CHAPTER FIVE
I gave my pitch one last run through, watching every movement in my full-length mirror. I was ready; dressed smartly in a lady power suit, my hair pulled back in a tight and classy bun. I was going to give Carlie Sims the pitch of her life.
I collected my things and headed for my car, double checking to make sure that I had everything I needed from home. As I drove to the office, I went over and over it again in my head, every reason that we were the perfect representation for Carlie and everything I'd do to make sure that she was happy.
My hands were shaking by the time I made it to the parking garage, and I hated myself for it. I didn't want to be nervous. I'd pitched before and I was beyond prepared. I should have been steady as steel. But I wasn't. My insides curled and my body vibrated against my will.
As I took the stairs up to my office, I had to stop three times just to keep from hurling. Six floors to the top was a pain in the ass on a regular day but with a knot in my stomach, it was almost impossible. But what choice did I have? It'd be a cold day in hell before I stepped foot on the company elevator again. It had become a place that made me feel things I'd much rather not feel and made me consider everything I was trying to avoid. I'd lost a little pep in my step since I'd shut Arieon down and I was willing to take any measure to not examine why.
By the time I made it to the sixth floor, I'd decided I was completely done with my cardio for the day. The gym could kiss my ass. My thighs and calves burned liked I'd run a marathon and all I wanted to do was sit down, maybe take a nap. But I had things to do. Important things to do.
I pushed through the aching in my muscles, moving through the halls on a mission. The bright side was that my tiredness overshadowed my nervousness. By the time I'd reached the conference room, I was too exhausted to be worried. My hands were finally steady; lazy and slow-moving, but steady.
When I stepped through the doors, I stopped in my tracks. The conference room was supposed to be empty. Everyone knew I was preparing for this video conference call and everyone knew not to get in my way. Everyone except Arieon, or so I thought. But he stood in front of me, his back turned as he peered through the window, the light casting a glow on him that, even from behind, made him look delicious.
He turned and looked me over as I stared with my mouth gaping open.
Come on, Ellen. Get it together. I cleared my throat and moved forward, placing my materials on the large conference table that took up most of the room. "I have to make a call this morning, Arieon. So, if you don't mind."
Arieon moved around the conference table toward me. "I know about the Sims call. It's why I'm here."
He'd completely thrown me off of my rhythm. All I could do was keep staring up at him in bewilderment.
"It just looks better to have the boss by your side," Arieon explained. "I want this company to succeed. And Sims is the way to do that." Arieon's brows furrowed as he watched me. "I won't step on your toes. I'm just here. That's all."
I nodded and his entire body seemed to relax. Had he expected me to kick him out? To proclaim that no, I didn't need him? In actuality, I did need him. It'd been something I'd toiled over since the moment Elion stepped down. I needed a strong boss by my side to convince Carlie that we were the best team she could hope for.
Truth be told, despite his many faults, Arieon had a strong presence. He screamed power when he stepped into a room. The strength of his stance, the firmness of his jaw, the light glint in his eyes, it all promised to make you do exactly what he wanted. Having him beside me and my own bit of powerful aura would make us unstoppable.
"Okay," I said softly. I picked up the remote to the projector and turned it on. "But, I do all of the talking."
Arieon nodded, a smile pulling at his lips as I punched in the number for Carlie's assistant.
"Good morning, Rosie Gomez. How can I help you?" Rosie's round face popped up on the projector. Though, I hadn't video called with her before, I'd spoken with Rosie several times. She was exactly what I had envisioned in my mind. A sweet and smiling face under big, colorful curls that radiated happiness.
"Hi, Rosie. It's Ellen Carp with Banks Corp. I'm calling for our nine o'clock pitch with Ms. Sims."
"Oh, right." Rosie's grin spread even wider and I found myself smiling back. "Ms. Carp, so good to speak with you again." She was so damn perky it was catching. "I'll patch you through now."
I swallowed a lump in my throat as I waited. Suddenly, I was nervous. I looked over to Arieon who seemed to sense my apprehension. He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed, it was gentle and quick but it somehow eased me. I was smiling and blushing like an idiot when Carlie Sims popped up on the screen, her platinum blonde locs almost blinding through the light of the projection. She wasn't looking at the camera. Instead, she held up a finger while she distractedly typed across a device in her hands.
