by Lexy Timms
It was a hell of an adventure, but I was finally here.
I opened my eyes and scanned the stage as people started to trickle in. I looked over to the right of the stage and craned my neck, trying to see if I could catch any movement. I wasn’t sure who I was looking for, or even why I was trying so hard to find someone, but when his face came into view I smiled.
An involuntary smile that almost hurt my cheeks.
Colin looked dashing in the suit he had on. It was a navy suit that was tailored to the ridges and edges of his body. He wore a silken royal blue tie against a light blue shirt, and I could feel the heat in my stomach beginning to pool. His eyes connected with mine and a grin tugged across his cheeks, bringing a light to his blue eyes that I’d only ever seen a few times before.
He would be the best-looking man on that stage this afternoon, whether he wanted to be or not.
He rose his hand to give me a little wave and I waved back in return. His eyes turned back towards the stage as people started to settle in their seats, but then I saw him turn his eyes back towards me.
Not his entire face, just his eyes.
And for a split second, I could’ve sworn he winked at me.
Chapter 15
Colin
Abby looked gorgeous in the clothes she was wearing. Whether she meant to wear something that was flattering to her body or not, I found that my eyes kept searching hers out. As I stood on stage and buzzed through the main points of my speech, I found my eyes automatically falling onto hers in the crowd. Her big brown eyes were staring up at me as her hand moved across the page. She took notes without ever once glancing down to look at what she was doing, and that idea was astounding to me. I could feel her eyes on me from the crowd as I continued on through my speech, but my eyes kept bouncing between her and the empty seat next to her.
The seat I would take up once I was done talking.
“The European marketplace has the largest number of formal dialects on the planet. The biggest hurdle when branching into that market is clearing the language barriers you will encounter. Now, many businesses will just market to countries whose second formal language is English. After all, the language of business is English, right? Why should we have to branch out and learn theirs?”
My eyes fell onto Abby’s again and I could see her smiling up at me.
“Two reasons,” I said. “One, dedicating yourself to the task of catering to their language opens up a multitude of avenues to channel revenue. And two, it creates a trust between your growing business and their cultural customs. If we leave it up to individuals to translate what we’re trying to give them, then there is a high margin for misrepresentation. Misrepresentation alone accounts for forty seven percent of falling revenues many companies see over the course or two, or even three yearly quarters. And that is a massive blow to a company’s bottom line.”
I looked back over towards Abby and saw her head down at her notepad. It was the first time I was aware that she had looked down during the entire keynote speech, and I wondered what she was writing down. Was she quoting me? Was she jotting questions down for later? Was she taking personal notes for some reason?
I wanted to be a fly on her shoulder just so I could peek.
“Dedicating yourself to a specific marketplace means bringing everything to them. A business is only one-third product. The other third is customer acquisition, and the last third is customer service. If you have the product and you want to acquire regular customers, then you have to build a reputation. Establish trust. Reach into their marketplace and tailor things to them. People inherently do not like change. This is an established scientific fact. So, you have to make everything easy for them to reach for. That means bringing them a product they need that fulfills a specific purpose, adhering to their cultural norms, and yes, speaking their language.”
My eyes scanned the room before I found Abby’s eyes, only this time her notepad was put away. Her leg was crossed over her knee and she was leaning back, relaxing as her eyes danced over my form.
If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought there was a sort of pride in her eyes.
“If you are going to delve into the European marketplace, be prepared for the language barriers. Be ready to cater to them. Because if you’re going to half-ass it, you might as well not do it at all. That’s what separates the good from the best. You can coast, or you can commit.”
The audience erupted in applause as my presentation visual display clicked off. I nodded and waved out towards the crowd as throngs of people got to their feet. I smiled out at them before I exited off the stage, my hands already working at removing the microphone from my body. I was ready to get out into the audience and listen to some of the other speeches. There were brilliant minds here that were speaking. Minds I revered and business individuals I had learned my own skills from.
That, plus I was ready to sit my ass in that seat next to Abby.
I slid my way down the aisle and was filled with excitement when I saw the seat was still empty. Abby smiled up at me and curled her legs into herself, allowing me to slip by before I sat down. Her hand came down and patted my forearm, a silent look of congratulations pouring from her eyes.
But all I wanted to do was listen to the speeches and soak up the warmth I could garner from her presence.
The two speeches that came after mine were phenomenal. There were many things I committed to memory, but now everyone was breaking for lunch. Abby kept her seat and waited until the crowd died down a bit, then I stood when she did and turned towards her.
“That was a phenomenal speech,” she said. “You should feel very proud of yourself.”
“I couldn’t help but notice that you weren’t looking down at your pad when you were taking notes. Do you always do that?” I asked.
“Ah, so you were looking at me, huh?”
“It’s hard not to.”
Her eyes fluttered up towards mine before they started darting around.
“Don’t worry. No one’s paying attention to us,” I said.
