“You know exactly what I’m talking about, asshole. You looked like you saw a fucking ghost when you met Julia. Explain.”
Nathan shrugged. “She’s hot. I didn’t expect that. I mean, Jake was getting a hard-on talking about her this morning but he gets aroused looking at video game babes. I was just startled to realize how pretty she really is.”
“Hmm, that sounds like a huge load of bullshit to me, but we’ll play it your way for now.”
Nathan took a seat in the chair Julia had just vacated, noticing that traces of her light, flowery perfume remained. ‘So tell me about our newest designer. She seems a bit young to be assigned to the Gregson project.”
“She is, only twenty-five, but one of the most talented designers I’ve ever met,” defended Travis. “Top of her class at Cornell – which, as you know, has one of the best architecture and interior design programs in the country. Then an internship followed by two years at Manhattan Interiors, the same place I did my internship at. In her first two years she’s already won three design awards, and was nominated for two others. Coincidentally, Julia’s already done some work for the Gregson group. Last year she did the designs for one of their Manhattan hotel remodels.”
Nathan nodded, satisfied with her credentials. “So how did you find her for this job? Resume, headhunter?”
Travis regarded him curiously. “Why so interested? You usually don’t care much about my staff.”
“I’m interested when they’ve been assigned to work on what’s arguably this firm’s biggest project to date,” retorted Nathan. “I’m still not clear why you aren’t the lead designer on the Napa resort.”
“And I’ve told you half a dozen times that hotels aren’t my thing. I find very little inspiration when every single guest room has to look basically the same. Plus, I have four other big projects going on right now. Julia is perfectly suited for this job. And Ian will adore her.”
Ian Gregson was the Managing Director for the Americas division of the worldwide hotel chain, and despite his very elevated position in the company, he took an active role in the development and remodeling of all the properties under his umbrella. He was also single, very good looking, and certain to find Julia extremely attractive.
Nathan’s mouth tightened into a thin line at the thought. “Fine,” he told Travis abruptly. “I’m willing to at least see what her ideas are. But if I don’t think she’s experienced enough I want her replaced. This project is way too important.”
“You worry too much,” scoffed Travis. “Julia will do just fine. And she’s such a sweetheart, very easy to work with. Not to mention,” he added with a gleam in his eye, “very easy on the eye as you’ve already mentioned. It shouldn’t be any hardship at all for you to work with her.”
‘Oh, if you only knew, buddy” said Nathan to himself as he returned to his office. ‘Working with Julia is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, given what happened between us in New York. Unless, of course, I can talk her out of working here and find her a job somewhere else.’
Chapter Seven
Julia was shaking so hard by the time she reached her office that she feared she might collapse. She grabbed the edge of her desk for support and gradually eased herself into her chair. Still trembling uncontrollably, she bent over at the waist, hiding her face in her hands, and struggled to take deep, calming breaths like the ones she practiced so faithfully in her daily yoga classes. After several minutes of this, she felt a bit more in control and was able to think in a more rational manner, not the panicked alarm mode she’d been in ever since realizing that Nate Atwood – the co-owner of this firm and Travis’ business partner – was by some horrendous twist of fate the same Nathan who’d fucked her senseless last fall.
She’d cried for days after leaving his hotel room, a myriad of emotions ravaging her thoughts – sadness, anger, longing, hurt. One minute she’d be furious at his betrayal, the next she’d be wishing with all her heart that she was back in his arms. The sex – she refused now to call it lovemaking – had without question been the best she’d ever had, the orgasms he’d given her with such ease the strongest she’d ever experienced. The whole night she’d spent with Nathan had been almost dreamlike in its beauty, in the perfect synchronicity she’d had with him.
Her heart and her spirit had both been badly broken after that night for she’d recognized that if things had been different a relationship between her and Nathan could have been amazing. She’d connected with him on so many different levels, even without knowing anything about him. She had fallen into a deep depression after that night with him, a condition that had only been made worse by the unfortunate series of events that had befallen her afterwards – the attempted rape by Vanessa’s boyfriend, her subsequent firing and difficulty in finding a new job, the tough but necessary decision to leave New York and move back home. Her parents had been deeply concerned about her during her stay with them, and Lauren had done her damndest to get her to open up about what had upset her. Under duress, not to mention the affects of too many shots of single malt Scotch, she’d finally sobbed out part of the story to her twin, but hadn’t revealed the name of the lover who’d broken her heart. Julia had been too mortified to admit to her sister that she didn’t even know his last name, and Lauren had already been on the verge of a rampage as it was.
And now fate had brought them together again, a fact she was having a great deal of trouble coming to terms with. How had she never put two and two together and figured that Nate was evidently a nickname for Nathan? Why, when applying for this job, had she never bothered to research Atwood Headley’s website, where a photo of Nathan would have certainly been included? And how were they going to manage to work together after what had happened in New York? Though judging by Nathan’s cool, composed reaction to “meeting” her in Travis’s office, he was going to have no problem in maintaining a strictly professional manner in her presence. He had certainly appeared to handle the shock far better than she had.
