The CEO Buys In
Page 84
Nathan sat down and tilted back his chair to prop his feet up on the desk. “Miller put you up to this.”
“Miller? No, he’s just willing to go along with it for a good cause. We’re raising money for foster kids in the New York metro area.”
“That’s not what I meant. He wants to meet my date.”
“Hell, based on what Miller says, I want to meet her.” Archer said. “You work fast, man.”
“As I told him yesterday, the meeting is premature. And I have no intention of exposing her to Miller’s curiosity.” Not to mention the fact that he wasn’t about to give up an entire evening of having Chloe all to himself.
“Too bad,” Archer said. “The silent auction has some damn nice jewelry, and all the proceeds go to the kids.”
Nathan dropped his feet to the floor and sat up. He could buy Chloe something beautiful, and she wouldn’t feel guilty about accepting it since it was given in the name of charity. Temptation sank its claws into him.
Archer must have read his silence because the quarterback said, “There’s a listing of the items online. I’ll text you the link.”
“Did you donate a signed football?” Nathan asked, stalling.
“With four tickets on the fifty-yard line,” Archer said. “Miller kicked in an entire set of autographed Julian Best books, along with a prop from the last movie.”
Nathan huffed out a laugh. “Put me down for a TE-Gen10 3-D printer.” He could also get something Chloe would like at Tiffany’s, donate it to the auction, and bid on it for her. But Archer didn’t need to know that.
“Sounds high-tech. So you’ll come.”
“I’m sure I’ll regret it, but I’ll ask Chloe if she’d like to attend.”
“Chloe. Nice name. I’ll text you all the information.”
Archer hung up and Nathan rested the cell phone on his thigh. Would Chloe be impressed or put off by the charity dinner? He shook his head. He never knew with her. Archer’s arriving texts chimed. Nathan read the information before he hit Chloe’s number on speed dial and lifted the phone to his ear.
“Nathan.” Delight, caution, and surprise mixed in her voice.
“How would you feel about a change of plans for tomorrow?” he asked. “We’ve been invited to a charity dinner for foster kids. A friend of mine is sponsoring a table.”
“Is it Ben?” She sounded pleased by the prospect.
“No, it’s Luke Archer.” He waited to see if she would recognize the name.
Silence hummed through the phone for a second. “Luke Archer the quarterback?”
“That’s the one.”
“Of course you’re friends with Luke Archer.”
“Maybe acquaintance is a better description,” he clarified, still not sure what her reaction was.
“Well, I guess if it’s for a good cause . . .” She gave a funny little laugh. “The Empire was my father’s favorite football team. I watched Luke Archer win four Super Bowls.”
“Then he’ll enjoy your company more than mine. I’ve never seen him play.” He’d buy the tickets Archer had donated to the auction as well as the planted jewelry.
“You’re not a football fan?” Chloe sounded astonished. “I figured with your military background . . . the Army-Navy game and all that.”
He made a wry face even though she couldn’t see him. “When I was in front of a screen, I was playing video games.”
“That makes sense.” She gave a little sigh. “There’s so much I don’t know about you.”
He didn’t like her tone. It was almost sad. “We have plenty of time to find out all those things.”
“Plenty of time,” she echoed, but without conviction. “Oh my goodness! I just realized . . . What should I wear to the dinner?”
“You have all the outfits from Saks, so you can pick one of those.” He allowed a touch of smugness in his voice. “It’s cocktail attire.”
“So I don’t have to wear a long gown.” Relief laced her words.
“I vote for the blue dress, as always.”
“It might be a little, er, formfitting for a charity dinner.”
He remembered how the stretchy lace outlined her hips and clung to the curves of her breasts. “Your form is what I love, so that works for me.”
She caught her breath at the compliment. “All right, I’ll wear it. But I’m not going commando at a public dinner.”
“I knew I’d regret agreeing to Archer’s invitation,” he said, but he was smiling. He would enjoy seeing what kind of lingerie she chose for the sexy dress.
After he hung up, he had the thought that maybe he didn’t want Archer and Miller seeing her curves. He balanced that against the prospect of peeling the dress off her on the way home from the dinner and decided to let his request stand.
Now he just had to fit a trip to Tiffany’s into his schedule tomorrow.
CHAPTER 24
As she walked through the doors to cocktail hour at the ritzy midtown hotel, Chloe tightened her hold on Nathan’s arm and pasted on her most confident smile. Honestly, she wouldn’t have agreed to come if she hadn’t known how thrilled her father would have been to meet Luke Archer.
A hostess dressed in a black suit walked up to them with a tablet in her hand. “Mr. Trainor and Ms. Russell, Mr. Archer asked me to escort you to him.”
