“Really? I… I thought you would be mad for being put on the spot to bid on me. I was worried that someone else would outbid you and then pictures would be taken and leaked to the press, which would—“
“Kenzie, relax.” He takes my hand and leads me off to the side of the large tent, where we are away from most of the guests but can still hear the DJ. “Austin and I bid every year on the auction, so I was already planning on making a donation through the first dance auction.”
“You were?”
“Yes, Austin and I always outbid whatever loser Cara brings to these things. We ensure that the first dance belongs to one of us: it’s been our tradition since she was old enough to participate. At first it was because she was barely a teenager and the thought of a grown man who wasn’t family dancing with her was sickening…”
“And now?”
“Now it’s just to annoy her. We promise her every year that we won’t outbid her date and every year we do. This year, Austin won the bid and will be dancing with her. You see, even if you hadn’t participated in the auction, I probably would have outbid Austin for Cara and made a donation that way.”
“I had no idea that was what Cara meant when she asked me to help her with the auction.”
“I know you didn’t. I wanted to warn you before the auction started, but I couldn’t get away from my grandfather insisting on talking about business.”
“I’m glad it’s over.”
“Ladies and gentleman it’s time for the annual first dance. Please claim your prize and bring her to the dance floor for our first dance of the evening.”
“Well, that’s our cue.” He offers his arm and escorts me onto the dance floor. He leads us to the center of the dance floor and soon we are surrounded by eleven other couples. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cara still pouting as I’m sure she would much rather be dancing with her date.
My hand is on Nicholas’ shoulder and his on my lower back, our other hands clasped together. Once the music starts, he gracefully moves me across the dance floor in perfect harmony to the music. I’m very surprised at what a wonderful dancer he is; definitely not something I expected. When the music finally stops, he leans down and places the lightest kiss on my cheek before thanking me and leading me off the dance floor.
The rest of the night goes well; we mingle with other guests and of course Nicholas talks a lot of business. At the end of the evening, we say goodbye to his family before being escorted to our awaiting car by Carter. When we finally slide inside, I let out a heavy sigh, glad that the night is over and that for the most part I think it was a success.
“Thank you for tonight, Kenzie. I wasn’t sure what to expect but you… I think tonight was a success.”
Chapter 12
Nicholas
“Playboy Nicholas Parker, breaking his two-month stance of not being photographed with a woman, brings yet another new one to an event. Nicholas Parker brought a stunning woman to the New Beginnings Gala Saturday evening, reportedly bidding $15K for her to win the first dance auction. Such a shame, as we know we won’t be seeing her again with Nicholas Parker.”
A picture of Kenzie and me arriving at my parents’ house for the gala is shown, as I knew it would be, since for some reason the gossip sites love to report any move I make in my personal life. Every day this week I have been checking the sites, looking for reports and pictures from the gala, but until now hadn’t found any. It took them three days to get one up—longer than I expected. However, this is the first step in my own PR campaign to change how the media views me.
I have plans to take Kenzie out in public again, hoping the press will see us on at least a few of those occasions. Then in a couple of weeks this can all be behind me and I can move on with my life. With the press off my case, I will be able to focus on PFS, like I need to be doing, without worrying that my employees are questioning my ability. After a few weeks of being seen with Kenzie, I will maintain a contract with her but will likely only request her company for large events when it’s expected I bring a guest.
Looking at the picture on the site, I have to admit that I’m surprised we managed to pull it off as well as we did. Kenzie was absolutely outstanding in her performance; she shocked me to hell when she started discussing farming initiatives with the president of the university. It was clear in that moment that she did her homework before that night and reinforced to me that she was taking this contract seriously. I haven’t figured her out yet… usually I get a good read on people fairly quickly, but for some reason with Kenzie, I’m having a harder time.
“You made the sites again I see, Parker,” Alex interrupts my thoughts by barging into my office.
“I just saw that. Damn fucking vultures can’t leave me the hell alone.”
“The president of the shipping company is demanding a meeting with you tonight over dinner and drinks—“
“Tonight? What the fuck, Alex?!”
“I know… They’re insisting they need a meeting with you tonight before they are willing to sign off on the investment.”
“What’s their sticking point?”
“Their employees.”
“We’ve guaranteed them that everyone’s job will be sustained for six months, and if at that time their jobs are terminated, a severance package will be offered. What’s the issue?”
“I don’t know. I think they’re afraid we’re going to go back on our word.”
“It’s in the fucking contract!”
“I know it is, Parker, I reviewed the contract with them, but I think they are still concerned. They want to meet tonight, dinner and drinks. Honestly, I think he just wants to hear it from you that his employees’ jobs are safe.”
“Fine… whatever, work with Melody to rearrange my schedule. I expect you to be there Alex, if he is taking away my Friday night, you’re losing yours.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Good.”
“Oh and Parker, he’s bringing his wife. If you could bring someone, it might make you appear a little more trustworthy.”
“A fucking date will make me appear more trustworthy?”
