Читать книгу The Prescription Playboy - Grayson Reyes-Cole - Страница 7

Chapter 4

“God, I don’t know if I’m up for all of this,” Gina huffed as she and Huntington headed to her office with afternoon lattes.

“If you say so. But, if anybody asks me, I’ll say Gina Morrow lives for this sort of thing.”

Gina winked at her with a sly smile.

A lot larger than Huntington’s, Gina’s office had a picturesque view of the retention pond behind the building. There were majestic egrets standing in the lush grass, bathing in the afternoon sun. Very soft, almost indiscernible jazz was piped in from somewhere in the room. Huntington sank into the soft, leather chair across from Gina and sighed. The office was also redolent with aromatic potted plants and potpourri. There were wall hangings and feathered lamps and… It exuded Gina.

Hunny scrunched up her face. “Can we talk about something?”

“Sure.” Gina looked up from the galleys she had placed on her desk.

“It’s about your boss.”

“Of course it is.”

“Does he listen? I mean does he listen?”

“Hunny, you’ve worked with him before today, just not face to face. I think you know he does.”

“So when I tell him I’m sales now, not production, how come he demands that I be production?”

“Because you’re the best.”

Huntington huffed.

Gina chuckled. “Any more questions?”

“Why do I have to stay here?”

“Well, I don’t understand, sweetheart. When he asked if you thought you should stay, you said yes. Why’d you do that?”

“Because this job is going to require much more damage control than any I’ve worked on in years. Because I want to make sure I get ahead of problems before they arise. Because I want to implement some changes as quickly as possible. Because I want to keep an eye on him—”

“So why are we talking about this?”

Huntington put a hand over her eyes and shook her head.

“I did talk to Kevin before I ran into you.” Gina settled back in her chair and gestured for Hunny to review the mock-ups on her desk as well. “He’d like us to go over some things while he’s out of the office the rest of the day.”

“He’s out of the office?”

Gina nodded.

“For the rest of the day?”

Gina nodded again. Huntington should have known. He probably ran right over to Tim Morris’s house. The thought made her doubly angry. Even his lawyer didn’t work in the office, which was testimony to the fact he didn’t truly need people onsite to get work done. Kevin had made certain her goal of making this Tampa visit quick and painless was nothing more than a pipe dream.

A week at the most, that’s what she’d told herself. Now, no matter how much she wanted that to be the case, her intuition told her she was going to be around much longer. Weekends.

Unbidden, his smile flashed behind her eyelids. Wow. The man had a fantastic smile. Full sculpted lips, straight white teeth. That intriguing sliver of a gap. That potent, almost animal, sexuality. Huntington shook off the image. That’s probably where it started with Nicky. She couldn’t believe she was being such an idiot. Maybe her mother was right…she needed a boyfriend. Perish the thought.

“Yep, he had something to take care of today. But, that’s all right, like I said, we already discussed what you’re going to present at the board meeting on Wednesday. So, you and I can go over some things without him.” Gina leaned over and pulled a notepad out of a drawer in her desk.

“Excellent,” Huntington answered finally feeling some of her old control and sense returning. Time to forget what had transpired earlier. After she was around him a bit more, she’d get past the looks and remember that this man was nothing more than a heartbreaker. One of those in her life had been enough.

After a moment, Hunny noticed Gina staring at her. It took only a second to realize the woman was staring at the coffee stained jacket Hunny wore, mainly because she’d felt next to naked while she met with Kevin earlier that day. Sad to say, she obviously hadn’t realized just how ridiculous the jacket looked. Hunny offered bashfully, “I spilled coffee on my jacket this morning, I’m sorry for looking such a mess.”

“Oh girl, you’re fine.” Gina smiled warmly. “If you wanna wear breakfast tomorrow, I’m okay with that, too.”

“Very funny.” Huntington snipped, noticing how amused Gina Morrow appeared. Come to think of it, Gina had been tickled, it seemed, the whole time they’d been chatting. Huntington wondered absently just what had been so humorous. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if Carter had said something about meeting her. Gina stood and sauntered over to the credenza. She retrieved a tin of cookies and sat it on the desk between her and Hunny. She bit into buttery shortbread and marked the galleys she approved. “He said something about meeting tomorrow. Did Mr. Carter tell you he wanted to get together?”