Julia was more than a little miffed at this realization, wondering how he could appear so formal and unaffected by meeting again when she herself felt torn apart, her stomach churning bitterly. She knew she’d done a very poor job of disguising her shock and dismay at seeing him again, and it must have been her own reactions that had raised Travis’ suspicions. She wondered what if anything Nathan might have said to him after she left, though she highly doubted he would ever discuss what had happened last September with anyone. But it was certainly possible that even now he was telling Travis they had met before, and that working together was going to be an impossibility. God, what if Travis decided he couldn’t offer her a job after all? She’d just signed a year’s lease on her new flat, moved all of her things up, and was starting to settle in. Would she even be able to find another job here in San Francisco if it came to that? She was just going to have to hope that Nathan kept quiet about what had happened last September, and realize that he had as much to lose as she potentially did if the truth was revealed.
Somehow she summoned up enough focus to return to the project she’d been working on earlier today. She’d missed working, loving the design work she did. It was her own form of artistic expression, her particular individual talent in a family comprised of artists of one sort or another. Her father – Robert – had himself been an architect of great renown until he’d explored another passion of his – designing and building furniture – and made that his primary focus. Her mother was the world famous painter Natalie Benoit, whose landscapes and seascapes graced the walls of many top galleries and private collections. Natalie didn’t paint much anymore, devoting most of her time to the world class gallery she herself owned in Carmel instead. Natalie’s twin Madelyn had been a fashion designer at three different houses in New York, Paris, and Milan before turning her focus to merchandising. And Julia’s twin Lauren was a professional photographer, graduating at the top of her class from UCLA’s film school before being recruited by National Geograp
hic.
Julia was also something of an artist, certainly not on the same scale as her mother, and she preferred sketching with pen and charcoal to painting. She’d spent many peaceful hours while staying with her parents the past several weeks drawing and dabbling, with the incredible views from the oceanfront home in the Carmel Highlands her father had designed and built serving as inspiration. Robert had framed several of those sketches for her, and she’d hung them in her new office.
Once again blissfully absorbed in her work, the shrill ring of her office phone startled her. Since she’d only been here a scant week, she’d had very few calls so far.
“Julia McKinnon,” she answered professionally.
The caller didn’t identify himself but she knew his voice intimately. “We need to talk,” Nathan stated bluntly. “I want you in my office at 5:45 this afternoon. Is that a problem for you?”
She almost flinched at the terseness of his tone, the barely repressed anger that simmered at the surface. Her spine stiffened, outraged that he would be mad at her considering the circumstances, but she only replied stiffly, “Not a problem. I’ll see you then.”
He disconnected the call without further comment, and she replaced the receiver, her hands beginning to shake again. Damn the man for having this effect on her, for rattling her otherwise perfectly composed nature, she thought in annoyance.
A quick glance at her watch revealed that there was still nearly an hour until she was to meet Nathan. Most people – herself included – typically left the office between five and five-thirty, so she assumed he’d chosen the slightly later time to ensure they weren’t seen together. She struggled to focus on her project now, her concentration once again shattered because of Nathan. After several fruitless minutes, she gave up and carefully put all the materials away. Julia was a neat freak, very fastidious about putting everything back into its proper place, and having a tidy work space. It was like that at her apartment as well - everything perfectly put together and organized, especially with her clothes, shoes and bags.
She spent the remaining time until her enforced meeting with Nathan by answering some emails she’d been too busy to deal with lately – to Aunt Maddy, Gerard, Sam, and Lauren, who was currently climbing some mountain peak in Tanzania for a photo assignment.
At precisely 5:40pm, she powered down her laptop and stored it away, then walked in what she hoped was a confident and assured manner toward Nathan’s office. She was relieved to see that Robyn was gone for the day, as were most of the others in the office.
Julia stood silently in the doorway of Nathan’s office for long seconds, watching him unobserved as he worked. Her heart ached in spite of her better judgment as she took in his gorgeous face, the thickness of his rich, dark brown hair, the way his pale blue dress shirt strained across his broad chest and shoulders. She remembered in vivid detail how well defined his pecs and biceps were, how warm his skin had been beneath her hands and lips, how he’d groaned when she’d taken him into her mouth and -
He glanced up then and saw her, and their gazes locked in much the same way they had that very first time on Park Avenue. This time, though, he didn’t smile at her, merely beckoned her inside almost brusquely.
“Close the door behind you, and take a seat. I’ll be right with you.” His voice was terse as he finished whatever he was doing on his computer.
Julia walked slowly into his office and sat in one of the chairs facing his desk. She gave the office a quick, assessing glance, liking the overall space with its gleaming hardwood floors, the natural light that streamed in from the windows, the big mahogany desk, and the various pieces of art. She might have added a slightly edgier, more modern vibe to what was overall a rather traditionally decorated room, but couldn’t fault the design per se.
She was studying the various framed certificates hung on the wall above his credenza – his diploma from UC Berkeley, his certification from the AIA, awards he’d won – when he finally spoke.
