Billionaire Boss Page 8

  She had a boss who’d sexually harassed her already.

  The absolute last thing I wanted to do was to put Cassidy in the same position with me. I wanted her like crazy, but I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable in her work environment. She was bound to be extra vigilant about such things now. And I really didn’t want to put her off being here for me. Not to mention, her brother would kill me.

  Keep your distance, I reminded myself.

  I had already set up a system that made sure unnecessary contact was minimal – Cassidy was in the office the floor below mine, and we communicated by e-mail. I almost never went down to the second floor, and if I did, I was sure not to linger in the printing room or at the coffee machine. I didn’t want her to feel like she was being hunted. It was better for both of us that way.

  “Mr. Stern?”

  “Yes?” I jumped as Mrs. Halston put her head in around the door. She moved quietly, and – since I had been lost in thought more often than not these days – she had built up quite a record of startling me.

  “Sorry, sir,” she apologized for the third time that day. “Phone call. Mr. LaRoche. Should I put him on?”

  “Yes!” I blustered. “Please. Straight away!”

  “Very good, Mr. Stern.”

  She gave me an odd look – she must be wondering what the heck was wrong with me, being so jumpy – but went to put him through.

  “Adam?”

  “Aiden! Hi!” I said queasily. “What can I do for you today?”

  “Good news, Adam,” he said smoothly. “We have seen the shares stabilizing these last three days, and we are very confident in the proposal Ms. Williams has put together. The NFL has decided to renew our contract with Synergy.”

  I cleared my throat, heart pounding. “You’re renewing?” I repeated.

  “Yes, Mr. Stern.” I could hear the smile back in his voice again and could imagine him grinning at my discomfort. “We have decided that in light of your past successes -- and there are plenty – we can afford to take the risk.”

  “Thanks. You won’t be disappointed. I promise you that.”

  “I trust not,” he said sternly. “You have a jewel of a PR consultant there, by the way.”

  “Yes, I surely do,” I said, feeling vaguely defensive. The admiration in his voice had touched a nerve.

  Come on, Adam. You’re being silly. He’s just impressed by her successful PR strategy.

  “You can expect to be contacted by another representative in a day or two, to finalize the details.”

  “Um, yes. Thanks,” I said. “I look forward to it.”

  “So, do we, Mr. Stern,” he said and hung up.

  Placing the phone back in its cradle, I closed my eyes, leaning back in my comfortable desk chair. I felt my body relax, tension draining out of it for the first time in weeks, since I’d heard the news. I felt weak, as if the stress had been all that had been keeping me upright.

  I reached for the phone, checking the time. It was almost five. Cassidy should still be in her office. Pausing, I shook my head and let my arm fall back to my side. I stood.

  It was something I had to tell her in person.

  The news was too good not to share. And it was a good excuse to see Cassidy, too. Feeling a tug of excitement inside, fighting down my longing, I headed down to the second floor.

  “Cassidy?”

  I leaned on her office doorframe, not sure whether I should disturb or not. She was bent over her keyboard, that dark-blonde hair falling in loose waves round her shoulders. She had a small frown on her brow, and she was focused on something on the screen. I noticed she had a very slight squint – something I hadn’t seen before. It gave her a wild, sexy appeal.

  “Cassidy?”

  She jumped.

  “Adam!” she said.

  Her eyes met mine, surprised and, I thought, slightly flustered. I swallowed, trying hard to ignore the effect that her proximity was having on my body. My cock was on the rise, and I was glad I’d buttoned my jacket – she might notice it through the pants I wore, had I not.

  “Hi Cassidy,” I said quickly. “Sorry to disturb. I just had some excellent news I wanted to share.”

  “What is it?”

  She’d stood up from behind the desk, and my eyes wandered fractionally downward, drinking in her figure. She was wearing a loose blouse and a skirt – the blouse was white and fit flowingly, except where it encountered the rise of her breasts, where it clung just a little, emphasizing their fullness. I let my eyes wander lower, to her trim waist and the curve of her hips, just showing where the skirt emphasized them.

