Nine
The taxi came to a stop and I handed the cabbie a twenty through the window. “Keep the change.”
“Have a good night.” He waved as I exited.
I inhaled deeply and held it for a second before letting it out slowly and entering Vino’s.
“Welcome to Vino’s.” A man no older than thirty beamed with happiness as I stepped up to the counter to see if Everett and his client had arrived yet.
“Hello, I’m Arbor Kenton. I’m supposed to be meeting Everett…”
“Arbor!”
I turned and found Everett heading straight toward me. A bright smile adorned his face, and I hadn’t noticed how good looking he was until that moment. The chatter around us faded as I focused on the black button-up that was tucked into gray slacks and cuffed to his forearms. His dirty-blond hair was styled back and to the side with product, and his honey eyes were a bit darker than his skin. Once he reached me, he extended his arms and like instinct, I went directly into them.
“I hope I’m not late.”
I inhaled just enough to enjoy the woodsy scent of his cologne before stepping back.
“Right on time.” He grinned and winked. “Our table’s this way.” He motioned in the direction he’d come from.
I took the lead and he followed closely behind me as we weaved through a few tables before stopping at an empty one. Everett pulled the chair out for me to have a seat and helped to scoot me forward once I was seated.
“Thank you.”
“No thanks needed.” He took a seat directly across from me and amusement danced across his face as he placed his forearms on the table.
“So…” I nibbled my bottom lip. “Where’s the client?”
Everett chuckled, “No how’s your day been? What’s good here? Just straight to business, huh?”
I continued to nervously nibble my lip.
“All right then.” He cleared his throat. “I’m the client.”
“I’m sorry…” A giggle bubbled up my throat. “What did you just say?”
“I’m the client.” Amusement was still dancing across his beautiful smile.
“You’re the client.”
He nodded.
“I’m—okay—I wasn’t expecting that.” I adjusted myself to try to hide the shock I knew was plain as day on my face.
His warm hand covered mine.
“How about we have a nice meal and then talk business?”
I grinned. “Let’s do that.”
We spent the next hour talking about our dreams and aspirations. I’m sure I sounded like a fool when I admitted that I didn’t have many dreams, I just simply wanted to be happy with whatever path I go down. Everett, on the other hand, was a man who lived and breathed his career. He had come a long way in the music business and was easily on the route to be one of the top management agencies out there if he played his cards right. From the sounds of it, he was hell bent on playing those cards right.
“How’s your lobster?”
I moaned as I ate the last bite. “Probably the best I’ve ever had. Thanks for talking me into it.”
“Only the best.” He smiled.
A hot flash rolled through my body from his words. Everett was a very nice person. Easy on the eyes, and an all-around good person. He wasn’t one to come across as too forward or creepy. I liked that about him. The only thing keeping me reserved was the fact that I couldn’t date a client even if he was interested. Which I wasn’t a hundred percent sure he was interested.
No, there wasn’t a handbook specifically stating no fraternizing with clientele, but what if things went south? I’d lose one of the top clients I’d managed to snag for Level PR, which I hadn’t accomplished yet.
“Would either of you like dessert?”
Everett moved his attention from me and grinned at the waiter. “I’m good. But the lady might be interested in something.”
His eyes found mine and I shook my head. “I have no room to hold anything else.” Laughter dance within my words.
The waiter nodded.
“The check is fine.” Everett placed his napkin on his plate as the waiter grabbed a few of the items off the table.
“Of course.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t want dessert.” He leaned his forearms on the table.
“Why is that?”
“You strike me as a girl who would love dessert.”
I grinned and dropped my eyes to the table.
We’d been at Vino’s for quite some time but the conversation of work hadn’t come back around. I was beginning to feel like Everett had invited me on a work outing with hopes that it would be more like a date. For one, he didn’t bring a client along like he’d stated. It was him. For two, he asked if we could have a nice dinner and chat before we dove into anything, which we had. Lastly, he was staring at me like I was the most intriguing woman he’d ever met and all I was doing was twisting a strand of hair around my finger hoping my thoughts weren’t evident. No one had looked at me like he was looking at me since Colin.
The thought of his name made me sigh. It’s crazy how one single night could change your life in so many ways. I had no clue back then what was ahead of me, and Lord I wish I had.
“You okay?”
I reached for the glass of water in front of me and quickly took a long drink.
“I’m fine. My mind got away from me there.”
“I know how that is.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Sorry it’s gotten so late and we haven’t gone over anything. I have enjoyed learning about you.”
That damn grin of his was going to be the death of me.
“I’ve had a nice time as well.”
