Wednesday morning, Jill dressed in black, capri-length pants and a loose cream blouse, hoping to keep as comfortable as possible while traveling in the summer heat. When she walked into the main house with her bags to meet Blake, however, she couldn’t help but laugh. Blake wore his usual chinos and black t-shirt.
“What’s so funny?” Blake asked, looking up from his tablet.
“I should have remembered you always wear black. It looks like we coordinated on purpose.”
“Only a woman would even care about that,” he said, shrugging.
“Why do you always wear black shirts?”
“It’s efficient. I never waste time deciding what to wear. I just grab a shirt and go. You’ll be happy to know I didn’t eat the last cranberry-orange muffin. I know they’re your favorite.”
Surprised, and oddly pleased that he had noticed, she said, “Thanks.” She filled her mug with coffee, and feeling a strong need to make everything more professional, less…intimate, she said, “I’m ready to go when you are.”
Blake looked up, and she got caught in his expression like she’d fallen into quicksand. Her heart pounded as she concentrated on breathing normally. In that moment, she actually longed to be working with Señor Patena again with his greying hair and middle-age paunch. Everything had been so straight-forward and uncomplicated. But that line of thought also made her realize how quickly her time here would end, and that bothered her.
Standing up, Blake broke the quiet moment between them. “Let’s head out then.”
Jill grabbed her bags and followed him to the front door. Outside, Rick added her suitcase to those already loaded in the trunk of the car, and in no time, they were on their way to pick Camden up at the office.
"I feel guilty that we’re not using the tickets I bought for Camden and I.” Jill said, taking a chunk off of her muffin and popping it in her mouth. “Maybe we should have met you down there.”
"I don’t care about the cost of the tickets. I’d rather all four of us traveled together.”
"Four people?
"Yes, didn’t I tell you Rick was coming along for security?"
"No, you didn't. It’s going to be impossible for you to be inconspicuous with muscle following you around.”
He raised his eyebrows. “And you think I need to stay inconspicuous?”
“It's going to be hard enough getting people to interact with us naturally without knowing that the billionaire who bought out their company is standing right in front of them. A lot of them aren’t exactly excited about that, and even for those who don’t care, you’re very intimidating.”
“Huh. You’re never intimidated by me.”
Jill didn’t think there was much point in telling him precisely how often he made her nervous. “People are going to be uncomfortable if they realize who you are.”
“I see your point, but Rick is coming.”
Jill sighed, but she had already become familiar with the tone in Blake’s voice that meant he wasn’t going to change his mind, so she called out to Rick, “Just try not to look too intimidating, okay?”
“I’ll do my best,” Rick answered.
They picked up Camden, who was all smiles but very quiet, as if he was nervous, and headed for the airport. The Dallas/Fort Worth airport was an enormous and bustling airport, but Rick drove them to a hangar away from the main hub. As they boarded Blake’s plane and readied for take-off, Jill allowed herself to enjoy the ease and convenience of traveling with a billionaire. Not that she would ever admit it to him. She settled into her wide leather seat and buckled her seat belt.
They took off, and Jill watched out the window as the ground disappeared, trying to ignore the sensation of rising into the air that made her stomach leap and tighten. She was used to it after all this time, but she was always glad when the plane reached cruising altitude and evened out.
Twenty minutes later, there was nothing but a vast field of white clouds beneath them, so Jill gave up staring out the window and turned forward. Blake sat facing her while Rick and Camden sat on the other side of the plane, both of them on their phones. Her conversations with Blake always seemed dangerous as she fought the pull of attraction, but she didn’t feel like resisting today.
The late morning sun shone through the window and glinted off the band on Blake’s wrist. She had never been able to make out what was engraved on it. “What does your wristband say?”
Blake looked up from his tablet, then held out his left wrist. “See for yourself.”
She turned the band slightly so that she could read it, accidentally brushing his warm skin. It said, “Truth.” She looked up with questioning eyes.
He spoke quietly, but they were close enough that she heard him despite the noise from the engines. Close enough that she could smell his cologne and feel his body warmth as well. “I got that from a craftsman on Harwood street in downtown Dallas. You could pick any word you wanted. I picked this one because of my mother. At the time, I had to repair our reputation as a company, and I hated the way people looked at me—as if I might be as dishonest as she was. It took time, but I believe I have built my own reputation. I wear this as a motto to do business by—something I stand for.”
She felt an urge to reach for his hand but resisted. “You’re a good man, Blake. I’m glad I’ve been able to work with you.”
Blake leaned back and smiled, though it had a wry twist to it. “That sounds as if you’re getting ready to say goodbye.”
“No, I’m just thinking that it won’t be long now before I can turn in a full report and get your very competent team set on the right course. I just wanted you to know in case I don’t get another chance.”
His eyes seemed to flash. “Do you always move on from a job so easily? Brushing off the relationships you’ve built along the way?”
“No. Not always. Are you saying you don’t want me to move on?”
“Yes.”
His answer was short and unequivocal. Combined with his uncompromising expression, it flustered her.
“Are you offering me a job?”
“I wasn’t talking business.”
