by Lisa Bilbrey
“It wasn’t what it looked like.” His soft and somber tones made the worry in his words evident. “She cornered me and …”
“And you didn’t want to push her on her ass?” Elle asked, looking over her shoulder at him.
“Mom taught me never to put my hands on a girl,” he confessed.
She laughed. “Pretty sure you’re defying your mom right now, Callum,” she teased.
“You know what I meant,” he groused, dropping his hands from her hips. “I told her no. You heard me tell her no!”
Elle smiled and turned to face him, shocked when he stepped even closer to her. “I did.”
“You’re not mad?” Callum raised an eyebrow.
“No. Jealous that she was touching you, but not mad,” Elle admitted.
“Jealous, huh?” Callum laughed. “Good to know.”
Rolling her eyes, Elle put her hand on his chest, pushing him away. “You’re ridiculous.”
“But you like me,” he said.
“I do,” she answered. “But next time she puts her hands on you, I’ll rip her fucking arms off.”
Callum inhaled a deep breath. “Baby, you’re sexy when you’re claiming what’s yours.”
The sound of someone humming in the hallway drew their attention to the doorway and Callum took a step backward just seconds before Samuel walked around the corner with his own black cup in his hand. He smiled as he looked at Elle and Callum. In the five days since Elle had started working at his company, she’d never seen Samuel without a smile on his face. The thought of her work disappointing him had her feeling anxious once again.
“Ready for the meeting?” he asked, looking around Elle at the coffee maker and his eyes narrowed. “Who drank all the coffee?”
“I was about to make more,” she murmured, shifting her eyes to Callum. “Your son drank the last of it.”
Callum’s mouth fell open, but before he could reply, Samuel laughed and said, “Boy, what’d I tell you about drinking the last cup?”
“To make more before I take a sip,” he mumbled. “And don’t call me boy, old man.”
“Don’t call me old man, boy,” Samuel teased, before turning to Elle and gesturing to the machine on the counter. “May I?”
“I don’t mind making it,” Elle said, reaching for the cabinet again, but Samuel covered her hand with his and pushed it away.
“Nonsense,” he told her. “A beautiful woman like you shouldn’t be making coffee for a geezer like me.”
“Dad, stop flirting with her,” Callum hissed, and when Samuel looked at him, he was quick to add, “You’re married.”
“Thank you, son. I had no idea I was married!” Samuel shook his head. “Guess that explains the naked woman in my bed this morning, doesn’t it?”
“Dad.” Callum grimaced before walking out of the break room.
Samuel laughed again. “Oh, that boy makes it way too easy to mess with his mind.”
“You’ve probably scarred him for life,” Elle murmured, feeling very nervous about being alone with Samuel.
He pressed his lips together in a thin line before nodded. “Then I’ve done my job as a parent, I guess.”
Elle couldn’t help but smile.
“Excuse me.” Samuel reached for the cabinet next to Elle’s head so she moved out of his way. Grabbing a filter, he pulled the basket out of the machine and dumped the old filter into the trash before placing the new one inside and adding several spoonfuls of coffee. Once he had a new pot brewing, he turned and looked at Elle.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes?” She wasn’t sure why it sounded like a question.
Samuel smiled wider. “You look like you’re about to pass out. So again, I am going to ask if you are okay.”
Elle sighed. “Things …” She trailed off, unsure how much she should admit to this man. After all, she didn’t know him, not really. “I’m fine. Just nervous about the meeting.”
It wasn’t a complete lie. The meeting had her on the edge, but even more than just letting her nerves over becoming a failure, Elle wondered how Samuel would feel if he knew she was not only dating his son, but Sadie and Derek, too. A shudder of fear crept over her at the thought of having to give them up.
Samuel nodded before turning back to the counter and grabbed two packages of sweetener and ripping them open. “I’m nervous, too.”
“You are?” she blurted out. She knew it! He didn’t have faith in her work, either. Now, she and Sadie were going to lose everything.
