Page 13 of Masters of the Game: Colton

Two days later, Kelly woke up bright and early in New York.

She didn’t have to glance out her hotel window to see the beauty of Manhattan, as well as a number of New Yorkers walking quickly to reach their destinations.

People in this city seemed to possess an endless amount of energy.

And the city they called home embraced cultural diversity as if it were an honor to do so. She loved this place.

Since her first meeting wasn’t until two, she had the morning to do what she pleased, and what pleased her at the moment was to do nothing. She would take advantage of one of those rare moments of calm. Besides, she had something to be happy about.

Her mother had finally called yesterday morning to announce that she was getting married.

Kelly smiled, thinking just how giddy and happy the fifty-four-year-old Mallory Perkins--soon to be Mallory Ellis--had sounded.

While getting ready for her trip to New York, she’d listened while her mother told her about the romantic night she and Vernon had shared before he’d popped the question.

A few times, she’d been tempted to explain to her mother what the term TMI meant, but then, if anyone deserved to be deliriously happy and divulge too much information, it was her refined and dignified mother.

After being married to Mr. Perkins, it was about time. And speaking of time…

She looked at the clock and saw it was almost nine. Had Colton arrived in the city yet? Why was she concerned if he had or hadn’t? And why, for the past few days, had she not been able to forget his denial, when she’d accused him of not wanting her two years ago?

And his response had made her even more annoyed with him.

At the time, I did what I thought was the right thing for both of us, the honorable thing. And I still stand by that decision.

Well, he still might be standing by that decision, but like she’d told him then, he had no right to make any decisions for her.

Her mother always said the one thing she’d regretted in her marriage was being such a dutiful wife and allowing Mr. Perkins to make all the decisions.

A woman had the ability to think for herself.

And Kelly had proven that she could think better than most.

Refusing to dwell on the matter any longer, Kelly drew in a deep, calming breath.

It had been nice getting up early Saturday morning and working out in the fitness room without worrying about running into Colton, thankful he had left for Savannah the day before.

However, she hadn’t expected to see Sherelle Telfair.

It seemed they both had the same idea about starting off the weekend getting physically fit, or at least, making an attempt at it.

Kelly discovered Sherelle to be a friendly person and liked her.

Sherelle had talked endlessly about the guy she’d been dating for almost a year.

It was apparent she was quite taken with him, and figured she would get an engagement ring soon.

And she had great things to say about what a wonderful job Colton was doing as COO.

Stretching to lie on her side, Kelly glanced around the spacious hotel suite.

It had a separate sitting and dining area.

It was the St. Laurent--New York, and was just as luxurious as any of the others she’d stayed in.

She had to admit, moving from one grand hotel to another could become addictive.

When her job with Masters Unlimited ended, she would return to her small apartment.

Her brothers hated it, claiming they got claustrophobic whenever they came to visit her.

So she promised she would relocate to a bigger place next year. When she got around to it.. .

Kelly was about to leave the bed when she heard the ding of a text message on her cell phone. She picked it up and her heart skipped a beat when Colton’s name popped on the screen, followed by the message… Please join me for lunch at Jimmy’s before our 2:00 meeting. How about around noon?

She lifted a brow. Was it a coincidence that he asked her to lunch at one of her favorite restaurants in New York? But how would he have known? One of her brothers could have mentioned it to him, but why would her name have come up, even if they’d talked?

Since he was essentially one of her bosses, there was no way she could deny Colton’s request. That meant she had to get moving, unfortunately.

Blowing out an annoyed breath, she texted him back.

Certainly. I’ll see you at noon.

As she got ready, Colton’s words from the other night echoed through her mind. She had a notion to make him regret still standing by that darn decision. She had a mind to… Do what ?

Where had the fun-loving and daring side of her gone? Even Pratt claimed that she had become dull and was no longer fun to hang out with since she’d started her business and become a workaholic.

Still, there was no way she would risk her job by letting her sense of adventure have free rein.

This contract with Masters Unlimited was too important.

She couldn’t screw it up just to settle a score with Colton.

