“I don’t understand,” Barbara Randall said in a puzzled tone. “No, I’d like to schedule a follow-up meeting so you can explain to me everything you told Greg about the event.”
“I’m... I’m sorry?” Lissa stammered.
“Ms. Bradford,” Barbara repeated patiently, “I’d like to schedule a meeting with you so we can go over plans. Greg was very impressed with you, and requested specifically that we hire your company to cater the event. He said that you were the perfect person and that he wouldn’t accept anyone else. You’ve got the job, Ms. Bradford.”
* * *
Six weeks later, Lissa was sitting in Barbara Randall’s office at Thorne Investments, going over some final details for the event. Over the previous weeks, the two women had gotten to know one another well enough that Lissa had come to consider Barbara a friend. Despite their nearly twenty year age difference, Lissa admired and appreciated Barbara’s slightly brusque but always straightforward manner. Barbara, for her part, saw great potential in Lissa and thoroughly approved of how the younger woman had handled the preparations for the Women in Business event. She knew that, if things went well, she would hire Select Catering in the future, and was proud to think that her firm would have had a hand in helping such a talented and ambitious young woman move up in the world.
“So,” Barbara was saying, “the final head count looks to be somewhere around seventy to eighty guests, with the main table needing to seat twelve, give or take.”
“That’s perfect,” said Lissa, taking note on her laptop. “I’ve lined up all the servers, and with these final numbers I can go meet with Joseph for the linens and dinnerware. By the way, here’s a final look at the room viewer,” she said, angling the laptop so that Barbara could see it. A CAD drawing of the space flashed on the screen, showing the positioning of everything from table placement to floral arrangements.
“Very impressive,” Barbara murmured.
Lissa smiled. “I’ll give printed diagrams to all the vendors to use for planning and setup,” she nodded. “Oh, and of course to you, as well. In fact, if you’d like, I can email this to you right now.”
“Yes, please do,” Barbara said. Leaning back against the brown leather couch the two were seated on, she removed her reading glasses and smoothed back her silver-gray hair. “I think we’re set to go, Lissa. This looks fantastic. I must say, you’ve done a wonderful job of all this. Your sister was very right to recommend you.”
Lissa beamed with pride. “Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate that. It’s been a pleasure working with you, Barb. I think we’ve got something really special here, honestly. This event is going to be a great success, I’m sure of it.”
Barbara’s eyes twinkled. “Is it bad luck to celebrate an event before it’s happened? We always have champagne chilled, for when we close deals with privileged clients,” she said. “It’s Friday afternoon, after all, the end of a long week, and I’ve been working on the logistics of this event for months. I’m in the mood to celebrate. Care to join me?”
Lissa didn’t need much convincing. “Absolutely,” she grinned.
“Okay, wait right here.” Barb stood up and strode to her door. “Be right back!”
Lissa breathed a heavy sigh of satisfaction as she watched Barbara Randall disappear down the hallway. She was proud of the work they had done together; it was a pleasure to know that she had truly done her best by Thorne Investments. The event looked as though it would shape up wonderfully. Lissa was staring out the window at the skyline, basking in the afterglow, when a movement near the doorway in her peripheral vision. Thinking it was Barbara returning, she turned to speak, and found herself staring open-mouthed at Gregory Thorne himself.
The man looked at her with a stricken expression; it was clear he had expected to find Barbara and not Lissa. “Ms. Bradford,” he murmured by way of greeting.
Lissa felt her face flush red. Not since the first day of their interview had she seen Gregory Thorne. Though she had been back at Thorne Investments any number of times for meetings with Barbara, Thorne was always out of the office for a meeting or a business trip when she showed up. At first, she had always arrived for her meetings horribly nervous about the possibility of seeing him again; but over time, she had almost forgotten he owned the company, so scarce had he made himself. Now, here he was in the flesh standing right in front of her. He seemed as taken aback as she was at the encounter.
“Mr. Thorne,” she finally managed to say in a slightly strangled voice. “Um, Barbara just went down the hall for a moment. She’ll be right back.”
“I see...” Gregory Thorne threw a quick glance behind him as if hoping the woman would reappear. “Well, then, could you please let her know that I’m looking...”
