He grinned. “You know the way to a man’s heart.”
“His cock?”
“His ego.”
Great. How the hell was I supposed to keep my distance from him when he was being all cute and shit? “You’ve changed. For the good.”
“Thanks.” He didn’t turn the car on immediately. “I’ve been through a lot, forced to face up to some things I’d been ignoring.”
I shouldn’t have, but I reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m sorry if I made things harder for you. That was never my intention.”
“I know.” He smiled at me. “Thanks.”
This was the first time in my life I didn’t know what to do. Even if I’d been uncertain of a choice in the past, I’d always make one and stick with it. But it didn’t seem fair to either of us for me to simply push him away. Even if that felt like the safe thing to do.
Turning in my seat, I watched the shadows play across his face as we started our long drive back. “Reid?”
“Yeah?”
“Can we press Pause on all of this? At least until I’m done with my proposal for senior management. I...you’re confusing the hell out of me.” I didn’t know what kind of response to expect, but it wasn’t silence. “Reid?”
“Sure, we can press Pause. Neither of us really have time for this.”
“No.” The pressure in the back of my throat increased. “Will you still show me your pictures later? I do want to see what that place looked like inside.”
Relief hit me when his easy smile finally returned to his lips. “Sure. Maybe tomorrow night after shooting. I’ll buy you a drink to celebrate your pitch.”
So the pause was going to be brief, but it would give my brain enough time to mull things over. By tomorrow night I’d know what I’d needed to about Reality Life, the next stage of the show contestants would be whittled down, and I’d know what I wanted from this thing that had developed between us. I would have things back under control.
Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Chapter Eight
Tension on the set today. I wish I could say that it was only between the contestants. For once I’d love for one of these shows to go smoothly. Just once.
Production Notes, Brian Merrick, Director
After Reid had left me at my room last night, I’d spent several hours pretending to review my pitch. When I got tired of rereading the same three paragraphs, I pulled together my outfit for today. I had already worn my power suit the day my presentation was originally scheduled, which forced me to move to my Plan B dress.
The hem tickled my calf and I reached down to scratch it for the umpteenth time as I waited for Mr. Warner to call me in to the boardroom. This shouldn’t have been as nerve-racking as it was. I’d done a number of these pitches, so you’d think I’d be comfortable.
Nope.
While I might be calm on the outside, I was a ball of nerves internally. To make matters worse, I was distracted by random thoughts of Reid flitting through my head. With each thought of those black-rimmed glasses and eyes too pretty to be on a man, my frustration increased. The more frustrated I became, the harder it was to sit and wait for Mr. Warner to come get me. The harder it was to sit, the more I fidgeted.
The more I fidgeted, the more aroused I got.
And back to Reid I went.
It really was starting to piss me off.
The click of the door opening had me on my feet. Instead of Mr. Warner or his assistant coming out, my mouth fell open when Jennifer emerged.
“Thank you so much for fitting me in this morning, Charles. I know you have a tight schedule today.”
“Not a problem, my dear. For you, I’m always available.” He leaned in and placed a quick kiss to her cheek. “Say hello to your father for me.”
“Of course.” Jennifer then turned to face me. Her face was surprisingly void of any of the smugness I would have expected. “I’ve warmed them up for you. Good luck in there.” And then she smiled at me, sweet as pie.
The bitch.
“Thanks, Jennifer.” I held out my hand and squeezed hers a tad harder than I should have. “I’ll see you back on the set. Apparently Brian is making them wallpaper pressboard today.”
“That should be interesting to see.” Jennifer then winked, turned and sauntered down the hall.
“Nice to see you again, Miss Foles. Please come in.”
You know when you get that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach that no matter what you’re about to do, things are going to end badly? That feeling had moved from my gut to encompass my entire body. If Sophia were here, she’d say something like soul shattering, but that was a bit too over-the-top for me.
I marched into the boardroom, my tablet tucked under my arm, ready to do my best to wow Mr. Warner with my presentation. “Thank you so much for having me here today.”
Mr. Warner introduced me to Ivan Wright, head of accounting. Ms. Young was also present. Along with Mr. Warner, they would be making the final decision on the request for proposals. The three executives took their positions behind the table, laced their fingers and stared at me.
Nope, no pressure at all.
I watched them as I set up and began my pitch, trying to get a feel for them. They weren’t giving me much of anything.
“Thank you for having me here today. Mosaic Designs is based in Toronto and features the design talent of Sophia Holbrook. We are a budget-conscious company who believe in working with local crews to keep costs down. The redesign of the offices would be done in three phases.”
Mr. Wright yawned.
“The first phase would take approximately three months. We’d begin with Reality Life’s top three floors, the executive level being our first priority.”
Ms. Young sneaked a peek at her phone.
“While we are open to suggestions, my partner has created some preliminary designs so you will be able to get an idea of our style.”
Mr. Warner’s gaze was locked on the window behind me.
I didn’t intend to stop speaking. My finger was stuck hovering midair above the enter key, poised to advance to my next slide. Mr. Warner frowned and sat up a bit straighter in his seat. “Is there a problem, Miss Foles?”