“Just saying.”
“Fine, whatever. You bring Ella, and I’ll bring a date.”
“Later.”
These are the fucking things about business I hate: why would bringing a date to a business dinner make me look more trustworthy? The fucking details are in the contract about his employees, but now I have to spend my Friday night at a boring dinner, ironing out, once again, the contract details because he doesn’t trust me.
“Good afternoon, Wilder Consulting. How may I help you?” a voice answers the phone on the second ring.
“This is Nicholas Parker, I need to speak with Bridget urgently.”
“One moment.”
Even though the chance of being seen by press tonight is minimal, for my PR plan to work I need Kenzie to be available tonight. I can’t go alone if Alex and the other person are bringing dates. I can’t bring a different woman or it defeats my purpose of contracting with Kenzie in the first place.
“Hello, Nicholas.” Bridget picks up the line a few moments later.
“Bridget, I need you to contact Kenzie immediately.”
“Is something wrong? When I spoke to her the other day she indicated the gala went well, but if that wasn’t the case—“
“The gala was fine. I need her tonight. I know it’s short notice, and I’ll pay an additional fee for her inconvenience, but it’s absolutely imperative that she accompany me to a business dinner tonight.”
“What time will you need her to meet you?”
“I need her at five, dinner is at 5:30 near PFS.”
“I’ll contact her right now and will call you back once I get off the phone with her.”
“Good.”
I wait, and wait, for Bridget to call me back with Kenzie’s decision on whether or not she can attend dinner with me tonight. I don’t do well with waiting or with things out of my contr
ol. If it were up to me, I would have contacted her directly and offered her whatever she needed in order to agree to accompany me tonight. I get that I’m not supposed to do that so we both keep some privacy, but it would have made things so much easier if I could have just picked up the phone and told her what I needed from her tonight. I’m not used to letting someone else take control in my life; I don’t do well following orders, which is why I started my own company.
An hour passes before I hear from Bridget, and I start to panic. How long does it take to fucking call someone and see if she is available tonight? What if she wasn’t available to talk to Bridget? How much longer do I wait before trying to come up with another plan for tonight? My only other option is to go to the dinner alone, and if someone asks, I make an excuse about Kenzie not feeling well. That could work…
“Parker,” I answer my cell phone without looking at the caller ID.
“Nicholas, it’s Bridget—“
“About time.”
“I’m sorry, Kenzie needed to see if she could rearrange something before she could commit to dinner tonight—“
“Rearrange? She didn’t have another date, did she? Because I specifically required her to sign—“
“Calm down, she did not have another date. She signed the exclusivity clause, you know that means I can’t show her profile to anyone else.”
“So, can she do it or what?”
“Yes, she is available for the evening and will meet you at your office by five.”
“Good.”
“And next time, Nicholas, try to give the girl a little notice, if possible.”
“I’ll be sure to compensate her for the last minute request in the next transfer I send you.”
“I’ll see that she gets it.”
I sit back in my chair and sigh heavily, relieved that I don’t have to come up with an excuse as to why Kenzie is not with me this evening. Although it’s unlikely the press would have found out that I was at a business dinner alone, I can’t take the risk now that I’m trying to change my public image around. I need to lose the image of being a playboy who is seen with different women all the time. I need the media to think I’m boring and stable so they stop fucking questioning my business practices.
“Melody, get me Carter,” I request.
“Yes, Mr. Parker.”
Moments later, Carter enters my office; as always Melody is very efficient at what she does.
“Melody has informed you of the dinner tonight?” I confirm.
“Yes, sir.”
“Ms. Rose will be accompanying me tonight and will arrive here around five. Please meet her in the lobby and escort her to my office when she arrives.”
“Yes, of course, sir.”
“When we are finished with dinner, I want a cab to take her home.”
“Yes, sir, I’ll be sure to have one ready before you leave.”
“That will be all.”
I dive into my latest financial reports, finally able to focus on work again now that the issue of tonight’s dinner is resolved. It really is a waste of time to have dedicated the last ninety minutes worrying about a business dinner, but I have to remain focused on my goal of turning around my public image: one slip up could ruin everything. Back on track now, I spend the rest of the afternoon diving into numbers, spreadsheets, and reviewing the performance of several companies that PFS recently brought on. After signing with PFS, the first six months of financial reporting is absolutely key. Then, I make a decision whether to continue their contract or to cut ties completely. As usual, I’m easily lost in my work and remain so until Melody alerts me that Carter is here. I tell her to send him in, expecting him to need to discuss plans for the weekend or for dinner tonight.
“Mr. Parker—“
“One moment, Carter,” I interrupt, needing to spend just another minute reviewing this one line to ensure the calculations are correct. If I stop now, I will probably lose my place, and it took me hours to find the one line where there appears to be an error.
“Yes, Carter?”
“Ms. Rose, sir.” I finally look up and realize that not only has Carter been standing there waiting for me to finish looking at my report but that Kenzie has been there as well.