"I'll leave you to it, Carlie," Rosie chirped before disappearing from the split screen.
When Carlie didn't respond, I stepped forward. "Ms. Sims, I'm so glad to finally meet you. I'm Ellen Carp." Carlie finally lifted her head and a wide smile spread across bright pink lips.
"Oh, my," she drawled. "And who's he?"
"This is our CEO, Arieon Banks." I gestured at Arieon who kept his word, letting me do every bit of the talking.
Carlie leaned into the camera and licked her lips. "Yes. Yes. I like the look of you." Her eyes shifted back and forth between them. "Both of you."
I cleared my throat, scrambling for a reaction. "Um, thank you." What else was there to say? I shook my head, ignoring the awkward tension in the room. I had a pitch. I had a plan. I needed to get to it. "I wanted to first discuss with you—"
"Oh, honey," Carlie cut me off. "I appreciate it but you can save the pitch. I didn't get where I am by listening to pretty promises. I got where I am on instinct. Gut impulses and you know what my gut is saying now?"
I glanced at Arieon needing another reassuring touch but he looked back equally as confused. I turned back to Carlie and shook my head.
"It's saying yes." Carlie clapped her hands together. "I'm in Denver for the next two days. I'll have my assistant give you the details. I want to meet the two of you in person, ASAP. Then we can exchange plans. Concrete plans. I have ideas in my head that I want to share with the both of you."
Carlie didn't wait for a response—not that I had one. Before I could react, she'd clicked off and Rosie's soft features reappeared.
"Oh, hello again." Rosie put a finger to the Bluetooth in her ear. "I'm getting word that you'll need Carlie's Denver details. I'll email them right to you."
I nodded even though I felt like I was being blown around aimlessly in a whirlwind. "Uh, yes. Okay. Thank you."
"Great. I'll see you tonight. A pleasure as always, Ms. Carp." With that the screen went dark and I was left trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.
"Are we going to Denver?" Arieon looked at me, a thick brow arched.
I nodded. "Yeah, Banks. I think so."
*~*~*
I hurriedly tossed my suitcase into the back of a cab and jumped inside.
"LaGuardia Airport, please," I said as I slid into the backseat and stretched out. I was exhausted from the day already and it wasn't even close to being over.
I hadn't realized when Carlie asked us to Denver she'd meant within the next 24 hours Although, I should have expected as much. It wasn't the first time I'd been on a short notice trip to land a client. Only the last times had been with Elion and the stakes weren't as high. This time, all of the pressure was on me. This was my chance to prove myself. If we succeeded, if we failed, it would be my fault. I'd prepared for Carlie all on my own. I knew her product inside and out. Hell, I knew her inside and out. I'd studied on her on stalker level. I knew her favorite colors, foods she liked, her quirks.
I let out a breath. I had a handle on things. Failure wasn't even in the cards. My hands trembled and I sucked in another deep breath to stop them.
The problem was, I wasn't actually on my own. Carlie seemed to have taken to 'the pair'. She wanted me and Arieon. And while I didn't think Arieon would get in my way – he'd proven he could let me take the lead—he made me distracted. Having Arieon in my space made me unpredictable. It made everything unpredictable. Had I pitched Carlie on my own, things wouldn't have ended up with an evening flight to Denver and I still couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing.
The cab driver stopped at my gate and I ran my credit card through the machine. My hands were still unsteady. The more I thought about Arieon, the more unstable I became. I needed to get a grip on whatever it was about him that stirred me.
I climbed out of the cab and the driver helped me maneuver my bag out of the trunk. I was living on a hope and prayer that I'd packed everything. Five minutes of tossing whatever I could fit into my tiny bag left me thinking I probably hadn't.
"Thank you," I told the driver as he handed the bag to me. I gripped the handle and headed into the airport.
I hated flying last minute. It left no time to put in a request to use the company plane and left me waiting in long line and possibly flying coach. I shook my head as I made my way to the ticketing counter. There was no way I was flying coach. Those days were done. I didn't work my ass off not to fly with at least a little style.
