Chapter 8
The morning flewby and before Cassie knew it, her boss was exiting his office. He straightened his suit jacket, making sure his collar was lying flat. “Were you able to get in touch with Mrs. Grant?”
“Yes. She said she’ll see you at two.”
Blake Masters nodded and headed for the elevator.
Cassie blew out a breath and looked at the clock again. She had no idea what Jesse had planned. Having lunch with her boss to tell him she was dating his son wasn’t exactly on her list of fun things to do, but Jesse had told her to trust him, so that’s what she was going to do.
Or at least, that’s what she was going to try to do.
At eleven fifty, the door to the stairwell opened, drawing her attention. Jesse stepped out and his gaze locked on hers. Despite her nerves, Cassie’s heart rate kicked up a notch.
Jesse stopped two feet in front of her desk. “Ready for lunch?”
“Not even a little bit.” Cassie grabbed her purse and stood anyway, rounding the desk to join him.
They walked side by side to the elevator, not speaking, but getting a few looks as they passed the other offices. Most of the executive assistants were still at their desks. She tried to ignore them and act like what she was doing was perfectly normal. Like she went to lunch with the boss’s son every day.
After waiting for what felt like forever for the elevator to arrive, the doors opened, and they slipped inside. “Relax.”
Cassie glanced over at him. “I’m trying.”
“Would you like me to provide a distraction?” The sparkle in his eyes left no doubts as to what type of distraction he had in mind.
“No. Thank you.”
Jesse chuckled. “Suit yourself.”
The elevator doors opened, and they made their way to his car. He opened the door for her and waited until she lowered herself into the passenger seat before rounding the vehicle to get behind the wheel.
As soon as they were out of the parking garage, Jesse reached for her hand. He brought it to his lips and placed a kiss on the back of her palm. “Sure you don’t want to take me up on my offer to relax you?”
“I’m not sure anything would relax me at the moment.”
“You have little faith in my abilities. We’re going to have to change that.” He gave her hand a squeeze and lowered it to rest on his thigh.
“It’s not that I doubt your…talents. It’s more I’m not sure I can get my mind to shut off. I keep wondering what your dad will think when we walk in together.”
To her surprise, Jesse pulled up in front of one of the fanciest restaurants in the city. “We’re about to find out.”
As soon as he came to a stop, a valet was at her door, opening it. She stared at him wide-eyed for a moment before standing. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Ma’am.”
Jesse came to stand beside her and laced their fingers together. He gave her hand a squeeze. “Just follow my lead.”
She took a deep breath and nodded.
After giving his name to the hostess, they were led to the back of the restaurant, away from all the other guests. They stepped through a doorway and Cassie spotted Blake Masters. He was sitting alone, sipping a glass of red wine. One of the perks of being the boss, she supposed.
When he noticed Jesse, he smiled, but then he realized his son wasn’t alone. A look of confusion took over his expression and she forced herself not to look away as they closed the distance.
Blake Masters wasn’t a stupid man, and it didn’t take him long to notice Jesse was holding her hand. He set his glass on the table and held his son’s gaze.
They seemed to be having some sort of stare down she wasn’t a part of. It was only their server coming to the table to get Cassie and Jesse’s drink order that broke the tension.
Jesse ordered them both water, then helped her into her seat. Blake Masters still hadn’t uttered a word.
As if nothing was wrong, Jesse picked up his menu. Not knowing what else to do, she did the same.
“The lamb here is very good,” Jesse said.
She nodded and continued to scan over the menu. Or, at least, pretended to. She could feel the vibrations coming off Blake.
No one said a word until the server returned to take their lunch orders. With the menus no longer in front of them, there was nothing else to do but address the elephant in the room.
“Cassie and I are seeing each other.”
Blake said nothing for several moments. “How long has this been going on?”
“We met at my birthday party. Her best friend is dating Kaden.” Jesse appeared to be unaffected by his father’s stiff demeanor.
Cassie wasn’t. Her palms were sweating, and she was waiting for her boss to tell her she no longer had a job. But she was trying to do as Jesse asked. This was his father after all.
“You know fraternization is discouraged. It doesn’t matter that you technically met before Jesse took over the management position.”
“Yes, we know,” Cassie said.
Jesse picked up his water and took a sip. “That’s why we’re meeting with HR this afternoon. We want everything to be out in the open. But we wanted to let you know first.”
“You know how this will be perceived, the speculation, especially for Cassie,” Blake said.
Cassie frowned. She hadn’t thought of anything beyond potentially losing her job.
Jesse placed a hand on her thigh as if he could sense the thoughts running through her head. “If something happens, we’ll address it. Until then, nothing should change. She works for you, not me.”
“It won’t matter. You’re my son and it will be implied that as your girlfriend you’ll be able to use your influence with me on her behalf.”