  “Um,” I paused, trying to gather my thoughts. “It’s about the company,” I said redundantly. “And the NFL. They aren’t going to leave. They renewed the contract.”

  “Wow!” she smiled. “You told the board already?”

  “No,” I admitted, feeling vaguely silly. “I’ll tell them now.”

  “Sure,” she said, brow raised. “That’s great.”

  “It really is.”

  We looked at each other a little blankly. I felt silly and overwhelmed at the same time. I knew what I wanted to say, but would it be okay to say it?

  “ Cassidy,” I paused. “I owe you one. Could I invite you for dinner, tonight as a way to say thank you?”

  She looked at me, face a picture of surprise. When her mouth formed that pouting “o”, I thought my loins would actually burst the zipper. I tensed, wincing. Hoped she didn’t see.

  “Well?”

  “Yeah,” she smiled. “That sounds nice.” She giggled, fetchingly and I felt my body grow warm and relaxed.

  “Great,” I nodded.

  “Okay,” she said, swallowing. “See you around seven?”

  “Sure,” I nodded. I checked my watch. It was ten past five now. That gave me enough time. “At Hewlett Heights?”

  She stared at me. I had surprised myself. It was easily the most upmarket restaurant in the neighborhood – and that made it pretty fancy. She beamed.

  “Okay,” she said. She looked flustered. “Sure. See you there, then?”

  “I’ll come and fetch you, if you like?” I offered.

  She swallowed hard. I hoped I hadn’t succeeded in scaring her. As I drew a breath to say it was fine if we just met, she nodded.

  “Okay,” she said.

  “Okay,” I repeated, feeling silly. My chest felt strangely warm, and everything felt rather hazy. “Great,” I said.

  “Great.”

  I nodded once, twice, then realized how silly I must look, standing awkwardly in the middle of the floor of her makeshift office. I cleared my throat.

  “See you at seven, then. At the address you gave the other night? Fulton, or something?”

  “One-ten, Fulton street,” she repeated.

  I nodded, getting out my phone to key it into Google Maps, before I forgot. “Great.”

  “Great. See you then.”

  I made myself walk briskly out the door and headed back up to my office. I had a lot of work to finish, but I knew it was going to be really hard to focus now. I was going to find it hard not to think about Cassidy, and tonight.

  11

  Cassidy

  “Dammit, Cassidy! Choose, already.”

  I sighed. I had thrown my three best dresses onto the bed, a jumble of colors – blue, red, yellow. I still had absolutely no idea what to wear. I was going to dinner with Adam, at Hewlett Heights! I had to choose the perfect outfit.

  I sighed. “Cassidy, you are working with Adam,” I said firmly. “He wanted to take you out to celebrate. He isn’t into you.”

  I frowned at myself in the mirror. I had just finished blow-drying my hair. My reflection mirrored my skeptical expression.

  He did kiss you.

  That kiss. It hadn’t been romantic – not at all, just spontaneous – but all the same I couldn’t stop recalling how it felt.

  “Come on, Cassidy. Choose something.”

  I lifted the red dress.
I hadn’t worn it for ages – figure-hugging and sexy, I reckoned it was best avoided for all but the most appropriate dinner. Now, I wasn’t sure.

  Should I wear it?

  I frowned at myself. If I didn’t wear it now – a dinner with a stunning businessman – what occasion was I going to deem appropriate?

  Be bold, I told myself.

  I hesitated a moment longer, then I slipped it on.

  With the zipper fastened, it fit me perfectly. I stared at myself. My blonde hair fell around my shoulders in soft waves. My eyes looked bigger and brighter, emphasized by the contrast with the red and the paler color of my hair. My figure looked curvier.

  I grinned at myself, feeling surprised.

  Not bad at all. Grabbing my lipstick and mascara, I did quick makeup. Then I reached for my handbag, just as the doorbell went.

  “I’m coming!” I yelled. Pulling on high-heels, I ran for the door.

  “Adam!”

  “Cassidy.”

  We stared at each other.

