Fated (3 page)

"Hi,
Caden," Macie greeted him casually, as if she was unaffected by Caden's
gorgeousness. I wondered if she was immune to his good looks because she was so
used to him. I prayed I would become immune as well.

"Hello,"
I said with a smile, hoping that I didn't look as dumbstruck as I felt. I was
more chagrined than anything else to realize I was so attracted to him.

Caden
nodded at us before leaning the racket against the wall and settling behind his
desk. "How's the training going?"

"Great!"
Macie answered enthusiastically. "Lauren is picking everything up easily,
just like I knew she would."

"Macie
has been explaining everything to me, so I'll make sure I have everything under
control once she leaves," I volunteered, feeling the need to contribute to
the conversation.

Caden
didn't respond. Instead he turned to his computer and concentrated on whatever
was on his screen. Macie just shrugged at me and continued briefing me on my job.
I felt a little self-conscious with Caden across the room from us, but I made
myself ignore his presence.

After
a few minutes, Caden got up and walked out of the office without another word. I
could hear his footsteps on the stairs leading up to his house.

"Talkative
fellow," I said sarcastically.

"He's
like that sometimes. I've learned to ignore him when he gets in one of his
moods."

"How
am I supposed to be his personal assistant when he won't even talk to me?"

Macie
shook her head. "It's not you, don't take it personally. Just follow
everything I've outlined for you and don't worry about anything else unless he
requests something. Fortunately, his schedule is pretty slow right now since
his major showcases are over and he's not in the middle of shooting. He
currently only has one exhibition that’s scheduled to open in a couple of
weeks. There's bound to be more, but you don't have to worry about that since
Caden has an agent that takes care of everything."

Caden
didn't make an appearance again until Macie and I were getting ready to leave
for the day. His earlier sweaty appearance had been replaced by jeans and a
faded t-shirt, making him look almost less formidable. Almost.

He
gave Macie a faint smile as she slung her purse over her shoulder. "Don't
let Brian convince you to take on a life of leisure and not come back."

Macie
grinned. Brian, her boyfriend, had been the reason she had gotten the job with
Caden in the first place, since they traveled in the same circles. But Brian
routinely tried to convince Macie to give up her job so that she could travel
with him more frequently. He spent nine months out of the year traveling for
work as a photographer, and I knew it put a strain on their relationship. But
the thought of Macie not coming back didn't sit well with me. As well as this
job paid, I would be happy to relinquish it once she returned.

"As
much as I'd love to lead a life that consisted of eating bonbons all day, I
need to pay my bills so you'll see me again in three months."

Caden
nodded and then turned to me. "So I'll see you tomorrow at nine?"

I
tried to smile pleasantly, but the intense gaze of his amber eyes was making me
uncomfortable. "Nine a.m., bright and early."

"Good.
I have a lot of things I want to go over with you tomorrow."

I
noticed Macie looking at him speculatively, but she just gave him a wave as we
left.

"I'm
nervous," I admitted as we walked to the subway. "I wouldn't be
surprised if Caden dumped my body into the East River if I mess up."

Macie
laughed. "Don't stress out about it too much. You'll be fine." Her
expression sobered before she continued. "Caden can be a
little...intimidating. I've been able to crack his shell a bit, but it's taken
a long time. You'll soon see that almost everyone in his life is intimidated by
him. Don't be one of them. The last thing he needs is another person pandering
to him."

"Uh,
isn't that my job? To pander to him?"

Macie
smiled, but it was full of sadness. "Caden has spent his whole life being
treated with kid gloves. First it was because of what happened to his parents,
but then it was because he was rich and powerful. I think it makes him lonely
to have people only care about what he can do for them and not for who he
is."

I
grimaced. "This is all a little too heavy for me. I'm just planning to
bring him coffee when he asks and make sure he doesn't miss his appointments.
He'll have to be responsible for his own happiness."

Macie
sighed. "You're right. I just have the feeling that Caden is going to end
up a lonely old man, and I can't help worrying about him."

I
couldn't help scoffing. "From what I've read in the papers, I doubt Caden
will ever be lonely. He never seems to want for company, especially of the
female persuasion."

Macie
looked at me, her expression somber. "Just because you have people around
you doesn't mean you can’t be lonely."

I
didn't answer her, my throat tightening. I understood what she meant more than
she would ever know.

Chapter Three

I
took a deep breath before unlocking the front door of Caden's townhouse with
the key Macie had given me that morning before she left for the airport.
Despite Macie's insistence that I could dress casually, I felt at ease in more
formal clothing, almost like a suit of armor. I had chosen my outfit carefully,
wearing black pants and a gray blouse with the hope that I looked professional.
My clothes were fitted enough to not look sloppy but loose enough to not bring
too much attention to my curves, especially my generous breasts that seemed
even bigger on my small frame. I had wished more than once that I was built
with less curves or was at least taller so they were less pronounced. I would
embrace a boyish figure any day, but I had learned to dress to disguise my
figure.

I
was surprised to find Caden at his desk when I opened the door to the office. I
hadn't expected to find him there, waiting for me, although I reasoned that
this was his office and he wasn't necessarily there because of me. He was
dressed casually in jeans and a blue button-down shirt, and I couldn't help
feeling a bit overdressed. I also couldn't help noticing how handsome he
looked.

"Good
morning," I said cheerfully, trying to sound chipper.

