by Noelle Adams
Bev relayed the story of how Cassie’s mother had died young of ovarian cancer. “I think that’s why Cassie waited so long to have this surgery; she was afraid of what they’d find.” She paused. “Such a sad story.”
And not one that Adam wanted to dwell on. “So Lauren’s staying with her?”
“Just for tonight. Actually, she had to force Cassie to let her stay. We’ve all offered to go over and stay but she wouldn’t have it. Tomorrow, Lauren’s got some big test so Katie and Ella are going to go over for lunch and spend some time with her. Stephen and I were going to go over for dinner but he’s got a late meeting.”
“So are you going to go alone?”
“No, no…I guess I still feel a little new to all of this and I don’t want to overwhelm her.”
Adam was baffled. How could his mother overwhelm anyone? “Why would you say that?”
“I just don’t want Cassie, or any of the kids for that matter, to think that I’m swooping in and trying to be their mom. I know that I’m marrying their dad but this is still new to all of them and it’s been a long time since their mom passed and I’m sure that they’re trying to…see what my role is going to be. I want to give them time to get to know me.”
This was all a little too emotional for him. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, mom. They’ll all like you just fine.”
Bev sighed. The business whiz was a complete dud in the encouragement department. “I’m sure you’re right. Anyway, Cassie’s going to be fine. She’s a little sore but really, we’re all just concerned that she’s going to over-do it somehow and hinder her own recovery. She hates to sit still.”
“Well then maybe someone should be with her,” he suggested.
“Adam…she is a grown woman. She’s well beyond the age of being babysat for. For the next twenty-four hours she’ll have people with her; after that she’s more than capable of taking care of herself.”
He knew his mother was right but he also knew that he would make the time to stop over and see her tomorrow night after work. Maybe he’d return the favor and bring her dinner. Just as the thought of flowers entered his head, Adam cut himself off with disgust. “Yeah, sure, she’s a trooper.”
Why the hell was even thinking of going over to Cassie’s? They were done! She finished with the event and that was all he needed her for. If he never hired her again, she’d just have to deal with it. No, he had done what he’d had to do; he kept Cassie on to make sure that the fall retreat went off without a hitch and now their business dealings were done.
The image of Cassie sitting across from him at the dinner table, laughing and smiling at him filled his mind. More and more Adam found that his mind wandered to that night that they’d dined together at Cassie’s apartment and the need to see her again unsettled him.
There would be no harm, however, to see her socially, as if they were family already, right? He’d never had to deal with anyone on a family level other than Bev and well, outside of business he found that he actually liked Cassie so it wouldn’t be a hardship to stop by and visit her. Like family.
“Adam? Are you still there?” He realized his mother had been talking the whole time his mind had strayed.
“What? Yes, sorry; I got distracted for a minute. So, what else is new?”
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that that one simple question had absolutely done wonders for his mother. Was he that much of a bastard that he’d never engaged in just social niceties or chitchat with his own mother? And why all of a sudden was he?
Ten minutes later he was off the phone, no worse for the wear and actually felt his spirits lifted a bit. Maybe he had been too deeply entrenched in the business and had forgotten how to relax and just talk with people. Like he had at Cassie’s that night.
Adam had no idea why he was having this change of heart and then the ensuing tug of war over what he was doing with his life. He was in control of it all, dammit! He could do whatever he wanted, talk to whoever he wanted, whenever he wanted! Right now, with the confidence that he was legendary for, Adam made the decision that his business association was over with Cassie and that freed him up to see her socially; since she was going to be family.
Grace walked in with the file he’d requested and if she noticed that he seemed a bit more relaxed, she chose to say nothing. Adam picked up the contract, made his notes and picked up the phone and went on with his day.
By three o’clock on Thursday afternoon, Adam was ahead of schedule. His calls were completed and Grace had typed up everything that he’d asked her to. To pass the time, he straightened his desk and made a list of possible new clients that he’d like to make contact with by the end of the month.
