Chapter Nine
Elena had carefully looked over the revised contract that Lucas’s boss had emailed her this morning with the changes Lucas suggested, signed it, and sent it right back. Everything looked in order and, since Lucas was involved in the process, she had a certain amount of trust going into it.
Imagine that. She actually trusted Lucas Albright.
Lucas was turning out to be quite a surprise to her. She had a good time at dinner with him on Saturday. He was funny and engaging and didn’t seem bored with her or the town at all. But maybe he was just being polite. After all, they would be working together. She still couldn’t believe that. Funnily enough, she did feel better knowing he would be with her on this project all the way through. A far cry from what she felt about him just a little over a week ago.
After the email went through, she got up and walked over to the only window in her office. It had snowed a few inches in the afternoon yesterday, and there was still a light coating on the boardwalk. Normally, she loved snow in December, but looking at it now put her in a foul mood, since it prevented Scott from coming down and seeing her.
At least it wasn’t work that kept him away this time. It seemed Mother Nature was against their getting back together, too. Scott talked about dinner next weekend, but seeing each other so infrequently was not going to help her case of having him propose again before the end of the month. She needed to do something quick. But what?
After a few knocks on her office door, it opened a crack. “You busy?” Lucas asked, popping his head in.
After she waved him in, the first thing she noticed was that Lucas didn’t quite look his normal self. Oh, he was as good-looking as ever in his casual yet confident way, however, based on the dark circles under his eyes, it looked like he had one hell of a bad night’s sleep—or was coming down with something.
“I’m not busy right now. Kinsley hired a new receptionist for the front desk so I could be free to take on more of Kinsley’s responsibilities. She wants a second in command around here. Which really means I have more responsibility, but less to do,” she added with a laugh.
“Great.” Lucas grinned as he shut the door behind him. “You’ll have more time to work with me then. Did you get the contract this morning?”
“Got and signed it. Your boss should have it by now. Everything looked great with your changes. Thanks again for that. And for encouraging me to ask for what I deserve.”
“You’re very welcome.” Lucas cocked his head, staring at her as if he could see right through her. “So what’s wrong then?”
Elena wanted to laugh. She didn’t know how Lucas was able to read her face so well. “I should be asking you the same question. You look horrible, you know.”
His mouth quirked. “You don’t mince words, Elena. I’ll give you that,” he said, taking a seat in front of her desk. “Honesty is a rare trait.”
“Did you not sleep well? Is your room all right?”
“My room is fine. I just spent the good part of the day working on some other projects I have lined up for the beginning of next year. Now what’s your story?” he asked. “You look like someone peed in your hot chocolate.”
She made a face. “Nice visual.”
“Trust me, you can’t see yourself.”
Was she really so transparent? She couldn’t remember Scott being so observant. Maybe she needed to work on her poker face more. Being by herself most of the time limited her need to worry about things like that. She was out of practice.
He was still looking at her, and the feeling was…strange. She wasn’t sure what was happening between them—newfound friendship or something more—but it worried her. “I don’t know. I’m beginning to think that this is all a mistake.”
He sat up, his eyes wide. “What do you mean? I thought you said you signed the contract and sent it. You can’t bail on me now.”
“No, I know. I wouldn’t do that. It’s just our plan. I don’t know if it will help Scott and me get engaged again. He was supposed to come down yesterday, but that never happened.”
Lucas’s face brightened. “He didn’t come down to see you?”
“Don’t look so thrilled,” she said with a wry grin.
“Oh, I’m not. Sorry.” He shook his head. “So, why couldn’t he come down?”
“Didn’t you venture out at all yesterday? It snowed like crazy.”
“Actually, I didn’t notice. I never left my room the entire day.”
“You didn’t? Not at all? Oh, Lucas, you should have texted me.”
He shrugged. “Like I said, Elena. I’m good on my own. I actually prefer it.”
That scenario sounded anything but good to her. In fact, stuck inside alone all day sounded… Well, it sounded like her day, but she was miserable while Lucas on the other hand seemed perfectly content. She and Lucas were so different, which, considering how much he’d been on her mind lately, was actually a good thing to remember. She’d been too preoccupied with Lucas, which she supposed, under the circumstance of them spending so much time together, was only natural. But it worried her. She needed to move things along ahead of schedule before her feelings got any more mixed up.
“Well, Scott couldn’t travel down in that weather, and now I have to wait a whole week to see him. If that. At this rate, he’ll never want to propose to me this month. This is not going as I planned at all.” She worried her lip. “I…I need your help.”
“Help? I thought I was already going to help. At Scott’s Christmas party.”
Elena threw her hands up in the air. “Are you even listening to me? It’ll be too late.”
“Too late? What’s going to happen? Will you turn into a pumpkin on December thirty-first?”
“That’s not funny. I feel like I’m losing control of myself.” My feelings. “I just need you to do something before then.” Before I ruin my own plan and end up alone with just the company of Chef Rick’s shortbread cookies and boxes of my parents’ belongings for the rest of my life.
Lucas rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know… We should really work on the ad before I say anything.”
