Chapter Six
January
“Julia, how wonderful to see you again. Please, come in and have a seat. Did you want Courtney to get you some coffee or tea?”
Julia shook her head as she walked inside Travis Headley’s office and took a seat at one of the chairs facing his desk. “No, thank you. Courtney was already kind enough to ask but I’m fine. And it’s lovely to see you again, too. It’s been over two years, I think.”
Travis nodded as he sat down next to her rather than behind his desk, taking her hand in his. “Yes. I was in Manhattan for the Thanksgiving weekend two years ago. We had dinner together with Gerard and Maddy before your family flew in for the holiday.”
Travis had been another of Gerard’s protégées, having originally been a student of his at the Design Institute. Gerard had on occasion presented workshops and seminars at his alma mater, and he’d been impressed with Travis’ talent and vision. Like Julia herself, Travis had spent a year interning at Manhattan Interiors after graduating from college but had left New York for the West Coast soon thereafter. He had made it a point over the years, however, to keep in close touch with Gerard via email and phone calls and had made several visits to New York.
Julia had met Travis for the first time about five years ago when she was still in college. She’d traveled down from Cornell to spend a long holiday weekend with Aunt Maddy, and Travis had been in town at the same time to visit Gerard. Travis knew Maddy as well, so it had been only natural for all of them to meet for dinner one evening.
There had been a couple of other meetings since that first one, and Julia had hit it off with him each time. Like Gerard, Travis was openly gay, but in a more discreet, less dramatic manner than the older man. In his early thirties now, Travis favored tailored business suits like the light gray one he wore today, and could just as easily have been a lawyer or executive as the interior designer he was. He was the co-owner of a very successful architectural design firm here in San Francisco, in charge of the interior design division of the company while his partner managed the architectural side. And Julia was keeping her fingers crossed that she would soon be one of their employees.
Travis seemed in little hurry to discuss the business at hand, however. “How is Madelyn these days?” he asked of Julia’s beloved aunt.
“Relieved that the holidays are over, of course. It’s crazier than normal at the store then.” Madelyn Benoit was the head buyer at Bergdorf Goodman, one of Manhattan’s most exclusive, high-end department stores.
Travis nodded, his admiring gaze taking in the beautiful dress of cream cashmere that Julia wore today. With its crisscross neckline and slim pencil skirt, it managed to be both businesslike and ultra-feminine at the same time.
“I see Auntie is still keeping her favorite niece well dressed. Another Donna Karan?” he asked, naming one of Julia’s favorite designers.
She shook her head. “Ralph Lauren. And yes, there are definite and numerous perks to having Maddy for my aunt.”
Madelyn had never married, and had no children of her own, so she had always showered her adored nieces with affection and gifts. She had worked in the fashion industry for three decades, and as a buyer for about half of that time. In her current high profile job, she frequently received samples and overstock from all manner of designers, especially when she attended the twice-yearly Fashion Weeks in cities like New York, Paris, Milan and Hong Kong. It was always far too much stuff for her to use personally, and even after distributing goods to her staff there was plenty to ship to her sister and nieces. And since Lauren favored a much more casual wardrobe, the bulk of the dresses, skirts, shoes, and bags went to Julia. It was a very fortunate thing, too, because there was no way Julia could have ever afforded to buy such high end pieces on her own salary. She made good money as an interior designer – or had, at least – but it still wasn’t nearly enough to afford the outfit she had on today. And she had a real weakness for designer goods, so she was eternally grateful she had Aunt Maddy to make frequent contributions to her clothing addiction and therefore avoid having sky-high credit card bills.
Travis’ gaze dropped to her feet, shod in cream suede Giuseppe Zanotti peep-toe stilettos. “Love the shoes, too. But you always were a very stylish young lady. Even when you were in college I don’t recall you ever wearing jeans and flats.”
She gave a mock shudder. “Jeans are for tomboys and flats for old ladies. Besides, both of them make my legs look too short.”
He grinned, looking very boyish with his well-styled wheat blond hair, fair skin, and trim build. “Well, you look sensational, honey. You must have to beat men off with a stick.”
Julia sobered and made a dismissive movement with her hand. “Actually, I’m kind of off men at the moment. You know the old saying ‘fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me’. Or the other old saying – ‘men are assholes’.”
