Nathan was running late, and operating on too few hours of sleep, as he walked briskly to his office. Fortunately, his condo was just three blocks from the office, one of the main reasons he’d bought the place four years ago. He liked the convenience of being so close to his job, even if the modern high-rise building wasn’t exactly to his taste. But he certainly didn’t plan on living there forever if he had his way about it. Convincing Cameron to eventually move out of the city and into his idea of a dream home across the bay in Tiburon, however, was something else entirely.
It was because of Cameron that he was both late and tired this morning. They had spent a three-day weekend up at her parents’ luxurious vacation home in Lake Tahoe, skiing and socializing with her family and their wide circle of friends. Nathan had wanted to head back to San Francisco late morning yesterday to beat the traffic and have some time to relax before the work week began on Monday. But Cameron had wheedled and cajoled, wanting to stay for lunch and spending extra time with some friends she hadn’t seen in awhile. It had been very late afternoon by the time they had left, and a drive that should have taken about four hours quickly doubled due to all the traffic. Nathan had been stressed out from driving in bumper to bumper traffic and in poor weather conditions, knowing the whole while that he had a busy day at the office. To make matters worse, he’d been away Monday through Thursday of the previous week on a business trip to southern California, and thus hadn’t been at the office all week. The amount of work he was going to have to get caught up on gave him a violent headache just thinking about it.
Cameron was maddeningly oblivious to such matters, since her own job as the owner of an art gallery was far less stressful and demanding. Business at the gallery was typically slow at this time of year, and she was an expert at delegating as much work as possible to her employees. He was certain that she would sleep in quite late this morning while he was making do with less than five hours of sleep.
Nathan sighed as he pressed the elevator button for his floor. He really had to start setting his foot down with Cameron about all of these social functions she insisted on attending. It seemed that pretty much every weekend was packed with one thing or another, and that he rarely got a say in what they did. Or, rarer still, actually got to relax and unwind occasionally. It had been especially hectic over the holiday season, and things hadn’t seemed to settle down all that much in the resulting weeks.
He waved hello to Becca, the pretty Asian receptionist, and somewhat sleepily greeted several other employees on his way to his office. He grinned at Robyn, who was already hard at work like the whirlwind of activity she was.
“Well, you look like hell,” she said by way of greeting, in a manner that spoke of years of familiarity. “Good thing you’re clutching that extra large coffee. I’m guessing by the dark circles under your eyes that you’ll be needing a refill soon.”
“Good morning to you, too, Mrs. Reynolds,” he chuckled. Robyn was a combination of admin assistant, bossy big sister, and close friend. Convincing her to come work for them had been the best move he and Travis had made when they’d taken the plunge and decided to start their own firm nearly ten years ago.
“I take it you got back later than planned from Tahoe last night,” she commented as she resumed checking through email.
Nathan rolled his eyes. “That’s the understatement of the year. You know, if I liked driving through snow and ice I’d have gone back home to live in Michigan after college.”
Robyn shook her head. “Hon, you need to start setting your foot down with your woman. She’s got more social engagements than the Queen of England.”
“Yeah, I know. But not today. Is everything ready for my meeting at ten?” he asked.
“Of course. And I have all of your notes from your trip last week ready. Thanks for the email draft, it was a big help.”
He nodded. “Good. Anything else going on around here that I need to know about? I didn’t get a chance to talk to Travis at all last week. Everything okay on his end so far as you know?”
“Very okay. His new designer started last week so he’s over the moon about her. And what a darling girl she is. I’m sure you’ll meet her later.”
The very last thing he was concerned with was meeting one of Travis’ new employees, already having way too much of his own work to deal with. Nathan rolled up his sleeves and got right to it, going through his mail and email from the previous week, and looking over his notes and sketches for the client meeting this morning. The morning flew by rapidly, and he worked without interruption, even when Robyn brought him another cup of coffee.
