CHASING TROUBLE

Caroline moved past him, afraid that she’d do something crazy like give him a goodbye kiss if she continued to stare into those sexy eyes of his, “Good for me that I won’t have to deal with your teasing anymore,” she said as she began to head for the door.

Nicholas followed her, “Let me help you with that,” he said, and took her suitcase from her without waiting for her to reply.

When they got to her car and he transferred the suitcase to the boot, he faced her again, “Drive safely, Care,” he said, intentionally using the name she’d told him several times not to use. He noticed the frown on her face and grinned, “I’ll see you again,”

See her again? Not a chance in hell, Caroline thought before she got into her car and drove off. She’d let him get under her skin probably because she’d had to stay in the same house with him, but she wasn’t going to let it happen again. She couldn’t afford to.

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Frank Connelly was a very nice man, and although Caroline had only worked for him for about three years, she had grown to really like him because of the way he treated her. He was cheerful and funny, with brown eyes and patches of gray hair on his head. Now that she had met his son, Caroline could see certain similarities in them, like the way his lips tilted upward on one side when he smiled…. Just like Nicholas’ lips did when he gave her one of those smiles he knew was an assault on her senses.

It had been almost two weeks since she left the house where she’d and Nicholas had met, and although she had no idea why, she wondered if he’d already come to visit his father and had gone again. His father had not said anything about his arrival and she didn’t want to ask because it was none of her business. Besides, wasn’t it supposed to be a good thing if she never saw Nicholas again? The both of them had no business being together, and if they never saw each other again, she would be able to forget about that kiss – except that it was harder than she thought it’d be, and Nicholas absence seemed to intensify the memories of his lips against hers.

“Miss Anderson,”

Caroline snapped out of her day dreaming to see that everyone at the meeting was staring at her. She straightened in her chair, and hoped that no one had noticed how absent minded she must have looked, “Yes Sir,” she said, and focused her attention on Frank Connelly, who was seated not too far away from her.

“You’re going to work hand in hand with the advertising department so we don’t let Kay Corp down,” Frank told her, “Thankfully, they’ve agreed to let us work with them and you all know what this could mean for us, so I want all hands on deck. If there are any new developments, I want you to tell me about it immediately. No room for errors, Understand?”

“Yes sir, I understand,” Caroline replied. She knew how important this was to Frank. Kay Corp was a smaller company, but it was getting stronger and Frank wanted a merger as it would benefit his company greatly. The only problem was Collins Morgan. He owned Kay Corp and was open to a merger, but he was tough and was also considering other companies.

The door to the conference room opened that very minute and Caroline looked up to see Nicolas Connelly walk calmly into the room.

If Nicholas looked great in his casual outfits, then he looked absolutely breathtaking in office clothes. His dark hair was neatly pulled back and tied at his nape, white and perfectly ironed shirt tucked into black pants and shoes to match, Caroline had to admit that this man was perfect… At least physically. He looked better than any man had a right to look, and of course, being the kind of man he was, he’d arrive late just to be the center of attention.

She wasn’t particularly surprised to see him, but his entrance had come so unexpectedly and it was enough to rattle her. She watched as he walked over to take the seat next to his father and she had a feeling that he was definitely enjoying the attention he got from everyone in the room, especially the ladies who sent wide eyed glances at each other.

Caroline rolled her eyes. Such a show off, she thought as his eyes finally met hers. She noticed his lip tilt upward in that knowing grin of his, but he did it so fast before turning away that she almost thought she’d imagined it. Well to hell with him and his sexy ass smile.

Frank Connelly was speaking again, “…. I’m delighted to introduce my son, Nicholas Connelly to you all,” he was saying, “Nicholas has been in the army until five years ago. He has just returned home and he will be joining us here at the company for a while. Please assist him with everything he’ll be needing to get settled and catch up as much as possible during his period here. The more people we have on this project, the easier it will be to land this once and for all,”

Caroline’s breath seized in her throat at Frank’s announcement. Nicholas was going to be here… Everyday… For God knows how long. The man’s presence alone was distracting enough, and now she was going to have to deal with him everyday. She watched Nicholas stand to give a small speech of his own but as she was so lost in her own thoughts, she could barely listen to any of it.

He sat back in his chair after his short speech and leaned onto the headrest, his fingers silently drumming on the table. Caroline’s eyes followed the movement, remembering how amazing it had felt to have those hands on her and felt a shiver run down her spine at the ridiculous thoughts she was having in the damn conference room. When her eyes lifted, she saw that he was watching her. Knew by the look on his face that he knew what she was thinking.