Chapter Fifteen
Incerto
“Uncertain”
Sawyer could barely decipher a single word on the resumes in front of him. All afternoon he’d been distracted by her smell. At lunch he’d been consumed with curiosity about what she’d been about to say. He hadn’t tasted a single bite of his food.
The meeting was expected to be long, but at the moment he didn’t give a damn about the future of Lucian’s company. He only cared about the four years he’d missed.
Who had she been with? What had she done? Did she think of him as often as he thought about her? He wanted to kick everyone out and fuck her right on the conference table—erase any memory she might have of someone else.
She looked incredible. Her hair was shorter and her eyes a bit wiser. He’d forgotten how beautiful she actually was.
The moment he saw her in the hall, his entire system took a hit. Years of telling himself he’d done the right thing flushed down the drain after one glimpse of her. He was a fucking idiot for letting her go.
And now… Now he would have to see her constantly if their companies merged and Lucian bought out his father’s stake in Leningrad. How would he survive that?
His gaze again drifted to her hands, still shocked to not see a diamond on her finger. She mentioned dating, but said school kept her busy. What about Italy? Did she take a lover with her? That was supposed to be their trip.
The pencil in his hand snapped in two and her brown eyes flashed at him. He casually turned and tossed the broken wood into the trash bin. “Give me a pen, Slade.”
His son slid him a pen and Sawyer refused to look up at her. This meeting had to end soon.
How many men had come into her life? How many actually appreciated the gift she was in their hands? He sure hoped Lucian was keeping an eye on his sister’s best interests.
His molars locked at the thought of her with someone else. It was enough to throw him into a rage, but what had he expected? He told her to go find a husband, a future, someone who could give her all the things she wanted. He’d done right by her in the end.
Or had her plans changed? She was starting a career.
He quickly did the math, counting the birthdays he’d missed. She just turned thirty. Single and thirty and starting a career. Maybe she wasn’t the same innocent woman he’d sent away.
She looked older—better. Her body had ripened and her eyes held a sort of confidence that wasn’t there before.
The longer he stared at her the more his body responded to her nearness. She didn’t spare him another glance. As her hand dragged a pen across the page, taking notes as Lucian rambled, he watched her face. White teeth pulled at her plump lower lip. Her tongue slipped over the impressed divot, smoothing it out, and he inwardly groaned.
Fuck. He shoved the resumes at his son and stood. “Excuse me.”
Lucian paused and frowned at him. Everyone else’s attention turned to Sawyer as he stood there like a juvenile fool getting a hard-on in the middle of class.
His gaze avoided Isadora. “I’m afraid I have to take a rain check on the rest of the meeting. Slade will follow up with me about whatever I miss.”
“You okay?” Lucian asked.
He glanced at his watch. “Just a scheduling oversight.” He turned to Slade. “Let me know when you’re wrapped up here and we’ll rendezvous later. My apologies.”
Grabbing his suit jacket off the back of the chair, he rounded the table and left.
When he reached the hall, his heart was pounding. Catching his breath, he adjusted his clothing and walked at a steady pace toward the elevators, perfectly aware that he was fleeing, but what choice did he have?
His finger pressed the button and he waited impatiently for the doors to open.
“They’re out of commission until the inspections are finished.”
“Shit,” he hissed under his breath, recognizing her voice. Drawing in a steadying breath, he blanked his expression and faced her. “Another oversight.”
Her relaxed focus made him twitch. She was too calm, too unbothered by their running into each other.
The corner of her mouth pulled into a half-grin. “Do you really have an appointment?”
Convinced of his own bullshit, his spine stiffened, a defensive scowl tightening his brow. “Do you think I’d lie?”
Her luscious lips twisted into a teasing smirk. “Yes.”
He shut his eyes and sighed. Fuck. He just wanted to get out of there.
Meeting her perceptive gaze, he gave up. “I didn’t expect to see you today. How are you so calm?”
“I had a heads up. But if it makes you feel better, I didn’t get much sleep since Lucian mentioned you’d be at the meeting.”
He chuckled. “It helps a little.”
She glanced over her shoulder and back to him. “Is this going to be a problem, us running into each other at work?”
Absolutely. It’s going to be torture. “We’re adults.”
She nodded. “I’m glad you see it that way.”
