The CEO and the Girl From the Coffee Shop (2 page)

She suddenly
laughed at herself for being so self-conscious. This was a job
interview, not a date. While surfing the web trying to find out
more about Gabriel, she'd seen a number of photographs with him and
his dates. They were all leggy, model types who reeked of
high-society and presumably owned little dogs they carried in their
purses named Fefe or something equally as ridiculous. He was out of
her league. Perhaps she was fun to flirt with in the afternoons
while grabbing a coffee, but that was the extent of it for him she
was sure. Sure she’d had a crush on him for some time now. But big
deal. It was a crush, it didn't have to complicate matters.

Taking a deep
breath she tried to steady her nerves before straightening up;
squaring her shoulders. She finally got out of her car and made her
way up the front steps. She was just raising her fist to knock on
the large oak door when it was opened by a man who appeared to be
in his mid-forties, wearing a stern expression.

"Miss
Wilmington," he gave her a nod and stepped aside ushering her
in.

"Thank you,"
pasting a tight smile on her face to cover her nerves she nodded
back at him and walked into the house. The inside was just as
magnificent as the outside. The front door brought her into a main
room, a large white marble fountain at its center, with two cupids’
back to back arrowed poised and ready to shoot as the highlight of
the masterpiece which reached up past the first floor and to the
second.

On either side
of her, was a staircase leading to the second floor, which
overlooked the first.
Wow.
She knew there would be a look of
marvel on her face, but at that point she didn't care. The inside
of his home, at least the first room reminded her of an Arabian
palace, with all the gold coloured trim and marble. She halfway
expected belly dancers to appear and dance their way down the
winding staircase. But, of course, they didn't

"This is a
beautiful house," she managed to gasp. She looked over at the man
who had opened the door and caught a glimpse of humour in his eyes,
which faded quickly as he nodded, the stern expression
reappearing.

"This way. Mr
Reynolds is expecting you," with a firm hand at her back, he led
her down a hallway, which was softly lit by elegant stained glass
scones on the walls.

You could
get lost in this place!
As beautiful as it was, it seemed
too
big, if that were possible. More like a museum than an
actual home.

"In here," the
man who had yet to give her his name knocked lightly on the
door.

"Come in," a
voice that was unmistakably Gabriel's called out from behind the
door.

Turning the
knob, the man pushed it open and stepped aside for Beth to walk
past him. Once she was in, he closed the door softly behind
her.

Gabriel's
office was unlike the rest of the house. It was small, quaint even.
The walls were beige with burgundy trim and to her left was a
fireplace, giving the room a soft, warm glow.

"Come on over
and have a seat Beth."

His voice,
which was soft and seductive, took her eyes from their exploration
of the room to Gabriel who was leaning back against his desk. He
had one ankle crossed causally over the other and his arms folded
over his t-shirt clad chest.

Her breath
hitched at the sight of him. Gone was the suit and tie which always
hung loosely around his neck. Tonight, he wore a v-neck black
t-shirt which stretched across his lean, nicely defined chest and
instead of the dark trousers he wore faded denim. It occurred to
her that this was the first time she'd ever seen him in anything
other than a suit.

She ran a
shaky hand through her silken locks. The coffee shop was her
domain, she felt in control there. But here, in his private man
cave, he was the master and she felt as though she was in his
thrall. A warmth spread through her and she felt her cheeks grow
warm just as a soft throbbing between her legs caught her
attention.
Oh, this was a bad idea.

His dark eyes
met hers sending a shiver down her spine and causing the throbbing
between her legs to intensify. A devious smile touched his lips, as
if he knew where her mind had led her while he motioned to the
chair in front of him. She exhaled loudly, just then realizing that
she'd been holding her breath.

Doing as
instructed she sat in the chair indicated, crossing on leg over the
other and sitting up straight, shoulders squared. "Hi." That was
the best she could come up with, no other words seemed to come to
her at that moment.

