Chapter 2
Cassie spentthe rest of the evening avoiding Jesse and pretending she didn’t notice all the questioning looks she was getting from Brie. Her friend had noticed her absence, but apart from asking where she’d been, Brie hadn’t said much. Then again, they hadn’t been alone.
All that changed after Kaden dropped them both off at their apartment. Cassie thought he’d come in—spend the night—but Brie told him she had to be up early in the morning. The universal woman code for I’m not in the mood tonight.
As soon as the lock clicked shut, Brie zeroed in on her. “I’ve been patient all night. Where did you disappear to?”
“I didn’t disappear.” Cassie padded to the kitchen for some water.
“You were gone for at least thirty minutes.”
Had it been that long? It didn’t seem like it. But she tended to get lost in Jesse’s eyes every time she’d meet his gaze. It was as if he’d cast a spell on her or something.
When she didn’t say anything, Brie softened her tone. “Did you two…”
Cassie met her friend’s gaze. “No.” She paused. “He offered me some wine and we talked.”
“You talked?”
Finishing her water, she placed the glass in the dishwasher and headed toward her room. Yes, all they did was share a glass of wine and talk, but it had felt intimate somehow.
She was halfway out of her dress when Brie appeared in her doorway, her hip leaning against the frame. “Are you going to see him again?”
“It wasn’t like that.” It was never like that. Not for her. Guys either weren’t interested in her the way she was in them, or they wanted more from her than she was willing to give. Her dad had taught her not to settle. She deserved someone who treated her like she was special to them.
As her dad’s words filtered through her brain, her thoughts returned to Jesse. While she was with him, she felt a connection she’d never experienced before with a man. It was both equal parts amazing and a little frightening.
Brie walked across the room and took Cassie’s hands in hers. She led her to the bed and sat down, taking Cassie with her. “Look, I know things didn’t work out with Greg.”
“Or Trent. Or Brian. Or?—”
“I know you’ve had bad luck in the men department.”
Bad luck was putting a pleasant spin on things. Her last boyfriend, Greg, was supposed to be out of town on business when she spotted him having dinner with another woman. She’d followed them back to his place, waited for twenty minutes, then went up. He’d given her a key, so she’d let herself in.
Looking back, she wished she’d stayed in the car. The whole experience had been humiliating.
“I don’t know if I’m ready to go through that again.”
Brie gave her a hug. “You’ll find the right guy and he’ll treat you like a queen.”
Cassie really hoped so, but she wasn’t betting on it.
Two days later, Cassie was at work, sitting behind her desk, when her boss called her into his office. She’d worked for Blake Masters for three years and for the most part, she liked her job. Her boss was a little anal when it came to his schedule, but other than that, he was easy to work for.
“You wanted to see me, Mr. Masters?”
Blake Masters sat behind a huge wooden desk, papers spread out before him. He looked up as she entered and ran a hand through his blond hair. “Yes.” He motioned for her to take a seat.
Cassie had brought her tablet with her so she could make notes. She took a seat across from him and waited.
“You may have heard rumors that my son is taking over the accounting department.” He waited for me to nod before he continued. “He’s not officially starting until next week, but I want him to feel comfortable here.”
“Yes, sir.” From her understanding, Mr. Masters’s son had moved away for college and an internship abroad. He was now coming home to learn the business, one department at a time, and eventually take over.
“He’s still getting settled in his new place, but he’s planning to stop by this afternoon. I have a meeting across town I can’t get out of, so I need you to do the honors of showing him around.”
Not that she had an issue giving his son a tour, but hadn’t his son been there before? Mr. Masters had built his company from the ground up. Granted, it may have grown since his son was there last, but it couldn’t have changed that much, could it? “Of course.”
“Great.” Mr. Masters stood, and she followed. He removed his jacket from the coat rack in the corner and slipped it on. It was eleven and his meeting didn’t start until twelve thirty. “I’m going to grab an early lunch before I head to my meeting. If you have any issues, text me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Given her boss wasn’t in the office and Cassie had no idea when his son would show up, she logged out of her computer and headed to lunch. Her favorite restaurant was within walking distance. After grabbing a sandwich and some chips, she made her way back to the office.
She ran into one of the other administrative assistants in the elevator. “How’s your day going?” Stephanie asked once the doors had closed.
“Good. Yours?”
Stephanie chuckled. “It’s Monday and I’m trying to get everything ready for the new boss. I heard he’s supposed to visit today and I want everything to be in order. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Especially when it’s the boss’s son.”
Cassie nodded. She was worried about her own first impression. Granted, she wouldn’t be reporting directly to him, but it wouldn’t do if her boss’s son hated her either.