Travis lifted a brow. “Well, I can see we’ll have to have a loong talk one of these days. Sounds like you’ve got some interesting tales to tell. But in the meanwhile let’s talk about the possibility of you working here.” His expression turned serious. “Gerard told me a little about what happened with that witch Vanessa but I’d like to hear your side.”
Julia sighed. “You mean why she fired me and then proceeded to call every design firm she could think of to blacklist me?”
Travis listened intently – and with empathy – as she related the story that had filled him with outrage when Gerard had first filled him in. One evening last October Julia had been in the office working late when Vanessa’s slimy boyfriend Philip had accosted her. The office had been deserted and no one had heard her scream when Philip had torn her blouse, slapped her across the mouth hard enough to draw blood, bruised her hip, and cracked three of her ribs as she’d fought him off.
It had been a mixed blessing when Vanessa – who had arranged to meet Philip at the office – had arrived and heard the commotion, rushing into Julia’s office in time to stop Philip from hurting her further. He of course had tried to blame the whole thing on Julia, claiming she’d been flirting with him and leading him on for months. And, despite the fact that Julia was curled up in a ball, bleeding, bruised and sobbing, Vanessa had chosen to believe Philip and had fired Julia on the spot.
Vanessa’s anger and jealousy had gone far beyond merely firing her, however, and she’d done her damndest to prevent Julia from getting another job. That was when Julia had called Gerard, hoping to move to New Orleans and work with him again. But his new firm was still getting off the ground, and there was barely enough work to keep him afloat, much less to bring on another designer. Gerard had, however, contacted Travis who coincidentally was looking for a new designer and here Julia was.
Travis’s mouth had tightened into a grim line as she had related her story. “I always knew Vanessa was a royal bitch – that’s one of the reasons I never took a permanent job with Gerard. But I never imagined she could be quite that mercenary. I hope you pressed charges against her slimebag boyfriend.”
Julia shook her head. “Aunt Maddy was very upset with me when I refused. She came to pick me up that night after I called her but I just didn’t see much point in pressing charges. Vanessa’s family has piles of money and she would have probably hired some shark of a lawyer to get Loverboy off. I just wanted to forget the whole nightmare.”
“Is that why you left New York?”
“One of them,” she admitted. “But to be honest, I’d been thinking of moving anyway. New York is wonderful but I’ve left some other bad memories back there, too. It’s been nice to be back in California and especially to be spending time with my parents and sister.”
She’d been staying at her parents’ home in Carmel since just after Thanksgiving, having given up her apartment in Manhattan and shipped all of her belongings out here. Everything she owned was currently in storage inside her father’s workshop.
“Did you tell your family about what happened?”
Julia nodded. “Only because Aunt Maddy threatened to do so if I didn’t. My dad was furious, he still wants to press charges, but I’ve convinced him not to. And Lauren swears she’s going to beat the crap out of both Vanessa and her boyfriend the next time she’s in New York. Considering that she still takes kung fu classes on a regular basis, I’m a little worried about that.”
Travis grinned, having heard multiple stories about Julia’s fierce twin sister. “And what did your mother do?”
She sighed. “Mom didn’t say anything, just held me and let me cry things out. It was a rotten few months for me, Travis, going back to something that happened in September.”
“Ahh. Does that have anything to do with the ‘men are assholes’ quote?”
She laughed. “It has everything to do with it. But I’ve tried really hard to move past it, so can we not discuss it right now?”
“Your wish is my command. How about we take a look at that portfolio you’ve brought along instead?”
For the next half hour or so, they poured through Julia’s design portfolio, with Travis asking questions, making comments, and listening to her responses. They talked for awhile longer about some of the other projects she’d handled, what types of assignments she could expect to be given here, and about current design trends.
At the end of it all, Travis was regarding her with a half-smile. “So I assume you’d live in the city if you got this job?”
She nodded. “Luckily there’s a great little place that just became available in my friend Angela’s building. She lives in this amazing Victorian in Lower Pacific Heights. I’ve been crashing with her the past couple of nights.”
“Any other job offers you’re considering?”
