Cassie was getting plates and napkin and carrying them into the living room. “What are you doing?” Adam asked, clearly confused that she wasn’t setting the kitchen table.
“I thought we‘d eat inside. Katie rented a couple of movies for me and I thought maybe we’d watch one while we eat. Is that okay?”
Probably a chick-flick, he thought. “Um…sure. I’m right behind you with the pizza.”
“Don’t forget the milkshakes…”
Adam chuckled and grabbed the bag from the freezer and walked into the living room. Opening the pizza box, he sat down and was about to grab a slice, waiting for the girly music to start when he looked up and saw Robert DeNiro’s name on the screen. “DeNiro?”
“Oh, it’s ‘Midnight Run’. Robert DeNiro, Charles Grodin? It’s one of my favorites.”
Placing a slice of pizza on Cassie’s plate, he turned and pulled the milkshakes out of the bag and put straws in each of them and handed one to Cassie. This woman was becoming more and more intriguing by the minute. She was sitting Indian style on the couch, a paper plate in her lap, her milkshake on the floor in front of her. The mass of chestnut hair was wavier than he’d ever seen it and she didn’t have on a scrap of make up and yet she looked more appealing than he’d ever seen her.
Taking a bite of his dinner, Adam turned his attention to the movie and off of the woman and he waited a full five minutes before he spoke and asked how she was feeling.
“Much better today, thanks.” She took a sip of her milkshake. “Oh, that is perfect,” she purred. “I’m actually much sorer than I was yesterday but that’s to be expected. Katie was here all day and took care of me. This is way better than being mothered.”
“Mothered?”
“You know, fussing about, fluffing pillows, asking if I needed anything…it was sweet of her and I appreciate every minute of her time but I didn’t have a limb amputated or anything. She had Ella with her and I loved getting to spend time with them but by the time they left I was actually more exhausted than relaxed.”
Adam chuckled. “Well, you have my promise to not fluff pillows or to fuss.”
Cassie let out a laugh of her own. “Thanks.”
They resumed watching the movie with minimal conversation and shared laughs. It was actually the most pleasant time she’d had in a long time. By the time the credits rolled, Cassie had eaten way more pizza than she should have and had polished off the milkshake. Her head rested on the back of the couch and she felt completely relaxed. With a sigh of contentment, she turned her head towards Adam. “At the risk of being redundant, thank you.”
He turned and smiled. “And at the risk of answering with redundancy, you are welcome.” They sat like that for long moments. Just looking, just smiling. Adam started to feel a pull towards her and knew that he had to do or say something to break the hypnotic spell. “You know, I’m still hearing buzz from people about the food from the retreat. Everything was a big hit.” It was on the tip of his tongue to say that she was right about the menu choices and not changing them, but he just wasn’t ready for that kind of admission out loud.
“I’m so glad. How did the training go? Are you getting the feedback that you want from it?” Another first, Adam thought. No other woman, beside his mother, ever asked about his business with any interest and the look on Cassie’s face as she spoke told him that she was truly interested.
“Well, I’ve had a couple of smaller meetings with a select group of programmers and salesmen. I have some executives from three smaller companies in Europe coming over in a few weeks to talk about having L.S.S. come over and rebuilding their computer systems.”
“Wow, that’s impressive. So you’ll be entertaining them at the office?”
“That’s the plan. I was thinking of moving the meetings off-site since their spouses are coming but I couldn’t think of anything to do that would include everyone and yet give us the uninterrupted time I’d like to have with them where I won’t be distracted.”
Cassie nodded with understanding. “You mean maybe like an actual ‘retreat’ type of environment?” It was Adam’s turn to nod. “Well, if I could make a suggestion…”
At any other time, Adam would have resented her insinuating herself into his business but he was relaxed and genuinely curious about what she could come up with.
“I think that if you wanted to have an environment where the wives could be included and you’d have time to get to know them without any real interruptions, I would suggest renting a house either in the mountains or at the beach.” She stopped and studied Adam for a moment. “I’m betting that you at least have a beach house, am I right?”
He nodded. “Indeed you are. Now tell me why I want to take them to the beach?”
“For starters, it’s more personal. It shows that you are interested in them on more than just a business level and you won’t have all of the distractions of being in your own office.” When he made to interrupt, she held up a hand. “Hear me out. Since they’re business men, they’ve seen offices. Plus, their wives will be bored hanging out at a hotel in Raleigh all day.”
“At the beach, you’re all in the house together, you have the great scenery, and the woman can go shopping or enjoy the water while the men are inside talking business. You bring in a maid and a cook and no one has to worry about anything.”
Standing, Cassie went to the kitchen to get something to drink and asked Adam if he wanted anything. When he responded no, she grabbed some water and walked back to the couch. “You could book spa treatments for the women or have a car pick them up and take them shopping… I’m telling you, you’d come across as the best guy to do business with.”