“Greg!” Barb’s voice came ringing down the hall. “Just in time! Lissa and I just wrapped up the final details for the Women in Business event. Come have a glass of champagne with us to celebrate!”
Thorne backed away from the doorway and Barb came bustling in with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. “Come on, Greg, sit down with us. Lissa’s work on this has been stupendous. You’re going to be thrilled with the results, I know it.”
“I...” Gregory Thorne began, “Uh, Barbara, I have some things to take care of before I leave for the day. I just came in to ask you...”
“Oh, nonsense, Greg, take five minutes and celebrate with us. It’s Friday afternoon, for God’s sake. Anything you have to do before you leave can wait a few more minutes. The world won’t end if you send an email a few minutes later than expected.”
Lissa, despite the pounding in her chest at coming face to face with the man she had so roundly taken to task at their first meeting, couldn’t help but notice with amusement that Barbara Randall seemed completely unintimidated by her rich and powerful boss. Listening to her talk to him, one would have thought they were colleagues, equals, instead of her being in his employ. Lissa felt a small jolt of satisfaction at watching her not take no for an answer from Gregory Thorne.
It was fascinating to watch Thorne sigh with resignation and give in to Barbara’s insistence. “Fine,” he glowered, “Five minutes.” He walked into the office and sat down in a brown leather chair across from the couch where Lissa and Barb were seated. Barbara handed him the bottle. “Here, you open this. I’ll run down the hall and get a third glass.” And then, to Lissa’s utter consternation, Barb disappeared down the hallway again, leaving her and Thorne seated face to face.
Thorne’s eyes locked on hers for a frightening moment, and then he tore his gaze away and concentrated on opening the bottle. Lissa thought she should say something, but it felt as though there was a giant ball of ice lodged in her throat. Instead, she could only watch helplessly as his strong, square hands loosened the wire cage on the cork, then expertly eased it out of its sheath. With a subdued ‘pop’, the cork came free, and he caught up one of the flutes and poured out some of the mousse and yeasty golden liquid. He held out the glass to her wordlessly. Something about the way his gaze connected with hers as he offered the flute made her breath catch in her throat and her heart leap in her chest. As she took the glass from him, their fingers touched briefly, and she stifled a gasp as a jolt of unexpected heat ran through her.
Just then, Barbara came back into the room, breaking the tense mood. “Here we are,” she said gaily, sitting down next to Lissa and handing her empty glass to Greg. He finished filling the second flute and handed it to her, then filled his own. “To Women in Business,” Barbara crowed, raising her flute, “and to Lissa, for a fantastic job on an event that’s going to make us all proud.”
The three of them raised their glasses, Gregory’s eyes locking on Lissa’s as they did. Lissa raised the glass to her lips and felt the cool, golden liquid slide down her throat and warm her with its glow. “This is delicious,” she breathed, staring at the glass.
“Veuve Clicquot,” Barbara nodded, and Lissa glanced in recognition at the distinctive orange la
bel. She had been so distracted by Gregory Thorne’s presence that she hadn’t even noticed what he was pouring.
“Of course,” Lissa smiled. “Excellent choice as a champagne for celebrations. Classic.”
Lissa was relieved to see that Barbara didn’t appear to notice the tension between her and Gregory Thorne. The man sat, impassive, as Barbara continued to chatter about the event and heaped glowing praise on Lissa. Lissa, for her part, tried to avoid looking at Gregory. As Barbara continued to talk, she found herself loosening up as the champagne began to relax her. Even Thorne eventually seemed to ease into the conversation, and little by little he began to ask questions about the specifics of the event. Lissa was only too happy to have something work-related to talk about. At his request, she explained her thinking about food choices, staging, and other details he wanted to know. As she spoke, she found herself less terrified to look at this man, whose rugged handsomeness had so disconcerted her at their first meeting. Now, as he sipped his champagne and watched her talk, she was struck again by his square, strong chin and his thick, sensual lips, which were now curled upwards slightly in an expression that might almost have been a smile. Her heart fluttered a little in her chest at even this slight evidence that he was not wholly hostile toward her. She remembered again now that he had told Barbara to hire her – that he would accept no one else –after Lissa had berated him, even shamed him, at her interview. As she looked at him now, her brow twisted momentarily in confusion as she wondered what it was that Gregory Thorne actually thought of her.
