Taming The CEO: An enemies-to-lovers romance (The Whitley Brothers)

Chapter Eighteen

Cami

Miriam was truly a whiz with hairstyling. I owned nothing more than a dryer and a hairbrush, yet she managed to make me look like I”d been at the salon and gotten a blowout. My hair had volume but without being frizzy or over the top.

I kept looking at myself in the rearview mirror as I drove to Boston. I’d paired my new dress with gold heels, barely making it to my car in them. I was hoping Boston wasn’t as muddy.

It didn”t matter, as boots wouldn’t have fit the dress at all. I usually chose comfort over looks, but not tonight.

I want to knock his boxers off.

Damn it.I had to be careful or it would stick in my mind.

It’s knock his socks off, Cami. Socks!

I cranked the music up as I drove slightly over the speed limit. I was a bit of a rebel when driving and usually got away with it.

Not today, though.

I was just entering Boston when a police car flagged me. He gave me a ticket for speeding. It took him forever to fill out everything, so I texted Maddox, not wanting him to think I was coming late on purpose.

Cami: I got stopped by the police. I”ll be a few minutes late. Sorry.

My phone buzzed with one, two, then three incoming messages as the policeman came back to talk to me.

”Miss, be more careful next time,” he said.

”I will,” I said, smiling sheepishly. ”I promise.”

He nodded and sent me on my merry way. I stopped checking my messages, though, not wanting to give the police another reason to stop me.

I didn”t really know my way around Boston. I only came here every few months to shop, but each time, I simply drove to the address I needed and then went back to Essex; I”d never ventured to restaurants or anything.

Thankfully, I arrived only five minutes late at the address Maddox had given me.

I glanced suspiciously at the building in front of me. This place looked amazing and hyper expensive. They had their own small parking lot, and my Ford Focus was by far the most basic vehicle in it. It didn”t fit in at all. I parked between a Range Rover and a Mercedes and was super careful when I got out; the last thing I needed was to scratch one of these fancy-ass cars. Paying for the damages might cost more than my own was worth.

But on the bright side, there was no mud. I smiled happily as I sauntered to the restaurant.

”Cami.” Maddox”s voice filtered through the night air to me.

I turned around, surprised to find him just outside the entrance.

”Hey! You were waiting for me?”

”Of course. I wouldn”t go in without you.” He looked me up and down slowly. I was wearing a wool overcoat over my dress, so he couldn”t really see anything except my shoes. His gaze focused on them.

Oh yeah. I was knocking his boxers off already.

Socks, Cami. Socks.

He nodded at the hostess, who said, ”Please step inside. One of my colleagues will take you to your table, Mr. Whitley.”

”You”re so famous that she knows who you are,” I whispered as we went up the stairs.

He laughed. ”No, I gave her my name before you arrived.”

”Oh.”

I felt like a fish out of water. Thank heavens I”d bought a new dress for the occasion.

Another hostess met us just inside. I kept looking around, taking it all in. Before we entered the large ballroom that was filled with tables, she stopped near the coat station. Holding up a hanger, she said, ”I can put your coat in here for you.”

”Thank you.”

I tugged at the belt, and then Maddox helped me with the coat, handing it to her. Maddox’s eyes were fixed on me. Hot damn! His eyes were dark, almost feral. He was pressing his lips together. I realized his breathing was already labored, like he was making a concerted effort. What for?

”And here you go.” She gestured toward the ballroom before walking in front of us.

”Maddox,” I said when he kept staring at me. ”I think we”re supposed to follow her.”

His nostrils flared. ”Yeah. Yes, we are. After you,” he replied, pointing in front of him.

”Where did your mind just go?” I whispered.

He walked one step behind me. ”You don”t want to know.”

”I do. That”s why I”m asking,” I said with sass.

”Cami, if I told you everything I’m thinking, we wouldn”t even make it through dinner, trust me.”

The man had a point. Even though I was super curious, I didn”t bug him further. Besides, I had an inkling about what was on his mind.

The ballroom was exquisite. I”d only been to restaurants with ballrooms before for weddings, and none had been as grand as this one.

”You like this place?” he asked as we sat down.

I smiled at him. ”I love it. It’s fancy but not overbearing. It’s more intimidating from the outside.”

