Avery walked around the edge of the ornate rug in the lobby. He had a win, she was having dinner with him. Serial dating had taught him that sometimes women said no, but he didn’t want to hear that from Macy.
Macy stepped off the elevator before he completed his third trip around the lobby. He tried not to stare, but he couldn’t drag his eyes away from her slim frame. Loose curls framed her face. She seldom wore her hair down, but tonight it was free as if she wanted to shout her femininity at the world. At work she kept it tucked into a knot at the nape of her neck. He wasn’t prepared to see her like this. Gone was the professional façade. The woman striding toward him looked more carefree than he’d ever seen her. There were two people rolled up into her tight jeans and neatly tucked blouse, and he liked them both.
Each step she took towards him was like seeing something she’d been trying to hide. She wasn’t just another woman, the kind he’d dated in the past. She was different. Without trying she tugged at his heart.
“Do me a favor,” she said.
“Sure. What?”
“Call Celeste. I’ve been dialing her number and it keeps going to voice mail. I want to know if she’ll pick up for you. I need to talk to her.”
“Okay.” He fished his phone from his pocket, found her number and called.
“Hey, Avery. I thought you were out of town.”
“I am. I’m in Geneva. Look I have Macy here with me, she’d been trying to reach you. I’m going to put you on speaker.” He changed the setting.
Macy grabbed the phone from him and held it between them. “Hey, Celeste, have you gotten my messages?
“No. I’ve been swamped. What’s up?”
“My access to the accounting system was revoked. Stan is having a problem getting it restored. Can you see what’s taking him so long or help him out?”
“Are you and Avery having a good time?”
Macy looked up at him. “We’re conducting business. Can you help me?”
“Did you tell him it was a priority one complaint?”
“No. I didn’t use those words, but I told him I need it right away. Wasn’t that enough?”
“Sure thing, Macy. Now which system are you having a problem with?”
“The accounting system.” There was hysteria simmering in her voice, he’d never heard before.
“I’ll look into it.”
He leaned closer to the phone. “This is important, Celeste. Can you get it taken care of today?”
“Oh, look, Macy has Avery helping her out. Isn’t that cute.”
“Celeste, if you straightened this out, I’d really appreciate it,” Macy said.
“Consider it done.” There was a hint of sarcasm in Celeste’s voice. “You two have a good time. Enjoy yourself.” She disconnected the call.
Macy handed the phone back to him. “How much do you wanna bet, she doesn’t do a thing?”
“Of course, she will. Stan reports to her. She’ll make him do it.”
She shook her head. “Men are so dumb,” she mumbled.
“I heard that,” he said. “Whose decision was it to call me tonight anyway, yours or Roxy’s?”
“What difference does it make?” She snapped her head back.
“I’m curious.” He waited while she pouted. “Did you decide to reach out to me just so I’d call Celeste?”
“Umm.”
Her hesitation provided the answer, but he waited, forcing her to admit she was still hung up on something that blocked them from working comfortably together.
“Okay. Roxy insisted I’ll call you, even though I could handle it without your help.”
“Aren’t we supposed to be working together. If you don’t let me see the kinds of issues the company can run into, how can I help with the expansion?
She hesitated for a moment, looking down at her shoes like a scolded child. “You’re right. Now can we talk about the changes?”
“I’ve spoken to the concierge. He recommends a small restaurant that’s within walking distance.” He wanted to reach for her hand, but there was nothing welcoming in her eyes.
“I thought we’d eat here. This is more about resolving the contract issues than it is about eating.”
“We’re going out.” Without giving her an opportunity to reject his suggestion, he started toward the door. Outside he pointed in the direction they needed to go.
The cool evening air made him glad he’d brought his jacket.
“It’s colder than I thought.” She rubbed her free hand along her arm.
“Do you want to take my jacket?”
“I can run back and get mine,” she said.
“No. Take this.” He placed the jacket around her shoulders.”
She pulled it tighter. “Thank you. I left the room so fast…” She quickened her steps. He had to walk faster to stay even with her.
As soon as the waiter took their dinner order, Macy pulled the contract from her bag. “I’m thinking there is room to lower the price a little without starting an all-out price drop.” She flipped through the pages.
“Aren’t you at least going to eat first?”
The look she gave him should have been enough to signal her intentions. “This is a business trip. A long one. I think we should take care of business. With any luck, we can have this sorted out before our meals arrive.”
“Are you always this driven?”
“You know, before you came along I was pretty certain Roxy was finally going to promote me this year. Roxy just as much promised me. But since your arrival, nothing seems certain. In just a few short weeks, the courier lost the Bunting contract not once, but twice. The audit is coming up, and I’ve got some major issues to address before meeting with the auditors. So yes, I’m usually driven, but right now I’m driven on steroids. I want us to settle into a working relationship where we don’t step on each other’s toes.”
If she had any idea Roxy wanted him to report back on her abilities during this trip, she would without a doubt heave her glass of sparkling water across the table at him.
He caught the eye of their server. “Yes, we’d like a bottle of wine.” He retrieved the wine list still lying in the middle of the table and examined the choices. “Bring us a bottle of the house Cabernet Sauvignon. I don’t want to be too extravagant. This is a business dinner, after all.”
He couldn’t read the expression on Macy’s face. “You do like Cabernet, don’t you?”
“Can we take a look at the contract now?” She shoved the paper across the table with her index finger pointing at the pricing section.
By the time dinner arrived they had finished a glass of wine and managed to agree on the restructure for the payment clause.
“That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” Avery cut into the Porterhouse steak and popped the medium rare meat into his mouth, without looking at her.
“You remind me of my brother,” she said. “You don’t think anything bad can happen to you. He’s so sure he’s getting a scholarship to play football at the University of Maryland he didn’t want to apply to any other schools or any other scholarships. My mother and I had to berate him, and even then, he only applied to two more schools. He believes everything will work out in his favor. The only time I’ve seen you serious was when you were complaining about my work. So, tell me something.” She put her fork down. With her chin nestled into the palm of her hand, her eyes beamed with a seriousness he hadn’t seen before. “Are you only out to get me?”
“I’m not gunning for you. Never was. That day you rushed into my father’s campaign party, you looked like you were frightened to open your mouth.” He poured more wine into her glass before topping his off, too. “I see a very different woman now.”
“Everybody is entitled to a bad day.”
He pretended to think. There was no way he’d share the last year of his life and how his ex-girlfriend had made him look more than a little foolish. She had played him with the skillfulness of a surgeon, and he’d been too self-absorbed to know she was cutting up his heart. “Have you found out why your assistant quit?”
She shrugged. “No. I’ve sent a few emails asking my staff, but no one knows anything. I’ve tried to call her but didn’t get an answer.”
He glanced at his watch. “Try reaching her now. It’s early enough in the evening you might catch her.”
“Now? At dinner?”
“Sure, why not. If you really want to know.”
She pulled her phone from her purse and punched a few keys. “It’s ringing.” Her face brightened. “Hey, Michelle, it’s me, Macy,” she said.
Her face darkened, she pulled the phone from her ear and stared at the screen.
“What happened?”
“She hung up on me. She didn’t say anything, she just hung up.”
“What was that about? Is she mad at you?”
“Why would she be mad at me? This makes no sense. I was her manager, but we had a good relationship. We’ve hung out together. Gone shopping together. I’ve had her over for dinner and I’ve been to her place for game night with her friends.” She shook her head.
“Well it sounds like something between the two of you is broken. Maybe you’ll find out when you get back to Philly.”