“Oh, please, Hunny. Don’t ever call him that. Kevin will do. No one around here calls him Mr. Carter. But, no, he said he’d rather see you again for dinner this evening. I already made reservations at Café Firelli. I hope you don’t mind.”

Huntington tried in earnest to decide between frustration and out and out fury. Okay, maybe she’d agree to stay and to work on the account personally, but this time was squarely on his shoulder. She was going to have to nip his high-handedness in the bud.

“Uh oh,” Gina whistled.

Huntington turned her icy glare on her.

“Oh dear,” Gina went on. “Who shot your dog?”

Hunny ground her teeth and considered whether she should confide in Gina or not. She did, after all, work with him. In Hunny’s mind that was about right up there with consorting on moonless nights with the devil. “I’m not sure I can even talk about it.”

“Kevin,” Gina guessed. She tried, earnestly, to pull a serious face, but failed miserably when she let out a soft chuckle. “What did he do?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t give me that. Hunny, we’ve gotten to know each other really well. I consider you my friend. What is wrong?”

Hunny tried to make her face devoid of emotion, she really did. Instead, she just resisted the need to tuck her head between her knees. “I...I...I just didn’t think...” Huntington’s face heated. The room seemed to shrink. She’d never been a victim of claustrophobia, but this could mean she was having her very first attack. Her hands clenched into tight little fists as she took in a raspy gust of air. At least she had finally stopped gulping for air. She didn’t know how to say it. Fortunately, she didn’t have to.

“I see.” Gina said shaking her head, “He didn’t invite you to dinner. He just expects you to be there.”

Huntington remained mute.

“And he didn’t ask you to stay and work on this project, which you’re obviously willing to do, he told you to.”

“He doesn’t have the right to do that.”

“I know, but he’s just like that. You don’t get to be where Kevin is in life as young as he is without taking the bull by the horns from time to time.”

“Do you let him do that to you?”

“Hell, no.” Gina squealed. “Shoot, he knows better. Besides, it doesn’t matter to him whether I agree to dinner or not.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean if he tells you to do it without even being around him, how can you say no?”

The message was not lost on her. “Are you saying this is his way of asking me out?”

“I know what you expected, but I’m asking you to be patient. He likes to use his looks and charm and even his position to his advantage. I tell you, he’s a character, but believe me, he’s real sweet. You’ll get used to him. You’ll like him.”

Hunny glared at her.

“Maybe you should go back to the hotel,” Gina suggested. “You know how sometimes you get up in the morning and nothing goes right that whole day, and you wish you’d just gone back to bed? Well, you can, y’know. That’s the benefit of being away from the home office. It’s just a like a paid vacation.”

“I wish.” Hunny rolled her eyes. “But, he wants me in the office, and I’m no coward.” Unfortunately, she had another image of that fantastic physique dash through her head. Of course, it was accompanied by a vision of a smile with just a hint of a gap. “I’m not. I’m going to be fine, and I’m going to be sane. I had a little episode there but you know, I think it’s just trying to finish out this account. There seems to be no end to it. You and Arthur both promised that this was it, the final negotiation. Yet, it’ll be another couple weeks-months at least by your own estimation.” She shivered again.

“Hunny, calm down. You’re getting worked up over next to nothing. Everything’s going to be fine. It might even be better. And as for all of Kevin’s publicity, tell me, how often does an African-American man who’s not in Hollywood, the music biz, or sports get on America’s Most Do-able Bachelor list?” Gina tried to reassure her.

“What happened to ‘eligible’?”

Gina shrugged with a grin. “Do-able, eligible… These days, what’s the difference?”

You can say that again. Hunny mumbled to herself something about clients and patience. Then she closed her eyes, took another deep breath and pulled herself together. “Just out of curiosity, will you be coming tonight?” She reached for her last lifeline.

“Of course not. You know I won’t be attending. The Green Man’s Banquet is tonight. And, as you recall, Med Sol is sponsoring that golf tournament. Upon your suggestion, I am representing the company at this illustrious affair.”

“At least it’s got something to do with pharmaceuticals. It’s so rare that any of your social functions are actually beneficial to the company,” Huntington remarked. Gina just winked at her. The woman was incorrigible. “Why isn’t he going?”

“Kevin hates golf. And as I mentioned earlier, you, our consultant on these matters, were the one who suggested I take his place,” Gina explained, then had the nerve to smile. “Kevin seemed more than ecstatic to let me go and represent the company. Besides, I’m almost certain if I didn’t have other plans, he would have made me some.”

