Though the lobby looked warm and inviting, the retail space mocked me with its cold emptiness. I needed to focus. I only had until the next quarter to show Svensson Investment that Frost Tower was a viable business proposition and shouldn't be sold off to the highest bidder.
I picked up Chloe's package and followed her to the elevator. She did this little wiggle when she saw me, and I took the liberty of resting a hand on her lower back to guide her into the elevator. I didn't have to, and I shouldn't have, but I needed to feel that connection again.
Chloe leaned back against the wall and grinned up at me as we rode up. The elevator dinged for her floor, and I handed her the package as she stepped into the hallway.
"You should follow me on Instagram," she said, blowing me a kiss. "Cookie lover."
Chloe was right, I did like her cookies. As I scrolled through her Instagram, I could see why she had hundreds of thousands of followers. There was something about her; it was as if she reached through the page to give the viewer a hug. I wanted her to reach somewhere else… That was a dangerous, distracting, and tantalizing line of thought.
A notification popped up that she had posted a new shot.
Just got this awesome gift from a fan!the caption read.
There she was in a low-cut top that said KISS THE BAKER. It hugged her curves and showed off a slight peek of midriff. Her friend must have snapped the photo, because she was on her bed raised up on her knees. In addition to the skimpy shirt, she was wearing these ridiculous reindeer antlers and black yoga pants. Her mouth was smiling and slightly open. I hastily closed the app. I wanted more than Chloe's cookies.
"I can't believe she's posting that on the internet for everyone to see," I muttered. I wanted to walk right down there and rip it off of her. No, not like that, just because it was a very revealing shirt. Not because…
I threw the doors open and let the winter inside.
The cold air focused me. The comment to Chloe about my mother made me think of my family, which made me think of Belle.
For a brief moment, I considered writing to Belle, but the final email she had sent before she disappeared had made it seem as if she didn’t want anything to do with us at all. I certainly hadn't been a great brother. I sighed, letting the cold air sear my lungs.
Belle would have liked Chloe, since they both loved Christmas. But maybe Belle had just been pretending. Maybe the whole thing had been a lie.
I turned back to my sad attempt at baking. The cookie monstrosities I had made were mocking me from my kitchen counter. I swept them into a Tupperware container and thought about how I could convince Chloe to come bake more for me.
Thankfully we weren't filming the next day, or at least I wasn't. I was sure Dana had something planned for the contestants, since they were all gathered in the lobby when I left the next morning.
I saw Chloe and immediately imagined her in the tight little T-shirt. She smiled at me, but I didn't trust myself to smile back.
"Good morning, Jack," Hartleigh cooed. Chloe's eyes narrowed from across the room.
"I have to go to a meeting," I told her, pushing past her. She latched onto the arm of my suit jacket.
"You work too hard. You should let me come visit you. I could help you…" She let her hand drift down the front of my suit. "Relax."
"No, thank you," I said through gritted teeth and pushed her away.
"I love a forceful man," she said, letting out a half moan.
"Why is my life so crazy?" I muttered as I hurried to the waiting car.
I tried to clear my mind as I walked into the Platinum Provisions corporate office. Here at least I was in control and things were going well. After the marketing meeting yesterday, I had scheduled a meeting with the cooking equipment design team.
"The marketing team wants more of a Christmas push," I told them. I could see annoyance on people's faces. I knew they didn't like surprises.
"The marketing department wants a special cooking product we can market as a limited-edition Christmas item."
"It will take a while to develop that," said one of the engineers.
"Let me clarify," I told him. "We already have the products manufactured, we're simply providing a little extra bonus item along with them. That small item is the only thing we need to develop."
"Are you going to help?" the engineer demanded.
"Do not speak to me like that," I growled. "I understand that it’s a lot to ask."
The engineer looked angry.
