Hungry CEO Read online

  She was in her work clothes: a white silk blouse tucked into a gray formal pencil skirt. She gave her coat to the hostess, who led her towards me, and I watched as she carefully weaved around the tables.

  She had the perfect slender body: narrow petite hips and endlessly long legs. Her golden hair was sleek and straight, cut to a fashionable blunt shape around her shoulders. She had neutral makeup on, glossy lips, and her blue eyes were as wide and sparkling as usual. Dainty gold earrings tinkled in her hair. Louise wasn’t smiling. She hadn’t put in any extra effort for the dinner —this was business.

  “Evening,” I said, standing up from my chair as the hostess pulled Louise’s chair out. Louise glanced at me, said nothing, and sat down. “I thought you might like this place,” I added as she picked up the menu and glanced at it quickly. Unlike some other women I knew, Louise wasn’t indecisive. It had taken her all of a few seconds to decide what she was going to order.

  “We could have just met in your office,” she said bluntly.

  Our server came over to our table with the bottle of wine I had ordered. I tested the temperature before he started pouring it into our glasses.

  When I looked at Louise again, her cheeks were flushed. For some reason, she was annoyed already.

  “You deserve to be wined and dined,” I replied much later, picking up the conversation where we’d left it. Louise narrowed her eyes at me.

  “This is a business dinner, Jack. I am not expecting any special treatment. You are my boss,” she said and tucked some of her smooth, straight hair behind her ears.

  I smiled at her. She had no idea how adorable she looked when she was annoyed. Louise might have assumed that she could scare me – that she could put me in my place — but the testier she got, the more I wanted her. I couldn’t resist the way her eyes lit up, the way her cheeks flushed when she lost her cool.

  “And as your boss, it is my duty to make sure you are comfortable and happy in your job,” I said, looking straight into her blue eyes.

  Louise looked offended. Her perfect bow-shaped mouth parted and I could sense that she was breathing hot air out of her nose. “As my boss, it is your duty to get the job done. You don’t have to worry about how well-fed I am or what I think of this restaurant,” she commented, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I could see her getting angrier by the second. Her face was turning even redder.

  “What do you think of this place?” I asked, looking around. Louise widened her eyes at me in disbelief. “Usually there’s a two-week waiting list for this restaurant, but I know someone who knows someone here and they got us in within a day,” I explained, but Louise didn’t seem impressed.

  “I don’t care how long it took for you to get us a table here, okay? Can we just get down to work?” she snapped and I arched my eyebrows at her.

  “Like you mentioned before, Louise, I am your boss now,” I said. I wasn’t really offended by the way she spoke to me. I thought it was cute that I could annoy her so easily. I just wanted to see the look on her face when I reminded her of her reality.

  Louise gulped down her anger, pressed her eyes closed, and took in a deep breath. Her back was straight, her shoulders slender and delicate. I watched as her small breasts jutted out from under the buttery, soft blouse she was wearing. I could see the way her breasts heaved with every breath she was taking. She had a tender heart-shaped face surrounded by a curtain of golden hair. I had to do everything in my power to not push the table away and lunge at her, to pull her into my arms and press my lips to her. I could feel the movement in my pants as I sat rigidly in my seat.

  Louise opened her eyes and looked at me directly. “Okay, yes. You’re right. You are my boss now. So, lead the way. Tell me what to do,” she said and lifted up her wine glass.

  I could see how much of an effort it was for her to maintain her calm. How hard she was struggling to not stand up and slap me across the face. I placed my elbows on the table and leaned towards her. Our gazes were locked, and my cock was throbbing in my pants as I stared at her beautiful face.

  “There is only one agenda here, Louise. We have the get the Medusa contract. They could potentially be our biggest and most profitable deal. Once you realize how good of a team you and I make, you’ll be able to do your job,” I said in a slow, calm tone.

  Louise’s nostrils flared. “I am doing my job. You are the one with your pants down in the office!” she snapped.

