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I stood up and took hold of her hand, feeling a jolt of electricity at our touch. “The pleasure is mine,” I replied, mentally kicking myself in the ass for not taking her up on her offer to have lunch together.
Allowing her to take a seat first, I settled into my own chair and watched as she opened my file and began examining the documents inside. But before she could delve any further, I stopped her. “What do you know about Exceleration?”
She looked up at me, removing her glasses and revealing her bright emerald eyes. “Well, I know it is owned by Dominic Rivera. I also know that he received his mechanical engineering degree from Stanford with a minor in business. Exceleration is one of the top-rated companies in electric car manufacturing.” She paused for a moment and placed her hands on the table. “And, may I add, Exceleration is one of your top clients as well.”
As the meeting progressed, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had met this woman before. She didn’t fit the incompetent image I had in my mind—she exuded confidence and knowledge about my account.
I was just about to bring up the investment opportunity that Dominic had mentioned when a young man barged into the conference room without even knocking. He wore a cheap imitation of an Armani suit and immediately rubbed me the wrong way.
“Drake, what are you doing here?” Harper’s tone was direct with thinly veiled annoyance, though she maintained a forced smile.
“I thought I’d offer you and Mr. Stevenson some refreshment,” he replied with a smug look on his face, scanning me from head to toe.
“We can get our own refreshments if we need them,” I cut in, feeling increasingly annoyed by this guy.
“Well, how about I just stick around… in case you need any assistance,” he suggested.
Was this guy serious? With disbelief, I watched him saunter past Harper and claim a chair at the table as if he owned the place.
“That won’t be necessary,” Harper responded politely, though I could sense her true feelings were being held back.
“It’s no trouble, really,” he replied flippantly as he settled into his seat.
Without hesitation, I stood, strode around the long conference table, and approached him. Grasping his suit collar, I lifted him from his chair and directed him toward the door. “Ms. Scott already stated that your presence is not needed.”
“Fine, fine. I get it,” he snapped back, using his hand to brush away mine. “If you find yourselves in need of anything, feel free to call me.”
When he left and closed the door behind him, I was almost tempted to lock the door. It was men like him that really brought out the worst in me. Despite Harper’s competence, I was starting to question Sidney’s decision about hiring assholes like him.
With Drake, or whatever his name was, finally out of the picture, I turned back to Harper, who was trying her best to maintain her composure. “Sorry about that,” she apologized with a tight-lipped smile.
“It’s okay,” I reassured her before taking my seat once again. But as Drake’s lingering cologne filled the air, I couldn’t help but feel irritated by his uninvited presence.
The meeting was drawing to a close, but my attention was no longer on the discussion at hand. My eyes kept straying to the woman sitting across from me, her beauty captivating and alluring. I couldn’t resist the urge to spend more time with her, even if it meant making up for ditching her lunch invitation by inviting her to dinner.
“Before I leave, I apologize for turning down your lunch invitation earlier. Would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner instead?” I asked boldly, hoping she would accept.
Her expression softened as she considered my offer. “That is very kind of you, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”
Despite her hesitation, I couldn’t take no for an answer. “What if we invited Sidney to join us? It would be a work-related dinner, and I’m sure he wouldn’t refuse.”
After a moment of consideration, she gave in. “I suppose that would be acceptable.”
“Great, I’ll have my secretary arrange everything and let you know the details.” Relieved that she had agreed, I quickly made plans with my secretary and promised to inform her of the details.
As much as I wanted to cancel all my other commitments and spend every minute getting to know her better, I knew that wasn’t feasible. But I couldn’t deny the pull toward this intriguing woman, and I eagerly looked forward to learning more about her during our upcoming dinner together.
~9~
Harper
As I watched River Stevenson leave the conference, a wave of nervous excitement washed over me and my heart fluttered with the hope of seeing him again. He had surprised me in every way possible. He was nothing like I had first assumed him to be—confident and bold, yet not at all arrogant. The way he stood up to Drake, with his head held high and unwavering determination, was nothing short of impressive. Though perhaps a bit overboard, it served its purpose in putting Drake in his place. If only River was around more often to keep Drake in line.
I lingered in the conference room for a few moments to regain my composure before taking the long way to my office in order to avoid an encounter with Drake. I couldn’t risk him bombarding me with questions about my meeting with River. After all, River was my client, and I didn’t want to jeopardize our business relationship.
Finally arriving at my office unscathed, I settled into my desk and took a deep breath before opening Triage’s folder. One of River’s requests was for me to gather information on Exceleration before he made any investment into Dominic’s company. It was understandable—River wanted to ensure that he was making a sound decision, and I was grateful that he trusted my input before he made a move.
When I brought up my computer, an email from Triage International was waiting for me. I clicked on the email and to my surprise it was an email confirming my dinner with River. He made the reservation for this evening at seven o’clock at Selena’s, which was the most expensive restaurant in Chicago and the hardest to get a reservation for. There would be a car arriving at my home at 6:30 p.m. to pick me up. I looked at my watch and sucked in a lungful of air, realizing that it was already 5:00 p.m. If I hurried, I could make it to my apartment and get ready before the car showed up.
