Her CEO - Flora Ferrari Page 0,7
feel sorry for her either. The look she gives me says it all, and I realize that some people just aren’t very nice at their core.
“That’s all, Sloane,” Eric says once he hears the elevator close. “It’s a temporary move for you, with no real impact on your salary so don’t worry about Denise and the kids. I’d like to see you get more hands on with actual employees rather than just looking at graphs and charts, okay?”
Sloane breathes a sigh of relief but still looks gutted. He finally nods in agreement and offers his hand to Eric, which he takes as he stands, shaking it firmly.
“We only want to keep the best, Sloane. Give me your best and you’ll have your desk back.”
I watch Sloane leave too, but he has a different look in his eye.
As soon as we’re alone again, Eric examines my expression carefully before he says anything.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, Alyson. I know what works for the greater good, but I want you to help us make it better,” he says, looking like he’s ready for my barrage of complaints or questioning his handling of his own hiring and firing policies.
But I don’t have any. I’m only glad to be alone with him again, wondering if this is all some elaborate test for some job he hasn’t told me about, but I’m mostly turned on just by looking at him, and by the mischievous look in his eyes I think the feeling’s mutual.
But why me?
What have I got that anybody would want, let alone Eric Chambers?
Chapter Six
Eric
Alyson’s already a welcome distraction. I’d hardly hit send from my memo, summoning the pair up to my office before I remember, just as they interrupt us both at a crucial moment.
She stays pretty quiet, when others might take the chance to enjoy others’ suffering. But I can tell once Cynthia goes that Alyson, although within her rights to bear a grudge doesn’t.
Not really.
I know she’s perfect.
For the job, which I still haven’t got a name for, for the company but most of all, for me.
“I’d normally show you around now,” I tell her, looking at my watch, noting her bright eyes sadden a little as she thinks I’m about to brush her off as well. “…but it's lunch. Past lunch.”
Three O’clock? It’s almost dinner.
At the sound of the very word, her stomach lets out a loud rumble and I chuckle to myself.
“That might answer my next question. Did you have lunch today?”
She reddens, shaking her head.
“Then it’s settled,” I tell her, standing up, pleased when her eyes leave mine, going straight down to my crotch again.
There’s something about a girl who knows what she wants that a man really likes to see.
“Hungry?” I ask her wistfully, knowing she needs food as much as everything else I have on offer.
Her head pumps absently and I fight my own battle not to stare at her as much as she does me.
Her chest is stiff again, her thick nipples like fingers, begging me to stroke them, to suck them…
All this is making you hungry. Just go eat already.
“I know just the place,” I tell her, and guiding her by the small of her back to the elevator again, I can’t resist leaning in and taking in the scent of her hair.
Angelo’s is booked solid for months, but there’s always a table for me there.
I move the waiter out of the way, seating Alyson myself.
The menus are huge but I offer to order for us both, which Alyson agrees to readily.
“I’ve heard of this place,” she says, her eyes still wide as they look around. “I thought it was booked for months,” she muses.
“It is,” I tell her, wanting to mention my suite in the hotel above us, but deciding against that.
“This whole day is like a dream,” she murmurs, and I pretend not to hear her as I fix my napkin across my lap, vowing to myself that this is how she’ll be treated every day from now on.
No more dreaming for my queen.
She looks worried when I order for us both.
“Do you have any allergies?” I ask her, figuring she might.
“No! It’s just…” She flushes again, looking at the menu, the absence of any prices.
“It’s on me,” I assure her, wanting to reach out and touch her hand, to take it in mine… wishing I’d kissed her now. The butterflies of that memory making me nervous.
Me. Nervous. Ha!
But I am. A constant ripple in my belly, every movement