AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yep, two. Olivia is nine and Ethan is seven.”
“Wow, I didn’t realize….” I trailed off, not really sure where to go from there. We hadn’t exactly had the type of conversation that led to a discussion about kids and wives.
My eyes darted to his hand, but there was still no ring.
“Yeah,” he chuckled awkwardly. “Not really something that comes up when I first meet someone. But they’re why I got out of the Air Force. I was missing too much.”
“That makes sense,” I nodded, rubbing my sweaty palms on my skirt. “By all means, if you need to go…”
“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow, Ellie.” He stood and turned, pausing at the door for just a second before continuing.
I wondered if he was going to say something, then changed his mind. There was a charge on the air, a moment, and then he thought better of it and was gone.
A waft of his cologne trailed behind him, and I sighed, dropping my head to my hands.
Despite our agreement to keep our relationship strictly business, I had no idea how to pack up and tuck away my desire for Jake.
Stuffed shirt and all.
Chapter5
Jake
* * *
Tuesday the kids caught their bus without a hitch, and I got to work in plenty of time. My mind had been buzzing all night with thoughts on Ellie’s tour the previous day, and where I could implement some changes.
I could see what JJ meant—Ellie was intent on projecting a sort of ‘I’m one of you’ persona to the staff. While there wasn’t necessarily anything wrong with that, I wasn’t ready to conclude it was completely harmless. Clearly, she didn’t have a very good idea of what her duties would be as CEO. JJ and I had discussed at length what occupied his days, and it was far more than lunches and golfing. Ellie seemed to believe the meetings he was in from dawn til the end of day were not important to the position of CEO, which was likely the first thing we had to fix.
However, I still wanted to get a true feeling for how Ellie spent her days. So I went into the office intending to observe her morning schedule to see how much she handled as the Assistant CEO.
And just like yesterday, heat grew under my collar the closer I got to her office. Knowing I’d be in her presence all day was equal parts pleasure and torture. After her initial upset, we’d fallen into a comfortably flirtatious tone. Which she stamped out with the insistence that we keep everything professional.
Which was fair. There was no way around that. But it seemed that every time I so much as asked a question, her attitude toward me was like I’d betrayed her somehow through no fault of my own. I still got flashes of her sultry fire from time to time when she forgot her annoyance in the heat of something she was passionate about.
Then she quickly returned to the present and pulled back those tantalizing threads of sparkle. I had no idea how to return to a friendly tone, work together, and keep my attraction to Ellie firmly in control.
But somehow, I had to do it.
After dropping my briefcase in my office, I pulled in a deep breath, then followed the sweet, warm fragrance of her perfume down the hall and into Ellie’s office.
“Morning,” I knocked twice on the open door and waited to be invited in—military habit.
“Morning,” she replied, glancing up at me with a cautious smile. “Did you need something?”
“Erm, just checking in to see what’s on our agenda today.” I was still standing in the doorway, trying not to be awkward and failing miserably. Ellie had on a yellow flowered sundress that displayed a tantalising glimpse of cleavage and reminded me far too much of the red dress from Friday. The warm vanilla and musk of her perfume filled the room—I might as well have been standing right next to her, for all the good keeping my distance did me.
“Did we have an appointment?” She asked, confused.
“Well, I’m supposed to be here to help see how I can develop your leadership style into what Aspen Ridge Lodging needs from a CEO. I’d say in order to do that, I need to do more than follow you around for a few hours, wouldn’t you?”
A grimace crossed her face briefly, telling me exactly how she felt about that idea, before she recovered herself and smiled. “Sure, take a seat. But I’m not doing anything interesting this morning. Just answering some email at the moment.”
I slid into the chair facing her desk, as opposed to the jungle chair in the corner. “Well, that’s inevitable,” I replied with a grin. “I think everyone has to deal with the occasional email.”
“Nature of the beast,” she agreed, her eyes darting back to her computer screen.
“So, I have a question for you: Did JJ give you any sort of list of responsibilities? Or an evaluation of any sort, to update you on your progress or his thoughts on your responsibilities?”
