Leaning Into Series: The Complete Box Set

by Hayes, Lane

  “You’re funny today. I thought you had to leave soon,” I deadpanned.

  “I’ll go as soon as I introduce you. It’s going to take forever to get across town to the dentist.” She stood and handed me a folder. “These are the drawings we liked. He should have a few of the full-color renderings today complete with the modern touches we specified. If you have any questions, you can reach me on my cell. I’d handle this myself, but I don’t want my kid’s teeth falling out and…it’s probably time for you to meet your future husband in the flesh.”

  I snorted derisively and waved her away. “Out. I’ll meet you in the conference room.”

  “You got it, Boss.”

  I waited for her to sail out of the room in a cloud of Jo Malone before taking one more peek at my phone. No new texts. I started to put it back into my pocket, but I typed a quick message at the last second.

  Where are we meeting? What time?

  I read it twice then pushed Send before I could overthink it.

  He responded immediately.

  Third floor at the mall in the Nordstrom wing. Can you be there by 5:30?

  I sent a thumbs-up symbol then slipped the phone into my pocket. I tucked the file Talia gave me under my arm and was about to head for the conference room when my cell vibrated. I laughed aloud at the “Hasta la vista” gif he sent. I tried to think of a snappy reply, but I wasn’t quick on my feet like Miles. It could take me another ten minutes or more to think of a worthy response. Plus, I’d see him in a couple of hours. That was all I really needed to know, I mused as I made my way down the hall.

  Our conference room was a veritable fishbowl. It was surrounded by glass on all sides except for one. I hoped to get a glimpse of Mr. Smith before I sat down to go over his renderings—if only to get over the weirdness factor of my dad encouraging me to get to know him based on a passing mention by our client and his ethnicity. It was no wonder I’d delayed this meeting as long as possible. It was an unnecessary distraction I would have pushed off again on my cousin if her son hadn’t cracked a tooth playing basketball.

  I spotted her with our guest at the conference table through the window. His back was turned to me, but from my current vantage point I could tell he had blond hair and broad shoulders. Talia said he was a good-looking guy, but she was a consummate professional. She wouldn’t try to foist a business associate on me like a hot Grindr hookup. Unless she thought he was “The One,” I amended in my head as I opened the door.

  Talia glanced up. “Ah, here he is!”

  I moved to greet our guest just as he turned in his chair with a knowing lopsided smile.

  Oh. Fuck.

  We stared at each other while my cousin babbled introductions, oblivious to my awkward moment of recognition. “This is Grant. He’s run the San Fran office for a couple of years now and—”

  “Actually, I remember you mentioning that. How are you, Grant?”

  “Uh. I’m good. Um…Tom, right?” I asked, belatedly offering him my hand.

  “Yes. It’s nice to see you again.” His grip was firm, and it might have been my imagination, but he seemed to linger longer than necessary. I pulled my hand away and moved to the head of the table.

  “Well, this is a surprise. You’ve met.” Talia furrowed her brow and cast a shrewd gaze between us. “I thought you knew Grant from magazine ads. I didn’t realize you actually knew each other.”

  “We met at Conrad Winery a couple of months ago.” I gave a tight-lipped smile then sat in the leather executive chair and opened his file.

  “It was hard to forget,” Tom said as he leaned forward and shot a borderline lecherous look in my direction.

  And suddenly we were back in the wine-tasting room in front of the fireplace. Any second now, Miles would make a grand entrance and flop unceremoniously into my lap.

  I hoped.

  Talia cleared her throat noisily and tapped her fingernails on the table. To her credit, she didn’t raise an eyebrow at the creepy intonation he put on the word “hard,” but little improprieties never escaped her notice. No doubt she’d have a million questions for me later.

  “Interesting,” she replied thoughtfully. “You didn’t mention it.”

  Tom shrugged and gave a sheepish lopsided smile. “I wanted to surprise Grant.”

  “Congratulations. I’m surprised.”

