Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Idrummed my fingers on the conference room table, anxious energy coursing through me as I waited for everyone else to arrive for the board meeting. Today was Halle’s first day in the LA office, and I was simultaneously eager to see her again and filled with dread.
“How’s it going?” Nate asked, clapping a hand on my shoulder.
I jolted from the unexpected contact, my heart jump-starting once more. “Fine. You?”
“Good. You looked lost in thought.”
I chuckled, returning my attention to my laptop. “Just thinking about Pops’s favorite quote.”
Nate started to recite it before I could. “True hospitality consists of giving the best of yourself to your guests.”
He’d mimicked Pops’s voice so well that if I’d closed my eyes, I could’ve imagined he was standing before me. It filled me with an ache so powerful, I almost couldn’t breathe. Pops had repeated the line so often it had become ingrained in me.
“Eleanor Roosevelt.”
Before I could dwell on my grief, Nate leaned into my shoulder, keeping his voice low. “Remember that night we thought it would be a good idea to incorporate it into a drinking game?”
“How could I forget?” I chuckled.
Years ago, Nate and I had gotten wasted at the gala. Whenever Pops or Graham had repeated certain words or lines, we’d taken a drink. We’d ended up consuming a lot of alcohol.
Talking about that night was a good distraction, because every time someone new entered the conference room, I felt as if I might jump out of my skin.
He laughed. “Not sure we’ll be trying that again soon.”
Or ever. Especially not now that I was the CEO.
Several people filed into the room, including the board chair, Leith.
I closed my laptop, spotting Knox at the back of the group.
Knox and Nate had always been aware of what was going on with the company, but they’d made more of an effort to attend board meetings since Graham’s departure.
I knew they wanted to be there for me, to show a united front in the face of such a big change.
I appreciated it more than they could know.
I often wondered how things would’ve turned out if Knox had been the one left in charge.
When my grandparents named a successor, Knox hadn’t been interested in taking over, and Nate’s acting career had been taking off.
At the time, Sloan had been too young, and I was too immature.
Not that my grandparents had said that, but it was how I’d always felt.
Now, I was the CEO, and sometimes it felt like I’d gotten the position by default. I knew that wasn’t entirely true, and those feelings of inadequacy were something I was working on with my life coach, Sumner. Still, the idea lingered.
I greeted the newcomers, standing when Knox joined us.
“Jasper.” Knox gave me a hug. “You’re coming to poker on Friday, right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” I said, taking my seat once more, now flanked by Nate and Knox.
“Good. Did you see Lily’s new video?” Knox asked, resting his ankle on his knee.
I shook my head, wondering what shenanigans Lily had talked my brother into this time.
Since Graham had stepped down as CEO, he’d moved to France to be with her.
Together, they were developing a new line of historic properties for a new subsidiary of the Huxley brand, as well as restoring their personal French chateau.
Before they’d ever married, Lily had shared some of their adventures on her YouStream channel.
I never would’ve imagined that Graham would’ve allowed her to post footage of him doing everything from walking out of the fog as it filtered through the trees to feeding a baby goat from a bottle while shirtless.
My brooding older brother had officially become a thirst trap.
“Trust me,” Nate said, his voice fading into the background as I caught sight of Halle through the large glass wall facing the hallway. “You don’t want to miss it.”
Sloan’s head was bent in conversation with Halle as they approached. Everything in me focused on Halle. The sound of her voice. The click of her heels against the floor.
My heart thudded in my chest, feeling as if it might escape from the confines of my rib cage. I hadn’t seen Halle since last summer. Now she was here. In my hometown. On my turf.
And damn did she look good.
Her red curls were swept back into a low bun. Such a shame. Her hair was one of my favorite things about her, though, in all fairness, almost everything about her was my favorite. And not just her physical appearance.
She was smart, and she saw things that other people didn’t see. She was passionate about the company—our mission, our employees, our properties. A good friend to my sister. An amazing mom who adored her son.
I continued scanning Halle, drinking her in greedily. A few tendrils hung down over her cheeks, the color only highlighting her freckles. And her lips… Those bee-stung lips were painted a warm orangey-red that matched the color of her blouse.
I moved to stand, my thigh banging into the table. Ow. Shit.