Throwing his pen down in disgust, he knew what he was doing; busy work. God, he was feeling pathetic. Did he purposefully do work at home the night before to lighten his load today? Maybe. Did he deliberately cut a couple of chatty clients short in hopes of getting done quicker? Perhaps. The truth was he was feeling caged in in his office and wanted to leave.
He paced. He talked to himself. He picked up the phone a half a dozen times and realized there was no one that he needed to call. By four o’clock he gave up the pretense of trying to work and gave himself a pep talk.
“I’m not leaving because of Cassie,” he said out loud, “I’m leaving because I want to. I own the damn company and I can leave whenever I want to!” Picking up his briefcase and keys, Adam strode across the office and yanked open his door. Grace looked up from what she was doing and he gave her a searing look that almost dared her to question what he was doing.
“Have a nice night,” she said cheerily, unwilling to engage in a discussion over the fact that in six years the man had never left the office before seven.
Adam gave her a curt nod as he walked by her desk and down the hall to the elevator. He didn’t notice the shocked look on the faces of his employees as he strode with purpose. He didn’t notice the people that merely stepped aside and let him pass. By the time the doors on the elevator closed and he was safely inside, Adam found himself to be feeling something that he hadn’t in a very long time.
Nervous.
Why on earth should I be nervous? He thought to himself. He was just stopping by to see a friend - a family friend - a family friend who happened to be an attractive woman.
Adam loosened his tie as he stepped off the elevator and made his way out to the parking garage and to his car. He hadn’t felt this nervous or ridiculous since he was a teen.
He pulled up in front of one of his favorite Italian restaurants and went in to place his order. Making small talk with the manager, he bided his time, trying not to be obvious by checking his watch every few minutes.
Figuring that Cassie may still be on pain medication, Adam bypassed the liquor store and opted for something a little less traditional that he thought would cheer her up.
Pulling into the back parking lot, he figured she’d be by herself and then felt bad that he’d be making her walk down the stairs to open the door. “Dammit,” he grumbled as he pulled dinner out of the car and walked to the door. He hit the door bell and waited.
He hadn’t noticed the intercom before but suddenly he heard Cassie’s voice. “Hello?”
“Um…hello, Cassandra, it’s Adam. Can I come up?” She didn’t answer right away and he had brief moment of uncertainty and fear that she’d send him away. A solid minute passed that had him feeling more and more foolish for coming.
A buzzer sounded and Adam heard the lock click. “It’s just a friendly dinner,” he mumbled to himself as he climbed the stairs. “No big deal.”
Cassie met him at the top of the stairs wearing a similar ensemble to what she’d worn Saturday night: flannel pajama pants, this time in red with a dark red tank top. “Adam, this is a surprise.” The words were out before she fully saw him and then the items in his hands caught her attention. “Pizza? You brought me pizza?” Her smile widened to pure delight as she stepped aside a
nd let him in.
“I figured I owed you a meal since you sent me home with leftovers last time. I hope you like pepperoni.” Placing the pizza on the table, he then placed the bag he had with him in the freezer.
“What was that?”
He gave her a wicked smile. “Milkshakes. Chocolate milkshakes.”
Cassie’s smile lit up the room and in that moment Adam understood what the Grinch must have felt on that fateful Christmas morning when his heart grew three sizes. “Wow! This is quite a treat! You came at the perfect time. I was trying to decide what to have for dinner and I really didn’t want to cook. You are my hero.”
In that moment, Adam truly believed her. Most women would say that in order to get something from him but he was finding bit by bit that Cassie wasn’t like any woman he’d ever met before. The women in his life would never have been happy with pizza and milkshakes; they’d want lobster and champagne. This was definitely new territory for him and as he shed his jacket and tie, Adam believed it was one that he wouldn’t mind spending time in.
Cassie was getting plates and napkin and carrying them into the living room. “What are you doing?” Adam asked, clearly confused that she wasn’t setting the kitchen table.
