Chapter 16
MEGAN
Sender: Luke Maxwell
Subject line: Competition Project
My heart rate accelerated. I felt a small tremor in my body as I opened the email. It happened every time I had an email from Luke. This man was sneaking into my heart.
I anticipated that moment when he’d bring up our last night together, but so far, every email was professional and to the point. That was great because I had to prepare several things for the competition. I had no time for his delectable distractions.
I was going to use Charles’s project for the competition.
Luke told me I could design a proposal for Charles based on his specs.
Of course, I could make a spinoff of the original plan specifically for the competition, and Luke could decide on the final design for Charles.
So, since coming back from the trip, I threw myself into research as well as making a pitch.
Tomorrow, I was going to have a Zoom call with the competition committee and present to them the idea.
In the email they’d sent me were all the details about the call.
They also mentioned there would be a virtual get-together with a few other participants.
I wasn't looking forward to that. I found Zoom socializing to be awkward at best.
While I replied to Luke’s email, my phone buzzed with an incoming message. Nina kept bugging me to meet, but I barely had time for a break for myself. After a day at work, I was completely spent in the evening. That didn’t keep her from texting me, though.
Nina: Fine. If you won't meet up for drinks, then please text me details about the trip.
The woman was relentless. I replied between breaks.
Megan: I like him a lot, but he's my boss. And I’m not ready for a relationship.
She answered right away.
Nina: You said you didn’t want a relationship after what happened with Carson anyway.
That was true. I had said that. I was twenty-six.
It was my time to let loose. But I didn’t feel like it.
I’d never been a party animal, that’s for sure.
I’d been ready to settle down when I met Carson.
Ever since I was a kid, I’d been responsible.
My aunt used to say I was the best-behaved teenager.
Truthfully, I’d always felt like I was a bit of a burden to her, so I tried hard not to get into trouble.
She never made me feel that way—Aunt Dana would give me the very best of everything—but I knew if she hadn’t taken me in and raised me, her life would have been much easier.
Nina: Maybe your boss wants some fun, nothing more.
Megan: Nina… I need to focus on the interview.
Nina: Fine, we’ll revisit this conversation afterward.
I laughed. That was so like Nina. She never took no for an answer.
I put my phone away and got back to work. I had a pitch to prepare for tomorrow. I spent the entire day on it at the office, and when I went home, I went through it a couple more times.
On Thursday morning, I was nervous. Everyone at the office knew my interview was today.
Luke was taking the whole team to lunch to celebrate that we’d won two more pitches; these jobs would bring in a healthy amount to our company’s bottom line.
I was sad that I couldn’t go with them, but they’d booked the restaurant before I got my interview time.
On the bright side, I had the floor to myself.
At noon, everyone left. My interview started at twelve thirty. I clicked around aimlessly in my inbox, clearing up emails, waiting for the time to pass. I couldn’t focus on anything. At twelve fifteen, I received an email from Luke.
It simply said Good luck today.
I replied right away.
Thank you.
The next email popped up in a few minutes.
It was titled “Next Steps.” I figured it had to be related to the internship.
I'd carefully read the plan for this month, so I knew we had quite a lot of work ahead of us.
I gasped when I opened the email itself.
It only contained two lines: We have an unresolved conversation topic from the trip. We should address it.
The temperature in my entire body seemed to increase in a matter of seconds. I bit my lip, unsure what to type back. A little part of me was also unsure if he really meant us, or if it was work-related again, or if I was just making it out to be more than it was.
I decided to be honest and led with that, replying, I'm not sure I know what you mean.
My phone vibrated next with an incoming message. Adrenaline spiked my blood. It was definitely personal if he didn't want to use the work email. I suppose HR or anyone else could have access to them. I wasn't sure how this all worked, to be honest.
Luke: I miss you.
My heart sighed. Wow, I hadn't been expecting that. He missed me, and he openly admitted it? I was so thrown that I wasn't sure what to write back. I just stared at the message, feeling my heart grow in size and my stomach fill with emotion.
I began to type back but saw he was still typing, so I waited.
Luke: I’d intended to wait until after your interview to ambush you, but my best intentions never work when it comes to you.
Megan: It’s the thought that counts.
Luke: Good luck. We’ll catch up later.
I only had a few minutes left until the call started, so I clicked the Zoom link in my email.
I could see there were already some other participants in the chat room.
I groaned when I noticed Carson. I was used to this because both our last names started with P.
We’d been grouped together often in college as well.
The head of the committee, Jenkins, appeared onscreen. "Welcome, everyone. Let's keep this short. I'm going to invite you separately to chat rooms so we can have our one-on-one, and then we'll have a bit of a virtual get-together."
No one had their camera on, so I couldn't see them, only Jenkins, but that was for the best. I didn't want any distractions.
Several chat rooms popped up. We each had a five-minute slot.
I wondered why they hadn't simply invited us all separately at a different timeframe, but maybe it was easier for them if we just waited our turn.
I went nervously through my pitch while Danielle Pattinson was in her interview. I was next.
To my surprise, Jenkins appeared one minute earlier than my scheduled time. Okay, so it seemed it didn't have to last five minutes.
"Megan, go ahead. We can make chitchat later in the group. This is a straightforward pitch."
I took a deep breath, rolling my shoulders.
"I will design a modern luxury mansion. The theme is integrating it into nature, not only because it's surrounded by a beautiful piece of land with old trees that will be preserved, but also because I plan to incorporate as many natural materials as possible into the construction.
" I went on to give him a more detailed explanation.
He cut me off abruptly after four minutes.
"This was great. I think you're onto something good. Now I will ask you to wait for about fifteen minutes while I chat with the rest, and then we'll catch up."
