AlTonya Washington - Rival's Desire

Caesar tapped his strong fingers against the table and shook his head. “I guess the salad is supposed to make you feel healthy after eating all that crap?”

“Crap?”

“Come on, Plum. AT-bone? All that red meat isn’t good for you.”

Viv couldn’t have been more surprised by his statement. “I know you didn’t just say that,” she scoffed.

Caesar shook his head. “And what about that potato? Cheese, sour cream and heavy butter? Are you tryin’ to kill yourself?”

“Well, considering the way football players eat, what I ordered was only a snack!” Viv snapped, her temper rising to full steam.

“All ball players don’t eat like that, Plum.”

“Humph, well then explain how most of you end up fat and sloppy?”

Caesar shrugged. “I didn’t say we all eat right, but the majority of us are in prime shape. We have to be.”

Viv laughed. “Mmm-hmm. You have to look good when you fumble the ball.”

Caesar threw his hands up in the air. “I don’t know why I even bother.”

The two of them retreated to their respective corners after that. Luckily, the food arrived quickly.

“Plum, I think we need to lay down some ground rules,” Caesar announced after they had been eating for a while.

Viv wiped her hands and sent him a cool look across the table. “Ground rules for what?”

“For the office. We got some issues that need to be addressed before we continue this…partnership.”

Viv took a sip of her white wine and frowned. “Caesar, what are you talkin’ about?”

“I’m talkin’ about you having lunch with Ray Warren.”

Viv groaned and buried her face in her hands. “I thought we had finished this conversation.”

Caesar’s brows drew close as he glared at her. “I don’t think we should have dates with the employees.”

Vivian’s gasp sounded loud in the quiet dining room. “What kind of stupid ground rule is that?”

“I think it’s an important one.”

“Ha!”

“Excuse me?”

“Caesar, cut the crap. You’re only making this rule because I beat you to the punch.”

“What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

Vivian’s glare faded into a cool stare and she smiled. “You’re only making this rule because my lunch date with Ray cut into whatever business you wanted to discuss with me and you’re still angry about it. If it was the other way around, you’d expect me to accept it. No questions asked.”

Caesar swirled his fork in the fettuccine and stabbed a plum morsel of the seasoned chicken. “I hoped we’d be able to agree on this.”

“Oh, we can,” Viv assured him, pushing her plate aside. Standing, she pointed a finger in his direction. “Let me tell you this, Caesar Morrison, if I see or even hear about you dating anyone in that office, you’ll regret the day you ever came to me with this bull.”

Caesar leaned back and toyed with the silky whiskers of his mustache. “I tell ya, Plum, you’re a hard one to figure out. I thought you’d like the idea of not having to see me with other women.”

Viv stood straight and planted one hand on her slender hip. “Why would I give a damn about who you see?”

Instead of responding, Caesar just watched her. His enticing brown stare raked her body suggestively. It was impossible to mistake the meaning in the gaze.

Vivian’s lashes fluttered slightly as images of the kiss they’d shared less than three hours ago came to mind. Shaking her head, she snatched her bag out of the empty seat.

“I can’t believe I was starting to soften toward you.” When Caesar shivered, pretending to be disgusted by the idea, she pursed her lips and stormed away from the table.

“Plum? Don’t forget our breakfast meeting in the morning!” Caesar called, humor etched on his handsome face as he watched her leave the restaurant. When she was gone, his smug smile disappeared and he heaved a deep sigh. Things were back to normal.

“Cocky, arrogant son of a—I can’t believe I actually kissed him. Ugggh!” Vivian walked through her front door, cursing Caesar Morrison to the highest. She called him every name she could think of while jerking out of the suit she had worn that day. She was positive he would drive her crazy if she had to be around him any longer than necessary.

“Wait a minute…” Viv whispered, her full lips curving into a wicked smile. “Maybe I can fix that,” she said, reaching for the phone on the end table.

“Hello. You’ve reached the desk of Sandra Weathers, executive assistant to Caesar Morrison and Vivian Desmond. Please leave a detailed message and I will return your call.”

“Sandra, this is Viv. Caesar and I decided it would be best if only one of us used the big office. He wants you to have his things moved out during our breakfast meeting in the morning. Put him in a vacant office on the same floor. If you have any questions, give me a call. Thanks.”

Shivering with delight and excitement, Viv set the phone down. Then she curled up on her sofa. “Ground rules, huh? Well see how you like this, Number Twenty-eight.”

The next morning, Caesar and Vivian met with their marketing department. The group was in the midst of discussing plans for the Island Doll collection. The large round table they sat around was filled with plates of fluffy pancakes, muffins and various omelets.

Caesar and Viv conducted the breakfast meeting with the skill of seasoned business people. No one would have ever known they’d had such an awful evening the night before.

A ringing cell phone caught everyone’s ear at the table and they all went to check their purses and briefcases.

“I left mine in the car,” Viv announced, glancing at Caesar.

“It’s mine,” he said, settling the pocket-size phone to his ear. “Yeah?”

“Hey, Caesar, it’s Sandra.”

“Hey, what’s goin’ on?”

Sandra sighed heavily on the phone. “Well, I’ve been trying to get in touch with Vivian all morning.”

Caesar frowned. “Something wrong?”

“Well, not really. I guess I should be talking to you anyway.”

“What is it?” Caesar asked again.

“Well, it’s about moving your stuff.”

Caesar’s light stare immediately shifted toward Vivian. He leaned back in his chair and gnawed the inside of his jaw. “Is that right?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m sorry to bother you during your meeting,” Sandra said.

“That’s okay, hold on a minute,” Caesar told her as he pushed his chair away from the table. “I’m gonna take this out in the lobby,” he announced before heading out of the room.

“All right, Sandra, what’s the problem?”

“Well, Viv told me you wanted your things moved out of the president’s suite. I’ve got two offices available but I don’t know which one you prefer.”

Caesar pushed one hand into his pocket and frowned. “What do you have?”

“I’ve got one right down the hall and one on the other side.”

Caesar hesitated to respond as a new idea formed in his mind. “Sandra, Viv was obviously mistaken. She’s the one who decided to have her things moved. She was just talking about having that office down the hall.”

“Oh,” Sandra said, quite surprised. “Well, I’m glad I called you before anything was moved.”

“So am I,” Caesar replied, pretending to sound relieved.

“I’ll have everything moved to Viv’s new office by the time the two of you get back from your meeting.”

“Great. Thanks, Sandra.”

“No problem.”

Caesar ran one hand through his silky crop of curls and shut off the phone. “Nice try, Plum,” he whispered.

“Everything okay?” Viv asked when Caesar took his seat next to her.

He smiled, taking in the wide, innocent gaze. “Yeah, I’ve just got a lot to handle when I get back to the office,” he explained, his light eyes settling to her full breasts straining against the gray, spaghetti-strapped top she wore.