Acquire Your Touch

by Hadley Raydeen

  Savvon snorted while taking a sip of her wine. “He’s opened up quite a few things the last two days…”

  “Ohhh, had them legs in the air, did ya?” Trish teased.

  “Oh my God.” Savvon sliced a glance at the stylists in the room. “I apologize.”

  “No need,” one said, while the other woman gave a knowing grin.

  “I’ll just go with the red dress. I’ll talk to you later,” she said, looking back at her phone.

  “Don’t forget to call me and give me all the dirty details,” came Trish’s sing-song voice.

  “No.” She hung up before her friend could say anything further.

  “Looks like I’m going with the red.” She pointed to the leg-flaunting, back-baring, soft jersey gown, cut to show some skin and ruched to flatter. She would make quite an entrance and exit in this scrap of fabric. Once she selected strappy, silver shoes, and accessories to match, she sat down for the stylist to straighten her natural hair and swoop it into intricate pin curls atop her head. She then went to work to complete the look by painting her face as Hollywood glam, complete with a smokey eye and pouty lip.

  She eyed herself in the full-length mirror in Nathan’s bedroom. He left her to her glam squad while he dressed elsewhere in the cabin.

  When she stepped out of this room, and down the stairs, she saw he was already dressed in a black tux, his hair styled with product. She took a minute to take him in. Since his back was to her, she could appreciate his muscular frame in the tailored tux and shiny shoes. He was looking out the window, a glass of scotch in one hand and his phone in the other.

  “We are on our way back, Trist. We’ll meet you at the hotel. You have the presentation right?” He nodded while listening to his best friend.

  “Good. I was up half the night working on the code. It should wow them. I don’t know what game Eustace is playing, but I for one won’t be a part of it. If I sense anything funny going on tonight, heads will roll.”

  He turned then, catching sight of Savvon on the stairs. She watched as his jaw ticked and heat formed in his eyes. “I have to go, St. Clair. I’ll see you at the event.”

  If Tristian had anything more to say, Nathan didn’t give him the chance; he slid the phone to ‘end call’ and closed the distance as she descended the rest of the stairs. He took her hand and helped her down the last few steps. She was careful not to trip on the fabric through the deep slit up to her mid-thigh.

  “Christ almighty, Savvon. You always look amazing, but you are looking delectable tonight.” The low rumble of his words caused her exposed skin to heat up to her neck and face.

  “Thank you. You clean up well yourself.” She ran a hand down the fabric of lapel over his chest. His heartbeat thundered under her touch, and he snagged her wrist, bringing it to his lips, kissing her there.

  “You are causing these pants to grow tighter by the second. If we expect to make it to the event on time, we should save any and all flirting until tonight when I have you back in my bed.”

  “Who said I would be in your bed tonight?” she teased.

  “Me,” he answered simply, without pause. “Grab your purse and let’s head out. The driver already put your bags in the car.”

  “Driver?” she questioned. When they came to the cabin, Nathan had driven them.

  “I figured you’d be more comfortable in that…dress.” He paused as his heated gaze ran the length of her body and back again, before continuing. “The back of a town car is more comfortable.”

  “What will you do about your car?”

  “I’ll have someone come get it and park it at my house.” He took her hand and led her outside where, as he said, a black town car awaited them. A driver, dressed in a black vest and pants uniform, opened the back door and Nathan allowed her to get in before he slid across the plush leather seat until their legs touched at the thigh. He quickly rolled up the partition between them and the driver as he slid behind the wheel and started the vehicle.

  Nathan said nothing as he took Savvon’s hand and held it in his lap. He turned to look at he, offering a lopsided grin she’d come to know and adore.

  He didn’t seem to do it often, but with her, it came easier the more they got to know each other. The hard businessmen exterior was starting to melt a bit, and she liked this attentive side of him.

  “Are you ready for the presentation tonight?” she asked, squeezing his hand.

  “As ready as I can be with less than twenty-four-hour notice that this evening was even happening.”

  She felt the anger rolling off his tight shoulders, and she wished she could ease some of that. Being with him is pretty much all she could offer at this point.

  He turned to her as if reading her thoughts. “Thank you for coming with me tonight.”

  “Of course, anything to help. I can imagine how frustrating this must be, but at least you were somewhat prepared and able to put something together to present.”

  “It took away from my time with you. I’m not very happy about that.”

  “We can make up for that.” Her voice lowered as he leaned in and claimed her lips. She breathed in the scent of him a mixture of the woods and citrus and all male, leaving her breathless.

  “We are most certainly making up for that. Tonight, come to my place? I’ll make breakfast in bed tomorrow morning.”

  “Well how can a girl say no to that?”

  He chuckled. “She can’t.”

  Chapter 27

  The event was held at a posh, upscale neighborhood, near the downtown waterfront area. Savvy had only been in the place once before for a client dinner, such as the one tonight. Many people, dressed to impress, filed into the dimly lit ballroom, seated by table assignment.

  Nathan looked at their name tags. “We are at table two.” He looked over the sea of people.

  “I think that is near the front.”

  “Great,” he mumbled.