Julia bit her bottom lip uncertainly. “Nothing serious, no. There’s a small firm in Atlanta that I’ve had a phone interview with, and a place in Minneapolis who just emailed me this morning. But both of those are just straightforward home interior shops, nothing like what you were just describing.”
Travis waved a hand in dismissal. “Ugh, Atlanta. From a boy who grew up in Florida, trust me when I say you’d hate summer in the Deep South – all that humidity and those nasty bugs. Yuck. And Minnesota? Honey, all that wretched snow and probably no Neiman Marcus or Barneys within a hundred mile radius. No, you can’t even consider either of those offers because you’re coming to work for me.”
She stared at him in shocked surprise. “Just like that? I mean, don’t you have to think about it for awhile? Or – or discuss it with your business partner or something?”
“Yes, just like that. No, I knew almost before you walked in the door that I would hire you. And, no. Nate and I don’t interfere with who the other hires. So, if you’ll do us the honor, Ms. McKinnon, Atwood Headley would very much like you to be their newest interior designer.”
Julia smiled, really smiled, for the first time in months and couldn’t contain her happiness, almost giggling in reaction. “I would absolutely adore working here with you, Travis. Given our connection through Gerard, this feels like the perfect fit for me. I know I’m going to be very happy here.”
Travis stood and extended his hand to her. “Welcome aboard, honey. Now, give your new boss a hug, why don’t you? You know with me it’s not going to be any form of sexual harassment if I touch you.”
She did giggle then as she gave him a quick, affectionate hug. “Thank you, Travis,” she told him, suddenly serious. “You don’t know how much this means to me. I was afraid for awhile that I’d never be able to get a decent job again.”
“Vanessa’s influence isn’t as far reaching as she’d like to believe with that overinflated ego of hers, “declared Travis. “And from what I hear her business isn’t going so well these days. A lot of clients were very loyal to Gerard – and also to you – so with the two of you gone things are drying up. Plus, Gerard is so pissed over what happened to you that he’s working on damaging her professional reputation with as many people as he can.”
She nodded. “He told me that. It really isn’t necessary, you know. I’m just glad to be out of that awful situation. Ever since Gerard left it was hell for me to work there.”
Travis’s mouth tightened. “Having interned there for a year and seeing how Vanessa operates, I can certainly empathize. But that’s all in the past now. You’re going to love working here and I’m going to start throwing stuff at you right away. How soon can you start?”
“Hmm. Today is Tuesday, Would next Monday be okay? I think I can sign the lease on the flat today – the landlord is holding it for me until Thursday – and then convince my dad to haul all my stuff up this weekend.”
He grinned. “A woman of action. I like that. It will serve you very well here because things move fast. Monday would be sensational. Let’s take you over to Personnel so you can fill out mounds of boring paperwork. I’ll introduce you along the way to as many people as I can. You’ll never remember names, of course, but I guarantee they’ll all remember you. Especially how good your ass looks in this dress.”
Julia gaped at him in mock horror, then shared a laugh with him. “I know. Gay boss, straight employee, no sexual harassment.”
“Just paying you a compliment, honey. Hell, I’m practically like your brother. But there are a couple of the guys you do need to watch out for. I’ll make sure you know who they are.” He shook his head. “Too bad Nate is already spoken for. The two of you together would have been awfully pretty. And I can’t stand his fiancée. But that’s a long story, one we’ll share over a bottle or two of wine someday. Come on now, let me go show you off.”
Atwood Headley was a much bigger firm than Manhattan Interiors had been, largely because of the architectural arm of the company. Between architects, designers, and all the support staff, there were over a hundred employees. It seemed to Julia that during their whirlwind tour of the office Travis must have introduced her to at least half the staff. She knew he was right and that she’d never remember anyone’s name come Monday, apart from Travis, of course, and his admin assistant Courtney.
Julia thought the oddly dressed girl was what Olive Oyl would look like if she suddenly went hipster. Courtney was tall and painfully thin, with super skinny arms and legs, and long, lank hair dyed a bright orangey-red. Travis had whispered that this was a new shade – last week it had been cotton candy pink. Courtney wore a very strange assortment of clothing that looked vintage/thrift shop – but not in a good way – accented by leopard-print flats and red-framed eyeglasses that clashed badly with her current hair color. The fashionista imbedded deep within Julia could have wept at such a horrific assault on the eyes, but Courtney seemed like a sweet girl and was very kind, despite her scary sense of fashion.
