“I’m not scared,” she said, though it was an obvious lie.
“Have you never heard the saying to be careful what you wish for?” he purred. His new demeanor worried her but she could feel she was starting to win the battle. She couldn’t back down now.
“I know what I’m getting into, and I’m not afraid to chase what I want,” she said with emphasis.
“You want your interview? Fine, you’ll get it. I’ll have my attorney draw up new paperwork. There will be certain things that will be off limits. If you break any of the rules of the contract, I will sink you so far you’ll never be able to dig yourself out of the hole. Do you understand?” he asked, his tone betraying his words. His voice was scarily calm, while his words were terrifying.
She couldn’t imagine sitting in a board meeting with him. His entire attitude shouted power, beyond anything she could imagine. She really may have taken on more than she could handle, but she knew the journalism world was a tuff nut to crack, and she’d deal with harder cases than him. She could handle it.
“I know you hate interviews, and having your privacy invaded. I’ll be tactful in what I write, but I’ll also be truthful. If you’re trying to hide unethical business practices, I will figure it out, and I won’t lie,” she said with her shoulders squared. It took everything in her not to shake.
He looked deeply into her eyes - she knew to see if he could intimidate her. Suddenly, his mouth flashed up in what looked like a genuine smile. She looked at him in stunned silence. She didn’t understand why he’d be smiling when she’d so obviously won. She was beginning to worry she may not have really won anything after all.
“You’re very brave from your hospital bed. We’ll see how well you do when you’re not quite so frail and using that unfair advantage at your disposal,” he said with the same smile in place. She didn’t back down.
“I don’t break easily.”
“We’ll see. I always get what I want, too, Ms. McIntyre,” he said, reverting to her last name.
“What do you want?” she asked, though she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to that question.
“That will have to be a surprise,” he promised. It wasn’t a threat, or a question, it was a statement of intent.
This was a bad, bad idea. She was too stubborn to back down, but she was getting a really bad feeling about the entire situation. She’d get her interview, but at what cost? If she were a smarter woman, she’d sign his papers, take the money and run.
As if he could read her thoughts, he took said papers, and ripped them in half. She almost gasped at the finality of it. She hoped her fear wasn’t showing. If he felt he had the upper hand she wouldn’t stand a chance at going head-to-head with him.
“I’ll be back in a few days with the proper paperwork. Then, it looks like we’ll be inseparable for a month,” he said before turning away. She wanted to call him back and tell him it had all been a mistake. She knew she should forget about the whole thing, but she couldn’t seem to get the words past her throat. She’d go through with it, and she’d write up the best article ever written on any of the Andersons. She tossed and turned the entire night and knew the next couple of days were going to be stressful. Every sound would have her head turning, waiting for Max to walk back through the door.
Max walked out of the room, proud that he’d managed to keep his composure intact at the end. He’d let her see his anger for a short time, and he wanted to throttle his uncle and father, but overall he’d done well.
He certainly had to give her credit for bravery. She truly believed she’d won a battle of sorts with him. If he hadn’t wanted to allow the interview, then she wouldn’t have gotten him to back down. He’d been completely against it at first, but the more she spoke, the more he realized he wanted to spend time with her. She was stirring something in him, and he needed some time with her to figure out exactly what that was.
His attorney would draw up an iron-clad contract so she wouldn’t be able to speak about anything he didn’t wish her to talk about, so he wasn’t worried about the actual article she wanted to do. He wanted to see those determined eyes darken with passion while she writhed underneath him in pleasure. He’d take pleasure in making her burn for him, and he’d do it with the utmost satisfaction. He hadn’t looked forward to something so much in years. He couldn’t wait to start seducing Cassie McIntyre.
He would find out every secret Cassie worked so hard to hide, and he’d satisfy them both at the same time. Max found himself whistling as he made his way down the hospital corridors.
Chapter Three
Cassie stepped out of the car Joseph insisted she take to the offices. She’d refused to stay with Max, telling him there was no way she was going to stay at his place. He’d shrugged as if it didn’t matter to him one way or the other, so she’d been set up in Joseph Anderson’s guest cottage. She was being well taken care of and felt a thousand times better. She’d been there for two weeks.
It was her first official day to start trailing Max and she could barely contain her excitement. She’d gone over his contract with a fine tooth comb and she could live with the guidelines he’d set for her. He absolutely wanted nothing personal about his family in the article but she was surprised he hadn’t put up too many restrictions for her. She was going to be able to write a book about the man by the time she was finished.
Upon approaching the large building, she found the exterior itself was intimidating, shooting high into the sky and as she walked in she could see the Andersons spared no expense on decorations. The foyer was stunning, without being over the top. She wrote a few notes on her iPad and made her way toward the security desk.
