The air seemed to thicken as Ridge’s last words came out with a glare pointed toward Parker. The whole thing seemed utterly absurd to her. Ridge didn’t need to be acting this way. In fact, the last thing Poppy needed was for whatever this was between the two of them to turn into a pissing match. Ridge appeared to show signs of jealousy towards Parker—which was weird because Parker was still married, and she wouldn’t ever go there, especially not with a boss. But Ridge was picking up on something she wasn’t, making her completely uncomfortable.
Could he really be jealous, though? I mean, we only chatted on a PM last night. And now that he knows who I am, the thought of him acting stalkerish went out the window. Still? Why is he looking at me like he wants to jam his tongue down my throat? God, this is all crazy talk! I’m letting my imagination get away from me.
“Okay, great! I should start working on this now so I can brief you at dinner. I’ll show you out if there’s nothing more, Mr. Turner.” She said as she motioned towards the door. She needed him gone, so she had time to process his actions. It was the best thing to do with the situation.
“That would be lovely!” He said as he extended his hand to her. “I want to thank you for agreeing to work on this project with me. Nothing excites me more than to be working so closely with you on this.”
God! Did he really just say that? And did he mean it the way I think he did? Of course, he did! Right? He wouldn’t have put as much emphasis on the word closely if he didn’t.
His gaze pierced her to her core, and more heat rushed to her cheeks. She grasped his hand, and electric currents shot up her arm, down her back, and pooled in her neither region. She shifted from one foot to the other, and that slight friction had more liquid heat hitting her panties.
What to the fuck? If this is how it is after a handshake, my panties won’t stand a chance while kissing him.
She immediately shook her head, trying to release the beyond dirty thoughts from her mind.
Settle down, Poppy! You’re working with him now, and momma always told you never to shit where you eat!
Poppy led Ridge out of her boss’s office and walked toward the long hall that led to the elevators. Her office was the third door on the left in the corridor, and she ducked in it to plop the laptop on one chair near the door.
Ridge sped past her in the doorway and walked right in.
“So, this is your office? The view is delightful.” He said as he walked to the floor-length windows to take in the New York City skyline.
“Yeah. That view doesn’t get old. That’s for sure. So, I’ll walk you to the elevators. I have to head down to the first floor to grab a bite before diving into your project. Thank you for adding me to this project because I’m pretty excited about it, Mr. Turner. I have connections with some CEOs and even a few on Wallstreet that have box seating for concerts and ballgames. Have you heard of Ciro DeLuca? He works on Wallstreet, but he’s expanded his investment portfolio, and I’ve been working on some ad campaigns for him. I’m going to hit him up and some others I know today because often those seats go unused.” Poppy said as she motioned for Ridge to follow her.
“Please call me Ridge. I understand the formalities with your boss, Poppy, but I’d rather you call me by my first name when we are alone. And yes, I am familiar with the name Ciro DeLuca. Even though we travel in similar circles, I’ve never met him.”
“Okay, Ridge, it is, then.” She says with a smile.
They were now at the elevators, and Poppy pressed the down button. Within a brief minute, the elevator opened, and they both got into the empty cart. This was not a surprise to Poppy since Creative Collabs was on the top floor of the building. If you were an employee using those elevators, you needed a keycard to get up to the top floor. Why did she lead him to the private elevator, not the guest one? No one else would ride down with them since it was the private one, and it would take some time for them to descend to the first floor. Panic filled her belly as her mind raced for something—anything she could say to the man to fill the awkward moment.
“I must admit that I was quite shocked to see you in the office today.” Poppy said, breaking the silence the only way she knew how.
Ridge shrugged.
“I am full of surprises. Poppy,” He turned to meet her gaze. “I want you to know that I really enjoyed our conversation last night and this morning. My only regret was that it couldn’t go on longer. Also, I hope I wasn’t too forward about dinner tonight. I appreciate you wanting to take the time to get to know me first, but this is a business dinner.”
She gave him a slight smile and was grateful to meet his eyes for the first time this morning without sheer embarrassment. He wanted to keep things businesslike, which helped calm her nerves, and she took that as a small victory.
“Ridge, it’s fine! I’m more comfortable now. I’ve been talking to you for weeks, and yes, let’s keep this a business dinner.” Her gaze broke from his as she glanced at the numbers above the elevator door. They had only descended four floors.
He raised her chin with his thumb and index finger to meet her eyes. The touch sent her heart racing.
“I am glad to hear that because I’d really like to get to know you better, Poppy.”
Her breath hitched, and electrical currents radiated throughout her body as his gaze lowered to her lips.
“I’m sure we will become fast friends now that we are working together,” Poppy said with a nervous laugh. “And that will be nice because I haven’t met many people since I moved here.”
He cupped her cheek.
“Poppy, I’d very much like to kiss you. But I respect you as the beautiful and successful woman you are here at work. Unlike your boss, I appreciate your business savvy. Having said that, I would never cross the line at your place of work. Let’s get to know each other, and perhaps we can become more than friends one day soon?” He said with a smile as he brushed her cheek with his thumb. He backed away from her as the elevator dinged and opened to the first floor.
She had to adjust her gait because his last words left her weak in the knees and her heels seemed glued in place as she walked out of the elevator. The cheek he had touched still radiated heat even after his hand was long gone. No other man’s touch had branded her before. In fact, no other man’s touch was as exciting as this.
They were now in the lobby, and she found her feet wanting to follow him to wherever he was going next. She couldn’t, of course, because she had to get some work done if she planned to debrief him at dinner.
“I will see you at dinner, then?” He asked as he patted her on the shoulder. Heat coursed through once more and slid straight to her core. A pool of heat now soaked her panties. The next hour would be uncomfortable in them, but she didn’t seem to care.