  “Me too,” Talia commented with her hand on the doorknob. “And while I hate to leave now that this just got exciting, I’ve got to get Nico to his appointment. Grant is familiar with the initial drawings. If he likes the renderings you’ve completed, we can submit them to Stockton. Once he approves, we can get started on the final batch of renderings to use for the press release. Call me if you have any questions.”

  I watched the door close behind her before turning back to Tom. We stared for a long moment, sizing each other up. At least that was what I was doing. This was beyond strange. I didn’t know what to make of his presence in my office or his involvement with the biggest potential client our firm had ever landed. “Strange” didn’t quite fit. Disturbing was more like it. Two months had passed since we’d met at the EN Tech party in Napa. That was too short a time to forget even a seemingly innocent acquaintance. Then again, maybe he was memorable, because his presence had sparked panic in Miles and spurred him to make a surprise guest appearance in my bedroom that night. I should thank him, I mused.

  The perfect cut of Tom’s charcoal suit and his well-trimmed, light beard gave him the look of a serious professional. I’d thought he was attractive enough the first time we met, but now that I knew he was up to something, I wasn’t so sure.

  “I thought you were a photographer,” I said.

  “You remember.” He flashed a winning smile at me then continued. “I am. But I’m also an artist. It’s all on my card. I think I gave you one but…here’s another. Just in case.”

  He set a business card on the table then sat back in his chair. I picked it up and studied it for a moment. Thomas D. Smith. Photographer, Artist, Rendering, and Animation. I was pretty sure I’d shoved the first one he gave me into my pocket without a glance. I hadn’t noted his last name or job title because I’d been thinking about Miles. Wondering where he’d disappeared to while this stranger warned me away from him. And now the stranger was back, and the superstitious part of me—that my mother claimed was ingrained in all good Greeks—insisted this wasn’t a coincidence.

  I didn’t know where to begin. “What does the D stand for?”

  “Dimitri,” he replied with amusement.

  “Right. The Greek connection.”

  “On my mom’s side. She’s half, which only makes me a quarter Greek but…yes. I suppose we have that in common.”

  “Where does Stockton fit in?”

  Tom’s mouth curled at one corner. The gesture was probably supposed to be roguish or sexy, but I was on guard now. His attempted charm fell flat. “He’s a client. I’ve worked for him for years. He hires me to do most of his renderings. But he wanted to try something different this time and allow brokers like yourself to have a hand in the development. My understanding is that you’ll actually stage the units for sale if you win the deal. Is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s where I come in. Stockton can’t approve your firm without the okay of his board, but you’re his front-runner. When he mentioned Kostas Realty, I told him I knew you and…voilá, here I am.”

  “What’s the catch?”

  Tom frowned then gave me a wan smile. “There’s no catch. I know what Stockton likes. I just want to help.”

  “Then why didn’t you contact me directly?”

  “Because this isn’t personal. This is professional. Frankly, I thought you’d put two and two together and call me when Stockton told your father I’d been asked to work with you. I’m not here to push a personal agenda. Yes, I like you, but I didn’t hunt you down to make it happen,” he assured me with an annoyed huff.

  “I didn’t say that.�
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  “You didn’t have to. Listen, I’m an artist. I’m here to do my job. I want to help land you this deal. Your dad has made it clear that’s his goal and—”

  “My dad?”

  “Yeah. He talks to Stockton quite a bit.” Tom paused to give me a funny look. “I think he’s hoping we hit it off. I’m sure you know he thinks we’ve been in close contact for a few weeks now.”

  “Hmm,” I replied in a noncommittal tone that in no way reflected my growing internal anxiety.

  Talia told me she let my dad think Tom and I were dating to get him off my back. She hadn’t known we were acquainted. And of course, none of them knew that he was a friend of Miles’s ex. Or maybe it was the ex’s new boyfriend. I couldn’t remember. I didn’t know if that was significant, but the collision of my private and professional life seemed…ominous.

