Chapter Three
Maddie
Bright and early thenext morning, I stood beside the butcher-block topped center island and marveled that a man who lived alone and who Magda had warned me rarely ate his meals at the house had what was nothing less than a chef's kitchen.
White quartz and stainless steel filled the room. To my left was another island, and on the back wall a built-in restaurant grade refrigerator and freezer. On the other side of the kitchen stood a gas range with a grill and griddle and two ovens.
What on earth could a man who liked to eat at restaurants all the time want with a kitchen like this?
"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" he said as he walked up behind me.
I turned around to see him standing there at eight o'clock in the morning looking stunning in his black suit and a sapphire blue dress shirt that made the blue of his eyes pop. The man knew how to wear a suit, no doubt.
Just being next to him made me forget everything about the incredible kitchen I stood in, and my mind drifted to the erotic fantasies I'd had the night before lying in bed in my new room at the back of the house. The smell of his masculine cologne wafted toward me, and I found myself taking a deep breath in to savor it. Woodsy with hints of lavender and vanilla, the scent was intoxicating. I wanted to press my nose to his neck and lose myself in the delicious smell and him.
"Definitely gorgeous," I answered, meaning more than one thing in that room could be described that way.
"I don't think I've eaten food cooked here more than a handful of times. I'm looking forward to you changing that, though," he said with a sexy smile that showed off his straight white teeth.
Unable to take my eyes off him, I tried to keep my mind on my work, as hard as that was. "About that. What kind of meals are you looking for?"
He hesitated, and it seemed like he wasn't sure how to answer my very simple question. I didn't necessarily need specific details, but I hoped he would tell me what he liked, at least.
Before he answered, I tried to explain what I needed from him. "I mean, is there anything you don't like? Like liver? Nobody seems to like liver, so unless you tell me you want liver, I won't be making that for you."
Eric pursed his lips and groaned. "No, I have no interest in liver. You can also forget meatloaf and anything called a pot pie."
I chuckled at his swipe at the common meals I'd grown up with back home. "Got it. Is there anything you'd like? I want to make you happy, and the best way to do that is to know what you want as much as what you don't want."
He ran his tongue along his perfect bottom lip and smiled. "I think you might be the only person in the world at this moment that wants to make me happy. I like that. I also like pork. It's mundane, but there it is."
"Now we're getting somewhere. Pork. Okay. How about Italian food? Yay or nay?" I asked as I scanned the room for a pen and paper.
Handing me a pen from his pocket, he answered, "I love Italian. Lasagna is my favorite, but I can do manicotti or stuffed shells."
I found a sheet of paper in a drawer nearby and scribbled down what he said. Looking up, I saw him smiling. He looked happy and relaxed, but I had the sense he didn't usually feel that way.
"Okay. I have something to go on. Now how many meals a day will you be eating here? Since you own a restaurant, I'm guessing you won't be eating at least one here each day."
He took a few steps toward me and stopped just a few feet away. "I haven't eaten breakfast since I was in high school and I needed the strength for practice, so let's say dinner only for now."
The scent of his cologne began to make me think impure thoughts about him again, so I shook my head slightly to clear my mind and quickly wrote down the word dinner. Without looking up, I asked, "And what time do you expect dinner to be served?"
"I've been planning on changing my schedule for months, so this will give me a good reason to be out of the restaurant by eight. Let's say nine o'clock. I won’t be able to be back here tonight or tomorrow night by then, but let’s aim for Thursday, okay Maddie?"
The way my name left his lips like some sexy whisper made me look up, and instantly my stomach dropped when I saw him staring at me with a look of want in his eyes. I hadn't been wrong yesterday. I didn't know how I could honestly think it, but I did.
He wanted me like I wanted him.
The only problem was I would have to be crazy to sleep with my boss. Anyone with half a brain knew that was a road to nowhere but unemployment. I needed this job and the money it offered too much to risk getting fired because I couldn't keep my hands off the hottest man I'd ever met.
A man with a mouth I was sure could take my body to heights it had never experienced before.
"Nine o'clock it is, Mr. Pierce."
"Please call me Eric. We're going to be living here together, so we might as well be friendly."
Something in the way he said the word friendly and the way his eyes sparkled when he told me to call him by his first name made me wonder just how long we'd be able to keep up this employer-employee business relationship.