She looked at the nametag on the guard, as he eyed her cautiously, which said Ben Stern. She had to fight the giggle that wanted to pop out as she took in his expression. His name was certainly fitting. He appeared to be in his late fifties, with a slightly balding head, and his face had an impenetrable look. She was sure he didn’t miss a thing.
“I’m Cassandra McIntyre, but everyone just calls me Cassie. I’m here to meet with Max Anderson,” she said in a bit of a high voice. She knew she had a tendency to ramble when she was nervous so she made sure to stop herself. He didn’t need to know her nickname since she wouldn’t be visiting with him a whole lot. Of course, you could get a lot more personal inside information from the staff. She made a side note to herself to look for people she thought would spill their guts.
“One moment, please,” Ben said as he quickly typed some information into his computer. He looked up at her again without showing any expression and produced a badge. “You’ll head over to the elevators, go to the twenty-fourth floor, where you’ll find Mr. Anderson’s secretary,” he said, effectively dismissing her.
Cassie took the badge without another word and looked around at the crowded area. People were rushing through the doors, all with a look of purpose on their faces. Most headed toward the elevators. She made another note to find out the exact number of people who worked in the offices, and in general for the corporation. She walked to the elevators and stood with a group of people, all wearing various types of business attire. She felt a bit underdressed in her simple skirt and blouse. She thought she may need to get some boring suits in blues and blacks, as that seemed to be everyone’s favorite color.
She followed a crowd into one of the overflowing elevators and noticed no one pushed the button for her needed floor, so she reached around and pressed it. A few of the suited droids looked at her questioningly when she did that. She wiped her sweaty palm on the side of her skirt as inconspicuously as she could manage. No one said a word to her and she was grateful for the moment of silence to collect her thoughts and boost her confidence with a quick pep talk. She kept her head down and avoided eye contact with the other occupants.
She’d been in the top of her journalism class at college, always studied hard, and knew she was meant to be a reporter. She’d been able to dig out facts from her interviews others could only dream of finding. It was such a competitive market, she’d been unable to make her big break yet. This interview would certainly do it for her, though.
The ride took a long time, with the elevator seeming to stop on every floor. She breathed a sigh of relief when the last of the occupants stepped out on the twentieth floor. She was glad to get a few floors alone to compose herself, but she arrived much too quickly.
The bell chimed, announcing her arrival to the twenty-fourth floor and she stepped out to utter silence. She looked around the spacious area and felt her stomach tighten as her nerves overtook her even more. Where was the hustle and bustle of people like she’d seen in the reception area? Where were the hordes of people who should’ve been there? She looked at the empty reception desk where a secretary should’ve been sitting.
Cassie glanced at her watch, noting that it was a quarter after eight. She’d been told Max was usually there by seven in the morning, and the rest of the team was there no later than eight, so she couldn’t figure out where everyone was. Perhaps there was a team meeting, or a conference.
She made her way past the reception desk and down a large, lighted hallway. Office after office remained empty, causing her already nervous stomach to tighten more. She knew she was in the right place. Joseph Anderson had told her exactly where she was supposed to go.
She felt like a spy and expected security to jump out at any moment, demanding to know who she was and what she was doing in the offices. She made her way to the end of the hall and found Max’s door to her right. It was slightly ajar so she pushed it open and took a step inside the dark room.
Cassie’s overactive imagination took over and she felt like she was in a horror flick for a moment, about to be attacked by a robber. She got Goosebumps even thinking about it. She rubbed her arms as she peaked around the dim room. The windows were tinted, allowing privacy.
She knew Max was less than happy to have her shadow every move he made, but a deal was a deal and he better not have left her behind. Of course, there wasn’t a whole lot she could do about it if he had. Her first day wasn’t going according to plan so far.
Cassie scanned the room and jumped when she noticed a figure sleeping on a couch tucked away in a corner. Her heart picked up speed as her fight or flight response kicked in. She couldn’t imagine anyone being able to get to the offices who wasn’t allowed to be there, but even if the person were allowed to be in the room, didn’t necessarily make them a good person. She heard of horrible things happening in the corporate world. The stories were buried in a mountain of paperwork and the victims never got to voice their troubles. The executives were just too powerful. She’d only heard positive things about the Andersons, but that didn’t mean bad things couldn’t happen.
She took a closer look at the person, determining it had to be a man from the way he was dressed and the size of him. He was lying on his back with his arm flung over his face. He was sleeping soundly, wearing a dress shirt, half unbuttoned, and a pair of slacks. His bare feet were sticking out beneath a thin blanket only partially covering his body.