“Yes.” He filled his cup with coffee and then looked over at her. “Refill?”
Elle nodded, holding her cup out. Samuel filled it before replacing the glass pot and picking up his cup.
He turned and looked at Elle. “May I give you a piece of advice?”
“Of course,” she replied.
Samuel smiled. “Loosen up.” Her mouth dropped open, but before she could say anything, he laughed. “Relax, take a deep breath, meditate, or whatever, but just loosen up. Everything is going to be okay.”
Elle sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, unsure of what to say to him. Not that it mattered because before she could respond, he tilted his head in her direction and walked out of the break room. Frustrated with his advice and her inability to speak like a normal person, Elle prepared her coffee, before going back to her office.
Forty-five minutes later, Derek and Callum led Sadie and Elle down to the conference room. Samuel was already seated at the table and smiled when they walked inside, letting his eyes linger on Elle for a moment longer than the others. Elle and Sadie began to arrange their display boards while Derek and Callum placed a folder in front of each chair.
“Wow, look at these,” Samuel commented, holding the file Callum had just given him and opening it. “Very organized.
“Just trying to be prepared,” Callum replied, his tone dry and emotionless. “You act like we normally come in here unprepared, Dad.”
“Well …” Samuel trailed off and laughed when Callum glared at him. “I’m just kidding.”
“Yeah, you’re not funny,” he grumbled, embarrassment over his father’s teasing turning his ears red. Elle thought it was adorable the way father and son interacted with each other.
A knock on the door caused all of them to sober up, though, and they looked over as it opened and Greta stepped into the room. “Mr. Alvarez is here.”
“Thank you.” Samuel stood up as three men walked into the conference room. “Gabriel, how are you?”
“Oh, I can’t complain.” Gabriel turned and looked at Derek, Callum, Sadie, and Elle before turning back to Samuel. “So this is the team you’ve put together for my account, huh?”
“Yes.” Elle expected Samuel to say something more, perhaps like how they were the best people for the job, but instead, he motioned to the other side of the table. “Please, have a seat.”
The three men walked around the table and sat opposite of Elle, Sadie, Derek, and Callum. Gabriel, a tall, bulky man with dark hair that was salted with strains of grey and piercing, and black eyes that felt like they were peering straight through her, was seated the middle. The man sitting to his left was shorter by almost half a foot, and much thinner. Unlike the man next to him, he had snow-blond hair and bright blue eyes that were hidden behind a pair of wire-framed glasses. To the right of Gabriel was a bald man with narrow, brown eyes and a bored expression on his face.
“I’d like to introduce you to my team,” Samuel started, but stopped speaking with Gabriel put a hand up.
“I already know your team.” He turned to the four of them. “Derek Flores and Callum Davis, who is your son, both graduates from the University of California Los Angeles with degrees in architecture; Sadie Williams, interior designer and graduate from University of California Berkeley; and finally, Elle Reid, who also graduated from UC Berkeley, but with two degrees: one in architecture and one in mathematics.”
From her peripheral vision, Elle saw Derek and Call
um look over at her, but refused to meet their gazes. Instead, she smiled and addressed Gabriel. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Alvarez.”
“Let’s hope so,” he said before looking over at Samuel. “I have other appointments today.”
“Of course,” Samuel replied and turned to Elle. “Let’s get started.”
Nodding, she pushed away from the table and moved over to where her design boards were set up, but instead of drawing their attention to the posters, she turned to face Gabriel.
“When I heard about the opportunity to present my designs to Davis Architecture and Design, the first step I took was go to the future site of Alvarez Park,” she explained. “I needed to feel the land, get a sense of whose homes I was creating.”
“And did you?” Gabriel asked.
“No,” Elle admitted, and when he raised an eyebrow, she added, “Not because the land isn’t beautiful. It’s incredible, and it wasn’t hard to see the potential development of the area.”
He leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. “So what inspired your designs?”