His meeting was due to begin in about fifteen minutes, so he started putting away files and other items in his desk in preparation. Nathan hated a cluttered, untidy desk, especially when he had clients in his office. He spun around in his desk chair so he could re-file several folders in the credenza behind his desk, and stopped short when he accidentally tried to stuff a folder into the wrong hanging file.
He stared at the lacy pink underwear he kept hidden away in the file. Absently, he fingered the fragile lace between his thumb and forefinger, resisting the urge to pull the panties out and bury his face in them. Angrily, he shoved them back into their hiding place, and slammed the credenza drawer shut.
He’d found the panties tangled in the bed sheets as he had left the hotel room that turbulent morning last September, and hadn’t been able to leave them behind. He’d stuffed them into his laptop case, intending to get rid of them when he arrived home. But then he’d seen them again at work while unpacking his laptop, and still hadn’t been able to throw them out.
Nathan had dealt with the tremendous guilt and regret he’d suffered after that night in New York by repressing it all. Each time memories of that night began to surface, he’d pushed them away, refusing to let himself remember – or worse, to imagine what could have been.
Once, when the guilt had overwhelmed him for a few minutes until he’d found the strength to fight it off, he’d had the wild idea of returning to New York to try and find her. He could have simply loitered outside the Plaza Hotel for hours on end, hoping she’d walk by. Or haunting the Starbucks where they’d met in the event she should drop in.
But of course he had never acted on such a crazy impulse. Even if he had by some minor miracle been able to find her again, he was quite certain she would have either ignored him completely or smacked him across the face. God knew that was the least he deserved for what he’d done to her.
And while he’d more or less been able to squelch thoughts of Julia and the sex-filled hours they’d spent together while he was awake, his dreams had been another matter. He’d been haunted more than once with explicitly detailed dreams about her. He wasn’t able to recall specific details, but he’d always woken from them with a painful hard-on and a frantically beating heart.
Of course, he’d felt even guiltier over how he’d betrayed Cameron and had been trying – albeit unknown to her – to make it up to her ever since. That was the primary reason he’d agreed to attend so many parties, receptions, dinners, and other events with her these past few months, and had been treating her like a queen. Fortunately, Cameron remained blissfully unaware of his infidelity and had been delighted at his acquiescence and indulgences.
Their lives had been a virtual whirlwind since last September. In October, her parents had thrown them a lavish, high society engagement party. They had gone on their two-week vacation to Hawaii in early November. And then there had been the dizzying array of holiday events, almost nonstop since Thanksgiving through New Years. Now Cameron was starting to throw herself into wedding plans, even though the date they had agreed on – Valentine’s Day of the following year – was a long time from now. But he knew to expect an extremely over the top affair – no expenses spared on her parents’ part – and that it very likely would take more than a year to plan it all.
At five minutes to ten, the two employees who were working with him on this particular proj
ect arrived at his office. Jake Harriman was an associate architect, and Brent Wilson an apprentice, not even a year out of college. Nathan like working with both of them, for they had good energy, good chemistry, and some innovative ideas. The only real problem he had with them was that Jake was an incessant talker, and a real ladies man, so that his conversations were usually about the girl he’d banged the previous evening. And Brent was an impressionable puppy dog who thought Jake was a great role model and hung on his every word, especially when it came to recounting his sexual exploits.
As usual, Jake was prattling on about some babe as they settled themselves at the oval table in one corner of Nathan’s spacious office. Nathan, who’d been fighting off both fatigue and a growing headache, really wasn’t in the mood to listen to Jake’s latest bawdy tales but didn’t seem to have much choice in the matter.
“So did you see what she was wearing this morning?” Jake asked Brent, as they both began to set out their meeting notes and materials.
The younger man shook his close-cropped reddish blond head. “No, but I’m guessing it was something sexy.”
Jake groaned. “Sexy? That’s putting it mildly. This woman is a fucking wet dream, every single day. So get this. Today she’s wearing this little black skirt that shows off that gorgeous ass, and this blouse – can’t tell if it’s silk or satin – but it looks like someone poured cream all over those big tits.”
