Annihilate Me (7 page)

“Can’t
I help?”

“Not
at all.
 
You’re my guest.”
 
He raised his eyebrows at me.
 
“Maybe one day you’ll cook breakfast for
me.”

“Shakespeare
never came up with more tragic words.”

He
shook his head at me, but I could feel his affection.
 
“Oh, come on.”

“I
can do frozen waffles and toast.
 
And coffee.
 
I totally can do
coffee.”

“So,
you don’t cook?”

“Well,
not at the level you’re about to cook, and certainly not French.
 
But I am a good homestyle cook.
 
I can cook like my grandmother used to
cook for me.
 
It’s very rustic, but
delicious, if you like that sort of thing, which I do.
 
I can make a killer apple pie.
 
And I know how to make a good
steak.
 
As an additional bonus, roasted
chicken and vegetables are a snap for me.
 
I’ve got those covered.”

“I
remember having lunches and dinners with my friends when I was a boy summering
in Maine.
 
None of it was
stuffy—but all of it was good.”

“
That
I can do for you, Alex.”

“When
it gets colder, can you make a good beef stew?”

“Absolutely.
 
And a chicken soup that will curl your
toes.
 
And obviously fish—I
can do any sort of fish, and it always will be tender for the same reason those
eggs you’re cooking will be.
 
Low,
low heat.
 
Oh, and I can do a
macaroni and cheese with fresh mushrooms, lobster, and spinach that you’ll
never forget.
 
And I have a bit more
up my sleeve.
 
Just not the super
fancy stuff you’re about to do.”

“I’m
so glad you’re here, Jennifer.”

We
went into the kitchen, which was a massive space filled with high-end
appliances, a large bar area with comfortable stools, lots of overhead
lighting, and the aroma of fresh coffee.
 

“Would
you like a cup?”

“I’m
dying for a cup.”

“Cream?
 
Sugar?”

“Both,
please.”

Before
he poured the coffee into a large white mug, he put out a tray service.
 
“Help yourself.”

I
went straight for the cream and sugar, and indulged.
 
He watched me with a smile.
 
The coffee was delicious.
 
After getting almost no sleep, I was
thankful for it.
 

And
I knew I was damned lucky for him.
 
I watched him move around the kitchen, which seemed like a lover to
him.
 
He knew exactly where
everything was.
 
I watched him chop
the tarragon and lightly beat the eggs with a bit of heavy cream in a glass
bowl.
 
He prepared the asparagus
with olive oil and salt for roasting, and ground the fresh Parmesan in a food
processor so it could be used later.
 
The croissants looked divine and flaky beneath the domed pastry dish.
 
Butter softened to room temperature sat
beside them.
 
Next to the croissants
were two white plates, silverware, napkins, and two juice glasses.
 
The
Times
was to my right.

I
opened it to the business section while he cooked.
 
I scanned the page and was surprised to
find a story with a headline that read “Wenn Eyes Kobus Airlines.”
 
It was a brief story that detailed the
troubled airline and how its fleet could benefit the successful Wenn Air.
 
When asked if the rumors were true, Wenn
declined comment, though the
Times
reported that several unnamed sources confirmed
that Wenn did plan to go forward with a takeover bid.
  
Gordon Kobus, who owned the
airline, did comment.
 
I remembered
him from the fundraising gala at the Museum of Natural History
 
where he stared with open hostility at
Alex while we were in the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda.
 
The man gave me the creeps.
 
His quote gave me a chill:
 
“Alexander Wenn’s father once wanted my
airline, and he failed to take it away from me.
 
So will his son, who isn’t half the
businessman his father was.
 
He’s a
mere boy.
 
It won’t happen.
 
Mr. Wenn can rest assured of that.
 
I will fight him and the board of Wenn
Enterprises every step of the way should they come anywhere near Kobus.”

“That’s
just a damned threat,” I said aloud.

Alex
put the asparagus in the oven and looked up at me.
 
“You found the story, I see.”

“Who
leaked it?”

He
shrugged.
 
“Somebody did.
 
It might have been Kobus himself.”

“Because
his stock would soar on such news.”

