Chapter 6
The only othertime Cassie had felt this conflicted was the day her parents told her and her brothers they were getting a divorce. Back then, she’d worried about not seeing her dad every day. Feared their relationship would change.
It was a child’s fear and one her parents worked hard to dispel. Her dad had gone out of his way to continue being part of her life—even after her mom and stepdad moved them to Kansas City.
“How was the big date on Saturday?” Brie asked as she poured her coffee into a large tumbler Monday morning. Her friend had been gone on Saturday by the time Jesse dropped her off and she’d texted Cassie that night to let her know she was staying at Kaden’s. Brie hadn’t returned home until late last night and by then Cassie was already in bed.
When Cassie didn’t answer, Brie frowned. “Do I need to have Kaden kick his ass?”
“What? No.” Cassie realized she was going to have to give her friend something, but she wasn’t sure how much she wanted to share. “The date went…”
Remembering how Jesse had wiped the frosting off her face, how his gaze had lingered on her lips, making her forget where they were. That happened a lot when she was with him, and she wasn’t sure it was a good thing. At the time, it felt wonderful, but it wasn’t good. She couldn’t lose herself in him. That wasn’t…smart.
“The date was…” Brie moved her hand in a go on gesture.
“It was nice.”
“Nice.”
“Yeah.” Cassie took a bite of her Poptart. The date had been nice. And sweet. And the best date she’d ever been on with a guy.
Luckily, they both had to get to work, so she was spared having to go into the details. She knew Brie would want more information, but she was going to enjoy her reprieve.
The executive floor was quiet when Cassie arrived at the office. It was early and only a few people were at their desks.
Cassie made her way down the hall to her desk and booted up her computer. She went through her normal routine, getting her coffee and going through emails while making her to-do list for the day.
Mr. Masters had an off-site meeting, which meant it was the perfect time to get some paperwork done. A few people stopped by over the course of the morning, looking for her boss, but only one of them left a message.
She was halfway through the end of month report when her phone rang. “Blake Masters’s office.”
“Is my father at his desk?” The sound of Jesse’s voice on the other end of the line, low and soft as if he were sharing a secret with her, had her body heating up.
“Jesse.” There was a long pause on the other end of the line and she forced herself to answer his question. “No. Your dad had a meeting this morning.”
“Cass, is everything all right?”
She sat up straighter and attempted to make herself sound like the professional she was supposed to be. “Of course.”
He was quiet again for a long moment. “I think we need to talk. Have lunch with me.”
She swallowed and glanced around the office as if someone could hear their conversation. “I can’t. I have a working lunch with…Mr. Masters.” She’d almost said she’d be having lunch with his dad, but she’d caught herself.
Jesse wasn’t deterred. “Tonight, then. Dinner.”
Cassie chewed on her bottom lip, no doubt destroying her lipstick. She wanted to say yes, but there was that stupid voice in her head telling her it wasn’t a good idea.
“Come to my condo and I’ll make you dinner.” He paused and lowered his voice to a whisper as if he were imparting a great secret. “I promise not to poison you.”
That made her laugh a little.
The sound of feet approaching caused her to look up. It was Jesse’s dad. Her boss. He wasn’t looking at her. His head was down, and he was reading something on his phone.
“I have to go,” she said.
“You haven’t answered my question. Dinner?”
She knew she shouldn’t, but her mouth and her brain didn’t seem to be communicating. “Okay.”
Then, before he could say anything else, she hung up.
Blake Masters stopped in front of her desk and met her gaze. “Any messages?”
“Miss Layne from HR asked that you give her a call when you have time. She seemed a little distressed when she stopped by.”
He nodded. “Anything else?”
I’m kinda, sorta dating your son?It was at that moment it dawned on her that Jesse had called to talk to his father and she’d hung up on him. “Your son called looking for you, but he didn’t leave a message.”
Blake Masters nodded and made his way toward his office. “Give me a half hour, and then we can get started on the second quarter reports.”
“I’ll order lunch. Did you want your usual?”
Her boss grinned. “Don’t fix it if it isn’t broken.”
Cassie dialed her boss’s favorite deli and placed their lunch order. As she waited for the food to be delivered, she finished what she’d been working on before Jesse called.
Two hours later, she had a pad full of notes that would keep her busy the rest of the afternoon. The one thing she’d learned about Blake Masters over her time working as his assistant was that he liked to be prepared. She’d spend hours researching things for him so he could be ready for a meeting.
As they were finishing up, Mr. Masters leaned back in his executive chair and met her gaze across the desk. “Have you thought about your future at the company?”
Of course her thoughts went to Jesse. Did her boss know? “What do you mean?”