“At least from the ladies point of view,” he quipped with a smile. “Actually, it’s a great idea.” It almost pained him to admit it while at the same time his mind was spinning with possibilities. It all seemed so simple that he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it himself! “They could fly into Raleigh on Thursday, tour the offices, meet with our people and then I could have a car drive them to the beach on Friday where lunch would be waiting for them. We would have the afternoon to get settled in and relax, talk a little business, have dinner together and start with negotiations on Saturday morning after breakfast while the women go and do their thing. Interesting, Cassandra. It definitely has possibilities.”
That made her smile. “I am known to have a good idea or two.” She wanted to ask Adam to hire her to do the job; to hire her to be at the beach house to do all of the cooking and planning and whatnot but she knew that it would be way out of line and that if she’d learned anything about Adam it was that the idea had to be his or he didn’t like it.
Well, except with this beach idea. He seemed to take well to that and she didn’t want to push her luck. Right now, Cassie didn’t want to do or say anything that was going to put an end to the relationship they seemed to be building. It felt good to be here with him. It was comfortable and if she wasn’t recovering from that damn surgery, she’d probably be playing a little at seduction right now. But knowing that she was certainly no raving beauty on her best days, there was no way a man like Adam would find her attractive in her pajamas with bed hair and no make up.
Again.
Well wasn’t that a bucket of cold water in the face? Okay, back to reality, she told herself and sighed. “I think that with the right amount of planning, you’d be a big hit even with the guys. After all, if the wives are happy…well, the trickle down effect would work here.”
Adam merely nodded. She was intelligent, considerate and even without makeup she was stunning. Leaning in a bit closer and lowering his voice a notch he asked, “Know anyone that would be willing to take on such a task?”
The corners of Cassie’s lips twitched with the urge to smile but she kept her response low key. “Well, I’m sure you could call some sort of temp agency that was familiar with the area who would be willing to come in and cook and clean for a few days. You could get references…�
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She almost had him but he noticed the twitch and decided to play along. “True, true…I mean, how hard could it be to cook a couple of meals for seven people? Hell, I’m sure they have temps for that sort of easy work.” There was no way he could look at her as he finished the statement. Adam was sure she was seething at the direct jibe at her livelihood.
And she was. Mildly. She stood and began cleaning up their dinner mess. “I suppose,” she began. “I guess you could just take them out for every meal, you know, to play it safe and make sure no one gets food poisoning. Or you could take your chances and hope that your European guests like casseroles and chicken pot pie…” She left that thought hanging as she walked into the kitchen. The smile that was tugging at her lips couldn’t be helped; this teasing and bantering with Adam was making her feel light and happy. Placing her water glass in the sink Cassie nearly screeched when she turned around and found Adam directly behind her.
He placed his hands on the counter on either side of her, effectively caging Cassie in and keeping her close. “You sound like a bit of a food snob, Cassandra; I never knew that about you.” Adam looked down into her face and saw, for the first time, just how blue her eyes were. He scanned her face and noticed the freckles, faint though they were, that were scattered across the bridge of her nose, and how long her lashes were without the help of mascara…all in all she made a very fetching picture.
“Who’s to say that they don’t enjoy a good casserole,” his tone was deep and husky and Cassie felt his breath on her face and found herself focusing on his mouth.
She swayed slightly and closed her eyes to break the spell but found that she enjoyed looking at him way too much. Clearing her throat she said, “I guess that’s always a possibility.”
After that, they moved as if of one mind towards one another. When Adam’s lips touched Cassie’s all thought of food and European’s drained from her mind. She was still caged in close against his body and she slowly lifted her arms to twine them around Adam’s neck and pull him closer. In turn, Adam took his hands from the countertop and placed them first on her waist and then let them travel slowly up and down her back.
When his tongue reached out and touched Cassie’s bottom lip, she tilted her head and gave him entry; her own tongue dueling with his in an erotic dance that had her straining against him. For a mouth that always seemed so hard and firm, it was actually quite soft and thrilling Cassie thought as Adam began to work his way from her mouth to her cheek to her throat.
His hands came up and cupped her face and then moved in to her hair and lightly gripped. In turn, Cassie mimicked the move as she purred with satisfaction. Adam leaned into her, his hardness to her softness and she let out a gasp that wasn’t of pleasure, but of pain. He backed off immediately.
“Are you alright?”
Placing her hand on her stomach she merely nodded and took a deep breath. “I managed to forget that I just had surgery yesterday.” Her voice was laced with pain and in that instant Adam felt like the world’s biggest heel.
Placing an arm around her waist, he guided Cassie back to the sofa and helped her to sit down. With a sense of needing to fix what he’d done, he strode back into the kitchen and fetched her another glass of water and found what he hoped to be her pain medication next to the sink.
They communicated without words. Handing Cassie the prescription bottle and drink, Adam went in search of the heating pad that she’d used the last time he was here. Within minutes he had her settled and comfortable while he felt anything but. “Should I call anyone? Your sisters? You dad?”
Cassie shook her head. “Really, I’m fine. It was actually kind of amazing that I hadn’t had a whole lot of pain tonight so I guess I was due.” She tried to smile but failed. The pain was ebbing but not completely gone. “Thank you for helping me out, Adam. I appreciate it.”
