Julian

 

 

"Tell me if I'm wrong, but from where I was sitting, Charlie is far more interested in you than you are in him, Maya."

My words startle her. I see it in the way her shoulders stiffen before she turns around to face me. I watched her out of the corner of my eye as she exited the ladies' room and then stood near the bar checking her phone. Something on the small screen brought a bright smile to her face. I waited until she'd tucked the phone back into her black clutch purse before I approached her.

"What makes you say that?" She questions quietly.

"The way you look at him."

Her tongue slides over her bottom lip. "How do I look at him?"

"In a much different way than you look at me."

A blush blooms on the top of both of her cheeks. "I think that's understandable. I'm hoping you and I will work together. Charlie is a co-worker. He's a friend."

"Just a friend?" I step closer to her to allow a woman to pass behind me.

"We're a little more than friends but less than what you and Isadora are."

I swallow hard, frustration biting at me. "What does that mean? What do you think Isadora and I are?"

"In love," she says casually. "Charlie and I are nowhere near that level of seriousness."

This isn't a conversation I wanted to have in the middle of a restaurant while she's on a date with another man but I won't allow her to carry around the false assumption that Isadora and I are still a couple.

"Is Isadora meeting you here for dinner?" She asks before I have a chance to say anything.

"Isadora and I broke up," I answer quickly. "I'm having dinner with someone else."

My words catch her by surprise. She looks down. I want her eyes on my face so I can read her expression. "I need to get back to my table and you shouldn't keep your date waiting, Julian."

"It's a business dinner, not a date."

Her head pops up. "It's a business dinner?"

I'm not about to share the fact that I'm meeting with an attorney who is going to negotiate Isadora's exit from not only my business, but my life. Word moves quickly in this town so the fewer people who know that I've hired Chloe, the better.

"I need to see you tomorrow, Maya."

She stiffens. "See me?"

She feels it. There's no way in hell that she doesn't feel the same draw to me that I feel to her. The harmless flirting at the party the other night was one thing. The electric energy between us now is another. It's undeniable and considering the fact that she's having dinner with her boyfriend, it's dangerous.

I refuse to touch a woman who is devoted to another man, regardless of how badly I want to.

"I mentioned a business proposal at the launch party last week," I say it even though I know I'm playing with fire. Working with her will be sweet torture but she deserves this chance. "I'd like to discuss that in detail with you."

I've kept a close eye on her career since we first met in Falon's studio. I've watched from afar as Maya has claimed a spot as an up and coming broker. She's worked hard to edge out more seasoned agents. She's managed a fair number of sales in a short period of time, which is essentially unheard of in Manhattan for a newly licensed broker. She's driven and determined.

Hiring someone with more experience to sell the residential suites in the new hotel would make sense on paper, but I need a fresh perspective and she can deliver that and more.

My intention was always to sit down and discuss this with Maya once the penthouse was staged. Her name never made it onto the guest list for the launch because that party was Isadora's brainchild. She hand chose the invitees and handled every aspect of the event from food to floral arrangements.

"Can you come by my office before noon? Does eleven work for you?"

Her eyes drop to her inner wrist and the hint of a tattoo beneath the band of her watch. I can't make out the script. All that’s visible are curled lines of dark ink that dive under the black leather. "I'll be there. I should get back to the table."

She moves to step toward the entrance of the dining room when a server bumps into her from behind. She stumbles slightly, her hand darting out to steady herself.

I reach for her without thinking, my hands grabbing her to tug her close to my chest.

"Julian," she whispers as she steadies herself. "I…thank you. You saved me from falling."

"It was my pleasure." I run the pad of my thumb over the skin of her forearm. "Solely and completely my pleasure."

She looks up at me and her pink lips part as if she's going to stay something in response but she doesn't. Instead, she sighs. It's the lightest sound, a sexy prelude to what her lover would hear when his fingers trace a path from her palm to her shoulder and then her neck before they glide over every inch of her body.

"I need to get back." She pulls away from me. "I've been gone too long."

I take a deep breath. "I'm right behind you, Maya. Lead the way."

She does and I follow, watching the sway of her ass beneath her red dress with every step she takes.

I've never anticipated a business meeting more than I do the one I have planned for tomorrow at eleven a.m. sharp.