Brent’s voice seemed to go up an octave as he asked excitedly, “What about the shoes? More of those fuck-me stilettos?”
“Oh dude, today’s are the best ever,” said Jake, smacking his lips. “Black, pointy-toes, high heels – and fuck me sideways – ankle straps. And – swear to God – she’s wearing these sheer black stockings with a fucking seam up the back. She might as well have ‘Do Me’ written on her forehead.”
Nathan frowned. Normally he didn’t mind Jake’s dirty stories, but his associate’s tongue was practically hanging out of his mouth. “Hey, manwhore,” he referred to Jake jokingly. “Who are you talking about anyway? This woman sounds way too hot for you.”
Jake grinned. “A dude can dream, can’t he? And we are talking about the smoking hot new designer Travis hired. She started last week.”
Nathan raised a brow. “And you’ve fucked her already? I hope like hell you’re keeping it discreet. We’ve talked about this, Jake. No more sexual harassment lawsuits, okay?”
Brent smirked. “He hasn’t even scored a date with her. She gives him the brush off every time he tries. Dude, I told you, she’s probably got some actor or model for a boyfriend. You may think you’re irresistible but she’s out of your league.”
Jake shrugged. “Hey, no harm in trying, is there? I figure if anyone in this office has a shot at getting a date with her, it’s me. And I don’t see any of the other losers here making any progress, either. So you haven’t met Walking Wet Dream yet, Nate?”
Nathan rolled his eyes. “Christ, is that what you’re calling her? Better not let that charming nickname get out. And no, I haven’t met this so-called goddess yet. I’ve been too busy since I got here to even take a piss.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll meet J-“
Jake was interrupted by the buzzing of the intercom from the front desk, and Becca announcing that their client had arrived. Nathan went to personally meet and escort him back to the office.
The meeting went extremely well – Jake and Brent instantly putting aside their bawdy conversation and becoming all business. As soon as the meeting ended, Nathan shooed them out of his office, not in the mood to hear anymore about this new designer they were both panting after. He just hoped that Manwhore Jake didn’t have to be reprimanded again for flirting too blatantly with a female employee.
He grabbed a quick lunch with Damien Suarez – a friend he’d made years ago at the health club they both belonged to – before heading back to the office. On impulse, he decided to swing by Travis’ office, just to check in – and maybe, if he was being honest - quiz him about this hot new designer that the men in the office were all lusting after.
He grinned at Courtney, noting that her crazy eyeglasses today were purple with pink polka dots. Amazingly they were probably the most conservative part of her outfit. “New hair color?” he asked.
Courtney fingered the red-orange strands. “Yes, but I’m bored with it already. I’m thinking of something less bright, more Goth. Like purple.”
Nathan chuckled. Most people in the office didn’t get Courtney, thinking her too freaky with her ever-changing hair color and odd wardrobe, but he’d liked her spunky personality and offbeat sense of humor since Travis had hired her over two years ago.
“Well, knowing you, it won’t be boring. Travis busy?” he asked, nodding his head towards the half-open door to his partner’s office.
“He’s just finishing up with Julia, but I’m sure he won’t mind if you go in. Have you met her yet?”
Nathan froze at the mention of that name. He shook his head, telling himself his reaction was unfounded. There had to literally be tens of thousands of women in this country with that name. It was just some unfortunate coincidence that their newest employee shared the same name as the woman who’d rocked his world off its axis last year.
“Is she the new designer I’ve heard about? If so, then, no, I haven’t met her yet. But she’s evidently made quite an impression on Jake and Brent,” he replied wryly.
Courtney smirked. “A mannequin would make an impression on that slut Jake. Apparently he’s in a big snit because Julia won’t give him the time of day. He’s dreaming if he thinks she’d ever look twice at him anyway. Travis told me one of her old boyfriends is an NFL quarterback.”
Nathan raised a brow. “Well, now I’m curious. Time for me to meet this supposedly irresistible female.”
