Boss

by Sierra Cartwright

  Damn him. He’d worn her down. Truth was, she wanted to spend time with him more than she wanted to avoid him. “Half an hour,” she relented.

  He reached for her duffel bag.

  “Thanks, but I can manage,” she protested.

  “I’m sure you can.” Without further argument, he took it from her.

  Though she’d never admit it, she appreciated him carrying the extra weight.

  He led the way to the elevator and pressed the lobby button as the door closed to seal them inside.

  She moved to the far side, away from him, overly conscious of her post-workout attire and the way his presence overwhelmed her. They were inside the elevator less than three seconds before she realized that agreeing to spend more time with him was a mistake.

  Once they glided to a stop and the doors whooshed open, he stepped aside like a gentleman and allowed her to exit first.

  “Evening, Mr. Donovan. Ms. Lane,” the on-duty security guard said.

  More and more, she was discovering how well known her new boss was. Even though she’d never met him until today, it was obvious he had taken the opportunity to interact with people.

  He held open the oversize glass door. The early November air hung heavy with moisture, chilling her. She zipped up her jacket a little farther.

  Like he had when they walked to the conference room this morning, he fell in step next to her.

  “Do you always work such long hours?” she asked.

  “It’s not unusual,” he replied. “You?”

  “Mr. Newman often told me I shouldn’t, but yes. I like to be organized.”

  “It’s appreciated.”

  When they entered the coffee shop, she inhaled the scent of sugar dancing on the air. It was a good thing she’d already worked out.

  “Chocolate cake?” Marvin guessed when she walked to the counter after taking a peek at the pastry case.

  “Come here often?” Nathan teased.

  “I’ve been in once or twice,” she replied.

  “A day,” Marvin added helpfully, after wiping his hands on his apron.

  “There goes your tip,” she told the older man. “What are you doing here so late, anyway?”

  “Lydia wasn’t feeling well,” he replied, mentioning his daughter. “So I sent her home. Told her I would cover for her.” He shrugged. “Figured I’d keep baking since I was here.”

  “The place smells amazing.” Her mouth was already watering.

  “Cappuccino to go with that?”

  “Please.”

  He glanced at the clock. “Decaf?”

  “That would be perfect. Thanks.”

  He started to enter the amount into the cash register but she hooked her thumb toward Nathan. “He’s paying.”

  “About time you brought a young man in here.”

  Heat seared her face. “He’s my boss.”

  “Anything you say, Kelsey.” Marvin nodded, as if he didn’t believe her.

  She glanced over her shoulder at Nathan, frantically hoping he wasn’t as mortified as she was.

  Nathan quirked an eyebrow at the man and gave a conspiratorial shrug.

  “What will it be, Kelsey’s boss?”

  “We’re sharing the cake.”

  “What?” She spun to face him. “I don’t share my cake. Not with you. Not with anyone.”

  He swept his gaze over her before saying, “You can’t eat the whole thing.”

  “Watch me.”

  “Two forks,” he said to Marvin. Ignoring her scowl, Nathan continued, “I’ll have a cappuccino, as well. Regular.”

  “I’m serious,” she warned him.

  “Your boss must know you well if he knows you always get a to-go box,” Marvin said.

  Shaking her head at both of them, she went to her favorite table and watched Nathan finish placing his order then pull out enough cash to pay the bill. She unzipped her jacket and hung her purse from the chair back while still watching him. He went up a bit in her estimation when she saw him stuff a five-dollar bill in the tip jar.

  After putting his wallet back into his pocket, he sought her out with his gaze.

  For a wild moment, she wondered what it would be like if they were more than employer and employee. But before the thought could careen across her mind and spin out of control, she shoved it aside and took her seat.

  Nathan Donovan was her boss. Nothing more. Not ever.

  He sat across from her and dropped her duffel bag at his side. “You know I invited you here for ulterior motives,” he said.

  Kelsey frowned. “Something you want to discuss about work?” Maybe the fact she’d left without saying goodnight?

