Catering to the CEO

by Samantha Chase

  Tomorrow would bring the end of their weekend and it felt like it was too soon. It would be three weeks before they would be back here. Adam thought of how long three weeks could seem. He knew that it would be best if Cassie used all that time to recover. When he made love with her for the first time, he wanted it to be here, in this house, in this bed. Of that he was certain.

  As a master planner, Adam began to formulate a plan of survival for the coming weeks. There was no way that he could completely stay away and yet the thought of being with her, whether for work or in a social setting, and not touching her, would test the limits of his control.

  There would be phone calls, both to discuss the upcoming retreat and for personal reasons; he was sure there would be a family event or two that he could find time to get involved in. His mother would be shocked.

  Holding Cassie close, Adam smiled. While he didn’t believe in forever, he was looking forward to whatever span of time he was going to have while being involved with Cassie.

  He kissed the top of her head as sleep finally claimed him.

  Chapter Nine

  They began their ride home after lunch and while neither had encouraged or entertained the idea of engaging in the passion of the previous night, it was lurking in the backs of their minds.

  Cassie hated to leave the big, beautiful house but was comforted by the fact that she had accomplished, business-wise, what she needed to this weekend and that she would be returning in three short weeks. As the road took them further and further away from the coast and closer to home, Cassie had a mental checklist going on in her head as to what she would need to do in order to be ready before returning.

  Wishing that she had her day planner with her, she couldn’t be positive that there wasn’t going to be too much left back in Raleigh for her staff to handle. Tomorrow, she would call their waitress from Friday night and make arrangements with her and remember to touch base with her over the coming weeks.

  The sound of her cell phone ringing startled her out of the peaceful, companionable silence. Looking at the phone she saw that it was her father.

  “Hey, dad! How are you today?”

  “Doin’ good, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”

  Cassie updated him on her health while not going into details about last night’s setback. “I’ve got a follow up appointment on Wednesday but I think everything is healing as it should. Only time will tell.”

  “I’m glad, Cass, I really am. I want you to never have to deal with those painful spells again.” Cassie agreed. “Hey, are you up for dinner tomorrow night?”

  She sighed lightheartedly. “What am I making?”

  Stephen laughed. “Actually, um…Bev would like to cook dinner for the family.” Cassie was stunned silent. While she knew that her father and Bev were going to be married, cooking had always been her responsibility and she took it seriously. “Cass? You still there?”

  “What? Oh, yes, yes…I’m still here. Sorry, my mind wandered. Actually, that sounds great. Are we eating at home or at Bev’s?”

  With great relief that she wasn’t upset, Stephen detailed that dinner would be at Bev’s house and promised to e-mail Cassie the direction. “So what time should I be there?” she asked.

  “I don’t know what your schedule is like tomorrow, but would six work?”

  “That sounds great. Should I bring anything?” she asked, hopeful that she wouldn’t totally be eliminated from the preparation of the meal.

  “Actually, sweetheart, Bev is really looking forward to doing the whole meal for everyone. I think she feels a little intimidated by you and so if you could just…”

  “It’s okay, dad. I get it. I am glad to come and just be a guest. I’ll see you tomorrow night at six.” When Cassie placed her phone back in her purse, she turned her head to look out the window and sighed.

  “Everything okay?” Adam asked, concern lacing his voice.

  Turning her head to him, she gave a small smile. “Family dinner tomorrow night at your mom’s. I’m sure you’ll get the call, too.”

  He chuckled. “I doubt that.”

  “What? Why?”

  “My mother and I don’t normally do family dinners. I mean, she invited me to your father’s that night mainly because they were making an announcement but other than that, we just doesn’t get together and socialize much.”

  “Well that’s just sad, Adam. You guys are family, the only family that you have, from what I can tell. You should spend time together.”

  “Cassandra, please…don’t try to fix my relationship with my mother. It works for us both and now, apparently, she’ll have a whole new family that she’ll spend time with.”

