Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
A THURSDAY IN MAY
“Here’s what I was thinking,” I say, fanning out the stack of papers I had brought into the conference room. “We rent out the rooftop of Stanley’s and hire Letters From Rosie to perform again. They’ve been a big hit at past events.”
“Have you thought of hiring someone new?” Leanne, one of our new event planners, asks, leaning forward to sift through the papers. “What about them?”
She points to a song list that a country band had provided. “I love the idea, and you know I love country music, but I’m just not sure if that’s the vibe our matches would enjoy.”
“We still have a week.” She turns to flip open her laptop. “Maybe we send out a survey?”
“Not a bad idea.” I reach for a couple more setlists and extend them in her direction.
“We’d need it by the end of the day so we can contact the band we want, but getting input is brilliant.
Send out an email, request feedback, and I’ll contact the caterers and get in touch with Nico over at Stanley’s to build out a specialty cocktail list.”
Leanne nods and smiles as I clean up everything we had laid out. “If you need anything else, let me know.”
“Thanks, Leanne.”
Once I have all the papers back in their folders, I slip out of the conference room and make my way down the hall to our storage closet. Taking the pen from behind my ear, I jot down the inventory in my notepad when my phone goes off in my bag.
Squatting down to reach for it, I see Kirstin’s name lighting up my screen, requesting me in her office. Standing back on my heels, I hike my bag back on my shoulder before heading towards my desk.
Tossing my bag on my chair, I turn toward Kirstin’s office and notice a man with brown hair in a suit sitting in one of the chairs in her office, his back to me.
I smooth down my pencil skirt and readjust my lavender dress shirt before running a hand through my hair, trying to make sure it isn’t completely wild before entering her office.
“Sorry if I made you wait,” I say as I walk in, closing the door behind me. “I was just chatting with Leanne about our upcoming event and had to go do some inventory.”
“Oh, no worries at all,” Kirstin says with a dismissive wave of her hand.
She gestures to the man who had been sitting in the chair as he stands, and I can’t help it as I stare at Levi.
“Levi, this is my assistant, the one I was telling you about. The one that you’ve been fortunate enough to be matched with. ”
I roll my eyes at that but smile, extending my hand in his direction. He smiles back, drawing my attention to his scruffy beard and the dimple that rests in his left cheek. His hand envelopes mine in a firm but warm shake.
His dark brown hair is short on the sides and slightly longer on top, a few pieces falling over his forehead as if he had run his hands through it. His blue eyes are piercing into mine and his perfect smile sends butterflies erupting in my belly, not missing his chiseled jawline.
He stands at about six feet, maybe slightly taller, and in my heels, I just reach his shoulder. He is dressed in a navy blue suit coat, white dress shirt, red tie and navy blue dress pants. Even though the suit hugs him in all the right places, I still briefly wonder what lays underneath.
“Marlowe,” I tell him, and his smile intensifies as his blue eyes bore into me.
“Marlowe,” he repeats, and I swear my heart skips a beat. “It’s nice to finally know your name after all this time.”
Kirstin makes a small noise, and I drop his hand, turning my attention to her. “You two know each other?”
“Not officially,” Levi replies, but he leaves it at that.
“Well, then.” Kirstin’s eyes narrow slightly in confusion as she bites her lip. “I’ll leave you two to it. I’m meeting up with Howard to pick a date for us to use the hotel ballroom again for our December match event. If you think of anything while I’m gone, just shoot me a text.”
I nod as she grabs her purse. As she walks by me, she sends a subtle wink my way and gently squeezes my arm before she slips out of the office. Turning back to Levi, I see him watching me and I raise a brow.
“Since your boss is gone and it’s almost lunchtime, want to go grab a bite?”
“Oh,” I breathe in surprise, glancing at the clock that rests on the wall above Kirstin’s desk. “Unfortunately, I really need to finish the inventory I was working on so I can place any orders by the end of the day. Maybe tomorrow?”
Levi reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out his phone, typing away for a moment before he looks at me once more with a smile as he claps and rubs his hands together. “My afternoon is now completely free. How can I be of service?”
“You don’t have to do that,” I reply with a shake of my head. “Trust me, there are much better things you could do with your time.”
