Chapter Twelve
Eva
I’m standing outside of the office as I try to conjure up the courage to face Roman on this Monday morning. I’ve been a complete disaster this entire weekend.
With one single dance, our friendship, which we had begun to forge, was ruined. The way it felt to have the warmth of his body move against mine is etched in my brain. The violent manner in which he grabbed my hair and moved my head to the side made me instantly wet in a way that I hadn’t known was possible.
The teeth mark he left is still there. A reminder of what it felt like to be teased by the intoxicating pull of his attention.
With one last deep inhale and exhale, I walk into the building.
Luckily, he isn’t in his office when I walk past it. The coward that I am, I almost sprint into my own office and close the door.
Today, I am scheduled to present the final designs to Drew and Roman.
I’m not nervous about their reactions—my nerves are on high alert for a completely different reason.
Will he see through me and know just how affected I am from the other night?
I pray it won’t ruin our working relationship. This job is my dream, and I’d hate to lose it because of something so careless. What a failure I’d be if I lost my first major account because of inappropriate behavior with the boss. I’d have to go crawl in a hole and die from embarrassment.
My mom would be proud of me. Roman is exactly the kind of man she’d like me to settle down with. Rich, handsome, successful, powerful. Everything she thinks I need in a husband.
The morning flies by as I prep for the meeting. When the time finally rolls around, I know there is no backing down. I have to go in the conference room and face the music.
I get in there thirty minutes early to make sure I have everything set up perfectly. I lay out the booklets, then get my PowerPoint presentation up on the projector.
Ten minutes before the meeting is scheduled to begin, I hear laughter outside of the conference room just before Roman and Drew walk in together, looking at ease and comfortable together. I can tell they have a good working relationship.
I’m struck by seeing these two next to each other. Both handsome, but in different ways. One commands a room with a suit and sense of power while the other exudes strength and confidence.
For a second, I wonder what it would be like to be taken by both of them at the same time. I don’t know where the thought comes from, but it’s not completely unwelcome. A threesome has never been something I thought I was capable of, but damn if seeingthese two together doesn’t make me wonder if it’s possible for me to get into.
The thought distracts me from the nerves of seeing Roman again until his face turns cold the moment his eyes meet mine. It’s like a punch to the gut.
“Good morning, Eva,” Drew says casually as he takes a seat across from me.
Roman sits at his seat at the head of the table, but I decide to just focus on Drew.
“Good morning, Drew. Nice to see you again.”
His bright white smile flashes at me. “The pleasure is all mine.”
Drew definitely has a way of making everything he says sound flirtatious. But it’s not in a way where I feel like he’s coming on to me. I get the sense that it’s just part of his personality.
Regardless, I feel slightly embarrassed by the attention and find myself biting my lip in an effort to hide my reaction.
“Okay, let’s get started.” I direct them to the PowerPoint, and I go through the plans for the New York City hotel in detail.
From the lobby to the convention rooms, boardrooms, café, rooms, suites—you name it.
Then I move to the client’s favorite part—the virtual renderings. This uses 3D imagery so I can walk them through what the entire space will look like.
From the corner of my eye, I see Roman sit up straighter. I know he wants to see these. He hinted at it the other day, asking for a sneak peek.
I do my best to focus on my task at hand and not look up for their reactions to my designs. It’s a hard thing as a designer, but if I risk analyzing reactions, possibly misinterpreting what they’re thinking—like if they hate it—it could compromise my ability to finish the presentation well.
The final discussion is about the finances and ordering deadlines. This is particularly important to Drew, who will need to assist me on the deadlines, as he puts the construction schedule together.