Catering to the CEO

by Samantha Chase

  “You’re going to have the surgery?”

  “I don’t see having a choice. This has been twice in two weeks and while I don’t mind when it hits at home, having nearly passed out in the kitchen of an event was not an experience that I ever want to repeat.”

  “Adam just about freaked out.”

  “Well, he hates when things don’t go his way.”

  “No, it was more than that,” Katie said, her voice soft with contemplation. “It was more like he was really concerned about you. It was really nice of him to bring you home and how he stayed the night to take care of you.”

  “He told you about that?”

  “I saw him when he was leaving this morning.”

  “Oh.”

  Katie started to giggle. “I have to admit, for a minute, I thought he was sneaking out after maybe the two of you…you know…did the deed!”

  “What?? Me and Adam? Are you crazy?”

  “Well, that’s what it looked like! If I hadn’t known that you were in such bad shape last night I would have totally believed it and that he was doing the walk of shame out of here!”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” She hated the sarcastic tone in her own voice but somehow thinking of anyone slinking away in the wee morning hours because they were ashamed to have had sex with her just rubbed her the wrong way.

  “That’s not what I meant and you know it. Gosh, don’t be such a drama queen.” Katie turned and finished unloading the van. When everything was put away, she wiped down all of the surfaces and grabbed her coat. “I guess I should get home and relieve dad and Bev from babysitting. Besides, I miss my girl.”

  Cassie envied her little sister and knew that someday she wanted a baby of her own. That was just another reason to call Dr. Jackson and schedule the surgery. Infertility was a big factor when you had Endometriosis and now that she was 26, thoughts of getting married and having children were becoming more and more important to her. Her business was thriving and by the time she did meet Mr. Right, Cassie didn’t want any obstacles to keep her from having everything that she wanted.

  The thought of surgery scared her to no end. Her own mother had died of Ovarian cancer and deep down, Cassie was afraid that this surgery, even though it was an outpatient procedure, would have the doctor’s finding more than she was willing to deal with. So far, ignorance had been bliss but Cassie was no fool. The pain from the Endometriosis was getting worse and couldn’t be ignored any longer and if they did find something, then Cassie would rather catch it early.

  She knew it was the responsible thing to do and she knew that she would feel better both mentally and physically when it was all over. It didn’t mean that she still wasn’t scared to death.

  And there was nobody here to hold her.

  Chapter Six

  Lauren was busy fluffing pillows and making promises of Chinese food as Cassie slowly crossed the room Wednesday afternoon. The laparoscopic procedure had been done that morning because Dr. Jackson had had a cancelation and was anxious to get Cassie in as soon as possible before she could change her mind. As she climbed into the bed, Cassie appreciated her doctor’s efficiency; it hadn’t given her too much time to dwell on the whole thing and now that she was home and in her bed, she was relieved that it was over.

  “I have to admit, that was a lot faster than I thought it would be. Dr. Jackson seems pleased that she got everything.” Pulling the window blinds closed as she spoke over her shoulder, Lauren continued, “You have to take it easy for a week. Kate’s got your weekend event covered so you can relax.”

  “By Sunday I should be fine,” Cassie mumbled. Her stomach was sore from the tiny incisions and the last thing she wanted to think about right now was work.

  “Doctor’s orders. Don’t make me stick around here and lock you in your room.”

  “Okay, okay, geez…”

  “Get some sleep; I’m just going to be in the living room studying for a test. If you need me, just call out, okay?” Cassie nodded and her eyes were closed before Lauren had even shut the door.

  Getting settled on the sofa, Lauren set up several textbooks in front of her on the coffee table when she heard Cassie’s cell phone ring. Not hesitating, she walked over and answered. “Hello?”

  “Hey, Cassie, it’s Grace.”

  “Hey, Grace, this is Lauren, Cassie’s sister.”

  “Oh, hi! Is Cassie available?”

  “Actually, she is sound asleep. Can I take a message?”

  “Is she okay?”

