Caroselli's Baby Chase (11 page)

Definite tension with this one, which undoubtedly meant that she was loyal to her boss, the one whose work Carrie was here to criticize.

“Thank you, Ms….” Even though the woman’s nameplate was in plain sight on her desk, it didn’t hurt to break the ice.

“
Mrs
. White,” she said, icicles dripping off each word.

Ignoring her frosty introduction, Carrie smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. White. I’m Caroline Taylor, but everyone calls me Carrie.”

“Ms. Taylor,” she said with a curt nod.

This one would be a tough egg to crack, but Carrie would do it. She had a way of putting people at ease, winning them over. Look how well it had worked on Rob.

A little
too
well.

Only as she approached his office door was Carrie hit with a sudden and intense wave of apprehension. Which was silly given their history. Or maybe what she was really feeling was exhilaration. She could barely go five minutes without thinking of him, without recalling the way he touched her, how he looked tangled in the sheets, ripples of muscles under smooth, sweat-soaked skin.

But it was over now and she would just have to learn to rein in her wandering thoughts.

Steeling herself, she knocked sharply on the door, then let herself in, melting when she saw Rob sitting there, tapping away at his keyboard, a steaming cup of coffee beside him on his desk.

“You asked to see me?” she said, catching the subtle scent of his aftershave, wishing she could run her hand over his smooth, freshly shaved cheek. Even though she couldn’t deny that the rasp of the dark, wiry stubble he’d woken up with this morning had been a turn-on.

Without looking up, he nodded and said, “Be with you in just one second….”

She stood waiting while he typed a bit more, manipulated the mouse for several seconds, frowned, then started typing again. All she could see was the back of the computer monitor, so she had no clue what he might be working on. Or if it even was work. For all she knew he could have been updating his status on Facebook, or corresponding with his online sweetheart. Even though he swore he didn’t have a girlfriend. Maybe this would be easier if he did.

While she waited she gazed around his office, which she hadn’t really taken the time to notice the last time she was there. In her own defense, it was tough to concentrate on the decor when Rob’s hand was up her skirt.

The room was neat, with an unmistakable masculine feel, but not so macho that she had the urge to stuff a wad of chewing tobacco in her cheek. The dark mahogany furniture gave the space a rich, professional feel, but a collection of family photos hanging on the wall and various live plants created a casual atmosphere.

When Rob finally seemed satisfied with what he’d typed, he pushed the keyboard tray in, rose to his feet and greeted her with a very professional “Good morning.”

“Sorry I wasn’t here sooner. The cab was late picking me up.” She waited for him to say something about how, if she’d accepted a ride from him, she wouldn’t be late.

He didn’t. He just shrugged and said, “No problem.”

“What’s on the agenda this morning?” she asked, eager to get to work, to keep her mind busy on other things.

“We have a meeting in the conference room in five minutes.” He eyed the coat draped over her arm and the briefcase slung over her shoulder. “Why don’t I show you to your office first.”

He led her down the hall toward the conference room, the scent of his aftershave intoxicating, the casual confidence in his movements mesmerizing. She imagined that once they were in her office he would close the door and pull her into his arms. He would kiss her and tell her that he couldn’t keep his hands off her, that he couldn’t live without her and that he would die if he couldn’t have her again.

When they reached the end of the hall, he hung a left and gestured to the first office on the right-hand side. “Here it is.”

Not only did he not pull her into his arms, but he also didn’t even step into the room with her. He waited in the hall while she looked around.

“Will it suffice?” he asked.

It was about half the size of Rob’s office and generically outfitted with a desk, bookcase and metal file cabinet. The walls were white and bare, and the carpet an office-gray Berber. Nothing special but functional. “It’ll do just fine.”

“Great. While you settle in I’ll be in the conference room.”

He started to turn and before she knew what she was doing, she heard herself say, “Rob, wait.”

He turned back to her. “Yes?”

Okay, now what? She wanted to say something, she just didn’t know what, or if she even should.