“Gina.” Hunny’s voice was high-pitched and nearly frantic. “This is work we’re talking about, not the dating game.”

“Girlfriend, I’m on your side completely,” Gina said, her eyes wide and innocent. “All work and no play, and all that stuff. Ab-sooo-lutely.”

Huntington found no consolation in that flip comment. “I’m serious. This is Huntington here, not Nicky Davidson.”

“I know, I know. But, I also know you haven’t dated in a while, and my boss is a lot of fun. It might do you some good to go out with him.”

“Have you learned nothing from this Nicky Davidson thing?” Huntington demanded.

“As a case study, I have learned that the woman has more personalities than a prime time sit-com.”

Hunny was not going to laugh. She may not win the Nicky Davidson battle—after all she had never met the woman—but she was not going to encourage Gina. “He’s my client.”

“So what, Hunny?” Gina turned to focus all her attention on Huntington. “I’m the client too, and I’d like to think we are friends.”

“We are,” Huntington assured her emphatically.

“Then trust me.” Gina reached over to pat her hand. “You can land this account and have fun at the same time.”

“Well, I’m sorry.” Hunny shook her head. “I can’t have that kind of fun with someone I work with. It always ends badly. Just like N—”

“Don’t say it.” Gina held up a hand to halt her as she laughed. “Well, if you’re not interested, Hunny, you’re not interested. I still think you two would make a fabulous couple. I also feel compelled to tell you Kevin is a force to be reckoned with. If he has set his sights on you, you might not have too much to say about it.”

“Does this mean I’m about to get chased around the proverbial desk?” Huntington really wanted to know. Kevin looked like the sort of man who never had to chase for long. And, while she knew she would be as professional as possible, she would be a fool if she denied how attractive the man was. Those eyes, those biceps. Nicky Davidson. Nicky Davidson. That was going to be her mantra. Nicky Davidson was going to get Hunny through any dirty thoughts about Kevin Carter.

“Hey, that’s my boss you’re talking about.” Gina grinned ear to ear. “As VP of Public Relations, all I can say is, ‘No Comment’, and of course you’ll understand if I refuse to be brought in as a witness.”

Huntington figured she was about to be sick. At least she decided to believe the flutter in her stomach was the result of nausea rather than butterflies. This was the man with whom she would have dinner that night. This unbelievably gorgeous guy held her professional—and mental—fate in his hands. Maybe she could get out of it. No, she couldn’t, considering he was the man who was finally going to seal this deal and get her on another project. She was going to go, and she was going to be professional, and most importantly, she was not going to stare. Staring at him would certainly indicate an interest that wasn’t there. Okay, so maybe there was an interest there. But that was natural, right? It wasn’t like she was going to act on it. She couldn’t after the lesson life had taught her.

Gina warned soberly. “I’ve known Kevin for a long time. I have never seen him not get something he wanted especially in the area of females. Still, he’s just as serious about his work as you are about yours. To Kevin, one doesn’t necessarily rule out the other. Mixing business with pleasure is an art form with the man.”

Hunny grimaced. “What does that mean? What aren’t you telling me?”

“I can’t betray a friend’s confidence. All I can say is that there’s more to the story than you know.”

“It doesn’t even matter, Gina. I’m here for work and work alone. I’m here to land the Med Sol account—”

“Which you’ve already done.”

“Which I won’t feel I’ve done until I’ve got a signed contract. I am also trying to salvage public opinion of him. He’s the client. Surely, he wouldn’t try to…” She paused searching for a good way to phrase it then added, “get involved with me while the deal is still on the table.” Huntington halted altogether. “What am I saying? This is the genius who just dumped a Senior Inspector.”

“You’re too hung up on this Nicky thing,” Gina told her.

“Which reminds me,” Hunny narrowed her eyes at Gina. “When you’re at the banquet tonight, remember to talk about Nicky as much as possible. Carter shouldn’t acknowledge the rumors or even the relationship in public. He should be debonair and cavalier whenever asked anything about it. However, you have free reign to say anything you want about the situation and the woman. Be as catty as you want to be, but be subtle. Drop hints if you have to. Did I just say that?”

“Don’t worry,” Gina soothed, “Your ethics are still intact. You’re just doing your job. Besides, it won’t require me to say much. Anyone who knows Nicky knows she’s…”