“I don’t expect any special treatment,” Cassie said.
Before he could respond, their salads arrived. Everyone remained quiet until they were alone once more.
Blake draped his napkin across his lap and picked up his fork. “Again, it won’t matter.” Then, he turned his focus on Jesse. “I do hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I do.”
They held each other’s gazes for a long moment before both men seemed to relax and dig into their salads. Cassie had no idea what had just happened, but she was sure something had. Blake stabbed a piece of lettuce with his fork. “You know you’re going to have to bring her over for dinner.”
Jesse smiled. “We’ll check our schedules.”
An hour later, Cassie was sitting next to Jesse in his car and they were heading back to the office. She was glad at least that hurdle was over, but she couldn’t help but replay Blake’s warning. Was there someone specific she needed to watch out for, or was it more of a general note of caution?
She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t realize they’d pulled off to the side of the road. “What?—”
Cassie wasn’t able to get anything else out before Jesse’s lips covered hers. All her swirling thoughts went out the window at the feel of his mouth moving against hers.
“Feeling better?” he asked several minutes later.
It took her a moment to realize he’d asked her a question. “Why’d you do that for?”
“You looked like you needed it.”
Had she needed it? Maybe she had. “We were going back to the office.”
Jesse smiled, his eyes lighting up with his amusement. “I decided to take a short detour. I’m trying to be good and not kiss you at work.”
“Oh.”
He gave her another lingering kiss, then turned to face the road and maneuvered back into traffic. Two minutes later, they were driving into the parking garage.
Walking into the building felt different now that they weren’t keeping things a secret. She could tell he wanted to hold her hand because he kept brushing the back of his hand against hers.
They rode up the elevator to the executive floor and he followed her to her desk. “Our appointment with HR is at two. I’ll meet you there.”
She nodded. “Thanks for lunch.”
“Don’t spend the next hour worrying about what will happen, okay? Things will be fine. You’ll see. Soon, it’ll be normal for people to see us together around here.”
Cassie really wanted that.
There was still that lingering voice in the back of her head, wondering about the list he gave her and if she’d be able to meet his expectations. She’d never been a submissive before and her limited knowledge came from movies and television shows.
Before she could let her mind go too far down the rabbit hole, her boss emerged from his office. He took one look at his son, then at her, and back at his son. “Don’t you have some work to do?”
Jesse smiled and straightened, then his gaze met hers. “I’ll see you at two.”
He headed toward the elevator, and she turned to see what her boss needed.
* * *
All things considered, lunch with his dad went as well as could be expected. His dad had always encouraged him to weigh the pros and cons of a situation, what he wanted, and how it would affect others before deciding on a course of action.
Pursuing Cassie was no different. He wanted Cassie. There was no hesitation there. She was beautiful, sweet, and had a humble air about her he found appealing. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, something he needed in a partner given his sexual preferences, but she wasn’t obnoxious about it.
As for how their relationship would affect others?
Besides the obvious speculation it would cause, Jesse didn’t see it having any effect on anyone other than maybe his father. Cassie was good at her job. She’d been his dad’s administrative assistant for long enough and each knew what the other’s expectations were.
When it came to everyone else in the office…
As far as he was concerned, him managing the accounting department was more of a potential minefield than him dating his father’s assistant.
He made his way to his office. Stephanie, his administrative assistant, looked up from whatever she’d been working on as he approached. “Welcome back. How was your lunch?”
“Very good.” He paused beside her desk. “Could you see if Shannon has yesterday’s figures ready for me yet? I wanted to try and look them over before my two o’clock.”
“Sure.” She stood and went off in search of Shannon.
Normally, he would have gone to Shannon’s desk himself and asked for the report, but he already had three missed calls from his mother. It didn’t take a genius to know his dad had talked to her after leaving the restaurant.
They’d been married for thirty-five years and there were no secrets between them. Growing up, he’d hated it. There was no going to one parent to ask permission to do something, then if he didn’t get the answer he wanted, go to the other parent. Blake and Florence Masters didn’t play that game. The one time he’d tried it, he’d ended up not only losing his gaming system for the week, but he’d also had to weed his mom’s flowerbeds.
Lowering himself into his highbacked chair, Jesse dialed his mother. She answered on the first ring.
“I was beginning to wonder if you were avoiding me.”
He chuckled. “Never. I just got back to my desk.”
“I’m sure you know why I called. You need to bring Cassie to dinner so I can meet her.”
“Mom, you know Cassie. She’s dad’s assistant.”
“I’m perfectly aware of who she is,” his mom said. “But it’s not as if I’ve sat down and gotten to know her. I’ve only seen her in passing and exchanged pleasantries when I came to the office to see your father.”
“Fair enough.” He’d come with his mom to see his dad at the office many times over the years and he’d never spent much time wondering about who his dad’s assistant was. “When would you like us to come?”
