Chapter Twenty-One
Harrison
I looked to my right as soon as I woke up. Caroline laid sound asleep like a baby on my arm. I never imagined that the death of my daughter would lead to a relationship developing between us two. I loved everything about her, but at the same time, it was becoming increasingly difficult to tell whether I had true feelings for her or if I was using her as a crutch to help me cope with my daughter’s death. I didn’t want to hurt her in the long run, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy her presence. Who knows if we would have crossed this road had Sarah still been alive? It was hard to tell, but for right now, at least, everything going on between us felt natural.
I adjusted my position in bed, and Caroline’s eyes opened slowly. “Good morning,” she said as she nestled closer to me.
“Good morning, sweetheart. How did you sleep?”
“I slept great. I know that I had a little help, though. I appreciate that.”
She delicately ran her fingers across the ripples on my chest. I watched them move over the dips one by one. “Yeah,” I responded, “I was able to get a good night’s rest as well. I haven’t been able to sleep through the night much since Sarah left, so this… this was a pleasant surprise.”
“Well, you deserved it. As hard as you work and as much as Sarah’s death has been weighing you down. Weighing the both of us down. We needed some good sleep and time away. I’d say this was just what the doctor ordered.”
I looked towards the window as the sun beat violently against the outer portion of the thick covering over the window blinds. The clock on the nightstand read 8:44 am. “Do you want some breakfast?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Room service. They usually know how to put together a nice meal in the morning. It is one of my favorite things about this hotel.”
“Oh. Well, in that case, sure. Go ahead.”
I kissed her on the forehead, then slid from beneath the covers and sat upright on the side of the bed. My bare chest was covered with faint scratch marks from our sexual encounter last night. I took pleasure in the stinging sensation that radiated from my chest. It made me believe that I did my job pleasing Caroline last night. I reached for the phone on the nightstand and dialed up room service as she got out the bed and headed to the shower. I caught a glimpse of her nakedness as she walked away from me. Her backside was rounded like a peach, and her waist was slim. Her breasts perked and jiggled effortlessly as she went to the bathroom. “Harrison!” she said as if she were bashful. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
She smiled and did what she could to cover her naked body, as if I hadn’t seen it all night. “Oh, come on now, Caroline. I’ve seen everything about you, and I absolutely love it. Don’t tell me that you are shy?”
“I am a little,” she said as she quickly grabbed a towel from the dresser and draped it over her body.
“You have no reason to be, Caroline. You are gorgeous in every aspect of the word. A woman would kill to look like you. To be shaped so elegantly and have flawless curves like you.” I hung up the phone and walked towards her as she stood by the dresser. My hands slid on the side of her cheeks and pulled her closer to me. Her lips were soft like the blankets we just climbed from.
She smiled after we kissed. “Thank you, Harrison. You know exactly what to say to me all the time. I’ve never met a guy who just… who just knew me the way you do. It’s indescribable, really.”
I kissed her on the forehead. “Go ahead and take your shower. I’m going to order the food, and I’m sure it will be here shortly after you get out.”
“Alright. Eggs, bacon, and pancakes will do fine.”
“Alright. I’ll make sure you have it.”
I made the phone call, and about 30 minutes later, the food arrived at the door. Caroline sat on the bed as I brought the hot platter of food to her. “This smells good,” she said, looking down at the meal.
“It will taste just as good as it looks. I am sure of it.”
As we started eating, she began expressing her concerns over the meeting later today. She was nervous about it since she’d never been to one, and I knew that she was allowing the idea to overwhelm her. “Listen, Caroline, don’t you worry about that meeting. The men that will be there are just men. Period. They breathe, eat, and sleep just like the rest of us, so there is no reason to be intimidated. They will ask you your name and what you do for the company. From there, things should be straightforward. All of the hardball questions will float my way, and once you see how I handle it, things will become much clearer for you in the future.”
“The future?” she asked after she took a bite of her eggs. “I mean, you do know that I will only be here six months, right?”
I glanced at her just as her smile cracked through her lips. I hated to think about the time she was set to move out here. I didn’t know where we would be at that time, but in my mind, I began to feel that we would be together. I didn’t want to push that envelope with her yet, though, because I wanted to sort through my feelings to see which way was up. “Right,” I said, dabbing my mouth with a napkin. “Six months. How could I forget?”
“Speaking of forgetting, I wanted to meet up with my friend while we were out here. She is moving to Seattle, but she told me that she had to make a pit stop out here for a few weeks. Do you mind?”