“Miller? No, he’s just willing to go along with it for a good cause. We’re raising money for foster kids in the New York metro area.”
“That’s not what I meant. He wants to meet my date.”
“Hell, based on what Miller says, I want to meet her.” Archer said. “You work fast, man.”
“As I told him yesterday, the meeting is premature. And I have no intention of exposing her to Miller’s curiosity.” Not to mention the fact that he wasn’t about to give up an entire evening of having Chloe all to himself.
“Too bad,” Archer said. “The silent auction has some damn nice jewelry, and all the proceeds go to the kids.”
Nathan dropped his feet to the floor and sat up. He could buy Chloe something beautiful, and she wouldn’t feel guilty about accepting it since it was given in the name of charity. Temptation sank its claws into him.
Archer must have read his silence because the quarterback said, “There’s a listing of the items online. I’ll text you the link.”
“Did you donate a signed football?” Nathan asked, stalling.
“With four tickets on the fifty-yard line,” Archer said. “Miller kicked in an entire set of autographed Julian Best books, along with a prop from the last movie.”
Nathan huffed out a laugh. “Put me down for a TE-Gen10 3-D printer.” He could also get something Chloe would like at Tiffany’s, donate it to the auction, and bid on it for her. But Archer didn’t need to know that.
“Sounds high-tech. So you’ll come.”
“I’m sure I’ll regret it, but I’ll ask Chloe if she’d like to attend.”
“Chloe. Nice name. I’ll text you all the information.”
Archer hung up and Nathan rested the cell phone on his thigh. Would Chloe be impressed or put off by the charity dinner? He shook his head. He never knew with her. Archer’s arriving texts chimed. Nathan read the information before he hit Chloe’s number on speed dial and lifted the phone to his ear.
“Nathan.” Delight, caution, and surprise mixed in her voice.
“How would you feel about a change of plans for tomorrow?” he asked. “We’ve been invited to a charity dinner for foster kids. A friend of mine is sponsoring a table.”
“Is it Ben?” She sounded pleased by the prospect.
“No, it’s Luke Archer.” He waited to see if she would recognize the name.
Silence hummed through the phone for a second. “Luke Archer the quarterback?”
“That’s the one.”
“Of course you’re friends with Luke Archer.”
“Maybe acquaintance is a better description,” he clarified, still not sure what her reaction was.
“Well, I guess if it’s for a good cause . . .” She gave a funny little laugh. “The Empire was my father’s favorite football team. I watched Luke Archer win four Super Bowls.”
“Then he’ll enjoy your company more than mine. I’ve never seen him play.” He’d buy the tickets Archer had donated to the auction as well as the planted jewelry.
“You’re not a football fan?” Chloe sounded astonished. “I figured with your military background . . . the Army-Navy game and all that.”
He made a wry face even though she couldn’t see him. “When I was in front of a screen, I was playing video games.”
“That makes sense.” She gave a little sigh. “There’s so much I don’t know about you.”
He didn’t like her tone. It was almost sad. “We have plenty of time to find out all those things.”
“Plenty of time,” she echoed, but without conviction. “Oh my goodness! I just realized . . . What should I wear to the dinner?”
“You have all the outfits from Saks, so you can pick one of those.” He allowed a touch of smugness in his voice. “It’s cocktail attire.”
“So I don’t have to wear a long gown.” Relief laced her words.
“I vote for the blue dress, as always.”
“It might be a little, er, formfitting for a charity dinner.”
He remembered how the stretchy lace outlined her hips and clung to the curves of her breasts. “Your form is what I love, so that works for me.”
She caught her breath at the compliment. “All right, I’ll wear it. But I’m not going commando at a public dinner.”
“I knew I’d regret agreeing to Archer’s invitation,” he said, but he was smiling. He would enjoy seeing what kind of lingerie she chose for the sexy dress.
After he hung up, he had the thought that maybe he didn’t want Archer and Miller seeing her curves. He balanced that against the prospect of peeling the dress off her on the way home from the dinner and decided to let his request stand.
Now he just had to fit a trip to Tiffany’s into his schedule tomorrow.
CHAPTER 24
As she walked through the doors to cocktail hour at the ritzy midtown hotel, Chloe tightened her hold on Nathan’s arm and pasted on her most confident smile. Honestly, she wouldn’t have agreed to come if she hadn’t known how thrilled her father would have been to meet Luke Archer.
A hostess dressed in a black suit walked up to them with a tablet in her hand. “Mr. Trainor and Ms. Russell, Mr. Archer asked me to escort you to him.”