His grin
widened. "Hi."

So you have
me here Mr Reynolds now what are you going to do with me?
The
way that her body was responding to his presence she knew, without
a doubt what she'd
like
him to do with her.
Stop it Beth,
you're here for an interview. That's all,
she scolded herself
silently.

Uncrossing his
arms, he lowered them and grasped the edge of the desk, as he
continued to recline back on it. "So let's get down to it. We've
established that you can't cook..."

"Well, I...
Ummmm," she shrugged and gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm willing
to learn."

Laughing,
Gabriel nodded. "Fair enough. I'm willing to give you a little
grace period to get up to speed. What I'm in need of is a live-in
cook and housekeeper."

"Live here?"
She blue eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped in disbelief. He
couldn't be serious. In this house? With him?

Cocking his
head to the side Gabriel arched a brow at her, amused. "Well, that
would be what the term live-in implies. You'd be paid well. Your
pay will increase when your culinary skills improve. We can heckle
about the pay later. In addition, you'll receive room and board.
I'm assuming when you said the extent of your cooking skills
stopped at..." he chuckled and cleared his throat, "mac and cheese
you weren't understating."

Embarrassed,
Beth shook her head. "Afraid not. It's really good though."

"No
doubt."

Taking a deep
breath in, she exhaled slowly. "With all due respect, I have a
feeling you can well afford a real chef, one who knows how to cook
and do what you need them to. Why me?"

"Fair
question." He clucked his tongue off the roof of his mouth as he
eyed her. "The thing is that when I say live-in, it means just that
and to be honest I'm a fairly hard man to live with."

Beth grinned,
she had a hard time believing that. "But this is a rather large
house," she countered.

"Okay, let me
rephrase then. I want someone who I think I'll enjoy having
around," his gaze caught hers and once again she felt a familiar
pleasurable chill rush down her spine and the throbbing between her
legs that that had just begun to die down resumed in full
force.

Enjoy how?
Oh-my-God, don't be silly. He certainly doesn't have to hire
someone for sex! Maybe he just wants a cook, housekeeper and
someone to shoot the shit with from time to time, nothing more and
nothing less
. But the heat in his gaze told her otherwise. His
gaze told her, he wanted her. She'd felt it in the coffee shop and
she was feeling it now, more intensely than ever before because
there was no counter to use as a buffer between them.

But what if
she was mistaken? What if by taking this job, she'd be forced to
endure seeing him bring home a parade of snotty model type women.
She growled at herself. This was a job, nothing more or less. Who
he brought home would be none of her concern.

"So what
happened to your former cook-slash-housekeeper?"

"She has moved
on."

"And what
other
duties would this include?"

His eyes
continued to gaze onto hers. Damn, she hated, but at the same time
loved how he was making her feel. Could she work for someone who
made her feel this way? She didn't know.

"Well, the
cooking is the primary thing. Breakfast would be required to be
prepared and served at 7am
sharp
every morning. And you are
expected to be here and have an acceptable dinner on the table when
I come home during the week. On the weekend I expect three meals.
In addition, laundry, shopping and cleaning throughout the day.
Whatever requires doing - more or less. I do have people come in
and take care of the floors, windows, pool twice a week, so
virtually everything having to do with the household upkeep would
be under your command. And like I say, I require you to be on call
24/7. No exceptions."

"Sounds like
you're looking for a wife to me," she joked.

His soft smile
faded and his expression went blank. Beth gasped her eyes wide in
horror as soon at the words that came from her mouth. Why did she
keep doing that?
Filter. Beth. Filter
, she scolded herself.
"I'm so sorry. I never meant. I was jo-"

"Now if you
were to fulfill the duties of my wife, then I assure you I'd be
expecting more than simple cooking and cleaning." His voice took on
a deep, husky sound that made her wish she was bold enough to
volunteer for the "extras."

