Chapter 9
“We’re here, sir,” my driver says, pulling me from an email.
I lean forward to peer out my window and take in the glass building. Not as big as I thought. Not compared to mine.
“I’ll be back soon,” I mutter as he opens the door for me.
“Yes, sir. I’ll wait here until you return.”
I slip out of the car and onto the sidewalk. I hit send on the reply email, before sliding my phone into my pocket, and enter the building. I need to mentally prepare myself for Bentley, the guy is a total dick. And no matter how many times I have to deal with him, it never gets easier. But this deal will help all my hospitals and their patients. The micro-instruments will enhance the efficiency of microsurgery, which means it can help maneuver into obstructed view areas and be able to successfully treat more challenging patients. When it comes to business, I’ll put up with his shit just to close a deal. Which is why I’m putting aside any thoughts of Nova. She works in this building and maybe the ghosting is what I needed to remind me of my goal today.
Yeah, she did me a favor.
I don’t have to wait long for the elevator.
Entering, I stand in the very back corner as a few people join, but they all hit different levels, so we make multiple stops before I get to the top. Finally, the doors open, and I exit. The loud voice that makes me grit my teeth echoes through the whole floor. Ten minutes and I’m out of here.
Not a fucking minute later.
I stroll in and the young blonde receptionist greets me. “Hello. Can I help you?”
I stop in front of her desk. “I’m here to see Mr. Spencer.”
“Do you have an appointment?” she asks.
“Mr. Lincoln doesn’t need one,” he calls out in the most unprofessional way. As if we’re friends.
I follow the sound of Bentley”s voice. He’s walking toward me like a smug peacock.
“Oh. Sorry, Mr. Spencer,” she quickly replies.
“Follow me.” He waves me over.
Ignoring her.
Rude prick.
He better be prepared this time. Because I’m already wired up.
“I had the pricing contract drafted,” he says, gesturing to the seat in front of his large glass desk. I sit as he continues speaking, “Take a look and let me know what you think.”
He slides the papers across the desk toward me. I reach over and swipe them. Leaning back, I carefully read them.
He’s trying to talk, but I’m focused on reading the details.
When I’m finished, I ask for the spec sheet. I want more details of the speculums in writing.
“Do you have an updated spec sheet? This has last year”s date.” I ask, readjusting my suit jacket.
“Let me look.” He frowns, taking the paper from me and reading it for himself. “Seems you’re right.”
“You doubted me?” I say darkly.
“No. No. Our wrong. My accountant went on leave, and she did this just before she left. So, it must have slipped through. No biggie, right?”
I nod. Not happy, but I can’t be angry with someone I haven’t met or allowed to explain themselves.
“I’ll get it updated,” he says, picking up the receiver. My phone vibrates and I glance at my wrist. I moved my meeting with the local hospital to earlier today to allow plenty of time for tonight, so I’m not leaving until it’s done.
“Excuse me, Mr. Spencer. While you organize the update, I’ve got a quick call to make outside,” I say.
He glances at me as he still holds the phone to his ear but reclines in his chair. “I’ll get her to do it now and bring it up.”
I rise from my chair.
“See you soon,” I reply coolly, turning without another look and striding out to make the call.
The call is a quick one with Kirstie. We run through tomorrow’s agenda with the managers at our biggest NYC hospital with the goals and budgets for their departments. When I’m about to hang up, I turn, colliding with someone. “I am so sorry,” I say as her stuff falls from her hands and spills onto the floor. I immediately crouch down and pick up…her now broken red lipstick. Noting the name of it is called Brave. Her head is down as she scrambles to pick up the other loose items. The strong waft of rose perfume fills my nostrils and sends my heart racing. I rise to my feet and blink twice, simply staring at her bewildered.
It’s Nova.
Fuck.
She has makeup on today. When we talked over video, she didn’t have a scrap of it on her face.
Her hazel eyes are so bright and unusual because they have beautiful flecks of gold in them. And when her red lips move they emphasize her brilliant smile, and I think I stop breathing for a second. “It’s okay. It’s my fault too.”