  Lauren told her about the surgery, remembering that Grace was Adam’s assistant.

  “Oh, my! Is there anything I can do? Does she need anything?”

  “She seems okay right now. We just got home a little while ago. The doctor said that she should be back to normal within a week. She’s got some serious pain killers for the time being but by this time next week, she’ll be as good as new. Do you want me to leave her a message?”

  “No, no…I was just calling to tell her how much everyone enjoyed the event this weekend. She was a hit as usual.” Lauren could actually hear Grace’s smile. “Please tell her that I’m thinking of her and that I’ll give her a call in a few days.”

  “No problem.”

  “Thanks, Lauren. Bye!”

  As soon as she hung up the phone, Grace immediately placed a call to her florist and arranged for a large bouquet to be sent from the company. “That’s right, I want the card to say ‘Get well soon’ or ‘Wishing you a speedy recovery’, either one of those and sign it from ‘Your friends at L.S.S.” She paused and listened. “Yes, that’s perfect. I’d like them delivered today.” Another pause. “Yes, please put it on our account. Thank you!”

  She hung up and nearly fell off her chair when she turned and saw Adam leaning on her desk looking thoroughly annoyed. “Who’s ill?”

  “What? Oh, Cassie is. She had surgery today and I wanted to send her some flowers.”

  “On the company’s account?”

  Uh-oh.

  “Well, um…she does work for us quite a bit and while I realize that I should have checked with you first, I didn’t think you would mind. I mean, with Cassie soon to be family and all, I thought it would be okay. Plus, you were on a call and I wanted to place the order in time for it to be delivered today. So…”

  “Your babbling, Grace.”

  Darn it, he was right but she knew that look on his face and knew that if she didn’t distract him and plead her case quickly that he could get nasty. Fast. “I could call back and cancel the order, if you’d prefer. Or I could just change it to put it on my own credit card…” Turning her back on him, she picked up the phone and began to dial. Adam reached across the desk and snatched the phone out of her hand and hung it up.

  “That won’t be necessary,” he snapped. He took a deep breath and had to force himself to speak calmly. “It’s a very nice gesture and I thank you for doing it. Now, if I could get you to find me the Cairo contract, I need to make some adjustments.” He turned and walked back into his office.

  Once at his desk he had the urge to pick up the phone and call Cassie to see if she was okay. She hadn’t mentioned the surgery but then again, when would she have had the time? He didn’t speak to her at all on Saturday and that was the last that he’d seen of her. Adam looked at his calendar and saw that his schedule was pretty full, but maybe he could find time to stop by her place tomorrow after work. He’d have to call his mother and try to find out if anyone was staying with her; he hated to have to play twenty questions with another family member like he had with Katie on Saturday morning.

  To say that his mother was surprised when she heard his voice on the phone was an understatement. “Adam! How are you, sweetheart? This is a wonderful surprise!” Adam rolled his eyes.

  “I’m fine, mother, just fine. I was just calling to…um, see how you were? I realize we left things…well, things were a little awkward when I dropped you off that night after dinner and I wanted to make sure that you
were doing okay. How’s Stephen?”

  “Oh, he’s fine, thank you for asking. We’ve been having a wonderful time. We babysat for Ella last weekend while Katie was working that event that Cassie did for you. We had such a time! I had forgotten how exhausting babies can be but I loved every second of it!”

  Great, pretty soon she’d be hounding him about getting married and having kids. Just what he needed. “Sounds like fun.” His words lacked any form of enthusiasm and he knew he’d hurt her feelings by the way her tone changed.

  “Yes, well, anyway, how’s business?”

  Adam pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes and counted to ten. Dammit, it shouldn’t be this hard to have a conversation with his own mother! “Business is fine, mom. The retreat went well and I think we’re going to have another great year ahead of us. Listen, I was wondering…Grace just mentioned that Cassie had surgery today. Is everything all right?”

  Pleasant mom was back. “Lauren’s with her right now and the doctor is very pleased with how it went. They found a couple of small cysts and took care of several lesions but they believe that they got everything and Cassie will be up and around in no time. We were all relieved to hear that there was nothing cancerous.”

