Page 86 of Everything She Wanted
I watch as his eyes drop to my mouth, and in less than a moment, his lips are skimming mine and his body is pressing into me. I lose my focus, lose my breath, and lose control just as a knock at the door sends him flying back, and I stand there stunned for a moment before I regain my composure and remember where we are.
Tom comes in with a notebook in hand as I quickly step behind my desk, flustered, but I pull myself together while Nick plants himself hastily in the chair across from me.
“Great, you’re both here. I need you both in Seattle tonight. Charles changed his mind, and he’s willing to give us another shot,” he says, oblivious to what he almost walked in on.
Nick and I look at each other. “We’re on it,” he says with a confidence only someone like him could muster in a moment like this.
“Good. I need you both on your A-game.” He levels a stare at us both that says, Don’t fuck this up.
“Nisha, whatever you said in your last email made him reconsider. Amp that up in the pitch.”
His praise gratifies me in a way I’m not used to. “You got it,” I say shakily, still flustered, but now with warmth spreading through my chest too.
“Get yourselves on the next flight out. The meeting is at their HQ at ten a.m. Amy will take care of the bookings for you.”
He leaves, and dread fills me as I think about Tom almost walking in on us. It’s no secret I’m with Eshaan, so this wouldn’t just look bad, it would risk everything I’ve worked so hard for, especially since Nick’s been hyping me up since he started here. I don’t want anyone to think it’s because there’s something going on between us. Much to my family’s disappointment I upped and left everything I knew to come out west and prove myself, and I’m so close to that promotion and the next step toward my dream career. I can’t have another scandal after I barely survived the last one.
Careful, I have to be more careful.
Nick turns to me. “We should go talk to Amy about those bookings.”
I follow him out the door, knowing full well I should sprint in the opposite direction.
30. It’s Complicated
There are no available flights to Seattle until tomorrow afternoon, which means the only way to make it on time for the meeting is to drive. I would say it’s just a coincidence that we’re forced together like this, but Rachel would say it’s synchronicity. That’s what I’m thinking about when I look over at Nick’s profile and see his jaw tense. I’ve never seen him upset, but the thought that he is with me is almost unbearable.
“Can I ask you something?” Nick finally breaks the silence.
“Sure, what is it?”
“What was Matt doing in your office earlier?”
“Nick, obviously he was hitting on me,” I tease, needing something to break the tension between us.
His grip tightens on the steering wheel. I guess he’s not in the mood for joking.
“He came to say hi. I told you already.” This is the last thing I want to talk about. I angle my body toward the window and sink into the seat a little more as if I could sink out of this conversation.
“I know him. He was antsy all day, but after he spoke with you, he was relaxed, calm, his usual self.”
“I have that effect.” I laugh, trying to lighten the mood.
He looks over at me as I adjust my body forward again. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, it’s just I hope he didn’t make you uncomfortable, that’s all. He can come on pretty strong.”
“It was nothing like that.”
I debate whether to tell Nick the whole story or let it go, but like always, I can’t hide from him.
I take a deep breath. “Matt and I ran into each other on Friday night. Well, he came up to me at the bar I was at and introduced himself. We talked for a bit. It was nice.”
“Did anything else happen between you two?”
If anyone else said that I’d be offended, but Nick seems almost worried and protective of me.
“No, of course not. It’s just that Eshaan saw us talking and got the wrong idea and was pretty pissed about it. Matt just came by today to apologize and to let me know he wasn’t trying anything.”
“Oh.”
