The Hardest Part (8 page)

I was hoping my concealer would cover the black circles and puffiness beneath my eyes, but I guessed I’d failed. Last night, I had cried more than I had in very long time, maybe ever. I supposed it was years and years of buildup, with the things that Lexi had told me finally being the last straw.

"
I'm fine," I replied, giving her my best smile.

On the way back to my office, I tried to force my eyes open a little wider.

"
What happened to you? You look like crap," Christine greeted me, assessing me from top to bottom as I walked toward my desk.

I expected nothing less from her.

Not feeling like dealing with her this morning, I ignored her and shoved my purse in the top drawer before falling down into my chair.

"
Well, good morning to you, too. By the way, Sharon wants us in the conference room in ten. She'll be gone after lunch and she's ready to get this event going ASAP. There's a ton of work to be done and we're already behind. Here." She stood up and held out a piece of paper. "I've already started making a list of things we have to do, and I separated them by day. You should read over it and see if there's anything you’d like to add, but I think I've covered all the bases." She paused, waiting for a reply. My brain wasn't ready to function on full speed quite yet. I needed coffee and lots of it.

"
If you're not up to doing this, just tell Sharon. I'm sure she'll let me handle the event by myself. I'm more than capable." Her voice was condescending.

Slowly, bringing my eyes up to meet hers, I gave her my best go-to-hell look.
"I'm doing this event. I'll look over the list and add things if I see anything is missing," I snapped.

She huffed and rolled her eyes. Without another word, she sat back down and faced her computer. It wasn't my normal behavior to snap at someone, but with my lack of sleep, the nightmares and all the things I’d read about last night, I knew my nerves would be easily triggered. One thing was for sure; I was doing this event no matter what. I had to.

On the way to the meeting, I poured myself a large cup of coffee. The last thing I wanted to do was go in there not fully alert. Sharon had trusted me enough to give me this event and I didn't want to disappoint her. Most of all, I didn't want to disappoint Lexi or Reed.

By the end of the meeting, I was completely overwhelmed. Actually, that's an understatement. We had so much to do in such a little amount of time that I wasn't sure how we would get it all done. Sharon and Christine seemed calm, cool, and collected, so I tried my hardest to be that way as well.

The list that Christine had created had covered mostly everything, and Sharon split the responsibilities in half. Even then, I was still in way over my head. I tried not to let Sharon, and especially Christine, see how overwhelmed I was. I mean, Christine could probably complete everything on this list and have the event go off without a hitch, no problem. But me? I wasn't so sure.

So the moment the meeting ended, I spent the rest of the day on the Internet and the phone, trying to find out what venue locations were still available since the event was only a month away. An event like this would normally take months to plan, but Reed told Sharon that the date he and Lexi picked was a special one, and Sharon promised him that we would get it done.

Toward the end of the day, I had marked through most of the venues on my list as not available. So far, things were not looking good. Two venues were still available, one of which I think Lexi would love
—
the New York Botanical Gardens.

When I told Christine it was still available, she started to name off ideas left and right. They all sounded amazing, making me start to dislike her a little less. I knew no matter how much the two of us didn't get along, she wanted this to be just as beautiful as I did.

A little after seven p.m., I was almost ready to call it a day. There were just a few more things I wanted to check off my list before I left. I wasn't the only one working late either. Isabel and Christine were there, too. We were all going to have to pull together if we were going to get this event finished in time. Even though I was excited to be working on it, I was looking forward to getting off work, going home, and heading straight to bed.

Tomorrow I would be more rested and ready to go full speed. For the past few hours, I’d started to feel my eyes getting heavier by the second. It wasn't until Reed walked through the front door that they shot wide open.

I followed his every move from the entrance, my heart racing the entire time. I wondered what he was doing here, but then I figured he was here to see Sharon. Then I remembered she had left the office after lunch. I expected him to turn around and head back out the door fairly quickly when Isabel informed him of that.

Isabel smiled and swooned like she had with him yesterday. Then she did something that totally threw me off, something I wasn't expecting. She looked in my direction and smiled. It wasn't long before Reed followed her gaze and met my eyes as well.

"
Uh-oh, you drank the Reed Alexander Kool-Aid. You look like all the other girls, like a deer stuck in headlights." Christine chuckled, apparently watching me watch him. "Don't say I didn't warn you. He has a reputation for breaking girls’ hearts… lots of them."

I tore my eyes away, embarrassed that I was caught staring—again. I was hoping to show Christine that I wasn't interested in him, but after a long second, I couldn't help looking back up. Christine could think whatever she wanted.

Isabel pointed down the hall, in our direction, and my heart started to beat more frantically. He was headed back toward our office. Our office!

"
Oh shit," Christine said. "He's coming back here."

Even though I was panicking a little myself, I took a small amount of pleasure in seeing Christine squirm.

As he walked toward the office, his eyes remained locked with mine. He stopped in the doorway and Christine jumped out of her chair and hurried over to him, holding out her hand. Only then did his gaze break from mine.

"
Mr. Alexander, it's such a pleasure to meet you. I'm Christine Morgan. I'll be coordinating the Black and White event with Emily."

His eyes moved back to me for a quick second, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face.
"It's nice to meet you, Christine."

She nodded and giggled.

