It was time to get up and get ready for the meeting. I wanted to stay in bed with her forever. I knew I was probably crossing about a million boundaries, but I didn’t care. She’d made the move. I could have tried to tell her it wasn’t a good idea. I didn’t because it was all I had been thinking about since I first laid eyes on her back in the bar that first night. I was drawn to her. There was some kind of magnetic pull I couldn’t ignore.
“Hey,” I whispered, not wanting to startle her.
I didn’t know much about her dating life back home in the states, but I didn’t get the impression she spent a lot of time in any man’s bed. I didn’t want her waking up disorientated and freaking out when she saw me next to her.
“Hmm?” She groaned, not opening her eyes or moving her face away from my chest.
“It’s after seven. We need to get ready for the meeting at nine.” I kept my voice soft.
There was a pause, and then she rolled away from me. “Oh shit!”
“Relax,” I assured her. “We have plenty of time.”
She turned her face to look at me, offering me a sheepish smiled. “Good morning,” she whispered.
“Good morning.” I returned her smile.
“I need to shower,” she said with a disappointed sigh.
I was happy to know she was just as reluctant as I was to get out of bed. “I’ll order some breakfast.”
She yawned, nodded her head, and rolled out of bed. I got the chance to admire her beautiful body as she walked naked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. I felt like pinching myself. I couldn’t believe I had actually spent the night with a woman like her. It was unexpected, yet exciting.
I heard the shower turn on and figured I better get a move on. I quickly ordered breakfast for us and unzipped the garment bag containing my suit for the day. When Bella emerged from the bathroom, a fluffy white towel wrapped around her, I felt like I had been kicked in the gut. My breath escaped me as I watched her move toward me. She was stunning.
“Your turn,” she said with a smile.
I nodded, my mouth hanging open. “Breakfast will be here soon,” I said before walking away and directly into a cold shower.
It had taken a great deal of willpower to keep my hands to myself. I wanted to pull the towel away and feast my eyes and mouth upon her naked, wet body. After the cold water did its trick, I quickly moved it to hot, cleaned up, and pulled on my clean underwear before walking out of the bathroom.
Bella was in front of the mirror, putting on makeup. “So, what should I say today?” she asked, her eyes meeting mine in the mirror.
“I’ll do most of the talking. I want you to watch and observe and see how it all works. I’ll ask you direct questions when it’s time for you to chime in.”
“Great, I can do that,” she said with confidence.
We ate breakfast first and then finished dressing, my eyes constantly moving toward her. She looked amazing in the short skirt and jacket. I couldn’t wait for us to get the meeting over and done with. I wanted to spend the rest of the day with her, enjoying her company and not worrying about business.
When we arrived at the client’s offices, we were escorted into the conference room to wait. I could sense Bella’s nervousness. “Relax,” I said in a low voice.
She nodded. “I am. I mean, I’m not, but I will.”
I smiled at her. “This is just a trial run. This particular client worked with us before, fired us, and now is considering rehiring us but has some reservations. It’s a good account, and I want it back. We’re here to prove our services are worth what we charge.”
“Got it.”
A few minutes later, several men in suits walked into the room, sitting across from Bella and me at the table. I smiled at them, letting them know I wasn’t the least bit intimidated.
“Good morning, gentleman,” I started, immediately taking control of the meeting. “This is my associate, Bella Kamp.”
The three of them looked at Bella, and I saw the very second they were taken with her. It was a slight advantage in my favor.
“Good morning,” Aaron Keeler, the owner of the company, said before turning his eyes back on me.
“I understand you have concerns about coming back for another quarter,” I said, getting right to the heart of the matter.
Aaron nodded his head. “I do. As you know, you’ve done great work for us in the past, but the proposal we were given last week? Well, to be frank, it seemed a little exorbitant.”
“My company has grown, and we have become the leader in the industry,” I told him. “I’ve hired new talent, and our services are in high demand. The cost for our services has increased because we’ve gotten better. You’re paying for talent. You’re paying for the best in the business, and that isn’t going to come cheap.”
Aaron scowled. “As a customer that has been with you from the beginning, I should get some kind of discount.”
I scoffed. “We are both businessmen. We are both here to make money. My fees are nothing compared to the money you will make from our marketing talents.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know if there is much difference between what you do and what other companies do. I need to understand why your company charges so much more than the others.”
I looked over at Bella. I could see she wanted to say something but was holding back. I cleared my throat. “Because my company does it better,” I said matter-of-factly.
Bella interrupted. “Aaron—can I call you Aaron?”
Aaron offered her a small smile. “You can.”
She nodded. “Aaron, I think what Adrian is trying to explain is that Great Greeks isn’t your average social marketing company. There’s so much more to it than a few tweets or posts or getting your company to trend on some of the most popular sites. I work on marketing campaigns, and I’ll tell you, the team at Great Greeks is amazing. They are the most creative minds I’ve ever worked with. They’re young and in tune with what is happening in the world. They know the latest trends, and better than that, they know what hits and what fails because they are tapped into the various social groups.”