He was standing there, waiting patiently for her to continue, so she blurted out, “I’ll need a few things, like Wi-Fi passwords, and I’ll need access to a printer.”

“We’ll discuss all of that in the conference room.” He paused, then said, “Anything else?”

Yes, there was something else, she just didn’t know how to put it into words. Not without making herself look clingy and pathetic. She forced a smile and shook her head. “No, nothing.”

“Then I’ll see you down there.”

Feeling disappointed for no good reason, she hung her coat on a hook behind the door and stowed her purse in the bottom drawer of her desk. She would need everything in her briefcase for the meeting, so she held on to it.

She had never before questioned her ability to do her job, but as she walked down the hall alone to the conference room, nerves jabbed away at her confidence. Maybe it was the complicated nature of her relationship with Rob that was getting in the way. Yes, they had ended their sexual relationship, but there were still feelings there. It would take time for them to go away completely. And maybe it was a little late to consider this, but what if the past few days hadn’t been about sexual attraction as much as his using her to learn her weaknesses? Maybe he would use that information against her to discredit her in front of the people in his department.

Maybe all the while that she had been gushing over what a nice guy he was, it had been an act to lull her into a false sense of security.

A possibility she probably should have considered before she surrendered to him body and soul.

She stopped just outside the conference room door, suddenly convinced she had made a horrible mistake. That by letting her emotions get the best of her, she was about to walk into her worst nightmare. It was imperative that no matter what, she not let anyone see the pain that such a betrayal would cause her.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the conference room, head held high, shoulders squared. Rob and three other people sat around the conference table. Her first surprise was that he wasn’t sitting at the head of the table, where she would have expected him to be. Her second was that she was greeted with smiles and not scowls when Rob said, “Everyone, this is Caroline Taylor. Over the next three months I expect you to give her your full cooperation.”

Huh?

Full cooperation?
He wasn’t going to give her a hard time? Make her feel unwelcome as he had last week? He was actually going to be nice about this? And why did it suddenly make him about a million times
more
appealing.

Now she was thinking that it would be better if he’d been a jerk. But it was still early. He still had time to knock off some rude or scathing comments. Hell, he had three whole months to prove what a creep he really was. Maybe she had just seen him on his best behavior.

He introduced his team—Alexandra “call me Al” Lujack, Will Cooper and Grant Kelley. They each looked to be in their mid to late twenties and couldn’t have been more than a few years out of college.

“Have a seat,” Rob said, gesturing to the head of the table, surrendering his authority to her. Crap, he was even nicer than she thought.

She chose the chair beside Al instead and pulled what she needed from her case. “First, I’d like to say that I’m very happy to be here, and I’m looking forward to working with all of you. I want everyone to know it’s not my intention to come in and take over the department or diminish anyone’s authority. I believe that teamwork is the only way to accomplish goals, and that means I like to hear ideas from everyone. The first six to eight weeks we’ll spend analyzing the data, longer if we have to, then we’ll discuss our findings, and together outline a viable plan. Does that work for everyone?”

Looking skeptical, Grant asked, “Will it really take that long?”

“It will if we’re thorough, and bear in mind we’ll be going back twenty years.”

There were looks of surprise all around.

“Why so far?” Al asked. “Wouldn’t data that old be irrelevant?”

“Not at all. There are many factors we need to consider, and I don’t want to risk missing a thing. This will explain my methods.” She passed around the folders she had created, outlining all the data they would need and why.

Several minutes passed as they reviewed the material, and Grant said, “As deep as you’re digging, compiling data that old could be tricky.”

“I have complete faith in everyone.”

“As do I,” Rob added, going to bat for her once again.

They spent the rest of the day in the conference room, calling in for lunch. She hadn’t exactly been sure what kind of leader Rob would be, but from what she could tell so far, he was firm but fair, and it was obvious that his employees respected him. And while they may not have trusted her, they definitely trusted him. And he seemed to, if not trust her, be giving her the benefit of the doubt.

