After the Interview (11 page)

“If Henry only knew your intentions,” Zoe’s words trailed off, thinking about walking through the lobby by Henry’s outpost with C J at her side. Yikes and awkward came to mind.

“How do you feel about room service at the Four Seasons?” C J asked suggestively.

Zoe smiled and said, “Are you trying to motivate me to remove my body from your lap?”

“Oh I like your body just fine where it is but I don’t know how much longer our luck is going to play out if anyone else is still working,” C J answered.

“Good point,” Zoe said, “Jeff’s still in the building and this isn’t my idea of how you should meet him.”

With this she stood up and started to redress but in a way that kept C J’s full attention. “C J, you might want to get your pants on because I hear voices,” Zoe whispered, pointing to her door.

C J quickly stood and had just started to buckle his belt when a sharp rap on the door was followed by its bursting open to reveal a middle-aged man talking loudly on the phone. Knowing how Jeff rolled, Zoe had positioned herself in front of C J in case any last minute adjustments to his pants were still in order.

Breaking free from the phone conversation momentarily without registering C J’s presence, Jeff asked, “How about some dinner or are you still working on Max’s article? If you’re still at it I can pick something up and…” Jeff stopped abruptly and shifted gears when he noticed C J and extended his hand. “Mr. Fairchild, it’s great to meet you but Zoe didn’t mention you were in town,” he said, looking her direction.

“I had some unexpected business in the city before heading overseas and decided to stop in and see if I could get a first look at the final interview. Ms. Alden is insisting I must wait for publication, so I plan to try and persuade her over dinner tonight. Would you care to join us?” C J said while shaking Jeff’s hand.

Jeff quickly looked between the two of them and said, “Sorry but I’ll pass on dinner. There’s probably someone’s ass I need to chew out for something stupid they’ve done. Oh, congratulations on the contract you pulled off. It seems you bested Hercules Oil and picked up some prime acreage in the west Texas basin. Rob Scott had that on the newswire an hour ago.”

“Strange. There was no press release, so I don’t know how that news has already hit the street, but thank you. That contract moved fast and was just finalized this morning,” C J answered, a bit perplexed.

“Zoe, go ahead and catch dinner with Mr. Fairchild. Max’s article can wait,” Jeff said as he turned to exit her office. “Great to meet you Mr. Fairchild. Enjoy your stopover in the city.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Thompson,” C J said as Jeff left Zoe’s office, closing the door behind him.

“Boy, is he always in such a hurry?” C J asked as he turned to look at Zoe.

The look he saw on her face stopped him from asking his next question. Zoe literally looked like she was primed and ready to blow. Not at all sure what had happened to change her mood, C J just kept quiet and waited.

“You son of a bitch,” Zoe started. “How could you not tell me about this deal and let it break on the Reuters newswire before your interview is published? You didn’t even give me an inkling that something big was in the works.”

“Zoe, you know I couldn’t tell you about a deal that wasn’t finalized. Contract negotiations are never public knowledge until the agreement is a done deal,” C J answered, not sure how he had gotten in such deep shit.

“How about informing me today? Did the idea that I might wish to edit it into the interview occur to you?” Zoe declared.

“Seriously? No, my motivation for coming here was to see you, not to talk about business,” C J answered, an edge to his voice, “Why the hell is this so important? It’s just a land deal, not anything unusual in the oil business.”

“Rob Scott, of all of the reporters to break the story; I loathe that asshole and I am sure he is delighted as hell to feel like he one-upped me,” Zoe said.

“It’s not that big of a deal, and if you want the details on the acquisition I’ll give them to you now. You can add it to the interview or not,” C J said.

“Not that big of a deal to you, but in my line of work coming in second with news doesn’t cut it,” Zoe shot back.

“I thought your interview was an in-depth piece on the industry and Marshall Petroleum’s contribution, not a quick write up about breaking news. It seems I had your interests figured all wrong. I’ll let you get back to your writing, Ms. Alden. Sorry to break your concentration,” C J said, swiftly exiting the office.

“Crap,” Zoe said aloud as she paced between her desk and the office door. If C J Fairchild expects me to run after him he can forget it. Rob Scott, just thinking about his delight at breaking this story got Zoe so furious she wanted to scream. Instead she collapsed into one of the oversized chairs, tears rolling down her cheeks.

ℓ

What the fuck was that all about, C J said to himself as he rode the elevator down to the lobby. First, Zoe is ecstatic to see me. In fact she can’t control herself and, for that matter, neither can I, and then she flips out. It seems Ms. Alden’s priority is her work; better to find that out early in the game and move on. Boy do I feel like a jackass for showing up here unannounced. When I tell Logan how shitty her advice was, she’ll probably find a way to blame it on my plan and its execution. This is reason number one to stay unattached.

