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“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I just needed some air.” I stood next to him. “Did Tony get your bear?”
“Yes.” I smiled. “Now I have a pair. I’m going to donate them to the nursery department at my church.” I looked up at the sky. “What a beautiful night. The stars are so bright. Did you eat?”
“I wasn’t hungry.” He sipped from the short clear glass.
I looked at my watch. “What time do you want to leave?”
“Whenever you want to.”
He seemed different and he wasn’t looking at me. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“We need to keep things professional.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This is a business event, and I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to react like you did earlier back at the game.”
What the crap is he talking about? He’s the one that’s had his eyes plastered to my behind all night. He’s the one that picked me up and hugged me. He’s the one that almost kissed me in a room full of his colleagues. He bought the dress and told me to make sure I kicked it up a notch so I could make a good impression. Keep your cool girl. Talk about a fast way to kill a crush.
“I understand. Excuse me.” I went inside, by passed the ballroom and headed to the taxi stand. I saw Tony as I was getting into a taxi and ignored him.
When I got back to the hotel, I took the beautiful fuchsia dress off and left it in a puddle in the middle of the floor. I got in bed and tried to fall asleep, but Phillippe kept appearing in my head. That almost kiss and how it felt to be wrapped in his arms was on a loop in my mind. The more it played, the more excited I got. Around two o’clock, I realized this wasn’t a crush, but something more.
When I woke up, I looked at the dress on the floor and all the messages I had from Phillippe and got angry all over again. How dare he make it seem like I was the one brushing up on him. If I didn’t like this job, I’d quit. God, give me the strength to deal with my boss and not let anger take over. I don’t know what his problem is, so I’ll let you handle him while I do my job.
The phone started ringing. I reached over and picked it up. “Hello.”
“Good morning, Miss Townsend, feeling better?” Tony asked.
“What…oh…uhm, yes, thank you.”
“I told Mr. Marchant you left early because you weren’t feeling well. I knocked on your door last night, but there was no answer. I figured you probably took something to help you sleep, right?”
“Yes.”
“Can I get you anything?”
“No. Are we still meeting at eight thirty?”
“No. Mr. Marchant had to meet with James Marshall this morning. He said for you to get some rest and he’ll meet you in the lobby at ten thirty. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
Phillippe
“What happened?” Tony growled.
“What do you mean?”
“I saw Gabriella get in a taxi and leave. What happened?”
“I told her we needed to be professional and that it wasn’t appropriate for her to be all up on me. Where’s the waiter?” I looked around.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“There’s nothing wrong with me.”
