The next two weeks were brutal. I managed to push everything to the back of my mind while Sienna and I were lost in each other. We both even turned off our phones when we weren’t in the office. But there was no ignoring my responsibilities once my phone started ringing every morning, and my inbox had over fifty unread messages, twenty with urgent in the title.
Sienna and I were finalizing the rebrand in the evening. I was proud of the result, but that didn’t mean the board and the bank would agree to extend the credit line.
I felt so much pressure that sometimes I could barely breathe through it. There was so much at stake keeping the store afloat, not letting down my employees, my parents, and even Sienna. I wasn’t sure she’d still look at me the same way if this went south.
How many times had she told me that she loved how brilliant I was? I felt anything but as I read the cashflow reports.
Every new report just brought worse news. I’d thought I could wait until after Christmas for the board meeting, but it was becoming increasingly more obvious that it wasn’t feasible. They’d have to make a decision much sooner than I’d hoped.
“Earth to Mr. Statham,” Sienna called. We were in my office one afternoon. She’d been giving me the rundown of a few ideas she’d just added to the rebranding campaign. I’d been listening in the beginning, but then had been too captivated by those gorgeous lips, the way she moved around the room, to pay attention.
As usual, I couldn’t help but smile when Sienna was around.
“What did I tell you about calling me that?”
“Well, you’ve got all that broodiness going on again, so I’ve downgraded you all the way to grouchy boss again.”
I cocked a brow. Sienna met my challenging stare with one of her own.
“What? You’re scaring everyone again.”
“I’m under a lot of pressure.”
“I know.” Her voice was softer. “Talk to me.”
“I’m going to have to meet with the board sooner than I hoped. I’m flying to Burlington this Thursday.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah... Can you come?”
She shook her head. “I have an important meeting in the morning. No way can I cancel it. Anything I can do to help right now?”
I tilted my head. “Help? Close the door and come closer.”
She licked her lips. “Not such a good idea—”
“Close the door, Sienna.”
She did as I said, and when she turned around, I noticed her cheeks were pink. She was still across the room, though.
“Come closer,” I repeated.
She shook her head. “No, I know what you want to do.”
“And what’s that?”
She played with the ends of her hair.
“Sienna. Come. Here.”
Sighing, she started walking toward me. I pushed my chair back from the desk, pointing to my lap.
“Winston!”
“Now I’m Winston again?”
She looked over her shoulder. “What if someone comes in?”