C J stepped out of the lobby and was immediately assailed by the driving rain as he walked down the steps to the street. Hailing a taxi in driving rain, not an easy feat in New York, proved to take long enough for C J to be pretty well soaked as he slid into the cab’s backseat.

“The Four Seasons,” he told the driver, not looking back at the building.

C J entered the hotel lobby and stalked to the elevators. Frustration had set in on the cab ride. He was determined to change his flight first thing in the morning and head back to Houston as soon as he could. Right now he wanted a hot shower, food and sleep if that was going to be possible. The hot shower made C J feel more human but it did little to brighten his mood. He decided not to eat in his room and risk brooding about the situation. C J rode the elevator down and headed to the bar he had seen while passing through the lobby. They should be able to serve food and right now what it was did not matter. C J wasn’t going to fuss with restaurant service, and he sure as hell was not heading out in the rain again tonight.

C J entered the bar, and his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting while he surveyed the space for a place to sit. Shit, the place was pretty busy. The stools were occupied with the upscale business traveler types, male and female. C J imagined several of these pairs would end up sharing rooms tonight after overindulging in alcohol and then part in the morning, wondering what the hell they had done. The noisiness of the room started to grate on C J, and he was about to turn on his heels and leave when he spotted a small table in the corner near the wait station. Sitting down, he noticed a gorgeous blonde woman checking him out as she nodded her head in answer to whatever her date was saying. C J wanted to react with interest but there was no faking it, so he turned his head and caught the waiter’s attention.

“Scotch, neat,” he said before the waiter could even get the cocktail napkin on the tabletop, “and is there a menu for food service in the bar?” C J added.

“There’s no food service in this bar sir, but I can see about getting you a table in the dining room,” the waiter answered.

“No thanks,” C J answered. “I’ll just head upstairs and order room service later.”

C J’s drink came and he attempted to block out his surroundings because the sight of the couples, heads bent in close conversation, irritated him. Gee I wonder which couple is about to get into an argument in the next five minutes, he thought. This many people, it’s inevitable. Just as he signaled the waiter for a refill, he got his answer. C J saw Zoe in animated conversation with the concierge, and she did not look happy. Not only was she drenched, but apparently she was not getting the information she wanted from the man. Right, C J thought, I didn’t give her my room number and they won’t tell her a damn thing. This should be interesting.

C J’s second Scotch arrived and as he lifted it to his lips Zoe turned, clearly agitated, ready to head to the elevators. What was she going to do, knock on every door on each floor? The concierge immediately stepped from behind his desk, barring her access to anything but the exit to the street. Zoe brusquely pushed the man’s hand from her arm and turned her head, as if she sensed C J’s presence nearby. Bullseye. C J knew she had spotted him. Zoe cut off whatever the concierge was about to say and headed straight for the bar. Oh shit, he thought.

By the time Zoe entered the bar the concierge had decided to pursue her and was signaling the front desk to call for backup. Zoe’s wet pumps squeaked as she walked, and droplets of water created a trail behind her on the carpet. A few of the bar’s patrons looked away in disgust, and the others smiled with anticipation for the spectacle they were sure would ensue. Zoe stopped at C J’s table and fixed him with a look.

“Are you going to ask me to join you or should I just continue to stand here?”

“Would you like to join me for a drink, Ms. Alden?” C J asked with no emotion.

Just as Zoe sat down the concierge and waiter both arrived tableside, looking concerned. The concierge fixed his eyes on Zoe and said, “Madame, as I explained to you a moment ago, I feel it is in the best interests of the hotel and yourself if you leave immediately,” Then, turning to C J, he said, “Mr. Fairchild, I apologize for the intrusion. We will make sure the disruption is contained, and you won’t be bothered further.”

C J paused for a full fifteen seconds before speaking just to draw out the moment. “Gentlemen, Ms. Alden is joining me for a drink. We need no special assistance at this time. Zoe what’s your pleasure?”

“I’ll take a dirty martini. Gin, not vodka,” she added as the waiter moved away quickly.

“As you wish, Mr. Fairchild,” the concierge said. Backing slowly away from the table, he gave C J a look that let him know all he had to do was signal and the staff would swiftly move to contain Zoe and escort her out of the hotel.

“You don’t plan to make this easy on me, do you?” Zoe asked.

“Should I?” C J retorted.

