In the Blind (6 page)

“It’s
nice to meet you both.” He shook hands with them as did Jane. He admired Jane’s
professionalism. He was lucky to have her on his side.

Keller
motioned to the man behind them. “And this is Marcus
Martone
,
our newest addition. He’s one of our server engineers.”

“I
was hoping to see you while we were here.” Rob turned to Jane. “This is my
friend I was telling you about.”

When
Jane made no motion to shake hands, Marcus stepped forward. “Hello, it’s good
to meet you.”

“You, too.”
She nodded her
head and turned to Keller.

“Anne
was able to keep this time open as promised. Let’s go into my office.” He
stepped aside. “Anne, hold all my calls.”

****

Her
heart pounded in her chest. She recognized Marcus the moment she saw him, her
escort with the night vision goggles from the club. She knew several members of
Club Voyage worked here. She could only hope
the
 
confidentiality
policies were as
strongly enforced as Anne thought they were. She sat gently in one of Keller’s
guest chairs. Panic raced through her blood. Did Anne know Marcus worked at Club
Blind? What would Rob think if he found out?

She
had to stop questioning and start concentrating. There was a deal to be made.
She pushed back her worries and reviewed her spiel. A tumble of thoughts left
her frozen. She hoped neither would notice.

Keller
turned his focus to Rob. “I’m pleased to see you here today. I thought you
weren’t considering a change.”

“Thanks,
Mr. Keller. All the credit is Jane’s. She convinced me to take a closer look.”

“Please,
call me Keller.” He turned to her. “I think I’ve been underestimating your
talents. I’m going to have to call you more often.”

All
the praise swept right past her. She wanted to wrap up this meeting and bend
Anne’s ear. Her career might be on the edge of flight, but she was teetering
too close to unbelievable personal embarrassment to enjoy any of it. She took a
deep breath. Work first, play later, she reminded herself. It was time to get
the boys talking so she could think.

“Please
tell Rob a little more detail about the open position.”

As
Keller prattled on, she reviewed her situation. Just because Marcus worked at Club
Blind didn’t mean Rob knew she’d been there.
Wait
. She wasn’t ashamed of her decision, quite the opposite. She took
a slow breath and released her overreaction, but on the inhale, she flooded her
system with nervous energy.

“That’s
the job in a nutshell. Normally, I’d take some time to grill candidates Jane
brings me.”

She
remembered the first candidate she’d brought in. Keller had the woman running away
in tears.

“Are
you still interested?” Keller asked.

“I
am,” Rob admitted.

“Could
you start immediately?”

She
took a loud breath. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. You still need to make the
change worth his while.”

“That’s
right.” Rob gave her the “I’m glad you’re on my team” smile. “I am pretty
comfortable working as a contractor. I work when I want and take vacation whenever
I choose.”

“All
right, I think I can take that into consideration.” Keller waited a beat, probably
drawing out their anticipation. “I’ll write a proposal and send it to Jane this
afternoon.”

“Remember
how determined you are to add Rob to your team and I’m sure we’ll be able to
come to an agreement.” Her smile cracked through her anxiety.

“I
guarantee I’ll bring my best offer.” Keller reached out his hand.

“Thank
you.” She’d make sure Keller delivered on that promise.

After
giving his hand
a firm shake
, she turned to exit the
office and practically ran to Anne, leaving Rob and Keller alone for a second. She
immediately chastised herself. A candidate should never be left alone with a
client. It was a rookie mistake, one she’d made only once years ago. Later she
learned the candidate had made the deal behind Jane’s back. Now, her personal
life felt like it had a deal going on behind her back.

“Anne,”
she whispered and tugged on her arm. When Anne looked up from her computer
screen, she added, “Did you know Marcus worked at Club Blind?”

“Sure,
he’s escorted me in a time or two.”

“Why
didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell
you what?” Rob said from behind her.

“Oh.”
She took her time straightening her back and turned to face him. “She’s already
seen the new romantic comedy that came out last weekend.”

“I
haven’t seen it. Do you want to go?”

“Sure,”
she said without thinking.

Keller
cleared his throat from behind them.

“Thank
you, Keller, for meeting with us today.” She was thankful for the change of
subject, but she hadn’t gotten enough answers, just more questions that needed
asking. “Be sure to send your proposal this afternoon.”

“My
pleasure and I’ll do just that.” He reached out to Rob, and they shook hands. “I
have a car waiting downstairs that I'm not going to need. Do either of you need
a lift? He's going downtown anyway.”

“Thanks,
Keller, we would.”

A
quiet ride into the heart of the city sounded nice. She let go of her anxiety
and let herself enjoy the moment she’d been waiting for. Her personal life
might be teetering on the edge of a cliff, but she was only hours away from a
deal that could catapult her career.

Jane
and Rob were quiet on their short elevator ride. One step out the front door
and Jane’s phone rang. She recognized the number, the landlord for her office.

“Shit.”

“What?”

“Oh
nothing, sorry, just something I need to remember to take care of later.” She
silenced her phone and gave her office address to the chauffer.

They
climbed into the waiting car. Her heart pounded. Why was her landlord calling? He
already granted her a one month pass, and next month’s rent wasn’t due for
another two weeks. Everything would be fine. She chanced a look in Rob’s
direction. Her heart skipped a beat. He was staring at her.

“Thanks
for bringing me here today.”

“You’re
welcome. Thanks for giving it a chance.” She tugged at her blouse. “I’m pretty
sure he’ll send an attractive offer. There will probably be only one thing in
it we can change, but I’ll find it.”

