Chapter Eight

The heat in her cheeks intensified and she nibbled lightly on her lower lip. "Macaroni and cheese." she joked. Could she cook? He had to be joking. She had to be the worst cook she knew. Nothing ever seemed to turn out right, no matter how much time or effort she took to prepare a meal. She overcooked everything. Some people were meant to be domestic; she wasn't one of those people.

Taking the card from him, she glanced down at it. "Rothdam Enterprise?."

"Yeah, that's me," Roth confirmed, with a disinterested shrug, he gave ruby a small smile that made her heart flutter

She looked at the card, then meet his eyes. She had no idea what Rothdam Enterprises was, but he seemed to be awfully young to be running anything. He couldn't have been a day over thirty.

"You know what," reaching back into his inner pocket, Roth produced a silver pen, retrieved the card from her fingertips and quickly jotted down a phone number and address. "I have to go. I have a meeting in ten minutes, but give me a call tonight, we will arrange a meeting and see what we can figure out for you."

Ruby accepted the extended card once again, and decided to ask the question that was at the forefront of her mind. "Why would you do this for me?"

Snatching his coffee from the counter, Roth grinned at her, and gave her a wink, sending her pulse racing. "Maybe I like the way you make my coffee."

Rolling her eyes at him, ruby couldn't help but grin; his smile was infectious. "I press a button on a machine and it pours it into a cup..."

"Call me tonight," Roth called over his shoulder ignoring her comment, as he rushed across the dining room and out the front door.

Ruby watched as he strode across the parking lot, taking long, graceful strides. Working for Roth... Cooking? She tapped her lower lip with the edge of the business card as she watch him slide into his black Lamborghini, pull out of the parking slot and speed away. She made a mental note to do an online search for Rothdam Enterprises when she arrived home.

Maybe he owned a chain of restaurants? She had always assumed he was some sort of hotshot lawyer, or something of the sort. Whatever it was that he did for a living, considering the expensive car, finely tailored suit and large tips he always gave her for a single cup of coffee, Ruby guessed that business was very good for Mr Rothdam

****

"4591 Vines Valley" Ruby muttered, her blue eyes widening as she pulled her ancient Sunfire up to the tall - at least eight feet in height - wrought iron security fence and lowered her window to press the buzzer for admittance. It was easily one of the most magnificent homes she'd ever seen. It was a three story Victorian styled house that looked more like a hotel than someone's private home. It was something she'd expect to see on 'The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.'

Once she got over her awe of the house, she pressed the buzzer and waited for a response.

"Please state your name and business," an abrupt male voice called over the speaker.

"I um... I'm Ruby. I'm here to see... Ummmm, Roth.. I mean... Mr Rothdam."

There was silence from the mysterious voice on the other end.

"About a job," she added groaning inwardly at herself. Why was she so nervous? He was just another customer. One she enjoyed flirting with on a daily basis, just like all the other good looking men who came into the coffee shop. Just because he owned a profitable Mergers and Acquisitions company - at least that's what she gathered from the online research - didn't change a thing. He was still the same Roth she'd been flirting with for months now. And if she hadn't read the signals wrong, he was more than happy to flirt back.

"Come on through," the voice through the metal box answered as a creaking noise sounded, and the gates began to slowly part.

Shifting the car into drive, Ruby slowly made her way to the front of the house and parked behind Roth's Lamborghini. Taking a deep breath in, she attempted to calm her increasingly rattled nerves. There was rich and then there was this! She shut off the car while still eyeing the beautiful home. Looking down at her black knee length skirt and purple short sleeved blouse she immediately began feeling underdressed. Bending down she peered at herself in the driver's side mirror, flattening her shoulder length blonde hair and ensuring her make-up hadn't smudged. To her relief it hadn't.