“Jason will cover for you. You just worry about knocking Evan Reese’s socks off.”
“I will,” Celia murmured. “I will.”
On her way down the hall, her BlackBerry rang and she dug into the pocket of her briefcase for it.
Seeing Noah’s number on the LCD, she mashed the answer button and stuck the phone to her ear as she walked into her office.
“I’m working on the maid service,” she said in lieu of hello.
Noah chuckled. “Great, I nearly killed myself getting out of bed this morning. You’d be amazed how
dangerous a pair of dirty underwear can be.”
Her nose wrinkled in disgust. “Would you at least try not to send the maid screaming from your house on her first day? That’s just gross.”
He made a derisive sound. “So I read through the info you sent. I also had my agent do some checking.
I might add that my agent is orgasmic that I’m considering this endorsement deal.”
“Tell him I expect a nice Christmas gift as thank you,” Celia said.
“Oh, please. He doesn’t even give his mother presents.”
Usually she wouldn’t mind chatting mindlessly with her siblings, but she had a hundred things to do before Thursday, including figure out how she was going to survive a weekend on an island with a man who made mincemeat of her willpower.
“So does this mean you’ll consider it?”
There was a pause, and she found herself holding her breath.
“Yeah. He checks out. He seems as solid as you said he was. I’ll talk to him if nothing else.”
She did a double-fist pump and dropped her bag on the floor by her desk.
“Have his people call my people,” Noah said airily.
Celia laughed. “I am his people. Or at least I will be.”
“Hey, you going to be at Dad’s this weekend?”
She winced when she remembered that she’d told their father she would indeed be there for Sunday dinner again.
“Afraid not. Something’s come up.”
Noah made a disapproving sound. “Don’t you ever take off? It’s Sunday, for Pete’s sake.”
“How do you know it’s work?” she defended. “Maybe I have a hot date.”
He snorted. “When was the last time you went on a hot date? It’s always work with you.”
Knowing they were about to get into lecture territory again, Celia cut him off before he got carried away.
“Hey, I have to run, Noah. Have a meeting in five minutes. I’ll call you later, okay?”
Before he could call her a liar, she hung up and plopped into her chair. She blew out a long sigh of relief and closed her eyes.
It was all coming together. Not without a few potholes, but it was within reach. All she had to do was hold it together and get through the weekend and the account would be hers.
“Knock, knock.”
Celia opened her eyes to see Jason Reagart standing in her doorway.
“Brock told me I needed to cover for you on Friday, so I stopped by so you could get me up to speed on what I need to know.”
“Yeah, have a seat. Give me a minute. Been running all morning. I’ll dig out my notes.”
Jason eased into a chair, his long legs eating up most of the space between it and her desk. Celia picked up her beleaguered briefcase and opened it on her desk.
“So how is Lauren?”
She hated idle conversation, but the silence was more awkward and she hadn’t planned on having to turn over the two meetings to anyone, so her notes were haphazard at best.
“Pregnant. Grumpy. You know, typical pregnant woman.”
Celia scowled at him over the top of her briefcase. “Like you wouldn’t be if you had to deal with water retention, hormones and arrogant men?”
Jason laughed. “Hey, I spoil her rotten.”
“As you should. Ah, here we go.”
She pulled out a folder and tossed it to Jason.
“Everything you need to know for the morning meeting is on pages one through three. This isn’t a big deal. They just need a little hand holding and a little ego stroking. Bowl them over with how Maddox is going to make them look good while increasing their exposure by three hundred percent and they’ll be fine.”
Jason flipped through the pages, his brow creased in concentration. She felt comfortable leaving her clients in his very capable hands. He took his job very seriously and moreover, he was damn good at what he did. Maddox had landed a huge account thanks to him, and if Celia had her way, she was going to top that by landing Evan Reese.
“And the afternoon meeting?” Jason asked.
“Hopefully you can read my notes. I have the PowerPoint presentation ready to go. They need to view it and sign off or suggest any changes so we can move it into the production stage. Impress upon them that this is their last chance to see it before it goes nationwide so make sure they’re happy with it.”
He nodded and straightened the papers before closing the folder. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.
Brock said you were going to be out of town. Hope everything is all right.”
There was a subtle question there, and she knew he hoped she’d expound on her reasons for not being there on Friday. She was just grateful Brock hadn’t told him where she was going and why.
She smiled. “Everything’s fine, and thank you again for stepping in on such short notice. I owe you one.
Send Lauren my love. I’ll have to remember to buy her a gift certificate from my favorite spa. I can’t think of a pregnant woman alive who wouldn’t appreciate a massage.”
Jason sent her a disgruntled look. “I don’t want some beefcake putting his hands on my wife.”
Celia rolled her eyes. “The poor woman can’t see her feet and is probably miserable, and you’re going to be picky about who gives her some relief?”
“Damn right I am!”
Celia made a shooing motion with her hands. “Out. I have work to do.”
And she made a mental note to call her salon and make an appointment for Lauren. She’d ask for the hunkiest massage therapist they had.
Five
The car that Evan had sent to collect Celia pulled up to the plane parked on the paved landing area that led to the single runway and stopped just a few feet from where the door to the jet lay open.
Celia looked out the window to see Evan standing a short distance away. He was waiting for her.
The driver opened her door, and she stepped into the afternoon sun. She blinked a few times then pulled her shades from her head over her eyes. Maybe then it wouldn’t be so obvious how she ate Evan up with her gaze.