”I”m glad you like it. I wanted to bring you somewhere you’d enjoy yourself.”

”Thank you,” I said softly.

There was already a bottle of sparkling water and one of still water on the table. We also had a basket of bread, butter, and some spreads. I hadn”t checked the menu, but I suspected that this place had to have French influences.

”I was surprised when you called,” I said.

”I needed to see you. I never ignore my instincts.” He looked straight at me, and I smiled, taking a slice of bread and putting butter on it. I was a bit nervous. ”How are things in Essex?”

”A bit messier than here,” I said with a laugh after taking a mouthful. ”There”s still a lot of slush and mud.”

His eyes clouded. ”That means you”ve gotten a lot of cancellations.”

I nodded. ”Yes, but I don”t want to talk about that tonight. Actually, wait, I changed my mind.” I put down the bread and straightened up, rolling my shoulders back. I reached up to put a strand of hair behind my ear, but Miriam had styled it so professionally that I didn”t even have anything to push back. ”I spoke to Dad, and we”re ready to move forward with the sale whenever you and Gabe are.”

Maddox”s stance instantly changed. He jutted his chin forward, which somehow made his cheekbones look even more prominent.

How is this guy so handsome?

”Cami, are you certain?”

I nodded. ”Yes. Look, I”ll be honest. I don”t do well with surprises, and when Dad sprang that on me...” I shrugged. ”I don”t know. I just didn”t think about it thoroughly, I guess.”

”But now you have.” It wasn”t a question.

”Yes. And I think it”s a good thing. Dad truly wishes to retire, and I can’t buy him out. And it opens up a lot of opportunities for me too. I”ll have some money, and the world will be my oyster.”

Maddox”s expression brightened into a charming smile. ”This is fantastic news, Cami. I”ll talk to Gabe tomorrow about it, and we”ll set everything up. But for tonight, I don”t want us to talk about business anymore.”

I tilted my head. ”Really? Why not?”

”Because we”ve got more important things to discuss. There”s a lot I want to know about you. First things first, though,” he said. ”Let”s choose something to eat.”

I grinned. ”Hell yeah. I”m already a bit hungry. Very smart of them to have a basket of bread on the table.”

As if reading our minds, a waiter materialized next to our table and handed us two leather-bound menus. ”Today”s specials are handwritten at the back.”

”Thank you. This all looks delicious,” I murmured, looking at page after page of options. I’d been right. It was French, featuring things like duck breast and cordon bleu. “I like too many things.”

Maddox laughed. ”Then we”ll order them all and share.”

I looked up at him. ”What? Are you serious?”

He nodded. ”Why not?”

Once again, the waiter appeared right when we needed him. The service was excellent. ”Are you ready to order?” he asked, and we both nodded.

Maddox chose two courses, and I picked three. We were having a food festival. The waiter also asked us for our drink order. Typically, I would have gone the safe route with wine, but their cocktail list looked delicious, so I went with their signature drink. Maddox ordered scotch.

We received our drinks right away. Mine was extremely blue—phosphorescent, almost. I glanced at it suspiciously, then up at Maddox, who was clearly suppressing laughter.

”This doesn’t look the way I expected,” I said. ”It has berries. Why isn’t it pink?”

”You can order something else if you want.”

”No, no,” I said, holding my glass up to his. As we clinked them together, I added, ”I”m all for adventures tonight.” I took a sip. ”Yum! I don”t know how to explain it, but it doesn”t taste the way it looks. It”s super delicious.”

”I”m glad.”

He took a sip of his scotch and tilted his head as if contemplating. “It’s good, but not the best I’ve had.”

“You’re a connoisseur?”

”Yes. It all started because of Gabe”s distillery, then the bar. He has a million other things, but I drink scotch mostly. He’s very good at what he does.”

”You”re really close to him,” I said, taking another sip. Some part of me realized I should have waited until I had more food or bread before drinking more, but the cocktail was amazing. ”You don”t work with any of your other brothers, right?”

He shook his head. ”No. The way Whitley Industries is set up is that every company is basically its own entity. That”s why it was easy for each of us to take over a branch.”

”How did you decide to go into this one, dealing with office spaces?”

