Page 28 of Last First Date

I tried to set it aside, shaking my head to clear it, but it just got worse. I opened the file on my desk. I had only been working an hour when I smelled food.

Looking up, I found Waverly standing in the doorway, two boxes of Chinese takeout in her hands, and despite everything, there was a smile on her face.

"Thought you might need some fuel," she said, walking over to place one of the boxes on my desk. "You tend to get cranky when your blood sugar drops."

I smiled. "I have a fast metabolism."

"Just another reason to hate you," she muttered.

"What?"

"Rich, hot, and no need to watch what you eat," she said. "I really do hate you."

She said it in a way that said there was no hate at all. "I do work out," I said. "I haven't since I've been back, but I should. I need to get back into that."

"If there's nothing else, I'll be in the conference room."

"Stay," I said, surprising myself. "Have lunch with me."

She looked at me like I was crazy. "Why?"

"Because it's lunchtime. We'll make it a working lunch."

She hesitated, standing by the desk with a look of discomfort on her face. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Nonsense," I replied, waving it off with a chuckle. "We're both adults and colleagues. Eating lunch together saves time. You have to eat. I have to eat. And we need to discuss the meeting tomorrow. It saves time."

She gave in, taking the seat opposite mine. We ate in silence for a few minutes, the only sound being the scrape of wooden chopsticks against paper boxes.

Every so often, I would glance up from my food to find her watching me. Each time our eyes met, hers would dart back down to her box of food, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks.

I liked seeing her blush.

13

WAVERLY

Igroaned and rubbed my temples as I read the email from Benjamin. I had yet to meet the man in person. We’d had a few phone calls, a video call, and lots of emails with his assistant. The grand opening was testing my professionalism.

It became apparent that Benjamin was not the easiest client to work with after our first ideas were all rejected. Ultimately, he ended up coming back to the “black tie meets nature” idea, but it felt like we'd been around the world with him. I was exhausted and we hadn't even really started. But today we had our first in-person meeting. I might have strategically planned it at a time when Knox would be out of the office. I was still trying to decide if the two of them were friends and I was being set up or if Knox really didn't like the man.

Marcy was already in the conference room getting things set up. This was my first client meeting, and I was a little nervous. Although most of the details were already set, seeing things in person was always important to make sure there were no surprises.

As nervous as I was about this meeting, my mind kept getting invaded by images of a different handsome man. Knox. It was like trying to ignore a bee buzzing around the room. I couldn't stop thinking about the man, and not with the usual frustration and anger I felt when I thought about him.

I gathered my notes and headed for the conference room. Marcy was already there with Benjamin and his assistant. I recognized her from our video calls.

I took a deep breath to steady myself. My palms were sweaty. "Good afternoon, Benjamin," I greeted, extending a hand. He looked up from his phone, shook my hand briefly before resuming whatever he was doing on his phone. His assistant, however, gave me a warm smile.

"Hello, Waverly, lovely to finally meet you in person," Brenda said, shaking my hand.

"Likewise, Brenda," I replied, settling into the seat next to Marcy. The room smelled of strong cologne. Too strong. It was obnoxious, but I smiled through it.

"Alright, would you like to see the mock-up plans?" I asked. "We've secured the country club like you requested. Our plans are based on that space. We were very lucky to get a reservation at all on such short notice."

"Yes, please," Benjamin said and looked directly at me. There was a predatory vibe coming from him.

I swallowed, feeling a little uncomfortable under his gaze, but I did my best to give nothing away. I gestured to Marcy, who stood up and set the projector to display our mock-up designs on the big screen.