“Yes, I will see you at dinner.”
God, I’m in trouble!
Poppy smiled at him before striding toward the entrance to the café. She grabbed pastrami on rye, a bag of regular potato chips, and a Diet Coke and headed back to her office. She was settling in when her boss knocked on her door.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“I just want to thank you for coming to the meeting today. You had some great ideas for Ridge, and I couldn’t have done the meeting without you.”
Poppy’s eyes flick from her laptop to meet Parker’s gaze.
“Um? You’re welcome?”
“Poppy, don’t act so surprised! You are good at work, and I wouldn’t have hired you otherwise. I’m just—well, call me crazy, but I just wanted to give you some props for a job well done today. My ex-wife has always told me I need to learn to appreciate people better, so I’m trying here.”
Poppy’s brows narrowed.
“Okay? Thanks—I guess? You aren’t usually one to hand out praise unless you need something, so forgive me for sounding skeptical. It almost sounds like you are buttering me up so you can get me to do more work for you, and on top of what I need to do for Mr. Turner before six. If you’ve forgotten the time, I only have six hours to prep for the business dinner.”
“Well, perhaps I am. I have another client that could use your expertise. Care to work on both? I promise to give you a raise if you do. I can’t offer you a title. But I can ask corporate for another couple of hundred a month for you.” He said as he walked behind her desk.
“Parker, it sounds nice and all, but how about I get a handle on Turner’s project first, and then we can talk about whatever you want later in the week?”
“That sounds fair. I can give you a few days to think about it. So, how far have you come with the Turner project?” He asked as his hand grazed her shoulder. Parker tipped his head towards the screen of her computer.
He was inches from her, and her stomach flip-flopped and not in a good way. She heard the rumors that flew around the office. Parker Smith was a class-A man-whore; apparently, she was the next potential prey for this snake. No wonder his wife left him for her lawyer! Gross!
“I haven’t gotten very far, considering I just left your office about 20 minutes ago, boss.” She said as she slid her body away from him.
“Ah! Yeah, that’s true. Well, I’ll leave you to it then. Carry on!” He patted her shoulder again and hurried out of the room.
What the fuck was that all about? And why do I feel like I need a shower to get Parker’s stench off of me?
Poppy shook her head and wiggled her shoulders to get the creepy feeling Parker left on her body. Now was not the time to vomit. This project needed her undivided attention. She was halfway through creating an auction site account and cataloging the initial pieces by three in the afternoon. Already, she acquired a few art pieces from her best friend and slightly famous artist, Savanah Sully. She also had left a message with Ciro, who promptly texted her back that he’d have some Super Bowl passes for her by tomorrow morning. His baby was due in early January, and he wasn’t risking leaving his wife alone to deliver their baby. Poppy smiled at the sweet gesture.
If only a man thought so highly of me, he’d be willing to give up watching the Super Bowl live!
But who was she kidding? That wouldn’t happen. Not for Poppy.
She sighed as she posted the art pieces on the website. Poppy wasn’t sure if Ridge would appreciate the modern art pieces, but it was the best she could do on such short notice. She also emailed her old college pals, turned CEOs, and asked them each for a donation to Ridge’s Alzheimer’s cause. It was easy talking to them because the formalities didn’t have to be there with the initial contact.
Daryl Davis was the CEO of a high-end men’s clothing line. He always had extra tickets for many pop and country music concerts. In fact, one year, he took her to a Brad Paisley concert just to use the boxed seats that year.
Stephan Sanders owned one of the best sports magazines in the country, Pro Flair, and he had extra seats for any New York games, especially football. He was always inviting her to one game or another, but Poppy kept telling him she was holding out for a hockey game. They eventually made one a couple of years back. Their schedules never seemed to mesh these days unless it was the entire gang getting together.
Carl Connors was a bigwig in the fashion design industry and loved the theatre. Most in the fashion world loved the theatre and opera. Carl had just moved to New York from California a couple of months back, and Poppy was so excited to have him back in her life. He was one of her besties, but it was always hard to go clubbing with him because he dressed better than her. Not that Carl didn’t give her wardrobe and makeup tips when they knew each other, but Poppy was always too self-conscious. She wasn’t well-versed in glamming herself up. Poppy thought she was trying too hard when she put on too much makeup. Both hadn’t had the chance to reconnect now that he was here in New York just yet, but she figured he’d be just as receptive as the others to donate a night’s worth of tickets to Ridge Turner’s cause. And Poppy was grateful when he responded in kind.
Ridge was a well-established businessman who always had reporters following his every move. At times—at least while Poppy was standing in line at the grocery store, Ridge appeared to get more press than the royal family.
Poppy rubbed the back of her neck, which was now piercing with an ache. She glanced up at the right corner of her computer; it was already 6:30 in the evening.
Shit! Now I have no time to go home to change!
She dashed over to her closet inside her office. She perused the couple of dresses and shoes she stashed in there for emergency business meetings. It wasn’t often that she ever had to wear them. She could count on one hand how often her boss had her come with him to an important dinner. Still, now that she needed to change, she was glad her boss had suggested keeping a few items on hand for such emergencies.
It took her less than five minutes to change. She was fitting her feet into some beaded pumps when her phone pinged. By the ringtone, she knew it was a text.
I’m downstairs. I get I said to meet me at the restaurant, but I figured you might still be at the office, and I thought I’d surprise you and pick you up instead.
Poppy smiled at the thoughtful text and replied to Ridge.
I’m so glad you went with your instincts! I’m still here at the office. Just got finished changing into something more appropriate for dinner. I’ll be down in a few with my laptop and notes.
Within a brief minute, Poppy got a reply.
Great! Look for the limo parked out at the front of the building.