Page 12

Chapter Twelve

Eva

I ’m standing outside of the office as I try to conjure up the courage to face Roman on this Monday morning. I’ve been a complete disaster this entire weekend.

With one single dance, our friendship, which we had begun to forge, was ruined.

The way it felt to have the warmth of his body move against mine is etched in my brain.

The violent manner in which he grabbed my hair and moved my head to the side made me instantly wet in a way that I hadn’t known was possible.

The teeth mark he left is still there. A reminder of what it felt like to be teased by the intoxicating pull of his attention.

With one last deep inhale and exhale, I walk into the building.

Luckily, he isn’t in his office when I walk past it. The coward that I am, I almost sprint into my own office and close the door.

Today, I am scheduled to present the final designs to Drew and Roman.

I’m not nervous about their reactions—my nerves are on high alert for a completely different reason.

Will he see through me and know just how affected I am from the other night?

I pray it won’t ruin our working relationship. This job is my dream, and I’d hate to lose it because of something so careless. What a failure I’d be if I lost my first major account because of inappropriate behavior with the boss. I’d have to go crawl in a hole and die from embarrassment.

My mom would be proud of me. Roman is exactly the kind of man she’d like me to settle down with. Rich, handsome, successful, powerful. Everything she thinks I need in a husband.

The morning flies by as I prep for the meeting. When the time finally rolls around, I know there is no backing down. I have to go in the conference room and face the music.

I get in there thirty minutes early to make sure I have everything set up perfectly. I lay out the booklets, then get my PowerPoint presentation up on the projector.

Ten minutes before the meeting is scheduled to begin, I hear laughter outside of the conference room just before Roman and Drew walk in together, looking at ease and comfortable together. I can tell they have a good working relationship.

I’m struck by seeing these two next to each other. Both handsome, but in different ways. One commands a room with a suit and sense of power while the other exudes strength and confidence.

For a second, I wonder what it would be like to be taken by both of them at the same time.

I don’t know where the thought comes from, but it’s not completely unwelcome.

A threesome has never been something I thought I was capable of, but damn if seeing these two together doesn’t make me wonder if it’s possible for me to get into.

The thought distracts me from the nerves of seeing Roman again until his face turns cold the moment his eyes meet mine. It’s like a punch to the gut.

“Good morning, Eva,” Drew says casually as he takes a seat across from me.

Roman sits at his seat at the head of the table, but I decide to just focus on Drew.

“Good morning, Drew. Nice to see you again.”

His bright white smile flashes at me. “The pleasure is all mine.”

Drew definitely has a way of making everything he says sound flirtatious. But it’s not in a way where I feel like he’s coming on to me. I get the sense that it’s just part of his personality.

Regardless, I feel slightly embarrassed by the attention and find myself biting my lip in an effort to hide my reaction.

“Okay, let’s get started.” I direct them to the PowerPoint, and I go through the plans for the New York City hotel in detail.

From the lobby to the convention rooms, boardrooms, café, rooms, suites—you name it.

Then I move to the client’s favorite part—the virtual renderings. This uses 3D imagery so I can walk them through what the entire space will look like.

From the corner of my eye, I see Roman sit up straighter. I know he wants to see these. He hinted at it the other day, asking for a sneak peek.

I do my best to focus on my task at hand and not look up for their reactions to my designs. It’s a hard thing as a designer, but if I risk analyzing reactions, possibly misinterpreting what they’re thinking—like if they hate it—it could compromise my ability to finish the presentation well.

The final discussion is about the finances and ordering deadlines. This is particularly important to Drew, who will need to assist me on the deadlines, as he puts the construction schedule together.

“That completes the presentation. Everything from today will be emailed to you so you can walk through it again at your convenience. Are there any questions?”

Still afraid to look at Roman, I look up at Drew.

He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his broad chest. He blows out a breath. “That was really incredible work. You nailed the designs. It just feels like Bertini Hotels. I can’t wait to get started.”

I get the courage to look over at Roman. He has a suspicious look on his face as his eyes bounce from mine back to Drew’s. I shift uncomfortably in my seat at his silence, worried that he hated the designs.

Maybe he is upset about cost. But I hit the budget. I know some of the materials have a longer wait for shipment, but that’s what happens when you order custom materials. It’s completely out of my control.

“It’s perfect.” His deep voice provides me with relief. “I knew the moment I saw the mock-ups that it was going to be great but seeing it on the screen just confirms how brilliant it is.”

His words hit harder than I would have expected. I’ve had years of self-doubt. Not sure if I had what it took to forge my own path and start a company from nothing. My first client, one who doesn’t speak praise unless he means it, giving me such a compliment—I’m overwhelmed.

I can’t cry in front of these two, but I definitely want to. I’ll save that for Jessie. She’ll know what this means to me.

For now, I smile at him with appreciation. “I’m so glad you love the final designs.”

Short and simple. Professional. Minus the pep talk I’m currently giving myself.

After I answer a couple of questions for them, Drew turns the conversation to one of a casual nature. “I hear you’re new to the city.”

“I am. Just moved here from Chicago a month ago.”

“I’ve met your brother many times before,” he says with a smirk.

I can’t help but roll my eyes. If I had a nickel for every time someone said that to me, following it with some kind of story about how crazy he was, I could retire right here.

“I promise I’m nothing like him,” I say in defense as I hold up both of my hands.

He chuckles. “I can see that.”

Once again, he doesn’t say much, and it’s not just the words, but it’s the way he looks at me when he says them. It feels like there’s some hidden sexual innuendo behind them.

Roman coughs loudly. I peer at him, and he smiles softly, like he’s trying to play along with the conversation, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. His jaw is tight, and I can feel the tension radiating off him. It’s as if he’s calculating just how much longer he can play nice.

He stands up and buttons his suit jacket. “I appreciate your time. I will look over everything in detail and work with Drew to get approvals so we can begin the scheduling process.”

With that, Drew stands up and shakes my hand over the table. “I’ll be seeing you around, Eva.”

He then follows Roman out of the conference room, leaving me alone.

As I shut everything down, I try not to let my hurt feelings bubble to the surface and ruin my day. What I need to do is focus on the praise I just received for my work and not on the fact that Roman is being weird and distant.