Chapter 3
VAL
Next morning, dressed in my lucky outfit, I stopped by Walter’s, the coffee shop across the street from my office building. It was the closest one, and I liked to start the morning by buying a cup of coffee before heading to work.
I usually ran into a few patrons I knew, people who worked at some of the other offices nearby. I waved to the head of the HR department of a beverage company with whom I’d had lunch a few times.
Then I slid my gaze over the perimeter for anyone else I might know.
My gaze fell on the stranger in line next to me, and I straightened a little, paying extra attention.
He was taller than me (and the lucky outfit required me to wear heels).
His shirt stretched over a broad chest and a tapered waist. His strong hands ended in long fingers that made me wonder if he played the piano.
I even got a fleeting look at his face as he turned to study the menu.
His hair was almost black, and I was sure that his eyes were hazel, providing a beautiful contrast.
I hadn’t realized I was staring until he unhitched his gaze from the board displaying the menu and turned to look at me.
He was absolutely gorgeous. I’d been wrong; his eyes weren’t simply hazel.
They had golden flecks too. I broke the eye contact as my turn came.
I ordered my usual—cappuccino with whipped cream and caramel topping.
While waiting for my drink, I discovered that I’d developed a wandering eye that was intent on surveying the stranger, cataloging every detail.
He joined me in the waiting corner. Now he was close enough that I couldn’t look at him without being obvious.
But oh, I could smell him. I recognized the cologne instantly.
It wasn’t one of mine, but it was a favorite nonetheless.
I concentrated on the sweets display, my mouth almost watering at the sight of the blueberry pancakes.
Nope. I’ll be strong today. No pancakes.
Our drinks were placed on the counter at the same time. The stranger reached for his first, but the server must have placed it too close to the edge, because it toppled right over… knocking mine as well. I jumped backward as the hot contents spilled everywhere.
“I'm sorry,” the stranger said. Ah, that voice. Just another tool in his arsenal to make him more irresistible to poor souls like me. “I’ll buy you another one.”
“No need.”
“I insist. I knocked it over.”
A man with manners. Will you look at that?
“Well, if you insist, I won’t say no.”
We went back to the cashier.
“A cappuccino with whipped cream and caramel topping for the lady. And a blueberry pancake,” he said.
I looked at him questioningly. “Why did you order that?”
He gave me a half smile and a wink. “Saw you looking at them earlier.”
I smiled, caught by surprise. I hadn’t felt like smiling all morning.
I’d woken up in a frenzy, with my heart in my throat.
I’d hoped that sticking to my usual morning routine would keep the nerves about the potential lawsuit at bay.
But until this beautiful stranger had made me laugh, my insides had been twisted together like a vine.
“Well, you caught me there. And since you bought it for me, I can’t let it go to waste, can I?”
The stranger gave me a crooked smile. He motioned with his head to one of the empty tables. “Shall we?”
I glanced at the time on my smartphone. “I only have twenty minutes.”
“Plenty of time to drink our coffees and for you to enjoy your pancake. By the way you were looking at it, it wouldn’t last longer than five minutes anyway.”
Had he just called me out on my appetite?
Yes, yes, he had. But since he was spot-on, I couldn’t argue with him.
Walter’s was cozy, with its vintage tables and chairs and comfortable couches.
We sat at a table by the window. When he’d draped the jacket of his navy suit over the backrest of the chair, I’d had a prime view of his ass.
Well, hell. Now that was a detail I wanted to remember.
“Do you work at one of the companies in the area? Or are you here for a meeting?” I asked.
“I just moved my company here. You?”
“My office is nearby.” I didn’t feel like giving him any details, because any mention of my company would bring the upcoming meeting front and center again. “I stop here every morning for coffee.”
He set an elbow on the table, leaning slightly over. “And a pancake?”
“Occasionally.”
“Come on, you can be honest with me.” He winked, and I couldn’t help laughing. How could he tell that by occasionally I’d meant every other day?
“Well, I might indulge more than just occasionally. Might.”
“I see. Too early in the morning for honest confessions?” He was teasing me, and I enjoyed it immensely.
“Way too early,” I confirmed, and now he was laughing. We chitchatted about nothing in particular while we drank our coffees. He wasn’t offering any details about himself. We hadn’t even exchanged names.
I wondered if, like me, he didn’t want to think about the day ahead.
Usually people liked to brag about their jobs, and judging by his expensive suit and watch, he had a brag-worthy job.
I liked the anonymity of our conversation.
It was freeing. This enigmatic stranger was hands down the best thing that could have happened to me this morning.
When it was time for me to leave, he stood up from his chair at the same time I did.
I really liked his manners. Our arms touched as we both moved.
The contact only lasted a second, but my entire body reacted.
