Accidentally Flirting with the CEO (Whirlwind Romance Series)

to be one heck of a
nightmare. No way was he heading down that path.
    Okay. Focus, Jess. Focus.
    “Well, Alexa,” Jess flushed, trying to imagine something
painful. Anything. Anything but Alexa. His eyes briefly brushed hers and a shot
of ecstasy ripped through him. Ecstasy? Wasn’t that one of the words he’d read
in her email?
    This is all wrong. Wrong. Bad. Bad for business. He
remained tortured inside with his internal battles.
    He noticed her large, beautiful doe-eyes glaring at him. Her
cheeks, too, were flushed. Was she feeling what he was feeling? Never mind, it
didn’t matter.
    All he could think was lawsuit.
    Company policy.
    Harassment.
    Bad publicity.
    His eyes roamed over her glorious long neck as he noticed
she swallowed hard. Nerves? Oh, how he wished he could press his lips to her
neck now. Right now. At this very moment.
    Still, Jess felt all eyes on him now. Again, he readjusted
his tie around his neck and casually leaned back. Fighting to keep his cool on
the hot seat.
    He took the sheets of paper in front of him, perusing as if
in deep thought.
    “Your quality of work has been rated excellent by your
peers,” he continued, matter-of-factly. His tone like steel. Cold, smooth and
hard. He could do this. He knew he had no choice but to do this right. Later he
would deal with Alexa. Whatever that meant.
    “Thank you,” she murmured.
    He looked at the remaining entries to comment on.
    1.Quality of work.  Good.
    2.Quantity of work. Good.
    3.Documentation of work performed. Good.
    4.Meeting deadlines. Excellent.
    5. Initiative. Good.
    6. Enthusiasm. Good.
    7. Tactfulness. Could use far more work where electronic
communication is concerned, but for now I’ll deal with that later.
    8. Ability to work well under stress. Good. If this
wasn’t stress, he didn’t know what was.
    9. Organizational skills. Good.
    10. Goal oriented. Good.
    11. Understands job objectives. Good.
    12. Attendance. Good.
    13. Punctuality. Good.
    14. Flexibility. Good. Jess tried hard not to wonder just
how flexible she could be in bed.
    15. Overall job performance. All things considering. Good.
     
    In the end, the long, tortuous session ended with his
agreement that her performance was highly effective and that she often achieved
and exceeded requirements. She was a shoe in for the new position he had in
mind.
    Trouble was, he wanted her in more positions than just as
his account manager.
     
    Alexa’s pulse raced, her face flushed and her stomach
squeezed without mercy. Was this the most, tense-filled, gut-churning
evaluation ever? She could not believe she got out of there alive. After she
shook the hands of the partners of the advertising agency and sped back to her
office and closed the door, she closed her eyes and slumped down into her chair
with her hands holding her head down. Was she going to have another migraine.
She left her pills at home. Great!
    That near-disaster was just too close for comfort. She
mentally commended Jess for keeping his cool and not letting the partners on to
what was in that email he read in the meeting. She really deeply appreciated
his discretion and professionalism. More than what she gave him.
    She sat at her desk, head down, face covered with her shaky
hands. The words played over in her mind. Yes, she did great at her job. But
still, Jess said nothing about the e-mail. Not even after he ushered her out of
the boardroom. He then returned to the boardroom with the others to make a
decision.
    Would they discuss the e-mail? Her conduct? Her future?
Would they change their mind? Should she start hunting for another job and cut
her losses? But the trouble was…she just couldn’t. Not even if she wanted to.
This was where she belonged. Where she felt comfortable. Where she could shine.
And most of all. The feelings she had for Jess, as inappropriate as it was,
were real.
    That was the trouble.
    But she was ever so cognizant of his past troubles. Did she
just add fuel to the fire that was burning out from the last scandal?
    Whatever they decide…she had a sinking feeling that nothing
at TLC Advertising Agency would be the same again. Especially her relationship
with her sexy boss, Jess.
     
     

CHAPTER 5
     
    Alexa felt a presence outside her office cubicle. She lifted
her head slowly to look up.
    Her heart stopped when Jess appeared in the doorway.
Dripping with charm, dangerously handsome and ever so annoyed in his facial
expression.
    Alexa’s mind went numb.
    “Oh…um…Jess. I