  “Nathan.” He turned to her. “You got this.”

  He took her hand and threaded her arm through his as he escorted her through the mingling guests. Some of them recognized Nathan and greeted him.

  When they reached the table, Tristan and a lovely blonde sat at the table.

  “About time you made it.” Tristan looked up eyes full of mischief.

  “Stop it.” The blonde hit Tristan’s arm. “Hi. I’m Erin St. Claire, this slug’s wife.” She rolled her eyes dramatically, causing Savvon to grin.

  “Savvon Stephens, a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Oh, you are the new recruiter for the firm.” Her smile brightened her pretty face. “Tristan told me you were coming on board to help them fill some positions; so nice to meet you.”

  “I plan to help where I can.”

  Nathan pulled out a chair next to Erin for her and Savvon sank into the chair, and he took a seat on the other side of her.

  “Have you seen the client at all?” he asked Tristan.

  Tristan shook his head. “No. I’m sure they’re somewhere lingering though. I handed the presentation off to the A.V. folks, so we should be all set.”

  Erin scooted her chair back. “Hey, Savvon, I’m gonna run to the restroom and the bar, care to join? We can leave these boys to sit here and talk shop.” She winked at me.

  God, girl, yes, please.

  “Oh, sure,” she said with a bit more decorum. She looked at Nathan before she stood. He turned to her, searching her eyes, and she, his—a whole conversation held between them with just a gaze.

  I’m gonna go.

  Okay—

  Are you okay?

  Barely.

  Do you need me to stay?

  No, go…

  Nathan…

  I’m okay…just, hurry back.

  He held her hand a grip tighter before letting her go. She turned and stared at him over her bare shoulder as she walked away.

  Erin linked arms with her as she hustled her away. “What in the world was that?” she cooed once they were out of ear sho
t.

  “What was what?” Savvon asked confused.

  “Nathan has been friends with my husband for years, and I swear to God, I have never ever seen him look at a woman the way he just looked at you. Girl, you have him wrapped around your little finger!”

  Savvon’s face warmed. “No. It’s...we..”

  She didn’t know what they were. They hadn’t defined anything. She wasn’t even sure what she wanted out of this with him. Was she looking for a relationship? Could he be that one?

  She passed a glance back across the room and found Nathan was still looking at her. Erin looked as well and giggled. “I told you!”

  “Man, seriously take a picture; it will last longer,” Tristan said, following Nathan’s line of sight. He watched as the women disappeared into the ladies’ room.

  “Whatever,” Nathan mumbled, sipping the drink the server just brought over.

  “What type of activity did this dinner tonight interrupt between you and her?” Tristan goaded.

  “That is not even some of your business.” Nathan pointed a finger at him as the other man laughed.

  “You are so easy to get hot under the collar. Simmer down, man. No one is asking for the details. I just want to know if things are getting serious with Savvon? You look happier than I've seen you in years. And, the way you just looked at her could melt every ice sculpture in this damn place.”

  Nathan looked around at the ice swans around the room and that is when he saw him. Eustace Grere was standing toward the back of the room talking to Melanie Paulson.

  “What in the hell are they doing here?” he growled.

  Tristan looked across the room. “Well you know Eustace was going to be here, but why is Melanie? You think she is his date?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past either of them.”

  At that moment the client, they were preparing the app for, walked up to the couple and Eustace made the motions of introduction.

  “What the hell?” Tristan said.

  “That is a good ass question, and I intend to find out,” Nathan said, rising from his seat.

  Chapter 28

  Savvon washed her hands and checked her makeup and hair in the mirror while Erin did the same beside her.

  “I think you two make a beautiful couple. You complement each other well,” Erin gushed.

  Savvon looked at the woman in the mirror.

  “We aren’t a couple, Erin.”

  “Yet,” she exaggerated the word as if it were six syllables long.

  “I bet you, Tristan is out there right now asking him all about it.”

  “And he is probably not admitting to anything. It takes him a while to open up and say what he is feeling. I’m surprised he asked me to his cabin this weekend—”

  “You went to his cabin? That I did not know…”

  “Oh, maybe he swore Tristan to secrecy.”

  “There is nothing my husband keeps from me. He would have said something. No, I don’t think he knew.”

  Savvon didn’t know if she liked that. Why wouldn’t he tell his best friend about them spending a weekend together? Could it be because he wanted to keep them a secret?

  But that was insane because there was no them.

  Before she could ponder it any further, her phone pinged with a new text message.

  She looked down at it and saw it was from Cara, her old assistant.

  Savvy where are you?

  She looked at her phone with a perplexed expression.

  What a weird question.

  “Everything okay?” Erin asked, turning toward her.

  “Yea, just my old assistant asked me where I am.”

  “Why?”

  “Hell if I know. She doesn’t have that to worry about anymore since I was fired for no damn reason.”

  “Oh, I think there was plenty of reason.” Came a voice from behind them.

  They both turned to see Margo DeKemper exit one of the stalls.

  “I’m sorry, who are you?” Erin asked.

  “She works at my former employer,” Savvon answered.