As she finished explaining her decision to have the dessert course be a selection of creations by seven up and coming local female pastry chefs, Thorne nodded at her approvingly. He glanced at Barbara and said: “I knew we were right to hire her.” Then, his eyes meeting Lissa’s again, he said with a wicked half-smile: “Lissa struck me right away as someone with an uncommon degree of decisiveness. She clearly knows what she wants, and does not compromise when she feels strongly about it.”
Barbara raised her eyes at her employer. “You got that from an initial meeting?” she began, and then stopped as she saw the look that passed between Greg and Lissa. Clearly, something was going on here. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew better than to press it. Smiling slightly, she nodded. “I agree. Lissa is a rare find. We’re fortunate to have found her.”
Lissa, for her part, was turning pink from all the attention and the champagne. The flush in her cheeks was very becoming, Thorne thought – it made her already gorgeous complexion radiate life, sensuality. He had relaxed considerably during their conversation, but as he watched her talk, he had found himself growing increasingly mesmerized by her. He tried not to focus on her pink, bow-like lips, her creamy skin, the tumble of auburn hair as it fell around her face and caressed her breasts. Thorne thought back uncomfortably to the first time they had met, when her presence in his office had caused him almost immediate discomfort. Thorne was a man who very much worked to keep business and pleasure separate, and from the moment he first saw Lissa Bradford, he knew that this would be almost impossible with her.
Thorne had been irritated at having to take over Barbara’s interview, which cut into time he needed to meet an important deadline. But when Lissa walked into his office and sat down, he knew he had an entirely different problem on his hands. Lissa had come highly recommended, and Barbara was already leaning toward hiring her, but Greg’s normally strong impulse control had been completely derailed by the presence of this stunning, curvy, sensual woman seated facing him. At their first meeting, it had been all he was capable of doing to try to listen with half an ear and distract himself with emails to avoid leering at her like a pathetic fifteen year-old virgin. His cock had been straining in his pants the whole time she was there, only growing tighter and more erect as her breasts began to heave in discomfort and then anger. When she finally left in a huff after berating him for being cold, arrogant, and rude, he could only feel relief as she stormed out of his office, wiggling her luscious ass as she went. He had immediately called Annie and told her he didn’t want to be disturbed, then strode to his office door to flip the lock. Easing back into his chair, he unzipped and unbuttoned his straining pants, setting free his thick, throbbing erection. Like an adolescent who couldn’t control himself, he began to stroke, first as slowly as he could stand it, then faster, as he imagined pushing up that cream-colored skirt to find she had on only thigh highs and no panties. He closed his eyes as, in his mind, he bent her forward over his desk, easing his desperate cock into her wet and ready slit as she moaned with need for him and writhed against his hardness. When Greg came, it was so sudden and explosive that he cried out in surprise as he shot four ropy spurts hard against the bottom of his desk. Shuddering, he sighed with relief and reached in his desk for a handful of Kleenexes, furtively wiping away the evidence of his inability to control himself.
And now, here he was, face to face with the woman. He knew he had been making a mistake by insisting that Barbara hire her, but his business sense almost always overrode his personal preferences. It was part of what had made him so successful. And up to now, he had managed to stay away from Lissa, letting the two women do their work and allowing the gorgeous woman to assume he hated her. It was better that way, he knew. But now, with her sitting here across from him, he found himself wanting her to think better of him. It was easier for him to know she probably despised him when she remained largely an abstraction, a fantasy that occupied his thoughts and his cock when he was alone in the dark at night. But right here, right now, he wanted her to think more favorably of him. God help him, he even wished against his better judgment that she might even like him.
This was not good.
And now Barbara – maddening, maddening Barbara – was suggesting that Lissa come as an invitee as well as the caterer of the event. That was the last thing Greg needed – instead of her being largely behind the scenes, she would be front and center, in formal attire, looking like a knockout while Greg mingled and networked. But Greg could think of no way to stop Barbara from doing it. “You are one of our women in business,” Barbara gushed, “and think of the networking opportunities you’ll have at the event if you’re available to circulate and mingle with the other invitees. I just hope that you’ll make sure not to forget Thorne Investments when you’ve become the caterer to the rich and famous of Boston!”
