The CEO's Abused Cover Girl

Ch. 5: Donuts

(Sean’s POV)

“Oh. Looks like Pierre is doing a show today. Maybe we should go check it out”. Okay, that caught my attention. Which means I wasn’t paying attention when I pulled the door open as I’d partially turned to Rochelle and said, “Did you know he had a show coming up?”

I’d no sooner gotten those words out when I felt someone bump into me then hot liquid hit my abdomen and I s*cked in a hissed breath, leaning forward as I quickly pulled my shirt away from my skin.

I was ready to kill someone when I looked up into the most gorgeous pair of eyes I’ve ever seen. They were crystal-blue with such innocence and warmth that I felt like I wanted to just swim in them forever. They sat on either side of the cutest little pert nose on a heart-shaped face with rounded cheeks that were flushed red from embarrassment. I noticed her perfectly shaped lips moving but was so lost in her eyes that I didn’t quite hear the words that were coming out.

Once I realized she was apologizing, I just chuckled, telling her something like ‘it's only my shirt’ or something. I didn’t care about it. I was more interested in her. So when she offered to blot it out, I let her, just so I could take a moment to get a good look at her.

She was a petite thing. About five feet, two inches tall, slender in build, with light brown hair that seemed like it had a natural curl to it. She had it in a ponytail and I noticed she had only a little bit of makeup on, just enough to highlight her eyes, which made them stand out more. Her skiing was absolutely flawless and had an almost porcelain complexion, making her look fragile.

I just wanted to wrap her in my arms and hold her. Well, not just. There were plenty of things going through my mind that I'd like to do with her. Holding her was just one of them. “Yeah, it looks like this was put together quickly for some reason. All my contacts are saying they had no warning this was coming either and I… What are you doing? Take your hands off him. Do you have any idea who you’re molesting right now?”

Rochelle had apparently withdrawn her nose from her phone and saw this young woman who I now know is named Erin helping me. “Leave it be, Rochelle.”

I don’t even think Erin heard Rochelle anyway. She was already gathering her things to leave. “Well, I really am sorry, Sean. If you would like me to pay for that, just send me the bill. Here, my mailing address.” She took out a pen and wrote it on a napkin, then handed it to me. Then she told both Rochelle and me goodbye and left.

When I looked down at the napkin I couldn’t help but laugh when I read it. A P.O. Box. Who uses a P.O. Box these days? But what was even funnier was that instead of giving me her name she wrote ‘shirt lady’ on it.

Suddenly, my morning felt a lot brighter. “Let’s go order our coffee. As for the show? I’ll send someone over there. But it won’t make a difference. Our girls aren’t working there as far as I know”. I walked up to the counter with a smile on my face and ordered my coffee, then stepped aside.

Rochelle, not paying a d*mn bit of attention, moved with me without ordering. I know she thinks I ordered and paid for her, but I didn't. “Why don’t you let our models work for him, anyway?”

I just looked at her in shock as to why she wouldn’t know this. I know we’ve conversed about this before. It’s part of her job to know these things as my personal assistant. “Because I refuse to let our models be harassed by him. Have you ever seen how he is with the models who work for him? The man's not just a frikken diva, he’s a misogynistic p*g.”

I don’t like guys, any guys, who mistreat women. I know some people put me in that category, but it’s not true. I’m good to the women I’m with. I just don’t have any interest in a long-term relationship with anyone. Something I’m honest about up front before ever taking them into my bed. Or rather going to theirs. I make it a point not to bring them home with me. Ever.

Even Rochelle has never spent the night at my place. The only reason she’s ever even made it in the door is because of work. Otherwise? Not happening. And I’ve only rarely ever gone to their bed either. The ones who I have gone to were back in college, so technically they still weren’t even their beds because the beds belonged to the school.

A technicality, I know.

My order was up, and I grabbed my cup, then started for the door. “Wait. Where’s mine?” Rochelle said as she followed me out. I smirked as I said, “I don’t know. Did you order one?” She couldn’t see my face because she was walking behind me down the narrow isle toward the door.

