“Excuse me.” I stopped the man who’d been our waiter just as he was walking past.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Do you happen to know where the man went that I was with?”
“Oh,” he scratched his head. “Last I saw him, he was on his phone walking toward the front doors.”
“Okay.” I paused, not knowing what to say next. Instead I turned and headed toward the front doors myself.
I was flabbergasted that Everett would leave without as much as a goodbye. The night’s air chilled across my bare legs as I stepped onto the sidewalk. Looking to the left, no Everett in sight, turning to the right, there was still no Everett. Rummaging through my purse, I pulled my phone out to see if he’d called me or sent me a text, but neither was there. I quickly typed a message to Emily regarding how the night had unfolded and the disappearance of Everett as my annoyance grew.
“I seriously can’t believe this…” I huffed.
“Arbor!”
I spun to the right at the sound of my name. Everett was jogging toward me from a half a block away. Tucking my phone back into my purse, I waited for him to reach me, which didn’t take long. My arms were crossed over my chest as he came to a stop mere inches away.
“I thought you’d left.” He touched my forearm.
“That’s funny.” I gently pulled my arm from his hand and tucked a strand of hair that whipped in the random gust of wind behind my ear. “I thought you’d left. I just went to the restroom to give you space with whatever message you’d received and came back to an empty table.”
His staccato laugh startled me.
“I am so sorry.” His apologetic smile beamed with sincerity and had me smiling like a fool right back at him.
“Well,” I hooked my thumb toward the row of cabs lining the street. “I was just about to head home.”
“Come with me.” Everett smoothed his hands up my arms, and I shivered.
Was he serious?
I’d just met the guy and he was asking me to put all of my faith in him that he’s not some sort of serial killer and go to his place.
“Let me rephrase that.” He chuckled. “Come with me to my office. We can have some privacy to go over the marketing layout you have in mind and hopefully you won’t feel like this night has been a disaster.”
The thought of what my face looked like crossed my mind just as I erupted with laughter. Full blown, belly hurting and possible snorting involved laughter.
Everett watched me with a giant smile before he began laughing himself.
“That sounds great.”
“You sure?” He continued to laugh. “Because the initial look on your face made me realize I might’ve stepped over a boundary there.”
“I’m not gonna lie, I thought you were asking me to go home with you for a minute there.” I bit down on my bottom lip as the thought of if he’d actually asked me to go with him crossed my mind. Would I have said yes?
Everett lifted his hand in the air to hail a cab. “You know,” he glanced at me over his shoulder until I stepped beside him. “The office is my second home.”
I shook my head and lowered my eyes to the ground as a shit eatin’ grin spread widely across my face. Everett had managed to make me smile more than anyone I could think of in a short period of time. Even more than a certain someone had.
He handed the cabbie a fifty as we slipped into the back seat.
“Thank you, sir. Where ya headed?”
Everett rambled off an address that was less than five miles away. My eyes bulged because I knew damn well it wouldn’t cost fifty bucks to get us there.
I leaned toward him to speak quietly enough that the cabbie wouldn’t hear me. “I think you gave him too much money.”
His honey eyes seemed to twinkle as he leaned into my side. “I’m a nice guy.”
My eyes closed from the proximity of him and the way his gruff voice vibrated through my body. I inhaled deeply and took in the remnants of his cologne. He sat back and I quickly opened my eyes, hoping and praying he hadn’t noticed they were closed.
“I’m beginning to believe that.” I rolled my bottom lip into my mouth and turned to face the window for the rest of our short ride to his office.
The cab dropped us just outside the doors of a ten-story building that didn’t have any form of business names or logos labeling it. Nothing about it stood out. Which I found odd. If you ran a business that promoted people, wouldn’t you want your building to stand out?
“Penny for your thoughts?” Everett gently nudged me with his shoulder.
Before we entered the large front doors, I took in the height of the building.
“I’m confused.”
“About what?”
“About why the building is so bland.”
“I don’t advertise my building. I advertise my business.”
“I get that, but wouldn’t you want a sign or something pointing people to you?”
“Not really.”
Our feet echoed on the shiny tile floor as he headed to the row of elevators, saying hello to the security guard on duty as we passed.
“Why not?”
Everett leaned forward and pushed the up arrow and turned toward me.
“I feel like the type of business I’m in isn’t one that needs a giant sign or whatever pointing them to this office. My office isn’t where everything begins. I go out to bars and small venues scouting people myself. The magic happens at night where the music is in abundance and the liquor is flowing.”
The elevator dinged open and he motioned for me to go first. We both stepped in and he hit the number five.
“Makes total sense.”
Everett grinned and leaned back against the wall. “I’m surprised you actually agreed to come.”
My eyebrows dipped. “Why is that?”
“I don’t know. You strike me as the type of woman who wouldn’t trust to be alone with pretty much a stranger.
I laughed. “You’d be surprised.”
“You know that’s not safe, right?”
The elevator doors opened to the fifth floor and I stepped off first. I wasn’t sure why he’d gone all fatherly on me all of a sudden, but whatever the reason I wish he’d let it go.