  Chapter 5 - Louise

  I couldn’t believe what he was saying to me! Trying to imply that I didn’t do my job! Me! After the visit I had with my parents the previous night, I was in no mood for this.

  Jack had a grin on his face, and just like before, he wasn’t the least bit embarrassed by what I had caught him doing in his office. He sat back in his chair and stared at me like he couldn’t imagine what he had done wrong.

  Jack was in a handsome tailor-made navy suit and a silver silk tie. His cufflinks were clear crystal and sparkled every time he moved his hands. Those hands! They were probably the first thing I had noticed about him when we first met so many years ago. He had large masculine hands. I would be small in those hands. My body trembled at the thought of their roughness . . . But why was I thinking about Jack’s hands on me?! I clenched my jaws and stared back at him.

  “So, what do you have to say for yourself? Aren’t you the least bit worried about the consequences if I took this to the board?” I asked.

  Jack sighed. His wide shoulders heaved and he looked back at me with a shake of his head. There was no denying the fact that he was a handsome man. He had a chiseled face, a sharp jaw, and deep green eyes. His dark hair was slicked back as usual, and his wide chest expanded as he took in another deep breath.

  “No, Louise, I am not worried about that because I’m not trying to hide it. Firstly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the board didn’t already know that I like to entertain special lady friends in my office. And frankly, they wouldn’t give a shit. They gave me this job because I deserve it and because I was the best candidate for it,” he said. Jack’s voice was deep and velvety as always. I knew what he was doing. He was trying to cast me under his spell – the one that seemed to work on everyone else. I was determined to fight it. I had spent the past eight years trying to not sway under his crippling charisma and I wasn’t about to start now. I gritted my teeth as I stared back at him.

  “And secondly, and most importantly, I know you won’t rat on me. That’s just not the kind of person you are. Ratting on me would mean jeopardizing the Medusa deal, and you wouldn’t want that,” he continued with a glittering glint in his green eyes.

  “What makes you think you know me so well?” I snapped and lifted my chin up in the air. He was right, I wasn’t going to tell on him because I wouldn’t be able to handle the Medusa account myself, but there was no way I was letting him know that he could read me like an open book.

  Jack laughed and sat back in his chair.

  “I’ve known you for eight years, Louise. I’ve watched you; I’ve observed you. It’s one of my many skills,” he said, and his gaze traveled from my face to my heaving breasts. I could barely keep an even breath. It was like my whole body was on fire. What was happening to me? Why did I want him to pull me into his arms and ravage my body? I was trying so hard to hate him. That was what Father had taught me to do.

  “You don’t know me, Jack. You’re fooling yourself by assuming that I won’t complain about you!” I remarked.

  He nodded his head and looked down at the menu in front of him. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter. I’m the golden child. The board loves me. They’ll do nothing about your complaint, unfortunately,” he said as he scanned the dishes.

  He was probably right. There was no way that the board didn’t know what he did during his ‘lunch breaks’ in the office. They just turned a blind eye towards it because he made them money. It was making me sick the more I thought about that redhead, twirling her locks around her fingers.

  Was I jealous? I
remembered the accomplished smile on her face. The way she was fluttering her thick eyelashes. She was hot. Even I could admit that. Jack Gowler had a pretty high standard in terms of taste in women. The more I thought about that redhead, the madder I got.

  Jack flipped the menu closed just seconds before our server appeared beside us again.

  “Ready for your order?” he asked politely, pulling out a notepad.

  “I’ll have the steak, medium rare please, with peppercorn sauce. The lady will have . . . ” Jack turned to me calmly, like we could have been talking about the weather before this.

  I could feel my body shaking from the anger and jealousy I was experiencing. My envy of that redhead had taken me by surprise. I hadn’t expected to feel this way – not after all these years of knowing Jack. But then again, I hadn’t actually seen him with a woman in a compromising position before.

  “I won’t be ordering anything, thank you.” I forced a smile at the server who looked surprised and glanced at Jack.