“You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, Cassie. And while I’d be happy to have you as my assistant for the next twenty years, I also think you have talents beyond being my gatekeeper.”
“Thank you, sir, but I’m happy where I am for now.”
He nodded. “You’ll let me know if that changes.”
Cassie exited Mr. Masters’s office and was surprised to find Jesse standing beside her desk. He was wearing a dark blue suit, and his hair looked a little rumpled. She imagined him running his hands through it. Her insides warmed remembering how she’d run her fingers through his hair on Saturday when he’d kissed her good night.
Their gazes met and she could have sworn his eyes darkened as he took her in. She licked her lips and swallowed. “What are you doing here?”
A slow smile pulled at his lips. “I came to see my father.”
Of course he’d come to see his dad. “He’s in his office.”
Jesse nodded and walked toward her. She should move, but for some reason, she was frozen in place.
Her breath hitched as he came to a stop a few inches away. His eyes were intense, penetrating. “You hung up on me.”
She swallowed. “I’m sorry. I?—”
He placed his index finger over her lips, sending heat straight to her core. “We’ll discuss it tonight. Six-thirty.”
Dinner.
She nodded.
Jesse reached around her and swiped a sticky note and a pen from her desk. He scribbled something on it, dropped the pen on her desk, and handed her the note. Without another word, he went to his father’s door and knocked.
Cassie looked down. His address. She’d been so flustered, she hadn’t even thought to ask him for it.
Mr. Masters’s voice sounded from inside the office. “Come in.”
Jesse didn’t look back at her before disappearing into his dad’s office and closing the door.
Cassie blew out a breath and tried to clear her head. She had a pile of work to do and yet all she wanted was for Jesse to take her in his arms and kiss her again. The brief touch of his finger against her lips wasn’t enough.
Forcing her feet to move, she took a seat behind her desk and pulled up a blank document. She’d managed to clear her head enough to enter in the notes from her meeting and start working on the list of action items her boss had wanted when Mr. Masters’s office door opened.
She looked up from her screen, trying to prepare herself to see Jesse again. Her gaze zeroed in on him but was quickly pulled away when she realized he wasn’t alone. Blake Masters strode out of the office behind his son. The two standing next to each other in their suits was striking.
“I’ll get the official proposal to you by the end of the week,” Jesse said to his father.
Blake Masters nodded, then turned his attention to Cassie. “I’m heading out. Call my cell if anything comes up.”
“Of course.”
The two men headed toward the elevator. She couldn’t take her eyes off them. They waited for the elevator, then stepped inside. Her gaze locked with Jesse’s and the side of his mouth quirked up. She’d been caught staring again. But even still, she couldn’t look away. She held his gaze until the doors closed, removing him from view.
* * *
Jesse strolled into his condo a little after five. He removed his jacket and tie, then rolled up his sleeves and started working on dinner.
His mother had made sure he knew how to cook. She’d insisted it would come in handy throughout his life and she hadn’t been wrong. In college, he’d been one of the few students who could cook a meal from scratch.
He wasn’t a chef, but he could hold his own in the kitchen. Tonight, he’d settled on ribeye steak, sauteed green beans, and mashed potatoes. There was a knock at the door just as he was checking to make sure the steaks were ready. He set them on the cutting board to rest and went to let Cassie in.
She stood on his doorstep in a simple black dress. The fabric hugged her body and drew his gaze to the way her chest moved up and down. She clutched her purse in front of her, clearly nervous.
“Perfect timing. Dinner’s almost ready,” he said, taking a step back, inviting her in.
He expected her to hesitate, but she didn’t. “It smells wonderful.”
Jesse closed the door and went back to the kitchen. “I hope you like steak.”
Cassie smiled and took a seat at his island. “I love steak.”
He drained the potatoes and threw them in his mixer along with salt, pepper, butter, and some milk. Once that was mixing, he gave the green beans a final toss before removing them from the heat.
“You know your way around a kitchen.”
He glanced at her before checking on the potatoes. “Does that help my chances?”
Cassie smiled. “Maybe a little.”
Jesse chuckled. “I like an honest woman.”
Satisfied the potatoes were ready, he plated their dinner, then carried it to the dining room table. Cassie followed. He laid the plates on the table, one across from the other, before pulling out a chair for her.
He made sure she was settled, then went to get the iced tea he’d picked up from the store. As much as he’d loved to dip into his wine collection, he wanted them both levelheaded and completely sobber tonight.
Cassie waited for him to take his seat. “Thank you for dinner.”
Jesse picked up his fork and nodded for her to do the same. “You’re welcome.”
They each cut into their steaks and he watched as she took her first bite. She closed her eyes as the steak hit her tongue and his mind went to a certain body part of his he’d like to have those lips wrapped around. Then she hummed and the sound went straight to his cock.
