Chapter 7

Ace walked into the office but didn’t see Rosalee. However, he did see some flowers sitting on her desk. Going over, he looked at the card that was attached to them.

“I had a fabulous weekend with you, and I hope we can do it again soon. Love, Brett. P.S. Just look at this cup, and it will put a smile on your face.”

When he heard the sound of heels clicking on the floor, he turned his head and saw Rosalee coming toward him. “Where have you been? You’re late,” he practically growled at her.

She was irritated by his tone but bit her tongue from saying something she shouldn’t. So she spoke in a calm manner. “I’m not late. I was downstairs getting some more cream for your coffee since we’re out.”

“I see someone sent you flowers here.”

She nodded her head as she went over to pour his coffee.

“This is a workplace. Keep your personal life out of the office, and tell your boyfriend to next time send them to your home and not here,” he said and stormed into his office.

She didn’t even have time to tell him that Brett wasn’t her boyfriend because he stormed away. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed his coffee and carried it into his office. “Do you need me to take any notes?”

“Not at the moment, but get me in touch with James Maloney.”

She left the office and made the call and then buzzed him that Mr. Maloney was on line one. She looked at the flowers on her desk and the cute little smiley cup it came in. It did put a smile on her face, but she knew she would have to tell Brett not to send flowers to the office again. But why in the world would her boss be so upset over a tiny bouquet of flowers? She practically jumped out of her skin when Ace came out of his office and stood in front of her desk and snapped at her.

“Make a reservation at the King’s hotel for lunch for three people.”

“Yes, sir, right away.”

“Make it for one sharp. You’ll be going with me.”

“Why?” As soon as she looked at his face, she knew she made a mistake by asking him. Bonnie had already told her that he did not like his assistant or anyone to ask him questions.

“You’re my personal assistant and my secretary, so I need you to take notes. When you call the hotel, tell them to have a bottle of their best red wine on the table when we get there.”

“Yes, sir,” she said as he walked away and back into his office and shut the door behind him. She was wondering who the third person was going to be at the lunch. Maybe it was that man, James Maloney.

Twenty minutes before one o’clock, he came from his office and asked if she was ready to go. She grabbed her purse and her notepad and pen and followed him out to his car.

“I need you to take notes while we talk.” Once they got in the car, he looked over at her to see what she was wearing. “You look really nice, but can I suggest that maybe you do up one or two more buttons on your blouse?”

She looked down at her blouse and was confused. “I don’t understand. You can’t see any of my breasts.”

“I know, but Mr. Maloney can be a bit of a pervert, and he will try to get a look. So please do up some more buttons.”

Not wanting him to see her rolling her eyes, she turned her head and looked out the window as she did the buttons all the way up to her neck. “I guess next time I should dress like a nun.”

He couldn’t help but smile at her snarky response. “I wouldn’t go that far. You actually look nice, but you have to be careful around some of the people in my business. I wouldn’t want to give them the wrong idea about you. Unless you want them to.”

“Excuse me,” she snapped at him. “Just what kind of girl do you think I am?”

“Well, you did sleep with me without even knowing who I am.”

“If you weren’t my boss, I’d tell you to go fuck yourself. And you’re one to talk. You didn’t know me when you took me to bed.”

“Touche,” he said with a smirk on his face. She really surprised him with her comeback. He honestly didn’t think she’d have the guts to talk to him like that. Funny thing was, he liked that she did.

When they got to the hotel and into the dining room, she was introduced to James Maloney. She was still pissed off at Ace for what he had said to her, so she ordered the most expensive thing on the menu.

“Rosalee, that is such a pretty name for such a pretty girl,” James said as he placed his hand over the top of hers.

Ace cleared his throat. “James, we’re here to talk business and not for you to hit on my assistant. So let’s get on with it.” God, he wanted to punch that man right in the face. The guy was married, and yet he was still hitting on Rosalee. While they ate, they talked business, and she took notes as requested. He was impressed with her professionalism as she wrote down all the information that was given along with names, dates, and addresses. This she did in between eating her filet mignon.

As they were leaving, James shook her hand. “It was a pleasure to meet you, and I’m sure I will be seeing you very soon.” He then turned to Ace. “So I will see you in three weeks to finalize the deal.”

When she and Ace were in his car heading back to the office, she looked at him. “I see what you mean about that man. He kept staring at my chest.”

He glanced at her. “So you see why I asked you to do up the buttons on your top. It’s okay to undo them now if you want. I promise not to look,” he said with a smile on his face.

She let out a sigh, knowing he was having fun by teasing her. “I’m fine the way I am, thank you.”

When they got back to the office, he had her write up the papers for the sale. He then told her to book a flight for two and also told her to book two rooms at the best hotel in New York.

“Why do you need two tickets and two rooms?”

“One for me and one for you, unless you prefer to share a room with me.” When he saw how shocked she looked, he realized that she didn’t know she was going with him. “You knew this job entitled some traveling. I need you there to take care of things for me. If you have a problem, there’s the door.”