I was shocked by her reaction. I had to ask myself,
Is this really happening?
Is Ms. Grouchy having a swoon-worthy moment herself?
It was just a few minutes ago that she was giving me the he's-nothing-but-a-playboy-heartbreaker speech.

"
I'm actually here to see Emily." His eyes locked with mine again. I think my heart wound up in my throat because I couldn't breathe.
He’s here to see me?
I knew it wasn't the smartest thing, and I was pretty sure I'd end up with a broken heart one way or the other, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying this moment. The scowl on Christine's face alone was priceless. Even though he probably just wanted to talk to me about Lexi or the event, it was still worth it.

"
Oh." Christine's face fell. I folded my lips inward, hoping to hide my smile.

"
Do you have a minute?" Reed asked me.

"
Of course." I tried to act professional, especially in front of Christine. I could feel her eyes stabbing me in the back as I walked out of the office.

I led Reed down the hall and into the conference room.
"What can I help you with?" I shut the door behind us, trying to keep my voice from wavering.

"
So you and Christine are partners?" He leaned back against the conference table and crossed his arms. A warm energy buzzed around the room, causing me to become anxious. It was hard to look him in the eye. The intimate moment we shared last night was still fresh on my mind. Even though we were a few feet from one another, I could still feel the connection between us.

I cleared my throat and tried to remember the question he just asked me.
"She has a lot of experience. It's a really big event and she's a great coordinator." I bit my lip to stop my rambling and then took a couple steps forward, gripping the back of a chair, squeezing it as I tried to swallow down the nervousness creeping up my throat.

Without another word, he propelled himself off the table and his eyes started to wander around the room.

"
Sharon is gone. Did you need her for something?" I asked, getting more anxious being in here alone with him. My mind was spinning, still trying to figure out what he wanted from me.

He shook his head.
"No, we spoke earlier. She told me she was going to be out of the office this afternoon. I actually came here to see you."

Heart hammering against chest, large lump in throat.
What can he possibly want with me?

As he walked around, I couldn't help but take him in. He was dressed similar to what he wore last night at dinner: dark-washed jeans, brown boots, and a brown blazer over a white T-shirt that fit him perfectly. I found myself licking my lips. When I finally met his eyes again, I found him looking at me. Heat rushed to my cheeks. He caught me assessing him.

He continued to make his way around the room, stopping at the other end of the table, facing me as he gripped the back of a chair, just like I was gripping mine.

I figured I had about ten seconds before I was going to burst into flames. He didn't just have the power to bring girls to their knees with a smile; hell, he could do it with just a look.

"
Is everything okay with Lexi?" I asked, tearing my eyes away from him. I studied my hands and how they gripped the leather chair in front of me. I needed to focus and think about something else besides him. "I tried to call her today, but she didn't answer. Talking about all of that last night must have been hard for her."

"
I talked to her this morning," he answered. "She was spending the day with Brandon."

I raised my eyes and looked across the table, watching him watch me.

"
Brandon's a good guy. I think he really cares for Lexi," I said, knowing I was just talking to fill the silence.

He nodded.
"I could see that last night. It's great to see her happy again."

There was a long pause as we stood there, standing on opposite ends of the conference table, giving each other a stare down.
What is this? What is he really doing here?

"
Would you join me for dinner?" he asked bluntly, totally catching me off guard and answering my unspoken questions.

His gaze held mine and I tried to find the strength to look away but couldn't.

"
I'm not sure that's the best idea," I replied.

"
And why is that?" A curious expression crossed his face and then a tiny smile appeared.

My heart skipped a beat and then began to hammer hard against my chest.
"Um, I'm not sure Sharon would like it very much. I'm planning the Black and White event, for one thing. I don't think it's very professional." I could give him a hundred other reasons, mainly on how I wasn't interested in getting involved with anyone right now because I’d just got out of a really complicated relationship. That I was trying to keep a low profile so the man I was running from wouldn't find me.

He looked up toward the ceiling, seemingly deep in thought.
"What if we called it a business dinner? You can update me on your progress."

I couldn't help wondering why he wanted to go out with me anyway. He could’ve had any girl in New York.

"
We just started working on the event this morning. We don't have much to give you yet, but we should have more information early next week. Maybe we can schedule a meeting then," I said, hoping to come off as professional.

He started walking back around the table toward me.
"Well, I'm not interested in scheduling a meeting. It's fine if you don't have much to give me yet. I'd love to hear about it anyway."

"
Mr. Alexander, I still don't
—
"

"
Please call me Reed, and it's just dinner, Emily. You have to eat, right?" A smile appeared on his face again, showing me how weak I really was for it.

I exhaled loudly, knowing I was going to regret this.
"Okay, just dinner."

He was clearly pleased with himself as he made his way toward me.
"I'll make the arrangements. I have a car waiting outside now. I can give you a ride."

"
Can I meet you there? I'm not sure how it would look if we left together."
Am I really doing this?
If I was trying to keep Isabel and Christine from seeing us, it couldn't be right. This was a bad decision. Really bad.

"
I understand. I'll text you the restaurant." He began to make his way toward the door as I stood there waiting. I wasn’t even sure for what.

"
Wait, you don't even have my number." I stopped him as his hand landed on the door handle.