When she looked at him, he was no longer the sexy man that had been in her kitchen but the hard CEO that she normally worked with. The transformation was swift and Cassie had known Adam long enough to know that he was not pleased with the situation. “I’m really sorry that you had to take care of me. Again.”
He could only stare. She had scared the life out of him, again; made him lose his own head, again, and she was apologizing! “Damn it, Cassandra, I’m the one who’s sorry. I knew that you had just had surgery and here I am putting the moves on you in your kitchen!” Adam raked a hand through his hair in frustration and started to pace. “Is there anything else I can get you?’
The tone of voice wasn’t quite as clipped as it had been just moments before and Cassie could tell by the look on his face that while he wasn’t pleased with the situation, it had nothing to do with anger and everything to do with concern. She wanted to smile at the thought but the pain she was in was still too intense to ignore.
“No, I’ll be fine in a little while. The doctor told me that I’d feel pretty bad for a couple of days but that by next week I’d be back to my old self.” He didn’t look convinced. “Actually, I think I’ve had all the excitement I can take for one day so if you don’t mind, I think it’s time for me to go to bed.”
Brows furrowed, Adam stepped forward and helped Cassie to get up and as he had earlier, placed his arm around her and walked her to her room where he said good night.
“Thank you again for dinner, Adam. It was a very nice surprise.” Her tone was soft, almost sleepy. As Cassie watched him standing next to her bed, her mind immediately played back their kiss and the night he’d spent with her when she’d been in pain last weekend. She was sorely tempted to ask him to do the same for her again right now. Adam took a step back and Cassie knew that his staying was not something that was going to be repeated.
“Dinner was my pleasure. Get some rest, Cassandra, and thank you for the input on my upcoming meetings. I’m definitely going to explore that option.” For a man who was normally so confident in everything he did, Adam was unsure what his next move should be. Did he dare kiss her goodnight like he longed to do or would it be best to just go?
Seeing Cassie wince as she moved around her room gave Adam his answer. “Good night,” he said firmly. “Get some rest.” With that he was gone.
Once Adam had left Cassie’s apartment and was in his car he simply sat. What exactly was he doing? This was a relationship that was supposed to be at an end and yet here he was starting a new aspect to it. It made no sense! And to a man who made sure that he always made sense, it was maddening!
Driving off into the night, his mind raced. Sure the whole parents getting married thing added an element of prolonging the relationship that he and Cassie had but for all intents and purposes, their working relationship should be over. But then why was he actually considering hiring her to handle the beach retreat?
In business, Adam was not known to change his mind; when he made a decision about someone or something, he stuck to it. Why wasn’t that the case with Cassie? She had defied him and walked out on him in the middle of a meeting and then humiliated him in front of her family. If any other employee had pulled a stunt like that, they’d have been fired immediately and Adam would have made sure that they didn’t work in any capacity for any company remotely related to his ever again.
With a low growl of frustration, both at himself and on some levels, with Cassie, Adam didn’t relax until his home came into view; a large home that while in this frame of mind, seemed ridiculously too large for one man.
He thought about the Jacobs’ home and realized that he could fit at least four of them in this house with room to spare and they had six people living there at one time. Slamming the car door, Adam strode towards the house calling himself every kind of idiot because no matter what he seemed to do lately, it had him thinking about his soon-to-be family.
Family had never meant much to him; his father had seen to that. Deep down, Adam knew that he would never be able to forgive his mother for being weak; both with his father and with her only other attempt at marriage. Both men ha
d been nothing but losers looking for an easy ride at Adam’s expense. Couldn’t Bev see that love and relationships were not to be trusted? No one truly loved anyone. It was all an illusion. If only his mother could learn to be satisfied with being…alone? No, that term did not sit well. Independent? Yes, that sounded better. Why did she feel the need to tie herself down with someone when everyone knew it was going to end and end badly?
The frustration wasn’t ebbing, if anything Adam felt ready to explode. Tossing his keys down on the nearest surface, he sprinted up the curved staircase up to his suite on the second floor and changed into a pair of swim trunks and then dashed back downstairs to the indoor pool. With any luck, he could burn off some of this tension and energy and actually be able to sleep tonight.
And not dream about the woman he’d kissed earlier or about how it would be to hold her again all night long.
Chapter Seven
Adam had arrived at the office before dawn on Friday in hopes of getting things done that had eluded him the previous day due to his mind wandering to how Cassie was doing.
By the time Grace had arrived at eight, Adam knew that the day was going to go nowhere. He was caught up on every project that he had going and the only thing that needed his attention now was the retreat he had spoken to Cassie about. Within an hour Adam had come to the conclusion that the idea would work and packed up his briefcase and strode to the outer office where Grace sat.
“Going somewhere?” she asked.
“Actually, I’ll be gone for the weekend. Call the cleaning service we use out on the Outer Banks. I need someone to go and open up the house immediately.”
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