The CEO Buys in (Wager of Hearts #1)

She knew she should say no. She needed to keep him separate from her real world. But the thought of not seeing him tomorrow made all her good sense evaporate like dew under an August sun. “Okay. I’ll send you Tallman’s address.”

 

 

His voice came through the phone in a low, sexy rumble. “I hope the rush-hour traffic is horrific.”

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 18

 

 

 

 

 

Nathan usually enjoyed the quiet of early morning on the executive floor when he was the only one in. Today it felt empty.

 

He paced over to the wall of windows and stared outward without seeing the skyscrapers spiking up into the sky. He wanted Chloe here.

 

He’d checked and there were currently four open positions—with generous salaries—listed on the internal job roster that she could fill perfectly. In one stroke, he could ease her financial problems and satisfy his own need.

 

He was well aware that it would be more appropriate to find her a job at another corporation, something he could do easily, but he had to know she was in this building somewhere.

 

They would have to be discreet. That might be the most difficult part for him, since he had an almost constant desire to see her. But he would not tarnish her reputation.

 

He looked at his watch for the third time since he’d started work. Another hour before Roberta got into the HR office.

 

 

 

 

 

Chloe had never been so grateful for a mindless temporary assignment. As she copied and collated sheet after sheet of numbers and legal jargon, she veered among worrying about how to keep Grandmillie from signing herself into Crestmont Village, redrawing her image of her father, and having her knees go weak in anticipation of what she and Nathan might do in the back of the Rolls. It was an exhausting roil of emotions.

 

Her cell phone vibrated in her trousers pocket, indicating a text message had come in. She finished putting together a packet of papers before she pulled her phone out. It was from Nathan.

 

 

Call me when you break for lunch.

 

 

She glanced at the clock on the wall of the conference room where she was working, the papers spread across the vast mahogany tabletop in neat piles. The executive assistant she was working for had told her to take lunch whenever she wanted, so she could start it right now.

 

She plunked down in one of the huge leather chairs and shoved it away from the table, swiveling toward the windows as she called Nathan.

 

He answered halfway through the ring. “I needed to hear your voice.”

 

“That’s the best hello I’ve ever gotten.” Chloe felt her worries lighten.

 

“I didn’t manage my expectations well.” His voice held an edge of self-mockery.

 

“In what way?”

 

“I spent all day yesterday imagining you in my office today. When you weren’t here, I had a problem with it.”

 

The powerful and brilliant Nathan Trainor missed her. How could she not feel thrilled by that? “At least you have weighty executive decisions to distract you. I’m only using about a quarter of my brain to collate a bunch of audit reports.”

 

“I’m interested in hearing what you’re using the other three-quarters for.”

 

Chloe felt heat bloom in her cheeks. “That’s for you to find out when you pick me up this afternoon.”

 

There was a pause before he said with a rasp in his voice, “Advance planning is always wise. I look forward to combining your ideas with mine, because I suspect the effect will be explosive.”

 

His words danced along her nerve endings, making her squirm on the leather cushion. Before she could respond, he said, “You only have a half hour for lunch, so go eat.”

 

“Because I’ll need my strength?” It came out sounding as though she couldn’t quite catch her breath.

 

“Be ready the moment you get in the car. I will be.”

 

He ended the call, leaving her hot and aching in private places. She closed her eyes and imagined him touching her where she ached the most, which only made it worse. She hauled herself out of the chair, sending her cell phone thudding onto the beige carpeting.

 

When it rang, she jumped and then scooped it up, hoping Nathan wanted to continue their phone foreplay.

 

It was Judith. “Sweetie, I’ve got a last-minute interview for you. Are you free today after work?”

 

Chloe straightened in the chair. “Not really. How about tomorrow?”

 

“The cutoff for the hiring decision is today.”

 

Her stomach clenched. “How good is the position?”

 

Judith quoted a nice salary and decent benefits at a medium-sized but growing corporation. “And the position has significant upside.”

 

“There has to be a catch.”

 

“This is your last chance to interview for it,” Judith said. “Seriously, I found out about this by sheer luck. Their HR director called me to check one candidate’s employment record because I placed him in a job before this. They wanted to make sure he wasn’t violating his employment contract.”

 

“Was he? That would eliminate some of my competition.” Chloe was stalling as she struggled with the inevitable. She was going to have to tell Nathan she couldn’t meet him after work.

 

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