Entangled To The CEO

Tasha’s [POV]

“I’m not saying your dress isn’t perfect,” Ivy said.

“Just let me know next time, and we’ll get you something truly haute couture.” I thanked our waiter as he laid down the gold-embossed menus.

Since Ivy was intent on studying all the charity gala photographs online, I left my menu unopened.

“I was assured that I could never go wrong with vintage Valentino. Plus, it’s just a black dress.”

“A drop-dead gorgeous dress.” Ivy gasped again. “Wow. That is a low back.” I laughed and tried to snatch her phone away, but my friend was too fast.

“Ivy, stop. Please!”

“Oh, no, definitely not. Now I know why there’s a buzz going around. It seems Ms. Ellison Ramsey has been knocked off her society pages throne. There’s half a dozen photographs of you, plus more with you prominently in the background.” Ivy looked at each one.

“And a lot of you with Rainer Maxwell.” “We work together,” I said. Ivy put her phone down.

“Yes, dear, I know you work together. What I didn’t know is that you looked that great as a couple. I mean, no wonder the paparazzi were snapping photographs. You look pretty cozy.” I opened my menu like a shield.

“Please tell me I can order a drink with lunch.”

“Yes. How about a nice Riesling? We’ll have the whole bottle at the table,” Ivy told our attentive waiter.

He bowed and moved off through the linen-draped tables.

“Whatever it takes for you to tell me the whole story.” I knew I couldn’t put Ivy off. There wasn’t much that she didn’t get one way or another.

Plus, outside of my pregnant and preoccupied sister, Ivy was the only one I had to confide in. Still, I tried to distract her.

“Do you think I should have a shrimp salad?” Ivy shook her head.

“We don’t order off the menu, darling. The chef will send something out with his compliments. Now, tell me.” I plucked at the tines of my silver fork.

“What’s to tell? There was an attractive man and a lapse of judgment, but we worked together, so it was a mistake. One that will never be repeated. Did you hear me? Never.”

“Oh, yes, I heard you. Sorry, Tasha, but saying ‘never’ twice is a sure sign it’ll happen again.” Ivy gave me a sympathetic smile and laid off until the waiter had filled our glasses. I took a sip of the crisp wine and tried again.

“One mistake is enough for me.” “But did you get enough of Rainer?”

“Ivy!” I felt a blush heat my cheeks and had to force cooler thoughts.

“Besides, I’m in between projects now at work, and I have to focus.”

“What happened to the community garden?” Ivy asked.

“I think that brilliant bit of PR is one of the reasons you ousted Ellison from the society pages. You managed to turn public opinion one-eighty, and now no one can get enough of you. Not even”

“Don’t say his name,” I said.

“All I can think about right now is why Stan would cut off the funding so abruptly.” Ivy gave a delicate wave to a notable couple not far from us.

“If funding is the only problem, just give me five minutes. I have enough friends in this room alone to fund ten more years of that darling garden.”

“No. No, thanks. I’m sure Stan had his reasons. I mean, he’s right. The whole point of GroGreen and the campaign was to show that communities could do this on their own,” I said, hoping to convince myself. Ivy was not fooled.

“It’s important to you. Why not throw in some of your own hard-earned money and I’ll match you dollar-for-dollar? How expensive can it be?” I sighed.

“To keep a national campaign going across multiple media is much more than you’d think. Plus, I’d like to update the application with message boards and ways for the community gardens to share photographs and plans. That means paying a development team and my team is not cheap.” Ivy held up her glass.

“Well, then here’s to kicking in some serious money. I’m not kidding, Tasha, you name your figure, and I’ll match you. Then we’ll get at least three more tables to do the same without even getting up.”

“Thanks, Ivy.” I smiled at my audacious friend.

“The only problem is that I don’t have anything to contribute. My finances are, um, not liquid anymore.” Ivy raised one perfectly groomed eyebrow.

“What have you done, Tasha?” she asked. Now my cheeks were bright red.

“I invested it all and only left myself what I earned last year.” She caught my dodging gaze and leaned forward.

“And why did you lock away all your newly made billions?” I took another long sip of wine and tried to sort it out in my mind.

“It felt like a lot of pressure. I’m sure you felt it when you got married. All of a sudden everything’s different when it’s just a lot more numbers in your bank account.”

“And what did you do before this big decision?” Ivy asked.

“What do you mean? Why?” I searched my memory.

“I was at work and my useless assistant was calling out tabloid headlines. I got up to shut my office door and just decided.” Ivy was not convinced. She saw that I had suddenly paled.

“Rumors like Rainer getting engaged to Ellison?” I wanted to cry; the connection was so sudden and so true.

I had invested all of my money as some sort of spiteful response to Rainer’s personal life.

“Oh, god, Ivy. Why am I ruining my life?” She patted my hand and refilled my wine glass.