“Of course not,” Lissa laughed. “And thank you. I’d be honored. My assistant Kaylee will be more than capable of running things behind the scenes, I’m sure.”
The bottle of champagne finished, conversation began to wind down, and Greg stood up. “I’ll leave you to finish up,” he said, turning to Lissa. “Congratulations, Lissa. I’m looking forward to seeing the results at the event.”
She blushed slightly and took his outstretched hand, which enveloped her smaller one in a grasp that felt surprisingly intimate. “Thank you, Mr. Thorne,” she murmured.
“Greg,” he replied firmly, looking into her eyes. “Please.”
She smiled shyly up at him. “Greg,” she murmured. The sound of his name on her lips made his heart catch in his throat. Tearing his gaze from her, he nodded at Barbara. “See you Monday, Barb. Have a good weekend.”
“You too, Greg. Don’t forget the meeting with Abbott we have Monday morning.”
Greg nodded wordlessly and walked out of the older woman’s office. Barb turned to Lissa and watched her pack up her things. “Well, Lissa, you certainly seemed to have charmed the pants off Greg. He’s a tough cookie. You should take that as quite a compliment.”
“Thank you,” Lissa said carefully. “Quite honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d made such a good impression the first time we met. I was... a bit outspoken.”
“That’s not something Greg has a problem with, as long as he feels you know what you’re talking about. As you can imagine, he’s somewhat outspoken, himself. And he has a healthy respect for people who know what they want and aren’t afraid to go get it.�
��
Barb and Lissa said their goodbyes, with Lissa promising to touch base one more time the day before the event to go over any last-minute developments. Then Lissa, heaving a heavy sigh of accomplishment, walked out of the Thorne Investments offices and toward the elevator.
It was after seven o’clock, and all of the other employees had long since left for the weekend. Lissa walked past Annie’s desk and out the huge glass doors, then pressed the down elevator button and waited for it to arrive. Stepping into the car, she pulled out her phone to check her messages, and when she looked up she was shocked to see Greg Thorne stepping into the elevator beside her.
“Hello again,” he murmured, his tone slightly more formal and closed than it had been in Barbara’s office.
Lissa smiled up at him. “I’m glad to see even CEOs leave for the weekend.”
“Yes,” Greg said vaguely. The two stood in slightly uncomfortable silence as the car sank downwards toward the ground level. Greg looked down at the floor and ran his hand distractedly through his curly, sun-streaked blond hair. The doors open, and he silently gestured for her to exit first. At the entrance building, he went first, holding the door open for her to pass through. Out on the street, Lissa saw a large black limousine waiting at the curb. “Can I drop you at your car?” Greg offered.
“I came by T, actually,” Lissa said, glancing down the street in the direction of the nearest station.
“Then can I offer you a ride home?” he asked.
“Oh, no, that’s quite alright – but thank you, anyway,” Lissa murmured. She shifted her briefcase from one hand to the other as she spoke.
“Please,” he said gently, “I insist. I’d... I’d like to speak to you for a moment.” Without waiting for an answer, he placed his warm hand on the small of her back and led her toward the limousine. Lissa was too astonished to refuse, and mutely stepped into the car through the open door held by a chauffeur clad in a pressed black suit. Greg slid in beside her and the door closed quietly behind him. When the chauffeur had gotten into the car, Greg pressed a button. “What’s your address?” he asked Lissa. She gave it to him, and he repeated it more loudly to the man behind the wheel, whom he called Alan. Then, releasing the button, he turned to her with an expression she couldn’t quite read. “I...” he began, then stopped. “I wanted to apologize. For the first time we met.” He frowned, clearly uncomfortable. “I was unforgivably rude. It’s true that I was under a lot of pressure that day, but that’s no excuse. Please forgive me.”
Catering to the Billionaire (The Billionaire's Appetites) (BBW Billionaire Erotic Romance) Page 2