The drive home was pleasant for the first time that week mainly because for the first time in days, Stephen had something else to focus on—Will. He couldn’t remember Will mentioning being involved with anyone. Why would his friend keep his relationship a secret? Why? Probably for the same reason Stephen had wished to hell he’d kept his and Holly’s a secret—once it was out there, everyone would be privy to their business.
Once at home, he went into his office, and, as was becoming a habit, he sat down behind his desk, turned on the computer, and settled in for another sleepless night of work.
* * *
Sitting on her couch eating Chinese takeout and trying to get into the movie she was streaming on Netflix, Holly wondered why she had made such a fuss about having this extra time at home. At least before she had something to do. She was busy, she was moving, and she was having a conversation while eating dinner! Now, she sat here pitifully alone and bored out of her mind. Maybe she should get a cat. That thought made her throw down her fork and plate in disgust. “Is this what it’s come to?” she thought. “One doomed relationship and I’m ready to become a cat person?” The thought sent a shiver down her spine.
The movie couldn’t hold her attention, so she grabbed the TV remote and turned it off, opting to channel surf for something else. After a while, she settled on the evening news and got caught up on current events.
“This is ridiculous,” she chided herself. “I am a grown woman with friends—friends I have not seen in a while.” Rising from the couch, Holly walked to kitchen, found her address book, and began furiously flipping through it to start calling people. It was only seven thirty on a Friday night, for crying out loud! What was she doing home? Didn’t single people go out on the weekends? Wasn’t that what all those beer commercials were about? Hell, she could be in a beer commercial if she wanted to! Holly gave herself a pep talk as she picked up the phone and dialed her friend Linda’s number. “I am a young, attractive woman,” she murmured. “There is no reason for me to be at home on a Friday night.” At the sound of her friend’s voice, she said cheerily, “Are you up for a girls’ night out?”
Thirty minutes later, Holly was walking out the door with a swing in her denim-clad hips and a little bounce in her stiletto-booted step. Climbing into her car, she congratulated herself on taking that all-important first step in having a life outside work. With any luck, this would be the first of many nights out, and eventually, she wouldn’t remember her wild weekend with Stephen or feel that pull of desire every time she looked at him in the office.
Yes, a girls’ night out was exactly what she needed to find out who Holly Abbott could be.
Chapter 8
So much for big plans.
The big girls’ night out had been a major disappointment. She had met up with her friend Linda at a local restaurant-slash-bar, and while she enjoyed talking with her friend, there were no single men hanging around. After noshing on a shared appetizer and nursing screwdrivers, they headed to a bar in downtown Raleigh. That held a few more options, but Holly found she wasn’t as interested in finding a man as she’d thought she was at the beginning of the evening.
Once she let go of the notion of finding a man, Holly let herself relax and enjoy this time with the girls. It turned out that Linda had chosen this particular bar because they had other friends who hung out there, and after a couple of drinks, they were all out on the dance floor laughing, dancing, singing, and having a great time.
At the end of the night, Holly was shocked to see that half the women in their group were leaving with men they had met, while Linda and another gal had gotten phone numbers from men. To say that she was a little disappointed would be an understatement. As if reading her mind, Linda had said, “What did you expect? You’ve got this giant ‘back off’ thing going on that has scared most of these guys off. I figured if you wanted to talk about it, you would have brought it up. I was just glad to have you out with us for once!”
“Was it that obvious?” Holly asked, totally dismayed.
Not one to hold back, Linda answered, “Unfortunately, yes.” They drove back to the restaurant where they had first met up to get Holly’s car, the whole while talking about the night’s events and how they were going to have to do it again.
Linda made Holly promise to come out with her again soon and to do it without the obvious attitude. “I make no promises,” Holly quipped, but she knew that she was going to have to make more of an effort on their next outing. With a sigh of frustration, Holly knew she’d probably enjoy herself more if she relaxed and let her brain go blank for a couple of hours.
That was all the excitement she allowed herself for her first weekend. The remainder of it she stuck to her usual routine of laundry and food shopping, but she did roll up her sleeves to do some cooking. It wasn’t as much fun cooking for one person, but she refused to let that stop her. Food shopping was fun because for the first time in what seemed like forever she was shopping! She pored over fresh produce and gourmet cuts of meat. It was going to be a great week, food-wise. But now the weekend was over, and it was time to get back to reality. The “Stephen weekend”—as she called it in the recesses of her mind—seemed a million years away at this point.
* * *
Holly pulled into the parking garage at work early Monday morning. Stephen had a big meeting planned for tomorrow with the Gideon people that involved a catered luncheon and dinner with the company president out at the Angus Barn—the most expensive restaurant in Raleigh. Today would be full of last-minute preparations to make sure everything ran smoothly.
Holly had full confidence that both she and Stephen were well prepared. No doubt Stephen had a list of things that needed to be fine-tuned. She was used to it—was already expecting it. She would make her calls to the caterers, the florist, and the Angus Barn to make sure everything was in place and was ready to meet all their specifications.
