I left her to finish up the details of the party while I handled a far too curious reporter who obviously hadn’t gotten the memo from her boss that Club X wasn’t a potential story. Young, eager, and too cute for her job with long pale blond hair and big blue eyes, she waited in a red, skintight dress that screamed she knew nothing of professionalism. It did, however, clearly telegraph that she had heard what my club was all about.
I found Ciara Danson standing outside my office flirting with Stefan. For once, I didn’t mind him thinking with his cock. In fact, I wondered if I should let him handle her inquisitiveness, but knowing my younger brother, he’d have her flat on her back on his desk in mere minutes and then we’d have not only unwanted publicity but another lawsuit on our hands.
Stepping between them, I eased her away from him and closed the door behind us. “Please take a seat, Miss Danson.”
She sat down in a chair in front of my desk, letting her dress ride up on her legs until she was flashing me the tops of her thighs. Subtlety obviously wasn’t Ciara’s style.
Opening her blue eyes wide, she lowered her head and looked across the desk at me. “Please, Mr. March, call me Ciara.”
“And please call me Cassian. I hear you’re interested in our little club. I wish there was a story, but I’m sure Gary told you we’re just your basic nightclub here at Club X.”
Ciara leaned forward to show me far more of her breasts than I wanted to see at that moment. “Cassian, I may look naïve, but this isn’t my first reporting job. You know as well as I do that Club X isn’t just your basic nightclub, as you say, even if my boss agrees with you. I was hoping to get an in-depth look at behind the scenes, if you will, and I can’t imagine anyone better equipped to do that than you. My readers at All The Rage would love to know all about you and your club.”
Equipped. Hmmm… I couldn’t decide if Ciara was offering to fuck me right there on my desk or really wanted to know more about the club. She wasn’t my type—too eager for me—and I had no interest in giving her any in-depth information about the club, but she wasn’t going to be put off easily.
As I began to explain once again that there was no story here, Olivia knocked on the door and walked in. Her eyes opened wide at the sight of Ciara’s less than subtle body language, and she quickly turned to leave, but before she could Ciara began with the questions.
“Perhaps if I could speak to your assistant, Cassian, she could help me.”
Olivia immediately begged off and I shouldn’t have put her in the position to deal with a reporter so soon, but I wanted to know how she’d handle it. If she was going to be a part of Club X, she’d have to learn how to master dealing with the press sooner than later, and if she failed now, at least I’d know and could begin looking for her replacement.
I stood from my chair and motioned for Olivia to take my place behind my desk. “Olivia, this is Ciara. She’s from the website All The Rage and has a few questions about Club X. I’m going to let you talk to her.”
Olivia looked shell-shocked but sat down and put on her prettiest smile for the young woman in front of her. As I walked toward the door, she said in professional voice, “I’m more than happy to help you, Ciara.”
Closing the door, I listened as Olivia handled her like a pro. As I stood there, Stefan walked toward me with a confused look on his face. “What are you doing out here? I thought you were talking to that smokin’ hot reporter.”
“Quiet,” I whispered. “Olivia’s in there now with her. I’m listening to hear how she does.”
“Trial by fire, huh? You must think a lot of her to let her run interference so soon.”
“No time like the present. If she can’t deal with Ciara, then she’s no good to me.”
“How the hell do you see only the glorified secretary you want her to be? You won’t let me have her, but you won’t make a move on her. What the fuck is that about?”
Sighing in frustration, I tried to hear Olivia but all I heard was Stefan. “That’s being professional. You should try it sometime. Now go and let me hear how this turns out.”
“Fine, but I’m telling you, you’re missing out on this one. There’s fire beneath that cool thing she’s got going on. I’d bet money on it.”
Stefan was the last person I wanted dating advice from, so I waved him away and returned to listening to Olivia double-talking Ciara right out of a story. For every question she asked, Olivia had an answer that at first sounded like she’d given some tidbit of information, but quickly turned into nothing. She denied the truth of the club as well as any one of us would have, and I knew at that moment I hadn’t made a mistake in hiring her.
I stepped back when the door flew open and Ciara stormed out, obviously unhappy about being so expertly handled. As I entered my office, Olivia stood behind my desk, her arms folded across her chest.
“Thank you, Olivia. I think you took care of that very well.”
“Cash, I don’t mind acting the part of the company woman, but next time could you please give me a little warning? Or was that the point—to put me on the spot and see how I would do?”
She was smart. Good. I needed that in the person who was to be my right hand. “You might say it was a test, but if it makes you feel any better, you passed with flying colors.”
Stepping around the desk, she walked toward the door, stopping inches away from me. With a direct stare, she shook her head and smiled. “I’ve always been a good test taker. I think you’ll find that I’m just as good an assistant as you need me to be. However, if you feel the need to test me more, just know I’m up to it.”
She was all business, but damnit if at that moment I didn’t want to see if there was another side to her. Staring into her brown eyes, I impulsively said, “I think as a reward, you should join us for the Lady Godivas party. It would be good exposure to what the club is really all about.”
Olivia gave me a smile that seemed just a bit forced, as if my offer had caught her off guard, but she quickly recovered and agreed to join my brothers and me at the party. I just wondered how she’d handle how wild those women got when they had a few drinks in them.
* * *
In the days leading up to the party, we worked side-by-side and my professional admiration for her grew by leaps and bounds. I’d underestimated Olivia from the moment I’d read her resume, mainly because of who had referred her. Jake Richfield hadn’t shown himself to be someone whose opinion I’d normally rely on. Every time I’d seen him at the club, he’d had a different woman on his arm, each one cheaper than the last. Not that being a player was a problem for me. I didn’t care who he fucked or how many females fell for his lines. But there was something cheap about him that never sat right with me. Maybe it was that black department store watch he liked to flash around like it was a fucking Rolex. Stefan liked him, though, which didn’t help his case any in my mind. Nevertheless, I’d been desperate for an assistant after Kate left, and when Richfield mentioned that he had a friend who he was sure would be perfect for the job, I’d reluctantly agreed to check her out.