The elevator doors opened on the third floor and Stephanie hurried out, leaving Cassie alone. Moments later, she was at her destination.
As soon as she stepped off the elevator, she felt a change in the air. The office was buzzing with an unusual energy.
She made her way down the hall to her desk. As she rounded the corner, she noticed someone was in her boss’s office.
Setting her food on her desk, she squared her shoulders and prepared to be as intimidating as possible. “May I help you?”
The man turned around and those sea blue eyes she’d dreamed about for the past two nights greeted her. His blond hair was slicked back and he was wearing a suit and tie, but there was no mistaking it was Jesse.
From the look on his face, he was as shocked to see her as she was him. “Cassie.”
The way he said her name made her feel as if her stomach were full of butterflies.
He walked toward her, his gaze never leaving hers.
Cassie tried to get her bearings. She had a job to do. “What are you doing here?”
“You work here?” he asked, ignoring her question.
“Yes.” Cassie forced herself to look away. She couldn’t think when he was staring at her like that. “If you’re looking for Mr. Masters, I’m sorry, but he isn’t in at the moment. If you’d like, I can schedule a time for you to meet with him.”
Jesse stepped forward, closing the distance between them. He didn’t touch her, but he was close enough she could feel his breath on her cheek. “Cassie, look at me.”
She didn’t want to be rude, so she turned to face him. He was right there, and she could feel the same pull toward him as she had at the party.
He lifted his hand as if to touch her but closed his fist instead before lowering it back to his side. “I didn’t realize you worked for my dad.”
It took a moment for what he said to sink in. “Your dad?” She swallowed. “You’re Mr. Masters’s son?”
The right side of Jesse’s mouth pulled up into a half smile. “I am.”
“You’re going to be taking over as head of accounting.”
It was a statement rather than a question, but he answered it anyway. “Yes.”
He was going to be working in management, which meant she’d be seeing him, interacting with him on a regular basis.
Heat flooded her cheeks as she remembered some of her dreams about him over the last two nights. Her very inappropriate dreams.
“You’re very cute when you blush.”
That, of course, only made her cheeks heat more. How was she supposed to be around him when she’d imagined him naked? Naked and doing all sorts of nasty, wonderful things to her body.
Then she remembered she’d agreed to give him a tour of the building and she started to hyperventilate.
* * *
Jesse had been enjoying her discomfort at seeing him again until she began gasping for breath. He took hold of her shoulders and guided her to her chair. “Put your head down.”
She did as instructed, resting her chest on her thighs as she continued to hyperventilate.
Kneeling beside her, he ran a hand along her back. “Slow, deep breaths. Breathe in. Breathe out.”
Slowly, her breathing returned to normal, and she sat up. Her face was flushed and some of her hair had come loose from the clip that had been holding it back.
She licked her lips, drawing his gaze to her mouth. He wanted to kiss her. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She averted her eyes, glancing around.
He followed her gaze, but they were alone. Most of the executive floor had gone to lunch.
That thought brought all the wicked ideas he’d had to the surface, but he pushed them to the side. “Want to tell me what that was all about?”
She shook her head. “Not really.”
The last time he’d had the urge to touch her, he’d held back. This time, he didn’t. Cupping the side of her face, he turned her to look at him. “I tried to find you again Friday night, but every time I’d spot you across the room, you’d disappear.”
“I’m sorry.”
His thumb caressed her cheek as he held her gaze. “What are you sorry about?”
“This isn’t a good idea.”
He didn’t have to ask her what she was talking about. “I think it’s an excellent idea.” Granted, the fact they’d be working for his father did make things a bit more complicated. “And that still doesn’t explain why you ran away from me the other night. I thought we were enjoying ourselves.”
“We were.” She tried to look away again, but he wouldn’t let her. “I was.”
“Then why?” He brushed his thumb over her tempting lips. It was taking everything in him not to kiss her. “I want to understand.”
Her eyes fluttered closed. “I don’t have the best track record with men and you’re my boss’s son.”
“You didn’t know that Friday night.”
She looked at him again but didn’t say anything more. The look on her face spoke volumes, though. Even without the added barrier of him being her boss’s son, she was scared. What she felt, her attraction to him, scared her.
It made him wonder about the other men she’d dated. Then again, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He didn’t want to think about her with anyone else. “Let me take you to lunch.”
Her gaze went to the sandwich on her desk. “I don’t think we should.”
The sound of heels clicking on the tile floor drew both their attention. Cassie sat up in her chair and he let his hand fall from her face.
“Hi, Jennifer. Mr. Masters is out of the office this afternoon. Is there something I can help you with?”
