How could it be just him and the newborn? It didn’t make any sense, but it wasn’t my business. The man probably spent a sleepless night with his kid, and I’d been a complete bitch.
I downed my glass of orange juice, wishing I’d gone for champagne instead, but I didn’t like to drink alcohol at work events. It slowed me down, and I’d come here to network and potentially get new clients. But right now, I only had one goal. I needed to find Beckett alone and apologize.
Crap, crap, crap. Piper, how did you get yourself in this mess?
Josh had been displeased that my pitch went nowhere. I’d felt horrible about it all and promised I’d get new clients tonight. I didn’t have any time to waste, but that didn’t matter right now. Talking to Beckett was more important. Not because I was hoping to get him as a client, but because I was actually a decent human being and needed to apologize. I truly wanted him to know that I was sorry for all the things I said this morning. I was totally out of line either way, and I knew it. I knew where Gino had taken him, so I headed straight to the back room.
When I stepped inside, I surveyed the room quickly. There were only a handful of people, so I found Beckett right away. He was chatting with this year’s winner. I waited patiently until they finished the conversation, then moved within his view. I waved my hand, vying for his attention. He immediately snapped his head my way.Red suit for the win.
I smiled at him apologetically—or at least I hoped that’s how it came across. Beckett headed straight toward me. He trained his dark eyes on me, and I fidgeted in my spot.
“Ms. Dawson,” he said. “Come to insult me some more?”
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. “No. Look, about this morning…”
He tilted his head, a smile playing on his lips. “Go on.”
“I’m truly sorry about what I said.”
“Which part?” The corners of his mouth twitched. Oh, this was amusing to him. Good. At least one of us was enjoying this conversation. “You were right. I had been staring at the bottom of a bottle. A bottle of milk that I was feeding to my little girl.”
“I was way out of line. I assumed way too much, and I was completely unprofessional. And I am truly,trulysorry. I had no idea that…”
What was I supposed to say? “You looked like shit because you were probably up all night with your daughter”? I didn’t know how to phrase that politely, so I just didn’t say anything at all.
Goodness, this man was incredibly handsome. We hadn’t been anywhere near this close this morning, so I hadn’t been able to take in all the fine details, like the curve of his chin and his straight nose.
“Listen, I usually don’t act like that,” I said. “I was just mad that I’d been waiting for an hour, and you didn’t seem interested in what I had to say at all.”
Beckett straightened up, his expression suddenly serious. “Yeah, about that. I have to apologize as well. In all honesty, I hadn’t noticed our meeting on the calendar. I usually check my schedule the night before, but with recent events… I didn’t have time.”
“Of course. Is there anything I can do to make up for the way I acted this morning?”
For the first time since I met him, Beckett smiled at me, and I was completely dazed. His smile was absolutely delicious. He had full lips and dimples at the corners of his mouth.
Damn, the man was gorgeous. He was wearing a different suit from this morning. That one had looked great on him, too, but this was perfection.
“There’s no need. I don’t hold grudges, Ms. Dawson.”
“Piper,” I offered. “Please call me Piper.”
He nodded. “Piper it is.”
“You don’t hold grudges?” I asked.
“No.”
“So, I’m forgiven? That easy?” I teased, realizing that probably wasn’t the case.
He tilted his head again. God, I loved that playful smile on his face.
“Were you hoping that I’d make you work for it?”
I laughed nervously. I didn’t even know what I was hoping for.
He ran a hand through his hair and then dropped it. “I apologize for the way our meeting ended. I’m usually not that unpleasant, but I lost my patience.”
“I don’t blame you,” I said, and he cocked a brow. “Entirely,” I added.
