by Ashlee Price
Smiling, I knew that I was going to find myself there before I left for the day. I asked her what she thought was going on and she kind of shrugged.
“Nothing good, I suppose. I heard Bishop talking about toilet paper this afternoon when I was taking care of the lemur shots. I don’t know what he is thinking, but he is convinced that we are all about to lose our jobs. I am not going to worry about it yet. When is Dana going to be here?”
I hadn’t seen Dana all day, and I was still thinking about what Bishop had said as well. He may have been a worrier, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t right sometimes. I hoped that this wasn’t one of those times, but I had a feeling that it would be.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her all day, which is strange. I think she had a meeting with that accounting place that does the books.”
About to say more, I stopped when I saw the tall blonde come into the room. All of the talking ceased as everyone paid attention to her facial expression and the fact that she was not looking anyone in the eye. It gave me a bad feeling. It felt wrong for some reason. I was paid to observe animals and their behaviors, but humans were much more complicated because they knew the art of deception.
“Thanks for coming, everybody. Sorry to keep you late, but I have a couple of announcements to make. Really, I just want to give you guys a heads-up on what is going on.”
This wasn’t starting well, and I could feel the tension rising in the room. My own apprehension ramped up as I turned all of my attention to Dana. She ran her fingers through her hair, and I could tell that she was nervous.
“Um, well I don’t really know how to say this. We all have noticed that there are not as many people coming to visit us here. I know that it has been brought up to me before, and now that I have looked at some of our revenues and expenditures, there is starting to be a big problem. We lost funding from the Johnson Foundation this spring, and now the unseasonable cold has made this one of the worst quarters that we’ve had in a long time. We have a lot of projects going on and it’s taking a toll, all of these things together.”
She paused and rolled the pencil in her hand. “So after checking everything with the accountant, I figure we have about six months or less to figure something out or the sanctuary is going to have to be closed down.”
There was a gasp that ran through the room. I know that everyone was feeling the same sinking feeling that I was. This was the best job that I had ever had, and there was no way that I was going to find another one like it.
Dana put her hands up and tried to calm everyone down. “I am not saying that this is going to happen. I am asking that everyone put their heads together and let’s figure out a solution. Also, because of the financial situation right now, which I really hope is temporary, I have decided to stop all ongoing projects. We’ll start them up again when there is some more funding or more people coming through the gates.”
She had stopped talking and everyone seemed to have a question. My mind went to the transfer of the other Amur Leopard. I had fought hard to make it happen, and I didn’t know if that qualified as a project. I wasn’t the only one who wanted reassurance, and Dana tried to qualm everyone’s fears, even though it was clear that she had her own to contend with.
I planned to ask about it later, but it was late and I was ready to head home. When people started to break off and leave, I did as well. My mind was racing as I walked to my car. I couldn’t stop thinking about everything that was going on. I had never really thought about losing the job at the sanctuary. Beyond that, I started to worry about what would happen to all of the animals in our care.
I wasn’t paying attention and almost ran into Ryland. He was wearing all black and he kind of blended into the shadows.
“Gosh, Ryland, you scared me.”
He smiled at me in a way that didn’t make me warm. “I was waiting for you. What took so long?”
I was about to answer when I realized that I didn’t have to. He was really pushy, and that was part of why I hadn’t wanted a second date. It was because of things like this that I tried to stay away from him as much as possible now.
“I had some things to get before I left. Did you want something?”
He was standing in between me and my car, so I didn’t have a choice but to wait.
“Just wanted to see how you were doing. It’s been a while since we talked.”
I nodded my head like I understood. “We should catch up. Maybe tomorrow? I’m really tired and I just want to get home.”
I worried that he was not going to listen, but he finally relented and stepped aside so that I could get in the car. I drove off and looked through the rearview mirror to see him still standing there staring at my tail lights as I left. A shiver ran through my spine, but I tried to shake it off and pay attention to the road.
Chapter 3 – Logan Taylor
I picked up the phone and heard the sultry voice from the night before. I remembered the way she said my name with a slight whimper to her voice, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember her name. I was going to have to talk to Jesse about that later. She knew that I needed names, not just her telling me there was a call on line 2. Now I was stuck in a conversation that I didn’t want to be in.
“Hey, how are you?”
“I’m good baby. I was hoping to see you tonight.”
I already knew the answer to that question, but I didn’t usually have to do it on the phone. A text or the fact that I hadn’t volunteered my number would usually keep them at bay. But this one was smart, whoever she was. She had looked me up. That was the problem with me drinking. Sometimes I said too much, like my right name, and had to pay the price.
“I don’t think that is a good idea. I have a meeting later, and I think that we should just keep last night as perfect as it was.”
“What are you talking about, Logan?”
“I don’t think we should see each other again, but I want you to know that our night together was magical.”