  He was wearing a suit. A sort of frost-blue, it brought his blue eyes to life. His shoulders strained at the fabric. His full pecs pushed at the shirt, then the contour abruptly switched as it fell across his flat belly and narrow waist.

  I stared. He was stunning.

  He was staring at me, too. I saw his eyes travel from my face to my toes, and back. I blushed, feeling my insides warm.

  “Hi, Cassidy,” he said again, more softly. “You look great.”

  “Thanks,” I said, noticing my voice was as wobbly as his. I swallowed, feeling hesitant. “And you too.”

  He beamed. “Thanks.”

  We stood there, just looking at each other a moment longer, then he shrugged.

  “Are we ready?”

  “I am,” I giggled.

  He reddened, almost as if he had sensed the double meaning I did too. Ready for what?

  “Okay,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  We walked down to the hallway.

  Outside, his car was waiting for us. A Cadillac, it made me stare.

  “Nice, huh?” he said. He didn’t sound boastful – in fact, quite the opposite. He sounded shy.

  “Yeah,” I giggled. “You bet.”

  “Thanks.”

  He held the door and I slid in, then waited as he got in beside me. He seemed awfully close as he sat down, his big shoulders filling up the seat beside me. He put his foot on the gas, turned the key, and we purred away from the curb into the rest of the traffic-flow.

  I couldn’t think of anything but his proximity to me. That close, I could smell his cologne – a spicy, warm smell. I felt my loins tingling and I had to make fists of my hands to resist the urge to touch him.

  “Almost there,” he said softly.

  Ten minutes later, we were pulling up outside the restaurant.

  He opened my door – again, very gallant – and I stepped out and up toward the building.

  “I haven’t booked,” he said as we walked in. “I hope we can get a table.”

  “I don’t think this place is going to be that full on a Wednesday,” I murmured, looking around. With chandeliers and low, intimate lighting, the floor polished wood, it was stylish in excess.

  I gulped and followed Adam to the table the waiter indicated, noting how at-ease Adam looked in this place. It made me smile. I hadn’t imagined Adam Stern, my brother’s cocky friend, so comfortably at ease in places like this.

  “So,” I said, as he sat down opposite. “Shall we drink something?”

  “Sure,” he nodded. “We can get a bottle. White or red?” He was looking down the menu.

  “Depends what we want to eat.”

  “Yeah,” he nodded. “I’m having fish – I don’t eat meat nowadays.”

  “Really?” I raised a brow, surprised. “Since when?”

  “After my accident.”

  “Oh?” I hadn’t actually heard the story of the accident, of why he left football. “What happened? You never told me.”

  He leaned back in his chair, looking bemused. I felt his eyes study me and blushed warmly.

  “No,” he said after a second. “I didn’t. Shall we order first?”

  “Okay,” I shrugged. “I’ll probably have fish too, then.”

  “Okay,” he nodded, passing me the menu. “We’ll drink a white wine, then. Or sparkling, if you’d prefer?”

  “Sparkling,” I said firmly.

  “Great.”

  I nodded. “It seems more celebratory.”

  He smiled.

  We placed our orders – weirdly, we both wanted the same thing – and then when the wine appeared, he toasted me.

  “Cheers,” he said. “To your success.”

  “Our success.”

  He raised a brow. “You’re right,” he said. “Our success.”

  We drank.

  I watched Adam’s eyes lose focus as he looked into the past. Those stunning sapphire-blues went cloudy, mouth turned down, as he told me the story. We had eaten our fish or started to. Baked with fennel and lemon, drizzled in fine oil, it was delicious.

  “We were facing a tough opponent,” he said slowly. “I was feeling pushed that day, I can tell you,” he chuckled. “My offensive line was banged up and not protecting me all that effectively. Their defense ran a blitz play right up the middle. My guys crumbled around me and a linebacker hit me full force. My shoulder snapped.” He made a face. “It was a weird feeling, that’s for sure.”

  “I imagine so,” I said slowly.

  “It just kind of went,” he frowned. “I heard a noise, and my arm went tingly, and only then did I actually feel pain.”

  “It must have hurt quite a lot,” I replied. “It did,” he laughed. “Like agony.”

