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Chapter Four
Cade
Was I an asshole forenjoying the way her mouth fell open? When I saw her tonight, I knew I couldn't let this evening pass without talking to her. She looked fucking amazing in that dress.
"You're used to getting whatever you want no matter what, aren't you, Cade?"
"Yes," I admitted.
"And you're not above cheating.”
“Not for a good cause."
"Oh yeah. I remember that. What was your saying? 'Rules are never rules.' At most, you consider them guidelines, right? I hope you don't plan to cheat your way through the contest."
She pressed her lips together, crossing her arms over her chest. I'd managed to piss her off again. I truly felt like an asshole this time, because I enjoyed it. She looked hot when she was angry.
"No. Meredith, what do you take me for?” I teased, adding, “The title is important to me, but I want to win fair and square. Besides, you’re the one who used more shelf space in your booth," I reminded her.
"You want to have another fight about that?" she asked as her eyes flashed.
"If you insist. I can give as good as I get, Meredith." I couldn’t help myself. This woman brought out something in me.
"That’s true."
She lowered her arms, still looking at me suspiciously, but she did sit down, and I sat next to her.
"Where are the people who were supposed to sit here?" she asked.
"I asked the waiter to move them. There was plenty of space around." I wanted to have all of Meredith’s attention tonight. Now that I had both of them moved, she and I were alone at the table.
She dropped her head back, laughing. "You really are something. I was looking forward to getting to know my neighbors.”
“Trust me, I'm much better company."
She half turned to me. Fucking hell, not looking down at her chest took considerable effort. I was taller, so I had a direct view of her cleavage.
"How can you be so sure of that?" she asked.
I pointed to the left. "Those were your neighbors. I had a long chat with them before. Dead boring, trust me."
She took a sip from her glass before putting it back down. "I'm not even sure how to reply to that."
"You have time to think about it while we listen to the keynote speaker. I'm certain you'll find a way to fight me on it."
"Oh yes, I will."
That sass was new, not at all like the Meredith from high school, and I fucking liked it. The studious, careful girl I knew was now a confident, hot woman.
We both looked at the stage as Harley Denver, the president of the committee, stepped up.
"Thank you all for coming here tonight. I'm happy we have such a great turnout. When I first suggested to meet this evening, my colleagues said, 'No one wants to fraternize with the competition.' I disagree. Yes, I know you’re all competitors, but I also think there's something to be said about working together and forging bonds. This, after all, is how the industry has made massive improvements over the last decades. In the past years, you've all made remarkable progress in fair-trade sourcing and sustainability, as well as sensitizing the customers to these issues. The leaders in this market have varied over time, and even though there will only be one winner in this competition, I want you to know we're celebrating all of you.”
The Boston Coffee Expert had been the front-runner of the pack decades ago when my grandfather was leading it, before my father went ahead and ruined everything. But I was going to make things right. I was determined. I knew everyone was going to bring their best game, but I also knew our strengths. We had a great shot.
I was familiar with most of the companies attending. At the neighboring table was Alfred Danvers from Boston Masters. He was a fucker. If we didn’t win, I sure as hell hoped he wouldn’t. I butted heads with him a couple years ago when he tried to stop my company from getting shelf-space in one of the biggest retail chains. Alfred Danvers was the leading coffee brand at that time—but my company surpassed him as number one only a year later. He was still pissed about it.
