Chasing the CEO (The CEO Duet, #1)

by Campos, Cecilia

  “Apparently, an entire delegation of Americans has been flown in from Audi USA. Some MT-members, but also a handful of managers.” Anita turns her head and looks at me with big round eyes. Did I tell you how much she loves gossiping? Loves might be the understatement of the century—she’s addicted to it.

  “They arrived on Monday, met with a couple of people already, and were shown around. Tonight, they’ll be introduced to everyone officially and then hopefully, we are going to find out what all of this is about.”

  “Okay. Well, let’s wait and see.”

  “Aren’t you curious?” She doesn’t understand I actually don’t care. Not even a little. She wants to make a career at Audi and always keeps up-to-date on the latest developments. I don’t.

  Go with the flow. That’s me. I don’t try to bend things my way, because there’s simply no use. My entire family consists of hard-working people; especially my dad, who came a long way in his professional life. He grew up in a small village in Italy and by always working hard, he managed to build a big empire. But was he happy? I don’t think so, because my parents never managed to escape the rut either.

  On the day they died in that car accident, they were on their way back from a meeting with their attorneys to settle the details of their divorce. That was actually their best decision because I can’t remember seeing them happy a lot.

  “What does it matter?” I raise my eyebrows. “You think you can buy happiness by making a career, but I don’t think that’s the way it works. I think you just have to try to have as much fun as possible in life. A job is just a job, not your whole life. I don’t care about that meeting, I’m more interested in the party! Let’s just have some drinks and go nuts!”

  Her bright red lips cast me a broad smile and her black, glossy bob haircut bounces up and down while she nods in an exaggerated fashion. “Sure we will! But a career can also earn you a lot of money, Nina, and everybody knows that money equals happiness!” She adds, “When you know all the ins and out of the company and the people you work with, you can pull a few strings.”

  She points at the side of her head. “You need to have a strategy and a plan, Nina. You don’t care, but eventually, it all comes down to internal politics and the more you know, the more you can put situations to your advantage.”

  She laughs out loud and brings her shoulders up to meet her cheeks. Just like the evil villain she pretends to be, she even rubs her hands, like she always does when she has evil plans.

  If my life were a highway, I would plan my route carefully, but still reach my destination with my heart.

  Chapter 5 - Restroom

  NINA

  After a six-hour drive, including the necessary stops, the round, glass main building of Audi in Ingolstadt, Germany, rises on our left. I’m used to being on the road for hours at a time, but then I’m always the one driving. It’s annoying John didn’t want to switch during the journey, because time would have gone a whole lot faster if he would have let me drive.

  The flag posts in front of the main entrance all show the American flag. It must be to welcome the American colleagues as Anita mentioned before.

  After parking, all three of us walk up to the building. “I must be the luckiest man in the world with such gorgeous women at my sides.” John looks at us both with a certain pride.

  A deep frown appears on Anita’s forehead. “Don’t get any ideas in your head, babe. I’m not the sharing type.”

  “Me neither, fortunately.” The mischievous little smile in the corner of his mouth and the big wink he sends me say otherwise. Does he really think I would be in for a threesome? I laugh out loud and tell him, “In your dreams, baby.” Anita nods approvingly and gives me a high-five.

  I can smell the people before I see them. Do you know that suffocating, musty smell of too many people in one room? It’s awful. I immediately regret coming along. Nearly all the seats in the public area of the auditorium are filled already and there’s no time for a quick cup of coffee or a visit to the restroom. Of course, we want to sit next to each other, but there are simply too few seats left, so that’s going to be difficult.

  Alas, way up front, there are exactly three empty seats left next to each other. “There!” I point out to Anita. We cut a path through the crowd as fast as we can. Just as we’re sitting down, the big boss of Audi Germany welcomes everyone.