  Fuck. This just got complicated.

  It didn’t have to be, though. We were adults, and this was business. I straightened my tie and offered what I hoped passed for a neutral smile.

  “When it comes to my personal life, I try not to worry about what my father thinks,” I said.

  “That’s smart. But in this case, it might help us both if Stockton and your father thought we were…more than friends.”

  I blinked at his deliberate tone and felt a ghostly unease settle in my stomach. “We aren’t friends, Tom. We’re barely acquaintances.”

  “True but look at it this way.…You can close this deal a lot faster with a word or two from me to Stockton.”

  I cocked my head and squinted at him as though I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing. “I’m not sleeping with you to get this deal, Tom.”

  He had the nerve to look mildly offended. “I didn’t suggest that.”

  “What are you suggesting then?”

  He hesitated for a moment before answering. “A nudge from me will speed things along. That’s all. Stockton is a good client, but he’s a friend too. And he’s a bit of a romantic. You’ll get a word or two in your favor, I’ll get an easy payday for something I can do in my sleep. The sooner it’s done, the better. I have a few projects waiting in the wings I’d like to concentrate on, but I can’t ignore Stockton. He’s too important a contact.”

  I wasn’t at my quickest when unexpected information flew at me out of the blue. I struggled to sift through the twists in his speech and begin a list of pros and cons. Miles excelled at this stuff. I might smell bullshit, but he could label and identify it in a heartbeat and—damn, this wasn’t the time to think about Miles.

  “You want Stockton to think we’re romantically involved? That seems unprofessional.”

  Tom smirked. “I don’t think he’d see it that way at all. His son is my ex.”

  What the fuck?

  “Oookay…”

  “Long story short, Jack broke my heart. His parents were devastated too. We were engaged, the date was set and…whatever.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. We’re on decent terms now, but Jack can be a real ass, and Stockton feels a sort of fatherly compulsion to make sure I’m okay. He sends me work and tries to set me up with nice eligible bachelors every so often. But there’s no collusion here, Grant. Just a funny coincidence we can each use to our benefit. If it helps…consider me an extra referral for a job your firm is already in first place to win.”

  “What’s in it for you? Why agree to do the work if you don’t like it? My commission and yours are light years apart on a deal this size.”

  “True. But my almost father-in-law is a very influential man. I’m not in it for the money. I’m more interested in maintaining a contact. And if I get the opportunity to know you a little better in the process…even better.”

  I gave him an uneasy half smile and mulled over his words. There was no malice in his tone, but I couldn’t decipher through the potential hazards with him sitting across the table. I needed space to think.

  “It feels…contrived,” I said carefully.

  Tom chuckled. “I suppose it does. You probably think I’ve been engineering this meeting since we first met in Napa. That’s not the case, but I admit I was attracted to you, and I didn’t hesitate to accept this job when it was offered. I’d apologize, but I don’t really see a problem. All that counts is that both parties walk away with a win.”

  “Right.” I held his gaze for a moment then opened the file. “Let’s just…go over your renderings.”

  Tom laid his hand over mine. “Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you, and I’m not suggesting we create some elaborate affair to fool anyone.”

  “Then what are you saying?” I snapped.

  “Let them think what they want. They’re going to anyway, so we may as well get what we want in the process.” He cast a slightly lascivious glance my way. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll find me hard to resist.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek and pulled out one of the drawings then asked him some lame question about the rendering’s perspective to steer the discussion back to the reason he was there in the first place. Tom raised a brow but deftly switched topics. I listened to him drone on about schematic layouts and textures with a growing sense of alarm.

  Nothing had happened between Tom and me in Napa, but our acquaintance was personal. This was business. And while personal fuckups were my specialty, I couldn’t do anything that might potentially jeopardize a huge deal and mar the reputation of the business my father worked his ass off to build.

  Unless I could figure a way out, I was stuck with Tom.