“I was hoping I’d catch him before he left. I wanted to run some numbers by him,” the woman said.
Cassie’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “I can make some time for you tomorrow morning at eight thirty. Will that work?”
“Thanks, Cassie. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
He could hear the woman’s heels clicking on the floor again as she walked away.
Cassie looked down at him where he still kneeled next to her desk. “She’s gone. You can get up now.”
It wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do, but he figured pulling her out of her chair, tossing her onto the ground, and ravishing her wasn’t the best idea.
Once he was on his feet again, he rested his hip on the edge of Cassie’s desk. She wasn’t looking at him. As much as he wanted to push her about lunch, he had bigger goals in mind.
He placed his index finger under her chin, making her meet his gaze. “I’ll be back in an hour so you can take me on that tour.” He could feel her gaze on him as he strode toward the elevator, but he didn’t look back. Not until he was inside the elevator. He met her gaze and held it until the doors closed, cutting their connection.
Cassie was at her desk when he returned. She’d fixed her hair, the loose strands back into the clip, and she’d put on fresh lipstick. As good as she looked, he preferred it when she was a little disheveled.
“Good afternoon, Cassie.”
She jumped at his greeting, placing her hand on her chest.
“Were you daydreaming about me?”
To his surprise and great delight, color filled her cheeks.
He smiled, knowing he’d flustered her again.
Pushing away from her desk, she grabbed a notebook and pen from her desk, clutched them to her chest, and came to stand beside him. “We should probably get started with our tour if you’re ready.”
Her attempt to keep things professional amused him, but he let her have it. There would be time to push her later. For now, he did need to get a lay of the land, so to speak. He hadn’t been to his father’s office in over five years. A lot had changed since then.
“Lead the way, Ms. Ross.”
He fell into step beside her as she headed toward the elevator. “You don’t have to call me that, you know. Everyone here, including your dad, calls me Cassie.”
“I know.”
When he didn’t say more, she glanced over at him.
He met her gaze, then pushed the down button on the elevator. They waited in silence until the doors opened and they stepped inside. “What floor?”
“Let’s start from the bottom and work our way up,” she said.
“Sounds good.”
Three hours later, they returned to the executive floor. He must have said hi to at least a hundred people. Some had worked there since he was a kid and remembered him from his high school days. Others were new to management and had wanted to introduce themselves. He had gotten a warm welcome, but it was exhausting. He was good with names, but not even he was going to remember them all.
Cassie had also introduced him to his administrative assistant. Her name was Stephanie and she’d been working in the position for a little over a month. While she was new to being an administrative assistant, Cassie said she’d started in the mailroom and worked her way up. He admired her desire to improve.
“Did you have any questions for me?” Cassie asked as she rounded her desk.
“Will you go out to dinner with me?”
She frowned. “I meant, do you have any questions for me in regards to the people you met today, the office, that sort of thing.”
“I knew what you meant.”
“Then why…”
“You know why.”
The hustle and bustle of the office around them faded into the background as they stared at one another from across her desk.
She was the one to break it. “Jesse, I think we need to keep things on a professional level. Whatever this is between us? It’ll pass. You’ll lose interest, and we’ll still have to work together. I can’t jeopardize my job.”
He noticed she said he’d lose interest. It was yet another insight into her relationship history. “Why do you think I’ll lose interest?”
Taking a seat at her desk, she began typing. “Men always do. They’re fickle like that.”
“I don’t think you’ve been dating the right kind of men.”
Cassie looked him straight in the eye. It was the first bit of backbone he’d seen from her and he had to admit it was hot as hell. “And you think you’re the right kind of man?”
“Yes.”
She snorted.
“Come to dinner with me,” he said. “One meal. And if I can’t change your mind, then I’ll never bring it up again.”
Her mouth twisted as she considered his offer. “Just dinner. That’s it?”
“Just dinner. I promise I won’t even kiss you good night unless you want me to.”
A long silence met his proposal as he awaited what felt like an eternity for her answer. “All right.”
“All right?”
She nodded. “All right, I’ll go to dinner with you. One time.”
Jesse smiled. His mind was already racing with ideas on where he could take her. He wanted it to be somewhere special and where they wouldn’t be interrupted. “I’ll pick you up at seven. I’ll need your address.”
“I can meet you there.”
“This is a date, remember? I’ll pick you up.”
He could tell she wanted to argue with him, but she let it go. Grabbing a Post-it note, she scribbled down her address. Granted, he could have gotten it from Kaden, but he wanted her to be committed to the date.
Giving the paper no more than a glance, he tucked it into his pants pocket before giving her a wink and turning on his heel toward the elevator. “Until tonight.”