Tomorrow would also be the first time she and Stephen would have to interact outside the office since their weekend together. For meetings such as these, when he was entertaining an out-of-town client, Holly acted as hostess. She would be there for all the meetings tomorrow, not only speaking on behalf of Ballinger’s with her own portion of the presentation, but also at dinner with him to entertain and be company for any of the spouses who came along on the trip.
By this point in the Gideon project, Holly had come to know this particular group of people very well. A contract with Gideon was going to put Ballinger’s Security Systems in countries it had never been before. It was a huge coup for Stephen, and Holly was so proud and excited to be working on this project with him. The Gideon group had offices all over the world but was based out of Los Angeles, and so Holly had taken several trips with Stephen out west and knew that by the time everything was in place in all Gideon’s locations she would have to travel with him again. Yikes, that was going to be awkward.
She refused to go there right now. For the time being, she was going to focus on getting through today and all that needed to be done. There were gifts to be delivered to the hotel for the president of Gideon and his wife, as well as making sure that the limousine picking them up at the airport was stocked with their favorite champagne.
Riding up in the elevator, Holly kept running a mental checklist in her head even though she knew Stephen would already have the list ready and waiting for her. Sure enough, as she walked to her desk and put her purse down, she saw it propped against her computer screen. The man was meticulous, that was for sure.
Going about her morning routine, she heard Stephen already on the phone in his office. Last week’s pattern of behavior seemed to be continuing. Oh, joy. Coffee was brewing, her computer was warming up, she retrieved voicemails, and within minutes Holly was walking toward Stephen’s office with the pile of messages that demanded immediate attention.
Predictability and stability were things that most people would
love in a job, weren’t they? Holly used to think so. Now, she would almost kill for a little spontaneity. The act of merely existing in this job was starting to grate on her nerves. Stephen sat in profile to her as she walked in, and her mouth watered. His hair was a mess already from running his hands through it in frustration, and he was clean-shaven. For a moment, she allowed herself to remember what he looked like with a day’s growth on his chin and how it had felt against her cheek, her throat, her thighs. She stifled a sigh, walked up to his desk, and put the mug and messages down.
For the first time in a week, Stephen looked up, met her eyes, and smiled. Holly smiled back at him, and for a moment, it felt as if everything was going to be okay. They were going to have to make things work—especially for the meetings tomorrow. If he couldn’t even look at her, someone was going to pick up on that. These people with Gideon had been around them long enough that they would notice if suddenly Holly and Stephen weren’t coming within ten feet of each other and acted completely awkward with each other.
That could spell disaster. So for the sake of the deal, Holly vowed to let the awkwardness of last week go and do all she could to restore them to their previous relationship. She’d have to talk to Stephen about that when he was off the phone…or maybe after lunch…or maybe…
“Holly?” She jumped at the sound of Stephen’s voice. “Are you okay? You sort of zoned out right there.”
Well, it seemed that he was on the same page; gone was the sullen man of last week, and here before her was her old boss. Okay, things were going to be fine. “Sorry, I guess I’ve got a running tally going in my mind of everything that has to happen in order for tomorrow to be a success.”
“Ah.” He nodded and reached for his coffee.
“Speaking of which, I’ve got calls to make to the caterer and whatnot,” she began as she slowly made her retreat to the door. She kept her tone friendly and light and remembered to keep casual eye contact the entire time. “I got your list, and if there’s anything else you can think of, let me know, okay?” Stephen nodded, and she walked out of his office and shut the door with a sigh of relief.
This was not going to be an easy day, she told herself, but Holly was determined to get through it all and do it cheerfully. By lunchtime, all her calls had been placed; the limo was confirmed and stocked as she had requested with Cristal chilling and Godiva chocolates. The caterer was delivering gourmet fruit-and-cheese baskets to the hotel to the top executives and had confirmed the menu for lunch the following day down to the letter. It was everything that Holly needed to hear, and she felt as if a great weight had been lifted in one respect but still had another giant one weighing her down in respect to herself, personally, for tomorrow.
After lunch, she met with Stephen to go over the agenda for the next day and to do a run-through of their presentation. Stephen was impressed with what Holly had put together and knew that, between the two of them, the contracts would be signed and they would be in business with Gideon by the end of the next day.
As Holly rolled up some of the posters they were going to use for the meeting, Stephen watched her and smiled. “I think we’ve got this one, Holly,” he said happily. Nothing made Stephen happier than a job well done and ready to be signed and sealed. “I can’t imagine anyone having a problem with anything we present.” She turned to him, nodded in agreement, and smiled.
“If it’s all right with you, Stephen, I think I’m going to get the conference room set up with easels and everything today so there will be little for me to do tomorrow and I can focus on the caterer and getting the food laid out so that it won’t be too crowded in there.”
“We are going to have a few more people than usual in there, aren’t we?” he asked, suddenly concerned that there was a fly in the ointment.
