I followed him, telling myself it was all normal, just biological reactions between a man’s body and a woman’s body. Our bodies were just reacting to attraction. That was their job. And it was the job of our heads to decide if that attraction was wise to act on or not. This was definitely an “or not” sort of situation.
Originally, I’d been afraid to acknowledge my attraction for Mr. White because I needed the job. But now I thought I was just scared to see what would happen if we unleashed the growing tension. It felt like the two of us letting loose at this point might be roughly equivalent to splitting the atom. Atomic.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“There’s a restaurant here. We’re meeting some of my partners. Be on your best behavior. These are long-time friends of mine. I want you to make a good impression.”
“Oh, I’m meeting your friends now? I guess things are really getting serious.”
Mr. White stopped, turning to face me just before we reached the hostess who stood outside a white tablecloth restaurant within the hotel. “Jules,” he said. “I will admit I haven’t been entirely professional when it comes to our working relationship. That’s my mistake. But it’s a mistake I intend to fix. I suggest you do the same.”
I was torn between wanting to kick him between the legs and nodding my agreement. It was there again—that implication that I was just as guilty as him of egging on whatever this was brewing between us. I knew I should’ve just nodded my head, but it frankly pissed me off that he wanted to keep lobbing those assumptions my way. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Mr. White. Could you be more specific?”
He stepped closer, giving me a dizzying view of his green eyes. Those eyelashes of his were impressively long, too. “Are you sure you want to go down this road?” His words were laced with warning.
But I was still irritated with him, so I nodded my head. “Yes. Please, enlighten me.”
“I’m having trouble getting you out of my mind, and it irritates me. This weekend is absolutely critical to everything I’ve worked towards for the past ten years, and all I can think about is you. Frankly, I’m sick and tired of it. I want you off my mind, Miss Adams. And yes, I hold you personally responsible for causing such a distraction.”
My breath caught. He spoke with so much intensity that it literally felt like it sapped the air from my lungs. I licked my lips. “I think you’re an insufferable egomaniac. You have the emotional range of a robot, and you ask way too much of your staff. And speaking of your staff, I think we’d both have an easier time staying professional if you stopped letting it get hard and poking me with it or pressing my face into it.”
Something very dangerous flashed in his eyes. He was standing so incredibly close, and the few people passing by us to head into the restaurant or move about the hotel seemed to fade out of view.
I was sure he was going to kiss me. The knowledge came suddenly and without warning, but I could feel it in my core. I knew it was coming, and I knew I was going to let it happen. Worse, I knew I was going to embrace it, because two human beings could only endure so much tension before they burst. Or gave in.
“Adrian,” a man said in a deep voice. He seemed to appear from nowhere, and he clapped Mr. White on the shoulder of his suit, smiling broadly as he moved to his side and faced me. “Are we having an argument? Things looked pretty tense over here.”
Just like that, the thick air between us seemed to snap and I could finally breathe again. I stepped back, feeling my head clear. I could hardly believe I’d actually been so ready to kiss him—to do anything with him if it meant releasing the tension pounding in my lower stomach.
I looked at the newcomer. He was tall with tattoos creeping out from his suit sleeves to the back of his hands and up the base of his neck. His blond hair was shoulder length and thick. The gorgeous man stuck his hand out towards me. “I’m Travis.”
I smiled, shaking his hand.
Mr. White subtly gave the man a little nudge to break our handshake. “Travis and I have worked together for a very long time. Travis is a sales wizard. When a deal needs closed or a client needs greased, he’s the one I call. But come on, there’s one more person you’ll need to meet. He should be waiting for us inside.”
And just like we hadn’t been milliseconds from kissing our professional business relationship goodbye—quite literally—we all headed into the restaurant.
I forgot about what had just happened when I saw the beautiful interior of the restaurant. It was covered in greenery and stonework with running water that trickled over the stones and fed into shallow rivers of water. The whole restaurant felt like some temperature controlled perfect slice of nature. My mood immediately brightened. It felt like I’d spent the last half year in cramped apartments and oppressive offices. As much as I didn’t miss my old life, I had to admit being somewhere this beautiful felt nostalgic and comforting.
“Mr. White,” a young girl at the hostess stand said. She straightened like she knew his reputation, then grabbed three thick leather menus and led us to a table.
Mr. White and Travis were speaking about something as we walked that I couldn’t make out and didn’t try to. They shook hands and did the manly shoulder patting routine when we met their other partner at the table.
It looked like the three of them must’ve all gone to the same male modeling camp when they were kids. The guy waiting at the table for us was clean cut with glasses and dark hair. He had a sexy nerd thing going on.
All together, Mr. White looked like the one who would’ve played quarterback in high school. He was athletic, but in a lean, efficient sort of way. He was clean cut with enough intensity and danger to make him seem like the bad boy, even without visible tattoos. He looked like the one people followed.
Travis seemed to be the charmer. The one who wound up sleeping with his teacher when he was in high school and got kicked off the football team. He was thicker with muscle, but his face wasn’t constantly molded into a frown like Mr. White’s. He looked easy to talk to and relaxed.
The one in glasses seemed like the valedictorian type. I could imagine him giving a speech at graduation and secretly having the heart of all the smart girls. He was the too-good-to-be-true guy that parents loved.
“This is Noah,” Mr. White said. “He’s our infrastructure guy. Absolute genius. I’ve never shown him a system he can’t improve.”
The four of us took our places around the table. It looked like Travis was about to sit beside me, but Mr. White smoothly slid into the spot at my side, leaving Travis across from me and Noah to my left.
I felt completely out of place, so I tried to distract myself by burying my face in the menu.
“Don’t let the prices scare you,” Travis said. He had an easy smile that made me feel relaxed. I could see how he was probably effective in closing sales. That, and probably getting women into his bed with that straight-toothed smile and those dimples of his. “Adrian over here covers all company meals. Order as much as you want. It’s on his dime.”
As if Adrian could read my thoughts about Travis’s attractiveness, he splayed his legs slightly, which caused his knee to rest against mine.
I felt like he was marking me out somehow. Like a dog pissing on its favorite bush. How flattering.