The Undercover Playboy (Captured by Love Book 3) (6 page)

Susan was quiet as she watched him, and Carter tried to read if she was keen for him to talk again or if she couldn’t wait for him to leave her office. But she was still leaning towards him, her body language suggesting she was still very much into this conversation.

He looked at her with bleak eyes. “I’m just having some
financial problems, that’s all.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Susan said sympathetically. “Is it really bad?”

“Three years ago I bought a house. I sank all my savings into the deposit. The house needed major renovations, but it was all I could afford. My tradesmen buddies agreed to help me fix it up for a fraction of the cost so I borrowed as much as I could from friends and family so I could do
it up properly. But I got laid off from my previous job—the one I had before this. I only found odd jobs here and there and I wasn’t making enough to pay my mortgage. So the money I’ve borrowed for the renovations went instead to paying the bank. I eventually ran out of cash and I had to sell the place. With the downturn in property prices, and the almost unliveable state of my house, it sold for
a lot less than what I’d bought it for. So now, I have debts coming out of my ears and none of my friends would help me anymore. They want me to pay them what I owe first before they would do anything else for me. And right now, I can’t afford it with the salary I’m on.”

“Oh, Carter,” Susan said in dismay. “I’m sure that if your friends were happy to help you out before, they’d extend their credit
terms?”

“No. You see, I... uh... did the wrong thing to one of my friends. I’m not proud of it, mind you, and I’m not gonna do it again. But they all seem to be ganging up on me now.”

“May I ask what you did?”

“I’d rather not. I don’t want you thinking badly of me,” he said with a sad smile.

“I’m sure it can’t be all that bad. And I think everyone deserves a second chance. Anyway, what are
you gonna do now?”

He shrugged. “Wait for a kind benefactor to save the day for me before I end up on the streets. That’s about all I can do, really. I’ve already exhausted all other options.”

Susan put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure something’s bound to turn up.”

He squeezed her hand. “Thank you, Susan,” he said, giving her a smile that some women had called devastating.

Susan smiled back,
her flirty look not at all disappearing.

“Well, much as I love chatting with you, I better get back to work,” he said. “I can’t afford to get sacked from this job.”

“Okay.”

“Um, this is really embarrassing for me, Susan. And—”

“Hey, don’t worry. My lips are sealed about this.”

“Thank you,” he said, squeezing her hand again before “reluctantly” letting go of it.

With a sigh, Susan turned
back to her desk to let him get on with his task.

Carter pretended to take his attention back to his electrical device. Things were looking promising.

*****

C
arter packed his tools, satisfied with the day’s developments. He’d already talked to twelve of the gallery’s employees. Out of the twelve, three were still on his suspects’ list, with Susan topping it.

There were still a few more he
hadn’t spoken to, including Bronwyn Tellman, the boss. Hopefully, he’d get to suss them all out soon so he could concentrate on a short list.

He made his way to the front exit, preparing to stop at Cassie’s office on his way out. To his disappointment, she’d gone.

Well, he supposed that was a good thing. It was almost six. Cassie had always worked overtime for her old company and he was glad
to see that she was working reasonable hours in this one.

He stepped out of the building and his heart skipped. There was Cassie, walking towards the direction of the train station.

“Cassie!”

Cassie looked back, a wide grin forming on her face.

He lengthened his strides to reach her. “And here I was thinking you’ve stopped your bad habit of working overtime.”

Cassie chuckled. “I wanted to
finish the online training I was doing. And I don’t mind working overtime here. They’re much more generous than my old company.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Guess what I get?” Cassie rattled off her other perks. “I could even have a company car if I wanted to. But I hate having to contend with Sydney peak-hour traffic day in and day out, and trains are much more convenient for me. So I negotiated with
Bronwyn to have my daily travel expenses reimbursed instead, and hire chauffeur-driven cars when I have to go to special events or trips.”

“Wow,” he said. Cassie was indeed getting a very generous package. And he couldn’t help but feel suspicious. Not that Cassie didn’t deserve it. She had a brilliant mind and admirable work ethic. But he’d never come across a two-year-old company who could afford
to pay their staff so generously.

