Chapter 21
Cassie had thoughtfor sure they were going to be late for work, but he’d ended the kiss and dragged her out of her apartment like the house was on fire. They made it with a few minutes to spare.
She’d had to reapply her lipstick in the car, but it was well worth it. He’d ridden up to the executive floor with her before promising to bring her lunch.
“Good morning, Mr. Masters,” Cassie said when her boss approached her desk a little before eight.
“Good morning, Cassie.” He smiled and disappeared into his office.
She spent the rest of the morning responding to emails and setting up next month’s calendar. At noon, Jesse brought her a sandwich and a salad from yet another restaurant she’d never heard of. They ended up in the conference room.
“How was your morning?” she asked before taking a bite of her sandwich.
“Still doing research.” He’d told her a little about what he was working on, but she understood he couldn’t go into too much detail. Not until he fleshed out exactly what was going on and who was involved.
Being Blake Masters’s assistant gave her access to a lot of things. She knew something was wrong with the accounting. She’d been the first one to notice and bring it to her boss’s attention. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. I’m sure your dad wouldn’t mind.”
Jesse studied her for a long moment. “There might be something you could do.” He paused, glanced at the door, then back at her. “There’s a file missing.”
She lowered her voice and sat forward. “A client file?”
He nodded. “A contract.”
Cassie’s eyes widened. It didn’t take a genius to know that wasn’t good. “It’s not in the archives?”
“No. Or at least, not where it should be in the archives. Stephanie and I have spent the morning going through every file in the surrounding area, hoping it was just misplaced.”
“What can I do?”
“We need to go through all the files, one at a time.”
The company had been in business for over twenty years, and they had thousands of clients. It could take weeks or even months to go through every paper in every file. “I can stay late.”
“While I appreciate that, what I need is a way to narrow down our search. Assuming someone isn’t deliberately trying to hide it.”
Cassie thought about it. “Who’s the client?”
“Campbell Industries.”
She’d never heard of them, which meant they were probably a smaller client. “I’ll look into it. I should have some time this afternoon.”
* * *
There was a note on Cassie’s desk when she got back from lunch.
I know it was you.
Cassie looked around, but no one was lurking. She turned her attention to the note. It didn’t give her a whole lot to go on. What did they know?
She racked her brain, trying to figure out who may have left the message. It wasn’t exactly threatening. More of a warning. But a warning of what she had no idea.
Blake Masters strolled out of his office, suit jacket on. He had a meeting across town at two thirty. He closed his door then turned to her. “Everything all right?”
Her confusion must have been written on her face. “Did you happen to see anyone at my desk while I was away?”
“No. I was on a call most of the last hour with Bree Reynolds.” He paused. “Was something taken?”
“The opposite. They left me a rather cryptic note.” She knew some people would have kept the note to themselves, but Cassie knew she hadn’t done anything wrong. The only thing even questionable she was doing was dating Jesse and that wasn’t a secret.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If it’s important, they’ll stop by again.”
“You’re probably right.” Cassie forced a smile. “Should I expect you back after your meeting?”
Her boss shook his head. “No. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Cassie nodded.
She was still thinking about the note when Jesse came to pick her up at five. Gathering her things, she let him lead her to his vehicle. He didn’t press her on why she was being so reserved until they were both in the car. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“There was a strange note on my desk when I got back from lunch. I’ve been trying to figure out who it came from, but I’m drawing a blank.” Of course it would help if she had a clue what the note was referring to, but she didn’t.
He weaved through the parking garage and turned onto the road, heading toward her apartment.
“I thought we were going to your place.”
Jesse took the turn onto the highway. “I figured you might want clothes to wear into the office tomorrow.”
“Oh.” Yeah, that would be good. Needing clothes hadn’t crossed her mind. “Yeah. Good idea.”
He chuckled. “As much as I love seeing you running around without clothes on, I don’t think you showing up naked tomorrow would be well received.” He paused. “Now back to the note. What did it say?”
Cassie told him. “I have no idea what they’re talking about. What do they know I did?”
He frowned. “Maybe it was someone’s idea of a joke. They know you had lunch with me or something.”
She shrugged. “The whole office knows I’m dating you. Why would us eating lunch together be a secret?”
“I don’t know.” He found a parking spot at her apartment complex. “I’d ignore it. There’s nothing you can do about it one way or another given you don’t know what they’re talking about, nor do you know who left it.”
“I know you’re right.”