Arieon stood at the ticketing counter and I found myself swallowing hard as I looked him over. Even in airport lighting, he was breathtaking. His fresh-pressed suit was dark and fitted, setting off the lightness of his hair.
I made my way over to him and he turned handing me a ticket. "Last two business-class seats."
I breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't first, but it would do. "Thanks." I took the ticket and tucked it into my clutch.
"Is this it?" He lifted my bag and placed it onto the baggage scale.
I nodded and waited as the lady behind the ticket desk tagged my bag.
"Alright, you're good to go," she said, giving me a thumbs up.
Arieon led us silently through the airport. It was mostly quiet, not a lot of people flying out at 7 p.m. on a Monday.
The silence between us was awkward and suffocating. A thousand TSA jokes ran through my head as we passed through security but I couldn't bring myself to tell any of them. The stiffness between us felt insurmountable. Even worse, as we boarded the plane and I realized the last two business class seats were next to each other.
"Oh, we're umm..." I trailed off as I settled in my window seat.
"Yeah, it wasn't purposeful. Just the last two seats, you know," Arieon explained as he took the seat next to me.
"Yeah, no. I didn't think..." I sighed thing were just too awkward. We weren't even there yet and I was off my game.
Arieon turned in his seat and met my eyes. "Listen, I'm not going to attack you or anything. I can sit next to you and control myself."
I watched his eyes flicker. His lips, usually always turned up in a smile, pulled down at the corners.
Guilt hit me like a ton of bricks. Just a week ago, I'd have loved to see him broken and defeated, but watching him at that moment, all I wanted was to build him back up. I'd made him feel like a monster when all he'd done was respond to the vibe that I put out.
"Arieon, is that what you think happened? That you...attacked me?"
He shook his head, but I could see it in his eyes, he didn't mean it. "I think...I may have abused my position. Maybe you wanted to say no and I—"
"Arieon." I reached out and touched his hand and just the simple contact sent a shockwave through me. "What happened between us didn't happen because I'm intimidated by you or because you attacked me or..." I sighed. It hadn't been something I wanted to confess out loud but it needed to be said. "It happened because I wanted it to." His eyes lit up and moved my hand away from him. "At the time," I added, watching them dull again and feeling it hit me in the gut.
"Then..." His eyebrows furrowed so intensely that they seemed united on his face. "I just don't get why we can't—"
"Because," I cut him off. "You're my boss, in a position that I don't think you deserve. And you're evaluating me for a position that I do. It's," I searched for the word. "Problematic."
Arieon scooted as close to me as he could get and I forced myself not to get sucked into his intoxicating aroma. "I'll give you the job. I'll make you managing partner. Whatever you want, Ellen."
There was a sincerity in his voice that almost made me want to give in. Almost made me want to give us a try at whatever it was he wanted to try. Almost. "I'm great at this job, Arieon. I deserve it. Hell, I deserve your job. But Elion didn't give it to me. He left it to you. And you giving me a position because you want to have sex with me, aside from being unethical, is insulting."
Arieon pulled back. "I didn't mean—"
"I know." I reached out for him again on pure instinct. "But it's also not what I want."
He placed his hand over mine, tracing my skin with his fingers. The contact made me crazy and I found myself itching for more. "Then what do you want?" he asked softly, entwining his finger with mine.
"I don't know," I confessed, letting him hold my hand as the wheels in my head turned at a hundred miles an hour. I wanted his touch, even when it was as simple as my hand in his. I wanted him totally and completely and it was getting damn near impossible to deny it. But, I also wanted my promotion. I also wanted to feel worthy and respected at work. I wanted Elion to see how I kept his company afloat and know that he made a mistake in not leaving me in charge. But I couldn't have it all. I could have my work or I could have Arieon but I couldn't play both sides. I wanted to crush him or I wanted to love him. There was no middle. And I'd worked way too hard to give in over what Arieon and I might have.
"There's no going backward, Arieon." I pulled my hand out of his. "This between us...it can't happen. The events have already been set in motion. The obstacles were there before it started. We just...can't."
Arieon let out a breath, his eyes sweeping over me before he settled back into his seat. He closed his eyes. "That's too bad. We could be great together, Ellen Carp."