  I made a face. “What happened next?”

  “Well, I remember yelling,” Adam said. “A lot – at least my teammates said so.” He grinned. “They seemed to take a heck of a lot of time getting the medics, because by the time they arrived, it had kind of frozen, you know,” his mouth twisted. “And they took quite a long time setting it.”

  “They set it there?” I asked, my fork poised to my lips.

  “They tried to,” he pulled a face. “I guess, one problem about strong shoulders is that, when your bones need moving, it takes someone equally strong to move them around.”

  I winced. “I can imagine.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “So, by the time they set it straight, it had kind of gone too far out of place to heal well. It still aches, sometimes.”

  “That’s awful.”

  “It isn’t great,” he nodded. “It doesn’t hurt bad, mind. Just sometimes, when I’m tense – like this last couple of weeks – it hurts.” He smiled at me. “But not anymore; not since you showed up to save the day.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at his compliment.

  “Cassidy,” he said softly. “You did me a huge service.”

  I blushed. His eyes held mine and I felt steady heat travel up my body from my toes to the roots of my hair. “It was nothing.”

  He laughed. “You are modest,” he said warmly. “But yes, it was something. It was huge. I wanted to ask you if you would consider working for me full time?”

  “Full time?” I gulped. “As, like, an employee?”

  “As, like an employee,” he grinned. “I pay rather well.”

  I giggled. The surprise had got to my head. My brain felt numb and I could only stare at him, thoughts utterly still. “Really?”

  “Well, yeah,” he said, one brow raised. “I pay my PR exec twenty thousand a month. Does that sound okay to you?”

  “Yes!” I said quickly. “I wasn’t asking about the salary. I just meant you really want me to stay on?”

  My brain seemed to be refusing to make sense of it. He laughed.

  “Cassidy. You just saved my ass. Excuse me,” he added. “But you did. I wouldn’t be the head of a multi-million-dollar company now if you hadn’t. And yes, I want you to stay on. Perma
nently.”

  I stared. My mouth had gone dry. “Okay,” I whispered. “I’ll try.”

  “Great,” he said.

  At that moment, our waiter arrived.

  “Can I get you anything else?” he asked.

  Adam frowned at me. “Want dessert?” he asked.

  I raised a brow. “Depends. What do they have?”

  He got a menu and we pored over it together.

  “Death by chocolate pudding?” he asked, grinning.

  “Can we share?” I inquired. “I don’t have room for a whole one.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Let’s.”

  Before I could rethink the wisdom of that, he ordered.

  I swallowed firmly. I would have to figure out the ins and outs of working with Adam as it happened. For tonight, I was just going to enjoy dinner and his company.

  And the chocolate cake.

  When it arrived, I was surprised that the waiter brought it on a single dish, with two spoons. We really were going to share it properly.

  “You first,” he smiled.

  I lifted the silver spoon and swallowed hard as his eyes looked into mine. “Okay.”

  As we shared the dessert, it was damn hard not to look at his mouth. His lips closed around the spoon just as I’d imagined them closing around my nipple as I’d touched myself the night before. I really needed to get ahold of myself if I was going to be able to remain professional enough to work for him. We finished the cake without incident and Adam waived the waiter over to pay the bill. He pulled my chair out so I could stand and then draped my sweater over my shoulders.

  Adam walked beside me all the way to the car. As we went down the steps, his hand touched the small of my back, steadying me. I felt the touch like coals, burning through the fabric of my dress. My wetness flowed even more.

  “Are you cold?” he asked.

  I shivered. “A little.”

  “Me too,” he said. “The weather’s changed a bit. Gotten cooler.”

  “Mm.” I nodded. Inside, my body was a raging fire of longing, my mind melting in the searing furnace of need. I could smell him, feeling the lean outline of his powerful arm beside me, get a whiff of his cologne mixed with sweat. I wanted him so much it was nearly driving me mad.

  “Let me help,” he said, moving round to open the door for me. I nodded. As he stepped in to open the door, he pressed up against me. Without warning, he pushed me against the car door and his lips met mine.