Jesse got out of the Mustang and went around to open the passenger door for her. He helped her out and placed a hand on her lower back as they walked inside.
The apartment was quiet. Brie worked until six on Tuesdays, so she wouldn’t be home for another hour, at least.
Cassie went to her room and packed an outfit for Wednesday, as well as one for Thursday. She had a feeling Jesse would want her to spend the night after they had dinner with her family. And if not, she would have something for the next time she stayed over.
She found him thumbing through the bookcase when she returned to the living room. He ran his hands along one of the shelves. “You have quite the eclectic collection.”
“The thrillers are Brie’s. She loves them.”
“And are these yours?” Jesse picked up one of the romance novels on the third shelf.
“Yes.”
He returned the book to its place, then ran his finger along the spines until he came to one that had lots of creases. Pulling it out, he flipped through it, scanning the pages. “Is this your favorite one?”
She didn’t answer as heat crept up her cheeks.
Jesse met her gaze and waited.
Words wouldn’t come, so she nodded.
That seemed to be enough for him. But instead of putting the book back, he tucked it under his arm. “Do you have everything you need?”
Finally, she found her words. “Are you taking that with you?” She was referring to her book and he knew it.
“Yes. I thought I might do a little light reading tonight before bed.”
“No.”
“No?” He seemed amused she was telling him no.
“You have plenty of books at your house. Surely you can find something to read there.”
He took her bag from her, then reached for her hand as if she hadn’t said anything. Before she knew it, he was leading her out of the apartment. “Give me your keys so I can lock up.”
She gave them to him without a second thought. Her mind was still on the book. “Why do you want to read it?”
“I want to see what you like.” He pushed the button to take them to the parking lot.
“I don’t think it’s your type of story.”
The side of Jesse’s mouth pulled up into a smile, but that was his only response.
* * *
Jesse was enjoying her discomfort. He knew the book was a romance. And from the cover, he was guessing it had a fair amount of sex in it. He didn’t understand why him knowing what she was reading would make her uneasy given his sexual proclivities.
“Do you have a preference for dinner?”
She looked at him with a hint of surprise. “You mean I get to pick tonight?”
He smiled. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
Closing the passenger door, he made his way around the car and slid into the driver’s seat. He tucked the book into the center console and put on his seat belt before starting the engine and backing out of the parking spot.
“A nice salad sounds good.”
For some reason, that made him laugh.
“What?”
He shook his head. “I just wasn’t expecting you to say a salad, that’s all. I figured you’d want Italian or Thai.”
“I haven’t had a lot of greens this week.” She paused. “What’s wrong with a salad?”
“Nothing at all.” They’d been eating a lot of carbs lately. Not that they hadn’t burned them off, but he did see the point. “Salad it is.”
Jesse headed to the south end of the city. Cassie didn’t bother asking him where he was going.
He found a place to park along the street and leaned in to give her a kiss. “I’ll be right back.”
“Guess that means I don’t get to pick which salad I want?”
He grinned, pressed another quick kiss to her lips, then reached for the door.
The restaurant wasn’t busy, so he didn’t have to wait long for their salads. He ordered extra meat on his, knowing he’d need the protein boost for later tonight.
Food in hand, Jesse made his way out to the vehicle. Cassie was on her cell phone, talking to someone. He opened the back door, placed the bag of food inside, then slipped behind the wheel.
“That’s not my problem.”
Jesse’s eyebrows rose at Cassie’s tone. It wasn’t directed at him, but she was agitated about something. Or someone.
“Again, not my issue.” She paused. “Fine.”
She disconnected the call and blew out a loud breath.
“Everything good?”
“Yeah. Just my pain in the ass brother.”
Jesse started the car and pulled away from the curb. “I’m going to take a guess here. Bradley?”
“Of course. James doesn’t care about my love life.”
“And Bradley does.”
She nodded. “Apparently, he can’t fathom the notion I may have found a good man who treats me right.”
Jesse’s chest warmed at the compliment. He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the tips of her fingers. “Is he coming to dinner tomorrow night?”
“I don’t know. He’s working on a case and doesn’t know if he’ll be able to make it or not. That’s why he called. To see if we could reschedule.” She huffed. “He thinks the world revolves around him.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure that’s not the case. He’s probably just worried about you.”
“I know that, too. I’ve not exactly had the best luck with boyfriends, but he needs to trust me.”