He was dressed casually. Jeans, polo shirt and loafers. She’d only ever seen him in suits, and she hadn’t imagined he could look better. She was wrong. So, so wrong.
The jeans cupped him in all the right places. They clung to his thighs, rounded his butt and molded to his groin. They weren’t new, starchy-looking jeans, either. They were faded and worn, just like a good pair of jeans should be.
“Celia,” he said with a nod as she approached. “If you’re ready, we can be on our way.”
“I just need to get my luggage…”
She turned to see that the driver was handing her luggage to a uniformed man.
“Okay then, I’m ready,” she said cheerfully.
He smiled and motioned for her to precede him onto the plane. She mounted the steps and ducked inside.
Her eyes widened at the luxurious interior. It was simple and understated, but she recognized it for what it was. Very expensive comfort. She shoved her shades up so she could get a better look.
There was nothing gaudy about any of the furnishings. It looked very masculine. It even smelled
masculine. Leather and suede. Earth tones.
Beyond the three rows of seats, there was a small sitting area with a couch and one chair with a coffee table and a television. To her left between the seats and the cockpit was a small galley area complete with a steward.
The older man smiled at her and welcomed her on board.
As she and Evan took their seats, the steward introduced himself as William and asked her if she wanted a drink.
She glanced at Evan then back at William. “Do you have wine?”
William smiled. “But of course. Mr. Reese keeps the airplane stocked with all the necessities.”
She’d agree that wine was very necessary.
A few moments later, William returned with two glasses of wine.
“The pilot wished me to tell you he is ready for takeoff at your convenience.”
Evan took the glasses and offered one to Celia.
“Tell him I’m ready.”
“Very good, sir. I’ll close the doors and we’ll take off shortly.”
“Comfortable?” Evan asked Celia.
She settled back into her seat and sipped at her wine. “Mmm, very. Nice jet.”
She should have sat across the aisle from him, but that would be rude since he’d chosen the seat next to her. His nearness was killing her, though. His scent drifted enticingly across her nostrils and she couldfeel his heat. When he moved, his arm brushed against hers, and short of shifting in her seat—which would be terribly obvious—there was no escaping him. Furthermore, she didn’t really want to.
It was on the tip of her tongue to suggest they use the time on the flight to go over her ideas, but she couldn’t bring herself to have business intrude.
She mentally shook herself. Intrude on what? This wasn’t some romantic getaway. Itwas business. Only business and nothing else.
It was unfair that she should be attracted to someone who was a solid no in her rule book. She’d never broken that unspoken rule. She had never been tempted to get involved with someone she worked with, or worse—a client. It didn’t matter, though, because she’d carry the stigma of someone who advanced her career by bestowing sexual favors.
The memory sent rage curdling through her veins. She had to work at keeping her fingers relaxed. She’d worked damn hard to go beyond her family’s expectations. And to have it all taken away by someone in a position of power over her made her head explode.
The advertising community was small, and gossip was rampant. She was under no illusion that fleeing New York made it possible for her to leave what happened behind. It hadn’t been private. It had been very, very public.
She knew speculation ran wide. She knew people talked. Knew her coworkers probably whispered behind her back and pondered the possibility that she’d slept with Brock or Flynn Maddox to secure her position in the agency and to be granted the opportunity to land Evan Reese’s account. They probably thought she’d do whatever it took to persuade Evan.
The only person she’d bothered to defend herself to was Brock, and she figured she owed him that much if he was going to hire her. Only he knew the truth about what really happened at her former agency. And when he’d assured her that she’d suffer no such situation here, she’d believed him. It might make her unbelievably naive after her last run-in with her boss, but Brock struck her as a deeply honorable man, and more importantly, someone who kept his word.
“Is everything all right?”
Evan’s softly spoken question jarred her from her thoughts. His hand had gone to hers, and he carefully uncurled her fingers that were wound so tightly that the tips were white.
“Do you have a fear of flying?”
She shook her head. “Sorry. I was thinking about something else.”
He studied her intently, his gaze stroking her cheeks and then her mouth.
“Seems a shame to waste time on such unpleasant thoughts.”
The urge to deny that her thoughts had been unpleasant lasted all of about two seconds. She wrinkled her nose and grinned ruefully.
“Busted.”
He chuckled. “I like an honest woman.”
It was then she realized that they were already in the air. Wow, she really must have been intensely lost in thought to have missed the takeoff.
“Relax. There’ll be plenty of time to discuss business during our stay. Let’s begin the trip by enjoying the short flight.”
Either she was exceedingly transparent or he’d just anticipated her jumping into things right away. Either way, she was perfectly willing to delay their discussion until she felt a little more on equal footing. Sitting here in such close proximity on his jet, drinking his wine…it was more than a little overwhelming.
His hand remained on hers, his thumb sliding idly over her knuckles in a soothing pattern. She liked it.
She liked it too much.
Survive, Celia. Survive this weekend. Be a professional. After this weekend you’ll only have to see him in a business environment.
She swallowed and let calm descend. There was no way she’d screw this opportunity up just because she couldn’t get all her girly hormones in check.
The flight went quickly, and oddly, after the first awkward moments, Celia sat back and enjoyed the casual conversation with Evan. William had kept a steady presence to refill their wineglasses and offer a variety of finger foods. By the time they landed at the Airport in the Sky, Celia was limber and completely relaxed. Probably due to the wine.