The CEO & I

by River Laurent

  I walk to the minibar thinking about what happened last night. I wanted it to happen. I’ve wanted it for so long, but now I kinda regret it. Last night was a mistake. A beautiful, orgasmic mistake. Luke and I have crossed a line, one I’m not sure we can come back from. Things between us will change, and I can’t be sure it would be a change for the better.

  I grab a bottle of water from the fridge, rip the cap off, and down it in one long gulp. It tastes better than anything I’ve ever had in my life. I can almost feel the hydration spread through my parched body. It’s a step in the right direction.

  My head still hurts, though, and my eyes still feel sandy. I need something else. Sugar. I search the mini bar and find a bottle of some brown liquid. The writing on the label is in a language I can’t read, but I’m not going to let that stop me. I take a long swig from the bottle. It’s creamy and chocolatey, and I perk up a bit, starting to feel human again. Thank God for caffeine.

  The whole point of his rule about not hiring attractive women to work for him is that they are too much of a distraction for him. What would he think about me now? If just being around a pretty girl was too much for him, how would he handle a woman he’d slept with? I sit on the bed with a groan. Last night is looking more and more like a terrible mistake.

  My brain is too muddled to think this through. I need someone to talk to, someone who isn’t half-dead with a hangover. I fish my phone from my purse and call Emma.

  She answers on the third ring, “Bitch, do you know what time it is over here?”

  Her voice is loud, but it’s still good to hear it. “Yeah,” I say. “It’s like nine o’clock at night over there.”

  She laughs. “Damn. I was trying to mess with you. But of course, you know the time difference, you nerd.”

  “You’ll have to try harder than that.” I smile weakly. This is why I love her. She can always make me laugh with her cheerful chat, no matter how bad I’m feeling.

  “Yeah, yeah. So how’s the trip? You better be taking lots of pictures to show me when you get back.”

  “Things would be better if I wasn’t so frigging hungover,” I say.

  “Well, well,” Emma says. “Look at you going wild now that you’re out of the country. I’ve been begging you to come out with me for months.”

  “Yeah, well, if you took me somewhere like Bangkok, I’d go.”

  Emma laughs. “Bangkok. Have you banged any cock yet?”

  I groan at the joke. Not just because it’s cheesy, but because it hits too close to home. “Now that you mention it.”

  “Shut the fuck up!” She screams. “You’re kidding me? You got laid?”

  “I did.”

  “I don’t believe it,” she says firmly.

  “Well, it’s the truth.”

  She laughs. “Who’s the lucky guy? Was it a local? Some swarthy Thai fisherman with really rough hands? Ooh, or a sweaty kick boxer?”

  “No, to all of those,” I say with a sigh. “Are those the type of guys you think I’m in to?”

  “I don’t know what you’re in to. Before you left, I would have said you’re into celibacy and lonely masturbation.”

  “Ass,” I reply, but I can’t suppress a smile. She isn’t totally wrong.

  Emma continues right along, “But apparently, Bangkok Jade likes to get freaky. Good for you.”

  I shake my head, even though she can’t see me. “I don’t know if it’s a good thing.”

  “Why not? It’s about time someone knocked the cobwebs off that pussy.”

  I laugh. “You’re terrible.”

  “Ehh, I’m just happy for you. So why aren’t you? Happy, I mean.”

  “Because I slept with my boss.”

  There’s a pause on the other end, then an explosion, “You’re shitting me! You and Luke-mother effing-Remington? The richest, hottest man in New York? Fuck me, I’m impressed.”

  “Don’t be,” I mutter glumly. “I’m pretty sure it was a huge mistake.”

  She laughs. “How huge are we talking? Like eight inches? Nine?” She pauses, then asks incredulously, “Ten?”

  “Stop it, Emma. I’m serious. He’s my boss. I don’t know what’s going to happen between us now.”

  “It’ll be fine,” she says. “It’s not like you got him drunk and had your way with him.”

  “He was pretty drunk.”

