Catering to the CEO

by Samantha Chase

  He could tell even in the dim light that she was battling between being angry at him for making her leave and true pain from her condition. Whatever she was feeling, however, she was keeping to herself, refusing to even look at him.

  In fact, she didn’t utter a single word until he opened the door at the back of her building that led to the stairs to her apartment. “Thank you for getting me home. Good night.” She didn’t have enough strength to fight him when she went to shut the door in his face. He merely stepped around her, locked the door and helped her up the stairs. Cassie wanted to scream at him to leave but she knew that there was no way that she could find the energy to do so.

  Once up the stairs, Cassie kicked off her shoes as Adam took her coat from her and hung it up. Without looking at him, she walked to her bedroom and grabbed a pair of pajamas and then went into the bathroom to change. Adam made himself busy in her kitchen and made Cassie a cup of tea and wondered what in the hell he was supposed to do now. He had no idea how to take care of anyone and really, he didn’t want to know. He certainly had no idea what he could possibly do to help Cassie right now.

  She came out of the bathroom in a pair of pink flannel pajama pants and a white tank top. Maybe she’d hoped that he’d be gone by now but he wasn’t and he wasn’t going to leave until he knew she was alright. “I made you some tea,” he said feebly.

  Cassie stopped and looked at him suspiciously. “Why?”

  He shrugged. “It seemed like the thing to do.” When she made no attempt to come and get the mug he’d indicated, he spoke. “Is there something that I can get you? Something to eat? A pain killer? A heating pad?” He would never admit it out loud, but after talking with his mother about Cassie’s condition, he had actually done a little research on the Internet to learn more about it.

  Cassie sighed wearily as she headed back towards her bedroom. “Actually, yes, the heating pad…it’s in the linen closet.” Adam found it and followed her into the bedroom and found her curled up in the fetal position on the bed.

  He wanted to scold her and tell her how foolish she was to stay at work when she was clearly in pain but knew that while he’d feel better getting in a rant, it wouldn’t help Cassie any. Finding an outlet, he plugged the pad in and turned it to high and then left the room to grab the cup of tea he’d made. Adam gently placed it on the table next to her bed and heard a faint ‘thank you’.

  Walking around to the opposite side of the bed, he flicked off the lamp and managed to pull the blankets down with a minimal amount of fuss from under Cassie. Next he picked up the now-warm heating pad as he knelt on the bed and reached over her trim form and placed it over her belly. She actually purred with relief.

  Cassie took the pad from him and positioned it better and finally let herself relax. She was home and in her own bed and with the help of the heating pad, she would be okay. She snuggled in deeper as Adam pulled the blanket over her ever-so-gently. His consideration brought tears to her eyes that if anyone asked, she’d say were from the pain, and she most certainly didn’t want to cry in front of him.

  And yet she couldn’t stop herself from turning her head to look at him. “I don’t know what to say,” she whispered. “I wanted to be mad at you for taking over and making me leave but now that I’m here, I know it’s what I needed.” Even with only the light coming through the doorway from the kitchen she could see that the expression on his face was new.

  It wasn’t full of anger or arrogance, it was compassionate. It was tender. “Rest, Cassandra.”

  “But…” Cassie wasn’t sure what she was going to say but as she watched Adam walk out the door she felt oddly saddened. It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to stay and yet she knew that she didn’t want to be alone.

  The kitchen went black and she heard the lock on her door catch. The first tear fell without warning and Cassie curled a little tighter around the heating pad. Normally she didn’t mind being alone when she was in pain like this but tonight…tonight it would have been nice to have someone stay with her until she fell asleep.

  The mattress dipped behind her and before she could turn, she felt Adam’s full length behind her. “What are you…?”

  “Sshh…just rest, Cassandra. Try and get some sleep; if you need anything, I’ll be right here.” He placed a strong hand on top of the heating pad and held it close to her so that she could relax her own tired grip on it and get more comfortable.

  His body was warm against her back as much as the heating pad was against her front. Cassie wiggled slightly and aligned their bodies better until she found that she could barely hold her eyes open any longer. She felt secure for the first time in what seemed like forever. “Thank you…”

  Her words were barely a whisper but Adam found that they packed a powerful punch.

  Chapter Five

  Cassie slept deeply through the night and only moved to remove the heating pad that was getting uncomfortable. As soon as the pad was gone, Adam’s hand returned to take its place. The illuminated clock next to the bed told her that it was nearing five-thirty. Adam was stirring behind her, moving carefully so as to not disturb her.

  Wanting to turn around and thank him once again, she blinked a few times but heard Adam leave the room and go into the bathroom. Maybe it would be better to just let this be. It was an awkward situation to be sure and the more Cassie thought about it, the more she realized that she needed to let it settle in her mind before actually talking to Adam about it; even if that talk was only her saying thank you again.

