Chapter 28
Back to reality.
Marissa entered the Executive Match suite of offices a little past noon, waving with a “Good afternoon” as she breezed by Lori at the reception desk.
In her office, she placed her messenger bag in the drawer as usual and sank onto her chair. Instead of working right away, she stared at the blank screen of her laptop and relived the weekend with Bruno. She’d had the best time, and though she was drained from the constant activity—and sex—she couldn’t remember another trip being as enjoyable in recent memory.
They didn’t go to the luncheon or sightseeing. They ended up sleeping late and then cooking together in the kitchen. They took a short trip into town so she could buy a couple of souvenirs for Theo and then returned to the house, where they acted like lazy bums and lounged on the balcony. She opened up to him and shared more of her life. He was probably sick and tired of hearing about Theo, but he seemed genuinely interested. Later, they cooked dinner together and went skinny dipping in the pool before showering and making love.
Because of the time difference and her insistence on coming in to work today, they woke up early, the sheets tangled around their limbs. The musky, erotic scent of sex hung in the air, and her sore body had protested against leaving the soft mattress and pillows.
Bruno had looked adorably sexy with his sleepy gray eyes, dark stubble on his jaw, and his black hair a rumpled mess. She had wanted to stay in bed but couldn’t push her luck with Arnie. Not if she wanted to be considered for the head matchmaker position. So they trudged through their morning routine, ate breakfast, and made their way to the airstrip where another chartered plane awaited them.
Marissa slept on the plane. She didn’t know if Bruno did or not, but by the time they landed, she was refreshed and ready to face the day.
Bruno dropped her at home. “I’ll call you,” he promised, giving her a quick kiss before his driver whisked him away.
Would he though? And in what capacity?
They’d had mind-blowing sex, but technically she was still his matchmaker.
The thought dropped on her like a ton of bricks, and she sank lower in her chair. “Shit,” she groaned.
She was Bruno’s matchmaker, and she’d violated company policy. Over and over again, and loved every minute of breaking the rules. Spending time with him had demolished her reservations. What had she been thinking? She hadn’t been thinking. That was the problem. She was completely smitten by the man.
“I can fix this,” she told herself.
She straightened, turned on the computer, and went to work, searching for matches for Bruno and ignoring the cloud of hurt in the middle of her chest at the thought of some other woman joining him next year at the James Beard Awards.
“Not my problem.” She had fun, and now fun time was over. She’d been spontaneous, and now it was over. She was a modern, independent woman. She would not get caught up. It was only sex. That’s all. Nothing more.
By the middle of the afternoon, she had a new set of prospects for Bruno and had also put together new prospects for another one of her clients, who she had an after-hours appointment with.
She took a moment to check in on Theo, who excitedly told her about all the fun he was having at Disney with his cousins. After she hung up, the phone on her desk rang.
“Hello?”
“I was thinking about you and decided to call.” Bruno’s voice came through the line, as sweet as honey and equally tempting.
Marissa briefly closed her eyes and forced a slow breath past her lips. “Hi, Bruno.”
“I’m downstairs. I brought dinner for you.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know I didn’t, but I wanted to. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”
“All right.”
She hung up the phone and breathed slowly through her lips again. Since he was here, she’d take this opportunity to give him the new list of possibilities.
Minutes later, he appeared in her doorway with the Bruno’s Tavern logo emblazoned on the side of the paper sack in his hand. She smelled the food and her mouth watered.
Bruno closed the door and stood back to look at her. “How was your day?”
Marissa stood. “Good. Busy.”
“You’re not sorry you came to work?” He walked across the floor and placed the sack on her desk.
“No.”
“Hm. I must be losing my touch. You should be too tired to work. You should be exhausted.”
Heat flamed her cheeks. “Sleeping on the plane helped.”
“Oh.” Amusement lifted the corners of his mouth. Then his eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing,” Marissa said in a breezy voice. She didn’t know how to broach the subject of the new prospects. “Thanks for the food. I’m sure whatever you brought is delicious.”
“I brought you a strawberry milkshake and our signature burger and fries. I know you’ll enjoy them.”
Marissa cleared her throat. “I’m glad you came by, actually, because I’ve been hard at work for you. I put together a list of women I think you’ll appreciate. A couple are recommendations from our other offices. I have another client coming here soon and need to prepare for that meeting, but we should set a time to review these women?—”
“What are you talking about?” Bruno’s brow furrowed.
“Well, you’re looking for a wife, and my job is to find you a wife.”
He stared at her.
The silence in the room stretched to an uncomfortable level.
Bruno laughed. “Do you not see that as a conflict, since you and I are now involved?”
“Are we?”
Bracing his hands on the desk, he leaned toward her, staring her down. Speaking slowly, he said, “Did you think California was a one-time thing?”
Marissa swallowed. “I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t want to assume, and you know my situation here.”