My brain finally begins to work. “Your lipstick,” I gruff out, handing it over. Admiring her adorable suit ensemble, a navy jacket and skirt paired elegantly with a white blouse.
She takes it back from me, and electricity hums through my veins as she holds my eye contact firmly. “Thanks,” she whispers.
She’s affected by this, by me too.
I clear my throat. “Your, ah, lipstick is…” I point to around my lips, and she takes the small compact mirror I hadn”t realized she was holding and raises it.
“Oh, God. I shouldn’t have been doing touch-ups in the damn elevator. How embarrassing,” she whispers, but I catch it.
She dabs at the skin around her full lips, and I’m utterly transfixed. I can’t seem to get my feet to move. I’m frozen. Watching her with fascination.
When she’s finished, she gives me a shy smile. Her cheeks are flushed, and at that moment, it hits me square in the face. Nova’s the new accountant working on this. He said “she,” so I was expecting a woman. But I didn”t expect a beautiful woman. Fuck, I should’ve expected her. I should warn her. She shouldn’t be working with that sleazy prick. She seems too good for him.
“You’re here,” I blurt.
My mouth moves before my brain can think straight.
She looks around before giving me a wry smile. “Where am I supposed to be?”
The usual flirty banter that we used to share feels like a distant memory, replaced by an unspoken weight that hangs in the air.
“Where did you go, Nova?” I ask, my voice steady but laced with threaded concern.
Her eyes widen slightly, and she bites her lip shyly before meeting my gaze.
“Nova. You could’ve said something. This makes things—” I start, but she cuts me off as her hand lands on my chest.
“I’m so sorry. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you,” she rushes out, her desperate plea for understanding.
Her response has me breathing easier, but I’m still confused about her whereabouts. I know I shouldn’t care. But fuck. I do.
“Then what happened?” I demand, searching for answers that seem to have slipped through the cracks of her hesitation.
A touch of pink touches her cheeks, but there’s sadness in her eyes that doesn’t match the playful banter we once shared.
“I dropped my phone,” she confesses, and the gravity of her words pull me in.
“You smashed the screen?” I ask, inching closer.
She shakes her head slowly. “Not just the screen. But it’s an old phone so it’s not worth fixing.”
“Did you buy a new one?”
Her hand reaches around to grab the back of her neck, rubbing it.
“I can’t a—”
“There you are.” Bentley’s voice booms.
I close my eyes and take in a deep breath at his timing.
He’s interrupting us. I needed to know that she was about to confirm what I suspected, which is that she can’t afford one.
“Sorry, Mr. Spencer. I bumped into Mr. Lincoln, and we got talking,” she says sheepishly.
“My fault. I held her up,” I add.
I don’t want her to lose her job on my account.
Bentley waves. “Come on, let’s go to my office.”
He ambles off. Nova dips her head and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear as she passes me. She follows behind Bentley, clutching the papers and her bag tightly.
I can’t help but twist my head and watch her.
I pull out my phone and text my driver, requesting a new lipstick and phone.
My driver texts back, a lipstick, sir? Are you sure?
I type back, Absolutely. Make sure it’s the color brAVE.
I send him an image I find online.
After I hit send, I stride toward the office. Inside, I see Bentley sitting down behind his desk. Across from him, Nova sits tensely, waiting for me to take my seat beside her.
I drag the chair out to accommodate my long legs. Sneaking a glance at Nova, I see she’s focused on Bentley and refusing to look my way. I like the professionalism she exudes. She clearly wants to impress Bentley. I grind down on my molars. Deep down, I wish it was for me. Leaning to the side of the chair, I position my body toward both of them.
“Have you amended the spec sheet?” I ask, trying to keep my voice level, knowing she had to fix the mess. I don’t want her to think I’m blaming her.
“Yes. Nova, you did.” Bentley’s eyebrow rises as if he didn’t know. I grind my teeth again, causing a sharp shooting pain in my temple. Fuck.