  “Was that even a possibility/” Adam asked, concern lacing his voice.

  Bev relayed the story of how Cassie’s mother had died young of ovarian cancer. “I think that’s why Cassie waited so long to have this surgery; she was afraid of what they’d find.” She paused. “Such a sad story.”

  And not one that Adam wanted to dwell on. “So Lauren’s staying with her?”

  “Just for tonight. Actually, she had to force Cassie to let her stay. We’ve all offered to go over and stay but she wouldn’t have it. Tomorrow, Lauren’s got some big test so Katie and Ella are going to go over for lunch and spend some time with her. Stephen and I were going to go over for dinner but he’s got a late meeting.”

  “So are you going to go alone?”

  “No, no…I guess I still feel a little new to all of this and I don’t want to overwhelm her.”

  Adam was baffled. How could his mother overwhelm anyone? “Why would you say that?”

  “I just don’t want Cassie, or any of the kids for that matter, to think that I’m swooping in and trying to be their mom. I know that I’m marrying their dad but this is still new to all of them and it’s been a long time since their mom passed and I’m sure that they’re trying to…see what my role is going to be. I want to give them time to get to know me.”

  This was all a little too emotional for him. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, mom. They’ll all like you just fine.”

  Bev sighed. The business whiz was a complete dud in the encouragement department. “I’m sure you’re right. Anyway, Cassie’s going to be fine. She’s a little sore but really, we’re all just concerned that she’s going to over-do it somehow and hinder her own recovery. She hates to sit still.”

  “Well then maybe someone should be with her,” he suggested.

  “Adam…she is a grown woman. She’s well beyond the age of being babysat for. For the next twenty-four hours she’ll have people with her; after that she’s more than capable of taking care of herself.”

  He knew his mother was right but he also knew that he would make the time to stop over and see her tomorrow night after work. Maybe he’d return the favor and bring her dinner. Just as the thought of flowers entered his head, Adam cut himself off with disgust. “Yeah, sure, she’s a trooper.”

  Why the hell was even thinking of going over to Cassie’s? They were done! She finished with the event and that was all he needed her for. If he never hired her again, she’d just have to deal with it. No, he had done what he’d had to do; he kept Cassie on to make sure that the fall retreat went off without a hitch and now their business dealings were done.

  The image of Cassie sitting across from him at the dinner table, laughing and smiling at him filled his mind. More and more Adam found that his mind wandered to that night that they’d dined together at Cassie’s apartment and the need to see her again unsettled him.

  There would be no harm, however, to see her socially, as if they were family already, right? He’d never had to deal with anyone on a family level other than Bev and well, outside of business he found that he actually liked Cassie so it wouldn’t be a hardship to stop by and visit her. Like family.

  “Adam? Are you still there?” He realized his mother had been talking the whole time his mind had strayed.

  “What? Yes, sorry; I got distracted for a minute. So, what else is new?”

  It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that that one simple question had absolutely done wonders for his mother. Was he that much of a bastard that he’d never engaged in just social niceties or chit-chat with his own mother? And why all of a sudden was he?

  Ten minutes later he was off the phone, no worse for the wear and actually felt his spirits lifted a bit. Maybe he had been too deeply entrenched in the business and had forgotten how to relax and just talk with people. Like he had at Cassie’s that night.

  Adam had no idea why he was having this change of heart and then the ensuing tug of war over what he was doing with his life. He was in control of it all, dammit! He could do whatever he wanted, talk to whoever he wanted, whenever he wanted! Right now, with the confidence that he was legendary for, Adam made the decision that his business association was over with Cassie and that freed him up to see her socially; since she was going to be family.

  Grace walked in with the file he’d requested and if she noticed that he seemed a bit more relaxed, she chose to say nothing. Adam picked up the contract, made his notes and picked up the phone and went on with his day.

