Chapter Four
CADE
Was I an asshole for enjoying the way her mouth fell open? When I saw her tonight, I knew I couldn't let this evening pass without talking to her. She looked fucking amazing in that dress.
"You're used to getting whatever you want no matter what, aren't you, Cade?"
"Yes," I admitted.
"And you're not above cheating.”
“Not for a good cause."
"Oh yeah. I remember that. What was your saying? 'Rules are never rules.' At most, you consider them guidelines, right? I hope you don't plan to cheat your way through the contest."
She pressed her lips together, crossing her arms over her chest. I'd managed to piss her off again. I truly felt like an asshole this time, because I enjoyed it. She looked hot when she was angry.
"No. Meredith, what do you take me for?” I teased, adding, “The title is important to me, but I want to win fair and square. Besides, you’re the one who used more shelf space in your booth," I reminded her.
"You want to have another fight about that?" she asked as her eyes flashed.
"If you insist. I can give as good as I get, Meredith." I couldn’t help myself. This woman brought out something in me.
"That’s true."
She lowered her arms, still looking at me suspiciously, but she did sit down, and I sat next to her.
"Where are the people who were supposed to sit here?" she asked.
"I asked the waiter to move them. There was plenty of space around." I wanted to have all of Meredith’s attention tonight. Now that I had both of them moved, she and I were alone at the table.
She dropped her head back, laughing. "You really are something. I was looking forward to getting to know my neighbors.”
“Trust me, I'm much better company."
She half turned to me. Fucking hell, not looking down at her chest took considerable effort. I was taller, so I had a direct view of her cleavage.
"How can you be so sure of that?" she asked.
I pointed to the left. "Those were your neighbors. I had a long chat with them before. Dead boring, trust me."
She took a sip from her glass before putting it back down. "I'm not even sure how to reply to that."
"You have time to think about it while we listen to the keynote speaker. I'm certain you'll find a way to fight me on it."
"Oh yes, I will."
That sass was new, not at all like the Meredith from high school, and I fucking liked it. The studious, careful girl I knew was now a confident, hot woman.
We both looked at the stage as Harley Denver, the president of the committee, stepped up.
"Thank you all for coming here tonight. I'm happy we have such a great turnout.
When I first suggested to meet this evening, my colleagues said, 'No one wants to fraternize with the competition.
' I disagree. Yes, I know you’re all competitors, but I also think there's something to be said about working together and forging bonds.
This, after all, is how the industry has made massive improvements over the last decades.
In the past years, you've all made remarkable progress in fair-trade sourcing and sustainability, as well as sensitizing the customers to these issues.
The leaders in this market have varied over time, and even though there will only be one winner in this competition, I want you to know we're celebrating all of you.”
The Boston Coffee Expert had been the front-runner of the pack decades ago when my grandfather was leading it, before my father went ahead and ruined everything.
But I was going to make things right. I was determined.
I knew everyone was going to bring their best game, but I also knew our strengths. We had a great shot.
I was familiar with most of the companies attending.
At the neighboring table was Alfred Danvers from Boston Masters.
He was a fucker. If we didn’t win, I sure as hell hoped he wouldn’t.
I butted heads with him a couple years ago when he tried to stop my company from getting shelf-space in one of the biggest retail chains.
Alfred Danvers was the leading coffee brand at that time—but my company surpassed him as number one only a year later. He was still pissed about it.
"Wow. That was a nice talk," Meredith mumbled under her breath.
"Disagree with her?"
She shrugged. "I think the point of a competition is to win it. Knowing you participated and did your best isn't really the point, right? Otherwise, there wouldn't be a winner."
"You and I are more alike than I thought," I said.
Despite my best intentions, I didn't get to talk to Meredith alone for long.
I hadn't bothered to look at the agenda for tonight. I’d assumed, since they spent good money asking us all to be here, that they'd actually give us an opportunity to socialize and enjoy the evening. The complete opposite was true. Every member of the committee seemed determined to give a speech, and each was more boring than the previous one. They also informed us of the steps of the competition. After the tasting week was over, they’d announce which of us would advance to the next level.
The committee didn't want to waste time with any applicants who didn’t meet the taste criteria.
