Blackmailing The Billionaire(13)

"I'm starving after all this walking. Why don't we grab a bite to eat  before we head back to the offices? I think Lucas will be done by then.  He's taking me on a romantic drive to the coast tonight. I can hardly  wait," Amy said, once again dragging Cassie away.

They passed by a mother who had her hands full. She had a crying baby  and a toddler, who was trying with all his might, to escape her. She  looked frazzled and Cassie wanted to stop and help. The sight of the  precious little one made her heart swell. She'd given up on the idea of  having children a couple years ago. You had to be in a secure  relationship and she just didn't see that happening anytime soon. She  didn't have time to meet the right kind of guys, and she didn't want to  find her future husband in a bar. Most men there only wanted a woman for  the night. She felt doomed to eternal singleness.         

     



 

The girls ate their meal and finally made it back to the offices. Amy  promised to call, before rushing off to Lucas's floor. It was in the  building beside Max's. There was a skywalk connecting the buildings, so  the girls had ridden to the floor together before Amy walked across to  meet Lucas. Cassie wanted to see the spectacular view of the city  sometime from the skywalk, with its floor to ceiling windows all along  it. She knew the view at night would be glorious.

Some people didn't like the hustle and bustle of a large city, but the  longer she was in Seattle, the more she fell in love. There were quaint  little coffee shops, beautiful scenery, plenty of shopping, and parks,  and if you did want some peace and quiet it wasn't far away. She still  hadn't gone on a ferry boat ride, which she promised herself she'd do  soon. She couldn't imagine ever getting bored in the beautiful  Northwest.

"You've been gone a long time," was the first thing she heard as she stepped into Max's office.

"I ran into your cousin's wife, Amy, and we had lunch and did some  shopping. We had a wonderful time," Cassie said, before she realized she  didn't need to explain herself to the man. He wasn't her employer.

"Well, you missed out on some valuable training Cynthia was going to  provide you. You aren't acting like you want to go on this trip," he  stated.

"Of course I want to go on this trip. We were shopping for cold-weather  clothes," Cassie snapped. If he was going to act this way in Alaska she  may have to bury him in an avalanche of snow, she thought with evil  glee.

There was a long pause as he looked from her to the bags dangling from  her fingers, then to his desk. She was getting tired of feeling like she  was being called into the principal's office.

"Did you and Amy have a nice afternoon?"

She felt like she was being interrogated. Was there something wrong with  her going out with Amy? Maybe, he was a snob and thought she wasn't  respectable enough to spend the afternoon with the president of the  company's spouse. She wiped that thought from her mind the second she  had it. She knew the Andersons weren't snobby people. She just couldn't  figure out why he'd care if she spent time with Amy. It didn't affect  him in any way. Then, it hit her that he would figure she'd drilled Amy  the entire time about him.

Amy had shared some information, but nothing that would reflect on him  in a negative way, she actually liked Max. She said she hadn't gotten to  know him until his family moved back home to Seattle, but since the  move the cousins were closer than ever. Family meant everything in their  large group and they got together for any excuse they could find. Heck,  they didn't even need excuses. They just dropped in on each other  whenever they could.

"Amy is fantastic. We plan on going out again," she stated stubbornly. Let him try and forbid her from having a friend.

"Don't get too cozy around my family, Cassie. You're doing an interview  about me, then you'll be gone," he said lazily like he didn't care, but  Cassie heard the threat behind the words. She felt like she was going to  explode, she was so angry with him. After they got done with the Alaska  trip she was certainly going to tell him what she really thought about  his arrogance. For now, he had her, and he knew it.

"Don't worry, Max. I'm not secretly trying to get close to your family,  so that ultimately I can continue to trail you. You may believe the  world thinks you're irresistible, but all I've ever wanted from you was  an interview. When I'm done with it we'll part ways and you never have  to look at my face again," she reassured him. She hoped she'd been  successful in keeping the anger from her tone. By the narrowing of his  eyes, she thought she may need to try a little harder.

