If she was trying to shock me, she succeeded. If she was trying to make me feel bad about my body, she was doomed to failure. I had long accepted my curves and did not have body image issues. And in my new blue fitted shirt and charcoal pencil skirt, I knew I looked good. The outfit accentuated my voluptuous curves, but still made me look sophisticated.
By dumping my peace offering, she had destroyed any remaining desire I had to make nice with her. I refused to waste my time with a lost cause. Without reacting to her rejection, I turned on my heel and walked away.
Jake was already in his office. His door was open and I could hear him on the phone. I looked at the clock. It was a quarter to eight– I didn’t need a lecture from His Exaltedness about promptness again. When I left yesterday, he was still at his desk. I had to concede he worked hard for his billions. His schedule was packed from morning to night.
At first, I was afraid he would expect me to work the same long hours as he did, but he sent me home at my normal time. I didn’t protest since I needed to be there for my brother, but I did try to be more efficient during the day and get all of my work done. I wasn’t sure if he was being easy on me for the time being, but I was cautiously optimistic.
I had updated my resume after my first day, but had yet to start a job search. At the first sign that things were going downhill, it would be ready to go.
I got my day started but as soon as he was off the phone, I knocked on his door.
“Cora, good morning!” He waved me into his office. For eight in the morning, he was disgustingly alert. I had two cups of coffee and I still looked sluggish next to him.
“Morning, Jake. I just want to go over today’s agenda before it gets too crazy.” After fumbling through the first few days, we decided an early meeting would be the best way to keep his day on track.
He inclined his head and I sat down. His blue-green eyes looked me up and down. “You look nice, Cora.”
I willed myself not to blush at his compliment. “Thanks. The clothing allowance was very generous.”
“So, what is on my calendar today?”
Trying to not let his abruptness throw me, I flipped open my calendar and did a rundown of his appointments.
He stood up and paced as he fired instructions at me. His movements were fluid and panther-like and I couldn’t help but admire the flex of his thigh muscles under his expensive navy trousers. The thin cotton of his shirt could not disguise his heavily muscled chest and bulging biceps. Jake Weston really was a gorgeous creature.
“Cora, did you get that last one?”
Shit. Just what I needed– to be caught ogling my boss. “Um… confirm the appointment with Leon Richards, CEO of DataPoynt, for four o’clock.” Luckily my hand had been working independently of my recalcitrant mind.
“Good. There’s just one more–”
The sound of a Barbara Streisand song blared from his pocket. The music was so incongruous with the no-nonsense CEO that I gaped.
He held up his hand to indicate I should stay seated and took his cell phone out of his pocket.
“Hi, mom.” His voice had turned soft and tender. It was so different from his normally brisk tone that I had the urge to stick my fingers in my ears to test my hearing.
I started to stand up to give him privacy, but he again motioned for me to stay put. It felt strange to be privy to his conversation with his family and I tried to look busy with my notes even though I was absorbing every word.
“Yes, Troy and I will be at dinner Saturday. Do you want us to bring anything?” He listened attentively for a few moments. “Okay. I’ll drop by and pick up dessert before we head out of the city.” A pause. “Love you too.”
My head snapped up as he said this last without any self-consciousness. I could tell he said “I love you” to his mom often. Why was that so damn endearing?
He put his phone back in his pocket.
“People, huh?” I teased, naming the song he chose for his mom’s ringtone. I was delighted to see his cheeks darken. His sheepish grin was even more adorable.
“It’s her favorite song.”
Damn it. I could feel my insides turn to mush.
It seemed like such a small tidbit of information, but it turned my world upside down. Who was this man who adored his mom? I tilted my head to study the contradiction that was Jake Weston. He looked every inch the imperious CEO, but there were fascinating facets to his personality.
“That’s really sweet,” I said softly.
“Don’t let my secret out or my rivals will eat me alive.”
It took me a second to register that he was joking with me. His eyes were twinkling with a teasing light. I nodded solemnly. “Of course. It could send the stock market into a spiral.”
“Exactly.” We smiled at each other in perfect accord before he became all business again. I watched his lighthearted persona recede with regret.
“Now, the last thing I need you to do is to pull up the reports on the Emerson construction project. Study them. You’ll be accompanying me to the work site today at two.”
“Got it!” I stood up and left his office, my mind still reeling from this morning’s revelations, which smashed my theory that he was a cold and unfeeling human being to smithereens. It discomfited me to know I was harboring these unjust prejudices against him. I felt a little like Elizabeth Bennett with her Mr. Darcy.
Except of course, there wasn’t any romantic interest between us, I assured myself.
The hours flew by and before I knew it, it was lunchtime. And the reason I knew it was lunchtime was because Apollo was leaning over my desk. For the last three days, he had visited my desk at the exact same time and asked the exact same question.
“So when are you going to let me take you out to lunch?” Troy Weston smiled winningly at me.
Sheesh, he should be modeling toothpaste or something. This man had way too much charm at his disposal.
And like clockwork, Jake appeared in his doorway, glowering at us, silently reminding me about his warning.
It was becoming a farce, with one brother smiling happily while the other hovered like an angry storm cloud. And Jake’s protectiveness of his brother was entirely unnecessary because I sensed Troy wasn’t interested in me in a sexual or romantic way. Nor was I interested in him. I was sure he had his own agenda for asking me to lunch and I suspected it had something to do with Jake. Maybe he found out Jake disapproved and he wanted to rebel against his older brother, but I didn’t want any part of their family power play. I wanted to bash their heads together and tell them I wasn’t a toy.
“Cora can’t go to lunch today. We’re going to head to the Emerson site soon. We’ll grab lunch in that area.”
I looked at Jake in confusion. Having lunch together wasn’t part of the plan when we went over his day.
Before I could say anything, Jake said to Troy, “I was supposed to have a meeting with the Nakamoto group in ten minutes, but something’s come up. Could you take my place?”
I scrambled to pull up his schedule, my heart in my throat. Did I screw something up? The Nakamoto group was one of the company’s biggest suppliers and Jake was very specific about clearing some time before the meeting.
Troy stood up and smirked. “Yes, of course.” He turned to me and winked. “See you later, beautiful. Maybe we can do lunch tomorrow.”
Jake was not amused by the endearment and growled at Troy, who just chuckled before leaving.
“Uh…Jake, did I mix something up on your schedule?” I asked, my voice tentative. “I swore I cleared up your calendar for the meeting with the suppliers and allotted plenty of time to go to the site.”
He looked pained for a second. “Uh…no it was entirely my fault. Something unexpected came up.” He flipped back his sleeve and looked at his watch. “Let me take care of the…thing and we can leave early so we don’t have to rush lunch.”
“Um…okay.”
After thirty minutes, Jake came out of his office, ready to go.