Her Untamed CEO

Chapter 9

Mr. Grey eyes, drop-dead gorgeous Liam Phillips steps through the lift doors, and Alicia feels her heart skipping a beat.

“Come on, Alicia! Focus!” She reprimands herself and looks down at the documents she prepared for the meeting today.

Mr. Bartlett saves her and steps out of his office.

“Liam, it's so good to see you again. I was pretty surprised when Alicia told me that you wanted to talk about the reports.” They shake hands and Alicia avoids eye contact with him.

“Gary, yes, I was pretty surprised that you agreed to a meeting. What with being so busy. Good morning, miss Moonvalor.”

He looks at her and she looks up. When their eyes make contact, she feels electricity rush through her entire body.

“Morning Mr. Phillips, can I get you some coffee?”

“No thank you, I’ve just had breakfast.” He winks at her and her cheeks turn bright red.

“Well, let's get to business.” Mr. Bartlett holds his hand out and Liam walks into his office.

Alicia follows him, holding the reports tightly to her chest as she feels her heart race. They each take a seat in front of Mr. Bartlett’s desk and she shifts trying to find a more comfortable position. A sudden ache has made its way to her private parts, and she can’t understand exactly what it means.

“Right, what is it that you wanted to know, Liam?” Mr. Bartlett starts the meeting and Alicia hands them each a paper copy of the report.

***

“Good morning, Noah.” Gilda opens the curtains in his room and the bright light shines right into his eyes.

“ARE YOU INSANE!”

“It’s time for breakfast. It’s almost time for lunch, in fact. You need to eat before you can take your medicine, and don’t think I didn’t notice you took them early this morning without eating.”

“So, what if I don’t eat? I need rest, don’t I?”

He squints his eyes and tries to focus on the beast that is supposed to be his nurse. She disappears for a moment, and he pulls the covers over his head.

“No, no, sit up.” He hears her voice again, but this time he smells something delicious and peeks out from underneath his bedding.

When he sees the pancakes, he tries to sit up but is very quickly reminded of his injured leg.

“That’s why you have to eat, so you can take your medication.” She puffs up the pillows behind him before putting the tray of food down in front of him.

“Good morning, you two. I’m glad to see you are following the doctor’s orders.” His mom sweeps into the room.

“Morning Mother.”

“Oh, Noah, what do you have to be angry about?”

She leaves a kiss on his cheek and Gilda excuses herself.

“A thank you would be appreciated, you know?”

She pouts, and he sighs.

“Thank you, mother. What am I thanking you for?”

“Oh, you are kidding me!” She throws her hands in the air.

“Sometimes I really think that your father is right about the fact that I spoil you too much!”

“I’m just kidding, mom. Thank you for arranging that my stuff is moved here.” He puts the breakfast table aside and sits up in bed, stretching for his crutches.

They fall over and on hits him on his head.

“f**k!”

“LANGUAGE!”

“Mom, I love you, I really do, but did you come here to fight with me?”

He picks up his crutches and finds his way to the kitchen to look for some coffee.

“What are you doing out of this office at this time of the day in any case?”

“Can’t a mother come to check in with her son without twenty questions?”

“Hmm.” He turns around to look at her and squints his eyes.

“Okay, out with it. What did Dad do this time?”

The scowl on her face tells him that he hit the nail right on the head. It takes a couple of minutes, but he soon finds out that Alicia Moonvalor has been doing really well in his mom’s job.

“She even impressed Liam. Your dad couldn’t stop talking about it last night.”

“I told you not to trust him with a young girl in the office like that.” He mumbles.

“That’s not what I meant!! She is a good girl!”

“Wait a minute, what is Liam doing at the office?”

“Well, he is the CFO.” She bites her nail, which she never does, and he tilts his head.

“HUH, yeah, right. Tell me, when was he at the board meeting last?”

“Let’s not talk about work. I took the day off so I could spend it with you. Besides, Liam went to see your dad early this morning, and I really didn’t feel like seeing him.” She sighs.

Pain shoots through his leg, and he makes his way to the living room. He had been playing games with Gab all night and felt as if he needed more sleep. Gilda brings him his medication, and for once he is thankful for having her around.

***

“Well, I don’t know what more to tell you.” Alicia sighs, rubbing her palms together.

She has just gone through her entire presentation again to explain the details of the changes, but his questions seem to be never-ending.

“Come on, Liam. You have to admit that she’s pretty good.”

“She is.” His grey eyes burn right into her soul, and she wishes she could be anywhere else but here.

“Are you sure you want her to work for you?”

“If you think you are going to steal her away from me, then I’m sorry, but she’s mine.” Mr. Bartlett grins and Alicia nearly falls off her chair with shock.

Did he just call her his? Her eyes grow wide and they both burst out laughing.

“Not to worry, miss Moonvalor. I’m only joking, but in all honestly, someone with your qualifications should be working in the financial department.”

“That’s enough of that.” Mr. Bartlett chuckles and finally tells Alicia she can go.

