The concierge returns with our drinks. I accept mine happily and Chase sits up to get his. I look around and then I have to suppress a shriek of glee. The lounge chair for two has drink holders. I take a nice, long sip, watch the waves for a minute, and then lay back down.
“Do you think it’s working?” I ask.
“So far so good,” he says.
I’m just too excited to really lay down, so I get up on my elbows to see what’s going on. This is after all the first time I’ve ever been stalked by paparazzi.
I’m reclining, absolutely minding my own business, and having a wonderful time, even if I am wondering what the holdup is on my fresh fruit tray.
Every once in a while, a beachgoer or jogger will pass by. But all of a sudden, as I scan the shoreline, I can’t believe my eyes. There is a large, hairy, head chef trudging down the beach in this direction. His face is red and sweaty with the effort, and he still has his coat on, but not his hat. Who the hell walks the beach in the heat of the day in their uniform?
I’m still wondering when he gets even closer. I can see his eyes roaming the beach in front of me as he trudges forward.
Oh shit. I have somebody covering for me in the kitchen. If he catches me here, relaxing in the four hundred dollar a day lounge chair, he’s going to fire my ass.
I have to think of something, and fast.
Out of pure instinct and panic, I do the only thing I can think of in the split second before Ralph is right in front of the lounge chair.
I roll all the way over and lie lengthwise, body on body onto Chase. The last thing I see is the very surprised expression on his face before I throw my lips on top of his to keep Ralph from being able to see my face.
I don’t want to take any chances, and when Chase pauses the kiss, I press in even further, slipping in my tongue. That brings a slight moan to his lips. And then, suddenly, my heart is pumping wildly for a completely different reason.
I pull out of the kiss. My body is on fire now and every inch of it is hyper aware of the body underneath me.
A quick glance down the beach confirms that Ralph is gone. The coast is clear. That was a close one.
“What the hell?” Chase asks, when he finally comes up for air. His green eyes flash fury at me. “I thought you didn’t want to do this in public?”
I roll my eyes at him. “Calm down. I only did it because I had to. I saw Ralph. That means he could have seen me. And that would get me fired, Chase. We also agreed that I could keep my job. He was right there,” I pointed to the waves. “What else was I supposed to do?”
I exhale and start to roll gently off of Chase and back to my original spot. Only a firm hand grips my nearly bare hip, stopping me. It sends a surge of want through me.
It’s my turn to shoot him an angry glare. Ten seconds ago he was angry at me for the PDA. Now he’s on board? “What the fuck, Chase? Let me go.”
“Nope,” he says. “Stay here for a couple more minutes.”
“Why?”
He smirks up at me, and there’s no longer anger flashing in his eyes. “Don’t be alarmed, but I have a huge boner.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Hey,” he objects, “you’re the one who rolled on top of me and started sucking out my tonsils in full view of the public. Plus, you were squirming. To quote your exact words from earlier, there’s nothing I can do.”
“You can’t turn that thing off for, like, ten seconds?” I ask.
“Um, that’s not how dicks work, Kaylee.”
Chapter Fourteen
Kaylee
After the whole Ralph incident, the time passes pretty quietly. Except that my fruit tray finally arrives and it’s delicious. It’s everything I have ever hoped for in a fruit tray that I can’t afford.
Every so often I glance over in the direction of the Beaky Tiki to check on the throng of paparazzi gathered there. Unless I’m seeing things, the group of people over there tussling with Chase’s private security continues to grow. I guess he does know what he’s doing. “Your plan seems to be working,” I tell him.
He sits up again and glances over there. “You’re right,” he says. “There are even more photographers now. We’ve got them right where we want them. I’m starting to think we’re going to be able to pull this off. I’m going to need you all weekend though.”
I look at my watch. “What? I only got three hours off. And you have no idea how hard it was to swing that. I’m supposed to be back at work in an hour and a half.”
“Can’t you call in sick?” he asks. “Besides, soon you’ll be going into business for yourself, remember? So who cares?”
“Who cares? I care, Chase!”
I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. I’m feeling worse and worse about all of this. What if lose my job over this and he leaves town pouting because he doesn’t get or lose his company or whatever? Even worse, what if he does win and he jets off into the sunset anyway? Where does that leave me?
Admittedly, I know nothing about billionaires, much less of the Covington variety. And I’m pretty sure I’m nothing but a pawn in a game I know very little about. Okay part of this is because the business end of his goals is very boring and I tend to get distracted. But every step forward into this feels like a step away from everything that is comfortable and familiar to me.
“Look you,” I hiss at him.