  I find out this meeting is held every year. I wonder where I was last year ... That invitation e-mail is probably somewhere at the bottom of my ever-growing inbox, unopened. His talk is long and boring. The PowerPoint slides show diagrams with graphics and numbers. He sounds like he knows what he’s talking about, but it’s not very interesting to me.

  After about forty-five minutes, I can no longer hold it. It’s taking way too long and I really need to pee. It has been a long trip and the need for the restroom had actually already been due by the time we’d arrived, but there simply wasn’t time.

  We’re all the way in the front and if I would get up now, everyone would see I was leaving in the middle of the presentation. With furrowed eyebrows, I whisper in Anita’s ear, “I really need to pee.”

  “No way, you can’t go now! That would be so embarrassing!”

  “I can’t take it any longer ...” I rise very carefully so as not to attract too much attention. The sudden silence tells me that plan didn’t quite work out.

  With my cheeks flushed in embarrassment, I look up at the speaker and mumble, “I’m sorry.” I make my way past the rows of people, in the direction of the toilets. The speaker on the stage clears his throat and continues his story.

  I find the restroom and lock myself in one of the stalls. Oh, sweet relief! I should be embarrassed about what happened, but whatever. It’s his own fault for giving a forty-five minute presentation. Forty-five minutes! Surely, that’s way too long?

  Once I’m out of the stall, I take a look in the mirror and establish I look good. Of course, I turn around and I check my back as well. I know most people don’t do that. They check their front appearance, but miss the fact that they have a huge stain on the back of their pants. That will never happen to me, because I always check. Plus, I like looking at my ass, because I’m proud of it.

  My ass is one of the finest parts of my body. Every man will look at it, I’m well aware of that. Do you think I’m arrogant to say that? Do I think too much of myself? I’m just being realistic. I know my good features and I also know my less fortunate ones. My rear side is certainly one of the good parts of my body.

  I’m not really in a hurry to get back to the presentation, because that would mean having to make my way through all those people again to get to my seat. So, I take my time in front of the mirror, then comb my hair and apply some more blush to my cheeks. The last thing I do is check my teeth, because I had sandwich on the way here. I can’t have any cheese between my teeth now, can I?

  Walking backwards and pushing the door open with my ass, I’m still checking my teeth in the mirror as I suddenly bump into something. Startled, I turn around and then crash into a large, muscled and expensively suited-up body.

  My knees buckle as I turn around. I lose my balance and almost have to grab his tie to keep from falling. He puts his hands on my upper arms and pulls me towards him. I look up and what I see ... there’s only one word for it: wow!

  He is handsome, divine, and gorgeous. I’m so impressed by this man, I forget how to breathe. He blinks his long, black lashes, looks at me with honey-colored eyes and asks, “Are you okay?”

  His American accent tells me he must be one of those Americans they brought in from the USA. He has a very nice mouth. His lips are full and lush, and his voice is low, sexy and a bit hoarse.

  I’m completely flabbergasted. Maybe it’s his stunning appearance. Or his warm and hard body, which I’m still leaning against. Or his full lips, combined with his heavenly masculine scent. He’s got me hypnotized.

  What the hell, Nina? Wake up, you’re embarrassing yourself. If
you don’t say something smart and funny right now, he’ll think you’re into him, and that’s really not cool.

  Hard to get, that’s the game. I love it. Men are supposed to chase me. I am Jerry and he is Tom. But in my case, Jerry would be a female mouse. Is it possible that cat and mouse were gay? I never thought of that ... Okay, okay, not the point here.

  You must have figured out by now that this fine example of a man threw me off completely. I’ve known and-or fucked many handsome men in my life.

  Sometimes just known and not fucked.

  Sometimes fucked and not known.

  Sometimes both. Whatever.

  But there is something really special about this man. His eyes seem to see straight through me. There is a force pulling me to him and rejecting me at the same time. Some kind of mechanism that makes me want to learn more about him. I want to crawl under his skin and into his head and I want him to do the same to me. Sounds pretty intense, doesn’t it? I’m really not overreacting, I swear that’s how it feels. Maybe that’s what people mean when they talk about love at first sight? Although, I doubt this has anything to do with love—more like lust at first sight! I’ve never felt anything as intense as this before.