She swallowed hard. He knew she couldn’t afford to lose this job. “I just don’t see why you need me there.”

“There still will be more meetings, and I’ll need you to take notes.”

“How long do you want me to book the rooms for?” She knew it was more than just taking notes. It also involved making sure he had room service and his coffee first thing in the morning, among other meaningless chores.

“We’ll be there for five days. Two of those will be going to meetings, dinner engagements with the potential client, and after that, the time is yours until we come back to Orlando.”

Once he was in his office, she got busy with what he had told her to do. After making the calls to book their flight and their rooms, she then started making up the contract for him to go over.

It was quitting time, so she got ready to leave and noticed he was still in his office, which was normal for him to stay late at night. Getting in her car and thankful it was the end of the day, she went to start it, but it wouldn’t turn over. She sat there for over half an hour and kept trying it, but it still wouldn’t start. A knock on her window made her jump, and she turned her head to find Ace looking at her and motioning for her to roll her window down, which she immediately did.

“Are you having car trouble?”

“It won’t start.”

“What does it do when you put the key in the ignition?”

“I told you it won’t start. It just makes a clicking noise.”

“It sounds like it could be the starter. I don’t know much about cars, so why don’t you let me give you a ride home, and from there, we can call the garage and have them haul it in and take a look at it.”

“You don’t have to do that. I’m sure you got better things to do.”

“Actually, I don’t. Now don’t be so stubborn, and let me give you a ride home,” he said, opening her door for her.

“Okay, thank you.”

Since he already knew where she lived, he didn’t have to ask her for directions. When they got there, he walked her inside and up to her apartment. When she went to protest, he said it was what a gentleman does. He waited for her to open the door, and as she was doing that, the apartment across from hers opened, and a young man stepped out.

“Good, you’re home. I ordered a large pizza, and it’s too big for me to eat on my own, so I thought since your roommates were gone that I could share it with you,” he said, then turned to look at the man who was with her.

“Yes, I had car trouble,” she said and introduced the two men to each other.

“Oh, so you’re Mr. Thatcher, Rosalee’s boss. That was nice of you to give her a ride home, but she could have called me, and I would have come and picked her up.”

“Why would she call you when I was right there?”

She stood there and looked at one to the other, and both of them looked angry, and for the life of her, she couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t like she was with either one of them. “Thank you, Mr. Thatcher, and I’ll call the mechanic tomorrow.”

“You’ll need a ride to work tomorrow, so I’ll come and pick you up.”

Brett moved closer, still holding the pizza. “No need for you to come all this way. I’ll give her a ride, and I also know a mechanic that I can call and get him to pick up her car.”

“Well, now aren’t you a handyman to have living right next door,” Ace snapped.

“Brett is right, but I do thank you for the ride.”

Ace turned his head to look at her. He didn’t like the idea of that man giving her a ride to work or the way he was looking at her. “Okay, I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” He turned and headed towards the elevator but stopped and looked back at her. “You should pack an evening dress for when we go to New York. See you tomorrow.” When his back was turned away from them, a smirk crossed his face. He got a kick out of the look on Brett’s face when he mentioned New York.

When Rosalee and Brett entered her apartment, they went into the kitchen, and she grabbed some plates and glasses from the cupboard. “I’m starving, so thank you for sharing your pizza with me. I really didn’t feel like cooking.”

“No problem,” he said, sitting down at the table. “So you’re going to New York with your boss?”

She sat down and grabbed a slice of pizza from the box. “Yes, but it’s not what you think. It’s just business and is part of my job.”

“Just be careful when you get there. Some bosses expect more from their employees when they take them away on a business trip.” He could feel the tension between her and her boss and had to wonder if there was something going on.

“He’s not like that. He made it quite clear it was just business. I only have to go to the meetings for the first two or three days, and then after that, I will have time all to myself to do what I want.”

“You do know he has a thing for you, don’t you?”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“I think he does, but whatever. Just be very careful when you go away with him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he arranged for only one room.”

She smiled at him. “Now that’s where you’re wrong because I was the one that booked two rooms. Nothing is ever going to happen between us.” The way Brett was acting, she was glad that she never told him that they did spend one night together before she started working for him. The only ones that knew were Eve and Rory, and they swore never to tell anyone. “Thanks for the pizza and for making that call to your friend.”

“Don’t mention it, and he went to pick it up and will call you when it’s ready. Since he’s a buddy of mine, he’s going to give you a discount. I guess I should get going so you can get ready for bed.”

When he went to clear the plates away, she told him not to bother and that she would do it. She walked him to the door, saying good night. She closed the door and locked it behind her. She really thought he was a great guy, and in a way, she kind of wished that she had those feelings for him. But there were no sparks between them. No butterflies or heart racing, not like there were when Ace got too close to her. But she fought those feelings and shoved them in the back of her mind. She went to bed that night but had trouble sleeping because all she could think about was Ace and that one night they did spend together. It was so magical, so passionate, and she had to wonder if she would ever feel that way about another man.