Her Alpha CEO

Chapter 2

Nina spent the week in a state of excitement mingled with panic. The days couldn’t go by fast enough for her liking, but at the same time, they were speeding past. Work provided a welcome distraction, as she helped customers choose books and kept the shelves well-stocked and tidy.

She had several books on her to-read list, but none of them managed to hold her attention for very long as she kept drifting off into daydreams about a certain gaming CEO.

On Wednesday morning, she stood in front of her mirror, giving herself a stern lecture.

“Get a grip, Nina Jacobs. Your Mama would be ashamed of you, mooning around over a man you barely know.” She grinned at the photo of her mother, staring at her from the top right corner of the mirror. “Your Mama would also tell you what a fine man you’d caught.” Her smile faded, and she pressed a kiss to her fingertips before touching the photo. “I miss you, Mama. I wish you were here.”

Shaking off her melancholy, Nina dressed for the day and hurried out of the house. She waved good morning to Mrs. Beechley, then climbed into her car. “Nosy old busy-body.” She muttered the words to herself through a clenched smile as she drove past the woman who was pottering in her garden. Nina had lived next door to the woman for the last four years and had firsthand experience with her interfering nature.

For a brief moment, she wondered if inviting Brian around to her place was a good idea. Mrs. Beechley was a gossip of note, couldn’t keep anything to herself, and loved nothing more than judging other people for the way they chose to live. Nina shook her head. She was a grown woman, and who she chose to invite round to her place for dinner was her business. So what if it was a white, billionaire CEO of a multi-award-winning gaming franchise?

Her laugh may have been just a touch hysterical.

*****

Brian paused the game on his console, running a hand over his face, wincing as it caught on his two-day old beard. He’d been trialing Guidice’s new game, which was due for release in a couple months.

He blinked, stretching and yawning. His eyes felt scratchy, and his lazy-boy armchair held the shape of his six-foot-four frame as though it had been molded for him. He checked his smart watch. 32 emails, and close to 100 texts. He needed a shower, and then he’d deal with the correspondence before he crashed.

Soaping himself under the spray, his mind wandered to Jenny’s party. He replayed the evening in his mind, from the time of Nina’s arrival, to their kiss on the terrace. He’d barely been able to stop thinking about her since. It was now early Wednesday morning, and a trial run of the game he’d helped design, which should have taken him a day or two at the most, had taken twice as long because he was constantly distracted by the feel of Nina’s lips against his.

He’d have to speak to the developers. He’d died way too often – the game should have forced a restart. Guidice Games prided themselves on developing games that challenged hardcore gamers. A game that didn’t force a restart after a certain number of deaths went against their design principles.

A grin spread across his face. He’d have to remember to thank Nina for her help. If she hadn’t been such a distraction, he may not have discovered the flaw in the game. He was whistling as he toweled himself off and wandered back into his man-cave, the towel wrapped around his hips.

He switched on his business computer, logging into his email provider. He scanned the emails which his assistant had marked as needing his personal attention, sending off a few quick responses where needed, and forwarding others to relevant employees, requesting information from them.

Brian had always prided himself on his personal attention to a business which employed over 200 staff. He knew every employee by name, interviewed every new intern himself, and kept his finger firmly on the pulse of the company. It was the least he could do to live up to his father’s expectations.

He’d hoped that his brother, Tristan, would remain with the company to help share the load, but sibling rivalry had proved their undoing and when Dad had appointed him CEO over Tristan, his brother had left to start his own company.

Things had not ended well, and Brian felt the added guilt of having let his brother down, all of which drove him to work ridiculous hours. Unfortunately, as his sister so often reminded him, it left very little time for him to have a social life. Dating was out of the question. No woman would put up with his schedule for very long, and he hadn’t found a woman he’d consider giving priority to above work.

His emails dealt with, he scanned through the texts he’d received while he’d been offline. Everyone with his personal number knew that he would often be incommunicado for days while he trialed the games he and his staff designed.

Finally finished with business, he shut down his computer, tossed his towel onto the floor and slipped into bed naked. His last thought as sleep claimed him was that Saturday night’s dinner date with Nina was only four days away.

*****

Saturday dawned, bright and sunny, and in complete contrast to Nina’s mood. If she was honest with herself, it was just her nerves making her tense, but it was easier to pretend she was out of sorts because she hadn’t heard anything from Brian all week and was beginning to doubt he would show up.

Nevertheless, she went to the market early, choosing the freshest chicken and greens to take back with her. She was going to make her best soul food for Brian – fried chicken and collard greens.

She spent the day cleaning the house, not an unusual pastime for a Saturday, except that chores that would normally have been completed in an hour took her the whole morning as she shifted furniture and scrutinized every nook and cranny.

Try as she might, the shabby comfort of her little home did not, and would never compare to the opulence of Brian’s mansion. Finally, at about noon, Nina collapsed onto the couch in her living room. A huff of exasperation escaped her as she looked around the sunlit room. She had never been bothered by what other people thought of her before, what made this man so different?

Absolutely nothing. Her chin lifted with determination as she reached for the TV remote. Switching it on, she promised to lose herself in her favorite shows for the next few hours and not think about a certain billionaire gamer.

When her cell phone rang a couple hours later, she leapt to answer it, fumbling for the volume button on the remote.

“Hello?”

“Nina? Hi, it’s Brian.”

“Hi Brian. How are you?”

“I’m great, Nina. I’m sorry for only getting in touch now, but it’s been a bit crazy at work this week.”

“That’s okay. Are you canceling our dinner?”

“What? No!” He sounded genuinely horrified at the thought and Nina felt warmth creep through her.

“I just called to find out what I can bring to drink with the meal?”