What was wrong with me? Was I so starved for affection that the slightest touch affected me so much?
Okay, so it was the touch of a tall and gorgeous man, but still.
“Do you have any recommendations for lunch places?”
“Mrs. Seguin.” I answered with the first name that popped into my mind, because I planned to head there for lunch. “It’s great for business meetings too. They have a wide selection.”
“Thanks.”
“I need to hurry,” I said regretfully. Without realizing it, I’d motioned with my head across the street to my building.
“You work at Valentina’s Laboratories?”
“Yes. I’m the owner, Valentina. You know the company?” The name was written next to the entrance door, but the font wasn’t large enough to be seen from across the street.
“We have the same building manager. She told me about you.”
Kate was a darling. She bragged about me to everyone.
“I’m Carter.”
Ah, a sexy name to go with a sexy man.
“I’d love to stay and chat some more, but I have to prepare for my meeting.”
“Have a nice day, Valentina.”
The morning took a nasty turn when my lawyer called me frantically to inform me he’d been in a minor car accident on the freeway and couldn’t make it in time for the meeting.
“We should reschedule,” he said at once.
“The mediator will arrive in a few minutes. I’ll deal with it.”
After all the hassle it took for both parties to agree on the law firm we’d use for mediation, I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
I spent the next ten minutes behind my desk, surveying the notes I’d made during my conversation with my lawyer.
As I reviewed the notes, I committed everything to memory.
I wasn’t going to take them into the meeting.
I felt more confident when I spoke freely, and I was determined to appear strong and unfazed, not as if I would bend to the competition’s demands.
At five to eight, my assistant knocked on the open door. “He’s here, Val. I already led him to the meeting room.”
My palms instantly felt clammy, but I sounded calm as I spoke. “Okay. Offer him water, or coffee or—”
“Poison?” Anne suggested cheerfully.
“If you do, you cannot involve me. You’re on your own.” I grinned. “Just tell him I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
I rose from my chair as Anne disappeared from view, then strode with large, confident steps. I wouldn’t allow anyone to take me down, or smear my name, not after working for this dream for more than a decade.
The meeting room was just a few feet away from my own office, and when I stepped inside, the mediator introduced himself as Emerson Smith.
“My lawyer can’t make it this morning,” I told him after inviting him to sit opposite me.
“Would you like to reschedule?”
“No, there is no need. Let’s get on with it. What are their demands?”
“Ms. Connor, I will lay everything out in simple terms. They don’t desire a lawsuit any more than you do. All they ask of you is not to bring that line to market.”
I bristled, moving at the edge of my chair. “All they ask? That would mean admitting I was wrong.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, staring at the wooden table between us. “They have no patent or credible base from which to point their finger at me. We developed the same product at the same time. A hundred copycats will catch up to us two months later anyway. It’s not patentable.”
“They will sue if you insist on bringing it to market. You know this is about profits, and nothing else. By the time the copycats will bring out their product, they could make a nice profit. But if you bring it out at the same time, it will cut into their profits.”
“I cannot tell my team to trash their work. As I said, agreeing to their terms would be akin to recognizing I was in the wrong.” I licked my lips, searching for a way to make him understand it wasn’t just about the money.
“This… I know for them this is just a small branch. A profitable one, but just a blip on their portfolio of products. For me, it’s everything. I built this company.”
“I understand your viewpoint perfectly. How would you solve this? What would you like me to tell them?”
“Tell them that I don’t see any reason we can’t both bring our products on the market. Sure, it will mean lower profits for both, but that’s business. You win some, you lose some.”
Emerson went on to share a few more details, but the meeting was surprisingly short, and I was frustrated that nothing at all had been resolved. I’d been hoping to put the issue behind me, but I’d clearly been too optimistic.
This wasn’t my first rodeo with a bigger player on the market trying to intimidate me.
Since I’d listed the first line in Sephora, the sharks had started showing their teeth.
Once I was big enough to be noticed, they tried to push me out.
I got it, store placement was limited already, and the perfume and cosmetics industry was cutthroat, with thousands of fragrances being released every year from big houses alone.
So far, none of those intimidation attempts had resulted in actual lawsuits.
I was betting on this going the same way.
The rest of the morning was busy as hell. I had an open-door policy, which meant anyone could stop by anytime with a question or a problem. My stomach began rumbling around ten o’clock, but I did pull through until twelve when I practically ran toward Mrs. Seguin.
The place was already half full when I arrived, but I found a table and was lazily perusing the menu, even though I already knew what I wanted to order. I was just about to flag down a waiter when I saw a certain tall and spectacularly handsome someone step inside the restaurant. Carter.
He saw me immediately and began to walk my way, smiling. I smiled back. I had a feeling my day was just about to become better.