by Melody Anne
Upon approaching the large building, she found the exterior itself was intimidating, shooting high into the sky and as she walked in she could see the Andersons spared no expense on decorations. The foyer was stunning, without being over the top. She wrote a few notes on her iPad and made her way toward the security desk.
She looked at the nametag on the guard, as he eyed her cautiously, which said Ben Stern. She had to fight the giggle that wanted to pop out as she took in his expression. His name was certainly fitting. He appeared to be in his late fifties, with a slightly balding head, and his face had an impenetrable look. She was sure he didn’t miss a thing.
“I’m Cassandra McIntyre, but everyone just calls me Cassie. I’m here to meet with Max Anderson,” she said in a bit of a high voice. She knew she had a tendency to ramble when she was nervous so she made sure to stop herself. He didn’t need to know her nickname since she wouldn’t be visiting with him a whole lot. Of course, you could get a lot more personal inside information from the staff. She made a side note to herself to look for people she thought would spill their guts.
“One moment, please,” Ben said as he quickly typed some information into his computer. He looked up at her again without showing any expression and produced a badge. “You’ll head over to the elevators, go to the twenty-fourth floor, where you’ll find Mr. Anderson’s secretary,” he said, effectively dismissing her.
Cassie took the badge without another word and looked around at the crowded area. People were rushing through the doors, all with a look of purpose on their faces. Most headed toward the elevators. She made another note to find out the exact number of people who worked in the offices, and in general for the corporation. She walked to the elevators and stood with a group of people, all wearing various types of business attire. She felt a bit underdressed in her simple skirt and blouse. She thought she may need to get some boring suits in blues and blacks, as that seemed to be everyone’s favorite color.
She followed a crowd into one of the overflowing elevators and noticed no one pushed the button for her needed floor, so she reached around and pressed it. A few of the suited droids looked at her questioningly when she did that. She wiped her sweaty palm on the side of her skirt as inconspicuously as she could manage. No one said a word to her and she was grateful for the moment of silence to collect her thoughts and boost her confidence with a quick pep talk. She kept her head down and avoided eye contact with the other occupants.
She’d been in the top of her journalism class at college, always studied hard, and knew she was meant to be a reporter. She’d been able to dig out facts from her interviews others could only dream of finding. It was such a competitive market, she’d been unable to make her big break yet. This interview would certainly do it for her, though.
The ride took a long time, with the elevator seeming to stop on every floor. She breathed a sigh of relief when the last of the occupants stepped out on the twentieth floor. She was glad to get a few floors alone to compose herself, but she arrived much too quickly.
The bell chimed, announcing her arrival to the twenty-fourth floor and she stepped out to utter silence. She looked around the spacious area and felt her stomach tighten as her nerves overtook her even more. Where was the hustle and bustle of people like she’d seen in the reception area? Where were the hordes of people who should’ve been there? She looked at the empty reception desk where a secretary should’ve been sitting.
Cassie glanced at her watch, noting that it was a quarter after eight. She’d been told Max was usually there by seven in the morning, and the rest of the team was there no later than eight, so she couldn’t figure out where everyone was. Perhaps there was a team meeting, or a conference.
She made her way past the reception desk and down a large, lighted hallway. Office after office remained empty, causing her already nervous stomach to tighten more. She knew she was in the right place. Joseph Anderson had told her exactly where she was supposed to go.
She felt like a spy and expected security to jump out at any moment, demanding to know who she was and what she was doing in the offices. She made her way to the end of the hall and found Max’s door to her right. It was slightly ajar so she pushed it open and took a step inside the dark room.
Cassie’s overactive imagination took over and she felt like she was in a horror flick for a moment, about to be attacked by a robber. She got Goosebumps even thinking about it. She rubbed her arms as she peaked around the dim room. The windows were tinted, allowing privacy.
She knew Max was less than happy to have her shadow every move he made, but a deal was a deal and he better not have left her behind. Of course, there wasn’t a whole lot she could do about it if he had. Her first day wasn’t going according to plan so far.
Cassie scanned the room and jumped when she noticed a figure sleeping on a couch tucked away in a corner. Her heart picked up speed as her fight or flight response kicked in. She couldn’t imagine anyone being able to get to the offices who wasn’t allowed to be there, but even if the person were allowed to be in the room, didn’t necessarily make them a good person. She heard of horrible things happening in the corporate world. The stories were buried in a mountain of paperwork and the victims never got to voice their troubles. The executives were just too powerful. She’d only heard positive things about the Andersons, but that didn’t mean bad things couldn’t happen.
She took a closer look at the person, determining it had to be a man from the way he was dressed and the size of him. He was lying on his back with his arm flung over his face. He was sleeping soundly, wearing a dress shirt, half unbuttoned, and a pair of slacks. His bare feet were sticking out beneath a thin blanket only partially covering his body.
Since it was Max’s office, she was assuming it was him, but why would he be asleep on the couch, and all the other employees be gone. None of it made any sense. She knew many executives worked so late into the night they often slept in their offices, but she didn’t take Max as the typical corporate shark, which is why she’d wanted to interview him so badly. He was a mystery to most of the world.