The waiters served the food in the brief pauses between speeches. "It's a waste of this ballroom, if you ask me," I told Meredith amid bites of grilled salmon.
"Will you look at that? Something we can agree on," Meredith said. She'd watched the stage intently, but I saw her eyes glaze over a few times. "They’re putting a dent in your plan, aren't they?" A smile was inching across her face.
I couldn't get over how gorgeous she was.
Had she always been this pretty? I'd never paid attention to her in high school.
Our friendship had been born out of my necessity.
I'd been too busy being cool to pay attention in class, so when I asked her for help one day, I had no idea she'd ever agreed to tutor me.
I was the proverbial jock who only got serious about life after my family imploded.
"Fuck yes, they are," I admitted. "I didn't come here tonight to listen to them."
She swallowed hard, fidgeting, and said, "Why did you come?"
"Told you. To catch up with you. By the looks of it, these old farts are determined to talk our ears off until the end."
She parted her lips, dipping the tip of her tongue between them.
My cock twitched at her action. Fucking hell. I moved closer, leaning toward her shoulder. "Let's bury the hatchet, at least for tonight."
"I was thinking about that too," she said, drumming her fingers on the stem of her empty glass. She hadn't asked the waiter for a refill. "But I'm reconsidering it."
“Based on what?" I teased.
"Your behavior."
"Is that so?" I straightened back up in my chair.
“Yeah. I felt guilty about roasting your ass the other day at the booth, but you deserved it."
"Do I get any credit if I admit that I did?"
She jerked her head back, clearly surprised. "Yes. Yes, you do."
"Good. We're inching closer to burying that hatchet and getting out of here."
Meredith sighed. "Yeah, but it'll have to be after the last speech. God, why do they all need to go on and on?"
"My thoughts exactly."
After the last speech, which coincided with the cheesecake dessert, the organizers announced that the evening was over.
As far as events were concerned, this one was atrocious.
You didn't just dismiss your guests after you'd bored them to tears the whole evening.
But Meredith and I had been ready to go for the last hour anyway.
"Why did they even mention fraternizing with the enemy? We didn't have time to do any of that," Meredith said as we all crowded toward the entrance.
“Give me your coat number and I’ll get them both,” I offered.
Meredith didn’t hesitate. She reached into her purse, handing me a metal plate with a 27 on it.
“Thanks a lot. I’ll wait for you here.” She stepped into the corner between the two doors, shivering. I immediately took off my suit jacket, draping it around her shoulders.
“Cade—”
She sounded belligerent, and I wasn’t having it.
“You need it!”
“Yes, I do. Thanks.”
I liked how it looked on her.
Five minutes later, I returned with both our coats.
After she gave me back the jacket, I held her coat, and she immediately put it on.
I had a perfect view of her cleavage as she slipped her arms into the sleeves.
Black lace hugged her breasts. I cleared my throat, looking away, but I knew the image of her nipple pushing against lace had been branded on my mind.
Her hair smelled amazing up close. Like spices, or something along those lines. I had no idea except that it was addictive.
As she stepped away, buttoning up her coat, I slid on mine. It was apparent that the committee organizers hadn't thought this through, as we all came out at the same time, and it was getting really crowded.
"How are we supposed to find an Uber?" Meredith said, tapping her phone and refreshing the app every few seconds.
Everyone else appeared to be doing the same, making it difficult to call a car.
Putting the phone in her pocket, she looked around.
"I'm going to walk a few blocks. I'm sure that once I’m at considerable distance, it'll be easier to a find a car. "
"Great idea. I'll walk with you."
"No, you won't. You don't even know what direction I'm heading."
"It doesn't matter." My tone was determined. "I won't let you roam the streets alone at this hour."
She gave me a soft laugh. "I'm a grown-up, and I'm quite used to roaming the streets alone. This is Boston."
"Yes, exactly."
She narrowed her eyes. "Cade, I do this often."
"Not tonight—not with me. I'm going with you." Was she insane? Why would she want to go alone? It was true that we were in a relatively well-lit neighborhood, but still.
"I swear to God, you're stubborn," she said.
"And so are you. I'm not budging on this. I'll follow you whichever way you go."