Читать книгу The Bachelor's Cinderella - Trish Wylie - Страница 13

THE room where the meeting was taking place was large with a conference table and cushy, big blue chairs. Ten of the twelve chairs were taken up by reporters, mostly female, all in black suits, and when Meg and Etienne walked in, Meg wanted to turn around and walk right back out again.

But she didn’t. She didn’t even look at Etienne even though she knew that if she did, he would be staring back at her, offering strength and encouragement. She wondered what he’d think if she told him that she was the girl who got poor grades on her oral presentations in school because she was so self-conscious that she stammered and forgot what she needed to say.

It didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to tell him. And she was going to do this right. Because Etienne was carrying too much guilt on his shoulders. She didn’t want to be another weight, another woman he’d end up regretting. Besides, she might be the face of Fieldman’s, but he was the actual owner, the one taking the biggest risk, and she wasn’t going to fail him if she could help it. She prayed that she could come off looking reasonably competent. Or at least not incompetent.

Besides, hadn’t she wanted to forge a place for herself in the world, to be a woman to be reckoned with, to become so self-sufficient that she didn’t need to depend on a man for anything? Well, here was her chance. She needed to take it and she had to remember that wanting a man like Etienne would be self-destructive, a one-way ticket to doom and gloom and certain heartbreak. Anyone with any intelligence could see that.

Meg circled around to the open side of the table, facing the reporters. She tried to recall all the things she and Etienne had spoken about on the way over here, all his coaching, all the statistics and talking points she was supposed to spout, but the only thing she could really remember was his admonition to “be yourself. Just be Meg.”

Meg looked at the group gathered there. She opened her mouth, uncertain of what she intended to say. It was school report day all over again, but then she looked at Etienne. His silver-blue eyes held no hint of concern. He was smiling at her. He believed in her.

“I have the most wonderful job in the world,” Meg began, which was nothing like what she and Etienne had decided on. “Because I’ve been very lucky and because I’ve been blessed to be able to work with wonderful people.

“I got my start at Fieldman’s when I was sixteen. I left a year ago and then was rehired a few weeks ago by Mr. Gavard,” she said, nodding toward Etienne. “We’re…partners and with the help of the other employees of Fieldman’s we intend to not only reenergize the company, but to make it the kind of place people will compete to work for. It’s going to be a furniture friendly, consumer friendly, environmentally friendly and employee friendly company. We’ve already started. Let me show you.”

She pulled out her portfolio of the new product line and some of the ideas she and Etienne had drawn up to make Fieldman’s, small though it was, stand out from the crowd.

“Every drop of paint we use, every piece of technology we buy will be planet friendly. Our furniture is handmade out of materials that are certified chemical free for those people who have medical concerns.”

“Isn’t that expensive?”

“It is. That’s why we’re grateful that Mr. Gavard has taken over the company, although…he intends to eventually sell most of his shares to the employees.”

“Mr. Gavard,” one reporter said. “What do you say to all this?” The woman was eyeing Etienne as if he were a piece of man-size chocolate she wanted to bite into.

“This is not my show,” he said. “I refer all questions to Ms. Leighton.”

“Your…partner,” the woman said. Then she turned suddenly to Meg.

“Is he really just your partner?”

Meg blinked. How to react? How not to overreact? Instructions flew through her head. Reactions begged to be spoken. She ignored them.

Then she smiled. “Ms. Banner,” she said, reading the woman’s badge. “Look at me. I’m a…decent-looking woman. I have my attributes, I rather like this new hairdo I have, don’t you? But, I ask you…do I seriously look anything at all like the kind of woman Mr. Gavard would be entangled with? The man is absolutely gorgeous and he’s got those great dimples and…Well, of course I like looking at him, but most of you here would make much more likely dating material for Mr. Gavard should he be looking for a date.”

Every woman in the room turned to look at Etienne. Meg smiled and waved.

“He has dimples?” one woman asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Meg said. “And when he doesn’t believe something, he can do this great, sexy thing with his eyebrow. Show them the sexy eyebrow thing, Etienne.”

