Her client studied her a beat, making her feel more than a little anxious. Then, totally out of left field, he popped off with an exuberant—
“I just had the most fabulous idea! Let’s you and I take Monday off. We can have brunch, take a walk through the park, have dinner at the Navy Pier…”
“Oh.” Ro blinked, taken off guard by the unexpected offer. “Uh…”
I believe the word you’re looking for is “no”.
Yes, that was exactly what she’d meant to say. What shewouldsay. Just as soon as he gave her a word in edgewise.
“Or we could cruise Lake Michigan at sunset,” Clayton continued. “It just so happens I know a guy who has his own private yacht. In fact, it’s docked, fueled, and ready to go.” He arched a brow, flashing her a seductive smile that would probably cause most women to drop their panties and spread their thighs.
Good thing I’m not most women.
“It’s a very kind offer, but we’ve been over this already. I don’t think—”
“It’s settled,” he cut her off again. “I’ll pick you up at ten, and you and I can head to brunch. I know this fabulous place that serves the freshest crab with its eggs and uses only the best champagne for their Mimosas. After lunch, we can spend the day on the water, and my chef can whip us up whatever you’d like for dinner.”
“Clayton, that all sounds really nice, but like I was trying to say—”
“We’ll eat on my private balcony.” The infuriating manstillrefused to let her speak. “Just wait until you see the stars. It’s incredible how differently they appear when you’re away from the city lights. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever—”
“Clayton, I said no!” Ro finally shouted.
At the exact same time, the music dropped to the soft, subtle beginning of a different song, making her booming response sound even louder than intended. Her cheeks burned from embarrassment as those in their immediate area stopped what they were doing and stared.
Everyone’s looking, Ro. Including Clayton. You have to fix this. Now!
Pretending to laugh at herself, she quickly apologized with a gentle hand to the man’s bicep. Not in that annoying way some women did when they were pretending to be clueless while flirting. No hers was more of an apologetic, friends-only sort of gesture.
She hoped.
“Sorry.” Ro gave another nervous chuckle. “The music was really loud, and I was trying to talk over it.” Not acompletelie. “But I’ve told you before, I don’t mix business with pleasure.”
“The website is finished,” Clayton countered. “My socials are all redesigned and ready for the public, which means our business relationship has officially come to an end.”
I wish.
“There’s still next week’s launch party,” she reminded him. “And you should probably go back over the contract you signed. I’m still on retainer for the next twelve months so I can continue to monitor and update your website as needed.”
A frown created two cavernous wrinkles between his brows as he asked, “Well who’s hairbrained idea was that?”
“Yours.” It was the first genuine smile to grace Ro’s lips since hearing him holler her name.
She turned to leave, making it three full steps before a strong hand wrapped around the wrist of her free hand.
“Aurora, wait!” The unexpected hold jerked Ro backward, spilling half her drink in the process.
She cried out, jumping out of the splash zone just in time to miss the sticky beverage from landing on her brand-new heels while doing her best not to lose her balance. “Clayton, what the—”
“Oh, my!” His eyes grew wide. “My apologies, Aurora. I didn’t mean to spill your drink. Here. Let me buy you another.”
When the man began trying to pull her back toward the bar, Ro locked her muscles down and resisted. “It’s okay,” she lied.
It wasn’t. Not even a little bit. But the man could literally make or break her career with a single social media post, so she had to be very careful with how she acted and what she said.
Always putting on a show, aren’t ya? If not with Clayton, than with—
“You’re going to want to remove that hand before I remove it for you.”