Running a
nervous hand through her hair she couldn't bear to meet his heated
gaze. Instead she focused on an abstract painting just over his
left shoulder.

"So would you
like to see the kitchen and the room that would be yours before we
discuss money and you make a decision either way?"

She gulped
down the lump forming in her throat and nodded. "Yes please."

****

She was a
cheeky little thing. And he liked it, perhaps too much. He'd asked
himself a number of times during the course of the day if offering
her a job and having her live with him was such a good idea. While
he'd led her to believe that the previous housekeeper had lived at
the house, that hadn't actually been the case. Beth was the first
employee that he'd opened his home to. It was partially because of
her apparent financial issues, but mostly because there was
something about her that had him captivated. And if he were to be
brutally honest with himself, the house felt too big for him. He
wanted the companionship of a woman without
necessarily
the
relationship.

One of the
highlights of each of his - frequently frustratingly - long days
was the sweet smile she'd present him with when he arrived at the
coffee shop and the causal flirting that would transpire between
them while he was there. He liked that she remembered what he liked
and things he'd said. She seemed like such a genuine person, unlike
the women he'd dated in the past. Yes, she'd managed to get under
his skin and so he wanted her near him, at least until he could
sort out his feelings towards her.

While his
intentions for the moment were strictly professional, the thought
of having her in his bed, or for that matter, bent over his desk
made his cock come alive. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to
conceal his growing erection from her. She looked a little
indecisive, and the last thing he wanted was for her to feel he
wanted more than a strictly professional relationship. Whether that
was the case or not.

"So what do
you say? Let me show you around?" Standing, he extended his hand to
her. She hesitated briefly, looked up, met his eyes with her
sapphire blue ones and accepted his hand. His larger hand eclipsed
her soft, delicate one as she rose to her feet.

He led her to
the door and opened it, ushering her out and then exiting after
her. The first stop would be the kitchen and then he's play it by
ear from there.

"To address
the cooking issue-"

"Are you sure
you wouldn't be more suited to have a real chef?" she asked,
looking up at him.

He laughed
"No, I know what I want."

"I just want
to be honest with you. Even with a lot of practice I doubt I'll be
able to get even close to cooking as well as you'll want from me."
She ran her hand through her hair once more, the golden strands,
slipping by her fingers one-by-one. It was killing him not to reach
over and stroke her soft, silky hair. Or better yet, wrap it around
his fist as he pulled her lips up to meet his in a hard, demanding
kiss that would leave them both breathless.
Oh God
, the
things he'd like to do to her.

Her eyes
dropped to his groin briefly and then she quickly glanced away
flushing. Did he have the same affect on her as she did on him? If
he pulled her into his arms and slid a hand up her inner thigh,
under her skirt, and then between her legs would she be wet for
him. He groaned inwardly as his cock hardened further. If he didn't
get a handle on this attraction for her it would be a nightmare
having her sleeping down the hall from him.

Fuck, this was
a bad idea.

Bad or not, it
was what he wanted. By the way she flushed and averted her gaze so
frequently, especially after the marriage comment he assumed that
indeed she did as well. Hoped she did. At the coffee shop he was
just another asshole customer, one of hundreds; hell, thousands she
served each week. He wanted to know if he was more than just
another guy to her.

"Don't
underestimate your abilities, Beth. I have faith in you." He had a
warm smile on his face, as he gave her a gentle pat on her
shoulder.

She laughed
lightly as they approached the kitchen. "Well, don't say I didn't
warn you well in advance."

"Warning
noted."

As they walked
into the massive, fully equipped kitchen Beth gasped beside
him.

"This is your
kitchen!"

Gabriel
shrugged. It looked like any other kitchen to him. "
Your
kitchen, if you want the job." Remembering the large library of
cookbooks in cabinet over the sink he brushed past her and
retrieved roughly a dozen of them. Carrying them over to the
sit-down breakfast bar he plunked them down. "And this will be your
homework."