She swiped the face and spoke, "Hello?"
"Hey, are you all right?"
"Yeah. Fine, why?"
"You don't sound like yourself."
"No, I've got a wicked headache." Which wasn't a lie.
"I'll let you go then."
"No, that's okay. I'd like to visit."
"Thank you again for our date last night."
God, was it only last night? Meghan smiled sadly. Yeah it was. "I enjoyed myself, too."
"My folks made it back to town today. I've got some stuff lined up for the week. I’ve got some appointments set up for apartment hunting, and I'm going to need a different car."
"Why, you don't think your current car is practical for day to day travel?" She chuckled and felt a little of the darkness that surrounded her lift.
"For some reason I can't see me going through the drive-through or to the hardware store in the Maclaren."
"Why not, you could get what… three plastic bags in the front seat?"
"Hey now."
They shared a laugh. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm not, but I will be. It's been a difficult day." Meg had no idea why she was being so honest, but it was easy with Rio.
"Do you know what your work schedule will be next week?"
That jolted an honest laugh from her. "With ‘he who shall not be named’? No. I never do."
"I'll text you then."
"I'd like that, Rio."
"Get some sleep. Goodnight, Meg."
"G'night." She disconnected the call and sat down on her bed. In a matter of two minutes, Rio had righted her world, to a degree.
"Ms. Williams, where is the agenda for the meeting?" N.R. Honeycutt's voice sawed through the office like a chainsaw.
"A hard copy is in your inbox; a digital copy is in your email, and I also printed one and put it at your seat in the conference room," Meg called back. She'd stopped hopping up every time her boss bellowed something at her about a week after she'd been hired full-time. The man was always yelling.
"Did you forward the projections to finance?"
Meg nodded although he couldn't see her. "Last night."
"Where is the timeline?"
"Manilla folder on your desk." She waited a heartbeat. "Right hand side."
"Have you finalized travel?" He exited the office and Meghan glanced up at him. He reminded her of a bulldog. His cheeks drooped and flapped when he got excited. The rest of him was round like a barrel with short limbs, like an English bulldog.
"For you and Drummond." She lifted a folder. "Your reservations and airline tickets. Hard copies. Digital have been sent to your wallet on your phone."
"You should be coming with me."
Not this again. "It was in my letter when you hired me. No travel unless I consent." She'd made sure it was included in the package because his HR department had warned her to make sure that line was stipulated. She owed Connie for the heads up. Connie called it an even shake because hiring Meg meant Connie didn't have to deal with N.R. on a daily basis.
"Regardless, Drummond is an idiot."
"You called me an idiot last night." At eleven thirty at night, and hadn't that just been the crowning jewel of her day? No, not really. Her mother's call during the thirty minutes she'd squirreled away for her dinner had won that position.
Her employer’s grunt was easy to decipher. He thought everyone was an idiot. "Make sure you get all the work done. I left you a list on my desk. I'll be back on Saturday morning to go through what you've accomplished. Be available in case I have questions."
She stared at her employer. He was buried in the folder's contents and wasn't expecting an answer. The weekend work was overtime, and she needed it to pay for her last semester, so yes, she'd make herself available.
Her phone vibrated, drawing her boss's eyes to her desk. She continued typing the email she was working on and disregarded what was undoubtedly another text from her sister reminding her that she had to meet Carl, or what she needed to wear so she didn't look like a frump, or, or, or...
Meeting Carl was the right thing to do, and she was going to apologize for standing him up. It was her intention to make sure he understood she’d never meant to hurt him, and then she was going to leave. Although she and Rio had not discussed being exclusive, she didn't want to jeopardize anything with him should whatever was happening with him move in that direction. Not that it was likely it would. He would get situated in the area and find someone more suited to his lifestyle. It was okay. Really.
"Are you ignoring me on purpose?"
Meghan blinked and shot a glance over her shoulder. "Most of the time, yes, but unfortunately not this time. I was concentrating and didn't hear you."
"I said the meeting is in five minutes, and I want you to sit in so if something happens while I'm in New York you can at least attempt to minimize the damage."
She glanced at the stack of paperwork on her desk and then back at him raising her eyebrow in question. He'd demanded all the correspondence in his sizable digital inbox be gone through today. That in and of itself would take her all day.
"Five minutes, Ms. Williams."
She groaned inwardly, finished the email she was working on, and grabbed her tablet and phone before heading to the ladies’ room. The meeting Voldemort was talking about would last at least two hours.
She used the facilities and glanced at the clock. She had three minutes. She pulled up her texts and snorted an echoing laugh into the empty bathroom. Rio sent her a picture of the apartment he was looking at in the historic district of Savannah. It had green appliances and gold paint in the kitchen. Another photo showed dark wood paneling and shag carpeting in gold or rather a dirty mustard brown. The next photo was of the bedroom. The walls were painted blood red with pink trim. She opened the next attachment and literally bent over she was laughing so hard. Rio had taken a picture of himself lying on what appeared to be a round bed and using the mirror on the ceiling.
She glanced at the clock and punched in a response.
>OMG! That Seventies Show much!
