CC: Don’t forget, the jet takes off in three hours.
Me: I know. Don’t worry, I’ll be there.
I dropped my phone with a thud on the table and sighed as I leaned back in my chair, but before I could even begin to comprehend why I was so disappointed that it hadn’t been Aurelia, the conference room door opened.
Suddenly, after days of thinking about her, she was here. Aurelia Van Alen in the flesh, and she looked incredible. She wore a soft gray dress that somehow managed to look both businesslike and like she’d stepped out of a wet dream.
Her dark blonde hair hung in perfectly styled waves past her shoulders. Those big blue eyes were sharp and intelligent, and she wore dark colors that made them pop in a way I’d never seen before. Not only from her but from anyone. Ever.
It really looked like they’d been magicked to sparkle like precious gems. Those curves moved like they’d been hit by the same spell, specifically designed to transfix me. My mouth went dry, my vocabulary disappearing like a different part of my brain had tossed it out, yellingbye-lingual!
“Hey,” I managed, but the word came out more like a croak.
Real smooth, Westwood. Real fucking smooth.
Her eyes narrowed, her gaze assessing as she swept it across my face. “Are you okay? You look kind of flushed.”
“Flushed? No. I mean, yes. I mean. Fine.” I tugged at my tie like it was the curse responsible for my temporary incoherence. “I’m totally fine. Just rushed down here to get ready for the meeting, is all.”
She arched a manicured eyebrow in a way only she could manage, half-questioning, half-amused, and somehow, even though that had already been two halves, she also worked in another half of doubt.
That eyebrow lift shall henceforth be known as The Aurelia Special.
“Uh-huh.” She paused for a beat, those eyes boring into my own. “Are you sure you can handle this, Harrison?”
Handle this.
The words detonated in my brain, followed by a reel of every single way I would like to handleher—none of them appropriate for a conference room in broad daylight. I swallowed hard and prayed my face wasn’t broadcasting my mental spiral straight into the gutter.
“Absolutely,” I said with the kind of conviction that wouldn’t convince anyone that I was focused on the meeting. Not even myself. “I’m ready.”
Her mouth curved like she could see every unprofessional thought running wild through my head. “Okay, Westwood. You better hope that’s true because they’re going to be here any minute. Do you want to go over our game plan again?”
I shook my head. It wasn’t the game plan I was struggling with. It was concentrating while she was in the room. Hell, I hadn’t been able to concentrate when she’d beenoutof it. I was royally fucked with the faint scent of her now wafting through the air and those devastating eyes fixed right on mine.
“We devised our strategy together,” I said, finally managing to sound a little more sure of myself. “I’m pretty sure I don’t need to rehash something I was partly responsible for coming up with.”
“That’s what I thought until I walked in,” she said without skipping a beat. Finally brushing past me, she took a seat beside the one where I had all my things spread out. “Just do me a favor, Westwood. If you hit a blank during the meeting, just kick my foot and I’ll take over. The last thing we need is you stumbling all over your words like you did when I walked in.”
I groaned. “You caught me right in the middle of something. Jeez. Give a guy a break.”
“If you need one, take one. It’s not up to me to give you anything.” She sat down and busied herself by pulling files out of her laptop bag and setting up her computer.
A soft sigh worked its way out of me, but she either didn’t hear it or she really just didn’t care. Before I could make it worse—or better, depending on how I looked at it—the door opened again. A trio of suits filed in, led by the heir himself, his lawyers flanking him like bodyguards.
The air between Aurelia and me shifted instantly. It was game time and we had to present a united front.
I noticed eyes widening when they realized Aurelia was the investor, but I didn’t give them time to start formulating wild conspiracy theories. Striding around the table, I walked right up to the client and extended my hand.
“Mr. Kingsley,” I said as I gave him a firm handshake, forcing myself into the version of me who knew how to close deals and shake hands without tripping over his own damn tongue.
Even so, out of the corner of my eye, I could feel Aurelia watching me and all I could think was,handle this? If only she knew.
“Thank you all for coming,” I said after shaking hands with the lawyers too and waving them into the seats remaining at the table. “Please sit down and make yourselves comfortable. My assistant will be in soon to take coffee orders.”
I strode back around the table and sat as well. I didn’t waste any time jumping in. After I kicked us off and the coffee orders had been placed, I went over our proposal in meticulous detail, supremely aware of Aurelia sitting beside me.
She was leaning back in her chair, watching and listening, her gaze sweeping around the table like she had a built-in radar for bullshit. I covered our offer from every angle, making sure I didn’t leave anything out, but when I was done and the lawyersseemed to think there was room for negotiation, she finally leaned forward.
