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I smile, my drink held up in a toast to the thought.
“Oh, I’m sorry. That was quite presumptuous of me, wasn’t it? I just feel like a plane would be a much more suitable place to finish our little meeting.”
Julia shakes her head, her face telling me no before her words. “No! I’m here for business, and my ‘bum’, well, I don’t know, Derek, can we stay on the right track here? I didn’t come here to be eye candy for a lecher!”
I shrug my shoulders. This is all a game, and she’s a more than worthy challenger.
“Derek, you need to work on your end game. Total fail, dude!” Spencer chuckles.
“Oh, have I? No, I don’t think so. Not in the long run I haven’t.”
I reach for my coat, flashing the both of them an award-winning smile. I now have just under thirty minutes before my next meeting, and even though it’s a brief one, I need a little relief.
“Well, if you both excuse me, it’s tea time. You can’t be a proper English bloke without tea, right?”
Chapter 8
Julia
Is this how a thriving business should run?
I’ve met three of the four men now—and, yes, I will admit they intrigue me—but I’m more in a state of shock than anything. My travel agency would never survive if I did half the things these men do daily.
Business aside, though…these men are incredibly overwhelming. Things here are so relaxed and yet so fast-paced. It’s almost too much to handle.
“Spencer,” I say. “If you’ll excuse me a moment, I need to use the ladies’ room.”
He nods and points me in the direction of the women’s restroom.
Oh, thank god. A few more minutes and I would have embarrassed myself. I had absolutely no clue what I was going to do, and knowing these guys, they would have just run with it.
The bathroom is so pristine and so white that it’s almost blinding. There are stalls to the back and a large mirror to the side. I head over there and grip the sink to steady my nerves.
I check the stalls before I start my rant. I need to vocalize how I’m feeling right now. Standing in front of the mirror, I shake my head, feeling like I could cry—but why?
This isn’t my business. I know I’m doing everything I can to turn my company into the best travel agency in the city, but…
“What the hell is wrong with these men?” I ask aloud. “This place could be a goldmine, but there’s no organization. Why can’t they focus enough on business and get their minds off their dicks? Is this how people do things these days?”
I look at the mirror, hands flailing around as I talk to myself.
I need to get this out of my system before rejoining Spencer.
That guy especially, oh god. He’s the most out of touch with reality. Who the hell naps while at work?
And yet…it all seems to work. Every person I’ve seen working here seems to know what they’re doing. They haven’t had a single question asked of them the entire time I’ve been here.
That alone seems nearly miraculous to me. They’re obviously doing something right, I guess. So why am I so…angry?
I splash cold water on my face.
Get a hold of yourself! I scream in my head.
They’re just guys. Businessmen. Really fucking hot bus—
STOP IT, JULIA.
“What am I even doing here?” I ask my reflection. Water drips from my face. Ahhhh, fuck. I have makeup on.
I stop talking to myself just as one of the office assistants comes in to fix her own makeup.
She stands next to me, smiling, but doesn’t say a word. That alone makes me uncomfortable. Does she know something I don’t?
I take her cue and quickly fix my face. Luckily, it wasn’t terrible; waterproof eyeliner is, after all, magical. I gather my things and leave quickly, not wanting to know why she looked at me with a knowing smirk.
Spencer is waiting for me by the door. He’s going to tour me around the office before I meet the last of the four men.
“Are you ready?” he asks.
“As I’ll ever be,” I reply, laughing a little.
The building is enormous. The spaces are all laid out in a perfect floor plan.
Derek has a view of Central Park; Spencer has an overlooking view of the city; and Xane…well, I’m not sure about his view. The blinds were closed when I visited him.
“Do you have one main conference area?” I ask.
Nodding, he turns down the next hallway, his hand out in front to let me in first. “Yeah, this is where we all chill out when we do something big.”
I sort of wonder what he means by that when I look inside. There’s a long table and a few couches. It seems rather casual for business.
I cross my arms, tilting my head slightly to the side as I notice something…but I don’t say a word.
