Kiss Me Forever (Bachelors & Bridesmaids #1) by Barbara Freethy Page B

table.
    "That looks like an arcade," she murmured. "Do you come here to relive your past life where you worked at the miniature golf course arcade?"
    "No, I created the area to inspire my workers. I want them to play everything from the lowest tech to the highest tech game. I want them to get creative, let their imaginations soar. I want them to help me create games that no one else has ever envisioned."
    She nodded. "That makes sense."
    "My employees work long hours, so I try to make their time at work as comfortable as possible. In addition to this lounge, we have a gourmet cafeteria upstairs and a quiet zone where people can stretch out for a nap. We also offer a car service, a laundry pickup, and we bring in physical therapists and visiting nurses to deliver therapy sessions, flu shots and wellness seminars."
    "You've thought of everything."
    "I take care of the people who work for me."
    "I can see that. If I'd known how much fun tech companies were when I was in college, I might have changed my major."
    "I seriously doubt that, not when you were reporting in the fifth grade."
    "True. I have wanted to be a reporter forever, but the lounge at World News Today consists of a vending machine, a table and a coffeemaker."
    Despite her words, he could see the pride in her eyes. She loved her job and she wasn't motivated by money but by passion. He liked that. He understood that. Because even though he'd made more money in the last five years than he'd ever imagined making in his entire lifetime, he still worked because he loved his business.
    "What's that?" Andrea asked as she pointed to a spiral staircase that seemed to end at he ceiling. "The stairway to nowhere?"
    He grinned. "We call it the stairway to the stars." He led her across the room, pushed a button, and the ceiling over the staircase opened up.
    She followed him up the stairs to the roof. As she stepped out, she said, "Oh, my God, this is amazing. What a view."
    "It's what sold me on this building."
    She walked around the deck, pausing here and there to take in a new part of San Francisco, finally ending up by two large telescopes. "Who uses these?"
    "Anyone who wants to. Despite the city lights, you can do some serious stargazing with those telescopes. You'll have to come back at night." As soon as he said the words, he regretted them. His goal was to finish this interview off today or tomorrow and not extend future invitations to Andrea.
    "That would be interesting," she said. "I studied a little astronomy in college, but I don't remember much." Pausing, she tilted her head, giving him the thoughtful look he was coming to expect.
    Andrea was always trying to figure him out. And while at times he appreciated her desire to really get to know the man behind the games, her scrutiny always put him on edge. He wasn't used to anyone trying to get past his barriers. Since he'd gotten rich and famous, he'd acquired more walls between himself and others, and fewer people tried to breach his defenses. But Andrea was doing everything she could to slip past his guard, and he needed to keep his wits about him. That would be a lot easier if he didn't like her so much.
    "What?" he asked when her stare went on far too long.
    "Just thinking about how you like trains, planes and games and now telescopes. You're always thinking about ways to escape, to soar, to get your feet off the ground."
    "Very perceptive. Is that going in your article?"
    "We'll see. Do you think you would have been so focused on looking up and outward if you hadn't lost your parents, hadn't ended up having to fend for yourself at a time when most kids are coddled and protected?"
    He shrugged. "Who's to say? I don't like to play the 'what if' game. It doesn't get me anywhere."
    "I thought you liked to play every game," she teased.
    He tipped his head. "Good point. But while my past is part of who I am, I think what drives me comes from the inside. You and I are not very different, Andrea. You have as much ambition