  Although he’s very handsome to look at, he’s not one of those model types. Not like those modern, overly well-preserved, metrosexual types, who probably spend more time in front of the mirror than I do. No, he’s rougher. His face has strong, masculine features—a square jaw, dark eyebrows, combined with a small, stylized nose. I’m finding it hard to describe him. He looks a bit like that actor in the movie Pearl Harbor, what’s his name ... Josh Hartnett! But ten years older.

  The funny thing is, he doesn’t look like a businessman at all. He does wear a tailored suit and he does look very corporate, but something seems off. Maybe it’s his hair? Yeah, that’s it! Most managers I know have short, neat haircuts, but Mister Hotshot here has shoulder-long hair with a bit of a wave in it. He wears it in a ponytail, low on his neck. At first sight, it seems like short hair, because it’s combed back tightly, but from the side, you can see it’s not.

  “Are you all right?” he asks me again. His accent is so nice. His voice sounds warm and sexy. I suddenly realize I still haven’t answered his first question. Shit! Taking a step back and freeing myself from his strong grip, I finally manage to get a hold of myself.

  “Yeah, sorry, I’m fine. Thanks for your help.” I deploy my sexiest voice and my best English pronunciation. While doing that, I try not to look at his mouth. Sweet Lord, that mouth. I imagine him softly kissing my neck with those wonderful lips. Or those pearly white teeth biting my nipples ...

  I don’t know who he is or what he’s doing here, but my mind is made up:

  Who is he? He’s the man I will have fun with at the party and later on in my hotel room. I have to have him.

  What does he do? In my hotel room, after the party, he will make me come over and over again, in every possible way. On his mouth, on his hands, on his dick.

  I tell him I was distracted for a moment and that I hope I didn’t startle him too much. While I’m talking, his eyes trail from my lips to my breasts and back again. Does he like me? I think he does!

  “Are you going to the party afterwards?” I ask him in my most tempting voice. He doesn’t reply right away. Could it be he is just as impressed by me as I am by him?

  He looks away briefly and then back at me. He still hasn’t answered my question, so I wait. Just as I’m about to repeat the question, I hear him say, “Yes. I’ll have to.”

  “Will I see you there?” Slowly, I start walking back towards the auditorium. Since he does not reply, I look back over my shoulder to see him stare at my ass. At that precise moment, he is surrounded by a group of women. Three of them, and they are beautiful.

  “There you are!” I hear one say in fluent English. Oh, right, they must be his American colleagues. Boy, they look like models. Just stunning

  I continue walking back to the auditorium and hear the women talk over each other. I can’t hear what they are saying exactly, their voices are too low for that, but they sound nervous and a bit angry as well. I wonder what’s going on. Since I want to hear what they’re saying, I try to walk as slowly as I can, but the only thing that catches my ears is his sexy, hoarse voice saying with that confident calmness that he’s here now and they can stop worrying.

  Just as I’m about to enter the auditorium, a hand touches my shoulder. Startled, I turn around to stare right into his honey eyes again. How is that possible? I didn’t hear any footsteps.

  He’s standing so close to me I can smell the sweet, citrusy aroma of his cologne. What is going on? I’m just about to ask him that when I see his right hand is pointing at my left foot.

  Chapter 6 – Game on

  NINA

  Automatically, I follow his index finger and then I see it. Oh, my God! That is so embarrassing, I could die on the spot! I don’t think my cheeks have ever flushed so deeply, so quickly, ever before in my life.

  I was so preoccupied with my teeth and ass, I didn’t notice the piece of toilet paper stuck to my foot! I have seen this happen to other people and each time I’ve thought, How did that happen? Well, that’s just what I’m thinking right now. Only now I’m the embarrassed one!

