The Executive's Decision
Page 9
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Of course, there were the embraces with the other men. He felt his stomach knot again as he thought of the doctor. He wondered if the doctor knew about the dark man who waited for her at her home.
Zack pulled his tie from his neck and tossed it on the desk. He loosened the buttons on his shirt and sat back in his desk chair. In time, he was sure Regan Keller would be a loyal and perfect employee. God, how he wished that was how he’d first seen her. Instead, the thought of her seated on his lap, her long neck exposed with that beautiful brown hair pulled back and her eyelashes dripping raindrops, wouldn’t go away.
Chapter three
Regan, pleased that Carlos had gotten her car running, parked it in the garage of the Benson, Benson, and Hart building. The old lady on the bus would have been more than she could handle at seven in the morning.
Zachary Benson hadn’t been exact on what time he considered early, but she figured showing up an hour before the official beginning of the workday was a good start.
The lobby was almost deserted, but the coffee kiosk was open. She bought herself and Zach each a coffee and headed toward the bank of elevators.
The ride up was quiet. There weren’t multiple conversations and office gossip going on. She went to her desk first, laying the tray of two gourmet coffees atop it while she shoved her bag in the bottom drawer.
Feeling a little easier this morning, she’d worn a suit with a straight skirt and her favorite Italian pumps. Her white blouse was plain, but she’d dressed it up with a silver chain necklace. It had been a personal splurge in Hawaii. One of the items she had saved for herself and not gotten rid of in her attempt to eradicate the hurtful memories of her last relationship.
She let out a breath and tapped lightly on the door to Zach’s office with the coffees in hand, but there was no answer. She stood for a moment longer and tapped again. When he didn’t answer, she let herself in. A simple laugh escaped her throat when she noticed the pristine office of the CEO of Benson, Benson, and Hart looked like a college dorm room. A flat-screen television protruded from a cabinet in the corner, which she’d never have noticed, just like the elevator. The Murphy bed was down, and the sheets were rumpled. There was a pizza box on the table and three cans of soda. His desk was a mass of paper, and an acrid smell made her look around for the coffee that was burning in the pot. With a shake of her head, she set the coffees on the table and found the burning coffeepot. The door to the bathroom was open, but Zach wasn’t there. He didn’t seem to have stuck around.
Well, executive assistant didn’t mean glorified secretary. Sometimes it meant caretaker, handler, and maid. She started picking up the remnants of his dinner and throwing them away. She pulled the sheets off the bed up and tucked them in tightly to the mattress. His scent lingered on them. She tried not to let it wash over her, but it had been so long since the cologne of a man tantalized her. Quickly she shook off any crazy notion that her boss smelled good or that she cared if he did.
Regan pushed the bed back up into the wall. The remote to the television was on the table, and she picked it up and aimed it at the TV, studying the mass of buttons.
“Second button on the right lowers it.” Zachary’s voice boomed from behind her, and she jumped, placing her hand on her heart.
“Oh, so you are here?” Her voice was cool and steady, but her heart rate wasn’t.
He was in shorts and a T-shirt. His tall frame was muscular and toned, and his sandy hair was damp with sweat. He kept a straight face, but his eyes shimmered with laughter.
Regan forced herself to look away from him. “Took a run?”
“Had to ward off the pizza I ordered.”
“You left your coffeepot on,” she said as she emptied the last of the soda cans into the bar sink, and then tossed them away.
“Yeah, can’t remember to turn it off.”
She was aware of his eyes on her as she tidied his office.
“I brought you coffee. I didn’t know how you like it.” She walked to the table and took his cup from the tray, offering it to him.
He accepted the cup and sipped. “This is perfect. Did you get your car fixed?” He tore the band holding his iPod from his arm and laid it in a drawer.
“Yes.”
“Well, I guess I’ll grab a shower. That stack on my desk needs to be organized, and the three bids on the top need to be typed up.”
“Not a problem, Mr. Benson,” she said, moving quickly to gather the papers.
“Regan.”
“Yes?” She looked up at him as he walked toward the bathroom. His legs were toned and tan, and she quickly averted her eyes to keep from examining his body. But she looked back up and caught his smile. Her breath hitched. He’d obviously noticed her reaction to him.
His smile broadened to a grin. “Just call me Zach.”
Forty-five minutes later, Zach, clad in a suit and ready for business, opened his office door and watched her work. She had on the headset, and she murmured, “Mm-hmm,” as she jotted notes on the pad before her. He noticed that the bids he’d needed written up were printed and on the edge of her desk. His agenda was on her computer screen. He noted she’d added a meeting at one and blocked out time to meet with her to go over “items,” it said.
When she pushed the button to disconnect her call, she turned as though she’d sensed him.
“Emerson Amelia Rothchild, born at three twenty-three yesterday. She weighed seven pounds, six ounces and has a full head of dark hair and her mother’s nose.” She smiled as she read the note to Zach. Her eyes had gone soft, and he longed to hold her. “You sent flowers with a little stuffed bear attached to them and will visit when they get home tomorrow.”
“How thoughtful of me.” He raised his eyebrows.
Regan stood and handed him the bids she’d typed up for him. Their fingers brushed, and she pulled away.
“Here are your messages. You’re a very popular man at eight in the morning.”
“How many times did my mother call?”
“Four in the last forty minutes.”
“You’ll become close friends,” he warned as he looked through the papers she’d handed him.
“Well, Curtis likes her. I guess I’ll find out.”
Zach found his jaw clenching when she mentioned the doctor’s name.
