Rush: A Second Chance Romance

by Ellen Lane

  That, she didn’t mind thanking Vladimir for - but with everything else, she was still on the fence. Each day that she worked with him at the job site was one where she traipsed around in a hardhat, consulting with engineers and construction managers while he watched, wordlessly, taking notes in a small black book that he carried everywhere with him.

  He rarely talked to anyone on the site, and if he did, it was simply to ask them their opinion on the current building based on those they had worked on in the past - and that was always interesting to hear. To their merit, they tried to be as supportive as they could, but it was clear that they had never been a part of something quite as unique as Charlotte’s designs.

  It took a full three days before she managed to catch Vladimir in the act. The entire jobsite was bustling as they hollowed out the ground for the foundations of the gigantic structure. While any number of men in hard hats on the site kept telling her not to climb in and out of the pit - that it was dangerous - Charlotte only rolled her eyes. Of course they would say that - all the while doing it themselves.

  She had been on plenty of job sites in her time, and she was pretty sure burly, self-assured men injured themselves quicker than she did. One day, after slipping past a front end-loader that was on its way down to deepen the pit, she caught Vladimir at the end of the property, speaking to the head engineer.

  “...and how do you find the building design, based on those you’ve worked with before?”

  When she caught the tail end of his question, the young woman smirked. He was still looking for validation. But now, strangely, it didn’t piss her off as much as it amused her. Of course her designs were unique - these engineers had probably never seen anything like them. But that didn’t mean they were any less fit for the company’s purposes.

  “Well,” Charles Brown seemed at a loss as he scratched at the thick beard that covered his chin. “It is unconventional, I’ll give it that. But I must admit I’m interested to start on the building. Girl with a mind like that...she’s gotta have some pretty interesting insight on the construction.”

  Well, he was a damn sight more complimentary than Vladimir had been the first time he’d seen the plans - almost restored her faith in the male populace.

  Almost.

  “You’re so sweet, Charlie.” Her statement startled both men, and Charles turned around with a nervous smile, obviously less than thrilled to be caught in the middle of an interrogation.

  “Charlotte! I thought you were still down in the pit.”

  “I was.” The young woman dusted off the t-shirt and jeans she was wearing. “Why? Were you going to tell me to be safe? I think I’m ok.”

  “Just watch your footing.” He seemed happy to have a reason to change the subject, but Charlotte wasn’t going to let him get away that easy.

  “What are you boys talking about? Still looking for me to show my worth?”

  Charlie’s cheeks colored and he immediately stammered, searching for an answer. Vladimir, however, had no such reservations. He met her gaze steadily, his blue eyes gleaming with amusement. “You know very well this has nothing to do with your worth, Charlotte. I’m just speaking to those better versed on the subject than I am - getting a variety of different opinions.”

  “And how’s that going for you?” Crossing her arms over her chest, she arched a brow in inquiry.

  “It might go better if you weren’t stalking me.” The statement was enough to make her cheeks color slightly. She hadn’t been stalking him, per say, but she had certainly been watching him. Why wouldn’t she? It wasn’t every day that someone met a CEO so interested in a building’s construction that he left the office several hours a day to oversee things?

  He certainly wasn’t the passive overlord she might have expected - and that perplexed the hell out of her.

  “I’m not stalking you,” she finally rebutted, feeling Charles inquiring gaze on her. “I’m just trying to make sure I keep my job.”

  “No one has said anything about firing you.” Indeed, Vladimir looked surprised at the very notion. “My father is intent that your design should be the one we use - you’re not going anywhere. Besides...you’re far too interesting to send away.”

  He couldn’t have shocked Charlotte more if he’d kissed her full on the mouth.

  Interesting. He’d called her interesting. Coming from Vladimir, that was practically a compliment.

  Before she could reply, however, he turned from her to begin across the jobsite, intent on interrogating someone else.

  And leaving a speechless Charlotte in his wake.

  “He’s nothing like his father, is he?”

  When Charlie spoke, Charlotte snapped out of her reverie to look up at him.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Vladimir.” Charles repeated, staring after the man with a curious expression. “Nothing at all like Jackson.”

  It hadn’t occurred to Charlotte that everyone else on the jobsite was probably rather experienced in working with Jackson himself. She was the only novel person on this team. She supposed the discovery made her feel rather unique.

  “Well,” She admitted, taking off her hard hat for a moment to run her fingers through strands of sweat damp hair, “I haven’t actually met Jackson, so I wouldn’t know.”

  Charles’ expression immediately turned to one of obvious surprise. “Haven’t you?”

  Charlotte shrugged. “We corresponded via e-mail. I didn’t have the time to fly to New York to meet him in person, even though I would have liked to.”

  For a long moment, Charles’ look was unreadable. Charlotte found herself arching a brow when it continued long past the time she thought might have been appropriate. “What is it?”

  She thought the man might snipe about someone not having time to meet Jackson fucking Kensley, but what came out of his mouth instead completely shocked her.