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think you’re the only one doing crazy things. I mean, Rainer is refusing to get engaged to Ellison. Ellison Ramsey! You’re both nuts.”

Ivy’s words stuck with me long after we finished our three-course lunch and said goodbye at the valet stand.

I went back to work and was horrified to see Rainer chatting with Otto.

He jumped up as if he’d been waiting for me. Otto leaned on the security desk and grinned.

“Hello, Ms. Nichols,” he called.

“We were just talking about you.” The last thing I wanted to see was the speculative expression on my friend’s face. Actually, second to last.

Rainer was the one person I wanted to avoid at all costs. I tried to wave politely and keep walking.

I planned to hit the regular bank of elevators and lose Rainer in the crowds returning from lunch.

It backfired when I walked towards the executive elevator and the doors slid open.

I had to step inside or Rainer would know I was avoiding him on purpose. I turned around just as he slipped in the doors.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I saw Otto wave as the doors closed. It was just Rainer and me in the elevator. At least it’s an express to the top floors, I told myself.

“So, what are we going to do?” Rainer asked. “Excuse me?” I gasped. Rainer’s expression broke into a surprised grin.

“Sorry, wasn’t trying to be suggestive. But if you have a different idea for this elevator ride then, please, elaborate.” I wished I could slip through the floor and back down to the front doors.

“What are we going to do about what? Oh, you mean the community garden?” I asked. “Well, now that you mention it” I cut Rainer off.

“I’m heading up to meet with Stan right now. First I want to hear his reasons for cutting off the funding, and then I’ll decide which path I have to take.” Rainer’s eyes slid to the stop button and then back to me.

“Wait, two paths? What are you talking about?” His mind was clearly on other things, things that made my heart stumble around. I cleared my throat.

“Stan knows by now that I love the GroGreen project, so I only have two choices: fight or beg.” Rainer leaned against the elevator wall and smiled at me.

“So, you don’t want to move on yet either?”

“I thought you were ready to move on from the first moment you walked into our team meeting,” I said. The words hit home, and I felt bad for making Rainer wince.

“I’m just surprised that you liked all the extra work.”

“Watching preschoolers plant carrots was not what I’d call work. I enjoyed it,” Rainer said. I blamed the express elevator for the sudden lightness in my head.

“I love it. Plus, it’s great for the company, and I just have to make Stan see that.” Rainer stopped my babbling by standing up. He was suddenly too close.

“So, you’re going to fight. Does that mean I should beg?”

“What?” I blinked up at him and forgot what I had said.

“Well, it seems to me that your advice for getting what you want is to fight for it or beg. So, Tasha, tell me which one I should do.”

Rainer’s gaze locked onto me. He was serious. Very serious.

But I worried he wasn’t talking about the GroGreen project anymore. It was all too much. The elevator was too tight and warm.

Rainer was too close and causing too many thoughts to swirl around my head. I felt like a geyser about to erupt. I didn’t know what else to do, so I got angry.

“This is all a game to you, isn’t it?” I asked him. Rainer took a step back and hit the stop button on the elevator. It lurched to a halt as he asked, “Are we talking about work or the rest of it?”

“The rest of it?” I practically screeched.

“There isn’t anything else. You just want what you can’t have. And you must think I’m some kind of moron that I don’t know as soon as I give in, you’ll get bored and move on. I’m not doing it.”

“You think I’m heartless, don’t you?” Rainer said. He restarted the elevator, and we made it to the executive floor in mere seconds.

The doors slid open before I could control my breathing. “I don’t know what to think,” I said.

“So, I’m going to work.” I shoved past him and headed straight for Stan’s office. When my mentor saw me, he finished up his phone call in record time.

Then he pressed the button to shut his office door and went to his bar cart. I waved off a stiff drink and Stan handed me a bottle of water.

“This can’t all be about the funding for your public outreach, can it?” Stan asked.

“Just tell me what you want, Tasha, and we’ll get it sorted out.” My eyes blurred but I refused to sniffle.

“I don’t know. I should. I did. But now I don’t.” Stan sat down in the hard-backed chair next to me and reached for my hand.

“So, take a minute.” I shook my head and blinked back the tears.

“No. Ridiculous. I just need a new project to focus on. Where do you need me?” “Work can wait,” Stan said.

“Work is the only thing I know how to do.” My mentor stood up and paced around his desk.

“Then listen to your boss, Tasha. My decision still stands. GroGreen is done. Call it a success. You can go back to public outreach and community work on your own time, but I think you should give the whole situation a little breathing room.”

“Whole situation?” I asked. Stan sighed.

“I hear rumors too, you know. You and Rainer getting to know each other were great for the company at the start of your campaign. But, now, I think it’s, ah, confusing?” I gave him a weak giggle.

“You’re just mad the rumors aren’t about us anymore.”

“Just say the word, my dear. One kiss, even just a peck on the cheek, and everyone would forget about you and Rainer,” Stan said.

“Desperate measures?” I joked.