“Company must be doing very well,” he commented.

Cassie nodded her head with a hint of awe. “It is. Its growth has been quite phenomenal. I can’t wait to learn more from Bronwyn. She’s obviously a very smart businesswoman.”

Or a cunning crook.

But he remained silent on that.

“Come on, I’ll give you a lift,” he said, angling his head to the direction of the
car park at the back.

“Oh, goody,” Cassie said with a grin, falling into step with him as they walked to his van.

He took a deep breath, feeling overprotective and wanting to hug Cassie to him.

He didn’t know what brought it on, but he guessed he just didn’t want Cassie to fall prey to the crooks. Fortunately, there seemed to be little chance of that as long as she kept her nose out of their
business, which Cassie was likely to do if she remained ignorant of what was going on.

“So you like working here so far, huh,” he said.

“Loving it. I’ve only just started today, but I can already see I’m going to enjoy working here for a long time.”

Cassie continued to gush about Tellman Galleries and Bronwyn Tellman, and Carter prayed that her boss wasn’t in any way involved in criminal activities.
He’d hate to have to burst Cassie’s bubble. She deserved something like this, and it would break her heart if her dream career crumbled from underneath her feet.

Unable to help himself, he put an arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. “I’m so glad for you, Cass,” he murmured.

Cassie’s arms went around his waist. “Thanks, Carter,” she breathed, her head dipping on his shoulder.

He sighed,
holding her tighter. Why hadn’t he done this before? It felt good. She felt amazing in his arms.

Ah, damn.

*****

“
I forgot that Tash is having dinner with my parents tonight,” Carter said as he escorted Cassie back into her apartment.

“I’m surprised you didn’t join them,” she said.

“I wasn’t sure what time I was going to finish at the gallery. There’s more work there than we originally anticipated.”

“So...” Cassie said, looking up at him with a nervous smile. “Are you doing anything for dinner?”

His heart hammered in his chest. Was she asking him out?

“No,” he heard himself say.

“So... do you want to have dinner with me? I could cook or we could go out. Just for a quick bite,” she added hastily.

He smiled, warmth suffusing him. Cassie was simply adorable when her cheeks were flushed.
How could a brainy CPA about to attain her MBA, and who’d just got a financial controller job with stupendous pay, be so shy in asking a man out?

And how the hell could he say no to that beautiful face, even if he really should?

“How about we go out?” he answered. “Although I’m not exactly dressed for a fancy dinner.”

“That’s okay. You still look hot to me. I’ll change to jeans.”

He shook
his head as Cassie went to her bedroom. Whatever was he gonna do with her?

You’re just going to take her out to dinner, and that’s it.

Yes, he could do that.

*

C
arter couldn’t believe how fast the time had flown. He was walking Cassie back to her place after spending a couple of hours with her at the Thai restaurant two blocks away.

He was thoroughly enjoying this—their first dinner alone
together. Could he call this a date? With Cassie grasping his arm as they strolled, they certainly looked like a couple.

“Do you want to have coffee upstairs?” Cassie asked as she slotted the key to the front door of the building.

“Sure.”

“Great,” she said, smiling shyly at him.

He smiled back, shoving his hands into his pockets to stop himself from holding her face and kissing her. She was
simply too cute.

They rode the elevator in silence as Carter tried to get a grip of this weird jumble of feelings inside of him. The simple act of putting his arm around her earlier in the parking area of the gallery seemed to have released something. Or opened something. His heart had been dancing all night. And his chest just felt... expanded.

And hell, he really, really, really wanted to
kiss Cassie. Really.

How could these emotions just have exploded? Sure, he’d always been interested in her, but he’d always been able to keep a lid on it before. Tonight, he was struggling to keep that lid in place.

Maybe he’d suppress his lust for her for far too long, and Cassie being more touchy-feely than usual had burst its confines. Regardless, he couldn’t act on it right now, much as
he wanted to. He couldn’t afford to imperil his undercover role at Tellman Galleries.

