Chapter Four
Trace
For the past three days, I succeeded in avoiding Cierra. Each night, I made sure I left with someone so I wouldn’t be caught alone in the elevator with her again. That night it was just the two of us, it was hard to keep from sweeping her long chestnut hair over her shoulder and giving her a quick kiss on the nape of her neck. A bewitching scent of cinnamon, musk, and vanilla roped around my dick, beckoning me to her. I probably creeped the hell out of her, and she was practically glued to the door when we reached the lobby. She couldn’t run away from me fast enough. I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t act that way with chicks. To be honest, it was usually the other way around, the women doing the chasing—not boasting, just telling it like it was.
Running my hand through my hair, I walked toward the conference room. I’d called a meeting for all the heads of the departments to get a better feel for what they were working on and how things were shaping up. I knew Cierra would be there since she was filling in for Ms. Chamberlain. A small thread of excited anticipation wove through me as I took the seat at the head of the huge wood table.
I’d do my best to look knowledgeable and in control. Most of the employees only knew me through my reputation, the provocative photos and articles published about me, and to them, I was the rich playboy who was playing CEO. I had to set the record straight; I was there to do a job and do it well. Gossip and resentment had to be left outside the workplace. I was in charge, and mutual respect was imperative.
As the people came in, I saw her sandwiched between the woman from Graphics and the dude from Publishing. She looked beautiful with her glossy hair wrapped in a bun with strands of it dangling down her back, a dusting of freckles over her nose and cheeks, and her eyes the color of sun-dried beech wood. Add a pencil skirt and a purple lace top and I was on track to be the only CEO to hold office for four days. Cierra glanced over and met my gaze, smiling softly before she turned away and snagged a chair at the opposite end of the table.
After everyone was seated, I cleared my throat and darted my gaze among the twelve employees. “It’s great to see all of you again.” A couple of the men stared at me stoically, but all the women watched me intently, a couple of them pushing back in their chairs and crossing their legs in a way I knew was meant to grab my attention. I smiled. The women were accepting my position just fine, but I had to win the guys over if I wanted to implement some new procedures and ideas.
Unlike the other women around the table, Cierra kept her gaze fixed on the arms of my chair. I wasn’t sure if she was still embarrassed by the night at the club, fighting the spark I was sure she felt between us, or just plain old pissed at me for doing whatever it was Kelsey told her I did. The crazy thing was that the more she refused to look at me, the more it drew my attention to her.
“Okay, let’s get started,” I said as I picked up my cup of coffee. After taking a sip, I said, “Cierra?” Her head jerked up and pink streaks colored her cheeks. Pink is definitely her color. She didn’t hide her discomfort very well. And the childish part of me was loving it. “Catch me up on everything I need to know about the upcoming Vibra launch.”
She pulled out a notebook and began to tell me all about it in general terms. As she got more into it, she relaxed, and I could see the illumination in her face as she spoke about the new phone we were premiering. She knew her stuff, and I was impressed by how articulate and passionate she was about it, but she left out the specifics of the project.
When she paused, a stout man of about forty sighed loudly. “Do you have anything to add, Doug?” I asked, glancing down at my cheat sheet with everyone’s name on it from when we first entered the room.
“It’s just this whole changing of the guard has taken a lot of us by surprise. We’re wondering why we weren’t let in on it. Why was it such a big secret?”
I saw a few nods of agreement with Doug Raley, head of Market Research. Vibra was one of our biggest accounts, and it was earned by hard work, dedication, and sheer tenacity. I understood why some of the employees felt slighted or abandoned by my grandfather basically walking out more than halfway through the project, but they were stuck with me now and they would have to get used to it.
“Mr. Linder didn’t want to step down. As a matter of fact, he fought it like hell until a conspiracy of doctors and family members grounded him.” Several of the people chuckled. “I’m not new to the business world. Some of you may think you have an idea of who I am by the gossip magazines, but I’m not that guy. I successfully invented a gaming app several years ago. I had to work hard as hell to get it off the ground, and I did. Believe me, I’m pretty well-versed in marketing and social media buzz, so not all of this is new to me.” I glanced over at Cierra to find she was studying me carefully.
“We just felt slighted, that’s all,” Doug said as he leaned back in his chair.
“I understand. The last thing my grandfather would want is all of you feeling any bitterness toward him. If he had it his way, he’d be sitting here addressing you. The important thing is for us to work together to make Vibra one of the biggest hits in cell phones. You all have as much control over this project as you’ve ever had. We’re a team.”
After my response, the ice was broken, and the hour and a half I allocated for the meeting turned into the entire morning. It was invigorating, and I was blown away by the enthusiasm and loyalty the department heads had for Vibra and for the agency; it was a remarkable ode to my grandfather.
At the end of the meeting, as everyone was filing out, I stopped Cierra before she could leave. Clutching her binder, she glanced at the doorway and her retreating coworkers. “I want you to know that you should feel free to speak your mind. I gathered you were holding back some of the specifics of the project, and that’s exactly what I wanted to hear. I also heard that you didn’t agree with some of the ideas for the launch. I’d like to know what those are. I know we didn’t meet under optimum circumstances, but that doesn’t mean you have to stress about me firing you for speaking your mind.”
“I don’t hold back, trust me,” she said, an eyebrow cocked. “It’s just that we’ve had the marketing plan in place for months, and I really don’t think we need to go over it again when you’re probably well-acquainted with everything we want to do.”
“Right.” I nodded. She still clutched her binder, but her knuckles weren’t as white now. I blinked, forcing myself to break her gaze while I struggled to think of something intelligent to say. “But I could use someone to go over the specifics with me. You know, dates, times, publications. I still don’t know the details, and the report in the file that landed on my desk was a little vague.”
“Of course.” She nodded. “I’ll send some stuff up—”
“I’d prefer to go over it in person.” Cierra’s eyes widened. “I find details stick in my head better when I actually talk about them instead of just reading another report,” I said quickly.
“Sure… okay. I can come up later today, if that works?”
“Sounds good.” I tried to keep my face neutral and not let my eyes stray down her body the way I really wanted to.
“See you,” she blurted as she headed out of the conference room. I leaned against the doorway and watched as her sweet ass swayed oh so nicely in her tight skirt. What was it about Cierra that drew me in? She wasn’t the usual type of woman I was attracted to. For one thing, she was smart. It wasn’t that I dated women without a brain, but I tended to go for those who were passionate about getting a manicure, not launching a new cell phone.
I shook my head. Cierra definitely intrigued me. I wished I could say it was because it was taboo, or because she talked back to me, or the way her tight ass looked in that skirt, but it wasn’t. It was a heady combination of all of it, one that stirred something in my brain and left me on edge and hungry for more.
I was meeting a buddy of mine for lunch, so I ran my hands through my hair and grabbed my jacket. With the image of Cierra’s ass burned into my brain, I walked out of the building into the cool, salty air.