stop consuming his every thought, and he could concentrate on what he was supposed to—his job.
Cali slid into her chair. The restaurant he’d selected for their lunch surprised her. It must have been new. She didn’t remember it from her many trips out to eat with her father when she’d accompany him to work years ago.
She took a quick look around. It was full of deep reds and bright whites. The atmosphere was quite welcoming. There were several occupied tables, a good sign. She hoped that the food was decent. The restaurant was well lit, but she could imagine having dinner here with the lights turned down. It would be the perfect intimate setting for a date.
Cali stopped her thoughts in their tracks. Why was she thinking this? Oh, right. The man sitting across from her.
Sparing him a brief glance before picking up her menu, she wondered why he’d chosen this place. They’d passed several other eating establishments on the way. Why here? Although she was curious, she couldn’t bring herself to ask. Boss, remember?
She looked up at him again, and their eyes met. He gave her a smile and her heart sped up. Cali didn’t understand it. She’d been attracted to other men, but she’d never had this type of reaction before. Maybe her teen years were coming back to haunt her, or maybe the reason she was reacting so strongly was because she knew he was off limits.
Just then, the waiter approached them. “Good afternoon. My name is Seth, and I’ll be your server today. Did you need a few minutes, or are you ready to order?”
Matthew and Cali’s eyes met again, and Matthew nodded to let her know he was ready if she was. Seth took their orders
and their menus before turning from the table.
After their server left, they no longer had the menus to distract them. Cali fidgeted with the napkin on her lap, and Matthew took a sip of his water. He put his glass back on the table and cleared his throat. “Your dad said you were a doctor.”
She bought her eyes to meet his across the table. “Yes.”
When she didn’t continue, he gave her another brilliant smile. “Have you always wanted to be a doctor?”
Cali nodded. “Pretty much. My mom died of cancer when I was eleven,” she paused and gave him a shy smile, “which I’m sure you know.” He gave a knowing smile back. “After watching her suffer and not being able to do anything to help her, I knew.”
He nodded again. “It’s hard losing a parent.” She raised her eyebrows in question. “I lost my mom when I was eight. I was young, but I still remember how helpless I felt.”
“I’m sorry,” Cali mumbled.
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” There was a long pause. “Alvin…your dad…said you were working with Doctors Without Borders.”
Cali loved to talk about her work, and it showed in her tone. Her face took on a glow of happiness he’d not seen from her before. “Yes. I was working in Africa when I got the call from Dad.”
“How long were you there?”
“Just shy of two years. I wasn’t in one place the whole time though. They move us around to wherever they need us.”
The server came back with their food, and they dug in. Her enthusiasm continued as she told him about Rachael, Chad, and the other people she worked with at the small makeshift clinic where she’d treated the local patients. Halfway through their meal, they both fell silent.
“I met Jason Andersen this morning,” Cali said to break the tension in the air around them.