Grant put his hand to the small of her back, guiding her forward. “Apparently, her radar for submissives is more finely tuned than mine.”
Charli pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. That couldn’t possibly have been Grant admitting he’d been wrong about her. That maybe his initial assessment of her had been a swing and a miss. She should buy a helmet—the sky might collapse.
“Gloating isn’t becoming, Ms. Beaumonde,” he said, his tone as cool as the air in the quiet hallway. “You just earned yourself a reprimand from the boss after this meeting is done.”
The smile she’d been fighting broke through anyway. “Sorry, sir.”
He stopped in front of pair of frosted glass doors. “Now don’t embarrass me. I expect you to be professional. These people are important.”
The warning had her grin sagging and her back straightening. Nerves settled around her like high-strung little birds, twittering all the what-ifs in her ear. She and Grant may be playing roles, but the people on the other side of that door were real. Grant’s business and reputation weren’t a game. She rubbed her lips together, smoothing her lipstick, and nodded her readiness.
He pushed open the doors and she followed behind him, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. The last thing she needed was to trip and fall. The fearsome image of her doing a belly flop and exposing her lack of underwear to a room full of businessmen had her walking with the deliberateness of a gymnast on a balance beam.
The long conference table was filled with men in suits and one woman in a smart maroon blouse. Conversation was humming between them all, but quieted when they noticed Grant.
“Afternoon, everyone,” Grant said, flashing one of his lazy cowboy smiles toward the room. “I appreciate y’all venturing out to the country to visit today.”
Charli laced her fingers together in front of her, trying to blend into the background. The less she was noticed, the less chance she had of doing something wrong.
Greetings were exchanged, and Grant let everyone make introductions. Most everyone was involved with either a restaurant chain or a gourmet store—all places that could stock Grant’s wine. Grant turned to her. “Charlotte, I have some brochures about the new line we’re rolling out. They’re in the bottom drawer of that file cabinet in the corner. Please retrieve them and make sure everyone has a copy.”
“Yes, sir.” She headed to the back corner of the room, happy to have a task as Grant flipped open a laptop and turned on the slide projector to begin his presentation. When she reached her destination, she realized the file cabinet was half blocked by a man with shaggy blond hair who’d pushed his chair back a bit so he could hook an ankle over his knee. He was making a note on the legal pad in his lap and didn’t seem to notice he was in the way.
She leaned down, keeping her voice low “Excuse me, I’m sorry, but I need to get by.”
He glanced up, his blue-eyed gaze colliding with hers. The smile he gave her could probably slay a cheerleading squad in one fell swoop. He was pretty in that way that was almost too perfect. She preferred the more rugged look, like Grant, but even she wasn’t immune to this version of male beauty. He rocked forward in his seat, putting both feet on the ground, and rolled the chair to the side. “No problem.”
Once he was out of the way, she moved toward the file cabinet, eyeing it warily. Grant had said the bottom drawer. Her pencil skirt wasn’t overly short, but it was formfitting and there was no bending over easily. She peeked up at the front of the room and caught Grant watching her even though he was speaking easily about his new products. His lips tugged up at the corner, letting her know he was well aware of the predicament he’d put her in.
Dammit. She looked at the cabinet again, and noticed Grant wasn’t the only one keeping an eye on her. Blondie gave her a sideward glance as he made more notes. Apparently, he had figured out her quandary, too. Not that he was offering any help or anything. With a huff, she attempted to get to her knees gracefully. Using the rocking motion she’d failed in the intro class, she managed to hit the floor without a sound and without exposing her ass to the world. Win!
She grinned and Blondie coughed, the noise sounding suspiciously like a muffled laugh, but she pretended to ignore him. The file drawer was full of materials, but she found the stack of brochures Grant had requested and grabbed them. Of course, now she had to get back up. She used her free hand to propel herself upward off the floor, but before she got to a full stand, her heel caught in the carpet and she had to reach out for the wall, dropping the papers all over the floor.Author: Roni Loren
“Shit.”
All heads turned toward her. She cringed, her cheeks going hot. So much for blending into the background. Blondie jumped up from his seat to help her.
Grant pinned her with a hard look, like an arrow shooting across the room and fastening her to the wall. “Is there a problem, Charlotte?”
His words should have embarrassed her—he was admonishing her in front of all these people—but hell if she didn’t go wet from his authoritative tone. Her nipples went as hard as pebbles against the thin blouse. Fuck. “I’m sorry, sir. Just a little clumsy.”
He gave a put-upon sigh, letting her know she’d just earned a mark in the punishment column. “Kade, thank you for helping. Now back to what I was saying…”
Grant returned to his presentation, and Charli crouched down as best she could to help Kade. “Thank you, I’ve got it, really.”
“Clearly,” he said, his smile wry. He gathered the last of the brochures and handed them to her, then took her wrist to help her to her feet. His thumb brushed across the abrasion marks Grant’s rope had left. He shook his head, as if disappointed.
He bent close to her ear. “His?”
It was a simple word. A simple question. But the idea behind it had something strange welling up inside her. An ache that seemed to open up a fissure right down the center of her chest. She nodded even though it wasn’t true. She wasn’t Grant’s. Not really. Would never be.
“Lucky bastard,” Kade whispered before returning to his seat.
She stood there for too long. Kade’s interest was flattering. A week ago, a guy like him would’ve never given her a second glance. But for some reason, she wanted to cry. She stared at Grant, watching him captivate the room with his knowledge and his easy humor. He was so vibrant, so full of confidence. But she knew what lay beneath it, saw how lonely and lost he’d been last night.
She’d only seen that look on one other man—her father. And that grief over love lost had sucked the joy out of the last fifteen years of her dad’s life. A broken heart had killed him slowly and painfully.
And she’d be damned if she was going to stand by and let Grant do the same thing to himself. She may not be able to compete with the memory of his wife, but after that kiss last night, maybe she had a shot of reminding him he could feel something.