  “Does that bother you?”

  “Hell, no.” Actually, he wondered if Bev would call more and invite him to come around more now that she was getting married. Would she want to include him in her new family? “So why the sigh? Clearly you enjoy the whole family get-together thing, so what’s the problem?”

  Unable to help it, another sigh escaped her lips. “There’s no problem, really. It’s just that this is all new, you know? We all have our roles in the family and now they’re changing.”

  “Ah, my mom is going to cook, isn’t she?”

  Cassie’s head snapped towards Adam’s. “How did you know?”

  “If there is one thing I’ve learned about you, it’s that you enjoy the role of the chef. You like the praise and you thoroughly enjoy the whole process of preparation. Having Bev step in and take over sort of leaves you without a role.”

  “Very astute, Mr. Lawrence,” she said with sarcasm, angry that he had her pegged. “Maybe I’ll actually get to relax and enjoy myself for once; maybe I’ll enjoy just sitting back and letting someone else fret over the meal.” She crossed her arms across her chest and pouted.

  Adam found her to be adorable.

  “Pouting doesn’t suit you, Cassandra.” He pointed out. “And fret? You never fret over anything and believe me, if I know my mother, she is going to go overboard while trying to impress you.”

  “She doesn’t need to do that! Oh, gosh…I don’t want there to be like a competition or anything! I just…”

  Adam took a hand off of the steering wheel and reached for one of Cassie’s. “Sshh…it’s alright, Cass, really. I don’t think my mom is trying to have a competition with you. This is all new to her, too. I don’t think she ever dated anyone with kids so she is just trying to find her place in all of this, as well. Relax. Just go tomorrow night and enjoy having the night off.”

  Their fingers were linked together and Cassie found his touch to be comforting. “Thanks. I know you’re right. It just feels weird. I never get to just be the guest. I’m more comfortable in the role of hired help.”

  Adam pulled his hand from hers and if he weren’t in the middle of a major highway, he would have slammed the brakes. “What does that mean?” His tone suggested that he was appalled by her statement.

  “What? The hired help?” Adam nodded. “When you know how to cook and people know that you own your own catering business, no one invites you for dinner where you don’t do the cooking.” The look on Adam’s face showed that he was well and truly appalled. “It’s not a big deal, Adam. I got used to it.”

  “So you never get to go anywhere and just be a guest?”

  “Nope. At least…” she stopped and thought for a moment. “Nope. If I get invited somewhere, I’m either bringing the meal or preparing it there.”

  “What about your friends? Or boyfriends?”

  She chuckled at his outrage for her. “The business has been my main priority for quite some time so there hasn’t been a man in my life in a while. When there was, we would eat out mainly. As for friends? Well, most of my friends are married and having children now and our schedules just don’t mesh much anymore.”

  Adam didn’t see that as a bad thing; after all, he didn’t socialize much with friends anymore and he was fine with that. Looking at Cassie’s face, however,
he saw that it wasn’t okay with her. And then he realized that it wasn’t okay with him, either, because clearly he was no better than all the rest. Their relationship started as a business one, which meant it was about her cooking for him but since then had he done anything to change that?

  Sure, he’d bought her a pizza and took her out to eat but…hell, he did not like to think of himself as being like anybody else and that meant he would have to treat Cassie as she’d never been treated before. Even if their relationship was brief, he wanted her to remember that he had cared enough to take better care of her and respect her time and feelings more than anyone else.

  He let the subject drop, mainly because he feared that if he continued with it, his role in using her as the hired help would come up and he didn’t want to focus on that right now. The remainder of the drive consisted of listening to music and discussing not much of anything; Adam’s main focus was just on not bringing up the subject of her family or his mom again for the time being.

  When they arrived back at Cassie’s place, Adam parked and got out to retrieve her luggage. He waited while Cassie unlocked the door and followed her inside and up the stairs to her apartment. Had she not been recovering, he would have been taking advantage of their location and making love to her here and spending the night. Since that wasn’t an option, he settled for watching her go about putting her suitcase in her bedroom and checking her phone messages.

