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“Right.” Xavier nods. “I really do think that the security infrastructure is fine—” he holds up a hand before Dominic can argue. “For now. We could make gradual upgrades over time, instead of trying to do everything all at once.”
“That’s an idea,” Dominic agrees, nodding slowly. “And then we allocate part of the budget for immediate marketing efforts, while setting aside some to make those gradual changes over say the next quarter?”
“That seems sound,” Tristan agrees.
“All right, I’ll send this to accounting,” Dominic says, writing another few lines. “And have the marketing team start doing some research on where we could make some improvements or new strides.”
“Sounds good to me,” Xavier says.
I smile, a bubble of warmth in my chest that grows at seeing them working so well together. It’s easy to see how they ran their own companies well before the merger, and if they manage to do cooperate like this more often, they could turn Vantage into something even better than it already is. And there’s something really nice about having my input be helpful to them.
“All right,” Xavier says after a moment. “What did you need, shortcake?”
“Oh. I had this file for Dominic.” I hand it over, and he takes it, flipping through it quickly. A look of boredom flits over his face before he tosses it down onto his desk.
“This can wait until tomorrow,” he says. “I want to get out of this office.”
Xavier stands up and stretches, his body bending in a graceful line. “Thank fuck,” he groans. “Let’s go home?”
“Are you sure,” I ask, glancing at the folder. “They made it seem like it was important downstairs.”
“Not so important that it can’t wait until tomorrow. It’s after six anyway, and we keep regular business hours when we can,” Dominic replies. “Scoot.” His flicks his fingers toward the door, and the other two make moves to get up and start heading out.
“I need to go back down and get my things,” I tell them.
“We’ll meet you in the lobby then.”
I take the elevator back down, still smiling about how all of that went. It feels nice to be a part of something. To feel like I might have some value to add.
Fifteen minutes later, all four of us step out of the building, heading for where Jonas is waiting with the car.
The warm afternoon has given way to a chilly evening, and a sudden gust of wind kicks up cold air that makes me shiver. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to conserve heat until we get to the car.
I shuffle along with the men, but notice Dominic shrugging out of his jacket. Without a word, he hangs back and wraps it around my shoulders, pulling it in close around me.
My heart skips a beat in my chest as my senses are flooded with the scent of him where it clings to the jacket. I can smell his cologne under it too, and I grab on to the edges of the jacket to pull it in tighter. It’s warm from his body heat and does an excellent job of blocking out the wind. Even if it didn’t the warmth of the gesture would probably do the trick.
It’s such a classic move, one of the ones I would have swooned over in a movie or a romance novel, and now here’s my own husband trying to keep me warm. Butterflies flicker in my stomach, and I just give him a little smile of thanks, trying not to look like too much of an idiot about it.
Jonas is waiting by the car when we get there and he gives me a smile and a salute as I climb into the car with the others.
The men talk about business as we drive home, and I stare out the window watching the buildings and other cars go by. It’s warm enough in the car that I could have given Dominic his jacket back, but I keep it instead, still clinging to it. I don’t even have to sniff the collar to get the warm, rich sent of Dominic. The scent of him is all around me, and it’s easy to sink into, like a warm bath.
One of the streets up ahead is blocked off because of an accident, so Jonas turns down a side street, finding a new route to the house. I recognize the area instantly, and I sit up a little straighter as we head down the street that my old bakery is on.
I don’t come here often anymore, mostly because it hurts too bad. All I see when I look at the building is what could have been. All the plans I had, all the hopes and dreams I hung on that place and how it all turned out. It just leaves me feeling defeated more often than not.
As the car approaches the building, I note with a pain in my chest that it looks the same. Same green and pink striped awning, same bright, cheery windows. The door is painted a sunny yellow, and it’s still just… perfect.
I can’t help but remember how good I felt the day I signed the lease on the place, and a sigh spills out of me as I sink down lower in my seat.
Xavier cuts himself off mid-sentence to look over at me. “Are we being that boring right now?” he asks, a teasing twist to his mouth.
“What? Oh, no, I’m sorry. It wasn’t about that. You can talk about what you want.”
“Then why the long face?” he wants to know. He reaches over and pokes me in the arm. “What’s going on?”
I hesitate for a second, but then figure I may as well tell them. They all know I had a failed business by now anyway. I point at the building as we pass it. “That was my bakery. The one I had to close because of the financial issues.”