”It was the newest of them all. It wasn’t developed, so I had a lot of freedom to shape it the way I wanted. In a way, that branch was like a stepchild of Whitley Industries. Along with the fitness branch.”

”How come?” I asked.

”When Dad opened the two of them, everyone thought he was just wasting his time. He had an empire-building problem.”

I frowned. ”I don”t know what that is.”

”That”s when someone wants to grow their business just for the sake of it. He didn’t pay attention to profits.”

”That”s insane.”

”I know. But no matter what he did and all his faults—of which there are many—he was a visionary. Since I took over the business, the office layouts have changed considerably. Companies constantly have to adapt.”

”So how come you’re starting another project with Gabe? How do you two even have time?”

Maddox leaned back in his seat. ”Gabe doesn”t actually have that much time. He”s already in over his head since opening the bar. It”s one of the reasons I wanted to go into business with him, so I could shoulder the lion’s share of the work.”

Oh, be still my beating heart.His words touched me—Maddox was a very kind person.

”And I have to say, it feels great to do something together with one of my brothers. Especially because Gabe is a half brother.”

”You know, I can”t even imagine what it must be like to suddenly find out that you have five other brothers.”

Maddox didn”t say anything as the waiter came with two of the courses: the duck breast and the steamed mussels. He”d already warned us that he’d bring things as they were ready, which was more than fine.

”In the beginning it was dreadful,” Maddox said, his voice tight. ”And then it wasn”t, because suddenly we had more family than we ever knew. It was a big change from thinking it was just us and Mom. And Dad whenever he could spare a weekend.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. It was a delicate situation. “I’m happy your family found a way to heal and see the bright side.”

“So am I. But let’s start eating while it’s warm.”

I started with the duck breast. It was prepared in an applesauce glaze with a side of potato puree.

”Oh my God. How is this so good?” I commented.

We kept dousing the puree in the sauce because it was so delicious.

Maddox nodded. ”I agree. This is excellent. I”m going to remember this place.”

”You haven”t been here before?”

”No.”

I liked that it was a new experience for both of us. I was curious to know more about his family, but it didn”t seem to be his favorite topic, so I didn”t want to push.

As the waiter brought one more course, I fidgeted in my seat.

Ah, damn it. I shouldn’t have bought a dress that was this molded to my body. My belly was so full, it was about to explode.

After the waiter left, Maddox asked, ”What”s wrong?”

”I think we might have overdone it with the food.”

He started to laugh. ”I”m sure of it. Let”s just eat a bite of everything.”

”You see, that”s my problem. I can”t just have a bite. If something”s delicious, I”ll lick the plate clean.”

“Then have at it.”

I drank the rest of my cocktail too quickly, but with so much food, it wasn”t going to my head.

I bit the inside of my cheek. ”Driving is going to be tricky.”

”About that,” Maddox said, and his voice changed slightly. ”You”re not driving back tonight.”

”Huh?” I asked, looking up at him. ”What do you mean? I came with my car.”

”I know. I have a proposition for you.”

I narrowed my eyes. ”Right, so I am knocking your boxers off,” I muttered.

”What?”

I gasped, putting a hand on my mouth, realizing I”d said that out loud.

”Never mind.”

He looked on the verge of laughter. Taking a deep breath, he schooled his features. ”Spend the night in Boston.”

”With you?” I teased.

His eyes flashed. ”Of course.”

”This was your plan all along, wasn”t it?” I asked.

He shifted in his chair, and his ankles touched mine. A current of heat spread up my body from the connection. I stilled myself so I wouldn”t shimmy in my seat when the bolt of heat reached between my thighs.

”Yes.”

”You were awfully confident that this date would go well, weren’t you?”

His eyes flashed again. ”Hell yes.”

Our last main course arrived: vegetable stir-fry with peanut sauce.

”Oh, this is truly amazing,” I said.

I only took two forkfuls, I was so full. Then I frowned at my plate. No, I was determined to eat more of it. I couldn”t possibly leave all this peanut butter goodness on the plate.

”Fuck, you”re so damn adorable,” Maddox said, and I realized he”d been watching me intently.

”I”m just, you know, between a rock and a hard place. I”m super full, but I don”t want to miss out on even a mouthful of this.”

”I can make you a digestive cocktail afterward,” he said.

“At your place?” I wiggled my eyebrows.