“You won’t be disappointed. Hey, I’m a girl – a straight girl despite all the lesbian cracks I know people make about me – and I think she’s hot.”
He was chuckling at Courtney’s candid outspokenness as he knocked briefly on Travis’ door, then walked in before his partner could invite him.
Travis glanced up from his desk chair at the unexpected interruption. “Yes, do just barge in, Nate,” he drawled sarcastically. “Don’t forget you only own half of this place, and that you’ve crossed the border into my territory.”
“Sorry to interrupt. Courtney seemed to think it was okay to come in.” he said sheepishly.
Travis clucked in annoyance before beckoning him in. “Fine. We’re just about done here anyway. Come on in and meet my absolutely brilliant new designer. You ought to see what she’s come up with already for the Gregson project. Julia, meet Nate Atwood, the less creative half of this place. Nate, this beautiful being is Julia McKinnon.”
Nathan walked to the far right of Travis’s desk just as the woman seated in one of the high-backed chairs facing the desk stood and turned towards him. The hand he was extending her way froze in mid-space, and he could only stare in mingled shock and panic at the woman he’d last seen fleeing his hotel room in Manhattan in tears. The woman that Jake had been lusting after this morning was, by some bizarre and unfortunate quirk of fate that he couldn’t begin to fathom at the moment, Julia – his Julia.
By the look of horror on her face, and the way she paled, this was as much of a shock to her as it was to him. The hand she placed limply in his was trembling, and he released it immediately.
“I – it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Atwood,” she stuttered in a barely audible voice.
“And you, as well, Julia,” he replied stoically, following her lead. “Except you must call me Nathan. We’re not formal here.”
Travis was looking at the two of them oddly. “You both look like someone just died,” he drawled, a hint of his Southern accent noticeable. He rose to his feet, studying them carefully. “Have you two met before or something? I’m getting some really odd vibes here.”
Julia shook her head emphatically, while Nathan chimed
in a bit too enthusiastically, “No, Travis. Everything’s fine.” He gave Julia a polite smile. “I’ve never met Ms. McKinnon before, though I’ve been hearing a great deal about her around the office.” His gaze dropped to her feet, noticing the sexy ankle straps of the shoes that Jake had mentioned. Absently, he wondered if those erotically sheer black stockings were pantyhose or – fucking hell – held up by garters. Aware of his face flushing, he returned his gaze to her face, which held a terse, almost angry expression.
“I thought for a moment that Nathan looked familiar,” replied Julia tightly, “but now I realize he’s a total stranger to me.” She turned to Travis. “Are we finished here? I need to do some more work on the Garibaldi remodel.”
Travis nodded. “All done for now, sweetie. We’ll meet again tomorrow. And you and Nate should probably get together in a day or so to start going over interiors for the Napa resort. I have mentioned he’s the lead architect on the project, haven’t I?”
Julia glanced briefly, reluctantly, at Nathan and nodded. “Yes, of course. We’ll talk soon, I’m sure – Nate.”
He frowned. “I actually prefer Nathan. Travis is one of the few people to annoy me by using Nate. And, yes – we’ll be meeting very soon, Julia.”
She bit her bottom lip, glossed over in a shiny mocha shade, before hurrying out of Travis’ office. Nathan watched her leave, noticing the way the elegant black wool skirt did in fact cling lovingly to the high, sweet curve of her ass. He cursed her silently for wearing those sexy as fuck stockings, with their naughty back seam, and fumed that he was far from the only man in this office to be turned on by them. He was furious to realize that the hot babe Jake and Brent had been frothing at the mouth about this morning was Julia. He wished now that he’d popped Jake in his filthy mouth, that -
“So are you going to tell me what the hell that was all about?” demanded Travis.
Nathan closed his eyes, forcing himself to push all of that shit to the depths of his memory, repressing it once again. He turned back towards Travis, feigning nonchalance. “What are you talking about?”
Serendipity (Inevitable) Page 9
