Chapter 10

Cheyanne

It was justcoffee between coworkers who were good friends. Well, technically, we weren't coworkers; Chandler was my boss. Technically, we weren't friends. I didn't know what the hell we were. Either way, I was excited about having a coffee date with him this morning. I was glad he'd taken the initiative to hang out but also nervous about it becoming a regular thing. It was easier to avoid my feelings for him when we only interacted for work. This, coffee, was going to shift things between us.

This morning would be the first time I allowed Chandler to pick me up from home. He always offered to pick me up or send a car for me, but I never wanted him to know where I lived. It wasn't because I didn't trust him; I just didn't want him to question how I was able to afford the penthouse. Even with what he paid me, if I didn't have the money I had outside of my career, the rent would chew a large chunk of my salary. He didn't know Papa had purchased the unit for me, and I didn't want him to find out. Then, he'd start asking even more questions about who my grandfather was and what he did.

I gave him access to my education and background, but that was it. I had my last name changed. Instead of Smith like my mother or Green like my father and grandfather, I used Taylor, which was my mom's middle name. When I was eighteen, though I hated how they'd raised and left me, a part of me still wanted to be attached to them. I kept the name my father had chosen for me, Cheyanne, and used my mom's middle name to honor her. So when people looked me up, nothing personal came up, and I loved it that way. It allowed me to share what I wanted with who I wanted.

I wasn't worried about Chandler trying to use me for my or my grandfather's money, because he had his own, but still. Men completely changed when they learned I was the granddaughter of a billionaire. Hell, knowing I had a staff to make my life easier, that cost nearly a million dollars a year, had run a few of them away. Things were healthy and good between Chandler and me, and I didn't want to risk that changing.

When my phone rang, I knew it was either Papa or Chandler. I grabbed it and smiled at the sight of Chandler's name.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey, I'm here, but there's been a change," Chandler said.

"Did you need to reschedule?"

"No, but we'll have to talk business, unfortunately."

"Okay. Give me a couple of minutes, and I'll be right down."

"All right, beautiful."

After ending the call, I slipped into my shoes and grabbed my purse since I'd done everything else. The entire elevator ride down, I wondered what could have happened to make this turn into a business meeting. If Chandler was switching up on me, it had to be something major.

Once I made it to the front of my building, the sight of him leaned against his black Jaguar was a sight to behold. His model, the F-Pace P250 S, was one of my favorites. Along with it, Chandler had a Chevrolet Stingray and a pickup truck, but he most often used a car service like me.

He was dressed in all black, and the suit looked like it was made specifically for him. Dark shades covered his eyes as he listened intently to whatever whoever was on the phone said to him. His ankles were crossed as he comfortably leaned against the car with gold jewelry on his neck and wrist and in his ears, making him look like royalty.

When he noticed me, Chandler smiled and lifted himself off the car. By the time I made it over to him, he'd disconnected the call.

"Good morning, beautiful."

"Good morning, handsome."

He was close as he opened the door for me. "You smell and look good, as always."

"Thank you," I almost whispered. "So do you."

Once he was inside the car, he said, "I didn't know you lived this close to me. I have a penthouse in the building next door. RV Heights."

"Those are nice. They didn't have any available units when I decided to move out this way."

"I'm not surprised. They had an extensive waitlist when I moved in. I ended up having to pay a quarter of a mil under the table just to get bumped to the top of the list." I laughed, and I shouldn't have been surprised. Chandler was the kind of man to do whatever he could to get what he wanted. I felt pride in knowing that included me. "I ain't tryna count your pockets or judge you, but how can you afford the monthly rent there with what I pay you?" I nibbled my bottom lip, not responding immediately. "Are you comfortable paying the rent? Do you need an increase in your salary? I can always pay the entire thing for you if…"

"That's not necessary, Mr. Jon—"

"Cheyanne, please." Between him taking his shades off to look at me and the firm voice he used, I knew he meant business. "I'm not asking you this as your boss, so cut the bullshit."

"Then what are you asking as?"

"The man who will soon be your man. Do you need me to handle your rent?"

"I don't pay rent," I admitted. "Papa purchased my unit, and he pays the rest of my bills. I'm good, Chandler."

