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“No?” She was already smiling at biting her lip in anticipation.
“No.” I covered her mouth with mine and pulled her tight against me, gripping her ass with both hands. “This is the only currency I accept.”
She rolled on top of me with a laugh.
Once wouldn’t be enough. We had until dinner with Brent and Beth, and after that, until the next afternoon. Unless she decided to run me out of her room later, I was going to take advantage of every minute we were together.
35
LANA
As we walkedinto the conference room at Emberox Spirits, I could feel the slight and pleasant ache in my inner muscles with every step. I glanced over my shoulder to give Dylan a smile before we sat at the table.
We met Shane and Vera, the brother-sister team that owned the company, and the rest of the Emberox Spirits team.
Shane was built a lot like Brent but didn’t have an impressive beard.
Vera looked like she’d stepped off a corporate runway or out of a fashion magazine. She was all business in her sleek black dress. Her flaming red hair probably came out of a bottle, but it didn’t matter. It looked amazing with her Patrician features and olive skin.
“Lovely to meet you all,” she finally said after all the introductions. “Are we ready to begin?”
Dylan and Brent gave a short presentation on their background and about the brewery. Then they handed it off to me and Beth to review the marketing side of the collaboration.
I took a deep breath, stood, and started my part of the presentation came up. Beth and I took turns reviewing the slides for the group.
If Vera’s smile hadn’t seemed so genuine and warm, I’d have been intimidated as hell. And I was nervous, but more so because Dylan was there, witnessing the whole thing.
I was good at my job, but the thought of possibly failing in his eyes made my stomach flutter.
I stopped thinking about him—I had to—and instead focused on the pitch.
When we finished the presentation, Vera and Shane glanced at each other with a smile and the rest of the Emberox team exchanged approving glances.
“I have to say,” Shane said, “I’m really liking what I’m seeing.”
Vera nodded and crossed her shapely arms, shown off as they were in a sleeveless black dress.
“And I have to agree. Let Shane and I give you a tour of Emberox Spirits. Why don’t we all go to dinner so we can discuss this further? A little more informally.” She said it more to Dylan than anyone, and then I noticed the way she narrowed her eyes at him, sizing him up.
She’d watched him a lot during the pitch, but I’d had to focus on the details and block that out. I couldn’t help but notice, now that it was over, how invitingly she kept glancing at him.
“I need to ask legal a few questions, and then we’ll meet you downstairs?” Again, she asked Dylan rather than the group. He agreed.
Brent, Dylan, and I all took a deep breath. If they were buying us dinner to talk more, and talking to legal, the deal was as good as done.
There might be some compromises on the backend, but there was almost certainly going to be a collab between Emberox Spirits and Deft Rock.
Dylan put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze as we filed out. As soon as we were in the elevator, Dylan and Brent fist bumped. Brent patted my shoulder. Even Beth and I congratulated each other on the successful co-presentation.
“You guys were amazing,” Dylan said, beaming at me. “This could change everything.”
Brent chimed in, agreeing, and they talked excitedly about the deal that was probably going to be sealed over dinner.
The tour took a long time because Dylan and Brent had a lot of technical questions about their processes. I made some notes for the campaign and tried not to notice how close Vera stayed by Dylan’s side.
After the tour, we went together to the restaurant. Vera quickly sat next to Dylan, and Brent sat on the other with Shane next to him. Beth and I ended up mixed in with the Emberox team.
I watched Vera smile and touch Dylan’s arm, clearly flirting.
