Chapter 14
14
MAGNOLIA
I t’s been a couple days since I went to his office and surprised him with the invitation. I had lied when I told him my mother was going to put it in the mail. Neither she nor my father knew he would be coming to the party, but I figured they wouldn’t think twice about it since his company was running the security for it. What I hadn’t lied about though was my desire to see him again.
After talking about him with Margaret, I couldn’t keep the image of him from creeping into my thoughts. I would be doing the most mundane things—washing my hair, cooking dinner, going for a walk—and then his deep brown eyes and the feeling of his strong arms wrapped around me would tug my attention to them. And once he was there, it was hard to get him out.
I liked him .
And while I thought he maybe liked me, too, I wasn’t sure. But I wanted to get to know him more and find out.
Sending him the text message was my last ditch attempt to get a read on how he felt about me. I mean, I could see how he felt about me in his office even though he tried to hide it. But Kolbi was a big man and it took a lot more than just his hands in his lap to cover up those feelings. I told myself that if I texted him, and he ignored me again, I would leave him alone unless he came to me. He’d told me multiple times that I was a client and he kept the relationships with his clients ‘strictly professional.’ If that’s what he really wanted, I could respect that , I thought.
Thank god he texted me back.
I’d just gotten back from an afternoon pilates class and was well on my way to shower when I walked into my closet full of designer heels and expensive dresses. When my eyes landed on the white satin pumps with the bows on the back, his sultry voice rang out in my mind.
‘None of my clients have ever walked into my office over lunch to hand deliver an invite to a private party they’re throwing, wearing a pair of shoes that are borderline sinful.’
I stared at the shoes and smiled to myself, recalling how his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he took me in, standing in his office for the first time. I felt my cheeks flush at the memory of how it felt to tower over him for once. Maybe one day I can do it again in a different way, I thought to myself as I pulled my cashmere robe off its hook. I was halfway out of my closet when the shoes I was planning on wearing to the party on Saturday caught my eye.
They were a pair of bejeweled Mary Jane’s with a wide block heel from Sarah Jessica Parker’s new line that sparkled in the light. Each individual crystal was hand placed and they went perfectly with the emerald party dress I’d ordered three weeks ago just for the occasion. I picked the shoes up off the shelf and held them up in front of me. With my free hand, I snapped a picture of them and sent it along with a text.
Would you say these are more or less sinful than the ones I wore to your office?
I held my breath and watched my phone, willing him to text me back. It was the middle of the work day, I shouldn’t expect him to be able to answer right away. When the three dots popped up on the screen within a few seconds I couldn’t ignore how my heart started to beat faster in my chest.
I would say it’s the middle of the work day and I’m in a meeting right now.
My heart stuttered for half a beat, worried I’d annoyed him until he quickly texted me again.
But I would say they’re about the same level of sinfulness as the ones from before.
My cheeks pushed into my eyes as I smiled at his message.
This is how it went the last few days after he responded to my text about wearing green. He would answer what I sent him, but I would need to be the one who texted first. Not once over the last five days had he texted me first, but if I sent him a message, he answered.
Am I distracting you Jack? I know you have a thing for shoes.
I do not have a thing for shoes. And no, you’re not distracting me. I don’t get distracted by friends.
My eyes rolled without a second thought at his message.
This is also how it went with him. I would try to be flirty and in the next breath he would shut me down. Somewhere between me going to his office and now, we went from me just being his client to me just being a friend . He’s only kidding himself because I know he wants me as more than a friend. The bulge in his pants last week proved as much.
That’s fine. If he wants to believe we’re just friends, so be it. But I know that I’d like to get to know him as more than a friend and I will get what I want. Sinclairs always get what they want.
You sure seemed excited about the ones I wore to see you last week. Would you rather I wear those to the party this weekend?
You can wear whatever you like to the party. It doesn’t bother me either way.
What if I want it to bother you?
My breath stalled in my throat as I sat on my bed, waiting for him to text me back. This wasn’t the first time I had put the ball in his court, opening the door for him to reciprocate. Every time I tried though, it was like he slapped the ball out of bounds and walked off the court, making it clear he didn’t want to play. My eyes glanced at the clock on the wall to check what time it was. I had a final planning session with my mother in less than two hours and still needed to shower and get ready. But the thought of missing a message from him sounded worse than bearing the brunt of my mother’s wrath when I showed up late. She’ll just have to get over it.
The three dots pulsed on the screen for a moment and then disappeared again. After several long seconds, a new message popped up on my screen.
Like I said, wear whatever you want to the party. It makes no difference to me.
I tried again.
What if I just wear nothing?
I can hardly recommend that as it would create a PR nightmare for your family.
Damn, maybe he doesn’t like me.
Wear the ones in the photo, they’ll look nice on you.
It was a simple compliment but it was more than Daniel had given me in months. I curled my lips in disdain and made a face as I thought about him because just the thought of my ex’s name made me sick.
Last weekend while Margaret and I were at the country club I overheard some women in the locker room talking about how they’d seen Daniel out to dinner with ‘a much younger looking girl’ and how they couldn’t believe that he broke up with me. Broke up with me? I nearly stormed over to the half-naked women and told them what actually went down and would have if it weren’t for Margaret giving me her ‘don’t you even fucking think about it’ face. We both knew what would happen at home if I caused a scene in the country club locker room.
You think I’ll look nice in them, Jack?
I think you look nice in a lot of things.
Okay maybe he does like me. Play it cool, don’t overdo it.
See you at the party?
I wouldn’t miss it, flower.