  “I’m assuming we don’t like her?” Erin asked out the side of her mouth.

  “At all,” Savvon answered loud enough for the fake bitch to hear.

  “Aww is that nice, Savvy?” She laughed, stepping toward the sinks.

  “I don’t have to fake being nice to you anymore, Margo. Why are you even here? Nathan fired DeKemper and Paulson.”

  “Oh, you mean because he hired his little girlfriend to do the recruiting for a project he doesn’t even have anymore?”

  Savvon felt like she was splashed in the face with ice-cold water.

  What on earth was she talking about?

  Thank God for Erin because it was she who found her voice more quickly and spoke up.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Sorry, not sorry, but I should be asking you, who the hell you are, because you sure are all in a conversation that has nothing to do with you.”

  Savvon turned to look at Erin as her eyes narrowed to slits. “Oh, we don’t don’t like her.”

  “I told you, girl. Handle yours.” Savvon put her hands in the air.

  “I am Erin St. Clair. My husband is Nathan’s right hand, so I have a very vested interest in this conversation. And, you have some nerve, since you were eavesdropping on our conversation, Queen of the Shitter sitting on her throne. What the hell were you doing in there so damn long?”

  Savvon damn near snorted. She liked this Erin chick; she wasn’t here for the bullshit.

  But Margo wouldn’t be outdone on the snark. “Oh, St. Clair… Tristan is your husband. He is one fine piece of man. Maybe when he gets bored with your basic ass—”

  Savvon had to move much quicker than she would like in heels and a fancy dress to stop Erin for pouncing on the other woman where she stood.

  “Don’t you ever mention my husband again! Savvon may not be here to save your ass next time,” Erin warned through clenched teeth.

  “Hey, let’s just go,” Savvon encouraged, walking toward the door, dragging Erin with her.

  The last thing they heard, before the door closed behind them, was Margo’s sing-song voice.

  “Bye, basic bitches.”

  “You should have let me kick her ass,” Erin said begrudgingly.

  But, before Savvon could answer, she saw Nathan and a group of people that included Eustace and Melanie.

  “What the hell is that all about?” she said, noticing the look on Nathan’s face.

  Chapter 29

  Nathan straightened his tux and walked over to his clients and supposed consultant. He caught the tail end of the conversation as the pair watched him approach. Melanie cleared her throat, catching Eustace’s attention.

  “Dale, Frank,” Nathan extended a hand. “So good to see you tonight.”

  Dale caught the greeting first and then Frank, both men looking at him confused. “Nathan, always good to see you. However, we didn’t think Big Dog would be represented tonight. Eustace here told us you were out of town and not able to work on our project anymore. We were meeting another App Dev company tonight to go over our needs.”

  “Excuse me?” Tristan piped in, joining the conversation. “Eustace told us we needed to be here tonight to present our design and development for you. We were never told we were taken off this project.”

  Nathan sliced a glance in Eustace’s smug direction. “You care to explain?”

  All eyes turned to Eustace. “Gentleman, it appears there has been some misunderstanding. I told you there was an event tonight, and you’ve been taken off the project—”

  “The hell you did,” Nathan growled.

  “What is going on here?” Erin asked saddling up beside Tristan.

  Nathan turned and caught sight of Savvon, who was taking in all the people in the conversation.

  “Savvon, how lovely to see you again,” Melanie’s sugary sweet voice broke through the tension. “What a beautiful dress.”

>   “Thank you,” came Savvon’s tight response.”

  “Look, now is not the time to have this conversation. I can explain everything on Monday. For now, let’s enjoy the evening and stay tuned for the new app presentation.” Eustace brushed passed Nathan, ushering Dale and Frank with him. Melanie followed after them, squeezing Savvy’s elbow and offering a fake smile as she passed.

  “What the hell just happened?” Erin asked again.

  “We’ve been fucked over that’s what,” Nathan responded.

  “No, we can get this project back. We just have to get Dale and Frank away from Eustace,” Tristan tried to lighten the mood.

  “What can I do to help?” Savvon came beside Nathan, putting a hand on his arm.

  He turned to her, searching her doe-like brown eyes. He was at a loss. There was nothing she could do. And all he wanted to do was go pummel Eustace. He needed to get out of here and cool down before he did something rash..

  “I need to go,” he finally said.

  “No, Nate. We aren’t leaving and letting Eustance get over on us; fuck that. We make this right tonight,” Tristan said.

  “I agree,” Erin chimed in. “Plus, I need to find that Margo broad; she got it coming as well.”

  Tristan laughed, kissing his wife. “My feisty woman.”

  Nathan turned from the group. “I’m just going to get some air. I’ll be back.” He walked away before anyone else had a chance to say anything to him.

  “Should I…” Savvon turned to Erin and Tristan at a loss for what she should do. She almost felt responsible. Was the reason Eustace was acting out like this because of her—all because she wouldn’t date him? That was insane.

  “No, honey; let him brood for a bit. He’ll be back,” Erin ensured, looping an arm around her in a side hug. “Since we are here, let’s get some food and champagne and watch our men get to work. They aren’t going to take this lying down. Just you watch.”