"Thank you, Mr. Jenkins." I tapped my pen against my desk. This was so nerve-racking.
I couldn't even tell if he’d really liked my pitch or was just being polite. However, I suppose he would have tried to dissuade me from doing this if he thought it was a terrible idea.
While I waited, I checked my messages. Luke had texted me.
Luke: How did it go?
Megan: I just finished the pitching part. Now I've got to wait 15 minutes for the get-together. That only lasts 10 minutes. I'm starving.
Luke: I've already taken care of that. Pay attention to the door.
I smiled from ear to ear. That touched me deeply. Now I had something to look forward to besides the get-together, which ended up happening only ten minutes later. Clearly Jenkins was trying to be quick and efficient today.
"Thank you, everyone," he said, appearing on the screen. "This was a good start. I enjoyed catching up with all of you. Now I'm going to ask everyone to turn on their cameras and just say a few words about themselves, where you studied, and why you want to enter the competition."
Grudgingly, I turned on my camera. I quickly realized everyone had shielded their background, but I didn't. They could see my office.
Almost involuntarily, I looked at Carson. He was flashing his trademark smirk. He'd always been overconfident, even in high school. We each said two sentences, and if I hadn't had my camera on, I would have full-on snorted when he presented himself.
"I've always been the best: in school and in college. My company is going places. I'm here to win."
Jenkins’s face was unreadable. I couldn’t look away from Carson.
There was no longing for him, or regret that we weren’t a couple anymore.
I wasn’t even sure what I’d ever seen in him.
Had I really wanted a life with him? Truth be told, even while we’d been dating, I never really could picture our life together.
I loved to “visualize” all things in my life, but I hadn’t been able to when it came to us.
I couldn't see the purpose of this get-together. It wasn't like we would develop friendships among us or even meet. We were competitors, after all.
"All right, everyone. It was a great day. I'm going to log off. You can, of course, stay in the chat longer and get to know each other if you’d like."
The second he disconnected, everyone else disappeared, except Carson. I was about to close my connection when he said, "Megan, I wasn't expecting to see you on the list of participants.”
“I wasn't expecting to see you either."
"Really? Why not? I've always been ambitious."
I ignored the jab—the insinuation that I wasn’t. Right after we broke up, he said to my face that I didn’t have what it took to succeed. Idiot!
"True, but hard work was never your forte." That wasn’t a jab. It was the truth.
“I see you’re the same stick-in-the-mud I remember.”
"I don't care about your opinion of me. I'm going to log off now."
"You do that."
I clicked the Zoom window away. I didn't care about Carson anymore. But I was still pissed.
I forgot all about it a few minutes later when my lunch arrived: a delivery from Bean & Baxter. It was one of my favorite restaurants. Had I told Luke that? I must have.
I texted him immediately.
Megan: I’m having lunch now. Thank you.
Luke: I wish I were there with you.
Megan: Are you determined to charm me today?
Luke: Yes.
Well, that settled it.
Megan: I wish you were here too.
He didn’t reply. I supposed he was interacting with the team, enjoying his own lunch.
The office was eerily quiet. Now that my call was over, I could soak in the silence. Even in the morning, it wasn't this quiet.
Since I was on my lunch break, I opened an event page, checking if they’d added tickets in section A to the Cirque du Soleil show tomorrow.
I’d been once a couple years ago and loved it.
Now they were in town, and I wanted to go again, but only if I could get the best tickets.
I’d been in the back last time and couldn’t see a lot of the finer details.
To my astonishment, I heard the elevator ding ten minutes later as I was about to finish my lunch. Footsteps approached my door. I sucked in a breath when Luke appeared in the doorway.
“Hey, you're all back already?" I asked.
"No, just me. The team's still at lunch celebrating. I wanted a few minutes alone with you."
I felt hot all over even though he hadn't even said one flirty thing.
He came toward me, sitting with that perfect ass on the edge of my desk.
"What's that?" he said, pointing at my computer screen.
"I want to buy tickets, but there are none left in the section I wanted. I set a reminder because sometimes they add more tickets just before the show. I've been checking often."
"When is it?"
"Tomorrow."
He nodded, narrowing his eyes as if contemplating something. Then he zeroed in on me.
“How did it go with Jenkins?"
I shrugged, leaning back. "I pitched, and then we had a very awkward introduction among the participants where basically everyone was bragging about how great they were. Obviously, I was in the same group as Carson again."
Luke narrowed his eyes. "You've mentioned him before. Do you want to talk about it?"
I said nothing. I just didn’t know if I wanted to go there with Luke.
"Is he an ex or something?"
I nodded, deciding to open up after all.
"Yes. I'd been with Carson since high school, and then we both moved to Chicago for college.
After we graduated, he started his own firm.
I was helping him. I took a side job as well because someone had to pay the bills.
He sort of started looking down on me because I took on a lot of administrative tasks.
Said things like I had no ambition. Then he cheated on me, saying he needed to explore more and that he'd been with one woman for too long. "
His nostrils flared, and I knew he was not pleased with my ex.
"I'm sorry he hurt you," he said in a measured voice.
"Thanks."
He leaned in, putting a hand on the edge of my desk. He brought the other hand to my ear, pushing a strand of hair back. My skin erupted in goose bumps. The elevator dinged again, and I knew our minutes were up. The others would join us soon.
“Thank you for lunch. I can't believe you remembered I like this."
"I've memorized everything about you, Megan: your favorite drink, restaurant, food.
I've memorized the way you taste, the way you sound when you're under me.
" He looked at me intently, drawing his thumb over my lips.
I parted them, gasping. "If you were mine, Megan, I would treat you the way you deserve. Every. Fucking. Day."