Everett’s phone vibrated against the table. He flipped it over and pressed the screen. A few seconds passed as his eyebrows dipped. From the looks of it he’d gotten some news he wasn’t too happy about so I didn’t interrupt to give him the check that the waiter had laid between us. I slipped some cash inside the black holder and excused myself. Everett didn’t glance up from his phone as he replied with an okay.
I wasn’t sure what had happened, but his mood seemed to tip in another direction. I knew how important work was to him, even just being around him for a short period of time. So the last thing I wanted to do was be a distraction. I pushed through the dark wooden door that led into the women’s restroom and stopped at the sink. I didn’t need to use the restroom but I wanted to give him some space and check myself in the mirror.
My cheeks were flushed from the alcohol we’d started our meal with, glad I had switched to water, and my eyes had an unfamiliar sparkle to them, making the deep green tones shine through the brown a bit more than usual. The entire meeting unfolded in a completely different way than I’d pictured it.
“You need to go back out there and talk business. Nothing else but business.” I wiped under my eyes and gave myself a stern nod in the mirror as I finished up washing my hands.
I tossed my paper towels in the trashcan on the way out of the restroom. As the table came into view I noticed it was vacant, with glasses and clean plates positioned for a new couple to come in for dinner.
“Excuse me.” I stopped the man who’d been our waiter just as he was walking past.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Do you happen to know where the man went that I was with?”
“Oh,” he scratched his head. “Last I saw him, he was on his phone walking toward the front doors.”
“Okay.” I paused, not knowing what to say next. Instead I turned and headed toward the front doors myself.
I was flabbergasted that Everett would leave without as much as a goodbye. The night’s air chilled across my bare legs as I stepped onto the sidewalk. Looking to the left, no Everett in sight, turning to the right, there was still no Everett. Rummaging through my purse, I pulled my phone out to see if he’d called me or sent me a text, but neither was there. I quickly typed a message to Emily regarding how the night had unfolded and the disappearance of Everett as my annoyance grew.
“I seriously can’t believe this…” I huffed.
“Arbor!”
I spun to the right at the sound of my name. Everett was jogging toward me from a half a block away. Tucking my phone back into my purse, I waited for him to reach me, which didn’t take long. My arms were crossed over my chest as he came to a stop mere inches away.
“I thought you’d left.” He touched my forearm.
“That’s funny.” I gently pulled my arm from his hand and tucked a strand of hair that whipped in the random gust of wind behind my ear. “I thought you’d left. I just went to the restroom to give you space with whatever message you’d received and came back to an empty table.”
His staccato laugh startled me.
“I am so sorry.” His apologetic smile beamed with sincerity and had me smiling like a fool right back at him.
“Well,” I hooked my thumb toward the row of cabs lining the street. “I was just about to head home.”
“Come with me.” Everett smoothed his hands up my arms, and I shivered.
Was he serious?
I’d just met the guy and he was asking me to put all of my faith in him that he’s not some sort of serial killer and go to his place.
“Let me rephrase that.” He chuckled. “Come with me to my office. We can have some privacy to go over the marketing layout you have in mind and hopefully you won’t feel like this night has been a disaster.”
The thought of what my face looked like crossed my mind just as I erupted with laughter. Full blown, belly hurting and possible snorting involved laughter.
Everett watched me with a giant smile before he began laughing himself.
“That sounds great.”
“You sure?” He continued to laugh. “Because the initial look on your face made me realize I might’ve stepped over a boundary there.”
“I’m not gonna lie, I thought you were asking me to go home with you for a minute there.” I bit down on my bottom lip as the thought of if he’d actually asked me to go with him crossed my mind. Would I have said yes?
Everett lifted his hand in the air to hail a cab. “You know,” he glanced at me over his shoulder until I stepped beside him. “The office is my second home.”
I shook my head and lowered my eyes to the ground as a shit eatin’ grin spread widely across my face. Everett had managed to make me smile more than anyone I could think of in a short period of time. Even more than a certain someone had.
He handed the cabbie a fifty as we slipped into the back seat.
“Thank you, sir. Where ya headed?”
Everett rambled off an address that was less than five miles away. My eyes bulged because I knew damn well it wouldn’t cost fifty bucks to get us there.
I leaned toward him to speak quietly enough that the cabbie wouldn’t hear me. “I think you gave him too much money.”
His honey eyes seemed to twinkle as he leaned into my side. “I’m a nice guy.”
My eyes closed from the proximity of him and the way his gruff voice vibrated through my body. I inhaled deeply and took in the remnants of his cologne. He sat back and I quickly opened my eyes, hoping and praying he hadn’t noticed they were closed.
“I’m beginning to believe that.” I rolled my bottom lip into my mouth and turned to face the window for the rest of our short ride to his office.