“That’s
right.”

“I
hope it didn’t come from in-house.”

“I’ll
never know.
 
The board is behind the
idea, so I’m thinking it didn’t come from anyone within Wenn.
 
I’m thinking Kobus wanted his stock to
rise on the news.
 
As for the
‘unnamed sources,’ I have no clue who they could be.”

I
decided to go there.
 
“Last night,
you seemed distracted when you picked me up.
 
This morning, I felt the same way when I
saw you.
 
I’m assuming this is why.”

“It
isn’t.”

“Then,
what’s troubling you?”

He
reached for an oven timer and set it for the asparagus.
 
“I want to spend more time with you, but
I can already see that going forward that’s going to be difficult.
 
Sometimes it’s going to be
impossible.
 
That worries me.
 
And it frustrates me because I don’t see
an end to it.
 
I know you have your
commitments, as I do, but to give this our best shot, I see only one solution,
which I’m fairly certain you won’t take.”

“What’s
that?”

“I
want you to come back to Wenn,” he said.
 
“As soon as possible and in whatever capacity you wish.
 
You love business.
 
I can offer you the world of big
business.
 
If you agree, I’ll know
for certain that we can spend time together because I’ll make that a priority.”

I
started to speak, but he interrupted.
 
“Just let me get breakfast going, or my reputation for being a halfway
decent cook is going to be blown, which Michelle would have my ass for.
 
We’ll talk after we eat.
 
I’ll listen to you and I’ll hear you,
but I hope that we can work something out, Jennifer.
 
I’ve always been decisive about what I
want.
 
I didn’t take asking you to
be my girlfriend lightly.
 
I asked
you because that is exactly what I wanted, and what I continue to want.
 
You
are who I want.
 
I know this has happened very
quickly—I get it—but maybe it has for a reason.
 
Having you here now feels right to me.
 
It feels like this is how it should
be.
 
I know I’m probably way ahead
of you in terms of our relationship, but that’s just who I am, so I’m being
honest with you.
 
After we eat,
we’ll talk.
 
OK?”

My
head was spinning, and I could feel my guard going up.
 
I liked my job at db Bistro.
 
I won that job on my own merits, which
was important to me.
 
But I couldn’t
deny his point, and I also worried about how the lack of seeing each other
would affect our relationship.
 
Of
course it would.
 
We’d rarely see
each other.
 
I wasn’t a
fool—things would collapse because of that.
 
But I never saw this job offer coming,
and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.
 
Still, I had to at least hear him out and give it some thought.
 
It was only the right thing to do.

“OK,”
I said.
 
“We’ll eat, and then we’ll
talk.”
 

CHAPTER SIX

“How
were the eggs?” Alex asked, looking at my empty plate.

I
wiped my mouth with a napkin, and shot him a glance.
 
“Is that even a question?”

He
smiled at me, and when he did, his eyes were soft.

“They
were heaven.
 
All of it was.
 
Michelle trained you very well.”
 
I checked my watch.
 
“We probably should talk.
 
It’s fifteen minutes before eight, and
your meeting is at nine.
 
Living
room?”

“Sure.
 
Another cup of coffee?”

“I’d
love another.
 
Let me help you clean
up.”

He
tried to say no, but already I was out of my seat.
 
I stacked the plates, separated the
silverware, and cradled the two empty juice glasses around the bar to the
sink.
 
I rinsed off everything while
he stood beside me and poured the coffee.
 
I thought about what he said earlier about this feeling right to
him.
 
Helping him in the kitchen
felt natural to me.
 
It was the
oddest thing.
 
I’d only known this
man for a few weeks, but there was a rhythm between us that was
undeniable.
 
And confusing.
 
I was too new to all of this, and had to
wonder if what was happening between us was special, or if it was as rare as he
suggested it was.

Lisa will know.

When
we finished in the kitchen, the tension between us was high because neither of
us knew what was going to be said.
 
But he still reached for my hand when we walked into the living room
with our coffee.
 
I could tell that
he was nervous, so I squeezed back.
 
We sat on the white leather sofa, put our mugs down on the coffee table,
and Alex reached for my legs and swung them over his lap.
 
