“I have a lot to do.” It’s not exactly a lie. “I’ll grab something quick later.”
“I see.” He walks inside my office, pushes aside some folders I’d spread out, and sits on the desk. “How is the team treating you? I thought it’d be best if I didn’t join you in all meetings, so you had a chance to work with them without the boss breathing down their necks.”
“I appreciate it. They are very cooperative with me. I think they’ll warm up to the marketing manager too, eventually.”
“I’ll keep an eye on that. Martha has excellent credentials. It’d be a pity if things between her and the team didn’t work out.”
“I agree. She’s very competent.”
Sebastian taps his fingers on the desk, a crease forming on his forehead.
“I went to the spa,” I find myself blurting out. His crease instantly disappears, a smile inching its way across his features.
“Did you enjoy it?” he asks softly. His gaze is anything but soft. He looks at me like a man determined to read my most hidden thoughts, discover my deepest desires.
“Oh yes. You were very generous. Thank you. You were right. I needed a few hours of relaxation badly.”
“What did you do?”
“Many things, but the massage was the best part. The guy, Andrew, had the most amazing hands.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrow. “I know how to give a good massage. I know which points to press to relieve. . .tension.” The last word rolls off his tongue with so much sensuality that I nearly lose control and kiss him on the spot.
I find it within me to roll my chair a little further from him, and decide to confront him. “Are you flirting with me?”
“Yes, I am.”
I back away from the intensity of his gaze. I was expecting him to at least skirt around the subject. But something tells me Sebastian isn’t that kind of man. He’s the kind that gets what he wants, no matter how.
“Sebastian,” I say weakly. “Don’t. I have a no-fraternizing clause in my contract. I’d get fired in a blink for getting involved with you.”
He pauses for a few seconds. “I didn’t know that.”
“Now you do.”
“What if you didn’t have that clause?” He shifts closer to me. I remain silent, and he tilts my chin up to him. “Answer,” he demands. What would it be like to be wanted by a man like him? To be loved by a man who holds so much intensity in his gaze alone?
“I never got involved with clients, not even when I had no such clause,” I stammer. “It’s a matter of principle. Work is work.”
“I never get involved with people I work with either.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “You’re a smart man. I’m a smart woman. Let’s not do something stupid together.”
“Stupid never sounded more appealing. I want to get to know you, Ava,” he murmurs. I open my mouth, but he holds up his hand. “Hear me out. You’re fun, sweet, and refreshing.”
My breath catches. Licking my lips, I smile. “Is this because I’m not acting all impressed that you’re the CEO and everything?”
“Maybe.” His eyes light up. “I’m looking forward to impressing you.”
“You are very direct.”
Leaning lower, he whispers, “And determined.”
Words fail me. His lips are so close, and I love every word coming out of them.
“Lunch, anyone?” Logan’s voice resounds from the doorway. I jump so violently in my seat I almost knock over the glass of water in front of me. Sebastian catches it, looking as nonchalant as ever.
“Logan. Impeccable timing, as usual.” Sebastian doesn’t take his eyes off me. “Yes, let’s you and I go have some lunch. Ava here doesn’t have time for us.”