The cab dropped us just outside the doors of a ten-story building that didn’t have any form of business names or logos labeling it. Nothing about it stood out. Which I found odd. If you ran a business that promoted people, wouldn’t you want your building to stand out?
“Penny for your thoughts?” Everett gently nudged me with his shoulder.
Before we entered the large front doors, I took in the height of the building.
“I’m confused.”
“About what?”
“About why the building is so bland.”
“I don’t advertise my building. I advertise my business.”
“I get that, but wouldn’t you want a sign or something pointing people to you?”
“Not really.”
Our feet echoed on the shiny tile floor as he headed to the row of elevators, saying hello to the security guard on duty as we passed.
“Why not?”
Everett leaned forward and pushed the up arrow and turned toward me.
“I feel like the type of business I’m in isn’t one that needs a giant sign or whatever pointing them to this office. My office isn’t where everything begins. I go out to bars and small venues scouting people myself. The magic happens at night where the music is in abundance and the liquor is flowing.”
The elevator dinged open and he motioned for me to go first. We both stepped in and he hit the number five.
“Makes total sense.”
Everett grinned and leaned back against the wall. “I’m surprised you actually agreed to come.”
My eyebrows dipped. “Why is that?”
“I don’t know. You strike me as the type of woman who wouldn’t trust to be alone with pretty much a stranger.
I laughed. “You’d be surprised.”
“You know that’s not safe, right?”
The elevator doors opened to the fifth floor and I stepped off first. I wasn’t sure why he’d gone all fatherly on me all of a sudden, but whatever the reason I wish he’d let it go.
“I know it’s not safe. But this is my job, and I have ways of protecting myself.”
“Oh…” Everett held his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t mean to overstep.”
I shook my head and closed my eyes for a brief moment.
“Sorry if I sounded rude. I didn’t mean to.”
“You didn’t. Just standing your ground, I get it.”
As the awkward moment came to an end, we turned right and headed down the empty hallway. Two large glass doors sat at the end, welcoming people with large sheer white letters that read Evergreen Music Management.
“Evergreen, I like it.”
“It’s kind of corny, don’t you think?” He typed in a code on the keypad below the metal door handle.
“No, I honestly love it.”
“Really?” He held the door for me to enter first.
“Yes.” I took in the room as he locked the door back.
Everything was sleek; gray, silver, black, and white, with a bit of green…evergreen to be exact.
“Wow. This place is beautifully put together.”
“Thanks.” He slipped his hand into mine. “Would you be surprised to know that I had a say in all of it?”
The warmth of his hand felt nice so I allowed it. Everett was blowing me away with all of his talents. Excitement ignited within me at the thought of seeing him in his realm.
“No, I wouldn’t be surprised. You seem like a very put together man.”
“In some aspects I am.”
Everett gave me the tour of the entire office on the way to his personal one. There weren’t many employees besides him, only three. The receptionist, his assistant, and another recruiter he’d recently hired. But none of them were in the office at such a late hour, so meeting them would have to wait.
“My office is here on the left.”
We turned and came face-to-face with floor-to-ceiling windows that had a frosted coating so you couldn’t see in or out of them. He opened the door and allowed me to pass. I realized this was a chivalrous trait of his, and I adored it.
He flipped the light switches on and allowed the door to shut behind him. The room was a bit different than the rest of the office. There were vibrant reds and royal blues mixed in with the gray and black color scheme, but no green. It seemed as if we’d stepped into a completely different office.
“I like my space to be a bit louder.”
His response to my nonverbal review of his space had me shaking my head.
“What?” He linked our hands once more and turned me toward him.
“It’s like you read my mind is all.” I shrugged with a smile trying to make its presence known.
I removed my hand from his and took a seat at the conference-sized table to the right of the rather large room and pulled a folder from my bag. “This is what I came up with.” I laid it on the table, hoping Everett would have a seat and take a look before the room became any heavier with attraction.
Thankfully he did just that.
Silence hung in the air as he flipped through my ideas. My palms became clammy as time ticked away. I wiped them on the cushion of the chair, not wanting a damp spot on my clothes. Crossing my legs, I tried everything to remain calm. It was as if I’d never had a meeting with a client before, or sat in suspense while someone decided whether or not they liked my work. But something about Everett seeing my ideas had me in fits.
He closed the folder and placed both hands on top. His eyes lifted and connected with mine, but the intensity in them wasn’t intimidating. No, it was something completely opposite of that, it was sexy as hell.
I squirmed in my seat and dropped my eyes to the table. “So what do you think?” I nibbled my bottom lip, hoping he’d break the silence at any moment.
“Arbor.” His voice was stern, but not demanding.
