The CEO Buys In
Page 39
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Nathan dropped his hand and looked at the man who’d been more of a father to him than his own. “It was an excuse.”
“For what?”
“I wanted her to eat lunch with me.”
“Did you consider just asking her?”
Nathan shook his head. “I’m her employer.”
Ed’s look of censure faded. “Not at lunchtime. You’re just a man who’d like some good company.”
CHAPTER 11
There were no delis within a five-block radius of Trainor’s building, so Chloe was forced to spend twice her normal lunch budget for an artsy sandwich at a snooty bistro. At least she’d found a pleasant little park to eat in while she lectured herself about letting her boss get to her. He was bored because he was confined to his house. She was just a temp, which made it safe for him to toy with her. Once he got back to the office, his interest in her would evaporate.
A niggling little voice asked her why she didn’t just give in to the attraction flaring between them. What would she lose? He wouldn’t tell anyone because it wouldn’t look good for a CEO to sleep with his temporary executive assistant. She wouldn’t tell anyone for the reverse reason.
He was just a man. He put his pants on one leg at a time, although she hadn’t actually seen him do it. So why did she feel out of her depth with Nathan Trainor? Maybe she was afraid he would ruin her for a lesser mortal. After all, it was hard to compete with helicopters, Jimmy Choo sandals, and a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce. In bed, all those would be stripped away. He wouldn’t be wearing a custom-tailored suit, and she wouldn’t be wearing a bargain-basement scarf.
He’d made love to movie stars and supermodels. She would be a minor diversion compared to those, possibly a disappointment.
What she had to lose was her self-respect.
She hung on to that thought as she walked back into Trainor’s office twenty-nine minutes after she’d left. It was empty. She sat down at her workstation and picked up where she’d left off on the report she’d been editing, becoming so absorbed in the task that she was shocked to find twenty minutes had passed before Trainor sauntered in.
He’d rolled up the sleeves of his shirt so she could see the ridge of muscle along his forearms. The sight sent a thrill of heat up her spine. Self-respect, she reminded herself.
“Got all your errands done?” he asked, coming around the desk to seat himself. The scent of the expensive soap he must have just washed his hands with wafted past her, making the tiny hairs at the nape of her neck prickle.
“Errands?” She’d nearly forgotten her spur-of-the moment excuse. “A couple of them.”
“I told you to take as long as you needed.”
She decided it was better not to argue with him. “Yes, you did.”
He gave her a long look before swiveling his chair toward his computer. She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and returned to her report.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the motion of his hand as he swiped documents and e-mails on and off his screen at high speed. Then all movement ceased and he cursed under his breath.
She waited but he made no further comment. She heard his chair creak and sneaked a glance to see him leaning back with his fingers steepled in front of a ferocious frown.
“Problem?” she asked.
“The same problem. The Prometheus project has hit another wall.”
Chloe discarded her newly instituted policy of not disagreeing with her boss. It had been a lost cause from the start. She couldn’t keep her thoughts to herself when someone refused to see the obvious. “Who invented the original Trainor Electronics battery?”
He lowered his hands and looked at her. “What’s your point?”
“You’re trying to develop a better battery, but you’re depriving your research-and-development department of the most brilliant mind in the company. Yours.”
“I have a multinational corporation to run. I can’t take time off to do R and D.”
“You have a whole bunch of vice presidents. Let them run it for a while.”
Astonishment froze him for a moment. It was still in his voice when he spoke. “You’re telling me how to manage Trainor Electronics.”
Chloe wasn’t backing down. “All I know is you have a key project floundering, and you’re the person best qualified to rescue it.”
Longing crossed his face before he looked away. “I was young. I had no responsibilities and I didn’t know what was impossible.”
“So you’re afraid you’ve lost your ability to innovate?”
His gaze snapped back to her. “Thousands of people depend on Trainor Electronics to pay their mortgages, fund their health insurance, and feed their families. I can’t walk away from that.”
She began to understand that he felt the weight of all his employees’ lives on his shoulders. Trainor was more his father’s son than he wanted to acknowledge. Something made her keep prodding him. “Look at it this way. Trainor Electronics can provide livelihoods for even more people if the Prometheus project succeeds because you pitched in.”
“Why are you so interested in the well-being of Trainor Electronics?”
“I’m not. I just see the obvious solution to your problem.” He needed some joy in his life, and she got the feeling that working on the new battery would bring it to him. “But I’m just a temp, so you don’t have to pay any attention to me.”
