Chapter 11 #2
Then, almost as though the powers that be heard her, a man stepped from the cacophony of human beings to stand fully in her view.
She watched curiously wondering if this man was the one she was meeting.
Tall, dressed in a suit, but with his tie folded up in his jacket pocket — she could see the end of it flopping out of the top of his pocket.
He had dark hair, and the tan he sported indicated he spent a lot of time outside.
His tan was the real deal, not an orangey fake tan.
His eyes were blue, his lashes long and black, cheekbones high and sharp, jawline square.
His looks were disarming, as he held a manila folder with her name written across it in bold lettering that appeared to be made with a thick black marker.
This man was no typical salesman. He was not that much older than she was, and was obviously athletic having kept himself in good shape.
But that was no surprise — he seemed to be the type of man that believed that he would be doing the world a grave disservice if he let his body go to pot while his face screamed ‘you can’t even look away, can you?
’. He knew he was pretty. And that thought was the one that brushed away her curiosity of him, reminding her that he was not at all attractive to her.
Looking at him was like looking at a beautiful piece of art.
She could appreciate the lines, but not have the slightest interest in having it for herself.
Shoving her assessments aside, she reminded herself to be polite and lifted her hand, still clasping her jacket in it, while balancing her purse on one shoulder and her carry-on on the other, and did her best to wave.
His sharp focus picked it up immediately and the slow, easy smile that curved his lips might have made another female quiver, but it just irritated her, and caused her Tiger to give a little shiver of disgust. But she caught herself and managed not to give any outward indication of either emotion, and intentionally grounded herself in the here and now — at a trade show she didn’t want to be at, with a man she didn’t know, while the male she wished she was with hadn’t even bothered to send her a simple text as of yet.
“Do your job and go home,” she coached herself.
“Just do it and get out of here as soon as you can,” she whispered as she shook her head and waited for the throngs of travelers to move away from the security point so she could join the man who was still watching her from his side of the checkpoint.
By the time she’d reached the front of the line, he’d worked his way around several people and was waiting for her with a confident smile.
“Harper Vitrano?” he asked, already knowing exactly who she was.
“That’d be me. And you are?” she asked.
“Joel Beobaff. I’m with Auxin Bio Sciences.”
“Hello, Mr. Beobaff. It’s nice to meet you,” Harper said.
“Joel, please. I’m not that formal,” he said.
“Joel, then. It’s nice to meet you.”
“And you, Harper. I’ve heard a lot about you from your father.”
“Don’t believe half of it,” she said, shaking her head while scrunching up her nose.
Joel laughed as he reached for her carry-on bag and her jacket. “Here, let me help,” he said, taking them from her before she actually handed them over.
“You don’t have to do that. I can get it,” she said.
“I’m sure you can, but why should you if I’m here to lend an extra hand or two? Got your ticket for baggage claim?”
“I do, it’s on my phone.”
“Well, let’s get to it, then, and leave all these people to their heartfelt greetings,” he said, his eyes widening comically to show her he was as unimpressed by the impromptu emotion fest around them as she was.
Harper chuckled to herself as Joel efficiently, yet politely, cleared a path for them through all the families and friends still crowding the area and escorted her toward the escalator which would lead them eventually to the bottom floor and baggage claim.
“You didn’t really have to do this. I could just as easily have hired an Uber, or even taken a shuttle from the airport.”
“Shuttle might have worked, but it would have been inconvenient with all your baggage. Uber, no, no way.”
“No way?” she asked, surprised at his statement.
“A young woman, traveling alone, weighed down with multiple bags in a city you’re not familiar with and the background checks they don’t always perform on some of their drivers — no. It’s just better that I came to meet you myself and get you safely to your hotel.”
“Not all Uber drivers are dangerous.”
“No, they’re not. In fact, when in cities I’m visiting for business, I often take advantage of their services.
But I’m a man, not a beautiful young woman.
And how would you know if you’re getting a good one or a bad one?
And it’s not going to be me that calls Travis Vitrano and explains that his daughter is missing because she took an Uber rather than being met at the airport by myself or someone I trust. So, here I am. ”
“Alright, Alright!” she said as she laughed.