He removed my sandals and started to rub
my feet.

“I
know you love your job, Jennifer.
 
And I know that it’s important to you that you landed it on your
own.
 
You have every reason to be
proud of that.
 
I’m proud of you for
it.”

I
didn’t say anything at first—I just watched him.
 
He wasn’t looking at me.
 
Instead, he had a brooding look on his
face as he focused on my feet.
 
He
was impossibly handsome and kind, regardless of the rougher, more dominant side
I’d seen in him last night.
 
And I
didn’t want this to end, just as I didn’t want to shortchange my career.
 
Wenn could offer me opportunities that I
wouldn’t receive at db Bistro.
 
Obviously.
 
But what was he
proposing?
 
Earlier, he said
anything I wanted.
 
But I wanted
something that complemented my skills.
 
I wasn’t about to take anything more than that.
 
If I did, I would regret it, and it
would cheapen everything that was blossoming between us.

“That
night with Cyrus,” I said.
 
“I
didn’t enjoy the end of the night, to say the least, but I did enjoy
strategizing with you on how best to work a potential deal.
 
I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I
know that because of me, you landed that deal with Stavros Shipping.”

He
looked up me.
 
“You think I don’t
know that?
 
You were
instrumental.
 
Even the board knows
it.
 
I told them what you did.”

I
didn’t know that.
 
He could have
taken the credit for himself, but he didn’t.
 
I felt a rush of affection for him
then.
 
But then I checked myself,
and focused on my future.

“If
I did this, I’d only consider a job that I had earned.
 
I don’t want any handouts just so we can
be together.
 
I want to be valued
for my contributions, and not like I’m there only because I’m Alexander Wenn’s
companion.”

“Girlfriend.”

“Companion.
 
I know you keep saying girlfriend, but
I’m not there yet.
 
Still, as I
promised last night, I
will
be exclusive to you.
 
I’ve never been in a relationship
before.
 
I need to see how this
unfolds, and I need for you to respect that it might take longer for me to say that
word than it took you.
 
It seemed so
easy for you.”

“It
was
easy for me.
 
You’re not the first woman of interest
to come along since my wife died, Jennifer.
 
I think you’ve seen a slice of what I
have to deal with when I go out.
 
Since Diana’s death, I haven’t called anyone my girlfriend until I met
you because I haven’t dated anyone.
 
I said it for a reason.
 
It’s
what I want.
 
It’s what’s in my
heart.
 
I know this is right.”

“I
just need time, Alex.
 
I need to let
it build in a different way.
 
Not
just sexually.
 
Though that wasn’t
so bad last night, as you clearly saw when I practically bumped into walls on
my way out.
 
But mentally and
emotionally too.
 
Does that make
sense?
 
I need it all before I can
say that word.”

“I’m
just ahead of you, which is fine.”
 
He lifted my foot and kissed it before he started to rub it again.
 
“Eventually, I’ll get you there.”

“Back
to that night with Cyrus.
 
I
consulted you that night.
 
I gave
you an angle you hadn’t considered.
 
I think you’ve seen that when it comes to what’s happening in the
business world, I’m pretty much on top of it.
 
I have good instincts and ideas.
 
I think a good fit for me at Wenn would
be as a consultant to you.
 
Maybe to
go to these events with you and meet the players.
 
During the day, we could see each other
in private and strategize about the next target.
 
I think I could succeed at that.
 
And because of the Stavros deal, which
will make Wenn hundreds of millions, I think I’ve earned that.
 
Better yet, I wouldn’t feel as if I was
just given something so we could be together.
 
What matters to me is that I’m in a job
in which I feel valued for my work and my contributions.
 
How do you feel about that?”

“You’d
like to be my consultant?” he asked.

“I
think that would be a good fit.
 
I
think we could get some work done together.”

“If
I offered you the job now, would you take it?”

“We’d
need to discuss salary first.
 
A
fair wage.”

“What
did you have in mind?”

“I
have nothing in mind.
 
So far, this
has all been off the cuff.
 
I was
expecting breakfast, not this conversation.”

“What
are you worth, Jennifer?
 