“Yes, there is.” Whoa, that was my outside voice. I was normally the one to calm the waters, not stir things up more. But now that the dam had cracked, I knew there was no stopping the words. I took a breath and closed my tablet cover. “While I appreciate the opportunity to present my company and our ideas, I don’t appreciate having my time wasted.”
“Excuse me?” Mr. Warner got to his feet.
Most people would be scared by the hard edge to his voice. I was simply too angry to care. “Is there an actual opportunity to win this contract, or are these meetings simply for show? I know it’s important to not look as though you’re showing favoritism, but I’d rather not go through the motions. We do have a very busy shooting schedule.”
Mr. Warner looked down at his hands for a moment before meeting my gaze once more. “We read the proposal document you sent us last night. We have the numbers here.” He tapped the paper in front of him. “What we want is to get a feel for you and your company. We want to know what drives you, what’s your passion. Why do you want to work with us?”
I knew that because we need money was the wrong answer, but nothing else came to mind. This was supposed to be where I shone! I was the business brain and Sophia the design queen. I conquered and she created. My mind froze and with that I saw our opportunity to win the bid slip away.
Silence stretched as the three of them looked at one another. “Ms. Foles?”
Dear God, I failed.
“I’m sorry for wasting your time.” I blindly packed up my belongings, aware of three sets of eyes watching
me as I did, before I fled the room.
* * *
Jennifer was smiling and laughing with Reid when I arrived on set. She’d changed after her meeting with Mr. Warner. Gone was the sensible business attire, replaced with a dangerously short skirt, a clingy shirt with a low neckline and a pair of Jimmy Choo heels.
I’m not a violent person, but right then I wanted to punch Jennifer in the throat. I wouldn’t want to mess up her makeup. Brian wasn’t in sight, which meant if I wanted to know what was going on, I needed to speak with Reid.
Shit.
Something finally went my way when Reid looked over and waved at me. He said something to Jennifer that made her giggle before he strode over to me. I didn’t want to be mesmerized by the way his long stride ate up the floor, or how his stubble made him look even more attractive, but I was.
“There you are.” He smiled, his cheeks pushing his glasses up. “The contestants will be done with their first project in about twenty minutes. You judges will then need to do an evaluation and decide on who you’re sending home.” His smile faltered and he reached out and touched my arm. “Are you okay?”
I should lie. Despite the two rounds of mind-blowing sex, the last thing I should do was dump my personal issues on him. But lack of communication had been our downfall three years ago. While we might not be together now, I owed him enough to be honest. “No, I’m not.”
His arm was around my shoulder as he led me to a far corner of the warehouse, far away from any prying ears. “What’s wrong?”
Tears filled my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. “I blew the proposal. Unless I’m mistaken, Warner is giving the contract to Jennifer’s company.”
“Shit. I’m sorry.” He cupped my cheek, his thumb caressing my skin. “I’m sorry I can’t do anything to help.”
“It’s fine. I just...I thought I was fine. Then I got back here and saw her flirting with you.” I wasn’t jealous. I had absolutely no reason to be.
Thankfully, he didn’t laugh. Instead Reid stepped closer, his hand sliding down to my shoulder. “The flirting was one-sided.”
“It shouldn’t matter if it wasn’t. It’s not like we’re together anymore.”
“No, we’re not.” His thumb rubbed circles on my skin. “I think we need to talk about that. Just not here.”
God, he was a temptation I should be running away from. Now more than ever. “After shooting.”
“We can go out for dinner.”
“No. I don’t want to go anywhere.”
“Room service it is. I...if you want I can show you some of my pictures.” My surprise must have shown because he did chuckle then. “I don’t want you to get too excited. I’m still an amateur at this stuff.”
“I doubt that.”
“Reid!” His walkie squawked at him. “We need the judges out here in five.”
“I’ll round them up,” he said into the mic. He gave my hand a final squeeze before nodding toward the others. “Let’s get this part wrapped up and then we can talk.”
“Yeah. This next challenge should be interesting.”
“Wallpapering pressboard. I think there was also something about using old kid’s bikes to make furniture.”
“God, who comes up with these ideas?”
Reid bumped my shoulder with his. “I think Brian did. Don’t say anything bad because he’s really proud of this one.”
“I won’t.”
The tension that had threatened to settle in me had gone as quickly as it had arrived. With only a few kind words, Reid had done that to me. Maybe I was being a bit hasty in thinking there couldn’t be anything between us.
Maybe.
Chapter Nine
Delays. I have an emergency production meeting tomorrow to review the budget for the show. Who knew that purchasing junk for repurposing was so expensive? Some of the contestants are getting a bit worn-out. I’ve decided to give them the morning and start shooting again after lunch. I think the break will do the judges good, too. A few of them look like they need more time in bed.
Production Notes, Brian Merrick, Director
Brian called an end to shooting at seven o’clock. The remaining contestants were happy, but all of them looked a bit frayed around the edges. I knew the stress I’d been under as a judge. It must have been a thousand times more pressing being on the other side of things.