The meeting broke up at six, and everyone went home, or so Carrie assumed. She planned to work only another hour or so, then head home, but when she checked the time later, it was nearly eight-thirty.

“Planning on staying all night?”

Startled, she looked up to find Rob leaning in her office doorway, jacket off, tie loosened, looking too darn yummy for his own good. The dark shadow of stubble across his jaw gave him that I’m-too-sexy-for-my-suit look.

There probably wasn’t anyone left in the building….

Carrie, don’t even go there.

* * *

“I thought everyone had left for the night,” Carrie said, and Rob struggled to keep his gaze above her neck, and not on the pillows of cleavage pushing against the form-fitting nylon top she wore under the suit jacket that was now hanging on the back of her chair. Her suit was another story altogether. Unlike last week’s shapeless, unflattering garment, this one had a fitted jacket with a tapered waist, and a hip-hugging skirt that reached only midthigh. Her hair was up, but this time it looked looser and sexier somehow. Or maybe it was the same and he was seeing her differently now.

She managed to look both professional and sexy as hell.

It had been torture, not to mention distracting, but he’d managed to keep his hands and eyes off her all day. Well, maybe not his eyes, not completely, but he was careful not to be too obvious.

“I’m here until eight or nine most nights,” Rob told her.

“No wonder you don’t have a girlfriend,” she said, closing her laptop.

That was part of the reason. A fairly large part, actually. “I’m heading home and I thought you might like a ride. No one is here to see us in my car together. Unless that’s not the real reason you turned down a ride this morning.”

“Of course it’s the reason,” she said, looking indignant. “What other reason would there be?”

He shrugged. That was the million-dollar question.

She had insisted that they end their affair, that it was the only way to keep a civilized work environment, and claimed she would have no problem with pesky residual feelings. Because while she admitted that they were incredibly good in bed together, she still didn’t “like” him. But when he’d asked how she could sleep with someone whom she didn’t even like, she’d admitted that she didn’t actually dislike him either. He had the feeling that she liked him more than she was letting on.

He could honestly say that he had never met anyone quite like her. And because they had such an intense sexual attraction, and neither was looking for any kind of commitment that extended past the bedroom door, he didn’t see the harm in continuing to fool around the full three months that she was here, or at least until they grew tired of each other. But he was honoring her wishes and keeping his distance. For the most part.

“If there is no other reason, then you have no reason to say no to a ride home,” he said, and he could see that he had her.

“I guess that would be okay, as long as it’s just a ride.”

He shrugged. “What else would it be?”

She gave him that look, like he knew damn well.

If someone would be making a move tonight, or any other night, she could rest easy that it wouldn’t be him. When he was through with her, she would be begging for it.

“In that case, I’ll meet you by the elevator in ten minutes.”

“Make it fifteen,” he said, just to be difficult. Even he had to have a little fun.

“Fine, fifteen,” she agreed, looking exasperated.

Rob went back to his office and finished up a few things, and about twenty minutes later walked to the elevator. She was already standing there waiting, but to her credit she didn’t point out that he was late, though he could tell that she wanted to. She had no idea just how easy it would be to ruffle her feathers.

They rode the elevator to the garage, and as the doors opened they stepped off into a wall of icy-cold air.

She shivered under her heavy coat. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this cold.”

“Try wearing a hat,” he said. “And invest in a well-insulated pair of boots.”

“I might just try that,” she said, hurrying along beside him to his car. Which was hard to miss being the only one in the lot.

“What happened to the Mercedes?” she asked, as they approached his Escalade.

“They were calling for snow today. This handles better.”

When they buckled in with the engine running and the seats warming, she told him, “I wanted to say thank you. For today.”

“No problem.” He pulled the SUV around to the parking garage entrance and lowered his window to swipe his key card and open the security gate. As he pulled onto the street, he asked her, “Out of curiosity, what did I do today?”