  Adam splashed some cold water on his face to wake himself up. He was due back at the office at nine for breakfast and to start the next session of his corporate retreat. Cassie was due to cater both breakfast and lunch and he was unsure if he should wake her up or let her sleep. Stepping out of the bathroom he looked into her room and saw that she hadn’t moved. Surely her staff could handle the breakfast. He had great confidence that Cassie’d be back for the lunch service and grabbed his shoes and coat and walked quietly to the door.

  There was an almost an inexplicable pull to go back to the bedroom, but Adam thought better of it. This could be just the situation that he needed to end this working relationship and get back on top. There was a very real possibility that Cassie was going to be embarrassed that he’d stayed the night. If she was uncomfortable enough, maybe she’d want to end their working relationship and Adam could go about finding a new event planner and caterer who didn’t argue with him or speak to him in a way that, even now, had his temper flaring.

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement on the bed and the temper faded. Cassie really hadn’t done anything that bad, Adam just did not appreciate people speaking their minds to him and disobeying his wishes, that’s all. If he were completely honest with himself, he’d agree that the event had gone perfectly the night before without all of his changes and that Cassie had done the job to his needs and expectations. How could he stay angry about that?

  Opening the door quietly, he slipped out and walked down the stairs realizing that he had no answers and at the bottom nearly collided with Katie.

  “Adam! What are you doing here?”

  “Your sister was um…in pretty bad shape last night. I fell asleep on the couch, you know, in case she needed anything.” This was worse than coming in after curfew and getting caught by your parents.

  “How is she this morning?”

  Adam wished he’d gotten the hell out of here last night. It was bad enough that he’d spent the night, he didn’t feel like getting the third degree from anyone; especially not a twenty year old! “She’s still sleeping. I didn’t want to wake her.” Making his excuses about needing to get home and get ready for this morning’s session, Adam left and pulled away from the shop as if his life depended on it.

  Last night he was supposed to go home and tweak his speech for today and get a good night’s sleep. Instead, he’d slept in a strange bed, fully clothed while holding a very stiff and clearly miserable Cassie. He’d have
to avoid her today, that’s all. Blow her off and pretend as if he hadn’t shared her bed.

  A quick shower and shave back at his place had Adam feeling refreshed. He’d rehearsed his speech during the whole process and was confident in the day to come. The point of this retreat was to energize his staff for the upcoming year. The plan was to branch out into several more countries and in order to do that, his staff had to be as excited about their new products and services as he was. They needed to understand how he created the systems and how to use them. He planned on doubling his fortune.

  He was prepared for the leeches to come out of the woodwork when that happened. Like his father had all those years ago. Adam looked in the mirror and straightened his tie as he frowned at the thought of the man who had deserted him and his mother so many years ago and then came back when Adam had first made a name for himself in the business world. The old man had walked away from his wife and only son on the hopes of climbing the corporate ladder unhindered. It must have worked because for years, William Lawrence had led a very good, very pampered existence. Unfortunately, like most corporate mongers, he had gotten greedy, made some bad investments and lost it all. When Adam was 25 and made his first million with the L.S.S. 3.0 security system, his father had come calling.

  And begging. The man had groveled and begged to have his family back; claiming that he’d been a shell of a man without them and that he’d made a terrible mistake. When both Adam and Bev had hesitated in opening their hearts to him, he’d turned bitter and flat-out asked for money. Adam had kicked him out and made it abundantly clear that he was never to contact them again. Bev had been devastated and it was then that Adam had learned that love didn’t exist. People didn’t really want nor need love; it was all about the money. Well, he had money; lots of it. He didn’t need love.

  Sure, his mother loved him and that relationship was never in doubt, but other than Bev, there was no one and Adam doubted that real love even existed. Knowing that even now Bev was claiming to be in love with Stephen Jacobs, he had his doubts. Maybe they were both lonely and looking for companionship. At least have the guts to call it what it was! Just as long as Stephen didn’t come to him for any loans or investments, Adam would be fine.

  Wiping the Jacobs family from his mind, Adam strode into the ball room which was now set up to serve breakfast. Most of last night’s decorations were still set up around the room but the tables where now clear of flowers and candles and housed information packets for today’s seminars.

  Spotting Grace, Adam called her over to their table next to the stage and went over any last minute details and within minutes, employees began to file in. The smell of coffee and pastries was filling the air and although breakfast was going to be done buffet style, there were still a handful of servers walking around assisting Adam’s staff. A quick glance at his watch showed that it was eight-forty-five and he was just about to stand and get a plate of food for himself when he saw her.

  Cassie.

  She was smiling and talking to two of his sales staff and both men seemed to be enthralled with whatever it was that she was saying. Adam had to stop himself from going over to them and demanding that they find their seats and tell Cassie that he wasn’t paying her to talk to his people. Even in his head that sounded unreasonable and over the top.

  Adam frowned. He never minded thinking himself to be forceful with his people; it was how he had achieved the level of success that he had. Somehow, acting like that in front of Cassie just seemed mean. His mother’s words from their ride home came back to him. “I can’t imagine you being so hard on anyone, especially a woman.” Apparently even his mother didn’t know the real him.