There was a pause, and then I heard a loud sigh. She did not like what I was saying, and I knew I was about to hear all about it.
“You don’t even know my name, do you?”
I wanted to tell her that I did, but since I had been drinking the night before – like every other night before that – I didn’t. When I didn’t answer her right away, she got even madder.
“So what was I, just a moment in time for you?”
The answer was yes, but I didn’t want to be rude, especially to a woman who’d already taken the initiative to track down my number. “No, I am just not really ready to date anyone right now. You were special and our time together was special, but that is all I can offer you.”
“What if you want to just spend another night together, no strings attached?”
I didn’t buy that line for one second. I knew that a woman like that would have many strings attached. I tried to get out of it, but I don’t think I was doing a very good job. Finally, I told her that I would call her back when I had a free night, and Cindy, which turned out to be her name, said that she looked forward to hearing from me. I knew, and I think she knew, that I was never going to call her back.
When I hung up, I called Jesse in to remind her again that if a woman called, she should let me know who it was. I wasn’t going to have that happen again, even though I knew it was ultimately my fault for giving her my name in the first place. I shouldn’t have, but there was nothing I could do about it now except to make sure that I didn’t do it again.
Jesse wasn’t one to argue, but I could tell that she was holding her tongue.
“Sir, have you ever thought that maybe you should learn the name of each woman you are with? Then you wouldn’t have to have me tell you.”
I knew then that she was too comfortable here at Taylored Events. I was her boss, but she always talked to me like that.
“What can I do, I have a lot of girlfriends.”
“I know, sir. Is there anything else?”
&
nbsp; I kind of chuckled at her and didn’t say much for a time. I was too tired mentally to spar with another woman, and I was already debating in my mind if I should get Tommy to come out drinking with me tonight.
“No, I think that is it. I am going to be out of the office for the rest of the day, Jesse, so just forward any calls that are not women mad at me to my cell phone.”
I got up and reached for my jacket. I had had enough of the day, and since I was the boss, I figured that anytime was the perfect time to leave. It was afternoon, at least, so I didn’t feel too bad about it. I reached the door before Jesse stopped me. I turned back around and tried not to grimace at the brunette. “What is it, Jesse?”
“Sir, you have an appointment in the conference room in ten minutes. Do you not remember?”
I hadn’t remembered, and I already had myself set on a liquid dinner. My mind whirred to life as I tried to remember what she was talking about. “Sir, you have to meet with Mia Lowell at three. You agreed to meet with her about a proposal for the endangered wildlife sanctuary.”
“I did?”
She gave me that look that I hated and I knew that I must have. Jesse was never wrong, hadn’t been in the five years that she had been at the company. Ever since I became the president after my father died, she had been on my case. I know that it was because of my drinking and basic lack of care for the future, but today I wasn’t in the mood.
“Yes, sir, you did.”
I gave her a scowl back and took my jacket off. I told myself that I was going to make it quick as I moved down the hallway to get some coffee. If I was going to have to be here a while longer, I at least needed some coffee with a little nip of whiskey in it to take away the headache that had started from talking to… whatever her name was from last night.
Looking at my watch, I realized that it was almost time to go to the conference room. I was still trying to remember what in the world the meeting was about. I didn’t like to be unprepared, but after a cup of spiked coffee, I was ready to just wing it.
Making my way down the hall, I passed Jesse and she gave me a smile, happy that I had decided to do my job a little longer instead of taking off.
“Is she here?”
Jesse nodded and then turned back to what she was doing. I took a deep breath and made my way down the corridor. It wasn’t turning out to be the day that I was looking for. I needed a real drink, one that wasn’t watered down with coffee, but first I had one last thing to take care of.
Chapter 4 – Mia
The whole way over to Taylored Events I was nervous. After the staff meeting, I had gone home, trying to think of a way to bring in the money necessary to keep my job and the animals that I had come to love so much. It had taken me a couple of hours, but I finally realized that we needed to get the word out. I wasn’t above asking for donations if necessary, but for the moment, I was thinking that maybe if I could find a promotion company, it would pay off in the end.
Now that I was on my way there, though, I was having second thoughts and doubts. What was I going to say, and what if it wasn’t enough? Neither question was answered, and before I knew it I was there and I still had no idea what I was going to say. I knew what I wanted to say, but how could I put it into terms that a regular person would understand?
I didn’t expect most people would care about our situation, but I couldn’t let it stay that way. I knew that I was going to have to figure something out, and I hated the feeling of being unprepared.
As I walked up, I tried to go over what I was going to say in my mind, but it was still not coming to me. For a moment I thought of turning around and walking away. I knew that it was a good cause, so I had to get over all of my hang-ups about public speaking. I really hoped that I wouldn’t have to talk to a group of people, because I knew that I was going to freeze up, and that would be the worst case scenario. The stakes were just too high to let that happen. I knew that I was going to have to make this work.
