by Shel Stone
“I will email it through.” She did as he’d asked, feeling a bit annoyed as she handed over her plan to him. She knew she was out of her depth now, but it still felt like she’d been deemed incompetent. Intellectually she knew it wasn’t true, but her irrational fears crept in. If it was anyone other than him, she’d be excited about someone more experienced coming in, but with him, she just couldn’t help seeing it as a personal reflection on her abilities.
Robyn did a double take when she arrived, then gave Bella a meaningful look.
“Is that your project plan he’s reading?”
“Yep.”
“Doesn’t waste any time, does he? What’s he like to work with?”
Hateful, Bella wanted to say, but she’d been an imposter on his team. He was generally good to his team, expecting hard work and tolerated nothing less. “He knows his stuff and he expects you to know yours.”
“Bit of a task master?” Bella didn’t want to talk about him. “Never mind, I’ll find out soon enough. Your lack of enthusiasm is quite telling.”
“It’s not that; we just have a bit of a history not being on the same side.” It was only part of the reason why she was less than excited about him being her project lead. She was certainly never going to tell Robyn about the other, promising to tell anyone and she was pretty sure Damon wasn’t the type to brag.
“Jeez, I’m running late. I’m meeting with the town planners,” Robyn said and quickly gathered her things. “I have got so much on today, I’m not sure I am going to get a chance to sit down. I just forwarded you an email. I’m really sorry, but can you do me a huge favour and print ten copies and send them down to legal. I am just not going to have time.”
“No problem,” Bella said and opened the email. Robyn was gone by the time she looked up again and Bella didn’t know who in legal wanted the copies, but she would just have to ask around.
“I guess that just leaves you to fill me in on the state of the project and the work that’s been done so far,” Damon said.
Bella cursed Robyn and then looked up with a smile plastered on her face. “Of course.”
“Let’s get a coffee.” He grabbed his suit jacket and put it on. He didn’t put it like a question; it was an order. “After you.” Bella had to hop to it to catch up as he was already at the door.
She started telling him about the project on the ride down, instantly dismissing any thoughts about the last time they’d been in an elevator together. She was going to be strictly business, she decided, and she was going to ignore anything that wasn’t complete professionalism.
There was a coffee place in the lobby of the building and they sat down at one of the table after ordering, and she talked through the project in the most systematic way she could think of. His eyes would completely unnerve her if she let them; he just seemed to study her. His eyes moved to her lips whenever she smiled, sometimes to her hands when she made gestures. It was unnerving. He was listening intently, and sometimes he would intervene with pertinent questions.
“I thought you’d be in Singapore,” she finally said when she’d finished with the project debrief.
“I thought you were in Sydney.” It sounded a little like an accusation. He looked away after a moment. “I was,” he continued, “the project is up and running, so I handed it over to the implementation guys.”
“You didn’t want to see it through to the end?”
“Implementation is not what I do. I get the business; what we do after I get it is up to others.” She knew full well what he did; she just hadn’t expected him to be so blasé about the project that he’d lived and breathed for months.
The conversation seemed to have run out and she didn’t have anything else to say. He didn’t seem to need to break the silence, but she couldn’t bear it. “Perhaps I should get back,” she said.
“Not yet. I want to talk to you about what we do now.” For a second she had an overwhelming fear that he was talking about the relationship between them, but he started talking about the project. There was a part of her that was sorely disappointed and she hated that there even was a part of her that still had hopes that things would return there. He had been abundantly clear he had never wanted that, but there was that stupid part of her that forever hoped a man like him would be seriously interested in her.
Luckily he was out for the rest of the day and Bella could focus on work. He came back close to five.
“Have you got plans tonight?” he said.
Her head shot up. “I was going to go home.”
“The Minister for Energy is having dinner in town and we have been invited to drop by.”
“Oh,” Bella said, again cringing at the idiotic part that had assumed he was asking her out. Meeting the Minister was a big deal. If she’d had plans, which she didn’t, she’d be obliged to cancel them. “That is fortunate.”
“Not for another hour,” he said and sat down at his desk. Bella watched as he focused his attention on his computer. She tried to work, but it was a lot harder when he was in the room. The hour passed slowly, but he eventually turned off his computer and Bella followed suit.
“We’ll take my car,” he said as walked out of the room.
“As opposed to my bus ticket,” she said to herself as she grabbed her handbag.
His car was parked in the garage under the building. He got a car park, which was only for General Managers and the CEO, but he counted as one. On closer inspection it was a Champagne-coloured Aston Martin. She didn’t dare think how much the car was worth.
The seats were indented when she sat down, obviously with such a fast car, the seats needed to stop them from sliding around inside and ruining the expensive leather trimmings. It was one of those cars that she was sure men drooling over. The sad thing was that the makers probably had someone just like Damon D’Arth in mind when they designed it. It roared to life as she clicked her seatbelt in place. There was nothing out of place in the car, not a coin or receipt on the floor.
