Page 82 of Playing Mr. Perfect

My insides turn to liquid heat, and I squeeze my thighs together. “No. No, no. I’m going.” His chuckles follow me down the hall.

Chapter Twenty-One

Pepper

It’s after six when we walk Dr. Bowry out, and Clay is gone. I try not to let my disappointment show and focus on how well the meeting went. Dr. Bowry mentioned my company to MS Enterprises, a group of investors who fund healthcare, pharmaceutical, and medical research and development, and they’re open to reviewing a proposal for funding.

“That couldn’t have gone any better,” I say to Ravi. “I want to get on that new proposal opportunity with MS Enterprises right away. I’ll review the reports again tonight and go over the budgets and documentation one last time this weekend, so we can reach out early next week to schedule a meeting.”

“Don’t you want to spend time with Clay?”

“Of course I do, but this is an opportunity we can’t afford to miss out on by coming in too late. I’ll find a way to fit it in. I’m sure he has other things to do while he’s here. He knows I have a business to run and employees who count on me not to drop the ball.”

“We count on you, but not if it’s at the expense of your happiness.”

“You know me better than that. My happiness has never been dependent upon a man.”

“Maybe not, but I don’t think you’ve known happiness like you do when you’re with him.”

“What are you, a mind reader?”

“Do you think I didn’t notice how disappointed you were that he wasn’t here when we walked Dr. Bowry out? Disappointment wafted around you like dirt around Pigpen from Peanuts.”

“Ew.”

“Hey, you guys,” Chris says as he and Min walk into the lobby with their coats on, ready to leave. “Check out what Clay gave us.” They each hold up an autographed football.

“We’re going to get display cases for them,” Min says proudly.

“That’s wild,” Ravi says. “He got me a bobblehead to go with my collection.”

“Are you BFFs now?” I joke. “How did he know about your collection?” Ravi’s collection of bobbleheads consists of everything from Star Wars to sports figures.

“I mentioned it over dinner, remember?”

No, but I was a little sidetracked.

But Clay is never too sidetracked to pick up on the little things. I swear he blew into my life like he belongs here, and in two days he’s made everyone happier. Is he really this thoughtful? Or is he just playing Mr. Perfect for his fans?

I look at Ravi checking out Min’s autographed football. The three of them are all smiles. At that moment, I realized it doesn’t matter if Clay is playing a role for fans or not. Either way, he was thoughtful enough to think of my friends, and that says a lot about him.

But I do have to nip him answering our phones in the bud. “While we’re on the subject of Clay,” I say, drawing their attention, “Chris, you can’t let just anyone answer the phones.”

“Clay’s not exactly just anyone, and it’s not like I put him up to it,” Chris insists. “I tried to dissuade him, but he really wanted to help.”

“I was there,” Min says. “Clay was very persuasive.”

I know just how persuasive he can be.

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Ravi says. “It’s no different from when Chris’s sister was visiting and helped out. Besides, Dr. Bowry was thrilled to meet him. He talked about Clay for ten minutes when we got into my office.”

“I would’ve run it by you,” Chris says. “But I didn’t think it was worth interrupting your training session.”

“It’s okay. Ravi’s right. It’s not so different from when your sister helped.” Except that Clay is famous and can buy a hundred companies like mine if he wants to, and I’m sleeping with him, and trying to figure out why he’s doing so much for me. “It just threw me off. Hopefully we’ll find a receptionist soon.”

“It threw me off, too,” Chris says. “But then I realized he’s a great guy. I had fun showing him around. He actually understood a lot of what we’re doing.”

“That’s great. Thank you for showing him around.”