His hand moved on top of mine and he patted it. A simple gesture, but of course Matt put that silly notion in my head. I smiled briefly and made sure to keep my hand there because I wasn’t about to let Matt’s attempted sabotage lure me into thinking anything but what Bob really was, a nice guy. His hand didn’t stay on top of mine, so what was the problem?
“I’ll be fine,” I tried to reassure him. “I just had my heart set on that position.” I tried my best not to look too affected, but I really wanted that job.
“You’re still young, Vanessa. There is still so much more you need to learn and you really need to grow the HR in this company as much as possible. Buchanan isn’t known for liking HR departments and procedures. I advise you to grow the department and then you really have a nice résumé to present to larger companies.”
I nodded, knowing he was right as I took a small sip from my wine. I tried to conceal my pout, but I probably wasn’t able to accomplish it. I glanced around and noticed Matt was at the bar. He wasn’t facing me, but I caught his eyes in the mirror behind the wall of liquor bottles. He was flanked by the two women we saw earlier.
“Is that Mr. Williams from your company?” Bob asked as I nodded, slightly annoyed. I wasn’t sure if I was annoyed that he was surrounded by two women or that he was in the bar, probably checking up on me. “He seems to be making friends with Amanda and Sasha very quickly,” he added with a laughing smile.
“He makes friends very easily,” I told Bob as I felt an arm around the back of my chair, feeling him lean in towards me.
“I noticed you’re no longer wearing your engagement ring. May I ask why?” The small movement of his arm behind my back made me tense up. Again, something I probably wouldn’t have noticed before Matt’s comment.
“We broke up.” I told Bob trying to be matter of fact.
He nodded his head and sat back in his chair again. See, nothing to worry about. “Ah. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but Reese and I split up. We’re in the process of a divorce.”
My eyes snapped to his, completely surprised by this. “Oh no. I hadn’t heard. I’m so sorry to hear that. When did this happen?” My voice was filled with remorse for him as I wondered how he felt about it.
“About two months ago. It’s still pretty fresh; still hurts.” I nodded, understanding his hurt, but was shocked that they divorced. They had been married for several years, if my memory served me correctly. He always spoke so highly of his wife and adoringly of his children.
“Who initiated it?” I asked, but realized after I probably shouldn’t have. It seemed like I was prying now that I thought of it.
“She did, actually. I travel a lot and I guess she was tired of being home alone with the kids all the time. Our marriage hasn’t been the same for years.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I told him sincerely.
“Thank you,” he responded with a sad small smile.
We both became silent and I realized that our little conversation turned slightly awkward because we had discussed our broken relationships.
“Why did you and Charles part ways?” he asked after a long uncomfortable silence.
“We just realized we were both after different things.” I wasn’t about to admit it stemmed from me wanting more excitement from a relationship. It was definitely not something you discuss with a business contact.
Speaking about personal matters made me think of Matt and what he said what Bob wants from me. We both took a drink from our glasses and I decided to try to sway the conversation back to something work related.
“So, I noticed you’ll be speaking tomorrow. Are you leaving right after your seminar?”
“Yes, actually I have to. Oddly enough, I have an appointment with my attorney.”
“Ouch. That doesn’t sound like fun,” I offered a small smile trying to break the tension of the conversation.
He chuckled, “No, not very fun at all.” He took a deep breath and said, “I guess I’m not the best conversation this evening, am I?”
“I understand Bob, really I do. Not to mention you’ve helped me so much with my career and I really appreciate it. I’m always here if you need an ear to listen to your problems.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that. The same goes for you if you ever need it.” I smiled as I stood up. Bob gave me a hug and told me he would see me tomorrow at the seminar in the afternoon.
I walked out of the bar with Bob close behind me. Awkward silence filled the elevator after we entered, as it brought us to our floors. His was first, getting off at the sixth floor. He gave me another brief hug and exited the elevator as I continued up to my floor.
The second I was in my room and the door closed, my hotel room phone rang. I grabbed it wondering who the heck would be calling me. I answered to Matt demanding an answer from me, “Is he in there with you?”
I huffed as I plopped onto the hotel bed, angry that he put that thought in my head and doubted my relationship with my good friend and mentor. I removed my heels as I replied, “Yes, he actually just stripped down and is holding his very hard dick in his hand. I was just bent over the lounge chair when you interrupted us.”
“Is he in there with you or not?” His voice was gruff and it ticked me off that he felt he had any say in what I would be doing.
“It’s none of your business, Matt. Go back to your blondes.”
There was a small pause before he teasingly asked, “Are you jealous?” I could hear him smiling through the phone, taunting me and thrilled that I might even entertain a jealous thought.
“Are you?” I spat back before hanging up the phone. Jerk.
I STOOD THERE WAITING at the entrance after I called Matt’s cell, using the number on the card he gave me last night. Frustrated wasn’t even close to what I felt right now as I watched everyone being paired up for the exercise.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Matt, smiling at me with his gorgeous blue eyes shining bright.
I let out a frustrated huff and waved to the room. “Great, now we’re stuck with each other,” I whined, as I waved my hand toward the room. We were now the last ones remaining in a class of about 30 people.
