The truth was, he hadn’t met anyone who piqued his interest - until now.
As it had done so often over the past couple of weeks, his mind zoned in on Asia Miller. There was just something about her, petite and soft-spoken yet so direct and fearless, that made her irresistible.
She was different from the women he knew. She actually stood up to him in her own quiet way. He was not used to that and it had thrown him off balance for a while. But after he’d gotten over his initial shock he’d found that he liked her style. She was fresh and she was bold. A perfect fit for the Megalos family.
He caught himself. Why in the blazes had that thought crossed his mind? He glanced over at his mother but she sat serenely rocking Athena on her lap. It was her fault for planting such thoughts in his head.
No, he couldn’t blame his mother. Truth be told, Asia had been on his mind ever since they’d parted almost two weeks before. She’d been so spirited, so confident in her tactics to rescue him from himself that he’d actually agreed to her deal. And, as she boldly stated, her recommended change to his incentive plan had begun working already. That same day he’d advised the departments of a new program where they’d only be rewarded if the overall company benefitted from their efforts. Teams would no longer be rewarded for individual successes.
After only a week there was a definite change in the tone of the departmental meeting. For the first time in months Ben reported a reversal in the trend. It had been a phenomenal week with sales exceeding target by almost eleven percent. And all because a daring young woman - and admittedly one who knew her business - had challenged their status quo and provided new perspective on their business culture.
For the first time since Rico had come to the Miami office he actually observed sales managers and marketing officers sitting in each other’s offices, deep in discussion about how they could combine their skills to achieve the greater goal. The uptight atmosphere in the office had given way to a camaraderie that he had never seen before.
Asia Miller was good at what she did and, he’d be the first to admit, he had a lot to learn. On top of all that, though, he had another situation to deal with. The fact was, he was intensely attracted to her and, advisor or not, there was no denying that he wanted her.
So far he’d kept himself in check but he was a man who went for what he wanted no matter the cost. Next time he saw Asia it would be time to make his move.
“She’s asleep.”
Carmelita’s whisper broke into Rico’s thoughts and his eyes snapped back to his mother.
“Could you lay her in the crib, please?” Gently, she shifted Athena’s little body away from hers and rested her in Rico’s arms. “Try not to wake her.”
Rico nodded and gathered the precious little bundle close. For some reason he pictured an infant Asia looking just like this, with dark hair curling around her cherub face. If they had a daughter was this what she would look like?
Carajo. Was he going sentimental? He’d better get his wandering mind under control or else his mother would have her wish sooner rather than later. And he wasn’t about to take any chances with his heart - not even for the irresistible Miss Asia Miller.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Auto what?” Rico stared at Asia as she sat looking cool and crisp in the chair across from him.
“Autogenic training,” she repeated, giving him a little smile. “I want to relieve you of all that pent-up anger, teach you how to release it. Then I’ll take you to the next level where you de-stress.”
“But I’m not under any stress.” Rico folded his arms across his chest. What did this woman think he was? Some kind of kook who needed therapy? “And I don’t need anger management training either.”
Asia shrugged. “Maybe you don’t but why not humor me for a little bit? After all, it can’t hurt.”
“I don’t have time for that kind of nonsense.” Asia was annoying him now. This was not how he had foreseen their second meeting. He’d planned to compliment her on the success of her strategy and then when she was mellow with praise he would ask her out. But with this stink of an idea she had taken the meeting in a totally different direction.
Asia did not look the least bit perturbed. In fact, she was smiling. “Rico,” she said in that quiet way he had come to know, “may I remind you of something?”
“What?” He snapped, his tone aggressive and totally unapologetic.
“You already agreed to the training,” she said with the lift of an eyebrow. “Therefore your comment just now has absolutely no bearing on where we go from here.”
“I never agreed to any autogeneric training.”
“Autogenic,” she said, correcting him. “And yes, you did. At our last meeting you promised that if plan A was successful you would undertake the next task I assigned to you, no questions asked. I’m sorry but refusal is not an option."
For a moment he just sat there scowling, pissed that she had him by that very sensitive part of his anatomy. Then he shook his head, defeated. For now. “Alright, you got me. I’ll do your autogenic thing…but under one condition.”
“Which is?” she asked, looking pleased as a prized puss.
“You agree to have dinner with me.”
That got her attention. The pleased puss look disappeared and in its place was a frown. "Did you just ask me out?”
“I did.”
“But…you’re my client.”
“So?”
“So it would be…unprofessional.”
“I’ll pick you up Friday evening, seven o’clock. Make sure you leave me your address.”
“Did you hear what I said?” She stared at him, a look of disbelief on her face.
“Sure. I just chose to ignore it.”
“Ignore…uhm. Mr. Megalos-”
“Rico.”
“Rico, we have a business relationship. I can’t go out with you.”
“Why not?”
“Because,” she said then faltered. “Because you’re my client.”