Scattered Thoughts (Betrayed by Love Book 1)

by Kelley, HD

  Alec Payne is coming to the meeting. Surely the CEO of Ultimate’s parent company had more important issues to handle than deflecting negative press about onboard illnesses and mechanical failures. It wasn’t like Ultimate’s ships had experienced any actual problems yet.

  “Earth to Izzy,” Jonathan laughed.

  “I’m sorry… what were you saying?”

  “Do you need me to print another copy of your action plan?”

  “Actually, I’m good. I printed a couple spares already but I will need you to email me a copy of Mr. Payne’s bio from the master file.”

  “Sure thing. Anything else?”

  “After you confirm my return flight and schedule a car to pick me up at TIA, that’ll be all.”

  “Already done. I’ll see you at the airport.”

  “Thanks,” I said with a loud exhale as I disconnected the call. I was nervous enough about the meeting without the added pressure of Alec Payne.

  • • • • •

  When the flight attendant announced it was safe to use electronic devices I powered my phone back on and got busy reading the bio Jonathan sent. I already knew Alec Payne was beyond wealthy and owned more companies than I had clients, but I was hoping the report would help me uncover who he really was, what made him tick. None of my previous research had uncovered much about him personally, other than he had a reputation of being a royal pain in the ass. There was plenty of information on his wealth, what properties he owned, how the stock prices had risen in every single company he’d ever bought. But who was he really? That’s what I needed to know before the meeting.

  Unfortunately, Dimarco’s bio didn’t tell me much more than I’d already known. The only new piece of information I uncovered was that he wasn’t married, which surprised me given the fact he’s forty five and has more money than many small countries. “Something must be wrong with him,” I thought, even though nothing in the reports I’d read so far suggested it.

  When I finished reading his bio for the second time, just to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, I powered off my phone and tucked it safely inside my bag. I ran through my meeting notes one last time then allowed myself to relax for the first time in days. I closed my eyes and blocked out the chaos around me.

  Spencer is yelling but I can’t hear what he is saying. His voice is muffled. Who is he yelling at? Is it me? He moves closer, his eyes cold and dark. My head is spinning.

  I jerked forward in my seat, my eyes wide open, my heart racing. Around me passengers were gathering their bags. We’d landed. I must’ve dozed off and was having another bad dream. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves then began gathering up my things, waiting to exit the plane.

  1

  Chapter Two

  I followed the line of passengers off the tram and into the main airport terminal. After a quick scan of the area I spotted a tall, muscular man dressed professionally in a black suit with a white shirt and thin black tie. He was holding a sign that read “Ms. James”, and I knew he must be the driver Jonathan hired. I walked toward him, flashing a welcoming smile as I approached.

  “Hi, I’m Izzy James,” I said, extending my hand for a handshake.

  “Hello, Ms. James,” he said, taking my hand in his. “I’m Preston. Mr. Payne’s driver.”

  “Mr. Payne’s driver?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I was expecting a car service to pick me up not Alec Payne’s driver. Preston’s lips curled as he tried to hide the smile that threatened. “Sorry, it’s just I was expecting a car service.”

  “Mr. Payne wouldn’t hear of it, ma’am.”

  The muscles in my jaw began to clench. I hadn’t even met the man and he was already getting on my nerves. Did he really think I wasn’t capable of getting myself from the airport to his office? “Thanks,” I said, finally recovering my professionalism.

  Preston nodded and reached for my bags, which I gladly handed over as my shoulder was aching under their weight.

  Following Preston, he led me down the escalator, through the crowded baggage claim area, and outside to the waiting jet black BMW X6. He opened the rear passenger side door and motioned for me to get in. “Ms. James,” he said simply.

  “Thank you,” I replied as I climbed into the car. When I looked up at Preston I couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was; his freshly shaven head, his dark brown eyes, his caramel skin. He flashed a small smile and I quickly looked away, embarrassed I’d been caught staring. Preston closed the door without saying a word, but he didn’t have too. I was already embarrassed by my reaction to him picking me up today and now I’d been caught gawking at him. This was not how I’d envisioned my trip to Tampa starting.

  It was a short ride to Ultimate’s office at 100 North Tampa. Preston pulled into the garage and parked in a space labeled Ultimate Cruises. He collected my bags and led me to the elevator. After pressing a code into the keypad, the doors promptly closed and the elevator started to move. The sudden jolt knocked me off balance. Preston grabbed my elbow, stopping me from falling backward into the elevator wall.

  “Thanks,” I muttered, embarrassed now by my clumsiness too. A small smile crossed his face for the second time but again he didn’t say a word.

  As we ascended toward the 42nd floor, I began to think about Alec Payne. I was still bothered by my lack of knowledge surrounding his reason for being at the meeting today. I’d spent hours discussing their issue and the desired outcome with Lily Roberts, Ultimate’s CEO, plus several other department heads at Ultimate during the identification phase of this process. Any change at this point would jeopardize the timeline and could derail the entire project.

  By the time the elevator stopped, my nerves were on edge. This was it. I was out of time. Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves I let Preston lead me out of the elevator and into the modestly decorated lobby of Ultimate Cruises.

