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“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sugar. Now, seeing as our meeting went well and I feel like I can finally think, how would you feel about going on a date with me?”
“A date?”
“Dinner. That’s all I’m asking for.”
“We’re not allowed to … date associates.”
“Technically I’m not an associate. Once this negotiation is through, I won’t have any contact with you, will I?”
“Not unless you have any problems. I tend to delve into the negotiating stage. It sounds complicated but it’s really not. You just need to know how to talk to people.”
“Ouch!” He put a hand over his heart. “You hurt me.”
“I don’t mean like that.”
He got a chuckle though and he’d take it.
“Okay, if I can’t have a date how about we enjoy the pleasure of each other’s company while taking our dogs for a walk? You can teach me all of your neat tricks. Maybe help me handle Boscoe a little better.”
She tilted her head to the side. “I’m a sucker for a canine and I love walking mine. Deal.”
“Time and place?”
“If you and Boscoe are up for it, you can meet me outside of my place.” She opened up her notebook, pulling out a piece of paper and writing on it.
“It’s not that far from where you live. I’m surprised we haven’t bumped into each other.”
He’d have remembered seeing her.
“That’s my address. I’ll meet you on the sidewalk.”
“I look forward to it.” He couldn’t think of a second or third reason to talk to her. “I better be going. It was a pleasure, Sugar.”
“You too, Colton.”
He turned out of the office, making his way out of the building and to his car. Not only did he have the contract he’d been wanting, but also a woman’s address. Resting his head on the steering wheel, he couldn’t believe what a prick he’d been to her. All along she’d known who he was. No wonder she’d made him wait.
He was such a dick to her, jumping to assumptions just because he wasn’t paying attention.
Back at the office, he finished up his emails, dealt with a couple of clients, and then avoided the celebratory drink at a job well done.
For the first time since he’d been working, he was out of the office by five, at home by six, washed, ready, and with Boscoe on the lead by half past.
Walking the streets with him made him a little nervous. Boscoe was so unpredictable.
Standing outside of her apartment building, he didn’t know if he was to ring the bell or not.
He hoped she wasn’t disappointed by his outfit. He’d completely stripped out of his business clothes and settled on something casual: a pair of jeans and a crisp white shirt. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he marveled at Boscoe, who sat waiting.
Did he know who they were waiting for?
Either that or he’d somehow trained his dog without knowing it.
The moment Sugar appeared, he saw the change in Boscoe. His tail wagged faster and there was an excitement about him. Looking up, he saw why. Sugar hadn’t dressed for business either. In a small summer dress, she looked so fucking beautiful that she made him ache.
Walking their dogs was the last thing on his mind.
9
Sugar was trying to act like she wasn’t freaking out right now, but the truth was she was a nervous wreck. She had Poppy on a leash, the little Pomeranian trailing behind as she made her way toward Colton, the little bell on her collar dinging.
She’d seen him down the street as she looked out her window. Of course she could have waited for him to come up, to see where she actually lived, but she’d been too antsy.
The meeting had gone better than she could have imagined, and it had nothing to do with their companies working on the merger. Although she knew he’d been upset, that anger hadn’t lasted long. Sugar almost felt he should have been more upset because that’s how she was with herself.
She should have told him sooner, and especially not how it had gone down.
“Hey,” he said in that deep drawl of his.
“Hey yourself.” She was trying to act like she wasn’t on edge, hiding the fact her hands shook and her heart raced.
“You want to choose dinner, or should I?”
She felt herself relax a little. It was easy being in his presence. “I know this little bistro a few blocks over. It’s dog friendly and the food is incredible.”
“Sounds good.” He grinned, flashing straight white teeth and having her heart flutter. “Lead the way.”
They walked in silence for a little while, this weirdness moving between them, or maybe it was all her? Colton seemed like he didn’t have a care in the world as he walked beside her gently humming. Maybe she was ruining tonight because she still felt so uncomfortable about lying to him.
