Laurella tapped on Zane’s office door, a stack of papers beneath her arm. When he called out, she entered and gave him a bright smile.

“Ready to take a final look through the plans?” she asked, referring to their upcoming meeting with the senior leadership of Sorensen’s. Since her and Calum’s initial pitch and their first delivery, which had gone extremely well, they’d made great strides in building the relationship. If today went according to plan, they had a good chance of Sorensen’s signing a large contract. It was a huge deal for Necron, one that would grow the company by at least twenty-five percent, not to mention that Sorensen’s had a lot of influence in other markets that Necron was targeting.

“I certainly am.” He pointed to the seat opposite. “You could save a tree and bring your iPad, Laurella.”

“I like old-fashioned paper.”

Zane smiled. “Fair enough. Did Calum make those adjustments to the pricing model?”

“Yes. It’s all in here.” She handed the papers to Zane and took a seat, smoothing her skirt beneath her.

“And is Eric on board?” Zane asked, referring to their chief financial officer.

She nodded. “I’d go so far as to say he’s rather excited about the potential this deal will bring to the bottom line.”

“Money is the only thing I’ve found that Eric does get excited about. But that’s what makes him a great CFO.”

Zane flicked through the presentation. He made the odd note in the margin and gave an occasional “Mmm.”

Laurella waited patiently.

“It looks great,” he finally said. “They’d be crazy to turn their noses up at that deal.”

“They would, although from what I can glean, it’s our supply chain they’re concerned with. The fact we made the first delivery complete and on time will have done us a huge amount of good, though. Now we just need you to convince them we can scale up.”

Zane blew on the ends of his fingers. “Get ready for a master class.”

Laurella laughed. She loved working with Zane, and since this lead had come to fruition, she’d had the opportunity to study and learn from him up close. Zane might come across as a bit of a joker, but when it came to Necron, he was deadly serious. The minute the Sorensen’s team walked into the boardroom, the joking would end, and he would settle down to business.

She rose to leave. “Okay, well, I’ll grab some lunch and see you in the boardroom at three.”

“Hang on,” Zane said, forcing Laurella to sit again. “You’ve been with us almost six months now. I’d like your views on how it’s going. Do you think you made the right decision coming here?”

Laurella nodded. “I love it, Zane. I miss my family, of course, and Italy, but I wanted a new challenge.” She smiled. “Necron has certainly been that. I never wanted to stay in one company my whole career. I want to test myself, to grow in directions other than marketing. To add value and make a difference. I’m achieving all those things here.”

“That’s good. Because from my perspective, you’ve been an amazing addition to the team. A bit of a bumpy start,” he said, teasing. “But overall, you coming here has been really valuable.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

“And what about Calum?”

Laurella frowned. “What about him?”

“Things going well between you two?”

Her frown deepened. “I’m not sure how that’s relevant.”

“Calum’s my best friend as well as a valuable member of the team here.”

“And…?”

Zane grinned. “I admire your directness while maintaining a professional façade. I don’t mean to overstep the mark. It’s just that these past couple of months, he’s been so happy. I’ve never seen him like that in all the years we’ve known each other. I hope it lasts, that’s all.”

Laurella kept her gaze even, although her insides did a double flip at his comment about Calum’s happiness. “My work and my personal life are two separate things. It complicates matters that Calum works here, but from my perspective, I have never let our relationship affect my work.”

Zane shook his head. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insinuate that at all.” He rubbed a hand over the top of his head. “Clearly I need to work on my management skills. Forget I said anything.”

“Can I make a suggestion?” Laurella asked, taking pity on how the turn in conversation had made Zane uncomfortable. He was a person she liked and respected. She didn’t want him to feel awkward around her.

“Shoot,” he said.

“Calum is your best friend. If you want to know how things are going with his girlfriend, I suggest you ask him.” She smiled warmly to let him know she hadn’t been offended by his clunky questioning.

Zane returned her smile. “Fair point.”

She rose from her chair once more. “I’ll see you at three.”

Laurella sat on Zane’s left, her palms sweating from nerves and anxiety. This was the first big deal she’d brought to the table, and it had to go well. If they got Sorensen’s on board, she’d be able to use that as leverage in the discussions she was having with other companies.

She fiddled with her notebook, her pen, her hair, her fingernails. Calum cleared his throat. She lifted her chin. He winked, the movement so quick she almost missed it. She flashed him the briefest of smiles. He knew her so well. He must have guessed she was panicking. She’d put so much work into this deal. They all had. To come out the other side with nothing would be devastating.

