Romantic Acquisition (24 page)

She made it all the way to the elevators and was just about to press the down button when her wrist was clamped into a vice-like grip.  “I told you to get me the reports,” Carlo said with a
quiet voice.

She spun around to face him, no longer willing to overlook his rude attitude and obnoxious demands. 
“What’s wrong with you?  Why are you treating me like this?  You’re gone all morning
without telling me where you were,
and then you come back and order me around like I’m some sort of enemy.  I’m not taking it anymore.  If you need something, go find it yourself.  I’m going home.”

“Why are you rushing out?  Meeting your old boyfriend again?”

Kate’s mouth dropped open.  She was speechless for a long moment but her eyes searched his face and she finally understood his anger.  Her whole body relaxed and she took a step closer to him.  “Carlo, you didn’t happen to see me and Ed eating lunch a few blocks away this afternoon, did you?”

“Of course I did.  If you want to see other people, that’s fine with me but don’t let it interfere with what I have to accomplish,” he said and dropped her hand as if it burned him.  He walked quickly away from her and disappeared into the conference room.

He was jealous. 
Once her initial shock wore off, she followed him.  Standing next to him, she put her hand on his shoulder in an effort to get him to look at her.  He flinched but didn
’t
look up.

“Carlo, Ed and I are just friends.  I had a nice
,
relaxing lunch with him but he doesn’t stir anything within me except laughter.”

Carlo stopped writing but he still didn’t look up. 

“I don’t sleep with someone one night and then meet another man the next day for a
liaison
.  Do you really think that, after last night, I’d have any energy to be with another man today?”

Still no response.

“I guess I should rephrase that so my position is a little
clearer
,” she said and sat down on the conference room table next to him.  Her hip was almost touching his forearm but he didn’t move.  “No man has ever made me feel the way you do when you touch me,” she said softly.  “I’m not willing to settle for mediocre when I can have something that blows my mind with each touch, each kiss.”

He finally stood up and stared down at her, his feet on either side of hers. He was so
close;
she could feel his heat through her clothes.  “Who was he?”

“His name is Ed.  He’s a very nice man but he and I stopped dating about six months ago and have remained friends ever since.  He’s now dating a wonderful woman who is more like his own temperament
.  He
is getting ready to propose to her this weekend
and wanted my opinion on the ring he’d bought her, since she’s also my friend
.”

“Ah,” was his only response.

“Anything else?”

“Sorry for acting like an ass,
”
he said grudgingly. 

“Apology accepted.”

“Anything else?” he tossed back at her.
  He stood up and placed a hand on either side of her hips, forcing her to look up at him. 

“May I go home now?”

“Only if it is my house,” he growled and bent down to kiss her tenderly. 

Wrapping her arms around him, she whispered, “I thought you’d never ask.”

They spent the better part of the night making love.  It was as if Carlo had to test
her words about
her reaction to his touch throughout the night.  Carlo drove her home the next morning and kissed her passionately before leaving to drive into the office.

Kate met him an hour later, still exhausted but her body was tingling from a night of incredible lovemaking.  She smiled as she walked into her office and hung up her coat. 

“Late night?” David asked from inside her office.

Kate jumped a foot, not realizing that he’d been in there the whole time.  “David! What are you doing waiting for me in here?”

“Where else would I wait for you?” he asked, his eyes slanted as he watched her walk around to her desk. 

“Usually you send a summons and order me to your office.  It is a rare event when you deign to go into someone else’s office.  There must be something wrong.”

“Not wrong,” he said and smiled charmingly.  “I just wanted to apologize for the other day.  I wasn’t in a very good mood and I wasn’t acting appropriately.”

Kate stared at him.  David was apologizing?  Something was seriously wrong.  “Thank you,” was the only thing she could think of to say.

He stood up and walked out, turning at the door.  “You’re doing a great job.  Thanks for your help,” he said, then turned and left. 

Kate stared at the empty door and a bad feeling formed in the pit of her stomach.  Something was very wrong.  David had never apologized before.  The fact that he had this time meant he was buttering her up for something. 
She suspected that it was going to be awful. 

She took her notebook into the conference room and greeted the three men
distractedly
. 

“What’s wrong?”
Carlo
asked as she sat down, her notebook ready to take notes on anything they needed that day.

Kate smiled wanly.  “Nothing, really.”

Carlo eyed her, knowing she wasn’t telling him the truth.  But after last night, he wasn’t going to jump to conclusions.  She’d tell him what was on her mind eventually.  They all got down to business and the day flew by.  Carlo took everyone out to lunch, including Sarah who was thrilled to be included.  The due diligence process was nearing an end and everything seemed to be in the right order. 