“I did. Here you go,” she says. Leaning forward in her chair, she hands over the papers to Bentley. Again, I wish it was to me.
What is wrong with me?
Her navy suit jacket rises as she leans forward, allowing the curves of her ass to show.
I shake my head and focus on Bentley, who is scanning the documents. I need to get all the dirty images that are filling my brain out of my head. I need to concentrate on my job. Not on her.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I don’t bother answering. I know my driver will have what I asked for. It should be ready by the time we are done here.
Bentley’s face beams as he hands over the documents. “Here you go, Jer...” He begins to say my first name before correcting himself. “Mr. Lincoln.”
As I reach for the documents, I can feel her eyes watching me, and I like that they’re on me.
Bentley has returned his to his computer, and as I enjoy her gaze upon me, a thought crosses my mind. I know I could teach her better than him. Well, my company could. She’d be better looked after too. I could make sure of it. Here, I don’t know what they’re teaching her. And fuck, do I even want to know?
I read the spec sheet carefully.
This time noting the changes. More than just the date.
She’s impressive. Her attention to detail is alluring.
After scanning the document thoroughly, I read that each of my hospital”s operating theatres will have a complete pack of instruments. The set includes six instruments at a total of $1,833.81. And the price includes delivery.
I lift my head and Bentley swivels in his chair. A smug expression on his face.
“Are you happy?” he asks.
I move my gaze toward Nova, her hazel eyes are wide and so fucking hopeful.
It’s killing me.
I swallow hard. And turn toward Bentley, unable to look at her and think clearly. What is she doing to me? Those damn eyes short circuit my brain.
“More than happy. The entire contract is updated, not only the date.”
Bentley”s face drops and his mouth opens as if he’s about to speak, but I interrupt him to finish talking. “I’m extremely impressed with the attention to detail. Nova, thank you.”
A little gasp leaves her mouth. And I turn to face her. She’s blinking at me. I don’t think she was expecting me to notice because it’s clear Bentley didn’t. And again, the anger bubbles inside me as to how incompetent he really is.
After some research, I found out Bentley inherited the company from his deceased father. He didn’t build the company from the ground up, which is why he’s so incompetent. Maybe he never wanted it and was forced to take over.
“She’s a great addition to the team.”
“More than you deserve,” I mutter coldly. But not loud enough for him to hear. I know she heard because a cute laugh leaves her lips.
I look back to Bentley. “Let’s sign this.”
He rubs his hands together and looks around. “Yes,” he says and grabs a pen, then holds it out for me. “Here you go.”
I lean forward, grab the pen and sign the contract. Feeling the heat of her stare on me. When I’m done signing, I lower the pen and sit back.
“Done. We’re all set. Please call me when delivery is being arranged for each hospital,” I say.
Bentley’s brows pull down. “Sure. I can organize that.”
“Good. I want to be there for each delivery. I’ll need to make arrangements to ensure I can make it to each location.”
“You do?” Bentley asks, shocked.
“When something is important to me like this, yes,” I say. My eyes flick to Nova, and I see she is watching me with her sweet mouth parted. She looks surprised. I wonder what she’s thinking.
“All right. I’ll have to get someone to schedule that with you,” Bentley replies.
I nod. “Sure.” Looking at my watch I check the time. “Is there anything else we need to discuss?” No matter how much I want to continue sitting here with Nova, I’d prefer it if Bentley wasn’t here. If I leave now, hopefully, I can grab her for a quick chat.
Bentley shakes his head and stands. He rounds his desk and holds out his hand. I shake his hand firmly. “Nice doing business with you.”
“I’ll see you soon,” Bentley adds.
I turn, exiting his office, and stroll to the elevator, seeing myself out. Glad to be leaving. However, I do wish she was following. I pull out my phone and send a text to my driver to expect me down in a couple of minutes. He responds to tell me he left the package at reception.
“Mr. Lincoln,” Nova’s buttery voice calls. I pause immediately, turning slowly on my heel to face her.