“I know it’s not safe. But this is my job, and I have ways of protecting myself.”
“Oh…” Everett held his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t mean to overstep.”
I shook my head and closed my eyes for a brief moment.
“Sorry if I sounded rude. I didn’t mean to.”
“You didn’t. Just standing your ground, I get it.”
As the awkward moment came to an end, we turned right and headed down the empty hallway. Two large glass doors sat at the end, welcoming people with large sheer white letters that read Evergreen Music Management.
“Evergreen, I like it.”
“It’s kind of corny, don’t you think?” He typed in a code on the keypad below the metal door handle.
“No, I honestly love it.”
“Really?” He held the door for me to enter first.
“Yes.” I took in the room as he locked the door back.
Everything was sleek; gray, silver, black, and white, with a bit of green…evergreen to be exact.
“Wow. This place is beautifully put together.”
“Thanks.” He slipped his hand into mine. “Would you be surprised to know that I had a say in all of it?”
The warmth of his hand felt nice so I allowed it. Everett was blowing me away with all of his talents. Excitement ignited within me at the thought of seeing him in his realm.
“No, I wouldn’t be surprised. You seem like a very put together man.”
“In some aspects I am.”
Everett gave me the tour of the entire office on the way to his personal one. There weren’t many employees besides him, only three. The receptionist, his assistant, and another recruiter he’d recently hired. But none of them were in the office at such a late
hour, so meeting them would have to wait.
“My office is here on the left.”
We turned and came face-to-face with floor-to-ceiling windows that had a frosted coating so you couldn’t see in or out of them. He opened the door and allowed me to pass. I realized this was a chivalrous trait of his, and I adored it.
He flipped the light switches on and allowed the door to shut behind him. The room was a bit different than the rest of the office. There were vibrant reds and royal blues mixed in with the gray and black color scheme, but no green. It seemed as if we’d stepped into a completely different office.
“I like my space to be a bit louder.”
His response to my nonverbal review of his space had me shaking my head.
“What?” He linked our hands once more and turned me toward him.
“It’s like you read my mind is all.” I shrugged with a smile trying to make its presence known.
I removed my hand from his and took a seat at the conference-sized table to the right of the rather large room and pulled a folder from my bag. “This is what I came up with.” I laid it on the table, hoping Everett would have a seat and take a look before the room became any heavier with attraction.
Thankfully he did just that.
Silence hung in the air as he flipped through my ideas. My palms became clammy as time ticked away. I wiped them on the cushion of the chair, not wanting a damp spot on my clothes. Crossing my legs, I tried everything to remain calm. It was as if I’d never had a meeting with a client before, or sat in suspense while someone decided whether or not they liked my work. But something about Everett seeing my ideas had me in fits.
He closed the folder and placed both hands on top. His eyes lifted and connected with mine, but the intensity in them wasn’t intimidating. No, it was something completely opposite of that, it was sexy as hell.
I squirmed in my seat and dropped my eyes to the table. “So what do you think?” I nibbled my bottom lip, hoping he’d break the silence at any moment.
“Arbor.” His voice was stern, but not demanding.
My eyes connected with his again and my mouth went slack as his honey orbs pierced me with such intensity that I thought I’d melt into a puddle on his charcoal gray carpet.
“Hmm?” I managed to reply, knowing much more of a response would’ve been with a shaky voice that I couldn’t bear to use.
“This is amazing.”
Before I could register that he’d called my work amazing, he’d come around the table and lifted me from the chair in a tight embrace. My legs dangled in the air as laughter bubbled up my throat.
“Seriously?”
“Yes!” He laughed. “This is exactly what Evergreen needs. Someone like you to be the brains of getting seasoned musicians into the mainstream again. I love it.”
And like instinct, my legs wrapped around his waist, causing the atmosphere in the room to do a one-eighty.
My hand smoothed up his cheek, while the other tucked into the hair at the base of his neck. His breathing became labored as his eyes dropped from mine and focused on my parted lips. I knew what was coming, but I couldn’t stop myself. I didn’t want to stop either of us. So before he could make another move, I dropped my head and gently connected our lips.
It felt like time stood still for the brief moment neither of us moved. But his hands slowly slid from my waist, to cup my bottom as he turned and lowered my body onto the conference table. Our mouths moved in sync as the sounds of our unexpected adventure filled the room. He tasted like mint with a mix of faint chocolate. It was intoxicating, yet I was sober.
His hands moved up my sides, over my chest, until he was cupping my face. I sighed as his lips left mine and his forehead rested against my own, our chests rising and falling rapidly as neither of us spoke a word. My body was screaming for more, and I could feel that his was, too, but we stayed exactly like that for what seemed like eternity.
“If I…” Everett began to say but I lifted my chin and connected our lips once more.
“Don’t,” I breathed against his mouth.
“Don’t what?” His minty words rolled against my tongue as he kissed me back.
