Page 44 of The CEO Enemy

What did I do instead? I went for seconds.

It’s proximity. If I didn’t have to see him almost every day, either at work or home, I’d be able to put him out of my mind. But it’s just that occasionally, rarely, I can’t help but notice that his dark gaze lingers on me, intense and prolonged, and it does something to me.

Work has never been a worse distraction.

But rest assured, it won’t happen again.

Next time I’ll have my running shoes on.

He’s Sean Blackwood, for crying out loud: the epitome of a ruthless, emotionless rich tycoon who steals your senses in a heartbeat—oh, and your panties, too (though he’s generous enough to kindly return them when you least expect it).

When I arrive home, even though I’m sure he’s not home yet, I tiptoe past his apartment so quietly that you’d think I was facing a life sentence for a crime as daring as a forbidden kiss from my neighbor, rival, secret fake fiancé, and boss, all rolled into one.

The meeting we have the next day—luckily—puts a damper on my attraction to him. While some of the policies he wants to implement make sense, there are a few that I can’t get behind.

Yesterday, he tried to change guest policies and pet policies. Fine. Today, he’s trying to change policies when it comes to the staff, and that’s where I have to firmly put my foot down. Things like planning vacation time now require our staff to log into an online portal and do everything that way.

While I’d been the spearhead of the paperless movement when it came to Norman and our guests, for staff it’s different. I’ve left those decisions up to the department heads, giving them a chance to decide how they want to run things. A lot of our employees, such as the hotel’s housekeeping staff supervised by Pauline, don’t work at a computer or have one readily available, so the department heads take that into consideration in terms of scheduling. It has been functioning effectively thus far, granting the managers a degree of flexibility.

Although I have managed to negotiate in certain situations, unfortunately I don’t have a chance to cut this one off at the pass. It’s like he’s immune to my top-tier charm and negotiation finesse—courtesy of Mom, who honed these skills navigating Dad.

Sean announces these changes, including the ones we discussed, in his typical Mr. Grumpy King rules fashion, all stern and untouchable during an 11 a.m. conference meeting with the managers and higher-ups. He informs them that all departments are going to handle things the exact same way, and that they will be responsible for training their staff on how to handle the new app. Needless to say, this causes quite a stir, especially for some of our older employees who aren’t tech savvy. Pauline looks unhappy during the whole meeting.

“You’re not going to fight me on this one, Jess,” Sean says after the meeting when I corner him in his office. “There are certain things that are nonnegotiable, and this is one of them. Every Blackwood property does this the same way, and it works the best. There’s less chance for misunderstandings.”

“But we’re not like every property you own, we’re smaller, more intimate. By changing that, you’re going to make us just like everybody else.” I give him my sassiest stance, poking his chest. “Do you really want to be like everybody else, Mr. Blackwood?”

He leans in. “No, I don’t, Ms. Summers,” he rumbles in that voice, and I swear, I get a little wet. Then he stands back to his full height, towering over me. “We’re not changing the core of what Westerlyn is, we’re tweaking, which will make your life easier. Trust me, you’ll thank me in the long run.”

Tweaking, pfft.

Pretty much every conversation we have about staff changes goes like that.

I get that he has experience, and he’s been doing this for a while, but so have I.

His way isn’t the only way, despite what he thinks.

But I have to admit, apart from that and as far as the rest of the integration goes, we find compromises, good ones even. We butt heads less often than I first anticipated. Perhaps the most remarkable and unexpected aspect is that Sean consistently listens attentively to me, intervening only when he sincerely believes I should reconsider. I admit: he breathes competence. He does know a lot. He’s certainly not the “smash-through-walls and leave-no-trace” monster they paint him to be, well, not so far, at least.

At one point, though, a suspicion starts to creep in.

Something’s up, I keep thinking.

Something’s fishy.

And over the next couple of days that follow, I still can’t shake my suspicions: Is he being cooperative and playing my “kissing-friendly fake fiancé” for diplomatic reasons, to encourage me to sell? Or is he acting as he does because he genuinely thinks I’m the embodiment of perfection?

My ex was the epitome of male sweetness and awesomeness—before he ripped my heart out and trampled all over it, before he swiped my hotel, and with that, fundamentally changed my beliefs about love.

I keep all this in mind and prepare to tread carefully.

16

JESS

Acouple of days before the charity event, I have a meeting scheduled with Emma Simpson from the front desk. She appears worried, which is out of character for the peppy young woman. It immediately causes me concern, and I offer her the seat across from me.

“Everything okay?” I ask, noticing her eyes dart in the direction of Sean’s office, which is empty. “Don’t worry about Mr. Blackwood. He won’t be in for a while. You can talk freely.”

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