Aaron nodded his head. The other two men looked intrigued as well. I realized she was reeling them in. I sat back in my chair and let her go. She had them in the palm of her hand, and I had been pushing them away.
“But is the cost of the service really worth it?” Aaron asked. “Don’t other companies have young, talented people who are just as creative?”
Bella smiled. It was the kind of smile that lit up a room. “Possibly, but how many other companies are bringing their CEO to your door? How many of those companies are promising you results that you’ve seen in action before? You said you’ve been happy with the services you got before. Isn’t that worth a little extra money? When you go with someone new, you start over. You don’t know them, and they don’t know you. Adrian told me all about you before we came in here today. He told me about your little boy and about how your company got started. He took the time to get to know you. Have the others?”
I watched Aaron softening, turning to putty in her very skilled hands. “I suppose not,” he murmured.
“I’m telling you, from someone who has interviewed with other companies in America and a few other places, this is the company to be involved with. Every person I’ve met has integrity, and they truly care about their work. They love their boss and want to make him happy. A good working environment is always going to produce good results, but I’m sure you know that because your company is a place people want to work at.” Her smile was just enough to drive home her point.
I waited, keeping my mouth shut, afraid I would undo all the progress she had made. It was pretty clear she’d been very persuasive. Aaron was thinking about it.
“All right,” he said with a sigh. “You bring up a lot of good, valid points. I will admit I’ve talked with a couple of other companies and I was unimpressed. While they were cheaper, I didn’t get the same level
of confidence that their work would be as good as yours.”
Bella was smiling and nodding her head. “You have to pay for quality. Your suit, it isn’t off the rack is it?”
Aaron shook his head. “No, of course not.”
“Because you appreciate quality and all of the things money can buy you. Our services are no different.”
He grinned. “I see. You’ve sold me.”
“Great. I will let you and Adrian hash out the details.” She leaned back in her chair, effectively removing herself from the conversation.
Aaron looked at me, shaking his head. “That wasn’t fair.”
“Pardon me?”
Aaron nodded toward Bella with a grin. “She is very convincing. You need her on your staff. I like her.”
Bella blushed a little. “Thank you.”
“She’s my secret weapon,” I told him with a small laugh. “I only bring her out for the most important clients.”
“Smart man,” he said. “We’ll accept the proposal you sent over on Monday. I’ll have my people take care of the paperwork. I want to get started right away. The few weeks we’ve been without promotion are already taking their toll on the business.”
“I’ll call Rand as soon as we’re finished here and get him moving on your account,” I assured him.
“I appreciate that, and thank you for coming all the way here to meet with us in person. You did go the extra mile. That does make a difference.” He looked at Bella again.
“You know you can call me direct if you have any questions or concerns,” I told him. “Your account is important to me.”
He chuckled. “I can see that. I didn’t think I’d get the main man in my office. I’ve heard you rarely left Crete.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I used to travel a lot more, but the business keeps me in the city.”
I got to my feet. Bella followed my lead. Aaron extended his hand. I shook his hand, along with the other two gentlemen’s. Bella did the same.
“Keep her around and I think you might one day run the world,” Aaron said in a low voice.
Bella had already moved down the hall, the two men eager to keep her company while Aaron and I lagged behind.
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, watching her laugh at something one of them said.
The men were fawning over her, clearly enamored with the pretty, blonde American. I felt a tiny twinge of jealousy and quickly excused myself, making my way to where Bella was standing. I put my hand on her elbow, guiding her away from the men and toward the elevator.
She was mine. I didn’t feel like sharing her laughter or smiles.
Chapter 22
Bella
I waited until the elevator doors slid shut before I looked up at Adrian. I couldn’t stop grinning. He looked very serious. When he finally looked at me, I grinned even bigger. He smirked, shaking his head as he punched the button for the ground floor.
“Don’t say it,” he playfully warned.
“Oh, I’m going to say it,” I told him.
He let out an exaggerated sigh. “Let’s get it over with.”
“I saved your bacon,” I announced proudly.
He raised one dark eyebrow. “You saved my what?”
“Your bacon,” I teased. “You were drowning in there. Aaron was about ready to throw you out and take his business elsewhere, but I saved you. I saved the account. I think you should be the one who sits back and learns from me.”
The elevator jerked to a stop, the doors sliding open. Adrian slid on his dark sunglasses before stepping out. I put on mine as well. We walked toward the glass doors without him saying a word. I hoped I hadn’t pushed him too far.
We stepped outside, the heat of the day in full force. I quickly took off my jacket and draped it over my arm while we stood on the curb, presumably waiting for the car.
“You kicked ass in there,” he finally said.
I turned to look at him, unable to see his eyes behind his dark sunglasses. “Thank you.”
“You impressed me.”