“Time to wake up,” Cassie said loudly. She watched him struggle to wake, slightly groaning, then he just flipped over so his back was to her and she listened as his breathing deepened and he started softly snoring.
Cassie was tired of standing around on the empty floor, and found it very incredibly that Max wasn’t waiting for her. He knew she was due in that morning, and he could’ve had the courtesy to call her if something came up. Not that she would’ve listened had he called. She knew he didn’t want to do the interview and she would’ve thought he was making up an excuse.
She walked over, leaned down and placed her hands on his shoulders. She started shaking him, which did nothing, so she pushed harder and watched as his body tensed. She tried to move back, since she had seemed to accomplish what she’d set out to do, but he suddenly moved faster than a snake striking, and his hand shot out, grabbing her, knocking her off balance.
She tumbled straight down onto his chest before she had a chance to recover. Before Cassie could so much as breathe, she found herself flipped over and suddenly pinned to the couch cushions, which were surprisingly plush, with Max’s body holding her captive.
His eyes were wide open now, and staring into hers. She stared back in wide-eyed surprise, too stunned to protest her compromised position. Suddenly, a wicked glint came into his eyes and his head started to lower toward hers. She felt the protest on her lips but never had a chance to say anything.
Max’s lips came down on hers in an intoxicating kiss. She pushed against him for a moment, and then forgot every reason why she shouldn’t be kissing the mysterious Max Anderson, and allowed him to seduce her.
His lips went from almost punishing, to soft and seductive, in a matter of seconds, and she felt a pressure unlike anything she’d ever felt before start to build in her stomach. His tongue slowly caressed her bottom lip, demanding entrance into the soft folds of her mouth.
A shudder rippled through her as her mouth slowly opened.
He discovered every hidden recess of her mouth as his tongue tangled with hers. Her hands glided up his neck, holding him close, afraid of him pulling away. He didn’t seem to have any desire to break their contact, though.
His hands caressed her hip, and started sliding up her blouse, caressing the sensitive skin on her stomach and side, causing more intensity to build inside her. When he reached the underside of her breast, she cried out. As his hand started to drift over the soft mound, she somehow gained some will-power. She was shocked at how badly she wanted that hand to cup her breast and relieve the aching of her tightened nipple. That shock helped her to start squirming beneath him. It took him a moment to realize she was trying to get away, and not writhing in pleasure. He slowly lifted his head and the passion glazed expression in his eyes was nearly her undoing. She wanted to say to hell with responsibility and simply allow him to keep working his magic.
She pushed him again, just for good measure and he finally sat up, allowing her to scramble out from beneath him. She scooted to the far edge of the couch, not trusting her legs to hold her up if she tried to stand. She’d never had a man kiss her before without her permission. She was surprised by how much she was turned on by his boldness.
“Well, Cassie, I must say that you can wake me up anytime, if it’s like that,” he said with a dangerous smile on his lips.
“Who do you think you are?” she said, a bit breathlessly. She wanted to curse her traitorous body.
“Don’t go acting like a victim. You were enjoying that kiss as much as I was. I have to admit I’ve wanted to do that from the first moment I walked in the hospital and saw you licking your lips. They’re very tempting,” he said, his eyes looking down at her swollen mouth. Her stomach tightened even more.
“You can’t just go around kissing people whenever you feel like it,” she huffed, but she knew he was right. She hadn’t protested.
“Mmm, now that’s an appealing thought,” he said with an even bigger grin.
“Whatever. Where is everyone?”
“What time is it?” he asked, ignoring her question.
“It’s after eight in the morning. The rest of the building is full of people but this floor is completely empty.”
“No wonder I’m so tired. I only got a couple of hours sleep,” he muttered as he ran his fingers through his already mussed hair. He got up and made his way over to his desk, where he sat down in his oversized chair. He scooted it back and propped his bare feet on the large top, scattering a few papers in the process. She had to hold herself back from quickly going over and picking them up. If he wanted to be a slob it wasn’t her problem. She was surprised by how alert he was, especially considering he’d only slept a couple hours.
“You never answered my question. Where is the rest of the staff, or do they just take time off whenever they feel like it?” she asked while pulling out her iPad and getting ready to take notes. His eyes narrowed at her accusing tone. His staff worked incredibly hard and he didn’t want her writing anything negative about them.
“Before you get any ideas to start making up gossip you should check your facts, Ms. McIntyre. My staff and I were up all night working on some last minute changes for a new business venture. The employees here are incredibly loyal, hard workers, and I won’t have you saying anything negative about them. I gave them the day off. They’ll be back, hard at work, tomorrow morning.”
Cassie felt like she’d just been taken to the principal’s office and scolded for causing rumors. What else was she supposed to think when no one was around, and the boss was sleeping on the couch? He could give her the benefit of the doubt that she’d check into it before writing anything up. Just because she took notes didn’t mean she wouldn’t verify facts. She could tell the next month was going to be a long one.