>Think I should get it?
>NO!
>LOL, darn, I was thinking that mirror could be fun.
Meghan pulled the phone down and looked around quickly as if someone peered over her shoulder and read the texts. Her face flamed. She could feel the blood flushing her face. She started typing a response and stopped, erased the words and started again only to erase them, too. How was she supposed to respond?
>Cat got your tongue?
She glanced at the clock and shook her head.
>Meeting. TTYL!
He sent a smiley face back, and she clicked the side of the phone, sending it to sleep as she grabbed her tablet and dashed across the hall to the meeting.
"Ms. Williams, so nice of you to join us."
Her boss' coiled snake hiss didn't faze her any longer, but the others at the table cringed. She slid into the seat closest to the door, flipped open the tablet and turned it on, pulling up the briefings to be presented.
Her embarrassment of a moment ago flitted around the outskirts of her mind during the meeting. When the project had been talked to death, she followed her boss into his office, watched as he filled his briefcase, handed him documentation he was forgetting, and wrote down the demands on her time while he was gone for the week. If she was lucky, she might be done by Friday at midnight. No, she had to be done by six thirty so she'd have time to drive to the establishment where she'd agreed to meet Carl.
She watched N.R. walk out the door and Drummond fall in behind him. The man looked sick to his stomach. She pitied the poor guy—but not enough to take his place.
Before she allowed herself to relax, Meghan walked over to the window and watched N.R. and Drummond pile into the hired car that would take them to the airport. Once the car pulled away, she let her shoulders fall.
"Is he gone?" Connie whisper yelled from the office door.
"Yes, but if you think of him thr
ee times he'll appear like Beetlejuice." Meg turned as she spoke.
"I thought you had to say his name to make him appear."
"Honestly, I don't want to tempt fate. Do you?"
"Goodness, no." Connie came in and plopped down in the chair across from her desk. "Want to go to lunch?"
"Brought mine." Meg begged off. She always did.
"Yeah, but when the cat's away and all that stuff. Come on, the deli down the street has great salads, that’s what I’m getting." Connie waved her hand in the air. She’d lost and kept off over sixty pounds and had been Meg’s support system when she wanted to get healthier.
"The cat left me enough work to keep me busy for a month." She nodded to her desk.
"Uggg… okay, well, if you're sure."
"Positive." She thought of the food she'd brought today. Her mother lectured her for at least an hour when she'd finally called back. Mindy had been forwarding her articles about obesity and the effects of early onset diabetes due to obesity.
At the end of that conversation Meg had agreed to make an attempt to lose another thirty pounds. The articles she'd read told her for her height she shouldn't lose anymore. At least her mom had conceded to stop harping on her since she’d said she’d try to lose more. She wasn’t going to cut calories too much, but she could dip under her maintenance level for a while and see if it worked.
"All right, I'll leave you to the paperwork war." Connie smiled and headed out of the office.
Meghan turned her attention to the screen of her computer and dug in. She needed to clear her tasks, and work kept her from fixating on the fact she was hungry.
Her phone vibrated, the noise distracting her from entering the dry as dust data from her boss’ emails into the project timeline where they belonged. She yawned and snatched the phone up and glanced at the face. A smile spread across her face as she opened the attachment. A picture of a dark red SUV filled the screen. He must have bought a new car. Wow, it must be so cool to have money.
>Want to go for a ride?
>Very pretty. I can't. Still working. Rain check?
>Of course. Why working so late?
Meg glanced at the clock on her computer. Yes it was late, but she'd made a massive dent in the task list she'd been given. If she could finish the last of this timeline build, she could make the appointment with Carl. She'd strayed away from calling it a date, because for her, it wasn't.
>Overtime pays bills.
>True. Call me when you get home?
>Could be late.
>Don't care.
>Ok.
She put the phone down, rolled her shoulders while she found where she'd stopped and started working. She now had the proper incentive to plow through the work.
Chapter 11
Rio tossed his phone in the air and caught it. His day had been packed with a litany of tasks he could mark off his to do list. He'd gone in with his father to HR, and they started the paperwork for his new job with the nonprofit arm of his father's vast enterprise. Before he left, his father had scheduled three meetings he needed to attend. One was with the lawyer who acted as his grandfather's trustee, and the second was with the General Counsel for Northern Nova. That meeting was where he would lay out the company he wanted to develop. The reach, power and influence of N.N. was pretty fucking amazing. Rio had to give his dad and Mason props. They'd taken what Pops had built and made it into a titan in the industry.
He tossed the phone up again. The third appointment his father set up was at the bank. He'd need to open accounts and get his affairs in order before the trustee would approve any transfer of funds, and although they had until November to get the structure set up, starting now wasn't a bad idea.
He heard the phone buzz as he sent it sailing again. Snagging it out of the air he swiped the face. "Hey, are you just now getting home?"
"I am, but I'm used to working late." Her voice was like honey. Smooth and soft.
"He's taking advantage of you."
"Nah, he's paying for every minute." Her laughter relaxed all the tension throughout his body.
"Did you like the time warped apartment?"