“It’s uh—it’s a trick I learned early on. The key is keeping your lines straight. Once you master that, it’s an easy talent. It helps me to keep my focus and hone in on every word being spoken so nothing is misconstrued.”
“It’s quite a unique talent you have. And very impressive.”
“Thanks,” she said. “You headed for lunch?”
“I am. Would you care for some company?”
“I’d love some.”
I escorted her out of the massive conference room before we crossed the street. There was a bar and a restaurant in our hotel that catered only to those staying at the hotel, so I knew it wouldn’t be busy. I sat us down at the bar and ordered us a couple of red wines, giving us time to chat and look over the menu.
“You know, my suite is much nicer than all the other hotels we’ve been stuck with,” I said.
“I would hope so. This place is costing your company a pretty penny given its location,” Abby said.
“You could come check it out, if you’d like.”
Her eyes slowly lifted to mine from the menu as our red wines were sat beside us. I grabbed it and brought it to my lips, not allowing her to break the stare. She was worth the chance. She was worth the rejection she might throw in my face. I had a rare opportunity to experience her in a luxury hotel, with no worries about the power or the temperature or any sort of bed bug scenario. I could tell she was mulling it over as her glossy lips touched her wine glass.
Then, I saw that devious twinkle in her eye.
“Are you hitting on me, Mr. Murphy?” she asked.
“It depends.”
“On what?” she asked.
“On whether you would like me to give you the grand tour of my suite or not.”
“My hotel room is just fine, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Then you can give me the grand tour of your hotel room,” I said.
“Ah, so this has n
othing to do with rooms. You just want to see me.”
“Have you seen yourself in those pants? You could set a room on fire with the sparks flying off your body.”
She grinned at me as the bartender came by to take our orders. She ordered a salad and I told him to ask the chef to cook me his specialty. I didn’t even look at the menu because that wasn’t where my focus was. I didn’t care about the wine and I didn’t care about the food.
The only thing I cared about was the time I was now spending with Abby.
“My, my. We’re just full of compliments, aren’t we?” she asked.
“I could insult you, if you want to level the playing field,” I said.
“Oh, really? Take your best shot,” she said.
I leaned forward and placed my forearm onto the counter of the bar before I grabbed her chair and slowly scooted it towards me.
“Your eyes are slightly offset because the bump in your nose isn’t symmetrical. Probably because you broke it when you were a child roughhousing with your father. Or maybe a neighborhood friend. You have this slight pooch just behind your stomach that my hand just can’t help but migrate towards, and I know you’re self-conscious about it. I see you suck it in from time to time when you feel you’re being judged by the people around you. It’s nice that you don’t do that when you’re around me any longer.”
I watched her straighten up and I followed her movements. The alcohol was making me bolder and my inhibitions were dropping. Our food came out quickly, but was soon forgotten in favor of another glass of wine.
One that I could tell she desperately wanted after the corner I’d backed her into.
“No matter what you do with your hair, there are always these little fly-away pieces dancing around your forehead. I hear women hate them, but I enjoy watching them. They accent the color of your skin, which there is nothing wrong with.”
“None of this sounds like an insult to me,” she said.
“Then I guess I’m doing my job right, because no one on this planet should be insulting you.”
I locked my eyes on hers and I could see her chest rising and falling with every breath. They were shallow and quick, her hand gripping her wine glass tightly to try and root herself to the ground. I leaned myself back into the bar chair, giving her some space as she released a heavy sight.
Her eyes dropped to her wine glass before she tipped the rest of it back and swallowed deeply.
“Would you like to come watch Wichita University kick Kansas State’s ass in basketball tonight?” I asked.
“Um, well—uh—where—where are you watching the game?” she asked.
“A sports bar down the road. They have the best hot wings, and all-you-can-eat bacon cheese fries.”
“Sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen,” she said breathlessly.
“So, I’ll see you there?”
I searched her eyes and tried to keep up my confident demeanor even as I screamed inside. I watched her roll the idea around in her mind, hoping that dragging things away from the hotel would make her more comfortable. This was as close to a date as we’d be able to get away with while on this business trip, but I decided not to leave anything up to fate.
I did that by refusing to call her, and I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.
“I don’t know shit about basketball, but okay,” she said, smiling.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll teach you. I’ve heard I can be a good teacher when it counts.”
She swallowed hard, a flush taking over her cheeks before she turned towards her food. We ate side by side at the bar, going through three glasses of wine each before we made our way back across the street. I sat down beside her during the rest of the afternoon portion of the conference, watching as she relaxed in her seat and took in the information being presented to her. She was only supposed to be reporting on my portion, making me look good for the press and all that jazz. Though she wasn’t required to report on any other presentation, the concentration etched on her face could have made one assume she was P.R.ing everyone at the event.
It was one more thing that made her remarkable in my eyes, and I couldn’t wait to sit beside her in the bar that night.
And if all went according to plan, I’d know what her body felt like against mine one last time.