“You’re
a shark.”

“Hardly.”

“I
admire that about you. You go after what you want, don’t you?”

“In
my professional life, yes, I like to believe that’s true.” She’d taken lots of
chances throughout her career. In business, she wasn’t afraid to take risks.
She crossed her legs and angled herself towards him.

He
shifted in his seat to face her directly. “What aren’t you going after in your
personal life?”

“Pretty much everything.”

“What
do you want?”

She
turned to look out the window. He’d laid out the question she hadn’t pushed
herself to answer. Her thoughts kept drifting to Saturday night and her mystery
man. He’d made her fantasies come to life, but it was this man sitting next to
her, the one who might not be totally ready, who made her heart flutter
uncontrollably. The two together would be explosive. Which did she want? Which
could she have?

“I
want trust and friendship.”

“Is
that all? I can give you that.”

She
shifted in the seat and looked him right in the eye. “No, that’s not all.”

“Don’t
play with me.”

“I’m
not—”

He
shifted towards her. His body got a few inches from her, and she pushed against
his chest, her eyes clamped shut. Convincing herself he was still hung up on
his ex made the possibility of getting hurt highly unlikely because, before he
could hurt her, he would drift out of her life. But for now he was here, close,
and pushing against her hand. She let her elbow bend, and he came closer. The
rich manly scent of him drove her needs higher.

She
wanted him with an urgency that caused her fingers to dig around the fabric of
his shirt. Desire and nerves fought for her attention. Pushing him away would be
safe. She had no desire for safety.

He
tilted his head slightly, and she let him come a bit closer. His cheek brushed
along hers. Questions swirled around in her mind, making her dizzy. She’d
started falling for this man while they talked about changes in the job market
and their favorite apps. Now, all she had to do was relax her arm a bit and
he’d kiss her. She licked her lips and imagined his body pressed against hers.

She
pulled him closer and removed the distance. His lips sealed over hers, and she was
lost. This was what she craved, this surrender of need. When he pulled away,
she opened her mouth and he took his claim.

Their
tongues tangled back and forth. She breathed in his deep intoxicating scent.
She needed him between her thighs. That sharp burst of need took over her
common sense. What was she doing? She couldn’t understand this loss of control.

She
didn’t even understand him. He’d taken off the ring, but he was going after a
job that would put him in daily contact with his ex.
Was
Jane merely the warm-up to getting back what he’d lost?

She
needed to protect herself. She couldn’t miss something simple and walk right
back to heartbreak. She wanted, needed to be his first choice. Her fingers dug
further into his shirt and squeezed. The folds of the material pushed against
her hand, and she tunneled her fingers along the fabric. She didn’t want to let
go, but she had to. She didn’t know what instinct to trust.

She
peeked at him and wanted to believe his desire was true. His eyes smoldered
with restrained heat. No man could look at her like that and only want a job or
a one night stand, but she couldn’t risk her heart before she knew the truth. With
a shove she watched the heat in his eyes fade.

“I’m
sorry. I’m a little shaken up over everything. I wasn’t expecting to put you in
a position to spend time with your ex-wife.” She let go of his shirt and slowly
brought her cramped hand back to her lap. She also wasn’t prepared to find out
it was his best friend that had escorted her into a sex club. “Let’s close this
deal, get you started, and then we’ll see. Okay?”

“If
that’s what you want.” He slowly moved back to his side of the car.

“It
is.” But it wasn’t. She wanted to kiss him again and her need for him kept
growing. She brushed the wrinkles from her skirt. She’d told him no and he’d
listened. It was a good thing, but a sad ache, like she’d been denied entry to
her favorite show, tore at her resolve.

Her
grandpa taught her to take risks and she’d practiced the skill regularly with
her business, but she no longer had a desire to risk her heart. Normally, she’d
try for at least the middle road, but she didn’t know what else to do at the
moment.

She
needed a real chance with Rob. She wanted to earn a chance with Keller’s
connections. Pushing through this deal and letting the chips fall might be her
only chance at both. How else would she ever really know if Rob was over his
ex? She tugged at her blouse. The damn thing clung to her, and she needing more
room to breathe.

Finally
the car pulled to the curb in front of her office building.

“I’ll
contact you as soon as I hear from Keller’s office.” She stole one last look at
Rob.

“I’ll
be waiting.” He didn’t move an inch.

She
imagined he was holding himself back, like a caged beast. Her pulse jumped.
Instead of giving in, she scooted out of the car, closed the door, and watched the
car disappear.

Chapter Five

She
had no idea if she’d done the right thing. She kicked a rock across the sidewalk
and wandered to her office building to talk with her landlord, another thing
she didn’t want to do.

Hours
later, after renegotiating her rent, she walked into her apartment. There was a
bowl of chocolate ice cream calling her name.

Instead
of a bowl, she ate from the carton. Once she pushed the empty box into the
trash, she wished she had another to open. Rob’s contract would land in her inbox
any minute, and instead of checking her email, she neatened her apartment, did
a load of laundry, and washed the kitchen floor.

Maybe
she should give Rob a chance. Testing a man was no place to start a
relationship. He took a chance and told her the truth. Maybe she should take a
chance on him as well? It was only fair.

She’d
found her middle ground. Excitement filled her and lightened her soul.

She
ran over to her laptop. They could celebrate the contract tonight over dinner.
Sure enough, Keller wasted no time getting her the contract. It was waiting for
her in her inbox. She settled into her chair, feeling right about her change of
heart. Pushing Rob away had felt all wrong.