“I get it. You couldn’t relax wondering if I made it safely or not, knowing the result of that would be you having to contact my father to let him know if I didn’t turn up.
If I was someone doing business with my father I might not have taken that chance either. ”
“You get it, then.”
“I do. And that makes me want to apologize. I’m sorry your evening was interrupted to get me safely to the hotel.”
He looked at her with a smirk. “What makes you think you’re not my plans for the evening?”
“I figured your wife might have expected you home,” she said, smirking right back.
He shook his head. “No girlfriend. No wife. Just me and some casual dates from time to time. Nobody to get upset about me escorting you to dinner after getting you all checked in and your things in your room.”
“My things in my room… what makes you think I have multiple bags? Maybe all I have is the carry-on and one suitcase.”
“Is that all you have with you?”
Harper stared him in the eyes.
He stared back.
“No,” she finally said. “I have a three piece matching set.”
“And the carry-on,” he said with a genuine laugh.
“I have make-up, shoes, curling irons, all kinds of things I need to bring with me.”
“Did you manage to get it all packed?”
“I did!” she said haughtily.
The alarm for the baggage carousel sounded and the red lights started flashing to let passengers know to start looking for their bags as the first of those from her plane started making their way around the large room on the conveyor.
“Then I’ll manage to get it all loaded in the car. Can I have your phone?” he asked, setting her carry-on down beside her and handing her back her jacket while holding his hand out for her phone.
“For what?” she asked, holding her phone to her side and little away from him suspiciously.
“To scan the information for your bags.”
“Oh, yeah! Of course.” She handed it to him, and he flashed her a lazy, seductive smile.
Harper picked up her carry-on and returned it to her shoulder as she watched him ease through the crowd.
The smile… it almost made her defensive.
He’d obviously meant for it to be seductive.
And it was obviously easy for him. He’d just smiled and the lazy seduction behind it just oozed out of him.
Her alarms went off. “Just do the job you’re here to do and get home.
Stay obviously professional and you won’t have to get ugly,” she whispered.
It wasn’t long before he was making his way back to her, the handle of her largest bag extended, and the smallest sitting on top of it with the handle of the larger laced through the loop made for just that reason on the smaller.
The medium bag had its handle extended as well and all were rolling smoothly toward her.
“Give me your carry on and I’ll loop it over the medium bag and we’ll be set,” he said.
Harper took it off her shoulder and held it out to him.
It took Joel only seconds to do exactly what he’d said, and then they were moving toward the exits, each of them pushing a rolling mini tower of luggage before them.
“Thank you for getting my bags. I appreciate it.”
“No problem,” he said as they walked across lanes of shuttles and limousines to a line of vehicles parked nose to end in the pickup zone. He led her to a Mercedes, popped the trunk and put her bags in, then led her around to the passenger side and opened the door for her. “In you go,” he said.
“Thanks,” Harper said, as she sat down and pulled her legs in gracefully.
“Buckle up, Harper. Can’t have you bouncing around in my car,” he said with a wink.
She glanced up at him as he closed the door hoping she was reading more into his comment than he intended, then neatly folded her jacket on her lap before placing her purse on the floorboard near her feet. By the time he got in, she was ready to go.
Joel slid into the driver’s seat, and held her phone out to her.
“Ah! Yes, I probably need that,” Harper said.
“You ready?”
“I am.”
“The hotel is about ten minutes from here. It’s a very nice one.”
“I don’t know much about it, but as long as it’s clean and safe, I’m good.”
“Nothing on the first floor, right?”
“I’m not sure really. My father took care of everything because he was planning to come. I usually request third or higher when I travel, and I learned it from him so, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did the same.”
“Your father made the plans?” he asked.
“That’s what he said. Other than business meetings.”
“This hotel is very good about honoring special requests so I'm sure you’ll be happy with whatever they’ve assigned. I use them whenever possible.”
“But you’re from here, aren’t you?”
“I am. But I do travel a lot and we entertain a lot of customers.”
“Do you ever get tired of it?” she asked.
“For the most part I enjoy it. I have noticed lately, though, that I enjoy it a little less than I used to. Maybe I’m getting old,” he said with a chuckle.