I left the set before Reid, not wanting to open up speculation about my relationship with him. Back in my hotel room, I hopped into the shower and washed away the grime of the day. Old makeup, dust and dirt from examining the contestants’ creations, my frustration over my failed attempt to get the contract, all swept down the drain on the backs of my soap bubbles.
A quick peep in the mirror to check out my sexy ensemble of sweatpants and a T-shirt, and I headed to Reid’s room. He didn’t answer right away, though I could hear him moving around. I could picture him running around the room putting his clothing away. I gave another little knock, this time leaning closer to the door. “I don’t mind a mess. You know that.”
The door pulled open revealing a naked chest, framed with an unbuttoned shirt. “I wasn’t cleaning. I was drying off.”
“Oh.” I swallowed and forced my eyes up. “Want me to come back?”
“Nothing you haven’t seen before, right?” He stepped aside giving me room to pass. “Looks like room service is coming.”
I could hear the rattle of the cart coming down the hall behind me. At least that would be one less interruption. “Do you have any beer?”
“A couple for both of us.”
Neither of us said much of anything as the young man wheeled the cart into the room and laid out the food on the small coffee table by the window. Reid’s room was a bit larger than mine, but with all the boxes that looked to hold equipment, it felt claustrophobic.
When the waiter finally shut the room door, leaving us alone, I got surprisingly nervous. This wasn’t the first time I’d been alone with Reid, nor did I have any issues with where this evening would end up. So why I was suddenly terrified that I’d do or say something wrong was beyond me.
“The beer is a bit warm.” He still hadn’t bothered to do up his shirt, which I didn’t have a problem with at all. “Do you want one now, or want me to get some ice?”
“Now is good.”
His fingers brushed mine as he handed over the bottle, sending a shiver through me. We ate in silence for a while. Unlike with Sophia and her constant need to be chatting about something, I didn’t always mind the lulls between conversations. Reid, it seemed, was a man after my own heart. It made it easier for me to watch him.
I really shouldn’t find a man eating a burger sexy, but Reid was totally pulling it off.
“So.” He took a pull of his beer. “You seem better than you were on set.”
“Yeah. It was a bit of a shitty day.” Understatement for the win.
“Want to talk about it?”
“Nope.” I picked up a fry and leaned back against my seat. “I want to drink beer and look at your pictures. Then if I play my cards right, I’m hoping that we can unpress that pause button and have sex.”
Reid coughed hard, as I’d caught him midsip. “Straightforward as usual.”
“You know me.”
“Yeah, I do.” He set his beer down and reached over to grab his laptop. He didn’t hand it over immediately, instead tapping the closed lid with his hand. “I haven’t actually shown my pictures to anyone.”
“Why not?” The few I’d seen on his camera had looked amazing to me. I couldn’t figure out why he wouldn’t want to get them out there. “You managed to make me look good, so clearly you have talent.” It was weird to see him this hesitant to share his pictures, considering how relaxed he’d been when we’d been exploring the building
s. “I promise I won’t laugh if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Reid didn’t relax, but handed over the laptop. “I never thought you would. It’s hard to share them.”
“Why?”
He closed his eyes. “It’s...I’ve gone through a lot. These pictures reflect how I feel.”
Knowing the source material would make it easier for me to wrap my head around what the pictures were supposed to be. What I wasn’t expecting was the shock of seeing the stark beauty he’d captured.
The first image was of the empty room of the abandoned warehouse we’d entered a few days ago. It was weird to think that what I was looking at had come from the same place I’d been so freaked out about entering. Light created beams in the picture, illuminating the dust in the air and the wooden planks of the floor. It looked as though someone had let an angel into the place, but we couldn’t quite see her.
“Wow.” I advanced to the next picture. My breath caught in my chest.
It was me. Not one of the sexy ones we’d taken upstairs, where I’d been awkward and turned on. This was far simpler. I’d been walking around, looking at the room and trying not to fall through one of the weakened boards. My hair had slipped forward to hide my face as I’d stepped over something. The same beam of light that Reid had captured in the previous picture was also present. The muted colors of the decaying wood almost highlighted my body, my hair glowing.
“That second one is probably my favorite.” There was a soft hesitance to his voice that I’d never heard before. I wanted to tell him that I’d never seen a picture of myself that beautiful before, but the compliment felt weak and I couldn’t bring myself to voice it.
Another click of the mouse brought up another picture. It was the one he’d been taking before I’d fallen at the Boyce Thompson Institute. The sun had highlighted my hair and the glance of my profile. He’d managed to avoid getting the car in the shot, so I looked as though I was wandering around as abandoned as the setting.
For the first time I realized how little I really knew him. We’d never talked about his time in the army or his experiences. He saw the world completely different than I did. Where I saw nothing but rot and decay, he could pinpoint the beauty. If this was the result of his healing process, then it only awakened my realization of how blind I’d been toward his needs. More than that, he had the gift to show others that beauty, as well.
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