Page 29 of Completely Captivated
“I will take you up on that—later.We have work to do now, missy, and you’ve been slacking long enough this morning,” he joked and swatted her ass playfully.“Now, what do you need me to do?”
Christa stood on her tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.“All right, let’s get busy, then.”After getting him set on his tasks, she started making all the pastries for the morning crowd.She noticed that every time she took a fresh batch of chocolate croissants out of the oven, she was short at least one.
“Aaron, if you eat one more chocolate croissant, you are going to be sick.”
“I can’t help it!”he responded with a mouthful of pastry.“You make them taste too good.”
“And stay out of the espresso!You’re already not going to sleep for a week.”
“You make it taste too good, too,” he called back to her.
With everything finally ready, Allie came rushing in at the last minute to jump behind the register.When Aaron came around the corner with an apron that read The Sweet Spot on it, Allie raised one eyebrow at him.
“Oh, I didn’t know we hired a new employee.Christa, did youthoroughlycheck him out first?”
“It’s on my to-do list,” Christa retorted, accustomed to Allie’s brand of teasing.Aaron gave her a shit-eating grin and waggled his eyebrows.
At the end of the day, Aaron had worked hard and loved every minute of it.He’d worked side by side with Christa and Allie, loving the fast-paced but laid-back atmosphere Christa had created.She and Allie had a natural camaraderie that the customers loved even though their personalities were night and day apart.
“Christa, you and Aaron can take off.I’ll close up alone,” Allie offered.
“I don’t feel comfortable leaving you here alone.”Aaron’s voice was filled with concern.
“I’m a big girl, Aaron.I can tie my shoes and everything,” Allie boasted.
“Let’s go, Aaron.You’ll never win when she’s like this.”Christa pointed at Allie, who was standing with her arms crossed, her brow furrowed, and an evil grin on her face.She was openly daring Aaron to argue with her, but he wasn’t biting.
“Okay, okay.But for the record, I don’t like it.”
“Duly noted.Now get out,” Allie ordered.
Once they stepped outside, Aaron wrapped his arms around Christa and walked as if he was glued to her.His deep voice in her ear sent chills down her spine.“Now, about that offer…”
Baby
June
Monday morningwhen Aaron walked into his office building, he was still feeling the exhilaration of the weekend with Christa.His happiness was short-lived once he reached his office, however.His smile disappeared from his face when he saw his brother waiting for him.
“Where the hell have you been hiding?I’ve hardly seen you over the last month,” Lance barked.
“I’ve been here every day, Lance.My office is three doors down from yours.I’m not that hard to find,” Aaron replied scathingly.
“I have a new client for you—Kylie Rae Romano.She’s personally overseeing her new clothing line, and she has very specific requirements for the next face of her company.Plus, she’s also planning a huge runway show and needs a whole host of models who can pull off her unique designs.I need you to go to San Diego and work with them directly for the next two weeks.I’ve already told her you’ll do it.You leave next Monday morning.”Lance had made his decision without bothering to ask Aaron for his input.Yet again.
“You’ll need to pick out the best models you can find.Wine them.Dine them.Do your normal thing,” Lance said, adding his own flair of sarcasm and disgust.“Just don’t screw it up.”
Aaron’s blood ran cold in his veins.Lance was orderinghim, theco-ownerof their business, to handpick and personally oversee a project that any of their lower-level partners could handle without his oversight.He was beyond frustrated and disgusted with his brother’s continuously ridiculous demands.Their relationship had been strained at best, but Aaron’s unhappiness was steadily increasing—with his job and his brother.
“You told herwhat?”Aaron’s fingers curled into fists, and he placed them on his hips.“Since when do you assign my fucking work for me?I own this damn company, too, Lance.And I will decide if it’s an account I need to handle personally or not.You don’t get to fucking decide that for me.”
“It’s already decided, and you are committed to it.Kylie specifically requested you, and you are going.This deal cannot fall through,” Lance snarled.“Look, it’s two weeks in San Diego with a shitload of beautiful models.All the eager beavers you can stand, jumping in your bed every night to willingly fuck your brains out.Then you can send them on their way the next morning, no strings attached.That’s right up your alley.What the hell are you complaining about?”
“I’m not interested in anyeager beavers, Lance.”
“What?”Lance asked disbelievingly as he dropped into the nearby chair.Aaron frowned because that meant Lance intended to stay longer than Aaron wanted him to stay.“Since when?”
“I met someone.I’ve been seeing her for more than a month now, not that you’d notice or even bother to ask.I’m not interested in fucking any of the models or anyone else, Lance.And I don’t want to be away from her for two weeks.”His hands clenched the back of the chair in front of him, and he readied himself for all-out war with his brother.