Going to reception, I asked which floor I needed to find. After I gave the receptionist my name and who I was there to meet, she told me to take the elevator to the fourth floor to see Logan. I wasn’t sure who he was exactly, or what he was to the company, but I hoped that they hadn’t made me an appointment to see a lackey who really couldn’t do anything for us.
I got to the elevator and waited a few moments for the small arrow to tell me that it was going down. I knew that my future and the future of so many animals that I cared about was going to change in a big way. I just hoped it was a good way.
The door dinged and I almost jumped from the sound. Admonishing myself, I focused on my breathing. I was not good at this, I knew that, but the truth of the matter was that I had to do it regardless. So keeping that in mind, I went to the next receptionist desk and explained that I was there to have a meeting with Logan.
“Are you Mia?”
I nodded my head, a little surprised that she knew who I was. “Yes, I called a couple of days ago.”
“Yeah, I think I talked to you. Logan was busy, but he likes to make sure that he does the first meet with a new client.”
I wasn’t sure if I had talked to her or not, but I was glad that the person I was going to meet was the one for the job. I know that we didn’t have much of a budget for promoting the sanctuary, but as long as I was able to do something, I hoped that it would be enough.
“Okay, well, he is going to be in conference room four. Let me show you down there and he will be with you soon.”
I thanked her and tried not to twitch as I followed the brunette through a long corridor. The place was huge, and I was glad that she was showing me where I was supposed to go. Even with directions, I was sure that I would get lost in such a place.
She opened the door for me, and after thanking her again, I went inside. I so struck by the view that I almost forgot what I was supposed to be doing. Chicago looked magical from up there. There was something special about seeing it from so high up.
The view was apparently the distraction that I needed, because I was almost immediately feeling better about everything. I wasn’t thinking about the animals and my job and the millions of possibilities that came along with them.
“Mia?”
I heard the man’s voice, and it was deep. I wasn’t supposed to be gawking out the window, I knew, but it was too beautiful not to. I felt for a moment like I had been caught.
“You have a great view here, sir.”
Turning around, I stopped in my tracks when I finally saw the owner of that voice. I had seen his face many times before, and it only took me a minute to place where. He was on a huge billboard in the middle of the city that I passed every day on my way home. It was hard not to notice such a man. I had passed the billboard many times and imagined what it would be like to be with a man like him. I knew that there had never been a chance of it happening. I hadn’t thought that I would ever even meet him, yet there he was in front of me, and I had to say that he looked even better in person.
His brown hair had golden flecks of blonde that didn’t show up in the images I had seen of him, nor did it show how impossibly bright and blue his eyes were. The hand that came out had thick fingers and light brown hairs that hypnotized me for a minute. I knew that I was breathing hard thinking about it, and I looked away when our hands touched.
“Good to meet you, Mia.”
“It’s good to meet you as well, sir.”
I couldn’t even look at him. His body towered over me and left me feeling vulnerable. What was wrong with me? Why was I feeling like this?
All of those questions distracted me from the fact that I was still holding his hand like an idiot. I pulled away and finally glanced up into his sky-blue eyes. “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”
He was still standing there, so close to me that we could easily reach out and touch. It bothered me more than I liked to admit, so I found myself retreating to one of the chairs on the other side of the long table. I set down the pa
pers that I had brought, and my notes. I noticed that my hands were shaking and I tried desperately to get it together.
When I finally looked back up, Logan was looking at me strangely. He had yet to move from the spot where I’d left him. Then he seemed to realize that he was supposed to and he made his way to the chair across from me.
“Shall we get started?”
I nodded my head, hoping that I would be able to hear what he said over the pounding of my heart. What had I just gotten myself into?
To be continued…
Fully & Completely Book 2: Her Pitch
By: Ashlee Price
Prologue
With the fate of the best job that she’s ever had on the line, Mia is desperate to figure out a way to save her beloved sanctuary. She’s not sure what she’s going to have to do, but her first thought is to work with a major PR outfit in Chicago to see if they can help bring in more visitors and save the small animal refuge.
It’s not until she meets the man she has an appointment with that Mia realizes that more than just her job and the animals she loves are at stake. It’s also her very heart. Every time Logan looks at her during the initial meeting, her heart flutters and her throat constricts till it’s hard to breathe. There’s something about the way he looks at her, and when he agrees to help on one condition, all Mia can do is agree. She has a feeling it would be impossible to tell a man like Logan no – and when she’s put to the test, Mia learns just how true that is.
Chapter 1 – Logan
She was not at all what I was expecting, and I was starting to think that I had put far too much booze into my coffee. Was I still drunk? She looked like the women would look at the end of the night when I wanted to take all of them home. Even when I knew I shouldn’t.
