Ask Me (Mess with Me 2)

Dio, that mouth. Has fighting with a woman ever been so stimulating?

“Oh no. I only feed grapes to supermodels on special occasions.”

Fed up, Casey finally meets my eyes directly. “What are we doing here?”

Before I can answer the waitress returns with a basket of steaming hot beignets and our drinks, a small cappuccino for her and an espresso for me. Once we’re alone again, I take an appreciative sip of my espresso, enjoying the ability to just relax for a moment. That’s what Casey does for me. With her, I feel no pressure to perform or be interesting or impressive. I can just… exist.

Casey bangs her fists on the table suddenly. “What does all this mean? You can’t just put me on the spot in front of everyone like you did today! I can’t afford to lose this job.” Her voice breaks a little on the last words.

“Cara mia, you will not lose your job.” I put my cup down and lean across the table. “I apologize. I should have explained right away. Mr. Lawson mentioned you’ve been assisting the designers. I already requested the agency assign you to work on my account. Welcome to the team.”

She sits back, stunned. “I don’t understand any of this. And just because we have this…attraction… between us, doesn’t mean you should lie and say this is about work. Somehow I doubt James will let me anywhere near this campaign after what I said today.”

“I will do many things but I rarely lie. An intelligent man doesn’t need to. You will be working on my account. For what I’m paying this agency, they’d assign the janitor to work on the account if I asked them to.”

Casey laughs. Other diners turn to stare and she claps a hand over her mouth to stifle it. “You really have gone mad. I am the last person you should want working on this. You saw what happened in that meeting today. James was furious. I’m lucky if I still have a job after this.”

I scoot my chair closer to hers. “Casey, you are the only one who understands what I’m about. You saw those campaigns the others designed for me. They do great work but it wasn’t right for me.” I tap the tip of her nose gently. “On their own, they seem to have no idea what appeals to me. You’re the only one who gets it. You can at least tell the designers if they’re on the right track.”

She seems to be thinking about it. This close, I can see every emotion on her face. I’m not sure if she knows how easily she telegraphs her thoughts.

Finally, she takes a small sip of coffee. “No funny business, right? I mean, it’s all professional?”

I struggle to put my most innocent expression on my face. “Of course. I’d like to think we can be friends.”

“You think we can be friends with everything that’s happened?”

“Why not?”

“Because, I don’t know. I’ve seen you naked.” She looks around hurriedly. “That’s not exactly a thing friends do.”

“You’d be surprised.”

She rolls her eyes. “Well, I’m not looking for naked friends. So that means we’re just doing this marketing campaign thing.”

I nod. “That’s all. Just business. Now I’ve asked my assistant to find some time for you to meet with our social media team so you can get familiar with our corporate culture and image. Once you get a sense of what we’re about, it’ll be easier for you to make recommendations to the rest of the marketing team.”

“Okay. That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Great. Let’s go.”

She gapes at me. “What, right now?” After taking a final gulp of her drink, she stands too. “I thought you meant tomorrow. Or next week.”

“No time like the present. Besides, I have something I want to show you.” After I throw some money down on the table, I gesture for her to walk ahead of me.

Casey starts walking but then spins around and slaps both hands on my chest. “Remember what I said. No funny business.”

14

* * *

Half an hour later, I fold my hands nervously in front of me, scared to touch anything. One minute I was at the café agreeing to what seemed like a rational business proposal, and the next I’m twenty stories off the ground in a penthouse almost as big as the Mirage offices.

This is definitely funny business, I think as I look around. The funniest of business.

Andre disappeared immediately, telling me to make myself at home. Hah! Nothing about this is remotely like home.

I turn in a slow circle, awed by the wide expanse of space. Everything in the place is white, black or stainless steel. A wall of windows lets in tons of natural light. It’s beautiful. It’s also perfectly decorated and utterly cold.