But nothing was stopping him from enjoying coffee with Cassie in the apartment. He wasn’t ready for the night to end yet.

*

“I
better go,” he said, placing his cup back down on the coffee table.

“Okay,” Cassie said, sounding disappointed.

Heck, he was, too. He was having a great time, even if all they’d
done was talk and flirt a little, like they usually did. But for him, those flirtations had taken on a deeper meaning. Better leave now before his frustration from not being able to take it further escalated to annoying heights.

“Um... Carter...” Cassie said, placing a hand on his arm to halt him from getting up the seat.

“Yeah?”

“I want to ask you something.”

“Sure.”

“First, I want you to
know that whatever your answer is will be fine with me, okay?” Cassie said.

“O-kay,” he said, his curiosity spiking.

“And that I won’t allow whatever happens to affect our friendship in any way.”

He frowned, starting to get worried.

“Don’t look like that,” Cassie said. “This really is a fun thing. I’m just nervous with asking you because... well, it’s you and you’re a friend. And I honestly
don’t want you to think that I won’t be okay if you said no.”

“Now I’m beyond intrigued. Spill, Cassandra.”

Cassie took a deep breath. “I promised myself a treat when I finished my MBA or find another job, whichever comes first. And I said that it will be something that I’ve never done before. And I thought it would be fun if I can do it with you.”

“So what’s this fun thing that you have in
mind? A tandem skydive?” he teased, knowing Cassie was terrified of heights.

“No.”

“What then?”

“A one-night stand.”

He stared at Cassie in shock.

C
assie watched Carter’s face as she waited for his answer. This was obviously the last thing he expected her to say. He was staring at her with his mouth open. Not from delight, unfortunately, but from disbelief—or even dismay.

Maybe it would have been better if she’d
seduced
him instead of asked him. But fear of his answer was exactly why she didn’t go the seduction route. It would
have been more humiliating if she’d thrown herself at him and he’d pushed her away. She should be grateful this rejection was softer in comparison.

She swallowed her disappointment and tried not to let the hurt show on her face.

“It’s okay, Carter,” she said with a smile, patting his thigh as added proof that she had no hard feelings. It wasn’t his fault that her heart was sinking to the floor.
She’d already known it was a long shot that he’d want her. At least she’d tried.

“Cassie... It’s not that I don’t want to...”

“Hey, come on,” she said in a teasing tone. “You don’t have to lie. I already thought you might say no, but I thought I’d ask anyway. Now I can cross you off my list,” she added for good measure. If this stupid request of hers ruined her friendship with Carter, she’d
never forgive herself.

“Who else is on your list?” Carter asked in an almost growl.

Carter’s sudden frown sparked a bit of hope in her, but she was quick to squash that ludicrous reaction.

“Hey, that list is private,” she joked.

“But—”

“Carter! What are you doing here?” Natasha interrupted as she walked in the apartment.

“Hey, sis!” Carter said, standing up to greet Natasha with a kiss.
“Would you believe that I’m doing some electrical work at Cassie’s new job?”

“You’re doing work at Tellman Galleries?” Natasha asked, her eyes rounding. “Why?”

“They’re having an extension done. I gave Cassie a lift home and we had dinner at that Thai place near here.”

“I see,” Natasha said, her surprised look not abating. “Is... everything okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” Carter answered.

“Good,”
Natasha said with a frown.

“Don’t worry, Tash,” Cassie said lightly. “I won’t be bothering Carter while he’s hard at work.”

“And I hope he doesn’t bother you,” Natasha said with a smile.

“Well, I’m off to my room to get ready for bed,” Cassie said. “Goodnight, guys.”

“See you tomorrow, Cass,” Carter murmured.

Cassie flashed them a bright smile before disappearing into her bedroom. Once inside,
she took a long, deep breath.

Her heart ached. Much more than she’d anticipated. It was just that she and Carter had had a great time tonight and she’d expected...

She shook her head vigorously. Carter didn’t want her. Hadn’t she guessed that before? Now he’d confirmed it beyond doubt. And that was cool. Yeah. Really, it was.