Running from Fate

by Connelly, Rose

  She thought back to her very proper mother and the icy disdain that she had projected when the occasion warranted. With her nose raised in the air she adopted the snootiest tone that she could. “Is there something that I can do for you Mr. Kelly,” she said. “Or do you just like interrupting me while I’m trying to work?” She turned her back dismissively, trying to ignore the jolt as her body rubbed against him. “If you’ll excuse me I have to get back to the work that you pay me to do.”

  James closed his eyes and tried to breath past the pleasure that pulsed through his already heated body as her hips brushed against him. If he couldn’t manage to reign in his reactions he might have to change his strategy. There was no way that he could control the situation if he couldn’t think straight. And if he didn’t move soon, the game would be up before it even started. There was no way he could hide his body’s reaction.

  Suiting action to thought he stepped back and tried to remember what it was that he had come in here to talk to her about. Something about a party. Ah, yes, Friday was the annual charity ball for the Triangle’s architectural and urban development community and he liked the idea of having her on his arm. He wouldn’t ask here, though, there was too much of an audience. “I’d like you to come and see me before you leave today,” he said. He turned and walked away before she could reply.

  Mira waited until she heard his footsteps head out the door and tried to shake off the episode. It was time that she got some work done.

  When 5 o’clock rolled around she was still buried in her project. After James had left she had finally managed to find some focus and her ideas for Mr. Ashton’s conference center and resort were finally starting to gel. As she put away her material and picked up her purse, she seriously considered avoiding James all together. She could do with a stress-free evening. He was her boss, though, so she didn’t have much choice. With a sigh she turned her feet from the freedom of the parking lot and walked down the hall.

  The door to Mary’s office was open when she reached it and, with a little thrill of trepidation, she realized it was empty. Everyone else had already left so it appeared that they were completely alone.

  James looked up from a contract that he was going over and noticed Mira standing in Mary’s office. She looked worried. He had been planning on inviting her to the party as a date but, in her current state, that probably wouldn’t go over well. He would have to convince her that the function was strictly a business matter and he could rework his strategy once they got there. He cleared his throat.

  Mira jolted and shook herself. She could do better than this. Pulling a cloak of control around herself, she walked forward and stood in front of James’ desk. “What did you want to see me about?” she asked.

  “Have a seat please.”

  “I’m fine standing,” she replied. “I’ve got a lot to do tonight,” she added, “so I can’t stay long.” Hopefully, that would keep him from stretching out the conversation.

  “If you insist.” He had been planning on easing into the matter, but he might as well get straight to the point. “There’s an annual benefit coming up for the architectural and urban planning community. Attendance is almost mandatory for any company that hopes to compete in this area. It’s not only a great networking opportunity, but proceeds go directly to the Wake County Habitat for Humanity.”

  “It all sounds very admirable,” Mira said, “but what does this have to do with me?”

  Here came the tricky part. “I attend every year but, through some unforeseen circumstances, I find myself without a date.”

  “What about Kimberly?”

  “We are no longer seeing each other.”

  Mira felt her legs start to weaken with something that felt terribly like relief. “Since when?”

  “Immediately after we got back from London.”

  Was James Kelly actually asking her for a date? After all this time. It seemed like a dream come true. Wait a second, she scolded herself harshly, she was no longer a besotted teen and he certainly wasn’t the shining example of manhood that she had seen him as. In fact, he often acted like a cynical bastard. She should definitely say no. If he had actually asked her out. “You want me to go with you?” she clarified.

  It had taken her too long to respond and James had a feeling that she was about to turn him down. Her answer shouldn’t have mattered so much, but he needed her to say yes. “This would be strictly business,” he added.

  Her stomach fell. It was safer that way, she told herself philosophically, and it was a good opportunity for networking within the community. “When is this party?”

  He felt something loosen inside him and couldn’t control the grin that spread across his face. “It’s this Friday. I’ll pick you at 6 o’clock.”

  Mira was so dazzled by his smile that she was already out the door before she understood his answer. This Friday, she thought with horror. She had absolutely nothing to wear!

  Five minutes after getting home, she was on the phone. She had two very important phone calls to make. The first person that she called was Amy Fairchild, computer guru and her newest friend. Her type of style may not be what Mira would choose, but she could be counted on to give an honest opinion. Hopefully, she would be up for a desperate shopping trip.

  The phone rang eight times before it was picked up. A man’s voice could be heard in the background and Amy sounded out of breath. “What do you want?” she asked belligerently.

  “Is that how you answer all your phone calls?” Mira asked in amusement. “What if it had been work calling?”

  “Is that you Mira? I’m sorry, but you’ve caught me at a bad time. Could you maybe call back later?”

  Mira leaned back against the counter and crossed her ankles. “I suppose so, but I could really use your help with something.” She waited a beat.

  “What kind of help?”

  “Actually, I’ve been invited to a party on Friday, but I don’t have a thing to wear.”

  “Who invited you to a party,” Amy asked curiously. “And what kind of party is it.”