I felt my shoulders go back a little, pride filling me. “Thank you,” I said again.
“Seriously, that was a great job,” he said in his smooth baritone voice. “He was going to walk away. I don’t usually have such a hard time keeping a client, but he was rubbing me the wrong way. I’m glad you were there.”
I felt like a peacock, strutting as I walked to the car that had pulled up. I had done well and was going to bask in the glory of that for a short time.
“So, are we headed back now?” I asked, a little disappointed at the thought of going back to reality.
“I had thought it would take me at least two meetings to get Aaron back on board,” he said. “I didn’t think he’d be that easy to persuade. Why don’t we go back to the hotel, change into something a little more comfortable, and do a little sightseeing?”
“Really?”
“Sure,” he replied easily.
“That sounds fantastic. I would love to!”
“Great, we’ll grab lunch while we’re out. We’ll see how the day goes, and we can have dinner out.” His voice grew husky. “Or order in.”
He pushed up his sunglasses. I quickly did the same, giving him my eyes as we were driven back to the hotel. I could stare into his eyes for days. There was something so deep, so soulful when I looked into his eyes. I felt like I saw something other people didn’t, like he was letting me see something he kept hidden from everyone else.
When the car stopped in front of the hotel, I was anxious to get changed and back out into Athens. Athens was one of the oldest cities in the world. There was so much history. I wanted to take pictures of everything and show my dad. I had a sudden understanding of the people back in the old days who had slideshows of their vacations. I was glad my phone had plenty of storage. I was going to take a million pictures.
I had a brief thought of sex as I stripped out of the dress suit, but the excitement and allure of exploring Athens was too great to put too much thought into getting naked with Adrian. We could do that later. I was convinced this was my one shot to see Athens and the rich history that came with it. I wasn’t a history buff, but how could a person not be drawn to the monuments and historical sites that had been around for thousands of years? It was mind-boggling.
“Ready!” I announced, sliding on one of my low-rise tennis shoes before dropping the other one on the floor and sticking my foot in.
He looked up from the chair he was sitting in and tying his own shoes. “I didn’t know women could get ready to go anywhere that fast,” he teased.
I walked to him and put my hand on the back of his head, being careful not to muss his hair. His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer, my stomach at his eye level. “This is Athens. I could have been ready three minutes ago.”
I bent down and kissed him. It was the first kiss since last night. I hadn’t been sure if that was allowed or okay, but I had to get one small kiss in. I knew whatever it was that had happened between us was probably a one-night, possibly two-night, thing, and I got it. I really did, but it was hard to not touch him. I wanted to touch him and have him touch me. When his arm went around me, I took that as my approval to kiss him.
He pulled me down onto his lap, one hand on my hip and the other moving through my hair and holding the back of my neck as he deepened the kiss. I sighed into him, happy to know he was still interested in me after last night. I knew the risk of giving it up. The man might decide he’d had better and move on. Adrian was still here—or rather, I was still here—and it could all be about convenience and being in the right place at the right time. I’d think about that later. For now, I was going to enjoy the moment and pretend to be someone else while I was in Athens.
“We should go, or we might never leave this room,” he whispered against my lips.
“Okay,” I breathed, kissing him again and reigniting the spark he was trying to put out.
He smiled against my lips. I
pulled back and looked into his eyes and felt supreme contentment, like there was nothing wrong in the world. Everything was all right.
I disentangled my arms from around his neck and my legs from his, and I got to my feet. He stood and gave me another quick kiss, being careful not to get too close. When he turned to walk away from me, I swatted his ass. He turned to look back at me, one eyebrow arched. “It’s like that, huh?”
I grinned. “Maybe,” I said with a giggle before taking a wide berth around him and stuffing my phone into the back pocket of my cutoff jean shorts.
When we arrived at the Acropolis of Athens, I was absolutely awestruck. I couldn’t believe I was seeing it in person.
“Over here,” Adrian said, taking my hand in his.
I let him lead me away from the long line of tourists and toward another small group of people standing around. It was then I noticed a man holding a sign with Adrian’s last name written on it.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“I hired a private tour guide,” he said.
I had no words. I sometimes forgot he was rich, like crazy rich, and people bent over backward to make him happy. “Oh.”
“So we can skip the lines,” he reasoned.
“I see,” I murmured.
“Is that okay?” he asked.
“Absolutely!” I said with a laugh.
“Good, there’s so much to see, and we have so little time,” he explained. “I want you to see as much as you can while we are here.”
I could feel tears threatening to well in my eyes. I quickly blinked them back. His thoughtfulness made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. “Thank you.”
We were escorted through the ruins, our tour guide providing plenty of information and interesting facts. I could feel the history and thought about the people that had once roamed the place when it was functional.
“What do you think?” Adrian asked in a low voice.
The guide had moved away and was talking to another guide, giving us a few moments to ourselves. “I have no words. I’m overwhelmed at the moment.”
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