She didn’t know what to say, so thought it better to sit quietly and gather her thoughts. She didn’t want her first day in the life of Max Anderson to be fraught with tension. That wouldn’t do either of them any good. If push really came to shove he could end the interview process all together and there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Sure, the publicity from him hitting her would make a good story for other reporters, but it would die down in no time, and then she’d be out of her story and worse off than she was before the accident.
“If this was such a bad day for the interview to start, we could’ve waited until tomorrow,” she told him.
“And you would’ve believed I was telling the truth?” he asked. He knew her better than she thought, because no, she wouldn’t have.
Max was second guessing the entire interview process. It gave him an excuse to figure out why she affected him, but he didn’t like having to explain himself, nor the invasion of his privacy. He thought about the kiss a few moments ago and couldn’t keep the smile from his face. He could get used to waking up like that each morning. He wasn’t a saint and had been with many beautiful women, but he never spent the night with them. Once his needs were met he had no desire to cuddle and tell each other their life story. He’d never actually woken up with a woman, and found it wasn’t an unpleasant experience. Cassie McIntyre had him intrigued.
On the other hand, his father and uncle were all for the interview, saying it would be good for the company. Anything those two men were happy about would end up causing him a huge headache. They’d never met Cassie before the accident so he didn’t see how they could be involved with any of this, but he was going to be weary anyway. He was especially nervous with her staying at his uncles, but she’d be cleared to move back to her own place in a few more days. He didn’t like the idea of her being on her own, but she’d recovered remarkably well and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He shouldn’t care where she stayed, anyway.
“I need coffee and food. I haven’t had any of either since last night,” he said as he stood up. He went to the couch and quickly put his socks and shoes on, then stood and straightened his clothes. He stepped through a door she assumed was a bathroom and came out looking much better than when he’d went in.
“Do I need my jacket?” she asked, not sure if they were leaving the building.
“No, we’ll eat here. They have a café on the first floor.” He led her from the room and quickly walked to the elevator. They were silent on the way down. She needed to get better control over herself because she was never going to get a Pulitzer Prize from a silent interview. She shook her head to clear it and as the doors opened into the busy lobby she felt better. Hustle and bustle she could deal with. Silence, not so much.
“Do you eat here often?” she asked. She wanted to smack herself in the head. All the questions she could ask and she started off with something that lame. He didn’t even bother to answer, he just looked at her with a brow raised. “I actually wanted to know if you often spend the night here at the offices.”
“Curious about my love life, Cassie?” he asked suggestively. Cassie stared at him wide-eyed, too shocked for a moment to say anything. She took a deep breath as she heard his chuckle. She wasn’t going to let him intimidate her.
“Not in the least, though, I’m sure some of my readers will love to know just how eligible you are. I’m simply trying to establish how hard you work,” she said a bit smugly, then stepped in front of him to enter the large café. What he called a café actually resembled more of a hospital cafeteria. It was huge. There was a buffet style serving area with a line of people, and employees serving food that smelled delicious. She heard her stomach growl and decided she was hungry, herself.
She grabbed a tray and jumped in line, sure he’d follow her. She knew he didn’t like someone else getting the last word in. He didn’t disappoint her.
“You know, it’s not going to work,” he said, making her jump. He was right behind her and had his head bent forward so the words were whispered right behind her ear, his hot breath lightly running across her bare skin. She couldn’t stop the shudder
that trembled through her. He was really good at causing her body to go haywire.
“What won’t work?” she asked breathlessly.
“No matter how much distance you try to put between us, I’m going to get to know you just as much as you think you’re going to get to know me,” he said. She moved forward too quickly and crashed into the person in front of her, causing a laugh to escape Max’s lips. He knew what he was doing to her. She quickly apologized to the person.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she bluffed. He didn’t say anything else but they both knew she was lying.
They got their food and he found a table in the corner and sat down. She followed him and placed her tray in front of her, diving into the delicious food. He started eating as if his life depended on it and they were both silent for several moment.
“Who’s this beautiful woman?” a man said as he approached their table and sat down without being invited. “I’m Trenton, Max’s older brother,” the man said. Cassie recognized him from some articles she’d seen written up on him. He’d gotten married a while ago.
“This is Cassie McIntyre, Trenton. She’s going to be following me around like a lost puppy dog for a while, doing an interview,” Max said. Cassie sent him a glare. He couldn’t have been more rude if he’d tried.
“Nice to meet you, Cassie. If you’re looking for some real dirt on this guy then you’ll have to come see me,” he said with a wink. Cassie instantly liked Max’s brother.
“I will certainly take you up on that, Trenton,” she said, feeling better even after the dog comment.
“That’s not part of the deal,” Max growled, clearly not liking her interacting with more of his family members.
“There’s nothing that states I can’t talk to your family members about you. It just says I can’t invade their privacy,” she said smugly. She would’ve never signed something saying she couldn’t talk to his family or employees. She wasn’t stupid. Max glared at her and pushed his food away. She had a feeling he’d make the rest of her day unpleasant if he could get away with it.