He came around the desk and stopped within inches of her. “You’re not allowed to date clients. I don’t care about that.”
“I do. This is my livelihood, Bruno.”
“I would never want to jeopardize your livelihood, but if you think I’m giving you up, you’re mistaken.” He cupped her jaw. “I have thought of little else but our trip this weekend. I want to spend more time with you, Marissa, so we’ll have to figure out this situation with your job, yes?”
“I don’t know what we can do. You would have to cancel your contract, and you’ll lose all the money you spent. The fees are nonrefundable.”
“I don’t care about the money. Now, what else?”
“We’d have to be careful about being seen together in public for at least a year. As I said before, I could get sued. The whole conflict of interest, moral dilemma problem again.”
“Arnie is an ass for such a rule, but all right. Anything else?”
I have a son.
“I can’t think of anything,” Marissa said quietly.
“I know what you’re doing,” Bruno said.
“What?”
“You’re testing me, to see if I walk away. To see if what we shared was real. It was very real, and I’m not going anywhere. In fact, I’m going to walk down to your boss’s office right now and let him know I no longer want to be a client.”
“You are?” She hadn’t expected him to say that.
“Of course. I no longer need to look for a wife. I have you.”
The words were said in a teasing tone, but they cut with the sharpness of a sword through her heart. Did he mean them the way they came out?
“Enjoy your meal, meet with your client, and then go home and put your feet up. I’ll send a car for you to come to my house. We might as well take advantage of the fact that Theo is with his father in Florida.”
Marissa set aside her hurt feelings. Bruno might enjoy her company, but she knew the type of woman he was searching for, and she didn’t fit the description. She was the interlude before he found the woman he wanted to marry. She should focus on the positive. She got to spend more time with him.
“Should I bring an overnight bag?” she asked.
“You should bring a bag for the week,” he replied. “Good?”
A whole week! Happiness bubbled inside her. He was right. She didn’t realize she had been testing him until he called her out. He wanted to spend more time with her, and she wanted to spend more time with him. She was adult enough to accept those terms and be happy with them.
“Yes, chef.”
He growled low his throat and pulled her in for a hard kiss that made her core flutter.
“I’ll see you later,” he said and slapped her bottom.
Marissa jumped and let out a shocked squeak. He chuckled and strutted out of her office.
Very masculine. Very male. All Bruno.
Since she had a little time before her evening appointment, she opened the bag and pulled out the burger. Seated at her desk, she moaned softly, indulging in the seasoned steak fries and the juicy burger with tomato, lettuce, and melted cheese.
“Damn,” she murmured, her foodie taste buds going berserk.
She ate all the fries and half the burger before Lori called to let her know her appointment had arrived. She put away the leftovers and popped a mint in her mouth before she rushed from her office.
“Mr. Jackson, how are you?” she greeted the elderly man.
He looked dapper in a charcoal suit and red tie. Mr. Jackson had lost his wife a few years ago and was seeking companionship—younger companionship. He didn’t care if the women were only interested in his money. He wanted someone who looked good on his arm, who he could spoil.
Marissa had pulled together three women open to dating older men.
“Hello, Marissa, how are you? Please tell me you have options for me.”
“Of course I do. I wouldn’t have asked you to come if I didn’t.”
He beamed his pleasure.
Bruno entered the foyer at the same moment, and their eyes connected. The look he sent in her direction was filled with nothing but pure heat, and she quickly glanced away before Lori guessed there was more between them than client and matchmaker.
Tucking her arm into Mr. Jackson’s, she led him into the conference room and then ducked out to get the files in her office. Snatching up the folder, she was about to rush out but pulled up short when she almost ran into Arnie.
He jabbed his finger inside her office, and she backed up, nervous energy licking at her spine.
He slammed the door. “We lost Bruno Santana. What the hell happened?” he demanded.
“I-I don’t know. He?—”
“He must have said something to you!” Arnie exclaimed. “You wanted to get rid of him at one point. Did something happen?”
She and Bruno hadn’t discussed what they wanted to say, and she didn’t want to contradict anything he had told Arnie.
“What did he tell you?” she asked.
“He praised you profusely and then said some crap about meeting someone and no longer needing our services.”
“Well, it happens, right? We’ve lost clients before when they meet their soulmate before they make a connection with someone on our list.”
“We’ve never had that happen to such a high-profile client,” Arnie snapped.
Marissa forced herself to relax. He wasn’t angry at her. He was understandably upset about losing the publicity that matching a client like Bruno could bring if he allowed them to share his story.
“You explained to him about the fee? Hopefully that will soften the blow to the company. There’ll be other billionaires.”
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “We hope, but when? I wanted this guy.”
“Um, Mr. Jackson is waiting in the conference room. I should go.”
“Yeah, yeah, go. I’m sorry. I’m pissed, but I’ll get over it.”
Marissa patted his arm and scurried from her office, quietly breathing a sigh of relief.