CHASE: Complete Series by Cassia Leo Page B

coverage.”
Ten hours later, at five o’clock in the morning Italy time, the call was made and Chase was declared the next President of the United States of America. The deciding factor was the narrow victory he eked out in North Carolina, a state that he had called home for nearly five years after college. It seemed his former neighbors felt more betrayed by his alleged affair than anyone else, though not enough to overrule his popularity.
I closed the laptop and stood from the floor.
“Don’t you want to see the victory speech?” Drew asked, as he stood.
“Not really.” I didn’t want to listen in vain for a thank you that would never come. As I approached the bed, my phone rang.
“Larissa,” Chase whispered. “I’ll see you in two weeks.”
Before I could open my mouth to respond, the line went dead.
I placed the phone on my nightstand as Drew made his way to the door. “Are you hungry or are you going to hit the sack?” he asked.
I stared at the phone for a moment. Two weeks? What had changed since we spoke two days ago? I opened the nightstand, tossed the phone into the drawer, and slammed it shut. “I’m starving.”
I didn’t hear from Chase at all for three days, which I opted to spend walking through the vineyard behind the villa rather than cooped up in the bedroom. My phone rang as I passed the infinity pool next to the tennis courts.
“You’ve been busy,” I said, as I answered.
“Of course, I’ve been busy. Honey, are you okay? Are you upset with me?”
He sounded exhausted, and for that simple fact I decided not to chew him out for leaving me waiting for three days without a single word.
“I’m fine, just lonely. I thought you were supposed to be here today or tomorrow. What happened?”
“I know I was supposed to be there, but Teddy couldn’t clear a large enough chunk of time for me to fly out there.”
I sat on a cushioned deck chair and, for a brief moment, considered jumping into the sparkling pool, phone and all. Maybe the chlorinated water could wash away all this uncertainty.
“I miss you,” I whispered, as I wiped away the first tears. “I don’t have anyone to talk to here except for Drew and I think he wants to do more than talk so every time I see him I feel awk—”
“What did you say?”
I paused a moment. “I said I don’t have anyone to talk to here.”
“Did you say Drew has been hitting on you?”
The anger in his voice made my heart stutter, but something about it also got me hot.
“No, I didn’t say that. He didn’t hit on me.”
“Then why did you say you think he wants to do more than talk?”
“It’s not like that. I just get the feeling he’s got a bit of a crush on me. He hasn’t acted on it, I swear.”
“He has a crush on you? Larissa, this is a grown man. Men don’t have crushes; they have urges. I’m coming over there.”
“No! You don’t have to do that. Everything’s fine. Do what you need to do. I swear. Everything is just fine.”
Chase let out a chuckle. “Larissa, I’m not going to kill the man. I’m just going to have a chat with him, man to man. That’s all. I’ll see you in twelve hours.”
     
     

4
This was not the kind of visit from Chase I had been fantasizing about. If he scared Drew off, I might not have anyone to talk to for the next three to four months. Or, worse, what if he fired him?
I showered and shaved every inch of my body then I spread the pineapple-flavored lotion Chase loved so much all over me. I paid extra attention to my crotch and before I knew it I was nearing orgasm. I yanked my hand back before I could climax. It had been four days since the incident in the shower where Drew’s face flashed in my mind. I wanted to save this pent up energy pulsating throughout my entire body for Chase.
A knock came at the bedroom door just as I was attempting to zip up my little black dress. “The president just arrived,” Mike shouted through the door.
The president? Just the phrase got me hot and bothered.
I