I waited for the questions to come, but they didn't. He looked at me, locking eyes with me for a brief moment, before returning his attention to traffic. My entire body relaxed when I realized he wasn't going to make a big deal out of what I'd said. It wasn't until we pulled up to the coffee shop that was one block away that he said, "I'll let him pay your bills for now, but when we make things official, I expect you to not give me a hard time about taking his place."

He got out of the car swiftly, leaving no room for me to respond. Chandler opened the door for me, placing his hand at the small of my back as we walked toward the coffee shop.

"Chandler, I'm okay with us being friends and hanging out outside of work, but I still don't want to date you. You're my boss."

This nigga laughed as if I was Ms. Pat or some shit. I didn't think there was anything funny about what I'd said. Worse, he didn't even respond. He merely looked at me as he opened the door, licking those sexy ass lips.

"Did you hear me?" I asked.

"I heard you, but I'm not responding to that silly ass shit. Have a seat. I'll order our drinks, then we can get started."

I made my way to a small round table by a window, wanting to feel the sun's rays on my skin. While I waited for him, I pulled out my glasses, pen, and legal pad, in case I needed to take notes. When Chandler arrived at the table, I didn't have to ask what he'd ordered. For himself, I was sure he'd gotten a white chocolate mocha latte with caramel, and for me, a peppermint and citrus blend green tea with honey and a splash of vanilla sweet cream.

"Thank you." I took an immediate sip of the tea.

"You trust that I asked for it to be kid's temp so you can drink it immediately?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yes, and I am glad you remembered," I said, causing us both to laugh lightly.

"All right, Chy. I hope you don't have any pressing matters to handle or plans for the rest of the week, because we have to go to London. Jacobs is starting to waver, and I need to meet with him in person to secure this deal."

Now that I knew what was going on, my nerves had settled a bit. In fact, I was actually excited. I loved going to London. It was one of my favorite cities.

"I hate Jacobs is wavering, but I'm glad we get to go to London. It's one of my favorite cities."

"I know," he said with a cocky smile. "That's why I told him we'd meet him there instead of asking him to come here. This deal means a lot to me because it'll be the first business I've secured in the UK, but it also means a lot to me because of you."

My head slanted as I registered his words. "How so?"

"I get to take you to one of your favorite places, and I don't want you there as my assistant; I want you there as my co-buyer. Let's put that international business degree to use. I want to put the spotlight on you."

His statement caught me so off guard it took me a while to respond. My eyes fluttered as I fought back tears. Though I'd never said to Chandler I wanted a different role, he always provided spaces for me to shine. He never made me feel like I was just his assistant, though I took pride in that position. What I appreciated most was his trust to discuss deals with me and allowing me to provide insight. This, however, was completely unexpected.

I could admit I loved being a part of the deals as just a listening ear. Watching Chandler secure deals almost gave me the same rush as my poker games. I could only imagine how it would feel if I secured the deals myself, or by his side.

Chandler's money wouldn't soften me toward his advances. I had my own. What I couldn't deny were the other things he provided along with money—security, adventure, opportunity, priority. Those things were making it harder for me to not blur the line between boning my boss and keeping things professional.

"So…" His smile was small as he awaited my answer. "What do you say?"

"I don't know what to say," I admitted. "Why are you doing this, Chandler?"

He took a sip of his coffee before answering me. "I know you enjoy being my assistant, but I see the light in your eyes when I'm working these deals. You love that thrill as much as I do. You have the knowledge to do them, even if you don't have the experience. I want that to change." Chandler paused. "I understand the power a woman has to influence a man and inspire him to succeed. I've made three times as much since I hired you as I did before you came into my life. Outside of money, you increase my joy and peace. My stability. I don't take your presence in my life lightly, Cheyanne, at all." He shrugged, briefly looking out of the window as a couple walked by. "This just feels like the right thing to do. So will you be my right-hand and help me secure this deal?"

For a while, all I could do was nod. I wasn't expecting his words to be so kind and heartfelt. So personal and moving. Wiping a quickly fallen tear, I sniffled and tugged my bottom lip into my mouth as I lowered my head.

"I'd love to."

"Look at me," he demanded. I did. "You deserve this."

"Thank you," I whispered, releasing a shaky breath. "I'll go ahead and reach out to the pilots to see if they are available. We might not be able to leave tonight, but I'll try and get it for early tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good. Book your favorite hotel. Don't worry about the price."

"Okay." I agreed with a smile.

This was about to be fun.