Page 50 of The Spare
Luckily, my work was enough to occupy my thoughts during the day. Penelope and I got settled in our offices that week and began getting briefed on the current client roster and cases. The first and most important one was the Burton merger.
“Fine, take whomever you need.” Van der Baun motioned to the other side of the room at one of the firm's senior partners with the finance group. “We need this done quickly.”
I nodded, noting the annoyance in his voice. The timeline was not ideal, but it wasn’t something I wanted to push—better to close a deal slowly than not at all. Two large banks merging was going to get attention, and not the good kind.
“Don’t fret about the timeline.” Penelope and I gathered our things after the meeting. “Men push timelines recklessly, lose deals, and it's just business. We do it, and we’re unfit.”
“Can’t win.” I sighed. “I have to get back to my office; I’m meeting with the head of Burton’s investment division. He’s handling the UK side of the merger.”
She nodded. “I met him earlier. Watch out, he’s a charmer.”
Great.
I’d never met the Burton executive who would be my point of contact. All I knew was to expect them in a few minutes. I didn’t realize how fast I was walking until I was stopped. It felt like running into a brick wall.
“Ooompf,” was the attractive sound I made when I was stopped so quickly I may have suffered whiplash. My phone flew out of my hand and landed a few feet away on the floor. I landed on my ass, as did the unfortunate victim of my careless sprinting. “I am so sorry.”
I looked over to see a familiar set of mahogany eyes. It wasn’t until I assessed the golden-almond skin, strong jaw, and devilish smile that I realized whom I had assaulted.
“Well, don’t let my existence stop you,” he said in a smooth British accent, laughing as he stood and helped me up. He walked over to where my phone landed and handed it back to me.
Jay Sachi. Just as handsome as ever.
“I have to go,” I blurted and turned to walk back to my office.
“I know.” He followed behind me at my breakneck pace.
“What?”
“I’m your next meeting.”
I stopped for a second. The pieces fell into place. “Is this how you knew I’d be in London?” I wondered aloud as I walked to my desk and took a seat. He invited himself in and took one as well.
He was the client. Interesting.
I made a mental note to text Xander. He would, at the very least, get a good laugh out of it.
“I didn’t know Sloan Amari was some hot shot at this firm.” He didn’t answer my question, but that was all a part of his schtick.
Marginally annoyed that he was going to waste my time trying to charm me instead of the task at hand, I changed the subject. “We need to talk about the timeline.”
He nodded. “But first, we need to catch up, properly.”
I sighed.Of course, we did. Men never had to deal with this type of crap.
The meeting was a courtesy I had extended to familiarize the company with who would be handling matters at the firm. “That would be inappropriate,” I reminded him.
“Old friends catching up hardly seems inappropriate.”
“Why the sudden interest?”
“It's not sudden,” he reminded me. I knew his interest in me was purely curiosity. Being one of the few girls who had never fallen for his charms made him want to check me off a list of conquests. “You know that.”
“And yet the answer will remain the same.”
“For now. It's been years. I am bound to wear on you.” He boasted.
His confidence was unmatched. If my mind wasn’t consumed with the memory of Marcus’s breath on my neck, I may have fallen for it.