“How did you find me?”
Julia’s head swung to meet his gaze in disbelief. “Excuse me?”
Nathan leaned back in his desk chair, regarding her across the wide expanse of mahogany, with an expression of barely checked anger. “Come on, Julia. You don’t really expect me to believe that your working here is some sort of wild coincidence, do you? The only logical explanation is that you somehow found out who I was and where I worked, and was lucky enough that there was a job opening. The only real coincidence is that you happen to be an interior designer and that I co-own an architectural design firm.”
She stared back at him, appalled by his arrogance. “Are you kidding? Even assuming that I was able to figure out who you were – Mr. No Last Name, No Occupation, No City of Residence – why would you think I’d want to see you again, much less work with you?”
He shrugged, but his composure looked a bit less cocksure than it had. “Revenge, obsession. Maybe a little of both.”
Julia smirked. “Really? You think I somehow managed to find out your name – by what means I have no idea – then stalked you several thousand miles across the country because I wanted to get back at you? Or worse, because I craved another fuck? Sorry, you weren’t that good.”
Nathan’s eyes narrowed and shot out sparks of light blue fire. “That’s not what you said that night.”
Enraged, she got to her feet, leaning over his desk. “As I recall, both of us said a lot of things that night. But one of us intentionally neglected to say the one thing that would have instantly put a stop to everything else – something along the lines of ‘by the way, I’m already spoken for’.”
He winced at the angry lash of her words. “I deserve that, I suppose. But that still doesn’t explain how you found me or why you followed me cross country.”
She let out a rather undignified hoot of laughter. “For real, Nathan? You’ve still got me pegged as some Fatal Attraction-like stalker? Well, think on this one. I’m normally not a vain person, but I’m not naïve, either. I know I’m hot. Men have been telling me that since I was twelve. If I wanted a man that badly all I’d really need to do would be to walk inside the nearest bar or club or even a grocery store, and let nature take its course. It would take little to no effort on my part to get whatever man I wanted. And he sure as hell wouldn’t be one who’s already taken.”
Julia could almost see steam rising out of his ears as he, too, surged to his feet and glared at her.
“Then explain to me how this could have happened,” he demanded. “If you didn’t know who I was, and you didn’t come here because of me, how and why are you here?”
Aware that her legs were shaking again, she sank back to her chair and took several deep, calming breaths. “I needed a job, and I knew Travis through a mutual acquaintance, “she explained quietly. “We spoke on the phone and arranged for me to interview with him. And here I am. Nothing more sinister or complicated than that.”
Nathan frowned, clearly not satisfied with her explanation. “Why would a native New Yorker just pull up stakes and move clear across the country for a job? I would have imagined there were plenty of design jobs in Manhattan. And why did you need a job in the first place?”
She clasped and unclasped her hands nervously, not really wanting to have this particular conversation with him and knowing she’d need to choose her words carefully. “I’m actually a native Californian. I grew up in Carmel, and my family still lives there. I only lived in New York for a few years after college. And I’d been thinking of moving back to the West Coast for awhile. Things at my job hadn’t been comfortable for months.”
“Go on. Why did you leave your old job?” He sat back down in his chair.
Julia sighed, silently damning his persistence. “My boss hated me. Call it professional jealousy, who really knows, but she never wanted to hire me from the beginning. Her former partner was the one who hired me on, and mentored me. Has Travis ever mentioned someone named Gerard?”
Nathan nodded. “Of course
. I’ve actually met Gerard once or twice when he came out here for a visit. He was your boss?”
“Yes. He and my aunt were classmates in college and remained friends. Gerard brought me on as an intern right after I graduated, and then hired me full time. Things were great until he had a bad breakup and decided to leave New York far behind, including his share in the company. Then everything sort of went to hell very quickly.”
“This boss of yours – the one you claimed hated you. Just out of curiosity, how old is she?”
Julia shrugged. “Early to mid forties, I’m not exactly sure. Why?”
He gave a short, humorless laugh. “And you really wonder why she disliked you? I’m sure professional jealousy was a big part of it – Travis told me you’ve already won several design awards. But I’m just guessing she was also wildly jealous of you as a woman. As you so succinctly phrased it, you’re hot. If your former boss was almost twenty years older than you I doubt she enjoyed being reminded of that fact every day.”
She felt her cheeks flush. “I’m not sure her reasons for disliking me really matter. The point is that she basically made working there extremely unpleasant for me and I’d been thinking about finding another job for some time before she -.” Her voice trailed off, unwilling to reveal any more information.
“Before she what?” he persisted. “Did she fire you, Julia? And be honest. You know I can find this out very easily from Travis, and I know you’re smart enough not to have lied to him about something like this.”
She nodded, keeping her eyes downcast, afraid of giving too much away if he saw her face. “Yes, she fired me. And made it very, very difficult for me to find a job anywhere on the East Coast. Vanessa knows a lot of other designers and made sure to spread the word quickly that they shouldn’t even consider hiring me. Moving back to California soon became my best option.”
Serendipity (Inevitable) Page 10