In fact, everyone she met was very kind and welcoming, though more than a few of the men had either gaped at her open-mouthed or stared at her breasts. The two men in particular that Travis had warned her against – one an architect, the other a landscape designer – had both definitely flirted with her. But Julia had long ago mastered the art of the firm but subtle put-down, and was quite certain she’d made it very clear to both of them that it was to be a business only relationship.
One of the last stops they made before Julia was to spend an hour or more filling out personnel forms was at the office of Travis’ partner – Nate Atwood. Seated just outside of the office was a petite woman who looked to be in her mid-to-late forties. Her nameplate identified her as Robyn Reynolds, and she was all eager smiles as Travis introduced her to Julia.
“Welcome to the fold, Julia,” she told her warmly, clasping her hand. “You’re going to love it here. We’re all like a big family.”
Travis put an arm around the older woman’s narrow shoulders affectionately. “And Robyn’s the mama of our family. Nate and I stole her away from the firm we both worked at when we decided to spin off on our own.”
If Courtney was Olive Oyl, then Robyn was Tinker Bell. Small and sprightly, her chestnut hair was cut in a stylish pixie and there was a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. She wore a wrap dress of dark burgundy wool and black suede ankle boots.
“I’m sorry that Nate isn’t in today so you could meet,” apologized Robyn. “He’s on a job site up in Napa all day. Lousy day for it, too, with these scattered showers.”
Travis turned to Julia. “The Napa site is the resort hotel I mentioned to you earlier. It’s one of the first projects you’ll be assigned to, so you’ll be working closely with Nate on it.”
Julia nodded. “I’m really looking forward to doing the design for that one. It’s amazing that you have the Gregson Hotels as your client.”
Gregson Hotels were known worldwide as an ultra-luxe brand of both city hotels and sprawling resort properties. The headquarters for the North and South American properties was located in San Francisco, and Atwood Headley had already completed several projects for the company. By coincidence, Julia had worked on a remodel project for one of their Manhattan hotels last year, and she was thrilled at the opportunity to work on such a high profile account again.
A couple of hours later, as she finished her tour of the office and filling out an endless stack of new hire forms, she headed back to Angela’s flat with a sense of satisfaction. Finally, after several months of so many bad things happening to her, it seemed that all the dark clouds were starting to blow away. Julia was more than ready to forget the heartache and disappointment she’d known in New York and begin a new, happier chapter of her life here in San Francisco.
Nathan was running late, and operating on too few hours of sleep, as he walked briskly to his office. Fortunately, his condo was just three blocks from the office, one of the main reasons he’d bought the place four years ago. He liked the convenience of being so close to his job, even if the modern high-rise building wasn’t exactly to his taste. But he certainly didn’t plan on living there forever if he had his way about it. Convincing Cameron to eventually move out of the city and into his idea of a dream home across the bay in Tiburon, however, was something else entirely.
It was because of Cameron that he was both late and tired this morning. They had spent a three-day weekend up at her parents’ luxurious vacation home in Lake Tahoe, skiing and socializing with her family and their wide circle of friends. Nathan had wanted to head back to San Francisco late morning yesterday to beat the traffic and have some time to relax before the work week began on Monday. But Cameron had wheedled and cajoled, wanting to stay for lunch and spending extra time with some friends she hadn’t seen in awhile. It had been very late afternoon by the time they had left, and a drive that should have taken about four hours quickly doubled due to all the traffic. Nathan had been stressed out from driving in bumper to bumper traffic and in poor weather conditions, knowing the whole while that he had a busy day at the office. To make matters worse, he’d been away Monday through Thursday of the previous week on a business trip to southern California, and thus hadn’t been at the office all week. The amount of work he was going to have to get caught up on gave him a violent headache just thinking about it.
Cameron was maddeningly oblivious to such matters, since her own job as the owner of an art gallery was far less stressful and demanding. Business at the gallery was typically slow at this time of year, and she was an expert at delegating as much work as possible to her employees. He was certain that she would sleep in quite late this morning while he was making do with less than five hours of sleep.