  Sitting down on the couch, Adam felt no hurry to leave. A few minutes later, Cassie joined him and handed him a glass of wine. “Thank you for a wonderful weekend. I can’t wait to get back and set up for your meetings.”

  Damn, he was hoping she’d be excited about going back to be with him but since last night, she hadn’t made one mention of the intimacies they’d shared.

  “I think it’s going to be…” he didn’t want to say perfect because Adam didn’t believe in perfect but he struggled for the right phrase.

  “It’s going to be great; just say it!” Cassie teased and took a sip of her drink. “I think I’ll go down a few days beforehand so that I can make sure the place is clean and aired out and that I can have Debbie come and do a walk-through of our setup so that there’s no awkwardness come time that everyone’s there.”

  “Sounds good. Are you planning on driving down on Wednesday?”

  “Actually, if it’s alright with you, I think I’ll head down Tuesday night and this way I can get up Wednesday morning and get things going. That will give me two full days of prep time before everyone arrives.”

  The wheels in Adam’s mind started turning. He could arrange for some of his executives and VP’s to handle things here so that Adam would be free to join Cassie at the beach and be alone with her for a few days before his meetings began. Adam didn’t feel the need to let Cassie in on that bit of information; instead, he was opting for the element of surprise.

  They sat quietly, as was becoming a habit, until Cassie turned to Adam and asked, “I think I have the makings of a meal down in the kitchen. Would you like to stay for dinner?”

  Here was his chance. It would be easy to let her do what she asked; he could sit here and relax and let her do what she enjoyed. But he wasn’t prepared to let her. “Actually, I was thinking of getting some Chinese. We could rent a movie from Redbox or something and just hang out. It’s been a long day, why don’t you just relax?”

  His words startled her. He had essentially pampered her all weekend. She wasn’t sure what to do with all of this spare time and energy. “Really? Are you sure? It would be easier to just go down in to the kitchen and whip something up.”

  Unable to help himself, Adam leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her nose. “Easier for whom?” Placing his glass on her coffee table, Adam stood and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “What do you like?”

  Cassie rattled off some of her personal favorites and together they decided on their orders. “Why don’t you return your messages and get settled back in while I go and pick up the food and the movie?” Adam suggested.

  Agreeing, Cassie watched him leave and wondered to herself just what kind of a relationship she was going to end up having with Adam Lawrence.

  Later that night, long after leaving the comfort of Cassie’s apartment, Adam lay in his own bed and played over the events of the weekend in his mind. Seduction had been the plan and while things didn’t go exactly as he had hoped, just the taste of what was to come had him hard. He knew that Cassie was a passionate woman but he was not prepared for what she would be like in his bed.

  The countdown was on until they were back on the coast and with any luck, she would be completely recovered and they could pick up where they left off. Adam had visions of having Cassie in every room of his home. A wicked grin crossed his face. Yes, by the time he arrived back at the beach he would be more than ready to take on such a quest.

  Pushing the erotic images from his mind, he turned his attention to the more practical side of survival for now. His mother hadn’t called to invite him for dinner and while under normal circumstances he wouldn’t be bothered by it, knowing that Cassie would be there and he wouldn’t didn’t sit well with him. He made a mental note to call his mother in the morning and fish for an invitation.

  Turning on his side and punching the pillow, Adam sighed as sleep eluded him.

  ****

  At six o’clock sharp the next evening, Cassie stood on Bev’s front porch. She felt naked without holding pots, pans or at the very least, a covered dish. She noticed that her siblings were already here and although Katie had offered to drive with her, Cassie had some bookkeeping to do that held her up a little. Ringing the bell, it was a bit of a shock to see her dad answering the door.