Chapter 16
Abby
Sitting beside Colin during the rest of the conference was painful, at best. His words kept echoing off the corners of my mind, and if I doubted where we stood before, I most certainly did not now. He wanted to spend time with me, and by the look in his eyes he wanted to spend intimate time with me. His voice caressed my ear over lunch and the way he just pulled my chair towards him, like an animal on the prowl, was single handedly the sexiest thing that had ever happened to me. Just thinking about it fluttered my heart in my chest. His command of the space around us sent electrical sensations down my fingertips. I could feel his body heat radiating against my arm, and when he shifted to lean towards me I almost whimpered.
I had to bite my tongue to keep my sounds from escaping.
The conference ended just shy of five o’clock and Colin escorted me back across the road. I quickly parted ways from him, meeting Maggie in the elevator as we ventured up. She kept rattling on about all these things Ted needed throughout the entire thing and how she was bored half to death through it, but the only thing on my mind was what I was going to change into. I tried to keep my attention on Maggie so she wouldn’t ask why I was so distracted, but it was hard.
And when the elevator dumped us off, I practically sprinted to my room.
“Sorry! Gotta pee!” I said.
“Girl, I feel you. Catch up with you later?”
“Sure!” I said. “Sounds good!”
I rushed around, ripping my clothes off as I dug through my suitcase. I didn’t come prepared to go on a date. I came prepared to work. I sat down at my laptop in nothing but a pair of slim-fitting jeans and my bra, and I started typing away at the article I needed to send my boss. I ripped out my notes and took pictures of them, attaching them with the formal document I was about to send her. I didn’t have time to edit it, but I knew my boss would do that on the other end. She didn’t want perfection, she wanted the spin.
The spin that kept Colin’s reputation positive in the eyes of the media.
I threw in a couple of quotes into the article just to give it some juice, then I shut my laptop down. I had no fucking clue what top I was going to wear, and that top would determine the makeup I put on. I wasn’t a makeup girl and I hardly ever fussed with it, but for some reason I felt the need to tonight.
But a knock came at my door before a familiar voice sounded from behind it.
“If you’re panicking about clothes, don’t. I have something for you.”
It was Colin, and I felt goosebumps rattle across my skin.
“Okay. Um—just give me a second.”
I grabbed my crimson coat and tossed it around my body, suddenly self-conscious about him seeing me without a top. When the hell did that happen? After all the times that man had seen me naked, why was I now so worried about it?
I chose to blame the conference, then opened the door and greeted him with a smile.
“Here you go,” he said. “For you.”
He was standing there in a pair of jeans and a Kansas State University shirt. In his hand was a polyester piece of clothing with the same colors Colin donned on his shirt. I took it from his hands and held it up, then grinned when I saw what it was.
He had brought me a Kansas State University jersey.
Which meant he had to purchase it for me.
“Where did you get this?” I asked. “And—when?”
“Do you really care?” he asked.
My eyes fluttered up to him as a blush tainted my cheeks. I didn’t care. I didn’t care where he got it or how he got it or if he was planning this the entire time. The only thing I did care about was the fact that Colin was
standing at my door about to pick me up for a low-key date at a sports bar.
At least, I thought it was a date.
“Thank you,” I said. “Just give me a second to put it on.”
He nodded as I closed the door to my hotel room, then I ripped off my jacket and put it on.
I went and stood in the mirror and admired it on me. It wasn’t the most flattering piece of clothing on the planet, but I supposed that wasn’t the point of a sports jersey. I fluffed my hair out around my shoulders before I darted to the bathroom, then started touching up my makeup. A little bit of mascara, a dash of eyeliner, and some decent lip gloss gave me the toned down look I wanted.
The butterflies were in full swing as I grabbed my coat and threw it around my shoulders.
“Ready,” I said, as I opened the door.
I found Colin standing there, a smile on his face as he stuffed his hands into his coat pockets.
“It looks good on you,” he said.
“Thanks. For the compliment, and for getting it for me.”
“I figured since you didn’t know much about basketball, you wouldn’t know what team to cheer for.”
“Ah, so, you’re just looking out for me, right?” I asked.
“As long as you’re in my car, that’ll be my priority,” he said.
“And, you gave yourself away a bit there.”
“What do you mean?”
“You didn’t know that I didn’t know anything about basketball until lunch today. Which makes me wonder when you actually had time to get this thing between lunch and now,” I said.
“Don’t worry. With that brain of yours, you’ll have it figured out by the time the game’s over,” he said.
“I’m not sure if that was a compliment or a dig,” I said.
“Your mind is astounding. It’s definitely a compliment.”
I blushed at his words as we stepped into the elevator. We were the only two in the compartment and I could feel the walls closing in around us. Even with the ability to stand on the other side of the room from me, his body was close to mine. Positioned just behind me, with his hand trailing along the small of my back. My eyes fluttered closed, taking in the surge of electricity coursing through my veins. Even with a jersey and my coat separating us, I could feel the phantom sensations of his hands against my body.
