Part 12 (1/2)
At least Dave had the decency to look embarra.s.sed.
Monday morning, Nick disengaged himself from Rosalie's grasp and slipped out of bed. It was only five-thirty, still fully dark, and Nick wondered if all those stories he'd heard about blue b.a.l.l.s were true.
He'd been awake and trying to fall back to sleep for over an hour. He'd come to the conclusion that sleep wasn't going to happen. Typical. Maybe he'd go to the office and stretch out on the couch. Rosalie's couch was too close to Rosalie, and the way he felt right now, if he didn't leave, he'd either attack her or go crazy. She was too soft in all the places he was hard; she was too comfortable; she smelled too good; and d.a.m.n, the way she wrapped herself around him was enough to tempt a saint. Nick was no saint.
He hit the bathroom, showered, and dressed in jeans and a sweater. He'd change into one of the suits he'd hauled to the office since staying at Rosalie's. It was faster than going home to change and then to the dealers.h.i.+p. Sure, his secretary was giving him funny looks, but that was nothing new. Lois had been doing that for the last ten years. He was used to it.
Nick fed and walked Dave, made coffee for himself, and set the pot to brew automatically for Rosalie. It didn't take long for him to learn that coffee was necessary to Rosalie's survival, as well as everyone else's. Being around Rosalie before she had coffee was like waving a red cape at a Brahma bull-not a bright idea. The woman was downright vicious. Nick grabbed his briefcase, keys, and phone, and patted Dave's head.
”I'll be back with lunch. You take care of Lee for me.”
He went to the door to get his coat and he the oddest feeling he should stay-an ominous feeling. Nick shook his head. Talk about melodramatic-he heard organ music playing in his head. Da-da-duh-dum. He was being ridiculous. Rosalie was fine. Her breathing was back to normal; she hadn't wheezed all night; and her cough was under control. In short, she was sleeping like a babe. A very s.e.xy, hot, arousing, desirable babe. d.a.m.n, he had to get the h.e.l.l out of there, or all his good intentions would disappear. She'd definitely be better off without him hanging around wanting to get her all excited and breathing heavy.
He adjusted himself, pulled his jacket on, and checked to make sure it covered his bulge. He didn't want Henry and Wayne getting the wrong idea if he pa.s.sed them on the way out. Grabbing his briefcase, he took a deep breath, pushed the bad feeling aside, and left for work.
Nick crashed for a few hours in his office and spent the rest of the morning going through the motions. He knew that he spoke to people, had meetings, and made decisions, but he did it all by rote. His mind was on Rosalie. He couldn't get past the feeling that something was wrong.
”Earth to Nick.”
Nick looked up from the ad copy he'd been staring at for the last half hour. Lois was looking at him as if she wanted to commit murder.
Nick had the urge to get out of his chair and step out of her reach. He'd hired her because she was a real hard a.s.s. A single mom with five boys, only one of whom was still at home, the woman could give a Marine Drill Sergeant lessons on how to be one of the few, the proud... h.e.l.l, the Marines could use her as a secret weapon. She looked harmless enough, but as Nick had found out early on, she was more dangerous than a nuclear bomb. Until now, she had never directed her rage at him. It was okay if she directed it at the press or pushy salesmen, but he'd thought he was safe because he signed her paychecks. He'd been wrong.
”What's the matter with you?”
”Me?” Nick sputtered. ”What do you mean? Nothing's the matter with me.”
”Okay,” Lois threw up her hands, ”don't tell me. I don't care, but let me tell you something. You've been acting strange since the beginning of last week, and you're walking around here with your head up your a.s.s. You came this close to losing our biggest client today. Mr. Ackerman was going to take his business elsewhere. Do you know how big a fleet his company has? How many cars, trucks, and vans he purchases from us annually? How much he spends on repairs and maintenance each year?”
”I do not have my head up my a.s.s-”
”Oh, really? Is that why you slept through your breakfast meeting this morning? Do you realize that's the second time you've stood him up? You didn't even have the decency to cancel.”
”A breakfast meeting? d.a.m.n.”
”I just spent an hour on the phone placating him. Do you mind telling me where the h.e.l.l your head is? Because it's not here. h.e.l.l, it's not even at Premier Motors. You couldn't find Premier's file when you were looking right at it, and you've yet to comment on the new interim CFO. What's going on with you, Nick?”
”Okay... you know that woman I've been seeing?”
”Rosalie Ronaldi? Yeah, what about her?”