Nathan sighed as he pressed the elevator button for his floor. He really had to start setting his foot down with Cameron about all of these social functions she insisted on attending. It seemed that pretty much every weekend was packed with one thing or another, and that he rarely got a say in what they did. Or, rarer still, actually got to relax and unwind occasionally. It had been especially hectic over the holiday season, and things hadn’t seemed to settle down all that much in the resulting weeks.
He waved hello to Becca, the pretty Asian receptionist, and somewhat sleepily greeted several other employees on his way to his office. He grinned at Robyn, who was already hard at work like the whirlwind of activity she was.
“Well, you look like hell,” she said by way of greeting, in a manner that spoke of years of familiarity. “Good thing you’re clutching that extra large coffee. I’m guessing by the dark circles under your eyes that you’ll be needing a refill soon.”
“Good morning to you, too, Mrs. Reynolds,” he chuckled. Robyn was a combination of admin assistant, bossy big sister, and close friend. Convincing her to come work for them had been the best move he and Travis had made when they’d taken the plunge and decided to start their own firm nearly ten years ago.
“I take it you got back later than planned from Tahoe last night,” she commented as she resumed checking through email.
Nathan rolled his eyes. “That’s the understatement of the year. You know, if I liked driving through snow and ice I’d have gone back home to live in Michigan after college.”
Robyn shook her head. “Hon, you need to start setting your foot down with your woman. She’s got more social engagements than the Queen of England.”
“Yeah, I know. But not today. Is everything ready for my meeting at ten?” he asked.
“Of course. And I have all of your notes from your trip last week ready. Thanks for the email draft, it was a big help.”
He nodded. “Good. Anything else going on around here that I need to know about? I didn’t get a chance to talk to Travis at all last week. Everything okay on his end so far as you know?”
“Very okay. His new designer started last week so he’s over the moon about her. And what a darling girl she is. I’m sure you’ll meet her later.”
The very last thing he was concerned with was meeting one of Travis’ new employees, already having way too much of his own work to deal with. Nathan rolled up his sleeves and got right to it, going through his mail and email from the previous week, and looking over his notes and sketches for the client meeting this morning. The morning flew by rapidly, and he worked without interruption, even when Robyn brought him another cup of coffee.
His meeting was due to begin in about fifteen minutes, so he started putting away files and other items in his desk in preparation. Nathan hated a cluttered, untidy desk, especially when he had clients in his office. He spun around in his desk chair so he could re-file several folders in the credenza behind his desk, and stopped short when he accidentally tried to stuff a folder into the wrong hanging file.
He stared at the lacy pink underwear he kept hidden away in the file. Absently, he fingered the fragile lace between his thumb and forefinger, resisting the urge to pull the panties out and bury his face in them. Angrily, he shoved them back into their hiding place, and slammed the credenza drawer shut.
He’d found the panties tangled in the bed sheets as he had left the hotel room that turbulent morning last September, and hadn’t been able to leave them behind. He’d stuffed them into his laptop case, intending to get rid of them when he arrived home. But then he’d seen them again at work while unpacking his laptop, and still hadn’t been able to throw them out.
Nathan had dealt with the tremendous guilt and regret he’d suffered after that night in New York by repressing it all. Each time memories of that night began to surface, he’d pushed them away, refusing to let himself remember – or worse, to imagine what could have been.
Once, when the guilt had overwhelmed him for a few minutes until he’d found the strength to fight it off, he’d had the wild idea of returning to New York to try and find her. He could have simply loitered outside the Plaza Hotel for hours on end, hoping she’d walk by. Or haunting the Starbucks where they’d met in the event she should drop in.
But of course he had never acted on such a crazy impulse. Even if he had by some minor miracle been able to find her again, he was quite certain she would have either ignored him completely or smacked him across the face. God knew that was the least he deserved for what he’d done to her.
And while he’d more or less been able to squelch thoughts of Julia and the sex-filled hours they’d spent together while he was awake, his dreams had been another matter. He’d been haunted more than once with explicitly detailed dreams about her. He wasn’t able to recall specific details, but he’d always woken from them with a painful hard-on and a frantically beating heart.
