Read Online Asking for Andre by Minx Malone - Free Book Online Page B

plans.
    He glanced back at her briefly but didn’t respond other than to grab her arm and guide her around the corner until they came to a small café. She’d seen it in passing but never stopped there. It had a lot of French writing and fancy menus in the window.
    “We will sit here.” He practically shoved her into the wrought iron metal chair. “Anya told me you like the beignets here. I do as well. Apparently we have similar tastes.” He smiled and sat in the chair across from her.
    He’s been asking about me again. It gave Casey a strange feeling. She clenched her fists in her lap and tried to remember all the rules drilled into her head growing up. Keep your elbows off the table. Sit up straight. She wasn’t used to eating out, especially not at these prices. She hadn’t realized the beignets Anya brought to the office each week were from such a fancy place.
    A waitress appeared almost immediately, smiling flirtatiously at Andre. Casey gritted her teeth as the simpering blonde took their orders with a series of unnecessary hair flips. To his credit, Andre didn’t seem interested. His eyes stayed on Casey the entire time.
    Fed up, Casey finally got the nerve to meet his eyes directly. “What are we doing here?”
    Their drinks arrived, a small cappuccino for her and some kind of espresso drink that she couldn’t even pronounce for him. Andre leaned back to allow the waitress to set them down. After she left, Casey waited for him to explain himself but he just took a few appreciative sips of his drink, watching her over the brim the entire time.
    Casey banged her fists on the table. He looked up in surprise. “What does all this mean? You can’t just put me on the spot in front of everyone like you did today! I can’t afford to lose this job.” To her horror, her voice broke a little on the last words. His face softened slightly.
    “ Cara mia , you will not lose your job.” He put his cup down and leaned across the table. “I apologize. I should have explained right away. Mr. Lawson mentioned that you were recently promoted and will be assisting the designers. Congratulations. I’ve already requested that the agency assign you to work on my account. I just wanted to welcome you to the team.”
    Casey sat back, stunned. She clenched her thighs together against a sudden ache.
    “I don’t understand any of this. And just because we have this…” She gestured between them uncertainly. “ Attraction between us, doesn’t mean you should lie and say I’m working on your account. Somehow I doubt Law will let me anywhere near this campaign after what I said today.” She shrugged and took another sip of her drink.
    “ Tesoro , I will do many things but I rarely lie. An intelligent man doesn’t need to. You will be working on my account. For what I’m paying this agency, they’d assign the janitor to work on the account if I asked them to.”
    Casey laughed. Other diners turned to stare but she couldn’t stifle it. “You really have gone mad. I am the last person you should want working on this. You saw what happened in that meeting today. Law was furious. I’m lucky if I still have a job after this.”
    Andre put his cup down and pulled his chair closer to hers. Her breath left her chest with a sudden whoosh. She examined her fingernails, anything to avoid looking at him. She couldn’t look at him when he was this close. She might do something crazy, like lean over and bite his plump lower lip. Then he would think she was even more of a tease than she’d been on Saturday.
    “Cassandra.” Andre took her chin in a gentle grip and tipped her head up until she met his eyes. She loved the way he said her name, rolling it around in his mouth as if he loved the taste. When he said her name, she was exotic and feminine.
    When he said her name, she believed she could do anything.
    “Cassandra, you are the only one who understands what I’m about. You saw those campaigns the others designed for me.