Her laughter filled him again. "Honestly, that was a movie set, right? They are doing one of those documentaries and built a set."
"Nope." He popped the 'p' when he said the word.
"Can I ask why you would even look at something that small?"
"I only need one bedroom, and I'm going to have to live modest. The money I have will all go into the company I'm starting." He'd find out next week exactly how much he'd be inheriting. He'd never asked and didn't care. As long as he could get the business off the ground, he'd be good to go. If he needed more funding, he'd ask for a hand from his father, but he wanted to limit the support he received. Doing this himself was important to him.
"Rent in the historic district is high. You could find a nice apartment further away from the city."
He heard the microwave beep in the background. "Are you just now eating?"
"No, I'm making myself a cup of tea. Did you buy that truck?"
"I did. It is used, but it has a warranty and it is in great condition. I got a decent deal on it. It's not as fast as the McLaren, but..."
"I like it. It suits you."
"How so?"
"Big, strong truck for a big, strong man."
Rio smiled. He could definitely go this direction with the call. But would she? "I want to see you again."
"I'd like that." Her soft words were almost a purr against his ear.
"Friday night?"
There was an audible pause in the conversation, so much so that he looked at the phone to make sure they were connected. "Hello?"
"I'm here. I can't Friday night."
"Asshole has you doing something for him?"
"I do have a commitment that I can't get out of. I'm sorry."
"No problem. What about Saturday? I'm running around with the realtor in the afternoon. I can stop by, and we can pop out for dinner and a movie or something." He rolled his eyes at the cheeseball line.
"That sounds wonderful. What time?"
"I'm not sure when I'll be done. Can we wing it?"
"See, winging it for men and winging it for women are two different things."
He could hear the humor in her voice. "Really? Do tell."
"Well, men can run their fingers through their hair and be ready to go. Women need a time frame. Hair, makeup, clothes, this all takes time."
"I'd like to see you without the makeup and clothes." Rio's mind went there, so naturally his mouth did, too. Fuck, he sucked at this dating thing.
"Ahh..."
"Forget I said that. God, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Please?"
"I shouldn't have said that."
"Did you think it?"
"Yeah, obviously."
"Nobody has ever said anything like that to me before."
He realized they were whispering to each other, and he kind of liked the intimacy of the soft words. "I can't see why. You're a beautiful woman. Who wouldn't want to see you wake up in their arms?"
Silence again. Damn, he just had to keep pushing the envelope, didn't he?
"Meg, are you still with me?"
"I am. I'm a little afraid you won't like what you see."
"I already like what I see."
"But I'm not..."
"You're not what?"
"Thin."
Rio rolled into a sitting position. Fucking asshole bastard son of a bitches who’d done a number on this woman. He wanted to take a shot at each and every one of them. "Meg, you don't need to lose weight."
"You're the only one who thinks that."
"One of these days you'll believe me."
"I doubt that."
"Challenge accepted, my lady."
"Did I challenge you?" There was laughter in her voice again. Crisis averted. But he'd still like to find the people who did the hatchet job to Meg's self-esteem.
"You did. But tel
l me about your day."
He listened as her voice became animated. Her imitation of her boss was hilarious, and he found himself laughing into the dark room as she spoke.
"I should probably get some sleep." A yawn muffled her words.
He glanced at the clock. Holy shit. "Damn, I didn't realize it was so late." Two fifteen in the morning. "Or rather... early."
She chuckled. "I can get a couple hours before I get up to work out."
"Just skip the workout and sleep in." The desire to take care of her rode back on that damn white steed.
"Never going to happen, but I do need to get some sleep. Thank you for a wonderful evening." The sound of her yawn made his jaw crack in his own wide stretch.
"Remember, Saturday afternoon. I'll call when I'm heading over."
"That works. Would it be okay if we talk tomorrow night?"
"I'd like that."
"Goodnight, Rio."
"Night, Meg."
He dropped his phone and closed his eyes. What was different about Meg?
Fuck him standing. Feels. He had feelings for this woman. With Meg everything was... more. More than the ingrained courtesy he'd treated the women he'd been with in the past. He enjoyed her company. Hell, they'd talked for hours and never had an awkward moment. Well, after he'd steered away from the sexual comments. He had a feeling his Meghan was pretty fucking innocent when it came to sex. His Meghan? Well yeah, if he had his way, she'd be his. He smiled. He'd work hard to make sure she ended up his. He wasn't such a gentleman that he'd play fair either.
He raised his arms and propped them behind his head. Playing fair was overrated. Target fucking acquired.
Rio headed down the back stairwell to the kitchen. The smell of bacon called to him, beckoning him with a savory scent that would wake the dead and encourage them into the warmth of the family kitchen. Mavis looked up from the stove and smiled. "Welcome home, honey."
"Thank you. It is good to be home." Rio strode over and dropped a kiss on her cheek before he stole three slices of bacon. He wolfed one down while pouring a cup of coffee.
"You want eggs?"
"Yes, please, three and more bacon." Rio straddled the kitchen chair and sat down, pulling over the morning paper that his dad had obviously been through already.
Hot SEAL, Savannah Nights Page 9