“Is your house this clean?” she asked before she could stop herself.
“Yes.”
Bella wondered if he was a clean freak—his car kind of suggested it. Another reason why she shouldn’t be salivating over a man like him. She wasn’t a pig, but at least her house looked like someone lived there. She again wondered at how different they were.
*
He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d asked Bella to come with him that evening; he didn’t need her to be there. It had been an impulse and once it had come out of his mouth, he couldn’t take it back—neither could she say no. Anger simmered through him; this was exactly what he’d done in Singapore and it had landed him in a position he shouldn’t have been in. Now she was sitting there right next to him, her skirt gently riding up her thighs, distracting him. She wasn’t the first girl he’d had in this car. He’d had lots of gorgeous girls with tanned bony thighs. Seeing their thin thighs just didn’t seem to bypass his brain and go straight to his groin the way Bella’s shapely thighs did. He needed to stop or he would have a raging hard-on. He needed distraction, something unpleasant.
“So I take it Carmichael brought you on the project,” he said. Carmichael manipulating him was the least sexy thing he could think of.
“Yes. He offered it when my contract in Sydney was over.” It wasn’t working, but luckily they would be at the restaurant in mere minutes. It was time to perform and that did distract him.
*
As Bella followed Damon into the restaurant, they were shown to the Minister’s table by the window looking out over the harbour. Two seats were found for them as they were introduced.
“Is this your wife?” the Minister said when it came time to introduce Bella. Bella paused with the unexpectedness of the question. It was strange to think anyone would assume she was his wife.
“A colleague,” Damon said. The Minister seemed to think nothing of it and they started talking about the proposal. Damon did his thing; he was spectacular. Everything he
said was assured and valid, but Bella knew that everything was also calculated. He was leading the Minister through the ideas he wanted and enforcing his point with gentle hints at the implications for the Government and its objectives.
Sitting back, Bella just watched him. Her input wasn’t needed. Damon certainly didn’t need any help; he knew exactly what he was doing. She’d never seen him with a client or other important external stakeholder like this before. Watching him, he really did deserve his reputation.
The Minister’s odd assumption also returned. She wasn’t sure how she felt being thought of as his wife. She’d never actually imagined him with a wife, seeming so far removed from the way he was. If he had a wife, she would likely be a bit more impressive than her—more like the woman he’d been with when she’d chased him down at the Hyatt for Edmund.
She also couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be his wife. He was just so accomplished—everything about him was perfect. He was gorgeous, ambitious, and proficient. He seemed to demand and deserve the best of everything, which was probably why he should marry someone equally gifted. A ridiculously gorgeous couple who would grace the world with equally gorgeous kids, raised by nannies and enrolled in the most exclusive schools. The best of everything. She just didn’t see love. There was nothing close to love anywhere around him, and she couldn’t see it in the couple scenario with Miss Perfect either. It was all about winning the competition, not about love.
The realisation hit her as she sat there watching him. As perfect as he was, she would take love over his lifestyle any day. She would rather have some guy who drove an old car, worked for an NGO for a pittance and loved her to bits, over everything Damon had. The realisation washed over her giving her goosebumps. She wasn’t sure why, but this was important. He seemed to notice a change, because he stopped his conversation for a second and looked at her before returning to the conversation he was having with the Minister. It was like the world had shifted in a heartbeat and he’d subconsciously noticed the change, but not the meaning. Not that he would, this was all in her head; it had nothing to do with him and his perception of the world.
The Minister was happy and impressed, and Damon had achieved what he’d set out to. Bella was proud of him. Her little shift in perception had cleared the uneasiness and jealousy she felt towards him, and that allowed her to view his accomplishments for what they were. They all said goodbye with a handshake.
“That went well,” she said as she walked out the door of the restaurant.
“I’ll have to follow up down in Wellington next week, but it went as I hoped it would.” It was dark outside and it was getting cold. He would be driving back to the city centre where he lived.
“I’ll drive you home,” he said as they walked to the car.
“I can take the train from town.”
“It’s late and it’s dark and the train station would be deserted this time of night. I’ll drive you.” As touched as she was about his slightly irrational concern for her safety, she was a big girl and she thought about pointing that out. On the other hand, at this time of night the trains didn’t run that often; she could be waiting an hour for the train.
“I’d appreciate it,” she finally said. Apparently her little revelation didn’t mean that she found him less attractive. His scent enveloped the small space in the sports car. It also didn’t make the sex any less spectacular, she guessed.
It was strange having him take her home. There would be that moment when they’d arrived at her flat, when it would be so easy just to invite him in for coffee, when both of them knew there would be no coffee. Although he could turn her down, which would be mortally embarrassing. Not that she was going to—on her life, she wouldn’t propose that he come in, no matter how much her body wanted her to. The truth was that she hadn’t had sex since she’d been with him in Singapore. She tried to imagine the women he’d been with since, to bolster her intentions and her aversion to him.