  The smile had dropped from Jack’s face, but he wasn’t about to force me to do something I didn’t want to do. He nodded at the server who quickly went away. “You’re not hungry?” he asked, crossing his brows.

  “I’m not staying,” I replied and Jack’s face darkened. He wasn’t pleased with that information. “I thought you had invited me here to discuss the Medusa deal. I’m not interested in discussing your personal life instead,” I said, keeping my head held high. I stood up from the chair and smoothed the front of my skirt. “You’ve read my report, I’ve read the notes you sent me on it. We don’t need to spend any more time together than required. I won’t be late for our meeting with Roger Tracker tomorrow. See you then,” I said, picking my purse up from the table. I whipped around from him and walked away.

  I could sense Jack’s eyes on me as I wove around the tables. I knew I had caught him by surprise, and that I was being rude, but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t spend another moment sitting there in front of him, wanting him.

  Chapter 6 - Jack

  Louise had shocked me by walking out on our dinner. If it had been any other subordinate in the company, they would have been fired. I was fairly easygoing with the people who worked with me, but this kind of behavior wouldn’t be tolerated – even by me. As far as Louise was concerned, however, I wasn’t going to do anything about it.

  I enjoyed watching her fret and her cheeks go red when I pissed her off, but the truth was that I knew how my promotion had affected her. She had worked hard all these years for the position the board had handed to me. Most of her hard work went unnoticed because she was a woman, and I understood that. No matter how ambitious I was, I recognized her talent and her worth in the organization.

  Besides, I thought I’d detected a hint of jealousy when she spoke about the incident from that afternoon in my office. Could it be possible that she was actually jealous?

  We had the meeting with Roger Tracker, the CEO of Medusa Corporations, at seven the next evening. I’d booked us a table at a cocktail bar in Manhattan and I knew that Louise was going to turn up in time for it.

  I was itching to see her. I wanted to know if she was doing okay. Also, I had spent the previous night fantasizing about having her.

  In my penthouse, I got ready for the evening. I put on a dark suit and a flawless white Egyptian cotton shirt and my usual crystal cufflinks. I combed my hair back and patted cologne on my wrists and behind my earlobes. I was growing excited just at the thought of seeing Louise again. The rest would follow naturally. I wasn’t too worried about how the meeting with Roger Tracker was going to go. It was an important deal – the first real deal since I became CEO of Prisma — but I was confident that I was going to nail it.

  I drove to the cocktail bar and handed my keys to the valet. I hadn’t seen Louise since the previous night when she’d walked out of the restaurant without ordering food. Before I entered the bar, I looked around for her, but she was nowhere in sight.

  When I stepped in, I saw her immediately. She was sitting at the bar on a high stool with Roger Tracker standing close beside her. They had both ordered drinks already. I looked at my watch. I was five minutes early. How long had these two been here?

  I walked towards them — no, I strode towards them – in a hurry. Had they both changed the time of the meeting without letting me know?

  Louise seemed relaxed as she sat on the stool, holding her glass of martini by the neck. She was in a fitting black cocktail dress. She’d styled her golden, sleek hair in a tight high bun and glittering diamond earrings sparkled on her ears. She had put in way more effort into her appearance tonight than she had done the previous evening. She had a deep plum lipstick on and smoky magnetic eyes. Her legs were crossed, which made her dress ride up her thighs, revealing her milky pale long legs.

  Roger Tracker was standing dangerously close to her and laughing at something she had just said. I could feel my palms fisting in anger . . . in jealousy? Perhaps I was just annoyed that they had started the meeting without me.

  “Roger!” I said aloud and I walked towards him with my hand stretched forward.

  “Ah, Jack!” he announced, shaking my hand tightly. I glanced at Louise, who took a sip of her cocktail and then smiled at me sweetly like we were the best of friends. “I happened to get here early and I found Louise sitting here by myself. I am extremely disappointed that this is a work meeting. What a shame!” Roger remarked and the two of them smiled at each other like there was a secret joke they were in on.