“For what?”
“I wanted her to eat lunch with me.”
“Did you consider just asking her?”
Nathan shook his head. “I’m her employer.”
Ed’s look of censure faded. “Not at lunchtime. You’re just a man who’d like some good company.”
CHAPTER 11
There were no delis within a five-block radius of Trainor’s building, so Chloe was forced to spend twice her normal lunch budget for an artsy sandwich at a snooty bistro. At least she’d found a pleasant little park to eat in while she lectured herself about letting her boss get to her. He was bored because he was confined to his house. She was just a temp, which made it safe for him to toy with her. Once he got back to the office, his interest in her would evaporate.
A niggling little voice asked her why she didn’t just give in to the attraction flaring between them. What would she lose? He wouldn’t tell anyone because it wouldn’t look good for a CEO to sleep with his temporary executive assistant. She wouldn’t tell anyone for the reverse reason.
He was just a man. He put his pants on one leg at a time, although she hadn’t actually seen him do it. So why did she feel out of her depth with Nathan Trainor? Maybe she was afraid he would ruin her for a lesser mortal. After all, it was hard to compete with helicopters, Jimmy Choo sandals, and a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce. In bed, all those would be stripped away. He wouldn’t be wearing a custom-tailored suit, and she wouldn’t be wearing a bargain-basement scarf.
He’d made love to movie stars and supermodels. She would be a minor diversion compared to those, possibly a disappointment.
What she had to lose was her self-respect.
She hung on to that thought as she walked back into Trainor’s office twenty-nine minutes after she’d left. It was empty. She sat down at her workstation and picked up where she’d left off on the report she’d been editing, becoming so absorbed in the task that she was shocked to find twenty minutes had passed before Trainor sauntered in.
He’d rolled up the sleeves of his shirt so she could see the ridge of muscle along his forearms. The sight sent a thrill of heat up her spine. Self-respect, she reminded herself.
“Got all your errands done?” he asked, coming around the desk to seat himself. The scent of the expensive soap he must have just washed his hands with wafted past her, making the tiny hairs at the nape of her neck prickle.
“Errands?” She’d nearly forgotten her spur-of-the moment excuse. “A couple of them.”
“I told you to take as long as you needed.”
She decided it was better not to argue with him. “Yes, you did.”
He gave her a long look before swiveling his chair toward his computer. She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and returned to her report.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the motion of his hand as he swiped documents and e-mails on and off his screen at high speed. Then all movement ceased and he cursed under his breath.
She waited but he made no further comment. She heard his chair creak and sneaked a glance to see him leaning back with his fingers steepled in front of a ferocious frown.
“Problem?” she asked.
“The same problem. The Prometheus project has hit another wall.”
Chloe discarded her newly instituted policy of not disagreeing with her boss. It had been a lost cause from the start. She couldn’t keep her thoughts to herself when someone refused to see the obvious. “Who invented the original Trainor Electronics battery?”
He lowered his hands and looked at her. “What’s your point?”
“You’re trying to develop a better battery, but you’re depriving your research-and-development department of the most brilliant mind in the company. Yours.”
“I have a multinational corporation to run. I can’t take time off to do R and D.”
“You have a whole bunch of vice presidents. Let them run it for a while.”
Astonishment froze him for a moment. It was still in his voice when he spoke. “You’re telling me how to manage Trainor Electronics.”
Chloe wasn’t backing down. “All I know is you have a key project floundering, and you’re the person best qualified to rescue it.”
Longing crossed his face before he looked away. “I was young. I had no responsibilities and I didn’t know what was impossible.”
“So you’re afraid you’ve lost your ability to innovate?”
His gaze snapped back to her. “Thousands of people depend on Trainor Electronics to pay their mortgages, fund their health insurance, and feed their families. I can’t walk away from that.”
She began to understand that he felt the weight of all his employees’ lives on his shoulders. Trainor was more his father’s son than he wanted to acknowledge. Something made her keep prodding him. “Look at it this way. Trainor Electronics can provide livelihoods for even more people if the Prometheus project succeeds because you pitched in.”
“Why are you so interested in the well-being of Trainor Electronics?”
“I’m not. I just see the obvious solution to your problem.” He needed some joy in his life, and she got the feeling that working on the new battery would bring it to him. “But I’m just a temp, so you don’t have to pay any attention to me.”