Of course, he’d felt even guiltier over how he’d betrayed Cameron and had been trying – albeit unknown to her – to make it up to her ever since. That was the primary reason he’d agreed to attend so many parties, receptions, dinners, and other events with her these past few months, and had been treating her like a queen. Fortunately, Cameron remained blissfully unaware of his infidelity and had been delighted at his acquiescence and indulgences.
Their lives had been a virtual whirlwind since last September. In October, her parents had thrown them a lavish, high society engagement party. They had gone on their two-week vacation to Hawaii in early November. And then there had been the dizzying array of holiday events, almost nonstop since Thanksgiving through New Years. Now Cameron was starting to throw herself into wedding plans, even though the date they had agreed on – Valentine’s Day of the following year – was a long time from now. But he knew to expect an extremely over the top affair – no expenses spared on her parents’ part – and that it very likely would take more than a year to plan it all.
At five minutes to ten, the two employees who were working with him on this particular project arrived at his office. Jake Harriman was an associate architect, and Brent Wilson an apprentice, not even a year out of college. Nathan like working with both of them, for they had good energy, good chemistry, and some innovative ideas. The only real problem he had with them was that Jake was an incessant talker, and a real ladies man, so that his conversations were usually about the girl he’d banged the previous evening. And Brent was an impressionable puppy dog who thought Jake was a great role model and hung on his every word, especially when it came to recounting his sexual exploits.
As usual, Jake was prattling on about some babe as they settled themselves at the oval table in one corner of Nathan’s spacious office. Nathan, who’d been fighting off both fatigue and a growing headache, really wasn’t in the mood to listen to Jake’s latest bawdy tales but didn’t seem to have much choice in the matter.
“So did you see what she was wearing this morning?” Jake asked Brent, as they both began to set out their meeting notes and materials.
The younger man shook his close-cropped reddish blond head. “No, but I’m guessing it was something sexy.”
Jake groaned. “Sexy? That’s putting it mildly. This woman is a fucking wet dream, every single day. So get this. Today she’s wearing this little black skirt that shows off that gorgeous ass, and this blouse – can’t tell if it’s silk or satin – but it looks like someone poured cream all over those big tits.”
Brent’s voice seemed to go up an octave as he asked excitedly, “What about the shoes? More of those fuck-me stilettos?”
“Oh dude, today’s are the best ever,” said Jake, smacking his lips. “Black, pointy-toes, high heels – and fuck me sideways – ankle straps. And – swear to God – she’s wearing these sheer black stockings with a fucking seam up the back. She might as well have ‘Do Me’ written on her forehead.”
Nathan frowned. Normally he didn’t mind Jake’s dirty stories, but his associate’s tongue was practically hanging out of his mouth. “Hey, manwhore,” he referred to Jake jokingly. “Who are you talking about anyway? This woman sounds way too hot for you.”
Jake grinned. “A dude can dream, can’t he? And we are talking about the smoking hot new designer Travis hired. She started last week.”
Nathan raised a brow. “And you’ve fucked her already? I hope like hell you’re keeping it discreet. We’ve talked about this, Jake. No more sexual harassment lawsuits, okay?”
Brent smirked. “He hasn’t even scored a date with her. She gives him the brush off every time he tries. Dude, I told you, she’s probably got some actor or model for a boyfriend. You may think you’re irresistible but she’s out of your league.”
Jake shrugged. “Hey, no harm in trying, is there? I figure if anyone in this office has a shot at getting a date with her, it’s me. And I don’t see any of the other losers here making any progress, either. So you haven’t met Walking Wet Dream yet, Nate?”
Nathan rolled his eyes. “Christ, is that what you’re calling her? Better not let that charming nickname get out. And no, I haven’t met this so-called goddess yet. I’ve been too busy since I got here to even take a piss.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll meet J-“
Jake was interrupted by the buzzing of the intercom from the front desk, and Becca announcing that their client had arrived. Nathan went to personally meet and escort him back to the office.
The meeting went extremely well – Jake and Brent instantly putting aside their bawdy conversation and becoming all business. As soon as the meeting ended, Nathan shooed them out of his office, not in the mood to hear anymore about this new designer they were both panting after. He just hoped that Manwhore Jake didn’t have to be reprimanded again for flirting too blatantly with a female employee.