  * * *

  Navigating Market Street during rush hour on a Friday evening was madness. I speed-walked around slower pedestrians and jostled my way through the crowded mall entrance before winding up on the escalator to the third floor. I’d texted Miles to let him know I was running behind schedule, but I hated being late. Even with a good excuse like traffic and last-minute issues at the office, it seemed rude not to be on time. Being a little late for a mall date wasn’t the worst thing, but my anxiety level was high after my meeting with Tom. Somehow I knew a few minutes with Miles would make the static fade.

  I spotted him standing outside of Victoria’s Secret with his eyes glued to his cell. When I called his name, he looked up and smiled. There was a subtle sexiness in the curl of his full mouth that stopped me in my tracks. How was this possible? We saw each other every day. Sometimes our interaction was brief and occurred when we were nude and horizontal. But we sure as hell weren’t going to have sex at the mall, so why did his smile turn me inside out?

  “Hey.” I greeted him with a chaste kiss on the cheek, secretly proud of myself for not backing him against the wall and sticking my tongue down his throat.

  Miles’s grin widened as he snaked his arms over my shoulders and molded his chest to mine. “Hi there, gorgeous. I know you may want to, but don’t shake me off yet. The cute twink at the kiosk to my left has been flirting with me mercilessly for twenty minutes. He gave me enough new lotion samples to last for months and potentially take the fun out of the compare and contrast game. Help.”

  “How can I help? Want me to beat him up?” I joked, kissing his nose impulsively.

  “No,” he scoffed.

  I reached for the plastic bag in his hand. “Then give me the free samples. I’ll return them and—”

  “Oh, hell no!” Miles swatted me away and spun out of my arms then linked our elbows and steered me toward the lingerie store. “Time to run our errand. Then I’ll buy you dinner for your effort before you take me home and slather orange blossom essence all over me.”

  I was momentarily swept away by his smile and the ridiculous idea that anyone would be excited about lotion. But I pulled back when he reached the entrance to Victoria’s Secret and narrowed my eyes.

  “What are you doing?” I asked suspiciously.

  “I have to buy a gift card for a friend and…a little something for me too. But I want your opinion.” He sailed ahead of me and into the store without a backward glance.


  I watched him disappear and wondered what the hell he was up to. There was no way he really wanted my thoughts on women’s underwear or lacy bits of any kind. I stepped inside and scanned the front area. The store was laid out in a series of rooms, like a maze. I spotted Miles just as he strolled into the adjoining room, skirting a circular table display topped with a mannequin wearing a pair of white angel wings.

  Fuck me. I loosened my tie then swiped a hand through my hair in agitation. I was about to pull my cell out to text him to meet me somewhere else when a pretty petite salesgirl dressed entirely in black approached. Her long raven hair complemented her Goth-inspired ensemble and contrasted nicely with her ruby red lips.

  “Hi there. Can I help you?” she asked.

  “I’m—” I coughed when the words got caught in my throat and gave her a weak smile before trying again. “I’m looking.”

  “Okay. What did you have in mind? Is this a special occasion or a holiday gift? Tell me what she likes. You know, favorite color and that kind of thing.”

  “Um, no. I’m actually looking for a person.” I stepped around her and moved toward the angel wings.

  The salesgirl laughed. “I’m sorry. What does your girlfriend look like? Or is it your wife?”

  “No. Neither. It’s…” I glanced around the corner, hoping to locate him on my own when a booming voice singsonged from the far end of the store.

  “Honey, I’m over here!” Miles held colorful lace pieces in each hand and waved them high above his head like racing flags. Like me, he’d come straight from work and was wearing his corporate uniform. There was something about him standing in the middle of a women’s lingerie store in a beautifully cut suit with a funny grin on his pretty face that chased away the last of my doubts.

  I smiled at the girl then hooked my thumb toward Miles. “I found him.”

  “Oh! Are you with Miles? I love Miles! He’s one of my favorite regulars.” She motioned for me to follow her. “I’m going to make him introduce us. He’s so…”