“I thought you did.” She said in a pouty voice, which I knew would be the case. So I shrugged and said, “Sorry, you didn’t ask for one. If you want one, go ahead and get one. I’m going to head to the office, so I’ll meet you there”.

I walked away but as I did, I heard her let out a petulant ‘hmph’, then grumble about how unfair I was being. I think today I’ll meet with Janet and see about hiring a new PA. I’m done with this bullsh*t.

When I got to the office, Cindy was at Eileen’s desk already sorting through emails. “Good morning, Cindy. Anything urgent?” I asked as I picked up my mail.

“No boss. Your morning is wide open though. Just in case you needed to handle anything I might have missed. Did you want us to serve hot and cold beverages at the meeting later or just hot beverages and water?” I smiled at the question. I like that she feels comfortable asking me. I’d rather the question be asked than something go wrong because I was unapproachable.

“Both are fine. And something they can pick at too.” I told her and took a step toward my office just as she said, “We picked up some donuts and mom made a charcuterie”. I couldn’t help the smile that came to my lips when she mentioned donuts and that pretty little brunette came to mind again. “Sounds good, Cindy. Thank you”.

The morning went by slowly. I stayed in my office going through emails and paperwork, trying to catch up. I know Rochelle came in about thirty minutes after me, but she hasn’t come into my office as yet. Which is odd. She’s usually in and out all day long. But honestly, I’m enjoying the peace and quiet which has allowed me to get a lot of things caught up.

All too soon, there was a knock on my door. “Come in”, I called without picking my head up. “We have thirty minutes before our board meeting. Is there anything we need to go over before then?” Rochelle asked in an odd tone.

I looked up, trying to gauge what her attitude was all about, but I didn’t see anything strange. “No. I’ve got the information right here. Something wrong?” I asked as I frowned a bit.

“No, nothing. I just thought we should take a minute to prepare, that’s all”. She shrugged, but I wasn’t buying it. She hasn’t cared about preparations for a board meeting in months. But I let it drop. If she doesn’t wanna talk about it, I’m not going to push.

I worked in relative silence for another twenty minutes or so before another gentle knock sounded at my door. At the same time, Rochelle was standing up and saying, “We should head into the boardroom now, baby. It’s best not to keep them waiting”. I held up a finger to her, indicating I wanted her to wait a second as I called out, “Come in”.

Then I got the surprise of my life when that cute blue-eyed beauty peeked around my door and said, “Mr. O’Dell? Your mo… oh. Oh, goodness.” Her gorgeous eyes had fixed on me and I chuckled softly at the open surprise I saw reflected in those lovely pools. A second later her eyes flicked towards Rochelle and her face heated up with an adorable blush and for a split second I saw an emotion flicker in her eyes before they came back to me.

“Sean? We need to go”. Rochelle said again as she walked towards the door on the other side of the room that joined with our boardroom. Well, basically. There was a small hall between for privacy's sake.

“Erin? Can I help you?” I asked, completely ignoring Rochelle. “Ummm, no sir. I mean, yes sir. Well, no sir. That is to say… well…” Rochelle cut her off as she sl*pped her hand against her thigh in exasperation and said, “We are needed in a very important meeting. Now if you don’t mind, whatever it is, have either Cindy or Amanda take care of it”.

I looked over at Rochelle like she’d lost her mind talking to an employee that way. “Well, I would, sir, except that Cindy is off the floor doing something you asked her to do and Amanda isn’t in today. So, when I saw someone sitting there, waiting for Cindy to come back, I couldn’t leave her sitting there, not when she told me she was here to see you. She looked rather upset, so I thought I’d just let you know she was here. I didn’t mean to interrupt something.”

“No, no. It’s fine. My door is always open, Erin. But I’m afraid this is rather important, so please ask whoever it is to either schedule something or wait for Cindy to come back and see if she can help her.” I said and, for some reason, the girl paled and bit her lower lip before sheepishly saying, “I would, but it’s your mother outside sir. She wants to speak with you. I think it’s important. She seems pretty upset”.