But still, there should be something she could do to let him see just what he’d turned down.

An idea took root in her mind, one that wouldn’t take much work on her part.

If he truly meant what he said, about how hard it had been to leave the hotel room that night, then she wanted to push his resolve to the limit, see just how much sexual pressure he could tolerate.

And when she was satisfied that she had him just where she wanted him…

She would be the one to walk out, leaving him hot, bothered, and unfulfilled. The same way he had left her.

It was time he knew what rejection felt like.

**

Colton suspected something was up when he walked into Jimmy’s well before noon, only to find Kelly already there.

And she was smiling. Why? The last time he’d seen her, he’d had to get out of her office before she put a bullet in him.

One that was not aimed at his heart, but at his private parts.

Could he assume by her congenial mood that she’d forgotten all about their misunderstanding?

Hell, he certainly hoped so. Especially now, when that smile was too beautiful to be ruined by a frown.

“You look happy. What’s up?” he asked, sliding into the seat across from her. Not only did she look happy, but she looked damned good! And why did she have to smell so darn arousing?

“Two reasons. First of all, I heard from Mom yesterday.”

He nodded. “And?”

Her smile widened, displaying those deep dimples he adored. “And I am officially the daughter of the bride-to-be.”

He returned her smile. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks. I made her promise that she wouldn’t do anything rash like return home married. I want to plan the wedding for her. I promised it would be small with only family and close friends.”

“And what’s the other reason?”

“The other reason?” she asked with arched eyebrows raised.

“Yes. You mentioned you were smiling for two reasons,” he said.

She chuckled. “I did, didn’t I? Well, the other reason should be obvious to anyone who knows me.”

Obviously, he didn’t know her. At least not as well as he would like. However, he planned to remedy that soon. “I guess I don’t know you that well since I don’t have a clue.”

“Look around, Colton. We’re in New York, one of my favorite places. I’m often here on New Year’s Eve to watch the ball drop, though I haven’t done so for a couple of years. There was a time I even thought of moving here but figured I couldn’t afford it.”

“I see.”

“Oh darn,” she muttered. “I shouldn’t have told you that. Now you’re going to think I’ll be biased with my recommendations.”

“I’m not going to think that, Kelly. I trust your ethics enough to know you’ll give us a fair evaluation of both locations.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

At that moment, the waitress walked over to drop off menus. “I hope you don’t mind me selecting this place,” Colton said.

“Not at all. In fact, this is one of my favorite places to eat. You can’t do wrong in Times Square.”

“Now isn’t that a coincidence?” he said. “It’s one of my favorite places as well, thanks to Cobra. We come here for lunch whenever I visit him here. I figured you would like their strawberry cheesecake.”

When he mentioned her favorite dessert, her tongue swept across her lips. Just seeing the action reminded him of the one and only time they had kissed, and how he had taken that tongue and sucked on it hard. It had been delicious.

“You figured right. Unfortunately, strawberry cheesecake is my weakness,” she replied, opening her menu. Upon noticing he wasn’t opening his, she commented, “I guess you probably know what you want.”

Kelly was not wrong with that assumption. Yes, he knew what he wanted, and it wasn’t on the menu. Nor was it all sexual. Although he wanted to make love with her, he also wanted to get to know her, too. That was all part of his plan.

“Tell me something about Kelly Perkins that I don’t know.”

She looked up from her menu. “There’s a lot about me that you don’t know. Besides, I thought this was a business luncheon to plan our strategy with the economic development agency.”

“What made you think that?” he asked.

“You invited me to lunch when you could have slept in late,” she said.

“I did sleep in late,” Colton said, although he hadn’t exactly been sleeping. He had awakened early that morning with thoughts of her in the room right next door. He could swear her scent had permeated the walls. “I slept in as long as I wanted to. I’m used to getting up early.”

“I heard.”

He lifted a brow, and from the sheepish way she was looking, he figured her comment was an obvious slip. “And how did you hear?”

She shrugged. “From Alvie. She mentioned you liked going to the fitness center every morning.”