  “You seduced him. You sly, little minx,” Emma says, giggling maniacally. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

  “Hang on. I was drunk, too,” I protest. “We both were.”

  “Well, tell me everything, then.”

  “We met with some clients, and things got a bit out of hand in the back of the limo. We ended up back in his room, and well…”

  “He pounded you like a stubborn nail?”

  I ignore her comment. “But now I don’t know what to do when I see him again. I feel like it’s going to be awkward.”

  “It shouldn’t be. Unless you make it awkward.”

  “What does that mean?” I ask.

  “Look, you’re two consenting adults. You’re both single. There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun. I mean, you did have fun, right?”

  “I did.”

  “And I’m sure he had fun with Sexy Jade,” she says. “So the best thing you can do is see how he reacts when he sees you and just play along. Then, it won’t be weird.”

  “What if he fires me?” I ask, finally giving voice to my biggest fear.

  “Then he’s an idiot and you sue his ass for wrongful termination.”

  “I could never do that,” I argue.

  “Well, whatever,” Emma says. “My point is that he’d be dumb to fire you after sleeping with you. So he’ll probably react one of a few ways. He might pretend it never happened, in which case, you pretend the same thing. He might acknowledge it and say it’ll never happen again. Or he’ll want to keep plowing your bean field. Then, it’s up to you what you want to do.”

  “The problem is I don’t know what I want to do.”

  “Liar,” Emma taunts.

  I sigh with frustration. “How did I get myself into this mess?”

  Emma laughs. “Well, when a boy has a rocking body and a cute butt, and a girl has worn her vibrator down to a nub, sometimes—”

  “Okay,” I say, cutting her off. “I get it. I have to go.”

  “Good luck out there,” she quips.

  “Thanks. I’m gonna need it.”

  Chapter 7

  Jade

  I sit in the restaurant and stare at the plate of breakfast in front of me. I don’t even know why I heaped all this food onto my plate from the buffet. My stomach is still churning uneasily. Looks like I have to pass on the eggs and bacon, but the toast is probably safe. Maybe it can soak up some of the alcohol. Although I probably need to eat a whole loaf’s worth of bread to do that.

  The moment I take a bite, Luke lowers himself into the seat across from me. The sight of him does nothing to calm my queasy stomach. His hair is wet from his shower, and instead of looking rough, he looks drop-dead gorgeous. My mouth goes dry, making it difficult to chew the toast. His expression is unreadable and I feel my cheeks flush with warmth.

  “Good morning, Jade.”

  “Morning,” I mutter, feeling extremely self-conscious. I force myself to look at him calmly. I knew I’d have to see him again today, but I hoped to delay it until I felt more like myself. But the dreaded confrontation is happening now. There’s no getting around it. No getting around him. I might as well face him now and find out what the fallout from our drunken tryst would be.

  Overwhelmed by his smoldering blue eyes, I swallow my toast and nearly choke. I gulp down some coffee. Last night hasn’t changed anything for me. I still find him incredibly hot, maybe even more so. No matter what happened before or what would happen in the future, he’s still the sexiest freaking man I’ve ever seen. I take a gulp of coffee.

  He speaks first, “About last night—”

 
I swallow the coffee in a rush and interrupt him. I have to. I’m too nervous about what he will say. Afraid he will say he wants me gone. “Luke, stop. It’s okay, you don’t have to worry. I just want to forget about last night. We were both very drunk. I can barely remember what we did, anyway. Can we just pretend it never happened? Is that okay?”

  Luke gazes at me, confident and unashamed. “Is that what you want?”

  I can’t tell whether he’s upset or relieved so I plough on, “Yes. It’s what I want.”

  “Too bad,” he says firmly.

  His answer startles me. “What?”

  “I can’t pretend it never happened,” he says. “And I don’t want to forget about it.” He leans forward intently and pins me with his sapphire eyes. “It’s all I’ve been thinking about since I woke up this morning. It’s a shame you were already gone.”

  I shake my head. “You don’t think it was a mistake?”

  “The only mistake I made was not seeing how beautiful you are sooner.”

