I felt like I was rooted to the spot as he moved towards me with that giant grin on his face. "No," I whispered.
"Yes," Jameson Tellar said with that grin.
And I blushed right up to the roots of my hair, realizing I'd said it aloud.
"It's good to see you again too, mysterious lady," he said moving to the hostess's stand.
I looked down and saw I was gripping it so tightly that my knuckles were white. This close I could see the different shades of blue in his eyes, the lighter burst around the pupil and the dark oceanic ring at the edge.
I swallowed hard blinked away from the blue of his gaze. There was a warm feeling settling in the pit of my stomach that made no sense. "Did you follow me?" I hissed at him.
But I already knew that answer. He was standing there in his suit with a guy I recognized from around town, one of the people in charge of the new development down by the waterfront. It was pretty clear that this was a business meeting, the one he had been heading to when we got into the accident in the first place.
But I refused to believe that this was all pure chance. "Did you try to track me down or something?" I demanded, lashing out so he'd think the heat in my cheeks was from anger rather an excitement.
Jameson looked highly amused. Rapping his knuckles on the wood of the hostess stand, he turned back to the man in the suit that he came in with. "You know the staff here, right Parker?" he asked, ignoring me entirely.
"Yeah, of course I do," Parker huffed. "I know everyone there is to know."
Jameson looked back at me. "Can you tell me this girl's name right here?" he asked.
Parker stared at me, letting his eyes trail up and down my body in a way that made me distinctly uncomfortable. "Unfortunately, no I can't," he said with a sharklike grin. "What's your name, sweetheart?"
I gritted my teeth. And looked over at Jameson. His smile had faded and the muscle at his jawline was twitching. I got the feeling he didn't like the way that Parker was looking at me, although I had no idea why that would bother him. He had no claim on me.
Though part of me wanted to see what would happen to Parker if he did.
I shook my head to derail that train of though. I was at work. I needed to be polite and formal and businesslike above everything else. "My name is Charlie," I said through gritted teeth.
Parker sniffed. "Like a boy's name?" he asked.
I opened my mouth to correct him that clearly no it wasn't a boy's name because it was my name and did he have a problem with his hearing?
But Jameson stepped back into my line of vision. "No, let me guess," he drawled. "It's short for something, right?"
I pressed my lips together and forced them upward into a smile. "That's right,” I said, seething.
"Give me three guesses," he told me.
"Can I show you to your table now?" I said instead. "Gina will be your server."
"Oh no," Jameson said. "I'd like to request that you serve us tonight."
"I'm not a server," I said proudly. "I'm the front-end manager."
The way his eyebrows went up, I could tell he was a little impressed, and I felt good that his assumption about me had been wrong. Hell yeah I was the front-end manager, my serving days were behind me. I was moving up in the world, and I didn't give a shit how rich he was, that did not mean he was better than me. "So, Gina will take care of you tonight, okay?" I said with a bright positivity in my voice. "Here she is right now as a matter of fact."
"Charlene," Jameson blurted.
I shook my head, letting my smug smile speak for itself.
He growled a little, and put on a fierce expression. "Cheryl," he said again.
I couldn't help but grin. "Not even close," I said. "Here's your table. Gina will be with you right away. I hope you enjoy your meal."
Frustration clouded Jameson's face. "I still have one more guess left," he grumped.
I licked my lips, enjoying his irritation way more than I should have. I put my hand on his table and leaned closer. "Looks like your luck is not really holding," I said primly.
"Charlotte!" he burst out. I froze and straightened up. And his eyes widened. "Ah, that's it!"
"No," I lied. "Wrong again."
He grinned and leaned forward, resting his hand on mine. "Liar," he murmured.
I looked down at my arm and inwardly cursed the goosebumps that were marching up my forearm. "How on earth did you guess that?" I sighed.
"Luck, I guess," he said. He leaned forward and his whisper sent a shiver down my spine. "Looks like you really are my lucky charm."
I felt my toes curl inside of my sensible shoes and opened my mouth to say something cutting and found I couldn't form words. Not with his warm hand on mine.
Finally, blessedly, he leaned back and slid his hand back. "Charlotte, who goes by Charlie," he mused. He tapped his finger against the side of his mouth. "That's kind of cute."
"I'm glad you think so, Jameson," I stammered. "Here's Gina right here. Enjoy your meal."
As I walked away, I could feel his eyes on me and I swear I heard him start to say something but I hurried away before I could find out what it was.
"Finn, I'm taking my break!" I called out as I rushed past his office.
"You okay?" he asked, turning in his chair. "You sound weird."
I cleared my throat but it was no use, my voice still came out strangled and wispy. "Maybe I'm still shaken up?" I ventured. "From the accident?"
Finn nodded seriously and stood up. "Sit down. Take a moment. I'll take care of the front."
I sagged into his chair and nodded gratefully while he looked at me with concern. "That accident messed you up pretty good, didn't it?" he asked kindly.
I closed my eyes, but that was a dangerous thing to do, because Jameson's face was the only thing I saw when I did so. Alarmed, I opened them up wide.
"Yeah, I guess so," I said to Finn.
I was a mother. I was only just starting to get back on my feet. I couldn't afford a single distraction. And charmingly arrogant rich men with blue eyes and a fetish for lucky charms were as distracting as they came.
I licked my lips. "Yeah, that accident messed me up. For sure."