Chapter 7 #2
“You got this, Noah,” Leanna says with a laugh.
I throw a few air punches and then make my way down the hall. Cracking my knuckles, I do some light footwork before entering the ring aka Olivia Bancroft’s office.
Does Olivia intimidate me?
Hell no.
Will she try?
Absolutely.
She just won’t win. Not wanting to drag this out, I knock on the door five minutes before five.
With it being the end of the day, I assume she’ll respond quickly to get out of here on time.
Of course, assumptions are a foolish man’s last alibi for sacrificing facts in the hope of a favorable outcome.
“Come in,” she replies.
Here goes nothing . . .
I open the door and am quick to close it behind me. She’s always so worried about us being seen together that I figure my asking her out, even though it’s strictly business, is not something she wants circulating around the office.
Not a word is spoken when my eyes meet hers. The formality of greetings doesn’t exist. It’s just the two of us standing here in a smaller office than mine, staring at each other.
She finally cracks, blinking her eyes. “What are you doing here?”
There’s no anger like the other day or impatience like with Chip. She’s shifted into neutral since this morning, which means I need to turn on cruise control and match her tone.
I went through so many intros in my head before landing on the perfect way to talk her into this favor, but now it eludes me. I never go blank or lose my cool under pressure, but something about Liv makes me feel much like a schoolboy with a crush on a cute girl.
Is it her eyes that draw me in? I wade into the shallows, hoping to reach her deeper waters. Or maybe it’s the way her mouth always gives her thoughts away. A tug under her teeth or a smile that plays at the corners. It’s the only part of her that I’ve had any success reading.
Her body is relaxed and sunken into the plush leather of her chair. Being at the end of the day, I have a feeling she’s been stuck behind that desk all day.
“Noah?” Her head angles to the side as she waits for me to reply.
She’s Eve in the Garden of Eden, tempting in her very being. She may want to forget, but I’m struggling to get that night out of my head.
The taste of her body when I licked her from navel to neck, a mild salt flavoring from the beach still remaining.
A silhouette of her nipples on display in the moonlight after I made her come.
And those eyes . . . the way she looked at me like we had a chance at more than one night?
How can I erase the best sex of my life?
I can’t.
But I have to . . .
A loud snap has me returning to reality. “Did you come in here to stare at me?”
“No. That’d be weird.”
“It would be.” Her snark tilts her mouth sideways, and she raises an eyebrow. “Very weird.”
I clear my throat, remembering my mission, and shift closer. Squeezing the back of the chair, I say, “We have a client ready to bail to another firm. We need to put our best efforts into saving the account.”
“That sounds like why you were hired.” Her eyes slide back to the monitor in front of her. “Anything else?”
Does she really believe we can find middle ground, or am I never getting anywhere with her? “I understand it’s my job, but it involves you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”
I’m hit with a glare, and then her expression goes downhill from there. “How does this involve me?”
“The clients want all the financials with a full breakdown of expenses.”
She starts typing. “Fine, give me the client’s name, and I’ll send it over.”
“It’s not that easy.”
Laughing, she says, “Nothing with you ever is.” With her elbow anchored to the desk, she rests her chin on a fist. “Go on.”
“They want a presentation to back the campaign I’ll be presenting. Accounting down to the penny.”
Although her eyes widen, she nods. “Okay. I can do that if you can send the pitch over in the morning.” She checks her watch and then stands and begins slipping her jacket on. “I can have it to you by lunchtime.”
“Actually, they want you at the meeting.”
She stills and then looks up from the bag she had set on the desk. “What do you mean?”
“We both need to be there. I represent the creative side of the marketing campaign, and you’ll talk about the financial commitment.”
“That’s not really how things are done.”
“You said it yourself. I was hired to take things in a new direction.”
Planting her hand on her hip, she sighs. “When?”
The woman is anything but intimidating, but she puts on a solid show. I turn to leave, opening the door because so do I. “I’ll see you Friday at seven o’clock.”
“In the morning?” Turning back with a winning grin, I’m met with concern darkening her face. “If I must, but I’ll need more advance notice from now on.”
“No, Liv. Seven o’clock in the evening over dinner.”
Her brows shoot straight up. “Dinner? Like you and me having dinner?” Shaking her head, she grabs her bag and comes toward me. “No way.”
Standing in the doorway, I add, “With the clients.”
“Noah,” she cautions, stopping with not two feet between us.
“I get that you want to win over the clients, but I can’t make that work.
I’ll get you the files and even create an analysis for you to take.
You can present it.” Patting me on the arm like we’re old buddies, she says, “You’ll do great.
Much better without me.” With me in the way of her making a quick exit, she blinks several times. “I need to go.”
I step aside, hoping she stays just a minute longer because as much as I’m glad her hate has tempered, a small exposure of faith has been revealed.
She doesn’t detest me as much as she portrays.
I say, “I understand your hesitation, especially since it’s a favor to me.
It’s a lot to ask of you to work late on a Friday night, but they were specific.
These aren’t clients I’m trying to sign.
I’m trying to save the account that the previous guy screwed up. ”
“Chip and Leslie. The Torres account.”
Figures it was his client. I knew I smelled a slimeball.
“Yes. They weren’t given what they were promised.
I want to make that right, not only for myself but also for the company.
” Her stance has softened. Her eyes have lifted from the floor to meet mine.
“Listen, I know we got off to a rocky start this week,” I clarify because we couldn’t keep our hands off each other the first time we met. “I’m sorry for upsetting you.”
“Don’t apologize on my account.” Adjusting the bag on her shoulder, she takes a breath. The silence between us stretches so long that I hear her swallow just before she says, “It won’t fix things.”
“What needs fixing? I wasn’t hired to make your life hell. I didn’t take the job to get back at you—”
“What reason would you possibly have for getting back at me?” She crosses her arms over her chest. Her defenses are up when that’s the last thing I want to do.
“Let’s not delve into the minutia of the past when we have a pressing issue to resolve for the company.” I step closer, wanting to reach out and pull her to me, like I did that night, kiss her until her lips swell from ecstasy and her body begs me for another round.
She stills, a deep breath filling her chest as her eyes stay trained on the wall outside her door. The emptiness of the space between us lengthens, and she starts walking. Fuck. I’ve blown it with her. Twice now.
Only gifting me the view of her back, she asks, “Where?”
“Buddakan.”
“I’ll need to dress up.” Her head falls to the side as if the weight of the world hangs on her shoulders.
Maybe it does. I wouldn’t know what’s going on with the ebbs and flows of her moods.
That night in the Hamptons was fun to explore her differing sides, but we kept things physical more than discovering who we were on the inside.
Her reactions are impulsive, and her beauty is so incredibly distracting, but I don’t take it personally. I need to stay focused on my career despite how much I’d love to kiss her again. “I need you, Liv.”
She turns back, some of the concern lifted from her brow. No animosity is disrupting her fine features, but a look of determination bears down. She leaves, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll see you there at seven.”