“Don’t ruin the moment,” I breathed. “Enjoy it. I am”
My words were like the spark of a match, giving him the go ahead he needed to let loose of whatever was holding him back. One hand rested on the side of my neck as the other found the bare flesh of my thigh. He hooked my leg over his hip and held it in place as he rolled his body forward. The bulge of his arousal rubbed against me in all the right places, pulling an uncontrollable moan out of me. A rush of heat rolled through my body every time his arousal connected with my core.
“Everett…” I moaned and he came to an abrupt stop.
As quickly as the moment had ignited, it was over.
“Arbor, I’m so sorry.” He fisted his hands in his hair as he left me lying on the table with my legs wide open.
I didn’t even mind if he could see my blush panties, or the fact of just how turned on he had made me. No, what I did mind was the fact that he was apologizing after I’d told him to enjoy the moment. But something about me moaning his name had ruined the entire situation.
I ran my hands into my hair and stayed just as I was on the table. “Why are you apologizing?”
“Our meeting tonight was supposed to be about work, not me trying to fuck you on my conference table. Christ!” He groaned and turned away from me.
“Everett.”
He didn’t acknowledge me saying his name as he dropped his head into his hands. Silence filled the room for a while as I kept my eyes on him.
“The last thing I want to do is make you feel like I only invited you here so I could have my way with you.” He paused. “At the restaurant it was obvious you were horrified at the thought of going back to my place, and I get that. We just met.” He turned to face me, not wavering at the sight of me still sprawled out on the table. “There’s an attraction between us, Arbor, I know you feel it, and I couldn’t help myself once you kissed me. I hope you know I meant no disrespect, but I don’t want to ruin a very promising business partnership by over stepping boundaries.”
I collected myself and sat up on the table. His words made sense, I honestly had let my own hormones jump the gun. Even though we both felt the intense attraction, I’d caused a bit of a sticky situation.
“I apologize.” I slipped from the table and began to collect my things. “I didn’t mean for this to happen like it has. The last thing I want to do is ruin a potential outstanding business partnership. That’s the exact thing that’s been on my mind since the restaurant. So if we can start over, I’d truly appreciate it.”
Everett heavily exhaled and held onto my biceps. A small smile turned his frown upward. “We can pretend this didn’t happen, or simply move forward from it. We’re both adults that are attracted to one another, and were both willing. Right?”
I couldn’t help the wide smile that spread across my face, and the hot flash that rolled through my body at the thought of him touching me. “Exactly. So I’ll catch an Uber home and I’ll see you Monday at my office to sign paperwork, ‘kay?”
He enveloped me in his arms and kissed the top of my head. I didn’t want to step back but after a few seconds, I did.
“I’ll be there.”
I placed my lips to his cheek and left his office before another word could be said. By the time I’d get downstairs my Uber would be waiting, and boy I wasn’t ready for a long car ride home with nothing but my thoughts to occupy me.
Ten
“The fuck happened to you?”
Emily sat up from her slouching position on the couch with a pint of rocky road ice cream in hand.
I must’ve looked like a bigger mess than I’d thought if she was calling me out as soon as I walked through the door. The last thing I needed was her awake on the couch waiting for me to get home. But I should’ve known that’s exactly where she’d be. That girl had to be the ce
nter of all things that revolved around good looking men, and Everett was at the top of that list.
“Everett happened to me,” I blurted out without thinking.
Emily’s eyes grew large as she pulled the now empty spoon from her mouth.
“Let me rephrase that,” I tried to back pedal.
“Oh, no, no, no.” She jumped up from the couch. “Don’t you even try to feed me some bullshit now, you already opened the can of worms when you didn’t mean to.”
I tried to evade her by making a beeline toward my room but she cut me off and blocked my escape.
“Spill the beans, little missy, or I’ll give him a call myself.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“You don’t even have his number.”
She grinned. “Are you seriously going to play that card? Don’t you know I can find shit out, and easily at that?”
If anything, she definitely could find just about anything out. My head dropped back on my neck and I deflated. It was going to be an even longer night than it had already been.
I believe the quietest I’ve ever heard Emily was the entire time I was explaining how the night unfolded. She gasped a few times and giggled here and there, but in all she was silent.
“Okay, tell me how big of a screw up I am.” I flopped back on the couch and covered my face with a pillow.
“Are you kidding?” Emily chuckled.
I moved the pillow and cocked an eyebrow at her.
“I was ready to call up someone to come over and jump my bones from how hot that story was. Everett is obviously into you, and you’re into him. I don’t see the problem here. Yes, it could become a catastrophe if it ends on a sour note, but you don’t know that it will end on a sour note.”
“I don’t know that it won’t.” I sat up and tucked my foot beneath me.
“All I’m saying is, why pass up what could potentially be an epic romance on a bunch of what ifs?”
As much as she had a point, I still couldn’t call Everett up and tell him that we were letting our ‘what ifs’ win by not taking a chance on our feelings.
“But what if it’s strictly a sexual attraction? I hardly know the guy!” I tossed my hands in the air and slammed them down on the pillow in my lap.
If Love was Fair Page 7