“We’ll be fine, Stephen,” she assured him. “We have had more people in there, and with the right amount of planning and preparation, we’ll all be comfortable.” Holly turned and walked out of the office with the rolled-up posters under her arm and confidence in her step, and Stephen couldn’t help but admire her.
Stephen was about to sit back down behind his desk but decided to follow Holly to the conference room to help her set up. They were so well prepared, there wasn’t really much else for him to do except wait for the meetings tomorrow. Anything he did right now would only be nitpicking with perfection.
Holly was surprised when Stephen came into the conference room. As if of one mind, they began moving chairs, clearing off tables, and setting up easels. Within thirty wordless minutes, the room was as ready as it would ever be. Everything else that needed to be done would be handled once the caterers arrived the next morning—they were bringing tablecloths along with the food. Holly could picture how it was all going to look and was pleased.
They spent the remainder of the day separately—Stephen making phone calls, Holly making sure that the assistant she was going to have for the day knew where everything was and showing her what would need to be done during the conference. At five, Holly popped her head into Stephen’s office to tell him that she was leaving, and he was sitting behind his desk rubbing his temples.
“Everything okay?”
He dropped his hands and looked at her. “I know we can’t possibly be more prepared than we already are. There is nothing that Gideon is going to throw at us that we won’t be able to handle and have an answer for, but until it’s a done deal, I won’t be able to relax.”
Holly was about to offer to stay and “run lines,” so to speak, but had to stop and think about it before opening her mouth. By staying and working late, she would be breaking the rule that they had set in place in what was a huge point of contention with getting her to stay on at Ballinger’s. Stephen was the type who might not see this as a one-time deal and suddenly start expecting her to stay late every night again. Tomorrow night, while not technically working, she would be out late with him and their clients. That would be two nights of her time that she was giving up for the sake of his company. Still, looking at him, she could see that he did truly look worried. This was the biggest contract in Ballinger’s history, and while it would not break the company if Gideon decided to pass, it would certainly help skyrocket it if they accepted.
With a sigh of resignation, Holly walked farther into Stephen’s office and asked, “Do you want me to stay for a little while so we can go over everything again?” The look on Stephen’s face was so hopeful, so full of gratitude, that Holly was sure she had made the right decision. But the look vanished from Stephen’s face quickly.
“Thank you, but no,” he said politely. “I don’t think we need to go over everything again. It’s my issue, not yours. Go enjoy your evening, and I will see you here in the morning.” He paused and looked at his desk as if searching for something to do and then grabbed his phone and began to dial.
A more stubborn man Holly did not know. Not willing to argue with him—he had made his choice—Holly bid him a good night and walked out of the office. With a stiff spine, she walked to the elevator and waited. Once it arrived, she stepped inside, thankful to be alone, and leaned heavily against the back wall. There was no going back, she guessed. Their relationship was irreparably damaged, and she either had to learn to deal with the distance that was now between them and not let it upset her or she would have to move on.
That was a thought that she did not want to take root right now. This week was too important. Ever the professional, Holly knew that she would stay on until the Gideon project was completed—whether it was the end of the week or the end of next year. She had invested a lot of time and effort into this project herself, and if being cold and impersonal with her boss was what was required to see it through to the end, then so be it. There were worse situations, she imagined, that she could find herself working in.
Once at ground level, Holly headed out of the building and across the street to the parking garage. When she climbed i
n her car, she sat there and stared off into space. Like it would have killed him to let her stay? She thought, “I mean, there I was, offering my help to the man! This was nothing like it was in the past where it was expected of me to stay. I offered!” Snapping out of her reverie, she drove home while carrying on quite the animated conversation with herself.
“And, you know,” she began to herself out loud, “I don’t know why I thought it was such a big deal to be home at five thirty every damn night. It’s boring! Sure, it’s been nice eating real food instead of takeout, but, really, Stephen always brought in whatever I wanted. It wasn’t like he was forcing me to eat Burger King every night, for crying out loud. Why did I have to make such a fuss and screw everything up?”
That was a bitter pill to swallow. As much as she’d like to blame it all on Stephen, the truth was that it was her words that had set the ball in motion; Stephen was honoring her wishes, and now Holly had to pay the price. If anyone knew all the things that had happened between the two of them, Holly was sure there would be fingers pointing and mocking voices of “Careful what you wish for.”
Pulling into her driveway, she sighed with frustration and climbed from the car. She waved to some neighbors who were out and about in their yards—what were their names?—before heading into the tomb-like silence of her home.
At seven thirty the next morning, Holly was entering the impressive building that housed Ballinger’s and found Stephen waiting for the elevator. After saying good morning, they boarded the elevator and rode up to the eighth floor in silence. As they exited, Stephen went straight to his office and Holly went about her thing. When the coffee was done and she headed into Stephen’s office as she had done almost every morning for three years, she decided that she’d had enough.
In the Eye of the Storm / Catering to the CEO Page 10