"Yeah. A hot colleague." She shrugs. "Those blue eyes of his are ridiculous. Like, illegal-in-seven-states ridiculous."
I don't need the reminder. "Can we focus on Adrenaline, please? I want to review their competitive landscapebefore—"
A knock interrupts us, and I look up to find the owner of those ridiculous blue eyes standing in my doorway, looking annoyingly good in a navy button-down with... yup you guessed it… the sleeves rolled up.
"Morning," Sebastian says, his voice neutral but his eyes searching mine. "Sorry to interrupt."
"Not at all," Zoe chirps before I can respond. "I was just leaving."
Traitor.
Sebastian steps into my office, holding up a coffee. "Amelia caught me in the break room. She wanted me to let you know I'll be joining the Adrenaline call at eleven."
My stomach drops. "Excuse me?"
"She thought having some sports marketing expertise in the meeting would help seal the deal." He places the coffee on my desk. I look down and yes, it’s the exact order I mentioned to him Friday night while we were dancing all hot and heavy and talking about coffee. A peace offering I’m assuming that I have no intention of accepting. "I've worked with similar brands before."
"I've handled Adrenaline's preliminary meetings myself," I say, measuring each word carefully. "I'm familiar with their needs."
"I'm sure you are. I'll just be there for support."
Zoe glances between us, clearly sensing the tension crackling in the air. "I'm going to head back to my desk. Buzz if you need anything for the call." She slides past Sebastian with a poorly concealed smile.
Once she's gone, I level my gaze at him. "This ismyaccount."
"I know that." He takes a seat across my desk, too comfortable for my liking. "Amelia wants me involved because of my background. That's all."
"And when exactly were you planning to review the pitch materials? The call is in less than two hours."
"I was hoping we could go over it now?" He gestures to the folder on my desk. "Unless you'd prefer I go in blind?"
I bite back the sarcastic response dancing on my tongue. "Fine."
We spend the next hour reviewing the deck, and I hate that his suggestions are actually good. He knows the sportswear market inside out, offering insights about athlete endorsement strategies I hadn't considered. It would be easier if he were incompetent.
"Your concept is solid," he says, flipping through the competitor analysis. "But Adrenaline's demographic skews are younger than Apex's. We should emphasize social platform integration more."
"I've got that covered in the second phase rollout," I reply, turning to the relevant slide. "See?"
He nods, looking impressed despite himself. "That's... actually perfect."
"Try not to sound so surprised."
A hint of a smile plays at his lips. "I'm not surprised, Whitaker. I'm just—"
"It's Charlotte," I correct him.
"Right." He meets my eyes. "Charlotte."
The way he says my name sends an unwelcome flutter through my chest. I clear my throat and close the presentation. "Meeting's in the Zoom room at eleven sharp. Don't be late."
"Wouldn't dream of it." He stands, hesitating for a moment like he wants to say something more, then thinks better of it. "See you at eleven."
I watch him leave, then drop my head into my hands with a groan. Two hours with Sebastian in a high-stakes client meeting. This day just keeps getting better.
By 10:55, I'm in the Zoom room setting up the meeting. Zoe has arranged the space perfectly with water bottles, notepads, the presentation loaded and ready. I adjust my blazer and run through my talking points one last time.
Sebastian arrives at 10:58, sliding into the chair beside me. He smells like cedar and something citrusy, and I hate that I notice.