”You remember when I told you how I got in trouble as a kid?”
”When you and a friend got arrested for grand theft auto? How could I forget?”
Nick rubbed the back of his neck. ”Yeah, well, the friend happened to be Rosalie's big brother.”
Lois shook her head and looked as if she was about to give him h.e.l.l. He might as well get the inevitable over with. He braced for it, as if he were about to pull a Band-Aid off a hairy part of his body. It was going to sting... badly. He held up his hand to stop the onslaught until he was finished. ”Wait, there's more.”
”More? Spit it out, Nick.”
”She's a turnaround expert, and she's turning around Premier Motors. She's the new interim CFO.”
Lois crossed her arms over her abundant chest and gave Nick a look that had him saying Hail Marys under his breath. ”You know, Nick, I thought you had your head up your a.s.s, but now I know the truth. You can't have your head up your a.s.s, because you are are an a.s.s. How dare you use that poor woman for your own purposes? That's just wrong in so many ways-” an a.s.s. How dare you use that poor woman for your own purposes? That's just wrong in so many ways-”
”Whoa, hold on. I'm not using Lee-well, not without her consent, anyway. I didn't know she was the interim CFO. I didn't know she had anything to do with Premier Motors until Wednesday. What do you take me for?”
”A guy who'd keep his ident.i.ty a secret from the woman he's sleeping with, because she'd probably never see him if she knew who he really was. I know you, Dominick Romeo. You're determined to acquire Premier Motors, and you're not above using others to forward your agenda.”
”Okay, I'll admit I've skated on the edge of propriety when it comes to business dealings, but I've never done anything illegal.”
”Last time I checked, corporate espionage was illegal, not to mention immoral. h.e.l.l, you could get Rosalie fired and blackballed. Who's going to hire a turnaround expert who gives information to the man planning a hostile takeover?”
”It's hardly hostile. I made them a very fair offer.”
”That's not the point, and you know it. You need to choose between your girlfriend and Premier Motors.”
”That's ridiculous. Rosalie is temporary, and Premier is business. I don't mix business and pleasure.”
”How's it going to look when someone finds out she's sleeping with the man intent on taking over the company she's been hired to save?”
”That's not going to happen. I'm not going to do, nor have I done, anything to hurt Premier. I simply sat back and watched La.s.siter run it into the ground, all by his lonesome. I haven't done anything to hurt Lee, either, but there's little chance of her turning around Premier Motors.”
Lois looked skeptical.
”Besides, Lee and I will be history by the time I make my next offer to La.s.siter, and I'll make sure she's not hurt by any of this.”
”Oh, that's right. I forgot. You're the great and powerful Oz. You control everything and everyone. You know what, Nick? Since you're so good at it, next time you sleep through a breakfast meeting and destroy a valuable client relations.h.i.+p, clean up your own mess. I'm finished. And if Rosalie knew who you were and what you're doing, she'd be finished, too.”
Nick had to hand it to her. Lois sure could dish it out. He'd never thought of how this might affect Rosalie, but hey, they were just sleeping together. They never talked business. Rosalie thought he was a mechanic. Why would she talk about confidential information with a mechanic? Sure, when she found out the truth, there'd be h.e.l.l to pay, but until then, he was going to enjoy himself. Besides, it wasn't as if he needed to take advantage of Rosalie. He was the best in the business. What would be the fun of winning if he had to cheat to do it? Rosalie knew him well enough to know he'd never use her. Well, he hoped she did, anyway.
”Look, Lois. I promise, nothing's going to happen to Lee, so stop worrying. Have I ever broken a promise to you?”
”No, you haven't. But Nick, think about what you're doing.”
”I will, and Lois, thanks for covering for me today.
I'm sorry I put you in an uncomfortable situation. It's been a hard couple of weeks.” Nick checked his watch and stood, walking toward his private bathroom. ”I'm on my way out. I'll be back first thing in the morning.”
”Nick, it's not even noon, and you didn't wake up until nine thirty. Aren't you even going to tell me what you're doing sleeping in your office?”
”No, I'm not.”
”Stop the buzzing, stop the buzzing! Who would come over this early in the morning?” Rosalie got out of bed and moved as quickly as she could-which she had to admit was a snail's pace-to the door, slapped the intercom b.u.t.ton, and croaked, ”What?”
”Rosalie Angelina Ronaldi, you open this door this minute, or I'm going to call your father and see what he has to say.”