  “Well, James Kelly invited me, but it’s strictly business,” she rushed out.

  “You mean to tell me that you’re going to one of the premier charity events of the year with the hottest bachelor in the state. Hell, in the whole country?” Her voice was so loud now that she was almost shouting. “Why didn’t you say something before? We’ve got to get moving.”

  “It’s just business,” Mira reminded her. “Not a date.”

  Amy snorted. “Whatever you say, but don’t delude yourself. There are plenty of other women that he could have asked and don’t tell me that you haven’t noticed the way he looks at you. His eyes practically burn.” She moved the phone away from her ear. “John,” she yelled. “We’ll have to reschedule. I’ve got something to do. Just let yourself out.”

  “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll meet you at Triangle Town Center in half an hour. They have a Saks so I’m sure we’ll find something.” The phone clicked.

  It was fairly late on a Thursday evening so the mall wasn’t that crowded. A few elderly women walked around the mall, pedometers keeping track of their steps and several women were shopping at a back-to-school sale at one of the ubiquitous clothing stores that every shopping mall seemed to have.

  When Mira met Amy at the entrance it took everything she had not to laugh. The normally flamboyant woman had gone even further than usual. She was wearing an expensive looking black dress that left one shoulder bare and ended inches above her knees. This wouldn’t have been so bad, but she had paired the dress with a pair of multi-colored, striped stockings and a pair of scuffed, black combat boots. Mira thought that she looked adorable, but she wasn’t sure what the employees of the exclusive clothing store that they were making a beeline for would have to say.

  Saks Fifth Avenue was almost empty of customers when they walked in. Immediately, an elegantly dressed saleswoman came
over to greet them. She glanced approvingly at Mira’s dark blue tailored pants and jacket and, after a quick glance, ignored Amy.

  “My name is Janice,” the woman said. “Is there something I can assist you with?”

  “Yes,” Mira answered. “I’ve been invited to a benefit gala tomorrow night and I’m in need of a dress.’

  Janice pursed her lips and studied Mira in consideration.

  “She’s going to this party with the sexiest businessman in the state.” Amy winked at the saleswoman. “We need a dress that will make his eyes pop.”

  “I’ve told you that it’s just business,” Mira interrupted. “Something elegant, but subdued will be fine”

  The woman walked to a rack and started sorting through clothes, speaking the whole time. “She has good shoulders and arms and a decent chest. I think we should go with something strapless.”

  “I like the idea of floor length as well,’ Amy cut in, “but slit up the side.”

  The woman looked at Amy in something bordering on approval and the two of them walked off discussing the merits of various styles.

  Twenty minutes later, Mira found herself being shoved into the changing room with three dresses. She discarded the first one because the cleavage was so deep that her breasts were almost spilling out. The second one clung in all the wrong places. The third dress made her stop and stare in awe at the woman in the mirror.

  On the surface, it looked elegant and understated. It left her upper chest and arms bare, but the tight sweetheart bodice showed only a hint of cleavage and the flowing skirt of the dress frothed around her ankles. It was the color of the dress, however, that she really loved. It was a deep, rich forest green that deepened her eyes, making them appear dark and mysterious. The back of the dress was a deep V that ended just shy of indecent, but even that, she admitted, made her spine look long and elegant. She took a deep breath and stepped out.

  Amy gasped in wonder. “A pair of strappy sandals and an upswept hair style that shows off your cheekbones and James won’t stand a chance.” She turned to the saleswoman and smiled. “We’ll take it.”

  The phone was ringing when Mira stumbled through the door of her house an hour later. After buying the dress she had needed shoes and, after some deliberation, had decided that she also needed a new bag and some sexy underwear. What use was a glamorous new dress if your undergarments didn’t live up to it? Either way, her feet were killing her. The phone could wait. Right now she needed to pour a nice big glass of wine and sit down for a while.

  Ignoring the ringing, she toed off her shoes and hung her new dress up in the hall closet. With exaggerated care she walked into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of chilled, white wine from the refrigerator. With a full glass in her hand she settled down on the sofa and vaguely considered watching the news. As she reached for the remote the phone rang again. With an audible sigh she sat down her wine and lifted the wireless off the coffee table where she had left it earlier.

  “Hello.”

  “Mira Sweeney Anders that better be you! I have been calling you for hours. Where the hell have you been?”

  “Hello Lily. It’s always nice to hear from you.” With a small smile Mira settled back and picked up her wine.

  “You called hours ago and left me that garbled message,” Lily said, “something about going to a party with James Kelly. I’ve been dying of curiosity over here so spill.”

  “That’s about it,” Mira said. “There’s some kind of charity gala coming up and James asked me to go. Don’t get excited, though, because it’s purely business. He said so himself.”

  “Yeah right,” Lily scoffed. “If it was only business he could have invited any number of women who know the business and the players better than you. I’m sure he’s the type of man who has a not so little black book. What about that girlfriend, Kelly something?”