His eyes shifted to the office. It had started to come to life. Most of the staff would trickle in within the next half hour. He looked back at Regan, who had taken her seat behind the computer. She looked right at home.
Zack pulled his tie from his neck and tossed it on the desk. He loosened the buttons on his shirt and sat back in his desk chair. In time, he was sure Regan Keller would be a loyal and perfect employee. God, how he wished that was how he’d first seen her. Instead, the thought of her seated on his lap, her long neck exposed with that beautiful brown hair pulled back and her eyelashes dripping raindrops, wouldn’t go away.
Chapter three
Regan, pleased that Carlos had gotten her car running, parked it in the garage of the Benson, Benson, and Hart building. The old lady on the bus would have been more than she could handle at seven in the morning.
Zachary Benson hadn’t been exact on what time he considered early, but she figured showing up an hour before the official beginning of the workday was a good start.
The lobby was almost deserted, but the coffee kiosk was open. She bought herself and Zach each a coffee and headed toward the bank of elevators.
The ride up was quiet. There weren’t multiple conversations and office gossip going on. She went to her desk first, laying the tray of two gourmet coffees atop it while she shoved her bag in the bottom drawer.
Feeling a little easier this morning, she’d worn a suit with a straight skirt and her favorite Italian pumps. Her white blouse was plain, but she’d dressed it up with a silver chain necklace. It had been a personal splurge in Hawaii. One of the items she had saved for herself and not gotten rid of in her attempt to eradicate the hurtful memories of her last relationship.
She let out a breath and tapped lightly on the door to Zach’s office with the coffees in hand, but there was no answer. She stood for a moment longer and tapped again. When he didn’t answer, she let herself in. A simple laugh escaped her throat when she noticed the pristine office of the CEO of Benson, Benson, and Hart looked like a college dorm room. A flat-screen television protruded from a cabinet in the corner, which she’d never have noticed, just like the elevator. The Murphy bed was down, and the sheets were rumpled. There was a pizza box on the table and three cans of soda. His desk was a mass of paper, and an acrid smell made her look around for the coffee that was burning in the pot. With a shake of her head, she set the coffees on the table and found the burning coffeepot. The door to the bathroom was open, but Zach wasn’t there. He didn’t seem to have stuck around.
Well, executive assistant didn’t mean glorified secretary. Sometimes it meant caretaker, handler, and maid. She started picking up the remnants of his dinner and throwing them away. She pulled the sheets off the bed up and tucked them in tightly to the mattress. His scent lingered on them. She tried not to let it wash over her, but it had been so long since the cologne of a man tantalized her. Quickly she shook off any crazy notion that her boss smelled good or that she cared if he did.
Regan pushed the bed back up into the wall. The remote to the television was on the table, and she picked it up and aimed it at the TV, studying the mass of buttons.
“Second button on the right lowers it.” Zachary’s voice boomed from behind her, and she jumped, placing her hand on her heart.
“Oh, so you are here?” Her voice was cool and steady, but her heart rate wasn’t.
He was in shorts and a T-shirt. His tall frame was muscular and toned, and his sandy hair was damp with sweat. He kept a straight face, but his eyes shimmered with laughter.
Regan forced herself to look away from him. “Took a run?”
“Had to ward off the pizza I ordered.”
“You left your coffeepot on,” she said as she emptied the last of the soda cans into the bar sink, and then tossed them away.
“Yeah, can’t remember to turn it off.”
She was aware of his eyes on her as she tidied his office.
“I brought you coffee. I didn’t know how you like it.” She walked to the table and took his cup from the tray, offering it to him.
He accepted the cup and sipped. “This is perfect. Did you get your car fixed?” He tore the band holding his iPod from his arm and laid it in a drawer.
“Yes.”
“Well, I guess I’ll grab a shower. That stack on my desk needs to be organized, and the three bids on the top need to be typed up.”
“Not a problem, Mr. Benson,” she said, moving quickly to gather the papers.
“Regan.”
“Yes?” She looked up at him as he walked toward the bathroom. His legs were toned and tan, and she quickly averted her eyes to keep from examining his body. But she looked back up and caught his smile. Her breath hitched. He’d obviously noticed her reaction to him.
His smile broadened to a grin. “Just call me Zach.”
Forty-five minutes later, Zach, clad in a suit and ready for business, opened his office door and watched her work. She had on the headset, and she murmured, “Mm-hmm,” as she jotted notes on the pad before her. He noticed that the bids he’d needed written up were printed and on the edge of her desk. His agenda was on her computer screen. He noted she’d added a meeting at one and blocked out time to meet with her to go over “items,” it said.
When she pushed the button to disconnect her call, she turned as though she’d sensed him.
“Emerson Amelia Rothchild, born at three twenty-three yesterday. She weighed seven pounds, six ounces and has a full head of dark hair and her mother’s nose.” She smiled as she read the note to Zach. Her eyes had gone soft, and he longed to hold her. “You sent flowers with a little stuffed bear attached to them and will visit when they get home tomorrow.”
“How thoughtful of me.” He raised his eyebrows.
Regan stood and handed him the bids she’d typed up for him. Their fingers brushed, and she pulled away.
“Here are your messages. You’re a very popular man at eight in the morning.”
“How many times did my mother call?”
“Four in the last forty minutes.”
“You’ll become close friends,” he warned as he looked through the papers she’d handed him.
“Well, Curtis likes her. I guess I’ll find out.”
Zach found his jaw clenching when she mentioned the doctor’s name.
His eyes shifted to the office. It had started to come to life. Most of the staff would trickle in within the next half hour. He looked back at Regan, who had taken her seat behind the computer. She looked right at home.