She takes a deep breath, holding her hand to her racing heart to try and calm down. She couldn’t get to the bathroom fast enough to splash cold water on her face. How could one man affect her this much?

They came walking out of Mr. Bartlett’s office just as she was walking out of the bathroom. She had been hoping that he would be already gone.

“Thank you for your time, Miss Moonvalor.”

“Of course, Sir.” He holds out his hand and she hesitates.

Shaking his hand, she can’t help but blush when he leans in slightly.

“I hope we can have that dinner soon.”

She shivers slightly and a smile forms in the corner of his mouth. He has a beautiful smile, and she feels her knees growing slightly weak.

When the lift doors close, she feels as if she can properly breathe for the first time since he arrived this morning. The ache subsides, and she can sit comfortably on her chair again. What the hell happened there?

She can’t afford to be seduced right now. She has just started her job and…

“I would suggest you keep things strictly professional with our board members, miss Moonvalor.” Mr. Bartlett’s voice pierces her thoughts.

“Excuse me, Sir?” She feels her cheeks turn bright red and her jaw drops.

“No, no. I didn’t mean you would do anything. I just meant. Be careful. Especially where it concerns Mr. Phillips.” He frowns slightly, and she wonders what he is talking about.

“Sir, I would never… Mrs. Bartlett told me the first day I started that I should not get familiar with any…” He holds his hand up and stops her from completing her sentence.

“Sweet girl. The heart wants what the heart wants, and you can’t make promises you won’t be able to keep. I suggest you don’t. Just be careful, and let’s leave it there.”

She nods, not really knowing what to say, and watches him walk back to his office. The rest of her day is spent catching up on inquiries from all the different departments on when they can expect their increases.

Unfortunately, increases haven’t been approved, and she can’t answer them until Mr. Bartlett sends out the official notice. She attends the emails sent by Mrs. Bartlett and then one pops into her inbox.

“To Alicia Moonvalor

From: Liam Phillips

Dear Miss Moonvalor,

Seeing as you didn’t accept my dinner invitation to discuss business. I thought it might be best if I invited you to a proper date. Say, seven tonight?”

Liam.”

Oh, hell no!

“Dear Mr. Phillips,

Thank you for the invitation, but I, unfortunately, have to decline.

Kind Regards.

Miss Alicia Moonvalor

Assistant to Mr. Bartlett

Bartlett Industries.”

She quickly hits send as if the button was burning her fingertips. That should be the end of that. Her email dings and she rolls her eyes, opening it.

“To Alicia Moonvalor

From Noah Bartlett

Miss Moonvalor,

I have been informed that my staff on the yacht haven’t been paid. Do you care to explain?”

Noah Bartlett.”

What? Since when is it her job to make sure his staff is paid?

***

“What are you talking about?” The captain informed him that the staff hadn’t been paid for their last trip, and he immediately looked at his mom.

She in turn tells him to call Alicia and check. Maybe it was just a clerical error. Not being in the mood to speak to the new girl in the office, he decides to send her an email.

“How very professional of you.” His mom lifts an eyebrow at him, and he grins.

“I can be a good boy.”

“Oh god, no!” She throws her hands in the air laughing.

After his mom has left, he makes his way back to his bedroom, and his phone rings.

“Mr. Bartlett.” Her smooth voice greets him on the other side of the line.

“Miss Moonvalor. What a pleasure to hear from you. I hope you have some good news for me.”

“I’m afraid I don’t. Your father has… Uhm, well, Sir.”

“Oh, just spit it out already.” He groans, knowing what she’s about to say.

“He is refusing to pay. He says that since you want to live on your own.” She clears her throat, and he can hear her voice waver slightly.

“You should start taking care of your own accounts.”

“Yeah, I bet he said that. Wait until my mother hears about this!” He kills the call, smashing his finger on the red button on the screen.

“How dare she!”

When he calls his mom, she confirms what miss Moonvalor said, but that she will speak to his father and sort it out.

“Time to have a look at that wound.” Gilda walks into his room, and he throws his phone in her direction.

“Get out!”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, Glenda. I said get out! Seeing as I will be the one paying for your services from now on, I have decided that I don’t need them. You are fired. Now, get out!”

“I’m sorry, but your mother pays me. I’m not going anywhere.”

“No, she does not.” He sighs. “Just leave. I will send the agency your full-pay check. Just leave.”

She hesitates for a moment, then turns on her heel and walks out of the room. He knows that his mom will be calling him within the next couple of minutes, but he can’t deal with her right now. First the boat, then the holiday, and now he has to pay his own staff! How does his father expect him to live? He has savings, and it’s more than enough, but he was keeping that for one day when he wants to retire.

Standing up from his bed, he hears the front door close and feels like a total i***t for swearing at the poor woman that way, but she just had to push and push and he doesn’t like being told what to do.

When he picks up his phone, he curses at the cracked screen.

“Well, at least mom won’t be able to call me now. She will just come back because she’s worried.” He sighs walking back to the bed and falls hitting it with his back, then screams in pain when his leg hits the side.

“Damn leg! Damn, Miss Moonvalor! Damn his father for being such a scrooch!”