Scandalizing the CEO
“There is a woman downstairs asking for you,” Marta said.
Was it Ainsley? He would be very surprised if it was. But if this attraction he felt was two-way, maybe she had come back early.
“Did she give a name?”
“Dinah…I can’t recall her last name, sir.”
Dinah. That was what came of letting a woman preoccupy his mind. “I’ll be downstairs and then back at the office. Can you finish up here, Marta?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Take your lunch and then be back by two.”
He walked out of the office. Dinah, his executive vice president, waited in the middle of the retail floor where a display of classic 1970s musicians was displayed. There was a full-sized cardboard cutout of Tiffany Malone—Henry’s mother.
An earthy sexuality suffused her stare. Her hair was tousled and she wore a pair of skintight, faded denim jeans and a flowing top. It was a classic seventies photo, but Henry’s mother made it so much more. She looked iconic standing there.
He wondered how Malcolm could have been attracted to his mother after being with someone so overtly sexual. His mum exuded none of that. She was smart and classically beautiful, but compared to Tiffany Malone…she would definitely come in second.
“Thanks for getting here so quickly,” he said to Dinah.
“Not a problem. You promised me a nice bonus, so I wanted to jump in and get started on this project of yours,” she said.
“Just the attitude I like. Let’s discuss the details back at my office.”
“Okay, but why did you have me meet you here?” she asked.
“I want you to take a look around. This is our best-performing store. What are they doing here that is different?”
“You want me to go to all the stores?”
“Not all of them, but most of them. I want to know if it’s the location or if it’s the product. Should we have something different in each location? I mean in addition to the music.”
“Very well,” Dinah said. They walked the store. He and Dinah made notes on what they saw and then they went back to the office to discuss their findings.
Steven stayed late at the office and worked. It hadn’t taken him too long to realize he could easily beat both of his half brothers in this competition. He’d had the financials from the record label and the airline sent to his office. Dinah had e-mailed her recommendations for the North American operation based on the data they had.
Someone should go to New York, he thought. They needed to see the operation there to make sure that their recommendations could be implemented.
He picked up the phone and dialed Dinah’s number.
“Yes, boss?”
“How do you feel about a trip to New York?”
“Like you are a mind reader. I was composing an e-mail to that effect when you called. I’d like to take Harry from finance with me.”
They discussed the details of her trip and he thought of Ainsley in Manhattan. Steven was pleased with Dinah’s plan of action. She’d check in daily, but he didn’t like to micromanage unless things were going poorly. He hired the best people so he didn’t have to do their jobs for him.
It was midnight when he was ready to leave the office. And he took a moment to log in to his personal e-mail account. He wanted Ainsley. And he wanted her to be thinking of him.
He wanted to disturb her workday the way she had his. Because although he’d been focused on work, she’d been like a shadow in his mind making him wonder what her day was like. It was five in the morning in Manhattan and he wanted her first thought to be of him and their date.
He composed an e-mail to her. Taking his time with his words because he wanted every moment between now and the time they were face-to-face again to be a slow seduction.
I can’t stop thinking about you. The feel of your lips under mine and the scent of your perfume lingers in the air around me. Be safe in New York.
Steven
He could have written more, but he preferred to be subtle. He’d learned early in life that small gestures often had a deeper impact that big, flashy ones.
He hit Send and left the office. The streets in the financial district weren’t busy and he made his way easily though the traffic, which was a good thing because he found himself thinking of Ainsley next to him in his car.
The scent of her perfume hung in the air; it was almost as if she were there. He shook his head, hoping to dislodge the thoughts of her and find his peace again.
Once he got home and undressed, he lay naked in his king-size bed and groaned. He remembered the feel of her curvy body against his and the taste of her mouth under his.
Ainsley had a hard time adjusting to the time change. She’d gone to bed at six p.m. yesterday and gotten up at five. She had a lot of meetings to attend and would be getting as much work done as possible.