  Unbelievable. How low can you go? Especially since it’s this incredibly sexy man I want to impress who’s noticed it, of all people! I try to conjure up a smile and say, “Wow, I didn’t see that.” I avert my eyes and can’t think of anything else to say, except, “Thanks!”

  I tear the piece of paper from my shoe and ball it up in my hand. I try to hide my embarrassment by giving him a little smile. When I look into his eyes, I can see he isn’t cheerful. He gazes at me with a very serious expression. It was very kind of him saving me from other embarrassing situations by pointing out that piece of paper stuck to my shoe. But I cannot understand that look.

  There is nothing kind in it. But if there is no kindness, then what is there? It is intense, that’s for sure. Slowly, he blinks, with those long eyelashes, and runs his fingers through his hair. Is it frustration? I don’t have any clue what this man is thinking at this moment, but I do feel a weird kind of electricity between us. A spark and something heavy in the air, something you could almost cut with a knife. What should I do? What should I say? I’m at a loss and I decide I need to get back to that auditorium as quickly as possible. I need to recover myself, to get away from the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me.

  As I walk back into the auditorium, I see the presentation is done and everyone has risen for a coffee break. Thank. You. God!

  I move along with the crowd, heading towards the adjacent room, where the coffee will be. I locate John and Anita in the left corner of the room.

  “Hey, Nina, what happened?”

  “You will not believe what just happened to me.”

  “What?” She can see I’m panicked and subjects me to an inspection, looking me up and down to establish whether I’m physically okay.

  “At the restrooms, I just ran into the most sexy man I’ve ever met. We sort of agreed to meet up at the party.”

  “Yeah, so what? Did that make your cheeks go tomato-red? It’s not the first time you’ve met a handsome man, is it?”

  “Of course not! That’s not the point! Just as I was walking away from him, he points out to me that this got stuck to my foot!” I put the little ball of toilet paper in her hand and point at it.

  She shoots me a surprised look, then looks at John, who gazes at me with the same surprise. They say nothing and then look at each other. Then their eyes trail back to me and they both start laughing. They are laughing at me! So loudly, silence falls all around us and everyone turns to look at us.

  “Shhh! Be quiet! Keep it down, will you!” I whisper-scream. In an attempt to hide my embarrassment, I produce a fake smile on my face. As if it’s not enough I’ve just been embarrassed in front of the most beautiful man on earth; now
the rest of the room makes me feel exposed as well.

  As soon as they’ve both calmed down a bit, John pats my shoulder reassuringly and asks me if I would like some coffee.

  “Can you slip some booze in it?”

  MY BEST FRIEND LOOKS at me with her blue eyes. “So, who was this handsome man?”

  “Don’t know. I’ve never seen him, but he spoke in English, so I assume he’s one of those American guests. He has a group of women with him, also Americans, and they are drop-dead gorgeous ... They could all have been models! But clearly aren’t, because they all had corporate outfits. You know, those women’s suits and high heels. It was really weird.”

  “Oh, I think I know who you mean. I’ve heard about them at work, but I’ve never encountered them myself. Apparently, he is some hotshot from the USA. Those women are his colleagues and hold several high positions there. They are always around him. No one knows exactly what their deal is.”

  Wow. This day is not turning out the way I thought it would at all. An adventure! How exciting! A mysterious handsome man and his harem ... Does that mean he’s not single?

  That would be a shame because if he’s not single, he’s not the right guy for my next sexcapade. To make sure, I do a mental sexcapade check:

  Check that finger—no married men. Well, I didn’t notice a ring on his finger, but I wasn’t paying attention to it, which I should. Tonight then! Very important!

  Wrap up the lollipop—safe sex. Check! Obviously, I brought a supply of condoms.

  Get in, get out, get over it. A one-time adventure, no chance for repetition. Hmm, that might pose a problem.