He quirked his head to the side and gave me that damn half smile, his dimple showing full glory, “I don’t mind being stuck with you.”
Trying to shake off the smile I wanted to give, I whined, “It’s a getting to know each other exercise.”
“Well, we don’t know that much about each other outside of work,” he reminded me.
I rolled my eyes. “We’re already neighbors. Now this?”
“What is it with you? Do I piss you off that much? I was a little late, I’m sorry. I’m still not used to getting up so early on someone else’s time. And today started at 8 a.m. That’s pretty early.”
“It’s called an alarm clock, Matt. I even have an alarm on my phone. It’s not that difficult to be punctual,” I snapped back at him.
“Yeah, well, I forgot to set it last night, okay?” he shot back at me.
“No, it’s not okay,” I countered, angry that he was even trying to argue about this.
Evelyn was hosting today’s seminar. She approached Matt and I. Just like always she was impeccably dressed. Her gorgeous brown hair was pulled into a chignon again. I felt horrible for interrupting her session as I noticed the concerned look on her face as she asked, “Vanessa, is everything alright over here?”
“I apologize, Evelyn. Matt and I were just discussing an issue.” I threw him a glare. She gave me a comforting smile as she glanced from Matt back to me.
“I see. Well, we’re going to start the exercise now, if you could both take your seats.”
My face flamed red as I looked around the room and realized several people were glancing our way. Thankfully, Evelyn’s assistant was still setting up and wasn’t waiting for us also. I nodded and quickly took the nearest seat, as did Matt, right next to me.
Our first exercise was to find out three things about
our partner and then stand up and introduce them in a manner that was informative and clear.
“I’m still confused as to why your brother’s name is Z,” I complained as Matt tried to give me information I didn’t know about him. I tried to hide the disgusted look on my face because his “name” was the last letter in the alphabet.
Matt gave a small chuckle as he responded, “Yeah. Zander. I was four and I kept calling him ‘ander’ My parents were trying to get me to say the letter Z in front of his name so they constantly said ‘Zzzeee’ and then ‘Zander’…so I said ‘Zzee’ and then ‘ander’…they gave up and we’ve called him ‘Z’ ever since.”
His explanation was so silly that I actually laughed and started to release some of the anger I had from his tardiness. I began to enjoy our small conversation and tried to quell my annoyance I had earlier. “Any idea why they chose the name Zander to begin with?”
Matt’s smile was irresistible as he provided a mini answer, “Mom lost a bet.”
“I’m sorry, what? Your parents bet on their child’s name?” I laughed and was actually a little more anxious to hear this answer.
“Yeah. Dad wanted the name Zander. Mom wanted Theodore — she wanted to call him Teddy for short. Dad bet her a hand in poker that if she lost they could name him Zander.” Matt’s eyes glanced to the ceiling as he chuckled. “Mom thinks she’s great at poker, but she’s not.” He shrugged while laughing, “Dad won.”
I shook my head as I laughed at the reason behind his little brother’s name. Matt was also a great storyteller, I realized as I listened to some other things he told me about himself to help with my mini introduction. We both had agreed to make sure that we tried to stay clear of the normal “He has one brother” and where he lives type of introduction.
When the time was up, I stood up first and gave my standard introduction of Matt. It was good, not too lengthy, but made sure to give the required information for the activity. Then Matt stood up and gave his introduction of me. My jaw hit the floor.
“Good morning ladies and gentlemen. It’s my honor to introduce Vanessa Hargrave. She is a woman of compassion, grace and beauty, full of intellect and wit. Growing up in a small town, Vanessa’s caring nature drove her to set up a charity for children with cancer at the local hospital. The same characteristics that led her to set up that virtuous charity at such a young age inspired her to seek her current field of Human Resources, where Vanessa is able to not only assist the employees of the company, but to facilitate the companies’ charitable initiatives helping those in need.”
After the applause in the room died down, we both took our seats and the presenter made sure to congratulate Matt on his introduction for me. I tried my best not to be jealous that something like this, just another thing, came so easy to Matt.
“I didn’t live in a small town and why would you tell them I set up a charity for children? I had a lemonade stand and gave my money to my Dad,” I furiously whispered to Matt while someone else gave their introduction of another attendee.
Matt smiled and leaned over. “You lived in a rich neighborhood that was basically like a small town. By giving the money you earned from your lemonade stand to your dad, you basically started your own charity,” he whispered back to me. “You had a giving heart, even at a small age,” he added with that damn half smile, making my heart skip a beat.
The session ended and Evelyn came striding up to us as we were both starting to stand. “Matt, that was a brilliant introduction. Maybe next year you could be one of our keynote speakers.” She reached anxiously to grab Matt’s hand, shaking it delicately. I had a slight tinge of jealousy, but I wasn’t sure if that was because Evelyn was touching him or because his introduction was so much better than mine. “Here is my business card if you might like to present. We are lining up our speakers for next year and we would love to have you on our team.”
“Wow. Well, thank you very much,” he gloated.
Evelyn left and Matt turned back to me, tapping the business card on his hand, smiling. “How about that! And here I thought I wasn’t so great speaking in front of people. Hmm, imagine that.”
