Page 3 of CEO's Baby Scandal

There it was, the smile of the century. “Of course, sir.”

“Daniel,” I corrected.

“Daniel,” she said, blushing.

My dick was out of control. When I sat down, it was because I felt myself swelling again, because I normally stood as a matter of principle. When a lady was standing, the men in the room should be also. It was a respect thing. But damn, my body betrayed me. I knew I had to get this under control. I didn’t want Emily to think I was flirting with her as her boss, but just as a man who found her highly attractive.

I tried to focus on work all day, but it was a struggle. As I sat in the conference room across from Michael and Grace, anticipation rose in my gut. We were just chatting, waiting on our late lunch to be delivered by Emily and for Ben to show up, but I was as tense as if I were in a power meeting with one of our larger clients. The way she kept me waiting was torture.

A knock came at the door and Emily entered. I rose immediately and waved her over. “Come in, come in. I told you, you didn’t have to knock.”

She blushed and juggled the bags of takeout. “Sorry, they were running a little behind. Paul got stuck in traffic. It washorrible.” She set the bags down and began opening them. Her fingers fumbled nervously, and I couldn’t decide if it was because she walked in on the meeting of all the partners or if she felt flustered.

“Here, let me help you.” Grace pulled one of the bags toward herself and tore it open, and Emily's cheeks turned pink.

She backed away as Grace set the food out, and I struck up a conversation to keep her in the room a bit longer. “Emily, how has your first week been so far? Is Olivia keeping you busy?” I never paid attention to other staff members. I usually left that to our paralegals or HR. Michael gave me an odd expression, but I ignored him.

“So far, so good. I’ve just been doing some filing, mostly, coffee runs, and I got Michael’s dry cleaning for him yesterday.” Her eyes flicked nervously at my partner and then back to her hands.

“Excellent, well I hope you’re settling in well.”

She turned her gaze up to meet mine, and I couldn’t help but notice how her eyes sparkled. Beauty didn’t begin to describe her. She was elegance and class mixed with a down home charm any man would love. I stared at her a bit too long, noticing the way one cheek had a dimple while the other didn’t.

“That will be all, Ms. Kline.” Michael dismissed her, and she bowed at the shoulder before excusing herself.

I watched again as she walked toward the door, hips swaying with each step. It was like she purposely tried to catch my attention, each step taunting me to keep my gaze fixed on her perky ass. She glanced over her shoulder as she reached the door and caught my eye. I could have sworn she winked at me. And long after she had gone, I remained staring at the door, despite having sat down to enjoy my meal.

“You seem to be taken with the new assistant.” Michael’s comment came as being a bit forward to me. We typically stayedout of each other’s personal lives. I hadn’t commented on his relationships—not even when he had been divorced by his wife for cheating on her with a lawyer at the district attorney’s office.

“Yes, well she’s quite stunning. Don’t you think?” I peeled the plastic lid off my roast turkey and vegetables and picked up my fork.

Grace shook her head, her eyebrows rising as she did. She was the mother hen around the place, always making sure staff and partners alike toed the line. She chewed her food in silence, though I had a sinking suspicion that had she not had a mouth full of food at the time, she’d have commented too.

“She’s an employee, Daniel. It’s bad news.” Michael cracked open a soda he pulled from one of the brown paper bags and sipped it. “It’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. Women don’t mess around anymore.”

I scoffed as I took a bite of turkey. The flavors melted on my tongue, almost as deliciously as I was certain Emily would if I could just taste her. Michael had a point. The world went crazy over the last “me too” movement, and the climate in the workplace changed dramatically. I’d had to bring in an expert for sensitivity training to ensure everyone knew what constituted as sexual harassment. But this wasn’t that. I would never impose my authority on any employee in that way. If Emily didn’t like my advances, I’d control myself.

But the look she’d given me when she walked out the door just then hadn’t been a look of intimidation. She liked how I paid extra attention to her. After I swallowed my bite of food, I said, “Well I don’t think you have to worry about that because I know how to control myself.”

“It’s just bad optics, Dan.” Grace had gotten into an uncomfortable habit of calling me by the nickname, and it bothered me. “Imagine the media gets wind of the CEO dating his assistant. She’s not even your assistant, either. She’s Olivia’s.Even if she didn’t cry wolf, the press would insinuate it. Or worse, destroy the girl’s reputation by throwing her under the bus as the tramp who is sleeping her way to the top.”

“No reputable media would do that.” I wiped my mouth and continued. “They’d have to have some reason to come after me, anyway. I keep my nose clean. The tabloids can take a hike. Everyone knows they only print useless drivel, and if they printed a story like that, I’d just sue for libel.”

The door opened and Ben walked in, followed by Olivia. They were engaged in a conversation about their weekend plans, and I was glad for the distraction. I did care what my partners thought about who I dated. Emily was the first woman who crossed my path who ticked off all the boxes on my list—smart, driven, gorgeous, available, and best of all, humble. I’d be a fool if I didn’t at least get to know her better.

“Ah, you got lunch. Great, I’m starving.” Ben sat down across from me and pulled a dish of food toward himself. I took the opportunity to change the subject and get the meeting rolling.

“Olivia, once we’re done eating, I’ll have you start the discussion by going over the briefs you sent to me earlier. We have our work cut out for us on this one.” I took another bite of turkey, and Olivia started in with her opinions on the big business case we were working on, but my mind was only on one thing.

Emily Kline was a rare jewel who entered my life at a time when I had just enough free time to entertain the idea of testing the waters with her. Things at the firm were going well, as was life outside the firm. If she was half as perfect as I believed her to be, I wanted her to be a fixture in my life. I hadn’t seen a ring on her finger, though she could be dating someone. Still, I was going by the wise words my college basketball coach told me. “Dating ain’t married.” It was his awkward way of saying if someone isn’t married, they’re still available.

That put Emily squarely on my radar. And I never missed my target.

3

EMILY

Ijuggled the two bags of takeout in my hands. For the second day in a row, Mr. Jacobs had ordered food to be brought in. At least this time I wasn’t asked to go out and get it. The DoorDash driver brought it right to the building, though he refused to bring it up to the offices. So, I’d taken the elevator down to get it and rode back up to our floor with the scent of Mexican food filling my nostrils. My stomach growled the entire way. I still had forty minutes until I could take lunch, and I was starving.