  The room was empty with the exception of a rather small seating area in the far corner, a long reception desk in the center, and a few potted plants scattered about. The space wasn’t exactly what I’d expected given the address. 100 North Tampa had long been considered the premier address among Tampa businesses, so I was expecting something a little more grand.

  A professionally dressed young woman with short, jet black hair stood to greet us. “Preston, Ms. James,” she said coolly as we approached the desk. She scowled at me, her icy stare making me shiver. “I’ll show you to the conference room,” she said with the same cool tone. Without waiting for me to respond, she rounded the desk and began walking down the long hallway.

  “Thank you,” I replied as I rushed after her.

  The grandness of the conference room certainly made up for the subtleness of the lobby. The view of the city below and the ocean beyond extended farther than the naked eye could see. Mesmerized by the beauty, I walked toward the floor-to-ceiling glass wall, momentarily forgetting all about Miss Jet Black and my fear of heights. I was reminded of both when my knees started to buckle.

  “And there’s a bathroom over there,” I heard her say right before the door closed.

  “Wait, where?” I asked when I’d recovered my equilibrium, but it was too late. She’d already gone.

  It didn’t take long to set up the few presentation materials I brought. All I had left to do was connect my laptop to their overhead projector and I’d be ready for the meeting. I attached the cable to my laptop first and was just about to connect the other end to the projector when the conference room door swung open.

  “Ms. James,” the young man at the door called out. I stopped what I was doing and looked over. “My name is Raul,” he explained. “Mr. Payne has asked me to set the projector up for you.”

  “Thanks, Raul, but I can manage.” I’d done this many times before and had the utmost confidence I could handle the job now.

  “Mr. Payne insisted I take care of it, ma’am,” he said as he gently took the cables out of my hand.

  Control freak! My inner voice snap
ped. I wanted to slap her down but she was right, the meeting, his driver, Raul. The fact that Alec wasn’t married suddenly made sense. He’s a control freak. Who could possible put up with that long term?

  “She’s all yours,” I said, stepping out of Raul’s way. I’d dealt with the control freak type many times and one thing I’d learned was you have to pick your battles wisely if you’ve any hope of keeping up. I wasn’t about to waste energy on something as trivial as this. If Alec was going to get all controlling over something as simple as setting up a projector I could be in for a long afternoon.

  Raul finished in record time and left me alone once again. I glanced at the clock on the wall. Luckily, there were a few minutes before the meeting was supposed to start because I really needed to pee. I walked to the other end of the room where Miss Jet Black had pointed earlier and tried the first door I came to, praying it was a bathroom. It was locked. I tried another door but it was locked too. I moved to the opposite corner of the room and tried the only remaining door. I was relieved when it opened and moved quickly inside to take care of a pressing need.

  My reflection in the mirror startled me as I washed my hands. “No wonder Miss Jet Black was scowling,” I said out loud. Mascara was smeared all over my eyes, and my hair was a frizzy mess thanks to the Tampa humidity.

  With a wet paper towel I wiped the mascara off gently, doing my best not to make it any worse. I dug a brush out of my bag and gathered my hair into a bunch before securing it with the clip I’d packed just in case I needed it. I freshened up my makeup then took one final look in the mirror before I headed back into the conference room.

  When I opened the bathroom door, I was immediately frozen in place by the sight of what could arguably be the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. He was standing at the other end of the conference room, all tall and slender with a muscular build, his chocolate brown hair tousled in a way that seemed just perfect. Maybe it was just my libido talking but damn was he hot.

  The mystery man wore dark gray slacks and a crisp white dress shirt that he had open to the second button. His sleeves were rolled halfway up to his elbow and completed his semi-casual look just perfectly. He stood with one hand in his pocket and tugged on his bottom lip with the other. I licked my own lips as I imagined what it would be like to have his sexy lips on me.

  He looked up and for the second time today I was caught staring. I blushed and looked away, too distracted to even move. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and when I looked up again he was standing in front of me. His bright green eyes staring back at me. I bit my lip and let out an unintentional gasp.

  He broke out in a full mouth smile. “Ms. James?” he asked holding out his hand. I accepted it with a firm grip. “I’m Alec Payne.”

  My heart skipped a beat. I had to look away to hide the guilty look on my face. Alec Payne. This beautiful man I was just fantasizing about was Alec Payne, as in my new client? I squeezed his hand tighter. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” I said when I finally recovered my voice.

  Alec pulled his hand back, shaking it in the process as if protesting the strength of my grip. “The pleasure is all mine, Ms. James,” he said with a grin on his face, a crooked, wicked sort of grin that made me squirm.

  I looked away again to hide my now flaming red cheeks. Does he have this effect on all women?

  Only the sex crazed ones, my inner voice chimed in. I shook her off. This was no time for her sarcasm.

  “Please, call me Izzy,” I finally managed to say.

  “Isabella.”

  I had to bite my cheek to keep from rolling my eyes. My inner voice was right. Alec Payne is a control freak.

  “Mr. Payne, Ms. James,” Lily Roberts said as she bounced through the door, quickly closing the distance between us. I opened my mouth to speak but she pulled me into a hug before I could say anything. “It’s so good to finally meet you in person.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too,” I said when she released me.

