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But business was over, so there wasn’t any reason she couldn’t indulge in a cocktail or two and enjoy the lounge’s swanky atmosphere, instead of spending her evening alone in a stuffy hotel room.
Decision made, she slipped her shoes back on, and ten minutes later, she was walking into the Lounge. It was a Tuesday night, so there were plenty of open areas to choose from, but she didn’t want to sit at a table by herself, so she automatically started for the bar, which was populated with only two male customers sitting on opposite ends of the counter. One of which, she realized as she caught sight of the familiar profile, was Aiden.
She was surprised to see him there, mostly because he appeared to be alone. Mallory was nowhere to be seen. His jacket was off again and casually hanging on the back of his chair, and he’d rolled the sleeves of his crisp white dress shirt up to just below his elbows, treating her to a tantalizing glimpse of his strong, muscled forearms. More perfection to add to the already long list of his attractive traits.
He’d loosened the tie around his neck, and his hair looked as though he’d pushed his fingers through the strands, giving her the impression that he was winding down for the evening, as well.
She approached where he was seated and slid into the chair next to him, not missing the way his body stiffened ever so slightly. He turned his head to look at her, and the faintest flicker of annoyance in his golden brown gaze quickly ebbed to relief when he realized it was her.
“Oh, hey,” he said, giving her an impish grin that still somehow managed to be ri
diculously sexy. “I thought you were Mallory.”
Hmmm. Interesting, she mused. It appeared the two had parted ways in the past twenty minutes or so, and it wasn’t the turn she’d thought Aiden’s evening would take. “I certainly didn’t expect to find you here all alone.”
“I could say the same for you,” he replied, his voice taking on a teasing lilt as he fell back into that comfortable friendship they’d established between them over the past three years. “I thought for sure you’d be in your pajamas by now.”
God, did he think she was that predictable and boring? The sad part was, his guess wasn’t that far off the mark, because that had been her initial intent.
She shrugged and hooked the handle of her purse over the back of her chair. “I figured after today, I deserved a drink.”
“You absolutely do, and so do I,” he agreed, picking up the cocktail menu on the bar top. Whatever had happened between him and Mallory, he clearly wasn’t going to elaborate. “By the way, you did really well today for your first face-to-face meeting with a potential client.”
As much as she appreciated his compliment, she knew he’d been the star of the show and the day wouldn’t have gone nearly as well without him there. “You carried the pitch for the most part, and let’s not forget the power of that dimple of yours that can pretty much coax a woman to, well . . . do just about anything you want them to. In this case, sign that lucrative contract that guarantees Darlington Jewelers is exclusively ours for the next year.”
“Yeah, the dimple comes in handy sometimes,” he said with humor, making light of what really could charm the panties off a nun if he wanted. “But you held your own, even without the advantage of having a sexy dimple like mine, so give yourself that credit. Sabrina promoted you for a reason,” he said of the owner and CEO of the firm, and one of the best bosses Daisy had ever had. “And I’m really glad she made you the manager of your department. You’ve worked really hard to prove yourself since you were hired.”
Yes, she had, almost to the exclusion of everything else. She’d given up frivolous weekends with friends and a social life in general, though it had been easy enough to scratch dating off her list of things to do over the past three years when she obviously couldn’t trust her judgment when it came to men. At least being celibate hadn’t been in vain.
“You put in long hours without complaint,” he went on, extolling her diligence as he set the drink menu back down on the counter. “And you came in on weekends even when you didn’t have to just to make sure a project was completed ahead of deadline, and you’ve always been a team player with original and creative perspectives on branding concepts and designs.”
She didn’t get flustered often, but she couldn’t stop the warmth spreading across her cheeks. “Okay, now you’re making me blush.”
“I like it when you blush,” he said with a too sinful smile that made her skin flush even more. “I just wanted you to know that your work ethic didn’t go unnoticed, and I made sure Sabrina was aware of all the personal sacrifices you made for the company, too.”
She blinked at him in shock. “Did you recommend me for the position?”
He shrugged. “When the position opened up, I put in a good word for you because you deserved the promotion, but it was ultimately Sabrina’s decision.”
“Well, thank you for that.”
“So, enough about work. I say we move on to other pleasures,” he said with a flirtatious gleam in his golden eyes. “What’ll you have to drink? Your normal white wine spritzer?”
Yep, she really was totally predictable and boring, because that was always her go-to drink during their monthly mixers with clients or when some of their co-workers went out after work for a cocktail, and he’d obviously noticed her lightweight choice. Her limit was always one, and she was usually the first to leave those social gatherings, citing an early morning.
Predictable and boring had been her life for the past three years because it was a safe place to be, but tonight, being in a different city and away from her normal routine and weighty expectations prompted her to be daring.
“I think I’ll have a Moscow mule,” she said, stepping completely outside of her square little box.
He arched a dark brow, the amusement in his eyes warm and playful. “Wow, walking on the wild side tonight, huh?”
She laughed, the sound huskier than she’d intended. “Sure. Why not.”
“Why not, indeed,” he murmured, looking at her as if he was seeing someone other than the reserved woman he’d worked with the past three years before motioning to the bartender.
“What can I get you two?” the older gentleman asked as he set a small square napkin on the counter in front of each of them.
“Two Moscow mules,” Aiden said, surprising Daisy by ordering one for himself.