Kate made dinner for him that night at her house, making him a special dinner of chicken
parmesan
.  The chicken had to be battered and breaded, then fried carefully in a skillet while the pasta was cooking.  She added capers and lots of fresh herbs to the sauce.  She even made brownies for dessert simply because she hadn’t had chocolate in a long time and was suddenly craving something sweet. 

Carlo arrived early and Kate rushed to answer the door
, eager to see him
. 

He backed up a step when he saw her.  Kate was covered in flour from her head down to her toes.  She wore an apron but he wasn’t sure why since there wasn’t a place on her that wasn’t touched by the white powder. 
“What happened to you?” Carlo said, but he took her in his arms and kissed her. 

“What do you mean?” she asked when he pulled away, not really caring anyway.  She loved being held in his arms, she thought as her hand ran up the side of his
muscular
arm under his coat. 

“You’re covered in flour and some other unidentifiable mixture,” he said, his eyes roaming over her face and hair.  “I’m sure you’re delicious.”

Kate blushed over his charm and self-
consciously
pushed her hair back.  “I like to cook,” she said.

“And like all other things that you like to do, you throw your whole self into it, literally,” he asked, chuckling as he released her and he was able to see that she was covered in flour
even on the back of her shoulders
. 
How the woman got flour on the back of her, he’d really like to know. 

“Cooking is very therapeutic,” she
defended
and went back into the kitchen. 

Carlo just smiled
as he watched the way her cute derriere filled out her jeans
.  He followed her into the kitchen and was astonished by the mess.  “Do you always cook like this?”

Kate looked around and didn’t see anything wrong with her kitchen.  “Like what?”

Carlo just shook his head.  “You’re unique, Kate Avril.”

“Thanks,” she said cheerily. 

She drained the pasta and put a huge portion on two plates.  Then she plunked two perfectly browned chicken breasts on top of the pasta.  Next came the wonderfully pungent sauce and mozzarella cheese. 

“Give me three minutes and I’ll join you,” she said as she put the two plates and some salads she’d made ahead of time, on the dining room table. 

Carlo opened the bottle of wine he’d brought and poured two glasses, wondering what Kate could still be doing in the kitchen.  There was a lot of clanking and then long silences.  He was afraid to peek inside, fearful of the next mess she might be creating.

She appeared four minutes later, completely free of flour.  “What happened in there?”

“I was cleaning up,” she said and took a sip of wine. 

Carlo was about to sit down but he was too curious. 
Peering into the kitchen, his eyes widened at the immaculate counters and floors.  All the pans were stacked neatly in the sink and everything was cleaned up
, not a speck of flour or sauce on the counters
.

“Where did it all go?” he asked, sitting down at the table.

She smiled at his reaction. 
“I told you, I cleaned it all up.  I’m a master at kitchen cleaning.  Whenever I cook, I make a huge mess.  I’ve had to learn strategies for cleaning quickly or live in a science project.”

Carlo laughed at her analogy.  “I defer to your superior cleaning abilities.”

They dug into the meal and Carlo was adequately impressed with her cooking abilities.  The chicken was tender and flavorful, perfectly complemented by the spicy sauce. 

They made love early that night and fell asleep in each others arms, exhausted from two nights of passion.  They were content to simply hold each other. 

The next two weeks followed a similar pattern.  Carlo and Kate worked hard during the day, finalizing the last few details for
ATI
’s due diligence procedures so Carlo could take his findings back to the board of directors and either approve or deny the sale.  At night, Carlo would come to her house or she’d meet him at his and they would eat dinner, talk about the day then make love into the wee hours of the night, falling asleep in each other’s arms. 

The second weekend, Carlo left her a message telling her that he had an emergency and had to postpone their Saturday night plans.  Kate didn’t mind.  She spent her time alone sleeping and watching a movie.   The next day, she spent with Carlo who didn’t have a family gathering since so many of the kids were sick.  They spent the day reading the newspaper, making love and going for a walk in the crisp winter afternoon. 

Monday morning, Kate was pulling a file for Jeff.  She walked into the conference room where the pace had slowed considerably.  Carlo was talking to someone on his cell phone but winked at her as she walked in.  Kate suppressed a smile of pleasure as she handed the files to Jeff. 

She sat down and started explaining the report to Jeff but Carlo’s conversation
caught her attention.  She didn’t like eaves dropping but she was too interested in his half, she couldn’t help but listen.

“No, you’re not suckering me into that diaper changing routine again,” he laughed. 

There was silence and Kate held her breath, hoping he wasn’t talking about what she thought he was talking about. 

But he was.  “I love the kids, but there’s no way I’m going over there again.  My Daddy days are over for a long time,” he said, then laughed at whatever the person was saying on the other end.

Kate couldn’t concentrate on what Jeff was saying and had to ask him to repeat himself.  She felt like her blood
was freezing
in her system, she was so cold.