“I beg to differ.” That dimple appears in his cheek again. “I’ve waited six years to talk to you again. I’m not waiting another day.”
My cheeks heat as I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear, rubbing my lips together. Glancing up at him, I can tell from the look on his face that he’s serious.
“Okay then, Hulk,” I tease as I turn to head out of Kirstin’s office. “Only if you promise not to break anything.”
Levi quickly steps in front of me and pushes open the door, holding it open as he looks down at me. “You remembered.”
“You’re hard to forget.”
Levi bows his head, trying to hide the smile that lights up his face as I walk past him. Heading straight for my desk, I grab the notepad I had dropped and tuck the pen behind my ear before gesturing for him to follow me.
I walk down the hall, making my way back to the closet as my heels scrape against the carpet, Levi trailing behind me. I can feel his eyes staring at the back of my head, and I fight the urge to look at him over my shoulder.
Passing Leanne’s desk, I give her a smile and don’t miss how she looks at the man trailing behind me. Her eyes grow wide for a moment before they soften, and she sends a sexy smile his way. I can’t stop from rolling my eyes as I turn the corner.
I push open the door to the closet and kick the doorstop into place to stop it from falling shut. Setting my notepad down on a stack of boxes, I reach up on the shelf to pull down a large tote when I feel a presence behind me.
Levi’s front is pushed against my back as he reaches over me, grabbing the tote. I hastily lower my hands as his brush against mine, and I have to remind myself to breathe. Quickly ducking under his arm, I slip past him and lean against the wall, trying to stop the flush from spreading on my face.
“What do you need me to do?” Levi asks as he sets the box down and turns towards me.
“Right,” I mumble, glancing down at the notepad. “Okay. In that tote and the three next to it are all the centerpieces. Somehow, we always end up losing a few. If you can count them for me, that would be great.”
Levi nods and glances around as he slips off his suit coat and tosses it on top of one of the filing cabinets.
He then unbuttons the cuffs of his dress shirt, slowly rolling them up so they are bunched at his elbows.
And then, as if he hasn’t already surprised me enough with his muscles and tanned forearms, he grips his dress pants at the thighs and pulls them up before sitting cross-legged on the floor.
“So, Marlowe,” he says after he has taken the lid off the container and began counting, breaking me out of my trance. “Are you still pondering the great mystery that is life itself?”
I laugh at that, taking the pen from behind my ear and walking over to another shelf, grabbing a smaller box and setting it on the stack of boxes beside me. “You can say that. And have you turned the business around?”
“You can say that,” he echoes, glancing up at me with a smile on his face. “I was able to get everyone their money back, and then some. The business has been legit for a couple years now.”
“That’s great,” I tell him sincerely, opening the cardboard box and counting the blank table tents.
We fall silent as I ponder what the hell to say next. It has been so long since I’ve talked to a guy that wasn’t just a friend, and I haven't flirted in god only knows how long. This is uncharted territory for me, and I am quickly drowning in my embarrassment.
“What have you been up to since the last time I saw you?” He asks as he snaps the lid on the container and stands, lifting to put it back on the shelf and grabbing the next one.
“Do you mean on the rooftop six years ago, or a couple of weeks ago when you brought me home?”
He sets the box down and looks at me, giving me a slight shrug. “Well, I wasn’t going to bring it up—”
“It’s all right,” I say, interrupting him as I set the pen down on top of the notepad, forgetting what number I had been on.
“Thank you, by the way. For getting me home. And I’m sorry I never called.
It was a surprise to say the least, and I truthfully didn’t know how to handle the fact it was you.
Although, I guess the universe handled it for me. ”
Levi laughs, leaning back against the wall and abandoning his task. He spreads his legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles, and rests his hands in his lap. “Who would’ve thought, right? I find myself mulling over your question a lot.”
“About fate?” He nods. “What’s your verdict?”
“Considering we’ve been working in the same building for six years and never ran into one another since that night, and then I find you on the rooftop two weeks ago?
I thought then and there that fate was real.
But that wasn’t fate. Fate was walking into your boss’s office to fill out an application and seeing you sitting at your desk.
Fate was getting a call that she had found me a ninety-four percent match and then discovering it was you.
I never really believed that the universe fought for people to be together, but I do now. ”