“I thought we‘d eat inside. Katie rented a couple of movies for me and I thought maybe we’d watch one while we eat. Is that okay?”
Probably a chick-flick, he thought. “Um…sure. I’m right behind you with the pizza.”
“Don’t forget the milkshakes…”
Adam chuckled and grabbed the bag from the freezer and walked into the living room. Opening the pizza box, he sat down and was about to grab a slice, waiting for the girly music to start when he looked up and saw Robert DeNiro’s name on the screen. “DeNiro?”
“Oh, it’s ‘Midnight Run’. Robert DeNiro, Charles Grodin? It’s one of my favorites.”
Placing a slice of pizza on Cassie’s plate, he turned and pulled the milkshakes out of the bag and put straws in each of them and handed one to Cassie. This woman was becoming more and more intriguing by the minute. She was sitting Indian style on the couch, a paper plate in her lap, her milkshake on the floor in front of her. The mass of chestnut hair was wavier than he’d ever seen it and she didn’t have on a scrap of make up and yet she looked more appealing than he’d ever seen her.
Taking a bite of his dinner, Adam turned his attention to the movie and off of the woman and he waited a full five minutes before he spoke and asked how she was feeling.
“Much better today, thanks.” She took a sip of her milkshake. “Oh, that is perfect,” she purred. “I’m actually much sorer than I was yesterday but that’s to be expected. Katie was here all day and took care of me. This is way better than being mothered.”
“Mothered?”
“You know, fussing about, fluffing pillows, asking if I needed anything…it was sweet of her and I appreciate every minute of her time but I didn’t have a limb amputated or anything. She had Ella with her and I loved getting to spend time with them but by the time they left I was actually more exhausted than relaxed.”
Adam chuckled. “Well, you have my promise to not fluff pillows or to fuss.”
Cassie let out a laugh of her own. “Thanks.”
They resumed watching the movie with minimal conversation and shared laughs. It was actually the most pleasant time she’d had in a long time. By the time the credits rolled, Cassie had eaten way more pizza than she should have and had polished off the milkshake. Her head rested on the back of the couch and she felt completely relaxed. With a sigh of contentment, she turned her head towards Adam. “At the risk of being redundant, thank you.”
He turned and smiled. “And at the risk of answering with redundancy, you are welcome.” They sat like that for long moments. Just looking, just smiling. Adam started to feel a pull towards her and knew that he had to do or say something to break the hypnotic spell. “You know, I’m still hearing buzz from people about the food from the retreat. Everything was a big hit.” It was on the tip of his tongue to say that she was right about the menu choices and not changing them, but he just wasn’t ready for that kind of admission out loud.
“I’m so glad. How did the training go? Are you getting the feedback that you want from it?” Another first, Adam thought. No other woman, beside his mother, ever asked about his business with any interest and the look on Cassie’s face as she spoke told him that she was truly interested.
“Well, I’ve had a couple of smaller meetings with a select group of programmers and salesmen. I have some executives from three smaller companies in Europe coming over in a few weeks to talk about having L.S.S. come over and rebuilding their computer systems.”
“Wow, that’s impressive. So you’ll be entertaining them at the office?”
“That’s the plan. I was thinking of moving the meetings off-site since their spouses are coming but I couldn’t think of anything to do that would include everyone and yet give us the uninterrupted time I’d like to have with them where I won’t be distracted.”
Cassie nodded with understanding. “You mean maybe like an actual ‘retreat’ type of environment?” It was Adam’s turn to nod. “Well, if I could make a suggestion…”
At any other time, Adam would have resented her insinuating herself into his business but he was relaxed and genuinely curious about what she could come up with.
“I think that if you wanted to have an environment where the wives could be included and you’d have time to get to know them without any real interruptions, I would suggest renting a house either in the mountains or at the beach.” She stopped and studied Adam for a moment. “I’m betting that you at least have a beach house, am I right?”