“No, not at all. This is your free time as well. Do whatever you please. I’ll have my driver pick you up and take you where you need to go. You just let me know when.”
“Great. It won’t be today since we have that meeting scheduled, but I was thinking maybe tomorrow since we have a free day.”
“Absolutely. The world is yours.”
She smiled, then we continued our breakfast and relaxed in the room until it was time to get ready for the meeting. She went upstairs and got herself ready as I laid my clothing out on the bed in my room. I hated that Brian wasn’t here because he was much better at closing these deals than I was, but I had done it enough on my own to know how to get it done. It may not have been as effortless as Brian would have made it, but I would get the job done. I got dressed in a light gray, tailored suit that fit slim against my body. A diamond watch dangled around my wrist as I combed my hair in the mirror. I knew I had to make a good first impression for these guys and I knew that Caroline would help out with that.
Moments later, she knocked on my door. When I opened it, she stood on the other side in a cocktail dress that stopped mid-thigh. She looked precariously in my direction. “Is this showing too much? I feel like it is showing too much.”
The front went flat across her chest and accented her breasts, down to her tight stomach. “No,” I responded, hardly able to keep my eyes off her, “no. You look beautiful. Absolutely stunning.”
“Oh, you’re just saying that, Harrison.”
“No. Honestly. You look great. I think we will make an awesome team for them.”
She stepped forward and kissed me on the lips. Her heels were at least two inches off the ground, so she didn’t have to tip up to meet me. We went over the last few details of the meeting as I called my driver to pick us up. When we got to our location, she sat in the car, nervously tapping her foot. I noticed the rapid movement and waited a few moments before I said anything to her. “Caroline, it will be alright. Trust me.”
“I know, I know,” she said nervously. “I just… I don’t know, what if I say something stupid? What if I get the numbers wrong? Or if I read one of them wrong? What if I…”
I put my hand on her thigh and pressed my fingers firmly into her flesh. She glanced at my hand, then slowly lifted her eyes to mine. “You are nervous about nothing. Take a deep breath, alright? Inhale. Exhale. Come on.” She followed me as I breathed in and out with her. “Good. Now, this is just another day at the office. These are just three men who are looking to do business with us. Remember that, alright? They WANT to do business with us, which is why they called for the meeting. We are going in here with that on our side. We are already ahead, OK? Just follow me. You will be fine.”
“OK,” she said, exhaling. “OK.”
I winked at her, then opened the door so we could make our way into the building. Their office was on the fifth floor. We walked through a set of glass double doors and right into an atrium. A water fountain was planted right in the middle of the room. The relaxing water splashed into the basin as I walked past with Caroline right by my side. Vines stretched up the sides of the walls like veins and complemented the beige coloring of the walls. “Hello,” I said to the receptionist as we made it to her desk. “I am here to see Anderson and Swatchky for our meeting.”
“You must be Harrison.” She stood up and extended her hand. “I am Amy. It is a pleasure to meet you.” She looked to my right. “And who is this?”
“This is–”
“I am Caroline, the accountant at Harrison Construction.”
I was taken aback by how she took charge. Amy shook her hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you as well. Now that we’ve all gotten that out of the way, shall we head up to the room? They are ready to see you.”
We followed her to the elevator as she led us to the room. Three men sat in business suits around a large, circular table as we entered. Large windows surrounded the room, allowing us to see outside for miles in either direction. We all shook hands. I noticed two of the men glaring at Caroline, and for a moment, I had to control my jealousy. This is why you brought her here, Harrison. After I had calmed myself, their eyes stopped wandering, and we went forward with the meeting. Caroline sat beside me and impressed the gentlemen with her knowledge of the company. She must’ve studied a lot on her own.
She kept smiles on their faces throughout the meeting as she knocked their questions out of the park. She retained more than I thought she would have during our conversations, and it was as if she had reared the company into existence herself. When it came to an end, the deal was already done. All I had to do was make it official with the contracts. We stepped into the hallway, and she wrapped her arms around me with a big smile. “We did it, Harrison! We landed the contract!”
I embraced her as we stood in the hallway. “Yes, we did it. You did a marvelous job, Caroline. I am truly impressed.” From there, I started to believe that she was much more than just my crutch to get over Sarah’s death. What she had inside of her could easily translate into a lifelong partner. Through the death of my daughter, I may have found the woman I’ve been looking for my whole life.