"Good
morning, Lauren." Caden's eyes tracked me as I sat down at Macie's desk,
which I guess was mine now, and dropped my purse underneath it. Macie had told
me that Fridays meant confirming all of Caden's appointments for the weekend,
as well as catching up on all the correspondence he had received during the
week. I had been amazed by the amount of emails and letters Caden received from
fans of his work; apparently they all got a nice form letter thanking them for
their interest. A nice form letter that Caden had nothing to do with. That
didn't even take into account all the women who contacted him to volunteer to
be his model, although I suspected that the term
model
was a euphemism of what they hoped
Caden would do to them.

I
remembered his parting words yesterday and looked at him as I turned on my
computer. "You said you had a lot of things you wanted to go over with me
today?"

Caden
nodded and indicated the chair in front of his desk. "Why don't you come
over here?"

I
grabbed a notebook and pen, acutely conscious of Caden watching me as I walked
over to him. I gave him a slight smile as I settled into the seat in front of
his desk. I looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to start giving me a
list of tasks, but instead he remained silent. He studied me in a way that made
me feel like he found me wanting.

"Well?"
I said with a bit more bite than I intended. As surprised as I was by my
attraction to him, I knew it was only surface deep, and it in no way made me
warm to him. In fact, the opposite was true. It made me more wary of him.

"Macie
told me you two met at DePaul."

The
last thing I expected was a getting-to-know-you conversation, but I decided to
indulge him. After all, he was my boss.

"Yes,
we met our sophomore year."

"What
did you study?"

Maybe
he was interested in my background, to see what my qualifications were. It
seemed a little backwards since I was already working for him, but I went along
with it.

"I
was a psychology major."

"Why
psychology?"

My
pressed my lips together, my patience thinning with this line of questioning. I
didn't understand what my college major had to do with running his personal
errands. There was nothing I disliked more than talking about myself.

I
didn't let any of my feelings show as I shrugged. "I've just always been
interested in how the human mind works. Why people do the things they do."
I would never reveal the real reason why I had studied psychology. I had wanted
to understand how people could be so cruel. How people could rationalize their
depraved actions away, not caring about the lives they left shattered behind
them.

Caden
seemed to process my response. He was all business when he spoke again. "I
need you to order some things for me."

I
quickly wrote down the things he rattled off, although I had to ask him for
clarification a few times since they were all photography supplies and I had no
idea what some of them were. I could see the impatience in his eyes when he had
to explain something to me, and I had to resist the urge to throw back a smart
remark. He knew I had no experience in this but had agreed for me to fill in
for Macie anyway, and he now had the gall to be annoyed because I didn't know
what a macro bracket or a lens plate was. People often mistakenly thought that
just because I was reserved, I was also a doormat. They soon realized that just
because I was quiet didn't mean I wasn't ready to put someone in their place.
But this was neither the time nor the place to start getting defensive.

"Anything
else?" I asked once I had all the items down.

"Did
you confirm my dinner reservation for tonight?"

I
nodded. "Two for seven p.m. at Le Bernardin."

"Pick
up a bouquet of flowers."

I
bit back a smile. Apparently Caden had a date tonight, and for some reason I found
it funny that I was the one prepping him for it. Did flowers count when there
was no effort behind it except a simple utterance to an underling?

"Any
specific type of flowers?"

Caden
frowned. "It doesn't matter. It's up to you. Whatever you'd think a woman
would like."

I
found his response even funnier, and I had to bite my lip to suppress a laugh.
It was such a stereotypical response, and it amused me that Caden, for all his
bluster, was a typical man. Caden raised an eyebrow, obviously noticing my repressed
mirth. My humor vanished when I saw the derisive tilt to his mouth.

"Is
something amusing you?"

"No,"
I answered quickly.

"I
disagree. I think you're finding something highly amusing."

"I
just..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say. "I just thought it
was funny that you didn't know what type of flowers your date wanted."

I
felt a nervous flutter in my stomach when Caden just stared at me. I obviously
had not started on the right foot with my boss.

"On
your presumption that it's for my
date,
I never said I didn't know what type of
flowers she wanted. It comes down to not caring."

His
answer was so cold that I couldn't suppress my honest response. "What's
the point of even getting her flowers then? If you don't care, don't pretend
like you do."

As
soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to kick myself. This conversation was
veering into highly unprofessional territory.

His
voice was deceptively soft when he answered, belying the steel underneath it.
"Isn't it just part of the games we all play? We go through the motions to
get to the end goal. That doesn't mean we actually care."

I
wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that statement, and I sure as hell didn't
know how to respond. I needed to wade out of these dangerous waters quickly.

"I
guess we each have our own philosophy when it comes to dating." I looked
down at my notebook, studying my notes as if they were fascinating.
"Anything else you need me to do?"

Caden
didn't respond right away, so I forced myself to look up. I was instantly
mesmerized by his index finger slowly stroking his bottom lip methodically as
he studied me. His lips stretched into a grim smile.

"That's
all...for now."

I
quickly went back to my desk and started ordering Caden's supplies online.
Fortunately, I was able to look up past purchase orders that helped immensely
with the items I was unfamiliar with. I was relieved when Caden disappeared
into his studio. The office felt much bigger without his presence.

After
ordering his supplies, I spent most of the morning responding to his
correspondence, setting aside the ones that Caden needed to attend to himself.
I was surprised by the lack of phone calls, but it was one less thing I had to
worry about.