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“Yes, and there will not be a second date.” Addie gathered up what she needed for her afternoon appointment.
“Why not?”
A close friend Chloe had met in a college night class, Dustin had been a nice enough guy. He just wasn’t the guy for her. “He was as nice as you said, but we have nothing in common, Chloe. Besides, I don’t have a lot of free time right now. Honestly, I think you and he should get together.”
Chloe shook her head, her ponytail swinging back and forth. “No way. We’re friends.”
“So?” Addie asked, surprised by how adamantly her cousin answered.
“I don’t want to mess up our friendship,” she said as she checked her phone. “I need to go. I’ll talk with you later.”
When her cousin left, she took one more bite of her calzone and wrapped the rest up. She’d never understand her cousin. If she and Dustin were already friends, that seemed like a great start for a relationship. And after meeting Dustin and hearing him talk about her cousin, she suspected that he was already half in love with Chloe. Perhaps next time she saw Chloe she’d press the matter. She’d have to be a little subtle about it of course, but her cousin wasn’t the only one that could play cupid.
Chapter 5
Addie took a seat in one of the leather chairs, crossed her legs and watched as the woman behind the desk reached for the phone. Her appointment wasn’t for another fifteen minutes and Shirley, the secretary behind the desk, had informed her that Mr. Sherbrooke was just finishing up a conference call and would be with her shortly.
All week she’d been both dreading and looking forward to this appointment. During her time in Boston she’d worked on projects for some wealthy clients, but she’d never been in charge. Others at the firm brought in the clients and doled out the work. Before any of her designs or ideas could even be presented to clients, her supervisors needed to approve them. This time she was on the front line. Nothing stood between her and the client. She’d started her own company for that very reason. However, in the two years since she’d started Designs by Addison, she’d never had a client of Trent Sherbrooke’s stature. The idea of working for him thrilled and terrified her at the same time.
She gripped and ungripped the strap of her bag. His status as a high profile client wasn’t the only thing that had her stomach in a knot. The picture from the paper remained a worry as well. While he was by no means a stranger to tabloid headlines, he may think twice before hiring her because of it. In truth, ever since the picture appeared she’d expected a phone call from his secretary canceling today’s meeting.
At the sound of a door opening, Addie looked toward the office door behind Shirley’s desk. “I emailed you a list of construction proposals. Please make sure they get to Sherbrooke Enterprises.” When Trent finished speaking he turned his gaze on her. “Ms. Raimono, sorry to keep you waiting. Please come in.”
She gripped the straps of her bag tighter and a spasm of pain shot through her hand as she stood. “No need to apologize. I was early.” She walked past him into his office, the scent of his musky aftershave teasing her. Inside the office her eyes swept around the room, ideas emerging before she even sat down.
“Please have seat.” Trent stopped near the conference table by the window. “As you can guess, this office wasn’t decorated for me.”
Addie pulled out one of the upholstered chairs at the table and sat. “No, this office was decorated for a woman. But we can change that.” She reached into her bag and pulled out her laptop while Trent took the seat next to her. Then, before he could make any comments, she pulled up her standard client questionnaire. “Before I do anything else, I like to get to know more about my clients. What colors they like, types of fabrics or patterns they prefer. That sort of thing. After that, I can get measurements and input them into my design software. From there I can generate possible 3-D options for you to review.”
Trent didn’t respond right away. Instead, he placed his forearms on the table and clasped his hands together. “Ask away.”
As if her eyes had a mind of their own, she looked over at his tanned hands with their long fingers and short nails. He’s just another client. Think about how you teased him the other day.
Clearing her throat, she dragged her eyes back to the computer. “Okay, to start with what colors do you prefer?”
“Silver, red.” Trent paused for a moment. “And green.”
As he answered, she typed. “Can you be more specific? For example, do you prefer a darker red like crimson or more of a fire engine red? Forest green or more of a lime green?”
“I’d say more of a fire engine red and green similar to the beads in your necklace.”
She glanced down at her necklace and then up again at Trent, her eyes locking with his. “Forest green,” she mumbled like an idiot unable to look away from his intense eyes. A beautiful shade of sapphire blue shared by many of the Sherbrookes.
“A shade or two lighter is nice, too.”
His comment reminded her they still had more questions to get through. “Okay, what colors do you dislike?” She focused on the blinking cursor on the screen.
?
??Yellow,” he answered with no hesitation. “And that brown coffee becomes after you add cream to it.”
The amusement in his voice had her looking over at him again. When she saw the smile on his face her own lips curled upward and some of her anxiety washed away. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Quickly, they went through the remainder of her questions. “I’d like to get some measurements of the office now, if you don’t mind.” She leaned over and pulled an electric tape measure from her bag. As she straightened back up, a hand settled on her arm causing her stomach to flip flop.
“No, of course not, but before you do that I’d like to apologize.”
Nothing he had said or done since the start of their meeting required an apology.