Her words implied him viewing her as an adult was something new. “Isadora…”
“Don’t ruin it, Sawyer.”
He swallowed back whatever warning he was about to give. “You’re sassier than you were the last time I saw you.”
“Because I’m not that girl anymore.”
He studied her for a long while, searching for a glimpse of the vulnerability he used to find in her eyes. Her stare crossed his and skittered away. There it is. That was all he needed to see. “You’re still you.”
She loosely crossed her arms over her chest, either shielding herself from scrutiny or hiding the fact that her nipples were hard. Too late. He’d caught the twin peaks the moment they pressed into the silk of her blouse.
“I hold a lot more respect for myself, now. Demand it too.”
He shook his head, finding it hard to assimilate to the hard act she seemed to be putting on. Was that for his benefit? He didn’t like it. “I assumed you’d be engaged or dating.”
She smiled. “I’m done waiting for other people. The things I can’t control…” She shrugged. “I know what I want.” Her stare intensified and his lips parted as there was no misreading the implication in her eyes.
They hadn’t spent all this time apart just to go back to where they were. “Nothing’s changed for me, Isadora.”
“I figured you’d say that.” She glanced at the elevator. “Toni left for college yesterday. I’m going out for a quiet dinner after work, to celebrate my first day. I’ll be dining alone at Vogue. My reservations are for five-thirty if you want to join me.”
Was this some sort of test? Vogue was in her brother’s hotel. Lucian lived at Patras. Was she trying to test his limits?
“I’m afraid I have plans,” he lied, immediately regretting his words when another glimpse of vulnerability flashed in her eyes.
“Oh. Of course.” Her gaze lowered and she took a step back. “Well, you should probably get going then. I have to get back.”
Something was off about her. Where was his sweet Isadora? The one who gave so much of herself and looked at him with such … love? “Isadora, wait.”
She slowly turned back to him and … there it was. There was the woman he was looking for. Soft, gentle, modest, and true.
“I… I don’t have plans.”
“I get it, Sawyer. I have to go.” She turned away.
He watched her until she disappeared into the conference room. Fuck. Now he’d upset her and there was nothing quite as torturous as knowing he’d hurt someone he…
He pivoted and shoved the door to the stairwell open. What the hell was the point of today other than to complicate his already complicated life?
When he returned to his office, he sat at his desk with nothing to do. His entire afternoon had been cleared so he could attend a meeting he’d skipped out on. He glanced at his cell, noting it was almost four. His fingers drummed on the surface of his desk impatiently until it was nearly five.
He couldn’t wait any longer. Scooping up the phone he dialed. “Isadora Patras, Please.”
“Who should I say is calling?”
“This is Sawyer Bishop. I need a name from one of the resumes she reviewed today.” And why the hell was he explaining himself to reception? He pinched the bridge of his nose and waited.
“Isadora speaking.”
God. Her voice was like honey, so warm and smooth. “It’s Sawyer.”
“I know. Seth told me.”
He grit his teeth. How the hell could she act so casual about everything? She was acting. Treating him as if they had no history. He didn’t like it. “Pick a different restaurant.”
“Why?”
“Because you know we can’t meet there, Isa. It’s your brother’s hotel and he dines there regularly.”
“Ah, but if we’re just meeting as colleagues there’s no reason to hide.”
His head cocked as he realized what she was doing. This was her way of reading his intentions. Two could play that game, though fuck if he knew what the hell was going through that head of hers.
“I see. Well then, you tell me, should we meet at Patras or perhaps someplace more discreet?”
Let her be the one to decide exactly what they were doing. He wasn’t going to dance like some puppet on a string. If she wanted to act fearless, fine. But she’d first need the courage to admit what it was she wanted.
“I’ll text you an address.”
“Just tell me.” He hated texting. Whatever happened to talking on the phone like civilized people?
“Someone just walked in. I’ll text you.”
The call cut off.
Staring at his phone, he waited. A few minutes later it beeped.
Your place. 6:00.
His breath caught in his throat, his body warming by the second. He asked for direct—and he got it.
Or was she choosing his place out of old habits and the desire for privacy? She might not even be thinking about sex.
But he was. “Fuck.”
He opened the text screen to reply, but nothing came to mind. After deliberating for an extremely long time, the most he came up with was I’ll see you then. He shut off his phone and stuffed it in his pocket.