Elle smiled. “There’s a small ice cream parlor close to my apartment, and on the way home, I decided to mull my ideas over a scoop of peppermint ice cream. While I was waiting for my turn, a young couple came in with their son, who was maybe four years old. He was so excited, begging his mom and dad to hurry. He ran up and tried to get in front of me, but his mother was quick to tell him how it wasn’t fair to cut in and apologized for her son. I waved her off and insisted that they go before me.
“She thanked me, telling me that it was her son’s birthday and he’d been waiting for his father to get home from work so they could come get ice cream. It was a tradition they upheld on each of their birthdays. I stood back and watched as this little, blond-haired boy scanned the selections, before deciding on a scoop of good olé chocolate.” Elle paused for a moment. “It was in that moment, while watching as that sweet boy made such a simple decision, that I saw it.”
“Saw what?” Callum asked, drawing everyone’s attention to him, causing him to fidget in his seat.
“I saw Alvarez Park,” Elle said, clearing her throat. “I envisioned families’ barbequing in their back yard and children going trick or treating on Halloween. I imagined houses being decorated with Christmas lights, and families going caroling while sipping hot chocolate and eating gingerbread cookies. Alvarez Park will be more than just a housing development. It will be a community built for people to raise their families together.”
Gabriel sat back in his chair and stared at her for several seconds before speaking. “Show me your designs.”
Taking a deep breath, Elle turned toward her poster boards and began explaining her plans. While speaking about ways to optimize square footage, she noticed the way Derek, Callum, and Sadie watched her. Their reassuring smiles helped to spur her on as she described how her plans would save Gabriel Alvarez money, space, and provide a welcoming feel to potential buyers. When she finished with her last sketch, she smiled and took her seat.
Sadie began to stand to go through her designs, but Gabriel stopped her with a wave of his hand and opened the folder in front of him. “I don’t think I need to hear anymore.”
Elle’s heart plummeted; she’d blown it. “Mr. Alvarez —”
Gabriel pushed away from the table and stood up. He looked over at Elle. “Steven will be in touch with you next week with a list of tweaks I want implemented, but overall, I think your plans are exactly what I’m looking for, Ms. Reid.” Again, before Elle could even stammer out a thank you, he turned to Samuel. “I’ll be in touch.”
Gabriel looked over at Elle once more before motioning for his assistants to follow him. The moment they were out of the conference room, Samuel was on his feet with his arms in the air.
“Elle, I knew you were going to blow him away with your work, but I never expected that!” Samuel exclaimed.
“What in the hell just happened?” Sadie asked, standing up.
“He accepted our plans so we’re good to move forward,” Derek told them, scrambling to his feet. He had a look of pure joy on his face as he turned and looked at Elle, who was stunned at what had just happened. “You … Oh, Elle, you were brilliant!”
“I wasn’t,” she stammered. “He …” Trailing off, she stood up and rushed out of the conference room and straight to the restroom. The door slammed against the wall as Elle rushed into one of the stalls, gripped the porcelain toilet seat, and tried to keep the coffee she’d drank from spilling out of her mouth. Tried, but failed.
“Elle,” Sadie called, stopping in front of the open stall. “Oh, sweetie.”
“I held it back as long as I could,” she groused, looking over her shoulder at her.
“You did amazing in there. You were calm and collected. Just amazing,” she gushed.
Elle laughed as she stood up and leaned against the side of the cubicle. “If you say so.”
Sadie smirked. “I do, and in case you didn’t notice, there were two men in that room who couldn’t take their eyes off you.”
“I noticed.” Blowing a heavy breath, Elle walked over to the sink and rinsed her mouth out before grabbing a paper towel and drying her hands and lips. “Now that I’ve made a fool out of myself, we should get back in there.”
Elle and Sadie walked out of the restroom and back down to the conference room, finding Derek, Callum, and Samuel still there. All three men looked over at her, but only Derek and Callum rushed over to them. Elle saw their hands twitch at their sides, and she fought the urge to hold them, to let them soothe away the embarrassment she felt for running out of the room like a freak.
