10. Paige
PAIGE
“ P lease tell me that you didn’t offer me this job just so you have a torture buddy,” I groan to Garrett as we step off the elevator.
From the second we landed on Wednesday morning, we have been in and out of meetings with the lawyers. It’s been two days of stiff chairs, pouring over contracts, and merger meetings. My brain is five minutes from turning into mush from all the information and my hand will not stop tingling with pain from all the notes I’ve taken.
Garrett chuckles, stepping ahead of us and holding the door to the conference room open. He motions for me to go first and just as I’m passing him, he leans in to whisper so only I can hear. “Trust me, if I wanted to torture you, I’d make sure you’re enjoying it.”
His words cause me to stumble and heat flashes through my entire body. However, there’s no time to think of a response or even get my bearings as the team of lawyers greets us. Refusing to look at Garrett, I go through the motions of polite greetings, which is a new test to my strength I did not expect today.
It’s been easy to distract myself over the past couple days of being in New York with Garrett because we’ve been nonstop going since landing. Between all the actual work that needed to be done and going out to dinner with the teams, we had been going from morning to night. Yes, more times than not I would catch Garrett’s attention on me when it should be elsewhere, and there were more than a couple stolen grazes, but nothing like this.
We have one last meeting to sign the final documentation, making my new role in the company official, then drinks and dinner with Leo. After that? It’s the two of us alone for almost forty-eight hours.
Ultimately, I know if I had told him that I wanted to go to Vermont alone, he would have let it be and I could have gone on my own. However, the idea of Garrett seeing my hometown and having someone there with me when I go home for the first time in years was too tempting to pass up.
At least, that’s what I thought up until we were alone on the almost three-hour flight here. That’s when it finally dawned on me that if I was that affected from sitting beside him on a plane, being in a car for four hours was going to be even more torturous.
Shit…am I a masochist?
My attention is pulled from my inner struggle as the man himself steps up beside me, closer than seems professional, but I can’t find it in me to move away.
“Are you ready to make this official?” he asks.
I glance at him from the corner of my eyes with a smirk.
“Last chance to change your mind before you’re contractually stuck with me,” I tease.
Garrett chuckles, the sound eliciting a shiver down my spine. Placing a hand on my lower back, he leans in as he directs me forward toward the table.
“I’m almost certain I’m the one who should be telling you that. After this, you won’t be able to get away from me.” Before I can stutter through a response, he raises his voice slightly to greet everyone else. “Are we ready to get to signing?”
“We’re just waiting on Mr. Daniels, then we can get things rolling,” Tyler, one of the lawyers from Garrett’s team, answers.
“Which means we will probably be waiting for another thirty minutes for the old man.” One of the lawyers from the selling company’s team snorts out while glancing at his watch before turning to his partner. “Should let the missus know to eat without me. Otherwise, she’ll ‘forget’ and be miserable later.”
My brows furrow as I check the time, seeing we’re all actually a few minutes early. Mr. Daniels has also been on time to the previous two meetings this week.
His partner laughs. “Dude, I could never understand how someone forgets to eat.”
I stiffen, clenching my jaw and silently hoping they move on from this subject.
“Right? At this point, I’m pretty sure they just do it for the attention.”
Looks like we’re choosing violence today.
“Or maybe,” I snap, unable to put up with their arrogance on this subject, “it’s possible that some people genuinely get distracted and so busy that they continue to go through the motions to get things done that they don’t have time to stop and eat.”
“It’s really not that hard to just ea?—”
“And maybe some people are struggling to have a healthy relationship with food. They could have or be recovering from an eating disorder that you don’t know about, in which case their body might not know how to give them hunger cues until it’s too late.”
The men blink at me from across the room and I’m extremely aware of Garrett’s stare, but I don’t back down. I might not be open and honest about my own struggles, but I sure as shit won’t stand by and listen to anyone making fun of others’ eating habits.
The lawyer clears his throat, shifting on his feet and refusing to look at me. “It was just a joke.”
“Joking about the eating habits of a person you claim to love, or anyone’s for that matter, is not funny,” I state.
Awkward tension builds in the room, everyone clearly uncomfortable and uncertain of what to say. Not willing to apologize for standing my ground on this subject, I reach for the chair in front of me just as the door opens behind me.
I twist, finding Mr. Daniels paused in the doorway and looking around the room with his brows pulled together. His eyes bounce between his team and me, and I offer him a strained smile.
“Well.” He laughs awkwardly. “Looks like I’m right on time in more ways than one.”
He walks toward us, reaching out to shake hands with Garrett and slowly easing some of the tension in the room.
“Mr. Walker,” he greets, turning to me with a soft smile. Some of the anger that had built thanks to his team eases as I stand and take his hand. “Miss Adams, pleasure to see you both again.”
“You as well,” I tell him, shocking even myself with how true my words are. Unlike the men he brought with him today, Mr. Daniels reminds me of my grandpa before he passed away during my sophomore year of college. He can’t be older than seventy, but something about him screams “if you call me because your basement is flooding, I’ll be there to help fix it ASAP.”
I step back toward my seat, clenching my fists so I don’t impulsively hug a man that I don’t even know. Considering I’m not even a “hugger,” I chalk the feeling up to the fact that his team got under my skin.
“Alrighty then.” Mr. Daniels claps his hands, glancing between his lawyers and us. “Why don’t we get this show on the road?”
“Cheers to a successful merger,” Leo says, raising his wine glass toward Garrett before motioning it in my direction with a crooked smile. “And a much-deserved promotion.”