“I’m sorry, I hadn’t realized the time. Thank you, Carter.”
“The car will be ready in ten minutes sir.”
“Kenzie, thank you for agreeing to tonight, especially with the incredibly late notice.”
“It’s not a problem.”
“I understand you had to rearrange your schedule, I hope Bridget let you know that you will be compensated for your troubles.”
“Really, it’s fine.”
“You look very nice.”
Nice is probably the least descriptive word that I could have come up with to describe how she looks. However, the only other words that come to mind to describe her looks are not appropriate to share with someone that I’m conducting a business relationship with. Kenzie is wearing a black fitted skirt that falls to just above her knee, a light blue button-down fitted shirt lays under a black blazer. Her long legs are accentuated by a pair of black heels. My mind immediately pictures her bent over my desk with the skirt pushed up to her waist as I thrust into her.
“Thank you,” she thankfully pulls me from my thoughts, which I’m grateful: if I kept picturing her like that, she would be able to tell what I was thinking if she looked below my belt. I can’t keep picturing her like that… thinking of her like that; this is nothing but a business transaction. She would never be interested in anything more with me, and I’m not interested in anything more than a fuck with a woman, something I know Kenzie is too good for. She needs someone who would trust her, and I’ve learned the hard way that hell is going to freeze over before I trust another woman like that ever again.
“Please have a seat.” I gesture to the small couch against the windows in my office and sit in the chair across from her.
“You have an amazing building here, the lobby was stunning.”
“Thank you. We’ve been in this building for about five years now; before we moved in, I had my brother completely remodel it to fit the image I wanted.”
“He did a wonderful job! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it.”
“I’ll never tell him this, but he blew my expectations out of the water on the design.”
“Is there anything I need to know for dinner tonight?” She glances at her watch, likely realizing we only have a few minutes before we need to leave. She uncrosses her legs before crossing them again, her skirt riding up just the smallest amount, and it takes everything in me not to groan. Her outfit is actually perfect for tonight: it looks very professional but could easily be more casual if she took the blazer off. The skirt isn’t too short, but for some reason it’s just the right amount of leg for her to look incredibly sexy.
“We have been working with this shipping company for the last several months now, trying to help them avoid bankruptcy. We’ve made multiple recommendations, but they’ve been hesitant in agreeing to them. The contracts are scheduled to be signed Monday, however, at the last minute they demanded a meeting with me, refusing to sign the contract unless I met them for dinner tonight.”
“Why?”
“There’s a clause in the contract that says all employee positions will remain as is for the first six months. After that, PFS will reevaluate and determine whether or not to continue their positions. If their position is eliminated in the first three years, every employee will be provided with a severance package along with a letter of recommendation.”
“Sounds like a good thing?” She’s obviously struggling to see why the other party hasn’t signed yet.
“It is,” I agree. “For some reason, Alex, my vice president, thinks that they are having second thoughts and do not believe that I would hold up my end of the contract.”
“But if it’s in the contract, aren’t you obligated to follow through?”
“
Yes and no. There are certain safeguards put in place where I could get out of the clause, if something came up. However, it’s a clause that is only used in dire situations. Alex thinks they just want to hear from me that their employees will have jobs. It’s a family-owned business that has been passed down from one generation to another, but unfortunately the owner’s father had a gambling problem and borrowed money from the company. They’re barely staying afloat right now and have more debt than they should have. We’re offering them a solution where the company remains intact but requires an overhaul in a few areas.”
“If you don’t mind me asking… why am I needed tonight? It sounds like a business negotiation.”
“We won’t technically be negotiating, since all that is done already. Essentially, we are meeting to reassure him that the clause in the contract stands, nothing more. As to why you are here… apparently having a date will make me look more trustworthy, at least according to Alex. The owner is bringing his wife, so I assume the idea is, if I bring a date, I look more like a person and less like a businessman who wants to destroy their company.”
“Ah, got it.”
“Sir, ma’am, we need to leave now,” Carter interrupts us.
“Thank you, Carter. Do you have any other questions, Kenzie?”
“No, I think you covered everything.”
“I’ll apologize in advance: this is probably going to be a very boring dinner for you.”
“It won’t be a problem.”
Carter escorts us to the parking garage, where my SUV is waiting. The ride to the restaurant is short since the traffic is light despite the rush hour. I’ve purposely left early enough so that we are the first to arrive at the table. Over the next ten minutes, Alex and Ella arrive followed by Mr. and Mrs. Forrest, the owners of the shipping company. Once again, Kenzie seems to fit right into the group, making conversation easily with Mrs. Forest and Ella while Alex, Mr. Forrest, and I discuss business.
The next time I glance at my watch, I’m surprised to see that more than two hours have passed since we arrived. Kenzie sits comfortably next to me, discussing recipes with Mrs. Forrest. I knew she worked at the bakery, but I had no idea how much she enjoys baking until I watch her passionately discuss different techniques.
The Arrangement Duet Box Set Page 12