Cassie's Grand Plan

Oh, yeah, that was a good one.

Unless you were the CEO’s son.

The payout Patrick Conroy had had to make to Sarah to ensure her silence was now held as ransom over Ronan’s head.

You’ve lost sight of what this business is all about. His father’s words rang in his ears. How can I put you in front of the board as the future leader of this organization when you still behave like you’re twenty-five and sowing your wild oats? Go to Australia and get this right. Do you good to get back to basics and remember why you’re in this business in the first place.

Patrick Conroy had offered an opportunity for redemption—in reality, a demeaning punishment. His old friend, Graham Taylor, needed a favor. One of his businesses in Australia was at a turning point; Graham had courted a multinational conglomerate interested in expanding in Australia—starting with purchasing his top-performing chain of fifty-seven retail furniture stores. All the stores would be rebranded, global purchasing power would provide a more competitive edge and the local management would no longer be required. They were prepared to pay Taylor a bucket load of money, so as far as Ronan could see, it was a no-brainer. But for some reason, he wanted a Conroy Corporation report on the state of the business before he signed on the dotted line.

Ronan had been given a careful brief by his father. He was to do a thorough investigation, without revealing his true purpose to any of the local management. Along with confirming Taylor’s decision to sell as the correct one, Ronan had to prove that he didn’t need an army of business analysts and auditors to do a proper scoping exercise. Prove that he was worthy of Conroy Corporation. Prove that his error of judgment in New York was just a blip, not a symptom of a more serious problem.

Ronan twisted in bed and punched the pillow again.

The whisky burned in his gut.

Of course, the staff of Country Style had no idea why Ronan was really there, no suspicion of the possible merger. It wasn’t the first time Ronan knew more about people’s future than they did and it wouldn’t be the last. It was part of the job—part of the challenge of being a management consultant. Sometimes the recommendations he had to make affected people’s jobs. Sometimes he had to conceal that from them until the time was right.

Cassie Hartman, for example, thought he was there to review a document she’d created proposing a restructure of the business. Putting herself in charge, as CEO. The irony was, her report was probably what had prompted Taylor to think about selling in the first place. Her document was competent, and she clearly had a thorough understanding of the business she ran, but if things went as Taylor hoped, she’d not only not be CEO, she’d be out of a job.

Ronan checked the clock, the red numbers burning brightly in the darkness of the room. Only ten minutes had passed since he’d switched off the light. This was going to be a slow and torturous night if he couldn’t somehow make himself sleep.

There was one thing he hadn’t tried yet.

Grasping himself, Ronan cast around in his mind for images to accompany this last shot at overcoming his sleeplessness. He wasn’t proud, but it would only be a few hours before his alarm clock would go off and he’d be heading for the airport to catch a plane with Cassie Hartman.

Cassie Hartman.

He wasn’t surprised when his body responded to the thought. She possessed an intriguing combination of control and vulnerability, one moment smoothly professional, the next delightfully awkward. But it was the brunette curls she tried hard to restrain that spurred his physical response. Even the boring tortoiseshell clip that held the mane at the back of her neck wasn’t enough to fully hide the thick, shiny strands. He remembered his first thought when he’d seen her—what would her hair look like loose, swinging over her shoulders? He wondered how long it was—would it cover her breasts when she was naked? Maybe it would just reach the tips, letting her nipples peak out from between the curled ends.

He groaned.

That uniform she wore was utilitarian, another of her intriguing contrasts. All buttoned-up and proper on the outside, all lush curves and full breasts underneath. He wondered what she wore under her uniform. White cotton or white lace…

Ronan’s pulse picked up and he stroked himself more firmly.

Her breasts were large; they’d fill each hand and maybe then some. She had a sweet smile, too. She’d been nervous today, he could see that, but also determined to stand her ground and exceptionally proud of her achievements. He got the impression she was shy and not very confident around men—unlike that assistant of hers, she’d not once even attempted to flirt with him. And when he’d taken off his jacket and tie, he’d been sure she had blushed.

He could just imagine the blush on her face, that sweet smile, looking up at him as he touched her, as he moved over her, as he took her body, when she—

Ronan swore, released himself and flopped back on the pillows in disgust.