He grabbed a quick lunch with Damien Suarez – a friend he’d made years ago at the health club they both belonged to – before heading back to the office. On impulse, he decided to swing by Travis’ office, just to check in – and maybe, if he was being honest - quiz him about this hot new designer that the men in the office were all lusting after.
He grinned at Courtney, noting that her crazy eyeglasses today were purple with pink polka dots. Amazingly they were probably the most conservative part of her outfit. “New hair color?” he asked.
Courtney fingered the red-orange strands. “Yes, but I’m bored with it already. I’m thinking of something less bright, more Goth. Like purple.”
Nathan chuckled. Most people in the office didn’t get Courtney, thinking her too freaky with her ever-changing hair color and odd wardrobe, but he’d liked her spunky personality and offbeat sense of humor since Travis had hired her over two years ago.
“Well, knowing you, it won’t be boring. Travis busy?” he asked, nodding his head towards the half-open door to his partner’s office.
“He’s just finishing up with Julia, but I’m sure he won’t mind if you go in. Have you met her yet?”
Nathan froze at the mention of that name. He shook his head, telling himself his reaction was unfounded. There had to literally be tens of thousands of women in this country with that name. It was just some unfortunate coincidence that their newest employee shared the same name as the woman who’d rocked his world off its axis last year.
“Is she the new designer I’ve heard about? If so, then, no, I haven’t met her yet. But she’s evidently made quite an impression on Jake and Brent,” he replied wryly.
Courtney smirked. “A mannequin would make an impression on that slut Jake. Apparently he’s in a big snit because Julia won’t give him the time of day. He’s dreaming if he thinks she’d ever look twice at him anyway. Travis told me one of her old boyfriends is an NFL quarterback.”
Nathan raised a brow. “Well, now I’m curious. Time for me to meet this supposedly irresistible female.”
“You won’t be disappointed. Hey, I’m a girl – a straight girl despite all the lesbian cracks I know people make about me – and I think she’s hot.”
He was chuckling at Courtney’s candid outspokenness as he knocked briefly on Travis’ door, then walked in before his partner could invite him.
Travis glanced up from his desk chair at the unexpected interruption. “Yes, do just barge in, Nate,” he drawled sarcastically. “Don’t forget you only own half of this place, and that you’ve crossed the border into my territory.”
“Sorry to interrupt. Courtney seemed to think it was okay to come in.” he said sheepishly.
Travis clucked in annoyance before beckoning him in. “Fine. We’re just about done here anyway. Come on in and meet my absolutely brilliant new designer. You ought to see what she’s come up with already for the Gregson project. Julia, meet Nate Atwood, the less creative half of this place. Nate, this beautiful being is Julia McKinnon.”
Nathan walked to the far right of Travis’s desk just as the woman seated in one of the high-backed chairs facing the desk stood and turned towards him. The hand he was extending her way froze in mid-space, and he could only stare in mingled shock and panic at the woman he’d last seen fleeing his hotel room in Manhattan in tears. The woman that Jake had been lusting after this morning was, by some bizarre and unfortunate quirk of fate that he couldn’t begin to fathom at the moment, Julia – his Julia.
By the look of horror on her face, and the way she paled, this was as much of a shock to her as it was to him. The hand she placed limply in his was trembling, and he released it immediately.
“I – it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Atwood,” she stuttered in a barely audible voice.
“And you, as well, Julia,” he replied stoically, following her lead. “Except you must call me Nathan. We’re not formal here.”
Travis was looking at the two of them oddly. “You both look like someone just died,” he drawled, a hint of his Southern accent noticeable. He rose to his feet, studying them carefully. “Have you two met before or something? I’m getting some really odd vibes here.”
Julia shook her head emphatically, while Nathan chimed in a bit too enthusiastically, “No, Travis. Everything’s fine.” He gave Julia a polite smile. “I’ve never met Ms. McKinnon before, though I’ve been hearing a great deal about her around the office.” His gaze dropped to her feet, noticing the sexy ankle straps of the shoes that Jake had mentioned. Absently, he wondered if those erotically sheer black stockings were pantyhose or – fucking hell – held up by garters. Aware of his face flushing, he returned his gaze to her face, which held a terse, almost angry expression.