  Waiting until Cassie finished her giggly, school-girl conversation with her two admirer’s and walked into the kitchen, Adam quickly made it across the room to grab himself something to eat before he had to begin this morning’s session. Back at the table, Grace was already eating.

  “I know that Cassie doesn’t do all of the baked goods herself but she chose a fabulous assortment, don’t you think?”

  Adam merely grumbled a reply and didn’t notice the smug look on his assistant’s face. “Everyone is still talking about how wonderful everything was last night.”

  Adam still wasn’t taking the bait as he finished his last bite of cinnamon Danish. “I think it’s time to get started.” He drank the last of his coffee and headed up to the stage. Straightening his folder of paperwork, Adam looked out into the crowd and saw her again. Dammit. Why just the sight of her flustered him, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that right now he wanted to skip his introduction to his staff and go and ask how Cassie was feeling.

  Not exactly the actions of a man trying to get rid of a woman.

  Shaking his head as if to clear it, Adam began, “Good morning. I want to tell you all about my plans for L.S.S.’s expansion in 2014…”

  Cassie listened to the man speak and smiled to herself. Here, in this environment, Adam Lawrence was a man in charge. Last night, however, while dealing with a woman in pain, he’d looked anything but confident. She still couldn’t believe that Adam had stayed the night and that he’d actually left his conference early to take care of her. That was a side of him that she wasn’t sure what to do with.

  In the two years that she’d known him, this was what she was used to. These last few weeks, however, she’d seen a different side of Adam and the more she learned about him, the more attracted she became.

  It would have been easy this morning to turn over in his arms and see if he was interested but the bed-head look was never her strong point. No, it would be better to pick a time when she actually didn’t have morning breath or looked as if she’d let a cat do her hair. True, Adam had never really given off any kind of vibe that he was interested but that didn’t mean anything. He was definitely a man whose focus was on one thing: business. Should she tempt that balance that they’d found by seeing if he could be interested?

  Walking back into the kitchen to check on the progress of the lunch preparations, Cassie inwardly scolded herself. Why on Earth would she look for more complications where Adam was concerned? Clearly she’d seen the real him these last two years; one man did not suddenly change in a matter of weeks. Besides, it would be awkward with their parents getting married. What if she and Adam did get involved and then things didn’t work out? She’d be stuck seeing him at every holiday and family get-together and she would cringe at the thought that he’d seen her naked.

  By four o’clock, Cassie and her crew were loading the last of their supplies into her van. She did a final walk through the kitchen and then headed out to the ball room where she ran into Grace.

  “Another great job, Cassie,” Grace said with a smile as she walked across the room. “Everyone just loved the food and I think that between you and Adam you pulled off the perfect event!”

  Smiling with pleasure, Cassie didn’t want to think of Adam having as much to do with people’s pleasure from the weekend. “I’m just glad that there were no problems. I had my doubts there a couple of weeks back.”

  “Oh, don’t get me started on that. I wanted to choke Adam for the way he behaved.” Grace looked around the room to make sure that they were alone. “To be honest with you, I was really surprised when he told me that you were staying on and doing the event. I mean, he had me calling people that afternoon to try and find a replacement. How did you manage to change his mind?”

  Her first reaction was to be annoyed that he had fired her all over again but then remembered that it had all worked out in her favor and that it didn’t do her any good to hold a grudge. Cassie told Grace of their soon-to-be merging families and the other woman just about doubled over with laughter.

  “Oh, what I would have given to be a fly on the wall when the great Adam Lawrence found himself face-to-face with your family! Did they all gang up on him?”

  “Pretty much.” The memory had her smiling. “It was a silent attack for most of the evening but then…we ac
tually sat and talked and cleared the air. I’m actually kind of glad that we did.”

  Grace frowned. “Wait, so you spoke to him and told him that you didn’t like the way he treated you and…”

  “Lauren even told him that he was the one in breach of contract…”

  “And he still asked you to come back and do the event? That doesn’t make sense; that’s not like Adam at all.”

  “Why?”

  “I have yet to see, in the six years that I’ve worked here, anyone speak their minds or disagree with Adam and continue on here; it just doesn’t happen.” She pulled an envelope from her purse and handed it to Cassie. “I’d be on guard, if I were you. This doesn’t seem right.”

  “Maybe he’s just mellowing because we’re going to be family.”

  Grace shook her head. “Please…he hardly ever spends time with Bev and she’s the only family he has. No, I’m telling you, Cass, something’s not right with this whole situation. Just…be careful, okay?”

  Agreeing but not convinced, Cassie hugged her friend and finished her final inspection of the facility before walking out to her van and driving back to the shop. Grace’s words bothered her mainly because they kind of made sense. It did seem like Adam was being way more agreeable than she’d ever seen him but then again, she’d thought that had something to do with the family angle. Now, knowing what she did, she couldn’t help but see what Grace was saying.

  “So how are you feeling today?” Katie asked as Cassie walked back in to the kitchen. “Any lingering effects?”

  “Thankfully, no, but I have to face the facts. I’m going to call Dr. Jackson first thing Monday morning and make the appointment.”