  I could feel the rage boiling in my veins. I had to clench my jaws to stop myself from saying something stupid. “I have a table booked for us. Maybe we can walk to it so we can sit together?” I suggested and Roger gave Louise a hand to help her down from her high stool. Just the sight of their hands touching made me shake with anger and I whipped myself away.

  Roger Tracker was her material . . . her equal. He came from the same moneyed, sophisticated background as she did. The more I saw them together, the more I could sense that they would be perfect for each other.

  Roger and Louise walked to our table together while I led them. He held out a chair for her before I had a chance to, and I tried hard to keep smiling – to stop myself from bursting.

  “Jack, I was wondering if we could have a quick word first?” Louise said before she sat down. She had caught me by surprise again and I stared at her with my brows crossed.

  “I just got an email from the office about one of our other clients and I need to have a quick chat with Jack. Please excuse us, Roger.” Louise was speaking sweetly to Roger, who kept standing beside her and nodding his head politely.

  “Shall we?” she turned to me again, indicating that she wanted us to step away from the table. I gathered myself and nodded.

  “Of course. Be back in a few ticks, Roger,” I declared to him and led Louise away.

  Chapter 7 - Louise

  I could sense Jack behind me as I walked towards the washrooms at the back of the bar. I wasn’t sure how I was even managing to keep standing.

  I had woken up with a high fever that morning and a dull throbbing ache at the back of my head. I hadn’t even been able to get out of bed until about noon, after which I had just about managed to walk to my living room and collapse on the couch.

  I was dead sure that I wouldn’t be able to make it to the drinks meeting that night. Somehow, I eventually crawled to my bathroom and ran myself a hot bath. I had laid submerged in the water for an hour before I got out, changed, and walked out of my apartment. The bath had helped. It had brought my temperature down and my headache was subdued, but I still felt weak from the fever. I could barely hold a conversation with Roger earlier.

  “What’s going on? What did you want to talk about?” Jack had grabbed my elbow and pulled me towards himself to stop me from walking. We were in the short corridor outside the washrooms, out of Roger’s line of vision.

  I could see that Jack was flustered. He wasn’t his usual over-confiden
t, charming self.

  I looked up at him as he released his grip on my elbow and I met his eyes. His dark green pupils were narrowed and focused on my face. The deeper he stared at me, the more convinced he was that something was seriously wrong.

  “Louise! What’s wrong?” he growled.

  “I’m sick . . . I was in bed all day with a high fever,” I nearly winced as I spoke. Jack furrowed his brows and searched my eyes rapidly.

  “You have a fever and you came out here?” he asked, stepping closer to me. I stepped away from him, my back pressing against the wall. I hadn’t stopped thinking about him since the previous evening. I couldn’t forgive myself for walking out on a business meeting — and all because I was jealous of some girl who was wedged between Jack Gowler’s knees!

  “I couldn’t miss it. I’m sorry. I just wanted to let you know in case I’m not being myself during the meeting,” I told him while he stared at me. Was that a worried expression I saw on his face? Was Jack actually worried about me? I felt an electric shock run down my spine. Why did I care if he was worried about me? I was supposed to despise him, not crave for his attention!

  “Louise, you shouldn’t even be here. If you’re sick, you need to go home and rest.” Jack’s voice had dropped to a deep guttural growl. He genuinely seemed upset by the fact that I had shown up while I had a fever.

  “I’m fine. I feel better now. I just wanted you to get the full picture in case I’m not as aggressive as I should be with Roger,” I said while shaking my head.

  Jack was eyeing me closely. He had his eyes narrowed as he sized me up. “I have to admit that there is no way I could tell that you were ill. You look gorgeous,” he said.

  I felt the back of my neck get hot, which had nothing to do with the temperature I was running. I gazed down at my stilettos, trying hard to hide the way my cheeks had turned red.