  “You mean Kim? They’re no longer an item.” Mira took a long sip of wine before staring down at the swirling liquid contemplatively. “Lily,” she finally said. “I’m a little scarred. I feel like a teenager around him, all wobbly-kneed and unsure. How am I supposed to get through an entire evening with him without embarrassing myself?”

  “For God’s sake, Mira, pull yourself together. What happened to the girl who could freeze a guy with just one look or the woman who walked into a room and not only knew that all the men were staring at her, but relished it?”

  “Are you sure you’re not talking about yourself.” She sighed despondently. “Anyway James is a different. He’s the man I’ve been waiting for since I was seven.”

  “Yeah and you’ll never catch his attention if you act like a weak-brained idiot. Every time you start to feel insecure just remember one thing. He’s also the guy who made you cry for weeks when he didn’t answer your letters and the man who didn’t even bother to show up at your parents’ funeral. Make the bastard crawl.”

  Chapter 16

  She was a little skeptical about her ability to make a man crawl, especially a man who dated women who looked like supermodels but, Mira thought as she put on a dangling silver earring, she did look pretty good. She was just putting the final touches on her makeup when the doorbell rang imperiously. Quickly, she dropped her lipstick and a compact into a tiny green, beaded purse and headed downstairs.

  James jaw wanted to drop when the door opened, but he managed to hold it steady. He couldn’t, however, stop his eyes from doing a slow perusal from the sexy feet to the smooth shoulders that gleamed above her dress. “Hello Mira,” he murmured. “You look fabulous.” The usually flippant comment slid off his tongue just as smoothly as always, but he was surprised to realize that he actually meant it.

  Her thick mink hair was swept up and away from her face tonight, highlighting her classically molded cheekbones, her stunning green eyes had somehow been deepened, making them look like shadowed and mysterious forest pools against the green of her dress, and the sleeveless, strapless dress showed an inviting expanse of silky, glowing skin. After all the stick thin, icy blonds he had dated, her rich, warm beauty was a refreshing change.

  “Thank you James.” She returned the silent approval and ran her eyes over his perfectly tailored suit and the sleek muscles that it covered. “So do you.”

  She turned to take something from the hall closet and James felt his head spin. The back of the dress almost didn’t exist. It was cut so low that every time she shifted he swore he could almost see a shadow at the base of her spine. He was sure that by the end of the night it was going to drive him crazy.

  Mira turned around holding her black wrap and suppressed a smile at the look of glazed shock on James’ face. “Shall we go?” she asked.

  James closed his mouth and resisted the urge to wipe his sweaty hands on his pants. “Yes, of course.” He gestured toward a low, sleek car sitting against the curb. “After you.”

  Despite the fact that James seemed to think that they were on a racetrack and he had to beat everyone else, the ride was smooth and he appeared to be a pretty competent driver. After deciding that he was unlikely to crash the car, Mira sank back into the buttery soft, leather seat and mentally searched for a topic of conversation.

  She was intensely curious about why he had stopped talking to her and what had happened to him since his early college days but, considering the precariousness of her situation, she didn’t feel comfortable asking personal questions. She might unintentionally give something away. It would be better to stick to business matters.

  “Is there anything that I should know about the people who will be there before we reach this party?” she finally asked.

  “Are you talking about gossip?” His lips curled in derision. It was one thing getting information on other businesses or potential clients if it would help his company remain competitive, but digging up dirt on people or creating it just for the sake of scintillating conversation bothered him. He hoped that she wasn’t one of those people.

  “I’ll have you know that insider knowledge
or ‘gossip’ as you call it can be an invaluable asset in the business community.” Mira sniffed. “It can often mean the difference between just getting by and coming in ahead of your competitors, especially in such a volatile market as eco-building.”

  “I don’t consider that gossip.” James cast a sidelong glance at Mira’s stiff figure. “It’s just good sense. You look so young that I keep forgetting that you’ve been involved in the industry for years.”

  She had been involved in the industry since she was a little girl. It was really the only way she had truly been able to connect with her dad. She had listened to him pontificate on business in general and on the building industry in particular for hours, at least until she got older and other things had grabbed her attention. James, however, didn’t know that. She relaxed slightly and gave him a small smile. “I also lived and worked in California. Nowhere else does gossip and business intermingle as freely as in The Golden State.”

  “All right, I’ll agree with that. So where do I start?” He would much rather have asked Mira about herself, but by his words he had perpetuated this farce of a date so he had no choice but to pretend he was only interested in business, at least until he could figure out a way to change things to a more personal note.

  “Tom Richards is a big name around here,” he finally said. “He’s primarily concerned with industrial real estate, but has been trying to get into the eco-friendly market. Until recently we were friendly competitors, but now we’re just opponents. He’s Kim’s father and he’s rather upset that we are no longer seeing each other. I believe that he had his heart set on a merger between Kim and I and or rather, between our two companies. By the way.” He briefly took his eyes off the road and glanced at her. “He also considers himself to be quite the lady’s man. I would suggest that you stay away from him unless you like to be slobbered on.”