My eyes collided with Halle’s, the effect of seeing her slamming into me. The table shook, the glasses on top rattling from the effect. Everyone’s attention turned to me, and I realized I’d spoken the words aloud. Jesus.
My cheeks heated, but I tried not to let my embarrassment show. I was the fucking CEO, for crying out loud, not a boy who didn’t even know how to talk to a girl he had a crush on.
But damn was Halle something. And she made me feel like a teenager again. Awkward. Tongue-tied. Desperate to make the pretty girl laugh.
Nate touched my arm, and I jerked my attention to him. One eyebrow was quirked as he assessed me. “You good?”
I nodded. “Yep. Yeah. All good.”
“Everyone,” Sloan said to the room, and I was grateful when they turned their attention to her. “I’d like to introduce Halle Lovejoy. Many of you have probably already interacted with her by email. But she’s my chief of staff, and she just moved here from London, so please make her feel welcome.”
Fuck. Halle was just as beautiful as I remembered, perhaps even more so. Dark, soulful eyes that saw right through me. Not that she was looking at me. If anything, she seemed to be doing her best to avoid looking directly at me. Or maybe I was imagining it.
That was fine—for now. It gave me an opportunity to observe Halle while Sloan introduced her to everyone. Halle smiled, but it seemed reserved. Almost cool.
Maybe she’s nervous?
Halle’s blouse nipped in at the waist, tucked into a camel-colored pencil skirt that flared over her luscious hips and ass.
It ended just above the knee, and my eyes trailed down her bare legs—legs that had been wrapped around my head.
My perusal finally ended at her shoes. And my mind immediately conjured a detailed image of her in nothing but those heels. My cock twitched in delight.
Fuuuuuck.
“Jasper,” Sloan said, and her tone made it seem as if it wasn’t the first time she’d said my name.
“Mm.” I jerked my attention to her.
She inclined her head toward Halle. “Don’t be shy.”
I tried not to laugh. I was definitely not shy, especially not when it came to the woman standing before me. But I wasn’t sure where Halle and I stood, and I was trying to be professional, when my thoughts were anything but.
“Yes. Of course.” I stepped forward, smiling as I offered Halle my hand when all I really wanted to do was pull her in for a hug. I am so fucked. “Halle. It’s good to see you.” And I meant it.
She placed her hand in mine, a jolt of electricity shooting up my arm.
I could smell her signature scent—roses and something warm and grounding, almost like sunshine.
Maybe ylang-ylang? I wondered, thinking back to all the scent profiles I’d tested when trying to develop the Huxley Grand signature candle line.
The tropical flower had always been one of my favorites.
What was probably only seconds felt like a lifetime, but I relived so many memories in that moment. Emotions flitting through me like photos in an album. Happiness. Passion. Regret. Longing.
I’d missed her. God, how I’d missed her. Her smart mouth. The way she looked at me.
Well, not how she was looking at me now.
Right now, she was looking at me with something akin to disinterest bordering on disdain. I released her hand, remembering we weren’t alone. Hoping I hadn’t done anything to arouse suspicion. We’d kept our relationship a secret for this long, and I wasn’t going to blow it now.
What would be the point anyway? I clenched my fists at my sides.
We were done. It was over.
She’d made that clear before, and she was making it abundantly clear now. And the fact that she could stand there and face me with no reaction whatsoever merely confirmed it. I inhaled slowly and tried to let it out calmly.
All these months of wondering if she ever thought of me. If she missed me. Still wanted me.
Ha! Clearly, I was the only one still hung up on her.
I turned and headed for my seat, suddenly desperate to be done with this meeting. I couldn’t completely avoid Halle, but I could sure as shit use my own chief of staff to run interference so as to minimize our interactions.
I sighed, remembering that I had no chief of staff and my current assistant was a temp who wasn’t particularly adept at her job. If only I’d been able to convince Darla to return.
Graham joined us via video, and the meeting began. I tried to pay attention. I did. But throughout the meeting, my eyes kept straying to Halle.
She was killing me. It was killing me—knowing that she was so close, and yet I’d never felt the distance between us so keenly.
Before our fling, we’d been friends or at least on friendly terms. And every year when I’d gone to London so Sloan could take her annual sailing trip, Halle and I had worked together without incident. But last summer, everything had changed.