Page 8 of Just A Little Chase

“Hi, is this Lauren?”

She frowned at the unfamiliar female voice on the line, just as Skye walked into her office. Lauren lifted a finger to let her friend know to wait a second while she replied to the caller on the phone. “Yes, this is her.”

“Oh, good!” the woman said in a friendly, enthusiastic tone. “I’m calling for Chase Gossard. I’m his personal assistant, Victoria.”

Irritation quickly replaced Lauren’s momentary glee. Across her desk, even Skye’s brows rose in surprise. “Could he not call me himself?” she asked, trying her best not to take her annoyance out on Victoria, who was just doing her job.

“Well, he really didn’t see any need for that, since I’ve taken care of all the arrangements for the weekend you purchased,” she said, clearly an assistant who was efficient in smoothing ruffled feathers.

Except Lauren was far from placated. “I’d like to speak to him directly about that, please.”

“Oh, no need,” Victoria insisted blithely. “I’ve booked a weekend for you and a person of your choice at Casa Cipriani in Lower Manhattan. You’ll enjoy a stay in the Verrazzano two-bedroom suite, along with the butler’s package, and a complete spa day. Fine dining is included for both nights, along with a Broadway show, and a twenty-thousand-dollar shopping spree at Oscar de la Renta on Madison Avenue.”

Holy shit. Lauren’s head spun as she listened to Victoria’s spiel, while Skye’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped open in shock at what the other woman was offering… a weekend of a lifetime that most women would be thrilled to have.

Being in the hospitality business, Lauren knew that Casa Cipriani was an exclusive members’ club and hotel, and their suites were an obscene amount of money per night, without butler service. Add in a spa day, fine dining, a Broadway show, and a twenty-thousand-dollar shopping spree, and the cost for the weekend was almost beyond Lauren’s comprehension.

Then again, for a wealthy businessman like Chase, it was nothing more than a piddly little write-off. A drop in the bucket. And if she accepted, he could wipe his conscience clean and consider his bachelor auction duties done and over with.

She wasn’t about to let him off so easily.

“I just need to know what dates work best for you and I’ll handle everything else,” Victoria said, when she was finally finished trying to wow Lauren with her long-winded sales pitch.

Very calmly, despite the urge to scream, Lauren asked once again, “Can I talk to Chase, please?”

“I’m very sorry, but he’s not available.”

Lauren ground her teeth and called bullshit. “Is he in the office?”

“Yes, but—”

“For the afternoon?” Lauren stood and retrieved her purse from the bottom drawer of her desk.

“Yes, but—”

Perfect. “I’ll be by to speak to him within the next hour.”

“I don’t think—”

Lauren disconnected the call, not caring at all what Victoria thought. This issue was between her and Chase, and clearly required a face-to-face conversation. If he thought he could buy her off, he was sadly mistaken. Out of pure principal alone, she was going to make him follow through on his end of the deal.

“Are you really going to his office?” Skye asked as Lauren pulled out the business card Chase had given her, which had his building’s address.

“Yep.” She opened the Uber app on her phone and ordered a ride, just as her cell rang again with Chase’s name on the display. She sent the call straight to voice mail, not in the mood to deal with platitudes over the phone.

Skye bit her lower lip as Lauren swept past her and out of her office. “Should I be worried?” her friend asked from behind her.

Lauren laughed, even though there was nothing funny about what was about to go down between her and Mr. Grumpy Pants. “No, but Chase Gossard should be.”

Because Lauren Connelly wasn’t anyone’s pushover, and she wasn’t about to start now.

* * *

Chase was in the conference room reviewing a client’s investment portfolio with one of the firm’s junior financial advisors, when he heard raised voices coming from his personal assistant’s desk. Frowning, he paused mid-sentence, and the silence between himself and Gary gave him the chance to overhear the conversation happening just down the hall.

“I’m really sorry that you made a trip here,” Victoria said, sounding flustered, when she was normally so composed. “But I already told you on the phone that Mr. Gossard is not available. He’s in a meeting for the afternoon and asked not to be interrupted.”

That was true. While reviewing the portfolio with Gary, and discussing stock options and other investments for their multibillionaire client, Chase had told Victoria to put all his calls on hold for the afternoon. The last thing he’d wanted was constant distractions diverting his attention.

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