  He gathered her into a big bear hug and kissed her cheek as he led her into the large eat-in kitchen where everyone was gathered. Cassie took in her surroundings and found that Bev’s home was a lot like her childhood one. Large rooms that were comfortably furnished, bright cheery walls and a kitchen that could host large family gatherings. In truth, it felt like home.

  She walked around and kissed everyone hello and when she got to Bev, the older woman embraced her tightly. “I hope that you don’t mind that I wanted to cook tonight. I wanted to give you a bit of a break.” Her smile was sincere and Cassie couldn’t help but smile back with gratitude.

  “Are you kidding? I’ve been looking forward to this all day!” She took the drink that Bev offered and went to sit at the table with her siblings, taking time to pick up Ella and snuggle her in her arms.

  “Adam tells me that you’re going to cater an event for him out at the beach,” Bev said as she chopped ingredients for their salad. Adam had spoken to his mom? After all his talk yesterday of them not being close? Well, maybe Bev had called him to invite him for dinner. She casually looked around for any sign of him and then realized that everyone was looking to her for an answer.

  “Oh, yes; we took a ride out to the house this weekend. It’s magnificent. I had the chance to talk to some local vendors and I think Adam is going to be pleased with the results.”

  “As if he could be anything but,” her father stated with a grin. He liked this; he liked looking around the room and seeing that his children were genuinely happy to be here. His focus was on Cassie as she rocked Ella and talked softly to her. She looked so good and comfortable with a baby in her arms and he could only pray that this surgery was going to make it possible for her to have one of her own someday.

  “She looks good in your arms, Cass,” he couldn’t help but say. Cassie beamed at her father as she placed a soft kiss on Ella’s cheek.

  “She feels good in my arms, dad.” It was that moment that Adam walked into the kitchen. He took in the smiling faces, the relaxed atmosphere and for a moment, felt wildly out of place. Then he caught sight of Cassie with her niece in her arms and his breath felt as if it were knocked out of him.

  She looked positively serene, glowing with love as she held the small child and Adam wa
sn’t sure why the image affected him so much, but it did. He had to stop himself from staring and called out a greeting to his mother.

  If Bev could have her choice of a perfect evening, this would be it. When Adam had called earlier that morning and inquired about dinner tonight, she couldn’t hide her delight. As her only child, Bev wished that Adam would want to spend more time with her. She was unsure of what exactly had him experiencing a change of heart, but glancing in Cassie’s direction over Adam’s shoulder, she had a pretty good idea.

  Dinner was boisterous with everyone talking at once about a myriad of different topics. Adam realized that this was how the Jacobs family operated and while he still wasn’t one hundred percent comfortable with it, he was unable to stop himself from joining in.

  Matt was talking about a string of break ins that were going on in a residential part of town while Lauren was telling Bev about her college course load. Katie and Cassie were talking about the caterings they had coming up this weekend while he and Stephen talked about business and Adam’s upcoming travels.

  All in all Adam found the whole thing pleasant enough and the look of pure happiness on his mother’s face told him that he’d made the right decision to be a part of this get together.

  “So Cassie,” Bev began, “tell us about your plans for the meeting Adam’s holding at the beach.”

  Cassie looked nervously over at Adam in case he wanted to be the one to tell the details but he just smiled and nodded and that was her cue. He realized that he enjoyed hearing her talk about her work and she was so animated in her descriptions, that even if Adam had never been to the house, he would have had a perfect picture in his mind as to what she was describing.

  “It sounds lovely,” Bev said with a smile. “I always imagined that house being used for special events and big parties.”

  “I know what you mean. This is just a small event; I could go wild with something a lot bigger. God knows there’s enough space there for a large group. Oh! You and dad should have your wedding there. It would be absolutely perfect! We could do flowers on the railings of the deck and lots and lots of candles all around…Oh, to see you coming down the stairs or maybe going down to the beach…it would be magical!” The words were out before Cassie could stop them and soon Lauren and Katie were chiming in with questions and ideas but she could feel the tension coming from Adam’s end of the table.