Page 40 of The CEO's Baby

“Why the delay? Preliminary groundwork could be laid now. You don’t have to be there, you’re not doing the daily tasks. Brussels isn’t in Italy to begin with.”

He was right.

“However, Thomas is still in charge. I thought we’d retain the original schedule until he retires.”

“We can’t go into a holding mode until Thomas decides when he’s going to retire. As it stands, he may stay on another six months. I’d like a complete update by next week’s meeting—including a time line that starts now.”

He questioned her on two other projects, which Cath felt fortunate she could answer. However her responses weren’t completely satisfactory. No wonder Hank had been perspiring.

She felt flustered and inept. She hadn’t felt so ill prepared in many years.

And Trace cut her no slack. His implacable expression gave no hint that he’d kissed her passionately just two nights ago. Or that they’d made love all night long once upon a time.

When he moved to the next manager, it was all Cath could do not to give a huge sigh of relief. Working for Trace Williams was going to be totally different from working for Mr. Deerfield.

The two new men gave their own introductions, giving some of their background and each informing the group about immediate plans.

Cath felt drained when the meeting ended shortly before noon.

She grabbed a bite to eat, took a quick walk around the block, then barricaded herself in her office to get to the tasks assigned. She wouldn’t give Trace any reason to fault her work.

It was almost six o’clock when Trace appeared in her doorway.

“Want to grab a bite to eat?”

She looked up from the charts she was working on, startled to see him. For a moment she relived her embarrassment at the morning’s meeting. The man standing in front of her looked relaxed, not like the driven businessman of earlier.

“It’s past time you left work. And since you have to eat, we might as well eat together,” he said easily.

His dark eyes took in the stacks of papers, the time line she had up on her computer.

“It’s not that late. Anyway, you’re a great one to talk—haven’t you been here late every night since you started?”

She felt uncertain. Was this the man who would chew her out if she failed?

Or the father of the baby she carried?

Or the fun-loving guy who had spent so much time with her last summer?

Her eyes were drawn to his mouth. Would there be kisses for dessert? Her heart began to beat a bit faster.

Cath closed the file she was working on while trying to surreptitiously find her shoes. She had kicked them off earlier because her feet were swelling. Locating one, she tried to stuff her foot into it, but it was a tight fit. She still didn’t know where the other one was.

Trace leaned casually against the doorjamb and watched her, amused.

“Having trouble?”

So much for trying to act sophisticated. She frowned at him.

“I’m trying to find my shoe.”

She scooted back her chair and dropped down beneath her desk seeing the errant shoe in the far corner. A moment later she was standing. The shoes felt tight, but she was not going to dinner wearing her cross-trainers.

“All ready,” she said brightly.

She knew enough of the corporate game to never let her boss know of any problems. If he didn’t refer to the morning, she never would.

Most of the other employees had left for the day. They encountered a couple on their way to the elevator. When they called out good-nights, Cath smiled and gave a quick glance at Trace.

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