CEO's Expectant Secretary(34)

“I’ll have the same thing she’s having,” Brock said. “With a beer.”

“Club sandwich,” Elle supplied with a sheepish smile.

“What was that about?” he asked curiously as he sat down beside her.

“Your staff gets really upset when I fix my own food. I think they consider it an insult,” she said.

Brock chuckled. “Trust me, they’re not used to anyone doing for themselves around here. Anna probably doesn’t know what to do with you.”

“How’s work?” she asked, noticing that his lack of rest was visible around his eyes. “You look tired.”

“You know I’m in the race for the gold against your grandfather. Can’t take a lot of breaks.”

Frustration filled her. “I don’t understand him. I would have thought his heart condition would slow him down, or at least make him see reason.”

“He and my father have a lot in common. My father was determined to leave the business for future generations of the Maddox family.”

“Is that the way you feel?” she asked. “That you’re building Maddox for your heirs?”

“At this point in the company’s growth, it’s more about taking care of the employees who are counting on me, and securing our growth for the future. I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about what my heir will ultimately do.” Anna delivered the sandwich and beer. “Thank you,” he said to her. “Why do you ask, Elle?”

“Just curious. Your father instilled in you a strong sense of family tradition and I wondered if you planned the same path for our child.”

“You don’t like that idea,” he concluded, then shot her a sly smile. “You don’t think I turned out well?”

“I didn’t say that,” she said, giving in to the urge to smile. “I just wouldn’t want our child to feel locked in to only one choice.”

“If it’s a boy, he may want to play baseball,” he said.

“Or sing opera,” she said, choosing the polar opposite to watch Brock’s reaction.

“Not if he gets my musical ability,” Brock muttered, taking a bite of the sandwich and washing it down with a swig of beer. He let out a long sigh. “This is the most relaxed I’ve been since we left the mountain house. Thank God my dinner meeting had to cancel tonight.”

Elle couldn’t decide whether to feel offended or flattered. “Well, it’s good to see you,” she said. “I’ve missed you.”

He glanced up and met her gaze for a long moment. “I can see how it would get lonely around here.”

“It’s not that,” she said. “I was just used to seeing you at the office, so I spent most of my days with you.”

He nodded. Something about him seemed restless, unsettled. “It won’t always be this busy. I’ll be around more.”

“Will you really?” she asked, keeping her voice light even though her feelings were anything but. “That workaholic gene is pretty strong.”

“You’re not the first to notice,” he said, his gaze turning moody. “After we get through this crisis, I want to shift things so that I can delegate more often. But in the meantime, you and I have received our first social invitation,” he said, changing the subject. “Walter and Angela Prentice are having a cocktail party on Friday night and they specifically requested your presence.”

The Prentice name was familiar to Elle—Walter’s company was Maddox’s most important client. “Do they know about the baby?” she asked, acutely aware that Walter was very image-conscious and wouldn’t tolerate even a whiff of a scandal.

“I didn’t mention it, but Walter’s such a family man, I’m sure he’ll be delighted with the news, since we’re married.”

“Family is everything,” she said, repeating the Prentice slogan.

“Yes, it is,” Brock said, taking a bite of his sandwich and leaning his head back against the sofa.

She felt a shot of sympathy for him, remembering the challenging days he’d endured when she’d worked for him. Finished with her dinner, she rose and stood behind him. “Take a deep breath and let the day go,” she said, repeating what she’d told him in his apartment so many times.

“Hmm,” he said as she sank her fingers into his shoulders.

“You can’t work 24/7,” she whispered. “You can’t work right now, so you may as well rest. Rest and get stronger for when you can do something.”

Brock inhaled and exhaled. “I remember how much I craved these massages at the end of the day,” he murmured.