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8: Ronan
I’m late to the meeting, so I slip in quietly and take a seat along the wall behind the full conference table. Selene glances over and briefly meets my gaze. I have a hard time reading her. She could be hiding any number of things behind those dark eyes. Is she annoyed I came in late? Glad to see me? I rest my elbow on the arm of the chair and put a hand to my chin as I watch her. The guys from the development team are well into their presentation, and she listens to them intently.
I love being able to look at the soft lines of her face. She has amazing bone structure. I listen to the guy talking—I’m actually pretty impressed with the development team here; these guys know their stuff—but I don’t take my eyes off Selene.
The little ground rules she set last week gave me the perfect opportunity. I love knowing she’s available, even if she continues to keep me at a distance. I get the feeling she thinks the no dating other people rule will be a struggle for me. She doesn’t realize I wouldn’t be dating anyone else regardless of our agreement. I don’t want to. It’s an odd feeling, to be so attracted to this woman that I can honestly say I’m not interested in anyone else. I knew it from the moment I saw her sitting in the conference room. I’m not entirely comfortable with it, but it isn’t something I can deny. I want Selene, and I’m willing to wait until I can have her.
The engineer from the dev team continues his talk, and people ask a few questions. Selene was right, these guys are doing some pretty amazing shit. They’re still testing some new features, but the way the new device collects data is rather remarkable. Brad literally had no idea what he was sitting on. I think part of his problem was that his company surpassed him. He got things off the ground, and brought in the right people—which is why this company has done as well as it has—but he didn’t have enough vision. He was too pedestrian, not able to see the true potential of the team he built.
I get a little buzzed as I listen, thinking about the possibilities.
Before they’re quite finished, I decide to duck out. This group is a well-oiled machine, and my gut tells me I need to give them space so they’ll keep producing.
I stop by Scott’s desk on the way to my office. “Can you order in some dinner and have it delivered around five-thirty?”
“Sure,” Scott says. “Anything in particular you want?”
“Not really.” I need to find out what Selene likes to eat, but since I’m flying blind I’ll let Scott order something. “Just no sushi. I like to pick that out myself. And make it for two.”
Scott’s brow furrows, like he’s confused, but he just nods. “Okay.”
I have a couple long conference calls that take up my afternoon. I get off the phone and glance at the time. Five-fifteen. I send Selene an instant message. I need to see you in my office.
It takes almost a full minute for her to reply. She can’t have left yet, can she? I don’t think she usually leaves until well after six, at the earliest.
Sure. I’ll be there in a minute.
I drum my fingers against my desk while I wait for her. My door is open, but she knocks a couple times as she stands in the doorway.
“You needed to see me?”
“Have a seat.” I gesture to the chair across my desk. “But leave the door open.”
She gives me a wry smile and sits down, crossing her legs. She looks beautiful in a black-and-gray wrap dress and dark red heels.
“How was your day?” I ask.
“Fine,” she says, her voice hesitant. “Yours?”
“Full,” I say, leaning back in my seat. “Brad disappeared off the map, and my lawyers needed a few more signatures from him. So that’s going to be interesting. I liked what the dev team had to say earlier, though.”
“Yeah, they’ve made progress faster than we were anticipating,” she says. “They’re hitting a few snags with the new device, but it sounds like they’ll be ready for more in depth testing soon. That’s great news.”
“That is great,” I say.
Scott pokes his head in, holding a takeout bag. “Your dinner.”
“Perfect,” I say. “I’ll take it. You can head home if you’re done for the day.”
Selene starts to stand up. “I guess I’ll leave you to your dinner.”
“No,” I say as I take the bags. “It’s for both of us. Thanks, Scott. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Scott leaves, closing the door behind him, and Selene stares at me.
“Will you get the door?” I ask. “I believe we agreed it’s supposed to remain open.”
She narrows her eyes at me, and gets up to open the door—but only a few inches. “What are you doing?” she asks as she sits back down.