She’d never known such an intense man. Friendship would be impossible for them. Their interactions were always unpredictable as they either clashed like two bolts of lightning or drew together like magnets. “I am not sure we could ever be comfortable with friendship,” she said.
“Maybe we don’t call it friendship then. And who cares if it’s comfortable?”
The pilot came over the loudspeaker and announced they might hit a patch of turbulence ahead.
“On such a sunny day?” Jill asked, leaning back and looking out the window. Really, she was glad for the intrusion into their conversation.
“You never know what kind of currents you’re going to run into,” Blake said, smiling to himself as he picked up his tablet again.
Jill watched him, wondering if he had meant anything by that, then gave up trying to figure him out and reached for her laptop. The turbulence proved to be minimal, and they landed in Memphis an hour later. A gleaming Land Rover waited for them, and Blake’s crew quickly retrieved their luggage. Rick took the driver seat and Blake waved Camden into the front seat, then opened the back-passenger door for her.
She considered the tight quarters and wondered if she was getting a little too used to riding in close contact with Blake, but they were going to be traveling together for several days. She got in and just hoped she could maintain her professionalism so close to his warmth and charisma and intoxicating cologne.
“Okay,” Rick said from the driver’s seat. “Where to?”
“Elysian corporate office in Merton,” Camden said. “I’ll program it into the navigation system.”
Rick nodded and put the car in drive. “Looks like we’ll be there in two hours,” he said as soon as Camden had finished. “That’ll put us there at one-thirty.”
“I’m going to need some lunch before that,” Blake said. “Can you look for a good place to stop?”
“We don’t have time for a sit-down lunch,” Jill said. “We’ll have to settle for drive-through if we’re going to make our two o’clock appointment with Mr. Dunn.”
Blake looked at her with a faint challenge in his eyes and a smile hovering over his mouth. “Think you’re going to put me off with threats of fast food?”
“No.” But she couldn’t help grinning because she had been expecting him to object and was secretly looking forward to it.
“Believe it or not, I can put away a burger and fries as well as the next man.”
“If you say so.”
“But in the meantime, I’m going to close my eyes for a while. Working on the plane gave me a headache.”
“Do you want to take something for it? I’ve got some Advil in my bag.”
He sat up straighter. “That would be awesome.”
Jill pulled her bag up from the floorboard, dug out her little bag of over-the-counter medicine that she kept for emergencies and gave him three Advil. “This is the only water I have,” she said, holding up her insulated water bottle.
“I don’t mind if you don’t.”
She watched him tip her cup up, press the button that opened the spill proof water spout, and hold it millimeters above his lips as the water poured out. She thought then about how close they’d come to kissing in the pool. Where would that have taken them? Funny that just sharing her water with him had led her thoughts in such dangerous directions.
Blake handed the water cup back. “Thank you.” Then he leaned back, shifted his shoulders a few times to get comfortable and closed his eyes. Jill noticed for the first time how long Blake's eyelashes were. Frustrated with herself, she sighed.
Obviously hearing the sound, Blake stirred and turned towards her with his eyes open and a questioning look on his face. "Everything okay?"
"Yes. Sometimes I have mental arguments with myself."
"And you weren't happy with the way this argument went?"
Jill chuckled. "Not exactly."
Blake nodded, and a smile flashed across his lips. "I feel that way all the time when I argue with you."
"You're so funny. Go back to sleep."
The drive passed quickly, and Jill used the time to go over all that she knew about Elysian Ice Cream. When they arrived, they found it was a small facility in an industrial park that looked a little run down but practical. When they went inside, they were directed to the head office on the top floor, where they found Mr. Dunn busily engaged at his desk.
He put his phone down and closed his computer before coming forward to shake all their hands. He conducted them on a tour of the office and introduced them to his employees. Blake hung back and when he was introduced nobody mentioned his position as owner of the company. It wasn't likely that anyone knew who he was by name anyway.
Jill took the lead and was quite comfortable doing so. She was in her element here, meeting new people and learning as much as she could about them, and thereby the company. Within a couple of hours, she had a strong grasp on the general tone and culture of this office. Mr. Dunn had a good team here and it was clear from their smiles and positive attitude that they enjoyed their work. Jill had learned long ago that these were important characteristics of a business. When they were done, Jill asked Mr. Dunn, "Would you like to go to dinner with us?"
"If you don't mind, I would like to eat dinner with my family tonight since I have been gone for so long and only recently got back into town. I understand that I will be traveling with you for a couple of days, so I’ll look forward to eating with you another night."
"That's perfectly understandable."
Blake stepped forward and put the file he had been looking at on Mr. Dunn's desk. “Where’s a good place to eat here? I am starving since the rest of my team decided to keep driving when I fell asleep on the way here."
"You looked so comfortable," Jill said.
Blake stared at her with knowing eyes, a teasing light glinting in their depths. “You just didn’t want to take the time.”
“You know me so well,” she said.
“I’m starting to.”
Her heart flipped at the rich tone of his voice, and she wondered what thoughts were causing the warm expression on his face.
Before she could respond to Blake, however, Mr. Dunn said, “I know just the place if you like southern home cooking."