“Please, Lucas!” She said, clasping her hands in prayer position. “I actually worked a little on the sketches yesterday. Wait until you see what I came up with. But I want you to talk to Scott first.”
He stared at her a long moment with an unreadable expression. She knew she was being a pain, but her future depended on being with Scott. It was what felt right. Or at least…what seemed right. She was desperate to have him talk to Scott and could only hope Lucas held at least a shred of compassion for her plight.
“Okay,” he finally relented. “It’d probably be better if I went back to New York anyway. I can talk to him in person.”
Yay! She jumped up out of her chair. “Oh my gosh, you’re the best,” she said, rushing over and hugging him, trying hard not to notice how nice he smelled—a mixture of the hotel’s lemongrass soap and something male and uniquely Lucas. “Thank you so much. Are you going to leave now?”
“No. We will leave this afternoon.”
We? She slowly drew back, thinking she must have misheard him. “Wait. You mean you’ll leave this afternoon, don’t you?”
He shook his head with a smirk. “No. You’re coming with me. If I go back to New York, I need you so we can jointly work on this campaign and make sure it all comes together. I’m on a deadline, too, you know.”
“B-but I can’t. I don’t know if Kinsley will be able to let me leave or not. I can’t just take off on her.”
“Talk to her. After all, your vacation in the mountains was cut short, no thanks to me. I’m sure she’ll let you make up that time in New York City.”
Lucas had a small point. Maybe she could go up to New York, get a little work done, see some sights, spend time with Scott…
Yes, actually, the more she thought about it, the more she admired Lucas’s brilliant thinking. This was the perfect way to spend more time with Lucas. Scott! She meant Scott. This was the perfect way to spend more time with Scott.
It was going to be so romantic. Maybe they could take in The Rockettes show together and watch the Christmas light display on the Saks Fifth Avenue building. All things she’d wanted to do but didn’t have the time last year because of her schedule at the hotel, his work, and all the wedding planning she’d done.
“I’ll talk to Kinsley,” she told him. “Then you promise to talk to Scott for me?”
“As much as I don’t agree with this dire necessity you seem to have placed on marriage to Scott, I do promise that if you give me a few hours of your time on this campaign today, then I’ll definitely have some great things to say about you to Scott.”
She bit her lip. “And what if I wasn’t helping you with your ad?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, would you still have great things to say about me to Scott?”
Lucas looked at her, his gaze so direct and unwavering that her feet suddenly felt pinned to the floor. “Yes,” he told her, his voice deep and sincere, “I would have only the very best things to say about you whether you were helping me or not. Now that I’ve gotten to know you better, I can’t imagine any man giving you up.”
Her heart thudded twice. “Um…good.” She cleared her throat, forcing herself to break eye contact. “Thanks. Maybe I’ll go find Kinsley now and see what she says.”
“I’ll start packing. Text me as soon as you know.” He stood and stretched his arms until his shirt pulled taut against his chest.
She blinked then backed away toward the door. The room suddenly felt a little off-kilter, like she’d abruptly woken up in the middle of the night from a bad dream. Something about the way Lucas was looking at her had her whole body at attention, which was unsettling. But also a little bit exciting.
Oh my gosh, she had completely lost her mind! First she messed up their names and now this. She wanted to get back together with Scott. She wanted to marry Scott. Yet, here she was wondering what it would be like to run her hands over Lucas’s broad chest. Naked broad chest.
She was the worst kind of girlfriend/soon-to-be-fiancée/almost-future-wife ever.
“Are you okay?” Lucas asked.
No! I’m not okay at all. In fact, I might have contracted a rare hallucination-causing disease. Dear lord, she could only hope it was a disease.
And that it had a cure.
She sent him a weak smile. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“You look nervous about the prospect of going to New York City.”
I’m nervous about the prospect of being alone in the car ride up with you. I’m nervous I’m finding you so attractive. “Nope. Not at all.”
He smiled. “Good, because I need you to focus and have your creative head in the game on this with me.”
She swallowed. “Yes, I will. No worries there.”
The drawings she could handle. Her sudden attraction to Lucas? Well…
That was definitely something for her to worry about.
…
Lucas played around with different fonts and their placement as Elena finished her sketches of her Santa Claus. They’d driven directly from Cape Harmony to his office and had spent the entire afternoon there. But it had been extremely productive. Elena started on her last drawing and, once she was done, they’d show them all to Craig Campitelli at Fun & Games Toys for final approval. Then they could move to the next stage of inking the line work and then coloring the characters.
He had to hand it to Elena. She worked efficiently and professionally for not having experience in this line of work. She took his suggestions and critiques well, too. They made a good team together. A good professional team, that is. He was surprised he enjoyed working with someone else as much as he did. He was typically pretty selfish when it came to sharing work details and contracts. As a result, he worked better alone. Just like in his personal life.
“Did you text Scott yet to let him know I’m in the city?” she asked, not looking up from her work.
“Uh, no. Not yet.”
She stopped drawing and looked up, directing her soft brown gaze at him. “Why not?”
Yeah, Albright. Why not?