  “I thought he and your father were close. That he’d known you since you were born.”

  Charlotte may have never worked on a project of this magnitude before, but it didn’t take her long to put two and two together. “He and my father are friends, yes, but I’ve never met him.” When she spoke, her voice was slightly strained. She didn’t like what this man was insinuating.

  She didn’t like it at all. “I’m sure he knows of me, but I’ve never seen the man face to face.” She cursed at how defensive she sounded.

  “I see.” Though she had thought Charlie friendly enough up until this point, Charlotte now found herself rethinking that evaluation. It was obvious what he thought. “So, I suppose the connection had nothing to do with you getting the job.”

  And there it was. He’d gone and said it.

  Charlotte immediately felt her ire flare, and struggled against the sick anger in her gut. She might have known something like this might happen - expected it, even. But even so, it still hurt.

  She opened her mouth, ready to defend herself, only to be cut off before she could even start to lay into the man.

  “I’m sure you know very well, Charles, that Charlotte’s design was chosen for this project on her talent alone.” The redhead looked up in surprised to see that Vladimir had returned and was standing behind her, his expression sterner than she had ever seen it. “Jackson Kensley doesn’t choose his positions based on relationships or influence - you should know this more than anyone else. Skill matters more than anything else...and, as you yourself just finished discussing with me, Miss Gardner has it. In spades.”

  Charles’ cheeks reddened and he looked from Vladimir to Charlotte and then back again. Anyone with eyes could tell that he wanted to bring Vladimir down a peg or two, but the man wasn’t stupid enough to forget that his job was on the line. Instead of saying anything, he ultimately merely nodded curtly before moving away from the two of them, his posture stiff.

  For some inexplicable reason, Charlotte’s heart was pounding.

  Slowly, she turned to face Vladimir. Before Charles left, she had been so angry that she didn
’t notice how close Vladimir was - so close, in fact, that she could feel the warmth of his body. Now, she found that anger slowly ebbing as she gazed up at him. “I…” she swallowed thickly, “I could have handled that.”

  At that particular moment, the man looked more than imposing - he looked every bit the backbone of the company he was - the master of all he surveyed. It was, Charlotte realized, easy for her to forget that the man intimidated her more because she was unsure how to feel about him. He confused her - and she didn’t like to be confused. Even without her own personal feelings in the mix Vladimir was intimidating enough.

  More than intimidating even.

  Was it horrible that his firm frown only added to his sex appeal? When he looked like that, Charlotte could imagine him the man of her fantasies...pinning her to the bed as he took advantage of every inch of her naked body with his mouth, his hands and everything he had to offer…

  “You could have.” His reply was simple, but it was enough to bring her back to the present and force her to cool her very interested sex drive. “But I happened to overhear. I hope you’ll forgive me for intruding.”

  Why wouldn’t her heart stop pounding? She wasn’t angry anymore. She might have thought she’d have no problem cooling off; but, then again, her emotions were always thrown off kilter when Vladimir Kensley was around.

  She should thank him. There was no quicker way to nip rumors like that in the bud than a few words from the most powerful man on the job site. Charlie might be a little sore for a while, but eventually, for the sake of his job, he’d swallow his pride and they’d work together cordially again. If Vladimir hadn’t stepped in... she might have made a scene. And that wouldn’t have helped anyone.

  But thanking him would be...well, it would be acknowledging that she’d needed him in the first place. And that was difficult for her- it had always been difficult.

  Exhaling a long sigh, she removed her hard hat, her cheeks pink, and abruptly changed the subject. “Um...I’m pretty hungry. How about you?”

  “I could eat.” One thing she could appreciate endlessly about this man was the fact that he never tried to call her on her reluctance when she wormed out of uncomfortable situations.

  “Well, there’s this place nearby that has amazing tacos. If you like tacos, that is.”

  It wasn’t as if she expected the man to turn up his nose. After all, he hadn’t minded her picking the location the first time they had dinner together. However, Charlotte was still surprised when Vladimir lips quirked upward into an amused smile. “I do, in fact, like tacos.” He chuckled lowly, before continuing. “Is this part of your showing me around LA?”

  “If you want to call it that, sure. I’m just starving.”

  But she could have eaten alone. There was no reason why she had to invite Vladimir with her - and yet she had done it anyway.

  “Of course.”

  As she lead the way from the job site, Charlotte found herself more perturbed than ever. Even though he didn’t approve of her design - he was practically trying to write a paper to figure out why it had been chosen, Vladimir called her interesting, and even came to her defense when someone might have offended her. If she didn’t know any better, she might think the man had actually taken a liking to her.

  But that didn’t mean she had to like him, did it?

  Because she was just tolerating him for this position -that was all. There was no way in hell she actually liked Vladimir Kensley.

  **

  Vladimir wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but all too soon, he and Charlotte seemed to have fallen into a routine.

