Ruby groaned as her alarm clock began buzzing and attempted to cover her head with her pillow to block out the offending sounds. It was no use. This was her first day at her new job of being Roth's personal chef, housekeeper, and whatever else that struck his fancy. Giving up on blocking out the alarm clock, she pulled herself out of bed and turned it off.
Her head was throbbing. God, how much wine did I drink last night? Judging by the scale of her hangover - too much. Flashes of the previous night came to her. Roth had been so handsome and charming, and her fear was becoming a reality. She was falling for him. And that kiss! Oh-My-God! If he hadn't stepped back from her and ended the kiss, she would have been more than eager to spend the night serving her new boss in whatever way he wanted.
Trying to clear her head of the thoughts of him - he was her boss now, nothing more - she made her way to the shower, stripping off her t-shirt and panties as she walked.
A half-hour later, at 6:30 am, Ruby was dressed in boxers and a fresh t-shirt and was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Roth told her the night before he and Tristan wanted something nice and simple, so she was to prepare eggs over-easy, toast with strawberry jam and bacon. Easy enough, right? She hoped it would be as easy as it sounded. She always had a tendency to overcook bacon. Okay, that was a lie. She burnt bacon. Always. She crossed her fingers that wouldn't be the case today.
As it turned out, this morning was no exception.
The sound of Roth clearing his throat sounded just as she was about to scoop the bacon from the skillet. Her breath hitched as she spun around and laid eyes on him dressed in a black suit, tie yet to be tied and hanging loose around his neck and the top two buttons of his light blue shirt undone. He was sex personified. The feel of his lips on hers came rushing back to her, and the throbbing between her legs began.
"Morning," he greeted, sauntering into the kitchen and seating himself onto a bar stool at the breakfast bar across from her. "Something smells... burnt."
Oh dear lord! In the seconds that it took to turn and smile at him, the bacon had gone from nearly cooked to burnt. She counted backwards from ten, slowly trying to calm the frustration welling up within her as she flashed Roth a smile and tried to make light of her first failure in the kitchen. "Good thing I'm taking lessons from Peter, right?"
"Yes, it's a good thing," he replied, his tone solemn. While his tone may have been solemn, she was relieved to see amusement dance in his eyes.
Her nerves began to calm. At the very least, he wasn't angry. Which led her to the question... Does this man ever get angry? She'd never met someone so easygoing in her life. It was as though he didn't have a single care in the world.
She salvaged his breakfast as best she could as she thought back to her daily encounters with him and couldn't think of a single instance where she'd seen him in a bad mood.
With the breakfast plated, she was thankful that at least she managed not to screw up the eggs. The toast was yet another failure. Too dark. She growled to herself as she turned and, with a great deal of embarrassment, presented him with what he had described as an easy "no brainer" breakfast. "I'm sorry."
He laughed out loud as he looked at her pathetic attempt and then up at her. "Looks... great..."
With a loud huff, she planted a fist on her hip and cocked her head, "Don't lie."
Picking up a piece of charcoaled bacon, he took a bite, and it crumbed.
She cringed. What in the hell was she thinking about taking this job. She blew at a strand of hair that had come loose from her ponytail and fallen over her left eye and grimaced.
Putting the bacon down, he looked up and met her gaze. "Alright, I... Your cooking skills need some work." he held a hand up when she started to protest. "But, I was aware of that, and I take full responsibility for this. So don't worry, I expected a learning curve."
A learning curve? He had to be insane if he thought she was getting any better anytime soon.
''Listen, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." The kiss kept coming to the forefront of her mind, and she felt she needed to at least apologize for her behaviour the previous night.
"Oh," he cocked a brow at her and gave her that patented Roth's sex smile that sent her stomach fluttering.
"I'm sorry if I consumed a bit too much wine and then when we got back here, when I-…"
Roth placed his elbows on the counter and steeped his fingers. He leaned over, keeping his dark eyes glued to hers, his expression suddenly heated - intense. "Attempted to seduce me?" he offered.
Ruby could feel the colour draining from her face as she began to recall the events of the previous evening. Did she really come on that strong? She didn't think so. Sure, she kissed him, or kissed him back, or... Oh God! She remembered the kiss vividly, and if she concentrated on the encounter hard enough, she could still taste to wine on his lips. The kiss had just happened, she was sure of it.
Upon seeing her distress, his face broke out into a grin. "I'm teasing Ruby." he reached across the counter and gave her hand a light squeeze. "I kissed you, and you responded. It's not a big deal. Okay?"
Not a big deal? She wasn't sure if it was or not. She was slightly disappointed he said it like that. It stung that what would qualify as one amazing moment to her was "no big deal" to him. Well, she decided, at least I know where I stand.
Slowly, she nodded. "That's what I was going to say." she shrugged to accent her point. "No big deal." Their gazes continued to hold, and her body continued to sing with need for him. Damn it, to her, it was a big deal!