  “No. That stays at the office.”

  She crossed her legs. “Then?”

  “I’m curious about you.”

  “Me?” She glanced around, as if he could possibly be talking to anyone else.

  “I’ve read your résumé. I know about your job experience, your education, your GPA and the civic organizations you volunteer at. Now I want to know about the blank lines. The stuff you left out, either because you needed to or thought you should.”

  She crossed her legs in the opposite direction. His cell phone was out of sight. His watch was blanked out. He was watching her so intently it was as if there were no other person on the planet and he was determined to uncover all her secrets. Some of them were so deep even she didn’t want to excavate them. But she had a sudden and uncomfortable feeling that he knew something about her that she’d prefer he didn’t. “And why would I tell you?” she asked. Then she realized her tone sounded sharp, defensive.

  “I’ll go first,” he said conversationally, as if they were friends, or even more than friends. “Earlier you asked about my grandfather, the Colonel. He was really only a captain, but after he married my grandmother, he was placed in charge of one of the divisions of her family’s business. That was their wedding gift from her father. He had to work his ass off to prove himself. And apparently he was gruff. So he earned the nickname.”

  “Must run in the family.”

  As if she hadn’t spoken, Nathan picked up his story where he’d left off. “My dad was nothing like his father. He was supposed to marry my mother, but he fell in love with a woman named Stormy.”

  “After he was married?”

  “No.” Nathan shook his head. “He was at the Running Wind, learning about the ranch. She was a riding instructor, if I remember. She’d been hired by the ranch as a wrangler. Once he met her, Dad lost sight of the woman back home. To be fair, they weren’t officially married or engaged. But the families had arranged for it, and he went along with it. He knew her and liked her. And since he hadn’t dated much, she seemed like a logical choice.”

  “So it was an arranged marriage.”

  “Of sorts. More like an agreed-upon marriage.”

  Intrigued, she leaned forward.

  “But Stormy got pregnant and ran away. She didn’t want to be part of the Donovan family, and she refused to let them take her son away. Even though my dad went on to marry my mom, I think they both knew he was still attached to Stormy. All that passion versus the responsibility he had back in town and at Donovan Worldwide. He was expected to run it, when his heart was at the ranch.”

  “Are your parents still together?”

  His eyes seemed to cloud over momentarily.

  The glimpse of emotion got to her, softened her, made her understand him a bit better. She wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

  “No.” His voice was flat. “My dad died in a car wreck.”

  Her heart twisted for him. She resisted the impulse to touch his hand. “That kind of loss is never easy.”

  “Rebuilding Donovan Worldwide has taken a lot of time and attention. I never take the responsibility lightly.”

  “Is that part of why you’re—?”

  “A penny-pinching miser?” he supplied helpfully.

  She winced.

  “We’re all a product of our experi
ence,” he said, sounding somewhat fatalistic.

  “But we get to choose what we do with that, how we use it, how it shapes us,” she replied. “Do we grow? Become more determined? Get angry?”

  “And you chose to become determined.”

  His statement cut through her defenses. Startled, she met his gaze.

  He was regarding her, his green eyes deep, interested.

  “How much research have you done on me?” Kelsey asked. “Do I have any secrets from you?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “Only the ones you choose to keep. But those are the ones I’m especially interested in.”

  She waited for him to go on.

  “Your reaction gave you away,” he explained. “When you used the word determined, you frowned as if you were remembering something, then you brought your chin up a little bit. There’s nothing in your personnel record except for your work history, so you don’t have to worry that I know a lot about you. But you were in a fairly powerful position with Newman. You weren’t just his assistant, you were fulfilling the role of an advisor, more like a VP. The question is, what drives you?”

  The man made her squirm. By nature she was a private person, so the fact that he so clearly saw things that others missed made her uncomfortable. Rather than answer him, she countered with, “Are you nosy with everyone who works for you?”

  “No. But I don’t share an office with anyone but you.”

