Ellen spoke up. “There was nothing else left to discuss. They really appreciated your candor, and of course, so do we. I have a call in to Mrs. Nichols; I’m still waiting for her to return it.”
“She wanted to know tonight?”
“Yes. I’m sure she’s going to be disappointed we can’t deliver for Axton, but I think their push to have a Country Porch in every town in California was a bit of an overreach to begin with.”
“I agree,” Blaine Yarbrough, one of the other associates, added, reaching for a potato skin slathered in cheese and bacon and jalapeños. “Not only does that make no sense, but they should be sure they have the sales before they push forward.”
“Do they have any sales figures?”
Ellen winced like she was in pain.
“Are you kidding? They just want to open stores with no data to support what they’re doing?” Nodding from everyone, even Drake.
“You should rein them in,” I told them, checking my watch.
Ellen looked left to Blaine, then right to Drake, across the table at Maya Dempsey, and then to yet another associate, Tanner Goldman. She leaned to the side to try and see me too, so I got up and took the empty seat across from her and Drake.
She cleared her throat. “You’re the senior manager on our account, Cam. We have privacy agreements with your firm, so we can count on your discretion.”
“Of course,” I agreed with her.
“I wanted to ask,” she began hesitantly, “is there any possible way you could stay after Doug leaves and meet with Axton with us? It would be great if you could go over their portfolio with them, and of course, we would foot the bill, but––”
“Absolutely.” I didn’t have to stop and think about my answer, or about what I would say to Mr. Stein. We were supposed to always be on the lookout for new business opportunities. “I know Mrs. Nichols wanted me back in town to meet with Lass, so this would work out well.”
She put a hand on my shoulder and another over her heart. “This is fantastic, thank you so much. I’ll make sure to schedule Lass and Axton at the beginning of next week.”
“It’s not a problem at all,” I assured her as I watched Jeremiah make his way through the crowd, dropping off food at various tables. His fluid movement, coupled with the low-slung jeans, the way they hugged his round ass and long, muscular legs, nearly rendered me breathless. It was hard to pay attention to much else.
“It will mean a lot to Mrs. Nichols.”
“Like I said, we’re here to serve the client.” I was still staring at the beautiful man. “It’s my pleasure, Ellen.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Cam, and we really appreciate you.”
“As I do you,” I told her, and made sure to smile at Jeremiah when his eyes found me. I couldn’t wait to tell him I was staying.
5
Jeremiah
I brought him pie. As offerings went, it wasn’t great, but I figured he might appreciate it anyway.
Standing in the elevator on my way up to his floor, I gave myself a quick sniff, hoping the ride on my motorcycle, with the wind in my hair and on my skin, had made my jeans and T-shirt smell a bit less like fried food. I would have taken a shower as soon as I got home from work on any other night, but tonight I’d grabbed dessert, jumped on my bike, and bolted, leaving the cleaning, locking up, and alarm setting to Lance, since he needed to have a conversation with his grandmother anyway.
When I reached his room, at one thirty, I was surprised to find the latch turned so the door was ajar. Pushing it open, I found Cameron rushing around the room, throwing things into his small rolling suitcase. I took a moment to admire the beauty of the man before he noticed me.
“Hey,” I greeted him.
He gasped with relief and bolted across the room to me, stepping in close, his hands taking hold of my hips in a very possessive way that made my stomach flip. I definitely liked this man more than I should.
“I’m so glad you made it.” His voice was rough, and his eyes scrunched up as if he was going to cry. “I was afraid I wouldn’t get to see you before I left.”
“You’re leaving?” The disappointment hit me like a punch in the gut.
“Yes, I—my father had a heart attack. He’s in the hospital,” he told me, searching my face. “He’s stable, and my mother and sister told me I didn’t need to come, but––”
“You need to check on him yourself.”
“Exactly.”
I nodded, noticing, as I had earlier in the restaurant as well as the night before, that the man had an amazing quality to his voice. It was gentle and low, sultry, velvety, as though when he spoke to me, he was sharing secrets in the dark. I was mesmerized.