He nodded. “Indeed you are. Now tell me why I want to take them to the beach?”
“For starters, it’s more personal. It shows that you are interested in them on more than just a business level and you won’t have all of the distractions of being in your own office.” When he made to interrupt, she held up a hand. “Hear me out. Since they’re business men, they’ve seen offices. Plus, their wives will be bored hanging out at a hotel in Raleigh all day.”
“At the beach, you’re all in the house together, you have the great scenery, and the woman can go shopping or enjoy the water while the men are inside talking business. You bring in a maid and a cook and no one has to worry about anything.”
Standing, Cassie went to the kitchen to get something to drink and asked Adam if he wanted anything. When he responded no, she grabbed some water and walked back to the couch. “You could book spa treatments for the women or have a car pick them up and take them shopping… I’m telling you, you’d come across as the best guy to do business with.”
“At least from the ladies point of view,” he quipped with a smile. “Actually, it’s a great idea.” It almost pained him to admit it while at the same time his mind was spinning with possibilities. It all seemed so simple that he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it himself! “They could fly into Raleigh on Thursday, tour the offices, meet with our people and then I could have a car drive them to the beach on Friday where lunch would be waiting for them. We would have the afternoon to get settled in and relax, talk a little business, have dinner together and start with negotiations on Saturday morning after breakfast while the women go and do their thing. Interesting, Cassandra. It definitely has possibilities.”
That made her smile. “I am known to have a good idea or two.” She wanted to ask Adam to hire her to do the job; to hire her to be at the beach house to do all of the cooking and planning and whatnot but she knew that it would be way out of line and that if she’d learned anything about Adam it was that the idea had to be his or he didn’t like it.
Well, except with this beach idea. He seemed to take well to that and she didn’t want to push her luck. Right now, Cassie didn’t want to do or say anything that was going to put an end to the relationship they seemed to be building. It felt good to be here with him. It was comfo
rtable and if she wasn’t recovering from that damn surgery, she’d probably be playing a little at seduction right now. But knowing that she was certainly no raving beauty on her best days, there was no way a man like Adam would find her attractive in her pajamas with bed hair and no make up.
Again.
Well wasn’t that a bucket of cold water in the face? Okay, back to reality, she told herself and sighed. “I think that with the right amount of planning, you’d be a big hit even with the guys. After all, if the wives are happy…well, the trickle down effect would work here.”
Adam merely nodded. She was intelligent, considerate and even without makeup she was stunning. Leaning in a bit closer and lowering his voice a notch he asked, “Know anyone that would be willing to take on such a task?”
The corners of Cassie’s lips twitched with the urge to smile but she kept her response low key. “Well, I’m sure you could call some sort of temp agency that was familiar with the area who would be willing to come in and cook and clean for a few days. You could get references…”
She almost had him but he noticed the twitch and decided to play along. “True, true…I mean, how hard could it be to cook a couple of meals for seven people? Hell, I’m sure they have temps for that sort of easy work.” There was no way he could look at her as he finished the statement. Adam was sure she was seething at the direct jibe at her livelihood.
And she was. Mildly. She stood and began cleaning up their dinner mess. “I suppose,” she began. “I guess you could just take them out for every meal, you know, to play it safe and make sure no one gets food poisoning. Or you could take your chances and hope that your European guests like casseroles and chicken pot pie…” She left that thought hanging as she walked into the kitchen. The smile that was tugging at her lips couldn’t be helped; this teasing and bantering with Adam was making her feel light and happy. Placing her water glass in the sink Cassie nearly screeched when she turned around and found Adam directly behind her.
He placed his hands on the counter on either side of her, effectively caging Cassie in and keeping her close. “You sound like a bit of a food snob, Cassandra; I never knew that about you.” Adam looked down into her face and saw, for the first time, just how blue her eyes were. He scanned her face and noticed the freckles, faint though they were, that were scattered across the bridge of her nose, and how long her lashes were without the help of mascara…all in all she made a very fetching picture.