He crossed his arms. “I think this press conference was supposed to be about Fieldman’s, wasn’t it, partner?”

“Oh, now he’s going to get all professorial on us and give us a lecture. I probably won’t be able to even drag him out to another one of these if you write something about him and not the furniture,” Meg confided.

“Nice manipulative move, Ms. Leighton,” one reporter said.

“Yes, and we’ll bite,” another one answered. “Usually we’re just attending boring meetings. You bring Mr. Gavard back for us to drool over and we’ll be right there.”

“See if you can get him to take his shirt off next time,” one woman teased.

“You just make sure you write something nice about Fieldman’s and I might talk him into rolling up his shirtsleeves,” Meg promised.

The women laughed. Even the two men in the crowd looked amused. “You’re totally cute,” one said to Meg.

Meg’s mouth fell open. “Well…thank you,” she said.

“And I think your ideas for Fieldman’s and your products are going to stir up a lot of attention at the local trade shows.”

“Will you say that in your article?”

“Absolutely. It’s what I do.”

Meg smiled and nodded and fielded another question. When the meeting finally ended and the room had emptied, Etienne walked toward her. “That was the most unconventional press conference I’ve ever attended,” he said.

Meg played with the buttons on her suit. “You’ve attended a lot, haven’t you?”

“Thousands.” He moved forward two feet.

“And none like this? Hmm.”

“‘Hmm’ is right. I didn’t see any statistics.”

“I kind of forgot about those in the heat of the moment.”

He took another step closer.

“No schedules.”

“Forgot that, too.”

“And no mention of your impending trip to Paris and the international arm of the company.”

“I’m sure I’ll remember to talk about that next time.”

“And…what was that about my sexy dimples and how you were going to talk me into rolling my shirtsleeves up?”

“But I totally saved you from having to take your shirt off. I didn’t think you’d want to do that, even though it would’ve livened things up a bit.”

And he took the last step toward her, slid his hands up her arms, walked her back three steps to the wall and gently pinned her against the wall.

He kissed her. Totally. Thoroughly. Completely. A kiss that was wet, hot and made her knees forget their job of holding her up.

She slid.

He caught her.

And kissed her again.

“This was not a press conference,” he said. “This was major torture for me. I can’t take having you look at me like you want to climb into bed with me, especially if you’re doing it merely for the sake of theater. Now kiss me, Meg.”

She did.

He smiled and did that amazing Etienne dimple move. “You were marvelous,” he said. “Don’t do it again.”

“Don’t kiss you?” she asked, teasing him even though her heart was beating wildly, her blood was rushing around her body and her entire being was hot and crazy and on fire for one more kiss, one more touch.

“Don’t tease me while other people look on. Seriously. I can’t take it, Meg. I was in danger of walking over there and pulling you down on the table right in front of everyone. That just wouldn’t be right.”

“No,” she agreed. “Because then everyone would want some of that.”

“You make me crazy,” he told her.

“You make me crazier, but, Etienne?” Reality was returning. Her lips were burning. Reality was intruding and she was afraid. Really afraid. She hadn’t even hesitated or protested or thought while he was kissing her. This man could break her, so easily.

“I know,” he said, brushing her cheek with his thumb. “We can’t do this, and I have no right to blame you, Meg. You were just working the crowd. You really were spectacular. They liked you, all of them. Especially the men.”

He frowned.

“They were just being nice.”

“No. You have what it takes to win people over. You just didn’t know it before.”

Because she’d just never had someone like Etienne telling her things like this before.

“You’re going to be fine. You’re going to be great. You’re going to make it,” he told her.

And she knew that he was thinking about all the things that would happen after he was gone. He had said that there were no guarantees in life, but she could tell that there was one. One day Etienne would board a plane. And then it would be just her. Without him. Forever.

She had to stop wanting him. Right now. The wisest thing to do would be to keep her distance from him.

But that just wasn’t going to happen. At least not yet.