“See you tomorrow,” she quickly blurted as soon as the car was stopped. “Thanks for the ride.” She got out and ran off down her driveway without looking back. She could hear his car taking off down the street before she stopped. Her heart was racing, which was stupid because she was pretty sure he had no intentions of coming in even if she offered, but equally she didn’t entirely trust herself not to propose it, because a part of her wanted nothing more than one more night with him. Saying that, she couldn’t imagine anyone looking more out of place in her little flat—homely and cosy wasn’t his thing. She bet everything that his place was designer, costing a fortune, with little thought to comfort—placed to capture the amazing views he no doubt had.
Dismissing him from her mind, she got inside her door and confronted the angry cat that hated being left in the dark. She found she could actually get him out of her fore mind for the first time since she’d learnt that he was on the project. During the last week, she’d been dreading having to work with him; she’d really been unable to do anything right. Tonight she found that she was okay with it. She’d faced her first day and she’d gotten through it.
*
Something had changed with Bella, he noticed a few days later. The tension seemed to have left her and she didn’t have the tight look whenever he needed her attention, instead she just gave him her clear blue intelligent eyes, listening to every word he said, responding as necessary.
He tried not to acknowledge it, but he didn’t affect her the same way anymore. She seemed to have… moved on. It was just an odd sensation—one he wasn’t used to. Obviously, he should be glad, this made for a much more productive work environment, but on a deeper level, it felt a bit disconcerting. Bella even made jokes every now and then. But if she wanted anything she would turn to Robyn first, which annoyed him. He should be pleased that she wasn’t bothering him, so his displeasure could only be described as irrational. It was clear that the working relationship between the girls was good; they tackled problems well together, reaching conclusions and solutions relying on each other’s skills.
Ahead of the weekend, things were naturally slowing down around the office. As he wouldn’t be seeing them again until the middle of next week, he decided to have a group meeting to go over the things that needed doing in his absence.
Sitting around his desk, they talked over the things they needed to do. Each took their direction with a nod and that was that. It was good; it was the perfect team, but there was an irrational element in him that wanted them to be concerned that he wouldn’t be there. That wasn’t true; it was Bella who he wanted to feel a slight worry, but she just wrote down her tasks and got on with her business without batting an eye.
“Seriously, I can’t wait. Adele is in town and the concert is sold out.” Robyn said. “I really can’t wait. I just love her.”
Bella remained silent, not revealing anything about what she was doing, leaving him wondering what her plans were. He knew where she lived. He knew she went running, and that she worked hard and liked spending time with her friends—other than that, he knew very little about her.
Could be she had a boyfriend for all he knew. The idea bothered him—some office clod putting his hands all over her. It’s not like he wanted her pining for him, but equally he found it hard imaging her making those luscious lips and delightful body available for another man.
He wanted to tear Carmichael’s eyes out at the moment. The old man had succeeded in driving him up the wall. As much as he hated to admit it, he had still not gotten this thing under control. She crept into his consciousness, into his sleep—including some highly erotic dreams starring her. Maybe he just needed to get laid.
For some reason, his sex drive had otherwise stalled of late. His old goto girl was boring him and he just didn’t have the drive to get a new one at the moment. It wasn’t the first time that girls bored him; it happened on occasion, particularly after he’d had a difficult and demanding one. That wasn’t the case at the moment; the last girl, the stunning redhead, was
perfect. She liked sex and entertained herself well otherwise, but for some reason, he’d just wasn’t into her.
He really should get laid over the weekend, that night in fact. He’d head out to one of the city’s more exclusive clubs and pick up a girl. Typically, he just had to look at someone and that was often enough to secure himself a companion for the evening or for however long he wanted.
“I better run if I am going to catch the train,” Bella said and got up from her desk. She was packing away things in her handbag. Biting his lips together, he stopped himself from proposing to drive her home. His mind had even been thinking of an excuse to be going down to her part of town. Keeping his mouth shut, he watched her walk out of the office with her ponytail bouncing behind her as she went.
“See you,” she said as she was just out the door. There was no point for him to respond as she was gone.
*
Even as he walked into the club, he knew he wasn’t into it, but he forced himself to. The night was wrong and he’d known it even before he’d got to the club. He wasn’t in the mood to be there. The girls were pretty, but they weren’t doing anything for him. In fact, everything about the place annoyed him—the music, the darkness and coloured lights. He watched the dancing for a while as he ordered a whiskey, but it was just tedious. Seriously, this wasn’t his thing anymore.
Maybe he needed to get on the sea for a while, decompress and re-centre. He imagined himself on his boat, sailing out on a clear, bright day, a bit chilly. As he sat there in the club, he through the tasks he needed to do on the boat.
Then he discovered that he was actually talking to Bella in his mind, teaching her how to sail. His eyes shot open. How had she managed to invade his most sacred place? Anger simmered under his skin, getting him out of his seat and out the door. He was in an even worse mood than when he’d come in, and he wasn’t leaving with someone who would distract him that evening either.
Chapter 14