“Are you okay?” Derek asked, frowning.
“Yes,” Elle murmured. “Just needed to take a deep breath.”
“If you’re sure,” Callum said, though he didn’t sound or look reassured.
“Elle,” Samuel called out, drawing her attention to him. “Good job today. Seriously, you were remarkable.”
“Thank you,” she replied.
Samuel smiled before he gathered his black leather binder, the folder they’d given him for their presentation, and walked out of the room. The moment the door was closed Derek and Callum had Elle sandwiched between them, their bodies firm against hers. She gasped, but didn’t push them away. In that moment, she needed them to hold her.
“You were amazing, beautiful,” Derek whispered.
“We should go out and celebrate,” Callum suggested, brushing his lips across her cheek. “Dinner, maybe dancing. What do you say, baby? Will you and Sadie go out with us tonight?”
“Of course we will,” Elle moaned.
“What time should we expect you?” Sadie asked, sliding her body up against theirs.
“Seven,” they said together.
“Perfect.”
Seven
Elle felt giddy as she and Sadie rushed home after work. A huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, and now they were going to celebrate. Derek and Callum would be at their apartment to pick them up in two hours, and she was determined to have fun.
When they got home, Elle plugged her iPod into the stereo and set one of her favorite playlists while Sadie headed straight toward their closets and began searching for the perfect outfits for them to wear. Walking into the kitchen, Elle poured them each a glass of wine and then carried them into her bedroom, where she found that Sadie already had half her wardrobe strung out across the bed.
“I hope you’re planning on putting all of that back where you found it,” Elle teased, snaking an arm around Sadie’s waist and kissing the side of her neck.
Sadie moaned, slipping the glass of wine from her hand. “Of course I will. I was thinking you should wear that little red dress that we bought at that boutique over on Henderson Avenue.”
“You mean the one that is barely big enough to cover my ass or contain my boobs?” she snickered against Sadie’s skin.
“Mmhmm.” Sadie turned in Elle’s arms, slid
her free arm around her waist, and let her hand drop down to her ass. “Watching you present your plans to that man today, baby, was such a fucking turn on. I had to stop myself from laying you out on the table and devouring you right then and there.”
Elle could feel her cheeks warm and ducked her head into the crook of Sadie’s neck. “I was so nervous.”
“You didn’t appear to be,” she replied.
“Yeah?”
Sadie nodded. “You were beautiful and confident.”
She laughed and leaned her head back. “A clever ruse to make myself seem look like less of a dork.”
“Oh, sweetie, you don’t need a ruse, you’re marvelous.” Sadie leaned up and kissed her. “Now, Derek and Callum will be here in less than two hours, so we’d better hurry.”
An hour later, Sadie and Elle had showered and were standing next to each other in the bathroom, wearing nothing but a pair of skimpy panties while fixing their hair. When someone knocked on the door to their apartment, Elle checked the time on her cell phone. They still had forty-five minutes until Derek and Callum were supposed to pick them up. Sighing, she told Sadie that she’d get it and slipped on her blue, silk robe before walking out of the bathroom and over to the door.
When she opened the hardwood door, she found her older sister standing there with a bottle of wine in one hand and an oversized binder tucked under her other arm. Ivy was three years older than Elle. Just recently, she had decided to crop her dark brown hair into an adorable pixie cut that only a woman with her thin face could pull off. The dainty hairstyle brought attention to her large, expressive green eyes.
“Ivy, what are you doing here?” Elle asked, grabbing the front of her robe and holding it together.
“Gee, sis, it’s nice to see you, too,” she snickered. “May I come in?”
“I guess.” Elle stepped out of the way and allowed her sister to enter the apartment. Closing the door behind her, she said, “Did you tell me you were coming over tonight?”
“No,” Ivy stated, dropping the notebook on the sofa and placing the bottle of wine on the coffee table. “Nick has a meeting with his uncle tonight, so I thought maybe you could help me pick out your dress for the wedding.”