  Fortunately, Marvin arrived, interrupting further conversation. “Decaf for the lady,” he said. He slid her drink in front of her. As always, he’d put a sugar cane swizzle stick on the saucer next to the cup. “And a regular.” He placed the second cappuccino in front of Nathan.

  Marvin also put a plate of chicken tenders between them.

  “What are they?” she asked suspiciously.

  “We need protein.” Nathan shrugged.

  “I wanted cake.”

  “You get that, too,” he reassured her.

  “Let the battle begin,” Marvin said. His grin was ridiculously broad as he lowered the gigantic slice toward the middle of the table.

  She glared at the shop owner. He’d cut the piece significantly bigger than any she’d ever seen. Not only that, but he’d put a big fat dollop of fresh whipped cream on the side and garnished it with a mint leaf. Adding insult, he’d drizzled chocolate syrup everywhere. It would take her three days to finish something like that, and Marvin knew it.

  “Can I get you anything else?” Marvin deposited a few napkins next to the plate then placed two forks on top of them.

  “I’m fine,” Nathan replied. “And you, employee?”

  Marvin chuckled.

  She scowled at both of them.

  The man continued laughing as he walked away.

  “Chicken first,” Nathan said.

  Though she scowled, she knew he was right.

  Dutifully, she ate a few bites before eyeing the cake.

  “After you.” Nathan nudged the slice toward her. “This will be fun.”

  She took the first bite and closed her eyes in delight as she savored the delicate combination of sweet and a slight bitterness.

  When she opened her eyes it was to see Nathan with his hands laced together, tapping his index fingers, watching her.

  Undaunted, she took a second bite. Then a third. By the fourth, she’d had more than enough. With a reluctant sigh, she put down the fork and pushed the plate toward him. “Fine. You were right. I can’t finish it.”

  On the other hand, Nathan’s appetite seemed insatiable. He demolished the rest of the cake while she melted her swizzle stick in the cappuccino.

  “You must have a serious sweet tooth,” she said, somewhere between shock and amazement. She knew he had to work out every day in order to put away that number of calories while looking so damn trim and fit.

  “I was hungry,” he replied, sitting back and pulling his coffee closer.

  Suddenly she wondered if they were still talking about food.

  “I didn’t forget that I asked you a question.”

  “I was hoping you had,” she replied.

  “Not likely.” Gaze unblinking, he repeated, “What drives you?”

  A small quirk of his lips was an invitation she couldn’t resist. “I lost my mom when I was thirteen, about to go into high school. She was my anchor, my inspiration.” Even now, talking about it cut a jagged path across her memory, as if her mother had died yesterday rather than years before. “I’m sure my dad did the best he could, what he thought was best.”

  “And that was…?” He trailed off and fell silent, as if he had the whole evening in front of him and nothing better to do.

  “Encourage me to find a man to take care of me. He thought I should go to a top-ranked college simply because I would meet a suitable husband there.” She shrugged. “That’s perfectly fine for a lot of women.”

  “But not you?”

  “My mother didn’t read us stories about princesses who were rescued. We were taught we shouldn’t be damsels in distress. She told us we could be anything we wanted. Back then, my sister wanted to be a ballerina.”

  “And you?”

  She hesitated for a moment before revealing, “Are you familiar with that one day a year that parents bring their kids along to work with them?”

  He nodded, but his mouth tightened.

  Someone like Nathan who breathed profit and loss had to be frustrated at the loss of productivity. “Well, my dad took me to the office because my mother insisted. I loved it. I liked the constant activity, the way he always seemed to be in demand…” She paused, trying to find the right words. “There was an energy about my dad when he was at work. It was as if he were a different person when he put on his suit and drove into downtown. Sounds silly.”

  “Not at all. I want to hear more.”