"Just as long as you don't forget that," he said in an almost seductive  tone. She fought the shudder his voice invoked. He made her angry one  moment, and burning with need the next.

Cassie took a deep breath, making sure her voice would be under control  before she spoke again. She didn't need their argument to escalate any  further.

"Believe me, Max, I won't be forgetting my place around you," she said  in a sugary sweet voice that made her sick. He looked at her  suspiciously, but thankfully let the topic drop.

"I need you to fill out these forms. You'll be acting as my secretary on  this trip so you need to get paid," he said, pushing some paperwork  toward her. She immediately began to protest. She in no way wanted him  to be her employer, but on the other hand she was grateful he was  dropping the whole scheming conversation.         

     



 

"I don't have time to argue with you, Cassie. We leave first thing in  the morning and I have to leave here in twenty minutes for a business  dinner. Fill them out if you want to go, or leave them if you don't," he  said. He turned back to his computer and started typing as if he didn't  care what she did at that point.

With a bit of a pout, Cassie placed her bags down, picked up the papers  and walked out of his office. Cynthia was gone for the day, as were most  of the other employees, so she sat at her desk and began filling out  the huge stack of papers. She was only half finished when Max walked out  of the room and paused at her desk.

"Leave those in Cynthia's out box. She'll be in for a half day tomorrow  and will make sure they get to HR. Meet me here by six A.M. on the dot.  We'll be able to fly directly into Cordova with the company jet but have  to stop in Anchorage first and dump some fuel. The runway is small in  Cordova and the jet has weight restrictions." He was speaking to her as  if she knew what he was talking about. She nodded her head to let him  know she understood. He looked at her for a moment longer before he  finally left.

Cassie finished her paperwork, left it for Cynthia, grabbed her bags and  headed toward the elevators. She was tired and wanted nothing more than  to go home, get packed, have a hot shower, and try to catch some sleep  before they left.

Upon arriving at her apartment, she popped a dinner into her microwave  and sat down in her favorite chair. She was just beginning to drift off  when her telephone rang. She almost let it go to voicemail, but thought  it may be Max with some last minute demands before their trip.

"I'm so glad I caught you at home. With this time difference, it's  almost impossible to reach you," her best friend's voice came over the  line.

"Kinsey, I'm so glad to hear from you! It's been way too long. You've  got to check in more often so I know you're still alive," Cassie said,  overcome with excitement to hear her voice.

"I know. I'm a terrible best friend. I've been so busy, and it's really  hard to get to a phone, but I haven't been able to get you off my mind  so I took a trip into town to give you a call. Before you give me a  well-deserved lecture, be aware that this call is costing mega-bucks,"  Kinsey said in her naturally good humored voice.

"Okay, I suppose I won't lecture you this time, but when you finally get back here, be prepared for an earful," Cassie warned.

"I have zero doubts about it. How are you doing?"

"I finally got Max Anderson to agree to my interview. I'm doing an  in-depth, month long interview and I know it's going to give me my big  break," Cassie told her excitedly.

"Oh my gosh, Cassie, that's amazing. I can't wait for you to tell me all  the details. I knew you wouldn't give up. You're the most amazing  person I know. You're going to have to tell me about it when I get home  next month," Kinsey said. It took a few moments for her words to sink  in.

"You're coming home? For real? Please don't be toying with me because I  miss you too much for that," Cassie fired questions at her.

"I'm definitely coming home. This village is thriving now. There's still  so much more work to be done, but thankfully many volunteers are coming  over, now, and I'm missing you and my family too much to be away any  longer. I'm coming home and will be staying. I'm sure I'll get the bug  to come back over, but it will be for much shorter visits. You'll have  to come with me since you're going to be a big city reporter. You can  get Pulitzer Prize articles written in places like the village I'm in,"  Kinsey said.