“Yes, imagine that,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Are you upset?”
“No,” I lied. “Why on earth would I be upset?”
“I don’t know. You just seem upset.” He shrugged and then changed the conversation, his eyes lighting up again. “Hey, we’ve got a break for lunch. I heard about this great restaurant down the street. Feel like going?”
“Actually, I’m heading out to lunch with Bob.”
“Yeah?” I watched his jaw tighten and for some reason it made me laugh.
“What’s with the stern face? Jealous?” I mimicked him from our brief, annoying phone conversation last night.
“No,” he spat. “I just know what he’s after Vanessa.”
“Oh yeah? And how would you know that?” I taunted him as I chuckled. He seemed to enjoy having all his little reasons for everything.
He chuckled, “Because I’m a guy and I don’t care what you think, the first image any guy has when he meets an attractive woman is how he’s going to bend her over.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, okay. I’m sure guys like you think that way, but not business executives who are secure with themselves.”
Matt laughed, “Vanessa, they put their pants on one leg at a time just like you and me. And being a man, they get hard-ons the second they see a nice set of tits and a fantastic ass.”
“You’re so disgusting. Seriously, that’s how you think? About all women?”
“All men do. It’s in our blood.” He leaned in and in and grunted, “courses through our veins.” He pulled back and smirked at me.
I rolled my eyes. “I disagree with you. Maybe they have that thought at first, but most don’t act on it.”
“Well, no, most don’t act on it, but it’s definitely on their mind.”
I shook my head as I stood up, “I’ll see you after lunch. I’m sure you’ll be taking your new friends.” I glanced over his shoulder and nodded my head towards the two blondes. They were dressed a little more provocative than they were last night and were headed straight for Matt. He glanced over his shoulder and then back to me. “Jealous?”
I rolled my eyes and didn’t bother giving him a reply as I walked off to meet Bob for lunch.
MY LUNCH with Bob was disheartening. Why? Because I seemed to be more in tune with where his eyes were going. I tried my best to ignore it, but he tended to linger a little longer on my cleavage. He also touched me a lot more than he ever has and that’s saying a lot, because I always considered him to be a touchy person. My heart sank knowing I was probably losing a good friend and mentor and gaining an admirer I wasn’t really wanting.
It’s not like I’ve never had to deal with advances before. However, usually my engagement ring and speaking of Charles constantly would ward off most or at least keep them at bay. The fact that Bob was now divorcing, coupled with his lingering eyes on my cleavage was a huge disappointment. His gentle touches to my arm gave me that jolt of realization that Matt was probably correct in his assumption. Hating that he was correct, I still remained cordial and business-like in order to make sure I didn’t give off any signals that he might hang hopes on.
IT WAS the last seminar of the day and I met up with Matt again, taking our seats right before the speaker began.
Matt leaned over and whispered, “I was right, wasn’t I?”
I pressed my lips together, hating that he was right. Hating the fact that Bob was always someone I valued for advice and never felt threatened by advances. Now I felt like I might have to avoid speaking with him so I wouldn’t have to deal with his advances. Frustrated with Matt and the situation I huffed, “Can we not discuss this, please?” I started to twirl my grandmother’s ring, upset that it took place just as Matt predicted.
Matt’s face was lit up as he excitedly asked, “Why? Because I’m right?”
I rolled m
y eyes. “Just stop, please.”
He looked at me and how I was fidgeting. He knocked into me with his shoulder, “Hey, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to upset you. I just wanted you to be aware of him. I also overheard Stan and Terry talk about your ass last night. I’m just letting you know how attractive they all think you are and just about all of them have noticed your ring is no longer there.”
Stunned, I jerked my head to look at him. “You…overheard all of that? When?”
“While you were talking with Evelyn and then with Bob. You told me to go mingle. I did. Most were sent here by their company and don’t really give a shit about having to sit through this.”
I glanced at him thoughtfully, wondering if he even cared half as much about seminars as I did? I always valued them and love attending to learn and further my career by networking. “And you?” I asked as I turned my head to see his face.
He gave me a caring smile. “You told me to and I know I could learn some stuff. Most of this is for gaining contacts, which I’m game for.” I turned back to listen to the speaker. We both sat there quietly pretending to listen to the speaker, both lost in our own thoughts. His, I’m sure, were consumed with the two blondes he probably had last night.
He leaned over and whispered, “Let’s cut loose and hit the casinos tonight.”
Still frustrated that I was here to learn and gain business contacts and everyone else seemed to be here only to hook up, I gave him a quick eye roll and huffed, “I’m not here to gamble, Matt.”
“Oh come on! I can tell you’re frustrated with all this crap. Cut loose and have some fun.”
“We’re not here to have fun, we’re here to learn,” I snapped back at him a little louder than I anticipated, garnering some looks from those around us.
Matt chuckled. “You’re being too uptight.” I gave him a brief look, noticing his gorgeous eyes smiling just as much as his full lips. “We’re going out tonight and that’s an order,” he teased.
I tried to remain firm in my stubbornness. “No, I’m not. Who made you in charge of my fun?”
Alluring Promises Box Set (Books 1-3) Page 51