“Friday night. Six o’clock. Don’t be late.”
The smile wouldn’t leave his face. His mom was giving him a hard time, but he knew she was secretly thrilled. She wanted grandbabies. “I’ll talk to Cassie and make sure she doesn’t already have plans. I’ll call you back after work to confirm.”
Jesse hung up with his mom and logged into his computer. He was going through his emails when Stephanie walked in with the reports he’d been waiting for. “Thanks.”
He expected her to leave, but she remained in his office.
“Did you need something?”
Stephanie shifted her weight, a sign she was nervous about whatever it was she was about to say.
He stopped what he was doing and gave her his full attention. “You aren’t quitting, are you?”
Her eyes went wide. “What? No. I just…”
Jesse raised an eyebrow in question.
“I stopped by the break room, and I overheard something.” She glanced at the picture of him graduating college he had hanging on the wall, his dad’s arm around him and a big smile on both of their faces. “They said you were seen leaving the building with Cassie Ross, your dad’s assistant.” She paused. “And they were speculating on how you spent your lunch break.”
“Close the door.”
It took a moment for his words to register, but when they did, Stephanie did as he asked and shut the door.
“Have a seat.” Jesse motioned to the seat across from his desk.
Stephanie lowered herself into the chair and folded her hands in front of her as if she were waiting for him to reprimand her.
“Cassie Ross and I are dating. We’ve been dating for a couple of weeks now and my two o’clock meeting today is with HR to let them know about our relationship.” His timeline was a little exaggerated, but it sounded better than saying they’d met a little over a week ago. “As for lunch today, we met with my father to tell him about our relationship.”
“If you’re telling HR today, then why the secrecy?” Stephanie asked.
“I don’t want to fuel the rumor mill. Nor do I want people hovering outside my office trying to listen in to find out any tidbit of information they can. However, as you’ll be the buffer between me and those who are so eager for information, I figured you should know the situation.”
She nodded.
“I appreciate your discretion on this.” It was a request, but it was also a reminder he didn’t want her blabbing about his personal life in the break room.
“Of course, Mr. Masters. I won’t say anything.”
“Thank you.”
Forty-five minutes later, Jesse stood outside HR, waiting. They had an appointment with the HR manager in two minutes and Cassie wasn’t there yet. He checked his phone again, but there were no messages.
With less than thirty seconds to spare, she came rushing down the hall.
“Are you all right?”
She nodded. “Yes. Sorry I’m late. Corrine needed my help with her computer.”
Her hair had come loose from its clip and he wanted desperately to brush it behind her ear. “Are you ready for this, or do you need a few minutes?”
“I’m ready,” Cassie said. “Let’s get this over with.”
The meeting with the HR manager had him feeling as if he’d been sent to the principal’s office. Courtney Layne would have made a good headmistress at a private girls’ school. She wore a tailored suit, her makeup was on the heavy side, and her hair was pulled up tight into a bun.
They’d each been given a copy of the employee manual and read the section regarding fraternization. Then she’d gone farther, saying she expected us to remain professional while on company property. She clearly didn’t have an issue with him being Blake Masters’s son.
Cassie let out a loud breath when they left the HR department.
“Feels like we just left the principal’s office.”
He’d been hoping to lighten the mood, and it worked.
Cassie laughed. “Yes, it does. I was kind of expecting it, though.”
“Why’s that?” he asked, moving them toward the elevator.
“There was a couple in shipping and receiving last year. It didn’t end well and one of them quit. Your dad considered changing the policy to forbid fraternization, but changed his mind when he realized there are five married couples that work for him.”
“That many?” They got into the elevator, and he punched the number for the executive floor.
She nodded. “There’s also a mother and daughter.”
His hand brushed against the back of hers as they stood side by side in the enclosed space. It was testing his discipline not to touch her the way he wanted. He could see why working together would be an issue. He’d want his hands on her all the time.
Deciding to switch the subject, he moved to a more pressing matter. “My mom would like us to come to dinner on Friday night. She wants to meet you. Are you available?”
“Your mom comes in at least once a month. She’s already met me.”
“She’s met you as my father’s assistant. Now, she wants to meet you as my girlfriend.”
Cassie gazed up at him. “Is that what I am?”
Jesse clenched his fists to keep from reaching out. “I thought I’d made that clear last night.”
She didn’t look away until the elevator doors opened. There was no one waiting on the other side, but she left his side before turning to face him. “I guess that makes you my boyfriend, then, huh?”
Jesse smirked. “Yeah, I guess it does.”
Smiling, she turned to go.
“You haven’t answered my question. Friday night? Dinner?”
She looked back, meeting his gaze, and nodded as the elevator doors closed between them.
He shook his head, laughing as he headed back to his office.