  By three o’clock on Thursday afternoon, Adam was ahead of schedule. His calls were completed and Grace had typed up everything that he’d asked her to. To pass the time, he straightened his desk and made a list of possible new clients that he’d like to make contact with by the end of the month.

  Throwing his pen down in disgust, he knew what he was doing; busy work. God, he was feeling pathetic. Did he purposefully do work at home the night before to lighten his load today? Maybe. Did he deliberately cut a couple of chatty clients short in hopes of getting done quicker? Perhaps. The truth was he was feeling caged in in his office and wanted to leave.

  He paced. He talked to himself. He picked up the phone a half a dozen times and realized there was no one that he needed to call. By four o’clock he gave up the pretense of trying to work and gave himself a pep talk.

  “I’m not leaving because of Cassie,” he said out loud, “I’m leaving because I want to. I own the damn company and I can leave whenever I want to!” Picking up his briefcase and keys, Adam strode across the office and yanked open his door. Grace looked up from what she was doing and he gave her a searing look that almost dared her to question what he was doing.

  “Have a nice night,” she said cheerily, unwilling to engage in a discussion over the fact that in six years the man had never left the office before seven.

  Adam gave her a curt nod as he walked by her desk and down the hall to the elevator. He didn’t notice the shocked look on the faces of his employees as he strode with purpose. He didn’t notice the people that merely stepped aside and let him pass. By the time the doors on the elevator closed and he was safely inside, Adam found himself to be feeling something that he hadn’t in a very long time.

  Nervous.

  Why on earth should I be nervous? He thought to himself. He was just stopping by to see a friend. A family friend. A family friend who happened to be an attractive woman.

  Adam loosened his tie as he stepped off the elevator and made his way out to the parking garage and to his car. He hadn’t felt this nervous or ridiculous since he was a teen.

  He pulled up in front of one of his favorite Italian restaurants and went in to place his order. Making small talk with the manager, he bided his time, trying not to be obviou
s by checking his watch every few minutes.

  Figuring that Cassie may still be on pain medication, Adam bypassed the liquor store and opted for something a little less traditional that he thought would cheer her up.

  Pulling into the back parking lot, he figured she’d be by herself and then felt bad that he’d be making her walk down the stairs to open the door. “Dammit,” he grumbled as he pulled dinner out of the car and walked to the door. He hit the door bell and waited.

  He hadn’t noticed the intercom before but suddenly he heard Cassie’s voice. “Hello?”

  “Um…hello, Cassandra, it’s Adam. Can I come up?” She didn’t answer right away and he had brief moment of uncertainty and fear that she’d send him away. A solid minute passed that had him feeling more and more foolish for coming.

  A buzzer sounded and Adam heard the lock click. “It’s just a friendly dinner,” he mumbled to himself as he climbed the stairs. “No big deal.”

  Cassie met him at the top of the stairs wearing a similar ensemble to what she’d worn Saturday night: flannel pajama pants, this time in red with a dark red tank top. “Adam, this is a surprise.” The words were out before she fully saw him and then the items in his hands caught her attention. “Pizza? You brought me pizza?” Her smile widened to pure delight as she stepped aside and let him in.

  “I figured I owed you a meal since you sent me home with leftovers last time. I hope you like pepperoni.” Placing the pizza on the table, he then placed the bag he had with him in the freezer.

  “What was that?”

  He gave her a wicked smile. “Milkshakes. Chocolate milkshakes.”

  Cassie’s smile lit up the room and in that moment Adam understood what the Grinch must have felt on that fateful Christmas morning when his heart grew three sizes. “Wow! This is quite a treat! You came at the perfect time. I was trying to decide what to have for dinner and I really didn’t want to cook. You are my hero.”

  In that moment, Adam truly believed her. Most women would say that in order to get something from him but he was finding bit by bit that Cassie wasn’t like any woman he’d ever met before. The women in his life would never have been happy with pizza and milkshakes; they’d want lobster and champagne. This was definitely new territory for him and as he shed his jacket and tie, Adam believed it was one that he wouldn’t mind spending time in.