He hadn’t planned for tonight to be about sex, but his libido was having other ideas. It had been a while. He hadn’t been with anyone since he’d been home.
Her gaze met his and darkened. He knew she felt the same pull he did, but he also didn’t want her to do something she didn’t want to do. “I like you, Cassie. I think you know that.”
She looked away. “I like you, too.”
“Do you like me enough to risk things going wrong somewhere down the line?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
Jesse cut another piece of his steak. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
She pushed her green beans around her plate. “I can’t seem to say no to you.”
“While I like the idea of you not being able to say no to me, I also don’t like the idea of you being uncertain about being with me. I want you to be certain.”
Cassie didn’t comment for several minutes. She took three more bites of her food before responding. “We could get in trouble.”
“Fraternization is discouraged. Not forbidden. Besides, we don’t technically work together.” He knew it was a fine line. Given his management position and that she worked for his father, they would no doubt interact in a professional capacity on a regular basis.
Again, she was quiet for several very long moments. “Would we keep it a secret?”
His first instinct was no. He didn’t want to keep her locked away like some dirty secret. But he also understood the implications of going public. “Is that something you’d want?”
“I don’t know.”
He nodded. “If it were up to me, then no, I wouldn’t want to keep you a secret.”
“So you’d tell your dad about me? Us?”
Jesse laid his hand over hers. “I would.”
She stabbed another piece of her steak and popped it into her mouth. He could tell she was thinking about what he’d said. If anything, he admired her for taking the time to weigh her options. He wanted her to agree, but he also wanted her to be sure. He was tired of the hot and cold vibe he kept getting from her.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked.
Jesse finished his dinner and pushed his plate to the side. “You can ask me anything, Cass.” In fact, he had no doubt if they did decide to move forward with their relationship, she’d have quite a few questions.
“Would there be anyone else? I mean, would you be seeing anyone else besides me if we…”
Remembering what she’d told him about her ex, he couldn’t blame her for asking, but it still stung a little. He would admit he’d played around with women in his early twenties, but they’d been aware of what had been on offer. He hadn’t been interested in anything long term and neither had they. It had been about mutual pleasure.
Cassie was more than that. She was the type of woman he could see himself with for the long term. “If you’re asking me if we’d be exclusive, then the answer is yes. I wouldn’t be seeing anyone else in a relationship or sexual capacity besides you.” He paused and waited for her to look at him. “And I’d expect the same in return.”
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t answer.
“Is that a problem?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I mean, I wouldn’t do that.”
Jesse smiled and stood. “Are you finished?”
She looked at her plate and began to get up.
He stopped her. “I’ve got it.”
“Thank you.”
After rinsing their plates and loading them into the dishwasher, he filled two bowls with ice cream and carried them back to the table. Placing one in front of her, he took his seat again. “I hope you like chocolate.”
Her lips curled up into a smile as she picked up her spoon. “Who doesn’t like chocolate?”
“My mom.”
Cassie sent him a skeptical look.
“I’m serious. She prefers vanilla.”
“She doesn’t know what she’s missing.”
Jesse chuckled. “No, she doesn’t.”
Cassie made it through half her ice cream before she spoke again. “Does this mean we’re dating?”
“You haven’t changed your mind on me again, have you?”
She shook her head. “No. I haven’t changed my mind. I’m still worried, but the thought of seeing you at work but not being able to touch you again… to have you touch me…” Her gaze met his, her hazel eyes darker than usual.
Jesse put a spoonful of the rich ice cream in his mouth. “Is that something you think about a lot, Cassie? Me touching you?”
“Yes.”
He could see the pulse in her neck beating out a rhythm. She was aroused and he knew it wouldn’t take much to get her into his bed. And he did want her in his bed, but he also wanted to do things the right way.
Licking the last of his ice cream from his spoon, he stood and held out his hand for her. She took it and rose to stand beside him. Jesse slid an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. It had been two days since he’d kissed her, but it felt like weeks. He needed a taste.
She released a sigh the moment their lips touched. He could taste the chocolate ice cream lingering on her tongue. Her arms circled his neck and her fingers brushed through his hair as he pulled her closer to him. His erection pressed against her stomach, begging to be let free. The desire to feel her warmth surrounding him was almost too much and he knew he needed to get a grip on things before he lost control.
Breaking the kiss, he gazed into her eyes for a long moment, then kissed the tip of her nose. “How about a movie?”
She blinked. “A movie?”
He cleared his throat and took a step back. “You like movies, right?”
“Yes, but?—”
Jesse took her hand and led her to his large couch. He made sure she was comfortable, then reached for the remote.