“I thought for a moment that Nathan looked familiar,” replied Julia tightly, “but now I realize he’s a total stranger to me.” She turned to Travis. “Are we finished here? I need to do some more work on the Garibaldi remodel.”
Travis nodded. “All done for now, sweetie. We’ll meet again tomorrow. And you and Nate should probably get together in a day or so to start going over interiors for the Napa resort. I have mentioned he’s the lead architect on the project, haven’t I?”
Julia glanced briefly, reluctantly, at Nathan and nodded. “Yes, of course. We’ll talk soon, I’m sure – Nate.”
He frowned. “I actually prefer Nathan. Travis is one of the few people to annoy me by using Nate. And, yes – we’ll be meeting very soon, Julia.”
She bit her bottom lip, glossed over in a shiny mocha shade, before hurrying out of Travis’ office. Nathan watched her leave, noticing the way the elegant black wool skirt did in fact cling lovingly to the high, sweet curve of her ass. He cursed her silently for wearing those sexy as fuck stockings, with their naughty back seam, and fumed that he was far from the only man in this office to be turned on by them. He was furious to realize that the hot babe Jake and Brent had been frothing at the mouth about this morning was Julia. He wished now that he’d popped Jake in his filthy mouth, that -
“So are you going to tell me what the hell that was all about?” demanded Travis.
Nathan closed his eyes, forcing himself to push all of that shit to the depths of his memory, repressing it once again. He turned back towards Travis, feigning nonchalance. “What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, asshole. You looked like you saw a fucking ghost when you met Julia. Explain.”
Nathan shrugged. “She’s hot. I didn’t expect that. I mean, Jake was getting a hard-on talking about her this morning but he gets aroused looking at video game babes. I was just startled to realize how pretty she really is.”
“Hmm, that sounds like a huge load of bullshit to me, but we’ll play it your way for now.”
Nathan took a seat in the chair Julia had just vacated, noticing that traces of her light, flowery perfume remained. ‘So tell me about our newest designer. She seems a bit young to be assigned to the Gregson project.”
“She is, only twenty-five, but one of the most talented designers I’ve ever met,” defended Travis. “Top of her class at Cornell – which, as you know, has one of the best architecture and interior design programs in the country. Then an internship followed by two years at Manhattan Interiors, the same place I did my internship at. In her first two years she’s already won three design awards, and was nominated for two others. Coincidentally, Julia’s already done some work for the Gregson group. Last year she did the designs for one of their Manhattan hotel remodels.”
Nathan nodded, satisfied with her credentials. “So how did you find her for this job? Resume, headhunter?”
Travis regarded him curiously. “Why so interested? You usually don’t care much about my staff.”
“I’m interested when they’ve been assigned to work on what’s arguably this firm’s biggest project to date,” retorted Nathan. “I’m still not clear why you aren’t the lead designer on the Napa resort.”
“And I’ve told you half a dozen times that hotels aren’t my thing. I find very little inspiration when every single guest room has to look basically the same. Plus, I have four other big projects going on right now. Julia is perfectly suited for this job. And Ian will adore her.”
Ian Gregson was the Managing Director for the Americas division of the worldwide hotel chain, and despite his very elevated position in the company, he took an active role in the development and remodeling of all the properties under his umbrella. He was also single, very good looking, and certain to find Julia extremely attractive.
Nathan’s mouth tightened into a thin line at the thought. “Fine,” he told Travis abruptly. “I’m willing to at least see what her ideas are. But if I don’t think she’s experienced enough I want her replaced. This project is way too important.”
“You worry too much,” scoffed Travis. “Julia will do just fine. And she’s such a sweetheart, very easy to work with. Not to mention,” he added with a gleam in his eye, “very easy on the eye as you’ve already mentioned. It shouldn’t be any hardship at all for you to work with her.”
‘Oh, if you only knew, buddy” said Nathan to himself as he returned to his office. ‘Working with Julia is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, given what happened between us in New York. Unless, of course, I can talk her out of working here and find her a job somewhere else.’