  While it wasn’t strange for him to leave the job site around lunch hour to go to upscale restaurants or even the bistro in the hotel where he was staying - at least, it hadn’t been until the day Charlotte invited him to her taco restaurant.

  Which had turned out to be a taco truck and had, indeed, served some of the best food he’d ever had.

  Charlotte had laughed while he tried to decide on what toppings he wanted while she herself ordered everything and enjoyed it with great gusto. Unlike other women he’d eaten with, the redhead had no reservations about enjoying her food. But then again, she also had no concerns with trying to take small bites in between flirtatious smiles.

  Charlotte didn’t flirt - but that was, of course, because there was nothing romantic between them. It was all business.

  And the more Vladimir kept telling himself that, the less inclined he was to do something idiotic to change the rules of the game.

  He had learned just enough about her during their first dinner to soften his opinion about her avant-garde, brash way of thinking. He had to admit, a large part of him had worried that Charlotte might believe herself the particular type of artist that was above everyone else. That she might try to lord her power over the jobsite and every person that worked on it.

  He couldn’t have been more mistaken.

  Over sushi and sake, he had questioned her a about her background - where she had gone to school and how long it had taken her to get her degree. At no time during that questioning had she said anything that might lead him to believe that she was full of herself. Confident, yes, but certainly not arrogant.

  It was enough to make him relax somewhat - but Vlad knew it would take a hell of a lot more before he could understand what made those outlandish designs of hers spring from such a nimble and intelligent mind.

  The lunches helped.

  After the first one, they had fallen into a daily routine. Around noon, Charlotte would always mention - within earshot, no less - that she was starving. That was his signal to ask where she was going to eat. It was a different place every day, and Vladimir allowed himself to continue following her because it meant seeing more of the city - learning where everything was and the way the metropolis ticked.

  But he wasn’t complaining about an extra hour or so every day with Charlotte Gardner.

  There was something about her...several somethings, in fact. Principal among those things was, of course, his unfailing attraction towards her. She was nothing like any woman he’d ever been interested in before, but somehow, that only seemed to bolster his interest in her. Every time he caught sight of her flaming column of red hair out of the corner of his eye, every muscle in his body tightened with something horribly like anticipation.

  He wanted her to talk to him. He all but longed for her daily professions of hunger so they could escape the noise and dust of the busy job site and have some time to themselves.

  For business, of course.

  Though he meant to get to know her to work better with her, Vladimir found the small things about Charlotte intrigued him just as much as revelations about her past or her work ethic. The way she tucked her hair behind her ear when the strands went a little too helter skelter. The way she tugged her lower lip between her teeth as she marked notes down on the blueprints she carried around the jobsite with her. The way that she wore baggy jeans and t-shirts far better than anyone else on the jobsite - to the point of distraction, in fact.

  Embarrassingly, Vlad found that he had to leave the site two or three times a day to make sure it wasn’t obvious how easily she affected him physically.

  Then, of course, there was the way she talked to him - the way she grinned and laughed unabashedly, and spoke unreservedly about almost everything. She didn’t seem to have the filter that everyone seemed so intent that he should acquire - and perhaps that was another reason why he was so drawn to her.

  “That’s not how you eat it.”

  One day, she watched him try and fail to eat something called a pupusa for about five minutes before she intervened, visibly hiding a smile. “Just pick it up with your fingers and chomp it, don’t be shy.” She tossed him a handful of napkins. “You can use those.”

  Vladimir was used to years and years of those who worked for him being deferential - almost docile. The only ones in the Manhattan office who weren’t affected by his station were his brothers, and, o
ftentimes, he found himself wondering if he was really that intimidating. At least, when he wasn’t angry or upset about something. The answer always seemed to be a resounding yes.

  At least until he spent time with Charlotte. Little he said or did seemed to cow her, and she certainly wasn’t intimidated by his mere presence.

  Quite the contrary, in fact.

  “So, one doesn’t use a fork?”

  In answer to his question, Charlotte merely lifted her own pupusa to her mouth with slender fingertips, her gaze never leaving his. When she took a large bite, her eyes drifted shut and a sound of utter bliss slipped past her lips. Vladimir felt his body responding without his leave and bit back a groan as he shifted slightly to hide it. He set his own plastic ware aside to imitate her, and at the taste of the cheese and pork filling on his tongue, a surprised sound of pleasure escaped him. “This is delicious.”

  “Isn’t it though? All the better when you go for it bare handed.” Charlotte laughed at his expression. “You look like you’re about to witness the second coming. Are you alright?”

  “I am.” She didn’t mind that he was her boss- and she seemed to have gotten over the fact that, perhaps, he didn’t completely understand her designs. For now, she was merely a woman amused with him.

  And he found he liked it.

  “Have you never had street food before?” She sucked at the tip of one finger hungrily before she took another bite.” And I’m not trying to imply you’re spoiled again. I’m just asking.”

  He smirked. At least she’d learned her lesson in that arena then. “In the past decade or so, I can’t recall. I liked to spent every minute that I could in my office.”