  “Did you have a chance to look over the email I sent,” Lily asked, turning her attention to Alec.

  “Yes. But I take it you haven’t read my reply.”

  “Not yet, I’ve been in meetings all afternoon…” her voice trailed off as the two of them walked back to the opposite end of the room, leaving me to collect my thoughts and pull my head out of the gutter.

  By four o’clock the eight invited executives, and the uninvited control freak, were all seated and waiting for me to start. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves then began. “Good afternoon,” I said in my best Izzy James presentation voice. “For those of you I haven’t met, I’m Izzy James. I’m the lead Issues and Reputation Manager at Dimarco.”

  “Oh, I like a woman on top,” Alec whispered.

  I resisted the urge to scowl at him, knowing my cheeks were undoubtedly red. Is he intentionally trying to throw me off my game?

  Shaking him off, I continued. “I’ve been assigned to combat the negative effects the recent mechanical failures and illnesses onboard your competitor’s ships are having on your business.” I smiled at myself, happy my professionalism had returned. “Let me start by saying thank you for the opportunity to help you solve this problem. Ms. Roberts and I have discussed the issue at length and I’ve already prepared a full analysis.”

  I walked to the edge of the table and hit enter on my keypad. The presentation illuminated on the projector screen. “This first slide, ladies and gentlemen, shows the financial impact this problem has had on your bottom line this calendar year alone.” I paused to give everyone an opportunity to absorb the figure on the screen before advancing to the next slide.

  “There’s no denying the problem, so it’s really how we handle it that’s going to make a difference,” I continued. I pulled the copies of the action plan from my folder and passed them around the table.

  “Does your plan include changes to our shipboard processes?” The director of operations asked without even looking at the document I’d just handed him.

  “Actually, I’m proposing several changes to your current processes.” I glanced around the table to gauge the reactions and was relieved when no one flinched. “All of the changes I’m recommending are designed not only to prevent the spread of illness but also to put your passengers at ease.” I advanced to the next slide that highlighted the changes I was recommending.

  “Are all these changes really necessary? We haven’t had any problems with illness using the processes we already have in place.”

  “Just because you haven’t experienced an outbreak of illness doesn’t mean you’ve been problem free, Mr. Payne.” I took a deep breath, doing my best not to sound annoyed. “Your current processes don’t take into consideration public perception, and in many cases perception of a potential issue can be more harmful than the issue itself, sir.” I turned back to the slide that showed the impact on Ultimate’s bottom line. “I’ll admit the cost of resolution is high, but as you can see the cost of not resolving this issue is even higher.”

  A wicked grin crossed Alec’s face. “Fair point, Ms. James.”

  I flashed my professional smile, but on the inside I was screaming. Did he honestly think I’d waste my time suggesting changes that weren’t necessary? Clearly Alec had no idea how busy I was.

  After answering a multitude of questions surrounding the process changes, I handed out copies of the implementation plan and timeline. “I recommend implementing the changes one ship at a time,” I said as everyone looked over the documents.

  “Why not just rip the Band-Aid off?” Alec asked. I clenched my jaw, my nostrils flaring as I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “It’s a figure of speech, Ms. James. I mean why wouldn’t we implement the changes all at once and just get it over with?”

  “No shit!” I wanted to shout but I opted for deep breathing instead.

  Alec tilted his head, his eyes never leaving mine.

  “Sure, we could do that,” I finally answered. “Of course, we’ll ha
ve to decommission your entire fleet to make it happen.”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Lily interjected. “I want to go over this with our Shipboard Directors before we finalize the details, but I think the timeline will work just fine. Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Payne?”

  I tilted my head to the side then too, a satisfying smile crossing my face as I secretly celebrated another win. Lily was on my side and, luckily, my contract was with her. Alec’s jaw visibly clenched but he didn’t disagree.

  With that settled I went over the logistics of implementation, answering question after question as we went along. When we reached the last page of the report I invited everyone up to get a closer look at the mockups I brought. Alec stood, whispered something to Lily, and left the room. My body immediately relaxed the second he left. I hadn’t expected the meeting to go off without a hitch, but I also hadn’t expected a battle with an arrogant control freak.

  “I love your approach, Izzy,” Lily said, bringing me back to the here and now. “I’ll review the timeline with our directors this week so we can get started.”

  After everyone had returned to their seats, I thanked everyone for their time and concluded the meeting. I smiled a satisfied smile, relieved the presentation was over.

  Raul returned to disconnect his equipment from my laptop as I gathered up the rest of the materials I’d brought. I set the mockups on the table first then started breaking down the travel tripods.

  A noise behind me caught my attention. I spun around to see what it was. My heart jumped into my throat when I saw him. Alec Payne was standing in the doorway.

  “Did you have another question, sir?”

  Alec strolled through the door, not saying a word, quickly closing the gap between us. My body tensed; my feet fused firmly to the floor. He reached around me and lifted the mockups off the table, gently brushing my hand as he did. My insides started to tingle. Damn my body.

  Alec held up the prints. “I’d like to keep these,” he said. “I might have more questions later.”