“Probably not. I was wrong and I admit it. Accept my apology for accusing you of not being honest. Rob Scott is a first class jerk and we have a history of disagreements going back to the dawn of time, so I overreact when he’s involved,” Zoe said.

The waiter placed Zoe’s drink in front of her and hurried out of earshot. As Zoe lifted the glass to her lips, C J noticed water dripping from her hair onto the table where a small puddle was forming. The gorgeous blonde was intently watching the situation, and C J had trouble suppressing a grin but knew any hint of amusement would be misinterpreted by Zoe. He gave her credit for the apology but had to think a moment about what he wanted. Hell, C J knew what he wanted and it was Zoe Alden. Before he could speak, Zoe started rambling some bullshit about staying in touch and that he had opened her eyes to the politics of the oil industry and for that she was grateful.

Standing up and effectively cutting off her speech in mid-sentence, C J said, “How about we get you out of those wet clothes. It’ll probably take the hotel days just to dry out the seat cushion. Plus I’m famished, so I plan to head to my room and see what room service has to offer.”

Zoe took another sip of her martini and stood. C J slid his room key out of his pants pocket and handed it to Zoe.

“Apology accepted, Zoe. Please head to the room before you start shivering while I take care of the tab. It’s room 500,” C J said with a note of care in his voice.

Zoe took the key card and headed for the elevators. The concierge looked up with concern, but C J caught his eye and nodded that it was fine. As C J signed the tab and handed it back to the waiter with a generous cash tip, he felt conversation resume in the bar. Funny, he hadn’t noticed the quiet until now. On his way out the blonde caught his eye and gave him a quizzical look. C J just grinned at her and shrugged his shoulders. No, I wouldn’t trade Zoe for anyone he thought. This idea momentarily stopped him; then he walked quickly across the lobby, feeling elated.

Chapter Seven

Zoe wasted no time taking off her soaked clothing when she entered the room. It lay in a sodden puddle on the bathroom floor, and Zoe didn’t care about the state of her suit at the moment: she was freezing. She needed to grab the robe she remembered seeing casually flung on the bed as she had hurried through the bedroom a moment ago. Picking up the robe, she felt another presence in the room and looked up to see C J watching her.

“How’d you get in here?” she asked.

“It is my room,” C J responded, “and the concierge was kind enough to give me a second key card. Plus he’s sending up complimentary champagne and oysters. He said room service could be busy, meaning slow, and I get the feeling he wants us to keep quiet.”

Slipping the robe over her naked body instantly started to warm her, and then his scent hit her again. Damn it. C J’s cologne enveloped her.

“I think I’ll take a quick shower just to warm up,” Zoe said, turning to head back into the bathroom.

“In the meantime, I’ll just go sit in the living room and think about your offer in the bar of a continuing business friendship,” C J said with a straight face.

Not bothering to answer him, Zoe continued to the shower and turned it on to get the water steaming hot. C J was slipping his shoes off when he heard a knock at the door. Damn that was fast, he thought. When he opened the door, he was delighted to see champagne chilling and a dozen oysters sitting on a bed of ice. As soon as the waiter showed him the room service menu, C J ordered for both of them and then the man was out the door. C J downed two of the oysters and decided the champagne could wait, considering he had just had two drinks in the bar.

Not giving it a second thought, he stripped off his clothing while walking through the bedroom and entered the bathroom. Zoe stood in profile as she let the water run over her body. Despite his intentions, C J started to grow hard as Zoe turned to put her back to the shower and his view went from good to great. Her breasts were pink from the hot water and a steady stream cascaded between them to run straight between her legs. His intent had been to just get in the shower and hold her but at the moment he wasn’t sure he could manage it. 

Zoe opened her eyes, spread her arms wide and opened the shower door saying, “Your room, your shower.”

C J entered the shower, put his arms around Zoe and enveloped her body with his. Even though Zoe had seen C J’s arousal she sensed that at this moment he just wanted to be close to her and nothing more. They stood like this for several minutes, and then Zoe turned off the water and faced C J. She still sensed that intimacy, and not sex, was his desire, so she placed her hands on his chest and rested her head on his shoulder, inviting him to put his arms around her again. C J crossed his arms around her back and placed a kiss on her forehead.  When the warmth of the shower started to dissipate, C J opened the door and handed the robe to Zoe while he grabbed a towel to dry off with. Stepping out of the shower, Zoe marveled at his body as she looked for a second robe. Finding the robe, she handed it to him just as he stood up and flashed a grin at her.

“Thanks but I will be fine without it,” C J said.

“If we are planning to order room service and eat before they shut down for the night, you had better keep it on,” Zoe said seriously, then reached up and kissed him lightly.