Jesse had to admit, he was curious about Cassie’s brother. He understood being protective of your sister, he was of Beks, but this seemed excessive. Her dad’s response was more in line with what he’d expect. He would have done the same if it were his daughter. But Bradley was bordering on obnoxious.
“Try to forget about your brother and let’s enjoy our evening.”
She took what he assumed to be a cleansing breath. Then another.
“Is that helping?”
“Not really, but it isn’t hurting.”
Jesse laughed. “Why don’t I try to distract you, then?”
“I’m not sure you’re supposed to be doing that while you’re driving.”
He glanced in her direction as a wicked smile formed. “You naughty girl. That’s not exactly what I had in mind.” He gave her leg a squeeze. “Stephanie and I spent all afternoon going through files. No luck yet, although she says we might have some luck in the dead files.” He paused. “I didn’t know there was such a thing.”
“Your dad’s supposed to be in the office all day tomorrow. I can probably get in there and look,” she said.
“I don’t want to take you away from your work.”
Cassie shook her head. “Your dad won’t mind. He wants to get to the bottom of this as much as you do.”
That was true enough. And when it came down to it, he’d take all the help he could get.
They ended up curled up on the couch, watching more of Outlander. Every time he thought he had the season figured out, there was a new twist. He was hoping his own mystery of the missing file didn’t send him on a wild goose chase.
Even if he did locate it, there was no way to know what it would show, if anything. He could be scouring the files for something that could simply be a mathematical error.
At nine, they headed into the bedroom. He let her use the bathroom first, then took his turn.
She was already in bed when he emerged from the bathroom. The covers pulled up, covering her chest, but he knew she was naked underneath.
Jesse turned off the lights and walked to the other side of the bed. He pulled back the covers, slid in next to her, and opened his arms in invitation.
Cassie moved into his embrace. She pressed against him, her soft skin sending awareness through every nerve ending he had.
He ran his hand down her back, over her hip, to the curve of her ass. She had a great ass. It was round and firm and perfect for when he needed to get a good grip on her.
She arched her back, pressing her tits into him, telling him without words she liked his touch. That was good because he liked touching her. A lot.
Not having her in his bed last night had affected him more than he thought it would. He’d missed her, sure, but it was more than that. His bed felt empty without her in it. When he woke up in the morning, the first thing he did was look for her beside him and felt a pang deep in his chest when she wasn’t there.
He traced circles on her hip, letting himself enjoy the moment. “I like having you in my bed.”
She kissed his pec and met his gaze. “I like it, too.” There was a pause before she continued. “Is that weird?”
“That you like being in my bed?” He cupped her ass and gave it a squeeze. “I hope not. That would mean I’m not doing my job very well.”
Cassie grinned. “That’s not exactly what I meant. Brie says it’s normal to feel this way, but it feels…”
“What does it feel like, Cass?”
She pressed her lips together, then took a deep breath as if she were about to reveal something big. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”
Jesse brought his free hand up to brush the side of her face. “I know I’m falling in love with you. In fact, I think I’ve already fallen.”
Her eyes went wide. “But isn’t it too soon? I mean, we haven’t been dating for a month yet. Don’t we have to be seeing each other for at least three months or something?”
He laughed, causing their bodies to rub against each other. The movement was doing nothing to help the growing ache in his cock. “I don’t think there’s a prerequisite time limit on when you fall in love with someone.”
She shifted, moving half her body on top of him. “But is this normal? To feel this way, so soon?”
“I wouldn’t say it’s normal.” She frowned. “But I won’t say it’s unusual either. Sometimes you just know.”
“And you just know?”
He picked her up and moved her the rest of the way on top of him. “I just know.”
His cock grazed against her heat. He needed to be inside her. “I don’t like wearing a condom to be inside you. I want to feel all of you surrounding me without any barrier between us.”
She blinked at the change in subject. “Um. But I’m not on anything.”
“I know. We need to address that. Have you called your doctor yet?”
“No. I—” She paused. “With everything that’s been happening at work, I forgot.”
He reached into the bedside drawer to get a condom. As much as he didn’t want to wear one, it was a necessary evil until they figured something else out. “I want to be able to take your pussy whenever I want. No waiting.”
Cassie sucked in a breath.
“I want you to make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible.”
He lifted her into a sitting position, the blanket falling on his legs behind him. Then he rolled the condom down his hard length.
Once he was sheathed, he reached for her. “Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
His cock pulsed with anticipation as he lined her up, needing to be inside her like he needed his next breath. The moment he felt her muscles flex around him, he knew he was where he was meant to be.