  My breath catches in my throat. Does he really mean it? I find it hard to believe. Maybe he’s just trying to smooth things over with me. He regrets what happened, but doesn’t want things to be awkward between us.

  I imagine that as soon as we land in America, he’ll distance himself from me. Maybe I’ll get transferred to another department in the company. Maybe he’ll fire me. I need to fix this myself before things get out of hand. “Listen, Luke,” I say. “We were drunk. We didn’t know what we were doing.”

  “I was drunk, yes. But the most intoxicating thing last night was the touch of your lips on mine.”

  Holy shit.

  Warmth floods my body, and butterflies take flight in my stomach. I’m dizzy. My whole world is spinning.

  “I knew exactly what I was doing last night,” he says. “And I know exactly what I want to do to you again. I know you want it, too.”

  I open my mouth to deny it, but the words don’t come. He’s right. I desperately want him. I could quite easily let him take me right now. But I’m afraid. He awakens feelings inside of me that I can’t control. It’s thrilling and terrifying, all at the same time.

  That’s Luke Remington in a nutshell.

  The very thing that makes him so sexy is the same thing that makes him so intimidating. He’s sexy and powerful, dominant and cocky, unstoppable and irresistible. He’s like a force of nature, sweeping me up in his strength. I feel powerless against him. Still, I have to try and resist. “Luke,” I say, shaking my head. “I think you were right all along. We shouldn’t have mixed business and pleasure. I don’t know if I can be as professional as I was while we are sleeping together. I’m worried that I’ll screw up and disappoint you. If we put this little hiccup behind us now, maybe then things will to go back to normal between us.”

  He laughs humorlessly. “What you call normal between us was based on a lie. Your lie.”

  My eyes widen. “I don’t understand.”

  “The day you showed up in my life wearing a costume, you lied about who you are.”

  I shake my head. “It wasn’t a costume. And my appearance has nothing to do with who I am. I’m still the same woman you hired.”

  His eyes become stormy. “That’s where you’re wrong. Your appearance has everything to do with who you are.”

  I lean back in my chair and stare at him, disappointed. I can’t believe he could be such a shallow egoist. “Oh, so just because you now think I’m attractive, that somehow changes who I am inside?”

  Luke slams his hand on the table, making me jump. “Dammit, Jade. You’re smarter than this. You changed who you are inside by changing your appearance. I saw you last night with our clients. You weren’t the meek and mousy Jade you’ve been pretending to be. You were sparkling. Those guys were eating from the palm of your hand. That was the real you. The normal you. And that was all because of how you looked. You weren’t hiding behind your dumpy facade. Surely, you noticed the difference inside yourself?”

  I hadn’t considered that. I forgot the client meeting while being in the complicated situation I found myself in this morning. Between the hangover and the wild sex with my boss, I barely remembered how I’d acted with the clients. Now that Luke has called it to my attention, I know he’s right.

  I had been on my game last night. At points, it felt like I ran the whole meeting, even though Luke sat beside me. He contributed to the conversation, but I’d been in control. No other client meeting had gone like that. I usually sit back and let Luke work his magic. But not last night. Last night, I felt confident, and let myself shine. It never occurred to me it might have something to do with the way I was dressed, but it certainly made sense.

  “You know I’m right,” Luke says.

  “So what if you are?”

  “So that means last night was the real you. Everything before that was a lie. If you want things to be normal between us, then you need to be the Jade from last night. Not the fake Jade you’ve been for the last two months.”

  My head pounds away. “And you want the version of me who sleeps with you?”

  He shoots me a cocky grin. “Damn right I do. And not just because you’ve never been sexier, but because the new version of you is a force to be reckoned with. With you at my side, we can take over the whole fucking world.”

  As much as I like the sound of that, I’m scared, too. I have to ask him the question burning inside me, “Has sleeping with you become part of my job description now?”

