Page 23 of Masters of the Game: Colton

“Yes, Monica, Colton and I are a couple now,” Kelly said, gathering the last of her belongings to place in her briefcase.

She glanced around the office. It was hard to believe it was Thursday already and she would be going home tomorrow.

She had enjoyed Boston, and had definitely enjoyed New York and LA, but it was time to leave.

“See, you got all in a tizzy about working closely with Colton for nothing. In the end things worked out fantastically. I’m so happy for you,” Monica said.

“Thanks. I’m kind of happy for myself. We had a great time, and with his help, I’ve learned to leave some room for downtime in my life.” She glanced at her watch. “I have another hour to close out some files and then I’m out of here.”

“When will you return to Atlanta?” Monica asked.

“Tomorrow morning. Colton flies in from Orlando tonight, so I’ll get to spend time with him before I leave. He’s invited me to Savannah, and I rearranged my schedule to be there a week,” Kelly said.

“I think that’s wonderful. You’ll get to see the home he’s been renovating for the past two years. I’ve heard it’s a beauty. Any word on whether Lake will move forward with your recommendations?”

“I had a conference call with Colton and Lake earlier. Lake was thrilled with what we came up with,” she said in an excited voice. “The next Masters Unlimited office will be in New York.”

“Congratulations! That’s wonderful. I’m sure you and Colton are going to celebrate--nudge, nudge, wink, wink.”

Kelly laughed. “Well, as a matter of fact…

“How about coming over to dinner on Sunday. Landon had to return to LA and won’t be back until Tuesday. I invited Pratt, too. That will give us a chance to talk about what we’ll need to do to claim our land before Mr. Perkins pulls some stunt to try and stop us,” Monica said.

“What about Hansen?” Kelly asked.

“I talked to him earlier. He’s in Seattle working, but said he would join us by Zoom.”

“That’s great. And I agree with you. We need to move on this before Mr. Perkins tries something underhanded.”

An hour later, after closing out the last of the files on her computer, Kelly left her office to grab a candy bar from the vending machine before heading to the hotel.

She had turned the corner leading to the breakroom when she heard her name.

Stopping, she peeked around the corner and saw two women--Diane Beckett and Ingrid Powers--whispering, but not doing a great job at it.

But why would they be discussing her? Kelly decided to listen to what they were saying.

“Seriously, Ingrid? Are you saying that Lake Masters had chosen another consulting agency for that big contract, but Colton Masters talked him into hiring Kelly Perkins’ agency instead?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Why would he do that?” Diane asked.

“It seems Kelly Perkins and Colton Masters were former lovers. Awarding her that contract meant they could travel together, and he could use that time to woo her back into his bed. And it worked,” Ingrid informed her.

“What makes you think that?” Diane asked.

“Sallye in accounting was vacationing in New York and saw them together at Coney Island. She said they were walking around, holding hands. Gullible woman. She actually thought her agency was that good. Of course, Colton Masters had ulterior motives for selecting her. Some women are just plain fools when it comes to men.”

Kelly closed her eyes, remembering a time she’d overheard a similar conversation many years ago. Reopening her eyes, she slowly backed away from the breakroom and went back to her office, closed the door, and leaned against it.

Where had those women gotten such information?

Granted, she and Colton had been holding hands at Coney Island, but it had been their day off.

They could do as they pleased. But what about the other allegations?

That Colton had made sure her agency got that contract over some other agency.

One that had been Lake Masters’ first choice?

Could that be true? She didn’t want to believe that of him, but if he had, their forced proximity while traveling together had certainly served his purposes.

The main reason she and Colton had not gotten together two years ago was because he had wanted a long-term relationship, and because of her work schedule she hadn’t allowed time for one.

What if he’d purposely manipulated things to make sure he was in the position to get the kind of relationship he’d wanted with her all along?

Even at the cost of her company’s reputation.

She began pacing and the more she paced, the angrier she got.

Finally, she went to sit behind her desk and placed her trembling hands in front of her.

The thought that Colton had orchestrated her being awarded the contract, just so he’d have the chance to have her in his bed, broke her heart.

Fighting back tears, she closed her eyes and remembered how things had been in New York and LA.

They had slept together almost every night. Had that been his plan?

She thought back to the day after they’d made love that first time. During breakfast, Colton had mentioned something about a plan, a secret plan, one he couldn’t share with her yet, but would, when the time was right. Had this all been a set-up?

Granted, she had appreciated him showing her how to have more of a work-life balance, but what had he gained. And what had she lost?

Wiping tears off her cheek, she stood, grabbed her briefcase, and left.

**

Colton tossed his luggage on the bed and checked his watch. Kelly should be in her hotel room by now. They had reason to celebrate later tonight, but more than anything, he wanted to see her, hold her, kiss her and make love to her. He’d only been gone a couple of days but he missed her like hell.

And he was definitely looking forward to spending a week with her at his home in Savannah.

He couldn’t wait to show her the house he’d renovated.

And introduce her to his parents, and all his aunts, uncles and any Masters she hadn’t met yet.

They could be a little overwhelming at times, but he was sure everyone would love her.

The meeting with Lake had gone great, and he’d accepted Kelly’s recommendation as Colton had known he would.

And Lake had thought it had been a stroke of genius on Kelly’s part to notice the lots that hadn’t been shown to them, and then insist on additional perks for the deal to be considered any further.

In the long run, her boss move would save Masters Unlimited millions.

On a conference call to her earlier today, Lake had told her what an excellent job she had done for their company.

Because Colton didn’t want Lake caught unawares when news spread around the family, he wanted Lake to know he was seeing Kelly.

He told him that they had first met at the Bennetts’ double wedding, and that while on their latest business trip, they’d managed to work out the issues that had kept them apart.

He’d even admitted to falling in love with Kelly the first time they’d met.

Lake told him that wasn’t so hard to believe, considering he’d fallen in love with Courtney just as quickly. He was a big believer in love at first sight and was glad things had worked out for them.

After taking a shower, Colton eagerly left his room to catch the elevator to Kelly’s. They had a lot of celebrating to do.