Because like he already suspected, he was selfish. That’s why. He wanted Elena and her thoughts and her smiles all to himself—even if they were just working, even if it was for just a few hours. Which was stupid. She’d done everything he’d asked of her and for some unknown reason, he was hesitating living up to his end of their bargain. Some friend he was.
He cleared his throat. “You know Scott. He’s so busy he wouldn’t check his text messages in the middle of the day anyway. I’ll do it a little later.” Much later.
Elena chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, which had him staring at her perfectly kissable mouth. A mouth he had no business even thinking about and would never kiss in this lifetime anyway, but still, he couldn’t look away. “I guess that makes sense,” she said with a frown.
A knock on his office door drew his attention away from Elena, thankfully, and his boss, Marshall Sundberg, walked in. “Hey, Lucas,” he said in greeting, “how are the sketches coming along?”
Lucas stood. “We’re actually in the home stretch, sir.”
“Wonderful. Craig loves what he’s seen so far.” His boss smiled down at Elena. “And you must be Elena Mason,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m Marshall Sundberg. So very nice to have you as part of the team on this project.”
Elena smiled and shook his hand. “Thank you. I’m so honored you wanted to use my drawings.”
“Talented and humble.” He winked at Lucas. “She’s going to make you look even better to the other partners here.”
Elena looked up at Lucas and cocked her head. “Other partners?”
Lucas nodded. “Just a few of the shareholders here at Bold Mine Advertising. They’re evaluating my work.”
Marshall approached the table where they’d been working and frowned. “Huh. Are you sure you want to draw a sleigh that’s so unorthodox? It takes up so much of the picture, too.”
Elena’s face grew pale, and her eyes widened. “Oh, I just… I thought I could have more freedom with the design. If you want me to change it, I could—”
“Elena,” Lucas said, reaching for her hand and giving it a squeeze, “you’re the designer. Did you draw it that way for a particular reason?”
She glanced over at him and her posture relaxed a little. “Well, yes. First off, this is a modern, unconventional Santa, therefore he needs unconventional modes of transportation. Secondly, if you look at the dimensions of the page, you really need it that large to make sure the company’s name is clear and readable and not overcrowded.”
Marshall studied the drawing again, then after a minute, nodded. “Makes sense. I’ll defer to whatever you think.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said, beaming.
His boss gestured to the door. “May I speak to you in private, Lucas?”
“Sure.” Lucas glanced at Elena. “Be right back. I’ll grab us some coffee.”
Elena smiled dreamily. “Ooh, that sounds great. And maybe a little snack too?”
His boss chuckled. “There’s a bakery on the first floor of this building. I’ll have him send up a cookie tray.”
“You don’t have to go to all that trouble,” she said. “I don’t want to be a bother.”
“Nonsense,” Marshall said. “You’ve earned it with those miraculous drawings.” Then he walked out the door with Lucas following behind.
Once outside his office, Lucas closed the door behind him. “What did you want to speak to me about, sir?”
Marshall leaned in, lowering his voice. “As soon as the final sketch is done and everything is approved, we’ll proceed full steam ahead on this campaign. The rest of the firm is extremely pleased and wants to move ahead just as quickly on making you partner. As a result, I imagine you’ll have a very special Christmas this year, if you know what I mean.”
Lucas’s chest felt like it would burst. He’d be partner before the New Year. “Thank you so much. I really appreciate the opportunity and support.”
“You might not feel this way come next year,” he said with a chuckle. “They already want you to be the lead man on several projects they’re looking to sign.”
“I look forward to the challenge.” And he did. This was it. What he’d been working for all along. What he’d loved doing most. What he was best at.
“Glad to hear it,” Marshall said, grinning. His gaze then shifted to Elena through the glass window of his office. Her chin was tilted down, and she appeared to be analyzing her work. “Nice girl,” his boss commented.
Lucas’s focus never wavered from Elena. “Yes,” he answered automatically.
“Talented, too.”
Absolutely yes. “Yes.”
“Interested in her other than professionally?”
Hell yes.
Lucas’s gaze whipped to his boss, afraid he’d said his thoughts aloud. “No. Not at all.”
Marshall laughed and clapped him on the back. “Thank God for that. Don’t need a sexual harassment suit on our hands. And even if it was consensual, our line of work puts a strain on relationships. I’m sure you know that by now.”
“Yeah. I do know.” Not that he needed the help of his career to destroy a relationship. He could achieve that one all on his own.
“Well, Elena’s work will certainly help put you on the map here. Your career will soar. And for people like us, that’s all that really matters, right?”
Lucas’s gaze traveled back to Elena, who chose at that exact time to look up and send him such a sweet smile that his mouth went dry. She’s not yours, he reminded himself. Lucas had no business even thinking she could be. He was the kind of man who would hurt her in the end. Marriage was a risky bet for him, and marriage was what she wanted. More importantly, she wanted Scott. Better to focus on his promotion, where he could succeed, and what he knew for sure would bring him happiness.
He turned back to Marshall. “Yes, sir,” he croaked. “That is all that matters.”
Or at least, it had been.