  He frowns. “Of course not. It’s not a job requirement. You don’t have to sleep with me. Only if you want to, but I know you do.” Luke leans in close to me so no one else can hear. “In fact, if it wasn’t for this damn conference, I’d take you upstairs right now and fuck you senseless.”

  My heart stops beating in my chest. I can’t breathe. Wetness pools between my legs. He’s right. Since the day I started working for Luke, I’ve imagined what it would be like to be with him. Idle day dreams turned to sultry fantasies of feeling his strong hands all over my body. None of those fantasies can compare to the real thing. Now that I’ve gotten a taste of him, I need more. I would welcome him into my body anywhere, anytime he chooses to avail himself to me. In fact, my only objection would be to being drunk next time. I want all of my senses sharp, so I can savor the feelings he ignites in me.

  “We didn’t use a condom last night,” he says softly. “Are you protected?”

  I flush to the roots of my hair. “Yes, I’m on the pill,” I admit, then I hurry to add, “but I’ve never gone bare before.”

  He flashes his teeth. “Neither have I. My mother was such a proponent of safe sex I’m sure she would have preferred me to jerk off into a condom too.”

  I giggle and he laughs too. For a while, there is no tension between us. Then that sexual thing rears its head again. My head is still throbbing and all I want is to be back in bed with him.

  “I should go,” I say.

  “You haven’t eaten your breakfast yet.”

  I shrug. “Nah. My stomach feels funny.”

  “Then wait for me, and we’ll attend the seminar together.”

  “Uh, I’m not attending the morning sessions. I have to go up and prepare the sheets for your talk this afternoon.”

  He frowns. “When will I see you again?”

  “Mr. Dimitriou is just going to brief you, so you won’t need me for that. I’ll see you for lunch with Carl at the Golden Orchid restaurant. It’s on the third floor.”

  “Fine. I better go get some food then,” he says standing up. Before I can do anything, he bends down and brushes his lips against mine. As if we are a couple. As if that is the most natural thing in the world for him to do. I watch his tall imposing figure stride away, my heart hammering in my chest.

  Chapter 8

  Jade

  Upstairs in the printing room, I meet another one of the speaker’s PA. A sweet local woman called Anong. She too, is preparing hard copies of the presentation to be handed to th
e attendees of her boss’s talk. She hands me a green and white box. It says Tiffy on the outside and is written in English on one site. It’s a Thai version of Acetominophen. They are very effective and in less than twenty minutes, my headache is gone. I tell her that I need to pop down to the hotel’s boutique to buy a suit for a lunch meeting.

  “No. No,” she says shaking her hand. “Hotel boutique very expensive. Come with me I show you very good shop,” she offers.

  I look at her doubtfully. “How far away is it?”

  “Next door. You will like.” She nods vigorously.

  I grin at her. “Okay.”

  The shop turns out to be the gift that keeps on giving. It is one of those amazing little places that sells knock-off designer gear for one tenth of the price in other shops. I have heard of these secret places where you could go and get tailored suits for fifty American dollars. Like a kid in a sweet shop, I buy dresses, pant-suits, skirts, tops, jackets, shoes, bags and scarves. In less than an hour, I max out both my credit cards and leave carrying six bags of stuff for me. I even got a gorgeous silk suit for Emma. It’s one of those classic #sorrynotsorry moments. I’ve blown six months of wages, but heck, I won’t have to shop for the next five years!

  After running up to my room to change, I come down in a fitted red suit to meet Luke and Carl Magnus for lunch at the Golden Orchid. I’m ten minutes early, so I walk into the restaurant, hoping that the men aren’t here yet. I want a few minutes to compose myself. Get a handle on whatever is happening between us. Things are quickly spiraling out of control with Luke. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but this isn’t who I am. I never leap before I look. I need something to clutch to right now, when my whole damn world feels like it’s been turned upside down.

  But of course, both Luke and Carl Magnus are already at the table.

  Carl is one of our major Swedish clients. Though I’ve never met him in person before, I’ve spoken to him on the phone a few times and I’ve seen pictures of him before. They don’t do him justice. He’s a hellva lot better looking in person.