Page 20 of Love your Billionaire Boss

She nodded and watched him hit the P button on the desk phone.

“Mr. Klein. Your guest has arrived. Would you like me to send her up?” After a second, he nodded and hung up.

“He’s expecting you. Take the elevators up to the penthouse floor. You’ll need this key card for access.” He handed her a slim white card.

“Thank you.” She took it and smiled nervously.

Cleo let out a deep breath as soon as the elevator doors closed. She held the key card against the sensor and hit the P button. She watched as the floors grew higher and higher, and felt her nervousness grow with it. What was she doing here?

She should have expected him to live in a place like this. He was a professional athlete, after all. She just didn’t expect to feel so out of place. When the elevator stopped, she put on a smile that she hoped was convincing and waited as the doors opened to an entryway that was bigger than her house.

She stepped out slowly and looked around. The floors were a dark wood which led to floor-to-ceiling windows straight ahead. She sucked in a breath at the view of the city. It was beautiful.

“Hello,” a voice said.

Cleo looked and saw Kenny rounding the corner. He gave her a little wave. She felt her stomach drop all the way to the bottom floor of the building. What was he doing here? Her eyes wandered over him quickly. His hair was damp and he wore gray sweats with a matching hoodie. He was sexy without even trying.

“Um, hi,” she stammered. “What are you doing here?” She immediately regretted asking.

“I live here,” he said with a little laugh.

“Oh. Right. Sorry.” She shook her head slightly.

“Nico’s just finishing up a phone call.” He rocked on his heels slightly.

Cleo nodded as an awkward silence fell over them. She looked down at her shoes. As if she wasn’t nervous enough, now she had to be around one of the most handsome men she’d ever seen. There was no way she was going to get through this meeting if he was here. She felt eyes on her and willed herself to look up. Sure enough, he was looking at her, but looked away quickly. She couldn’t read his expression. It was a mix between a smile and concern.

“There she is!” Nico called out as he walked into the room. “Thanks for coming.”

Cleo nodded. “Thanks for having me. Your place is beautiful.”

“Probably too beautiful for us.” Nico laughed. “Can I get you anything to drink? Water? Coffee?”

“Coffee would be great,” she said with a note of desperation.

“Yeah, I bet. Sorry we stayed so late.” Nico waved for her to follow him down a short hallway and Kenny trailed behind. Soon they entered a kitchen that made her suck in a breath. It had white marble counters and a large butcher block island. The appliances were all top-of-the line and surrounded by towering white cabinets.

Composing herself, she said, “Oh, that’s okay. I just hope you all had a great time.”

“Too good. At least, I did. Kenny boy here ditched us and went home.”

“I was tired.” Kenny shrugged.

“That blonde was pretty disappointed,” said Nico as he worked the coffee machine.

Cleo couldn’t help but smile, and looked away so no one would see.

“Espresso okay?” asked Nico.

“Sure.”

The smell of fresh coffee beans filled the kitchen as the espresso machine whirred. She had seen this kind of equipment in cafés, but never in someone’s home. Nico handed her a glass mug, which she took thankfully before making their way to the living room. It was modernly furnished with professionally framed jerseys hanging on the walls. The three of them took a seat on the large, U-shaped couch in the center of the room. It was so plush she feared she might fall asleep on it.

She took a sip of espresso before getting to the reason why she was there.

“So, I put together a few menu ideas.” She pulled her notebook from her purse and turned the pages. She wondered if she should have printed them out. Too late now.

“Sorry for the chicken scratch.” She handed Nico the notebook.

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