My eyes connected with his again and my mouth went slack as his honey orbs pierced me with such intensity that I thought I’d melt into a puddle on his charcoal gray carpet.
“Hmm?” I managed to reply, knowing much more of a response would’ve been with a shaky voice that I couldn’t bear to use.
“This is amazing.”
Before I could register that he’d called my work amazing, he’d come around the table and lifted me from the chair in a tight embrace. My legs dangled in the air as laughter bubbled up my throat.
“Seriously?”
“Yes!” He laughed. “This is exactly what Evergreen needs. Someone like you to be the brains of getting seasoned musicians into the mainstream again. I love it.”
And like instinct, my legs wrapped around his waist, causing the atmosphere in the room to do a one-eighty.
My hand smoothed up his cheek, while the other tucked into the hair at the base of his neck. His breathing became labored as his eyes dropped from mine and focused on my parted lips. I knew what was coming, but I couldn’t stop myself. I didn’t want to stop either of us. So before he could make another move, I dropped my head and gently connected our lips.
It felt like time stood still for the brief moment neither of us moved. But his hands slowly slid from my waist, to cup my bottom as he turned and lowered my body onto the conference table. Our mouths moved in sync as the sounds of our unexpected adventure filled the room. He tasted like mint with a mix of faint chocolate. It was intoxicating, yet I was sober.
His hands moved up my sides, over my chest, until he was cupping my face. I sighed as his lips left mine and his forehead rested against my own, our chests rising and falling rapidly as neither of us spoke a word. My body was screaming for more, and I could feel that his was, too, but we stayed exactly like that for what seemed like eternity.
“If I…” Everett began to say but I lifted my chin and connected our lips once more.
“Don’t,” I breathed against his mouth.
“Don’t what?” His minty words rolled against my tongue as he kissed me back.
“Don’t ruin the moment,” I breathed. “Enjoy it. I am”
My words were like the spark of a match, giving him the go ahead he needed to let loose of whatever was holding him back. One hand rested on the side of my neck as the other found the bare flesh of my thigh. He hooked my leg over his hip and held it in place as he rolled his body forward. The bulge of his arousal rubbed against me in all the right places, pulling an uncontrollable moan out of me. A rush of heat rolled through my body every time his arousal connected with my core.
“Everett…” I moaned and he came to an abrupt stop.
As quickly as the moment had ignited, it was over.
“Arbor, I’m so sorry.” He fisted his hands in his hair as he left me lying on the table with my legs wide open.
I didn’t even mind if he could see my blush panties, or the fact of just how turned on he had made me. No, what I did mind was the fact that he was apologizing after I’d told him to enjoy the moment. But something about me moaning his name had ruined the entire situation.
I ran my hands into my hair and stayed just as I was on the table. “Why are you apologizing?”
“Our meeting tonight was supposed to be about work, not me trying to fuck you on my conference table. Christ!” He groaned and turned away from me.
“Everett.”
He didn’t acknowledge me saying his name as he dropped his head into his hands. Silence filled the room for a while as I kept my eyes on him.
“The last thing I want to do is make you feel like I only invited you here so I could have my way with you.” He paused. “At the restaurant it was obvious you were horrified at the thought of going back to my place, and I get that. We just met.” He turned to face me, not wavering at the sight of me still sprawled out on the table. “There’s an attraction between us, Arbor, I know you feel it, and I couldn’t help myself once you kissed me. I hope you know I meant no disrespect, but I don’t want to ruin a very promising business partnership by over stepping boundaries.”
I collected myself and sat up on the table. His words made sense, I honestly had let my own hormones jump the gun. Even though we both felt the intense attraction, I’d caused a bit of a sticky situation.
“I apologize.” I slipped from the table and began to collect my things. “I didn’t mean for this to happen like it has. The last thing I want to do is ruin a potential outstanding business partnership. That’s the exact thing that’s been on my mind since the restaurant. So if we can start over, I’d truly appreciate it.”
Everett heavily exhaled and held onto my biceps. A small smile turned his frown upward. “We can pretend this didn’t happen, or simply move forward from it. We’re both adults that are attracted to one another, and were both willing. Right?”
I couldn’t help the wide smile that spread across my face, and the hot flash that rolled through my body at the thought of him touching me. “Exactly. So I’ll catch an Uber home and I’ll see you Monday at my office to sign paperwork, ‘kay?”
He enveloped me in his arms and kissed the top of my head. I didn’t want to step back but after a few seconds, I did.
“I’ll be there.”
I placed my lips to his cheek and left his office before another word could be said. By the time I’d get downstairs my Uber would be waiting, and boy I wasn’t ready for a long car ride home with nothing but my thoughts to occupy me.