Don’t
lowball yourself.
 
Tell me what
you’re worth.”

I
thought about it for a moment.
 
I
knew what other consultants made in the city.
 
It often was an outrageous sum, well
into seven figures.
 
But I was only
twenty-five, so I needed to scale it way back without underselling myself or
what I’d already achieved for Wenn.

“At
this point in my career and with what I’ve already done for you?
 
Five hundred thousand a year, with
bonuses for milestones achieved.”

“Five
hundred thousand?”

“That’s
right.”

“I
thought you were going to go for more.”

“I’m
here to work for a fair wage.
 
Consulting the CEO of a major corporation for five hundred thousand a
year is a fair wage in this city, especially considering my age and my
experience.
 
I’m not here to use our
relationship for an inflated salary.
 
It’s not ethical.”

“So,
you see?
 
This is one of the reasons
I want to be with you.
 
One of the
many reasons.
 
Others would have
gone for much more.
 
Others also
wouldn’t have given me the jewelry and the clothes back.”

“I’m
not like the others.”

“I
know you’re not.
 
Will you take the
job?”

“I
need to talk to Lisa about it.
 
I
share everything with her.
 
She’s
my
consultant.
 
And if I take it, I’ll need to give two
weeks’ notice at the restaurant.
 
I
will not leave Stephen in a bind.
 
He and the rest of the staff have been good to me.”

“That
sounds more than fair.
 
When do you
think I’ll have a definitive answer?”

“Once
I talk to Lisa.
 
At best, by the end
of today.
 
If not today, then
sometime tomorrow.
 
I think I might
sleep on it.”

“That
works for me.”

“Thank
you.”

And
with that, he leaned me back on the sofa, and cupped my face in his hands, his
eyes glinting with desire.
 
He then
went in for the kill for the next thirty minutes so that I was so spent, I
barely could move when he gave me a final kiss and dashed into his bedroom to
change into his suit.

After
he’d changed, he came out of his bedroom and walked over to me.
 
“I want you to have something,” he said.

I
was delusional.
 
I looked at what he
was holding out in his hand.
 
It
looked like a credit card.
 
“What’s
that?”

“A
key to the apartment.”

“Isn’t
it a little too soon?”

“Look,
Jennifer.
 
Even if you don’t take
the job and we have to find out other ways to make this work, if you find
yourself in this neighborhood and are in need of a place to unwind, even if I’m
not here, I want you to know that you can do so here.
 
It’s not a big deal.
 
I’ve already told security.
 
They know who you are by name.
 
You just need to say hello to them, walk
past them, and use the place as if it’s yours.
 
Because it is yours.
 
All of it.
 
If you find that you need anything, just
call the front desk and you’ll have it in a flash.
 
There’s nothing you can’t have, so just
ask for it.
 
OK?”

“Alex—”

“Jennifer,
either way, we’ll work this out.”

“All
right.”
 
I sat up and admired
him.
 
“I love you in a suit.”

“You’ve
said that before.
 
Why?”

“Because
you look handsome.
 
Even when you’re
tie is crooked, as it is now.”

I
stood up and straightened it.
 
I was
so close to him, I could smell that damned cologne of his, which was faint but
beyond sexy.
 
It was never
overpowering on him.
 
Instead, he
did it right and used it correctly.
 
Cologne or perfume should only ever be an intimate experience.
 
It should be part of one’s essence,
something someone else can smell only if they are very close to you.
 
I kissed him full on the lips and
thanked him for breakfast.

“I’m
only a phone call away,” he said.
 
“Talk to Lisa.
 
See what she
thinks.
 
If she’s this close to you,
I’d like to meet her soon.
 
We three
can have dinner together.
 
Right
here.
 
I’ll cook.”

“There’s
no need for you to go to that kind of trouble.
 
We can just go out.”

“I’d
rather stay in, if it’s all the same.
 
Cooking relaxes me.
 
Seriously.
 
It’s what
Michelle taught me.
 
‘In the kitchen,
you can become an artist,’ she used to say to me.
 
‘And when you become one, you lose
yourself and your troubles will go away.’”