Hadn’t the experience with Sarah Forsythe taught him anything? Was his father’s impression of him right? Was he a player who could never take anything seriously?

Fantasizing about Cassie Hartman was about as wrong as it was possible to get. The very last thing he could afford on this job was another romantic entanglement with the client.

She probably had a boyfriend, he told himself. That was why she didn’t flirt. It didn’t matter anyway—she was so far off-limits she might as well be a nun.

Thinking about Sarah and the situation he was in was enough to kill any arousal. He’d just have to lie there until the alarm sounded. If necessary, he’d sleep on the plane.

He yawned.

This was going to be one damned long week.

CASSIE’S INSTINCTIVE RESPONSE to flying was filed under T for torture. But a career that often demanded her presence interstate meant she’d had to reconcile herself to filing it under N for necessary evil instead. If there was any way she could avoid stepping on another plane in her life, she’d take it.

It wasn’t that she was scared, exactly. No, terrified would probably be a more apt description. A shame, since she was sure her enthusiastic amateur-pilot father was looking down at her and shaking his head sadly at her phobia. He’d done his best to instill his own love of flying in her and she’d adored pretending to be his copilot—until the accident that had given her a fear of anything that went faster than her zippy, if dated, little hatchback.

It was mainly the takeoff and landing that were the problem. Once she was up in the air, she was better. As long as there were no bumps. Or strange noises. And God forbid that the cabin crew look nervous in any way.

But she couldn’t afford to let Ronan McGuire see it. It wasn’t a weakness that affected her ability to manage Country Style, but it was still a weakness. Cassie was determined not to let him see anything other than the person who was the obvious choice for leading the business into a new realm of success.

Calm. Control. The words had become her mantra.

“Are you a nervous flyer?”

Damn. Those blue eyes peered at her as they fastened their seat belts. Since they’d met in the airport, conversation had been restrained and polite. He’d seemed distracted and had opened up his laptop as soon as they’d been settled in the lounge. Cassie had done the same—she had plenty to keep her busy, anyway. There was still a great deal of work to do to finalize the details for the store opening on Monday.

“No, I’m…fine,” Cassie replied, trying for a relaxed smile.

Ronan nodded, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

He was laughing at her! Get a grip, Cassie. She peeled her fingers from the armrest and folded them neatly in her lap, wishing she’d thought to bring a book with her so she could sit there and pretend to read. Even better would have been a set of those massive, noise-canceling headphones, so she could block out the plane and Ronan’s annoyingly seductive voice. Leaning forward, she scrambled in the seat pocket in front of her for the airline magazine and stared blankly at a random page, figuring it was better than nothing.

She heard a low chuckle beside her.

With a blush heating her cheeks, Cassie turned the magazine the right way up and studied the article about resorts in Bali as if her life depended on it. The safety demonstration started and she half watched from behind the magazine—usually she paid rapt attention, but again, she didn’t want to give away her nerves to her seatmate.

As the plane’s engines fired up for takeoff, Cassie couldn’t help the panic that rose inside her. Memories threatened to overwhelm her, of the time when flying had been exciting, the little tilts and loops of a plane thrilling, her father at the wheel, turning to grin at her in shared exhilaration. That had been before. Before life had changed permanently.

She closed her eyes as the wheels left the ground, her teeth gritted as the plane dipped and righted itself. Then the wind caught them. The plane veered sideways, leaving her stomach somewhere near her throat. Cassie’s hand shot out, reaching for the armrest, and she twisted her feet around the seat in front of her as makeshift anchors. The magazine fell with a rustle of pages to the floor.

“Hey, it’s okay.”

Instead of cold metal, her hand met warm flesh. Fingers that interlaced with hers and held on tightly. Reassuringly.

“It’s just a little turbulence.”

Yeah, that’s probably what they said before every plane fell out of the sky.

“It’ll even out as soon as we get higher.” Ronan’s voice was low and gentle, that accent of his reassuring.

The plane dipped again. Cassie screwed her eyes shut even tighter and squeezed his hand hard enough to make her knuckles ache. Blood pounded in her ears and her calves began to cramp from her ankles’ awkward grip.

“Breathe. In and out.”

She made an effort to take in some air.

“That’s better. See? We’re smoothing out now. Nothing to worry about.”