After finishing signing all the paperwork, Garrett and I went back to the hotel to freshen up before coming to meet Leo for dinner. It’s been two hours of listening to the two of them tease each other and I can’t remember the last time I laughed this much.
Blushing, I clink my glass gently against his and murmur a soft thanks.
Leo is an intimidatingly attractive man. When I first met him a couple days ago, seeing him and Garrett beside each other was so mind-boggling and breathtaking that I stumbled through introductions. I might not be attracted to him like I am to Garrett, but even I can admit he’s one of the most beautiful men I’ve seen.
Every inch of his deep golden skin is covered in tattoos. His edged up black hair and perfectly groomed beard highlight his sharp jawline while his brown eyes shine. I’ve only been around him twice, but both times he lit up the room with his joy.
Garrett laughs, tapping his drink to Leo’s and mine in turn. “Now comes the fun part of executing the vision for the company.”
Leo shrugs, grinning around the rim of his glass. “And that’s why I prefer the investing side of things.”
“Is that your professional way of saying you’re allergic to hard work?” Garrett raises a single eyebrow at Leo, who rolls his eyes.
“We both know that’s not true, my friend.”
“Fair,” Garrett admits. Leaning back in his seat beside me, he crosses his arms over his chest and nods. “Anyway, I forgot to ask. How’s Kira doing?”
“She’s good. Work has been keeping her super busy.” His eyes drop to the almost empty glass in front of him and a frown mars his face for the first time. “I don’t actually think she’s been home in the past two days. You know how it gets with some projects.”
Garrett nods in understanding. “Yeah, sucks she couldn’t join us, though. You’ll have to tell her I said hi, but hopefully, her current project wraps up soon.”
“I will. She was bummed that she was missing you.” Leo motions to the passing waitress and asks for the check. “I’ll let you guys get back to your hotel so you can rest. How long is the drive tomorrow?”
“Four hours, so it won’t be too bad,” I answer, finishing off my wine.
“I’m just gonna use the restroom before we go.” Garrett stands, tucking his chair back into the table.
Once alone with Leo, every possible topic for small talk leaves my brain. I fidget with my necklace while he signs the check.
“I’m gonna make things awkward and be serious for a second, Paige,” Leo starts, resting his elbows on the table and interlocking his hands together. The serious expression on his face has me straightening in my seat and nerves pooling in my stomach.
“About what?” I ask meekly, racking my brain for what I could have said or done wrong.
“Garrett is the best man I know.” He watches me carefully, but the knots in my stomach ease at the subject.
“He is,” I agree hesitantly.
“When he cares about someone, he does it with his whole heart. I’ve watched that man get shut down and walked all over more times than I can count. He will always put everyone’s wants before his own. Garrett deserves someone who will put him first.”
“It’s not like that.” I shake my head, flinching at the lie as it comes out. “He’s my boss.”
“Not anymore.” He points out, making my cheeks flush with his pointed stare. “So if that’s the only thing you’ve got holding you back…”
Leo’s gaze lifts over my shoulder, another cocky smirk crossing his lips as he sits back. “If you’re going to trust me on anything, let it be this. Allowing a man like Garrett into your life will only make it better.”
I open my mouth to say something, anything, but Garrett appears at the end of our table, smiling down at me.
“Ready to go?”
Nodding, I push to my feet. The three of us leave the restaurant, Garrett and Leo falling behind as they start saying their goodbyes. When we step out into the brisk, cool air, I suck in a deep breath, grateful for the distraction from Leo’s words. I rub my hands on my arms, attempting to fight off the bone-deep chill and wishing I had thought to bring a coat. Living in Florida has really ruined my tolerance for being cold, so even if I had thought of it, I don’t know where I stored my winter clothes.
At least I packed jeans and sweaters for my time in Vermont.
“It was an honor to finally meet you, Paige,” Leo says, grinning from ear to ear with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I look forward to seeing more of you in the future.”
I can feel the crimson burning on my cheeks and down my neck as I shake his hand. A simple “you too” is all I can manage.
After a few more lingering farewells, Garrett and I start the short walk back to our hotel, making small talk about this past week. By the time we’re stepping onto the elevator, Leo’s comment mixed with Garrett’s declaration last weekend, my head is a mess on what I should do.
“I was thinking we could leave around nine or at least after breakfast.” Garrett suggests as we approach our floor.
“That sounds good.” I smile up at him, stepping off the elevator and heading toward our adjacent rooms. Pulling out my room key card, I’m about to hold it to the sensor when Garrett stops me.
“Paige,” he starts and my breath catches in my throat when I turn to him and find him standing closer than expected. “Thank you.”
“For what?” My voice is barely above a whisper.
“Being here.”
He reaches out slowly, ghosting his fingers over my cheek. I’m frozen in place, leaning into his touch as his spicy cologne overrides almost all rational thought.
Almost.
“We can’t do this,” I mumble, my protest sounding weak even to my own ears. “You’re my?—”
“Equal. As of today, we are equals.” He tucks a single finger under my chin, tilting my head up to hold his stare. “Although I’ve always seen you that way.”
I blink, scrambling to find another reason as to why he and I shouldn’t cross this line, and fail.
“The only thing standing between us is you.” Garrett bends down, placing a lingering kiss on my forehead before pressing his own forehead against mine. “If you tell me to stop, I will and things will be strictly professional. Until then, I’m not going to hide that I want more for us.”
With a heavy sigh, he breaks away and I immediately miss his warmth. He pulls out his own room key and unlocks his door and pauses once it’s open.
“The ball’s in your court, Sweetheart. As long as you’re holding it, I’ll be waiting to catch it.”