After the presentations were over, the lead negotiator from Sorensen’s—Brad Novak, a hard-nosed but fair guy—asked a few questions which their team were able to answer with ease.

“I think we can do a deal, Zane,” Brad said. “I’ll get my legal team to draft the documentation and get it over to you as soon as possible so your lawyers can crawl all over it, too.”

Laurella suppressed a whoop, crossing her gaze to Calum, who was also having difficulty restraining his excitement. Zane and Brad shook on the deal, and Brad rose to leave.

“Oh, one more thing.” Brad turned to Laurella. “I hope you don’t mind, Ms. Ricci, but I’d like to put one of my top marketing guys on this full-time to work with you in developing the brand and advertising campaign to go with the launch. I hope that works for you?”

A thrill ran through her. She’d hoped he’d commit some resource from their side. It would make getting agreement on the direction she wanted to go in much easier.

“I have no issue with that at all. I look forward to working closely with your team.”

“Great. I’ll be in touch about the finer details.” He shook hands with Zane once more. “Let’s get this deal done.”

And with that, the Sorensen’s team left the boardroom. Once they were out of earshot, a broad grin spread across Zane’s face. “We’ve done it.”

“Thanks to Laurella,” Calum said, his expression one of intense pride.

“It was a team effort,” Laurella said. “I’m so pleased.”

“Calls for a celebration,” Zane said. “Drink?”

“Rain check?” Calum replied.

Zane glanced between him and Laurella. Then he laughed. “I guess three’s a crowd. Go on. Get out of here, both of you.”

Calum stood and walked around to Laurella’s side of the table. He took her hand, a public display of affection he rarely used at work unless they were alone in her office or his. He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to her palm. “Come on, beautiful. There’s a cocktail at our favorite bar with your name on it.”

It didn’t take long to reach Jax’s hotel. Inside, the lounge area was quiet, although at almost six in the evening, that wasn’t too unexpected.

“This is a nice surprise,” Jax said, placing two napkins on the bar.

“We’re celebrating.”

“The pitch went well?”

Calum grinned and slipped his arm around Laurella’s shoulders. “Thanks to this amazing woman, yes.”

“Then drinks are on the house.”

“What do you want, beautiful?” Calum asked as he pulled out a bar stool for Laurella.

“Surprise me,” she said.

Jax grinned. “Ah, someone who appreciates my creative talents.”

“You’ll regret that,” Calum said. “Jax has been known to mix the most disgusting concoctions when left to his own devices.”

“I take offense at that,” Jax said.

“Truth hurts,” Calum hit back.

Laurella chuckled. “Every time I come here, I’m always reminded of my family. We can bicker with the best of them.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting them,” Calum said as Jax poured all manner of alcohol into a cocktail mixer.

“Be careful what you wish for,” Laurella said. “My family have a fearsome questioning technique with any would-be suitors.”

“I think I’d be up to the task.”

A sudden urge to have her family meet the man who’d become so important in her life rushed through her. She tilted her head to the side. “Okay, lover boy. How about we fly to Italy in late August? The Sorensen’s deal should be well underway by then, and as long as we’re contactable, Zane shouldn’t have too much of a problem with us both taking a vacation at the same time.”

Calum slipped a hand around the back of her neck, his thumb brushing the soft skin there. “Sounds like a plan.”

Jax placed a tall fluted glass in front of her. “Try that. And if you like it, I’m putting it on the menu. I’ll name it after you.”

“Really?” She took a sip. “That’s strong but delicious.”

“Just like you,” Calum said.

“Smooth talker,” she responded with a laugh.

Jax set down Calum’s drink and discreetly moved away, giving them privacy.

“Are you really okay with Sorensen’s teaming you up with someone on their side?” Calum said.

She nodded. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Calum shrugged. “What if they’re a pain in the ass?”

“I have some experience in dealing with men like that.”

He laughed. “Seriously, though. What if they’re difficult to work with, or you can’t agree on the right direction to go in?”

“Again,” Laurella said, “I’ve got some experience in that area.”

Calum narrowed his eyes. “Carry on teasing me, Ricci, and you won’t get laid tonight.”

She snorted. “As if. One glimpse of my garter belt, and you’ll be putty in my hands.”

He ran a finger up the outside of her thigh, gently pushing her skirt upward. “You’re wearing a garter belt?”

She slapped his hand away. “I might be.”

He picked up both their drinks, stood, and began to walk away. “See you later, Jax.”

Laurella scrambled off the chair and went after him. “Where are you going?”

“We’re going downstairs. And I’m going to slowly undress you and then peel that garter belt off with my teeth.”