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Chapter Fourteen
Two cups of expresso later, Rhea finally caught up with me. “That was so interesting, right?” she gushed, her eyes bright and excited like she’d been just had the biggest thrill of her life.
“What was?”
“The speaker,” she replied, nodding in the direction of the conference room we’d just vacated.
“Are you following the same itinerary as me, because that dude was fucking boring. It took all my effort not to curl up on the floor and take a nap.”
“You’re kidding, right? That guy’s funnels were mind-blowing … totally revolutionary, in fact.”
“Maybe it was his delivery then,” I lied. I hadn’t taken in a word he’d said, such was my lack of focus due a lingering hangover despite my mega caffeine infusion.
“Would it help if I made a bullet point account of his speech and emailed it to you?”
“You’d be a lifesaver if you did that,” I replied with a slow smile. “Maybe it was the early meeting I had with Deanna Waitland that threw me off, I guess my mind was still mulling over a couple of propositions she’d made when he started to talk,” I lied.
Rhea nodded. “Interesting, you must tell me about those when we’ve got time to catch up,” she said, accepting what I’d said and busied herself with her tablet. I requested yet another coffee, an Americano while Rhea poked at her tablet, number crunching, making line and column charts like a demon possessed. Less than five minutes later she’d attached everything to an email and pressed send.
“There,” she said. “Now you have the CliffNotes version of the talk.” I was thanking her when all the other delegates began shuffling back into the conference room. I cussed under my breath when I had to subject myself to another boring speaker with his self-indulgent attempt to look smarter than everyone else in the room.
Somehow, I got through the rest of the day, but there were times when I’d felt I was drowning in math equations, formulas for success, and workshops on how to maximize profits. Fortunately, I hadn’t seen Tricia or Bradley again, but Deanna was right, Tricia was a major distraction I couldn’t ignore and do my job properly any longer. As I made my way back to my suite, I took the decision I’d talk to Tricia one-on-one if she reached out again.
Remembering I’d turned my cell off for the conference, I took it from my suit jacket pocket and turned the power on. Three text alerts pinged in rapid succession. My heart raced with the thought one was from Tricia and hurriedly checked them out. The first was from Sawyer, asking if I was free to take Colby to a baseball game with him. The second was from my best friend, Josh, inviting me on a skiing trip, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw the third was indeed from Tricia.
Tricia M: Talk to me.
Adrenaline rushed through me when I read her demand, and my thumbs instantly worked a reply.
Me: Tell the front desk you have been asked to meet with me in the Penthouse. I’ll call ahead and tell them to send you up.
Entering the suite, I shrugged out of my suit jacket, wandered through to the bedroom and hung it on the back of the chair. Loosening my blue silk tie and top button on my white button-down shirt, I rolled up my sleeves, and grabbed my laptop. Feeling more comfortable, I went back to the sitting room, sat on the long sectional couch and had tried to appear relaxed.
My heart pounded with the risk of us meeting again, but I thought with the absence of alcohol, sexy dresses, and another guy lusting after her in front of my eyes, I would be able to keep my sense of perspective.
The soft swishing sound of the elevator car stopping inside the suite signaled Tricia’s arrival. My eyes immediately slid expectantly toward the entrance hall. When she stepped out wearing a flowing, floor-length jade green dress and flip-flops my heart skipped a beat and I cussed I couldn’t control myself better. Scanning her frame from head to toe, my hungry eyes were instantly enthralled. Dragging them away I placed my laptop on a side table, stood, and walked toward her.
“Finally,” she mumbled, arms out as she headed toward me and I shook my head.
Without replying I grasped her wrists, pulled them down, and turned her in the direction of the sectional for her to take a seat.
“Water?” I asked as I followed her. I couldn’t bear how the air in the room shifted between us; it also thickened for the lack of conversation and how near she was to me. Inhaling the same alluring fragrance of lilacs I had remembered, I cussed inwardly again at how addictive I found her.
When she sank on the couch, she folded her hands casually on her lap, and my eyes lingered on them a little too long, observing her sexy burgundy painted fingernails. A pulse of pleasure ran through me with a fond memory of those nails raking down my muscular back and I immediately shook it off.
“Does Bradley know you’re here?”
“This has nothing to do with him,” she answered with a frown, and the way she stared me down, I figured maybe it didn’t. Then, I had wondered if she treated Bradley with as little emotional regard as she had toward me.
“Does he know that?” I retorted, before I reminded myself again it was none of my business. “Water?” I asked again without waiting for an answer to my previous question, my voice now an octave lower—thicker—it matched the heavy atmosphere between us.
“No thank you,” she replied.
I reached into the refrigerator, pulled one out and snapped off the lid. I swallowed half the bottle, noting how much thirstier I had become since she had arrived. Determined to keep my distance, I grabbed a chair from the dining set, turned it around, and sat on it, resting my forearms along the backrest—consciously but effectively creating another physical barrier between us.
“It really is good to see you,” she said, and my brow bunched. My heart squeezed at the sound of those words. Her eyes danced over my face as she took me in, and I hated how appealing she looked.
“Why? You’re going to have to elaborate why this is a good thing, since neither of us feels comfortable in the other’s company. If I remember correctly, you stalked me that last time when we ran into each other, and for what? To test out whether you could still have me?”