  “He had to go to a meeting that I couldn’t attend, so he left me in his office. I sat behind his desk, tipped back his chair. I imagined myself there, moved stuff about, picked up the phone. I pretended I was the person that everyone came to for answers. He seemed so very important to me. I remember deciding that day that I wanted to grow up and run a company.” Damn it. She dropped her swizzle stick. Why had she revealed that? How had she let that out? She should have kept quiet, guided the conversation back to Nathan and his goals. Instead, she’d given him a glimpse of things she’d never shared with another person…the real her. “It’s getting late.” She stood.

  “Please,” he said. “Wait.”

  Reluctantly she sat. And since she’d already given away so much anyway, she decided to finish. “My mom had dreams of her own. She loved being a mother, don’t get me wrong, but she was a lawyer, and she wanted to be a judge. But when she got pregnant with me, Dad wanted her to stay home. I guess it was a complicated pregnancy, so she ended up on bed rest. Then came my sister. And then… She had started to take on some pro bono cases when she got ill and was talking about working as a public defender. I remember hearing my father shout at her.” Damn, she hated the way this still bothered her. “Before she died, I promised her I would stay focused on my goals.” She zipped her jacket. “Dad told me she got over-exhausted from trying to do too much. He told me he wouldn’t pay for my college unless I was planning to get married after graduation. So I turned down his money. And I’m helping my little sister pursue her degree. She’s got her law degree, she’s active in the political process, and she plans to be a judge.” She slung her purse over her shoulder. “Thanks for the appetizers and cake.”

  “I’ll walk you to your car.” He stood at the same time she did.

  “Thanks, but I’m on light rail today.”

  “And you didn’t plan on staying so late.”

  That much was true.

  “I’ll give you a ride home.”

  “Really, Mr. Donovan—”

  “Nathan,” he corrected.

  She exhaled. “I’m capable of seeing myself home.”

  “That was never a question. I’
m heading out. So are you. No sense in it taking longer than it needs to.”

  If he’d been overbearing like her father, she would have refused. But he was being practical. And getting home, to her bath, wine and bed that much faster had a lot of appeal.

  “Be reasonable, Ms. Lane,” he continued, his tone light. “As I said earlier, not everything, including this relationship, has to be a battle.”

  “In that case, thank you.”

  He picked up her duffel bag then put his fingers on the small of her back as he guided her toward the exit.

  She went rigid. His touch was intimate, too familiar for a superior. But for a Dom, it was exactly perfect.

  Suddenly she could barely breathe.

  Kelsey told herself she was making too much out of this, that he meant nothing by it. He was probably being a gentleman, the way he was raised. But her response was anything but nonchalant.

  A wayward part of her wanted him to take her into his arms. She told herself she shouldn’t like it, but she enjoyed the strength and power he exuded. The more rational part of her personality, the one that kept her working toward her goals—and away from overbearing men—urged her to protect herself, flee if needed.

  She moved her purse to her other shoulder as a way to create a little motion to pull away and promised herself she’d put more distance between them once they were outside.

  “I’ll be back for more of that cake,” Nathan told Marvin on the way out.

  “Enjoy your evening with your employer, Kelsey,” Marvin said.

  “I’m warning you…” she replied. But she realized how it might look. Nathan had stood close to her, paid for the order and now he was touching her as few other men had.

  “Shall we?” He opened the glass door for her, and his genuine, easy smile made all of her tension vanish.

  Until they arrived at one of the nearby garages and walked toward the farthest car in the lot, a serviceable but nonetheless luxurious SUV. “I’m a bit surprised,” she admitted when he opened the door for her and she inhaled the scent of expensive leather. “I expected you to drive something a little less…showy.”

  “Because I’m cheap?”

  “You’re making me wish I could eat those words like I did the cake.”

  “You’ve misinterpreted frugality with suffering. This vehicle has one of the best warranties on the market. It gets exceptional fuel efficiency, retains its resale value, has a five-star crash rating and features I enjoy, such as satellite radio to keep up with the stock market and local news.” He put his hand on the car frame above her head. “It’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth equipped so I can talk on the phone or listen to messages and emails while I drive. It allows me to continue the business day. I consider it a mobile office. Economizing further would be a bad decision. And I don’t like to make many of those.”