Billionaire's Contract Engagement(6)

"You can't have it both ways, Bettina. Either I was serious about you or you were an accessory," he drawled. "Which is it?"

She flushed angrily. "I only meant that you haven't dated any woman more than once since I broke things off with you."

He made an exaggerated expression of surprise. "You flatter me. I had no  idea you were so interested in who I date. I would have thought my  brother kept you too occupied to monitor my love life."

"Bring your date, Evan. But you know and I know she isn't me. She'll  never be me. Don't think you'll take anything away from my wedding day."

With that she stalked out of his office, leaving Evan to shake his head.  He really ought to call his brother and thank him profusely.

He sank into his chair and opened his day planner. Vickie kept  meticulous records of all appointments for just such rare occasions that  she was out of pocket. He frowned when he saw his calendar was full.  Except for one forty-five-minute window for lunch.         

     



 

His mind immediately went to Celia. Celia, whose office was just two  blocks from his. He'd planned to call her, but a proposition such as he  had in mind was really better delivered in person. He wouldn't have a  lot of time, and he doubted she had much free time, either, but he knew  without arrogance that if he asked her to lunch, she wouldn't refuse.  She wanted his business too badly.

He hit the button to call Vickie then quickly remembered she wasn't there. He connected to Tanya instead.

"Yes, sir?"

"Tanya, I need Celia Taylor of Maddox Communications on the phone."

Celia stepped out of the elevator and was met with a cheerful hello from  Shelby, the receptionist for Maddox Communications. Shelby was young  and friendly. She also had superb organization skills and a memory like a  steel trap. Which made her a perfect asset. But more importantly, she  knew everything about everyone at Maddox. There wasn't a piece of juicy  gossip floating around that Shelby didn't know, and she didn't mind  sharing it. Celia found it useful to keep in the know. Never again would  she be caught off guard like she'd been in her last job.

"Good morning, Shelby," Celia returned as she paused in front of Shelby's desk. "Any messages for me?"

Shelby's eyes twinkled and she leaned forward to whisper  conspiratorially. "Latest rumors that have surfaced are about the boss  man and his assistant."

Celia frowned. "You mean, him and Elle?"

Elle didn't seem like the type to indulge in a torrid office affair and  definitely not with her boss. Celia felt compelled to warn Elle about  the potential pitfalls of even having such a rumor circulate, but it was  just a rumor, and Elle might not appreciate Celia broaching the  subject.

Shelby shrugged. "Well, they do seem to spend a lot of time together."

"Of course they do. She's his assistant," Celia pointed out.

"I just repeat what others are saying."

Celia gripped her briefcase a little tighter. It wouldn't do her any  good to get involved. Brock and Elle were adults. She just hoped Elle  wasn't hurt by the idle gossip.

"Hey, Shelby," Celia began as she remembered why she'd stopped to begin  with. "I need you to look up a cleaning service." She dug around in her  briefcase then pulled out a sheet of paper that had all the names of the  agencies Noah had already contacted. She handed it over the counter to  Shelby. "These are the ones marked off the list of possibilities. I need  you to make it clear this is a demanding client and that he's a slob  through and through. Money is no object but whoever the poor soul is who  takes the job will definitely earn their paycheck."

Shelby's eyes widened. "Noah Hart. The Noah Hart? He needs a  housekeeper? I'm available. I mean, I can totally quit here, right?"

Celia shot her a "get real" look. "Let me know if you find someone. Oh,  and I'm expecting a call from Evan Reese's assistant. I don't care what  I'm doing or who I'm with, make sure I get that call."

As she walked away, Shelby called out to her. "Hey, wait. How do you know Noah Hart? He's not a client of Maddox."

Celia smiled and kept walking toward her office. Normally she'd stop in  on some of her coworkers, say hello, get a feel for what the day's  events were, but she was already running late, thanks to a breakfast  meeting going well into the brunch hour. She needed to play catch-up on  phone messages and e-mails before a full afternoon of client calls and a  staff meeting to close out the day.

She'd made a sizeable dent in the backlog of messages when her interoffice intercom buzzed.

"Celia, Mr. Reese is on line two."

Celia frowned. "Mr. Reese himself or Mr. Reese's assistant?"

"Mr. Reese."

"Put him through," she said crisply.

She wiped her hand on her skirt then shook her head. What did she have  to be nervous about? As soon as the phone rang, she picked it up.

"Celia Taylor."

"Celia, how are you?"

Even his voice sent a bolt of awareness through her body. When would she  stop acting like a teenage girl in the throes of her first sexual  awakening? It was ridiculous. It wasn't professional.

"I'm good, Evan. And you?"

"I don't have a lot of time. I wanted to meet for lunch today. That is, if your schedule permits?"

There was a note of confidence in his voice. He knew damn well she wouldn't say no. Hastily, she checked the clock.

"What time?"

"Now."

Panic scuttled around her stomach. Now? She wasn't prepared to meet him  now. Surely he didn't want to reschedule their informal pitch session  from Friday to now?         

     



 

"I thought we had a lunch date on Friday?"

She was stalling as her brain scrambled to catch up.

"I want to discuss Friday today. There's been a change of plans."

Her heart sank. There was no way she could have her act together right now.

"I only have forty-five minutes," he continued. "We're two blocks apart.  Shall we meet in the middle? Our choices are French, Italian or good  ole American."

"I'm up for anything," she said faintly.

She propped the phone between her shoulder and her ear and began  frantically digging for her notes on his account. She stuffed everything  into a folder and reached for her briefcase.

"Great. Shall we meet in say five minutes? I'll start out now."

"Sure, meet you there."

He hung up and for a moment she stood there like a moron, the phone  still stuck to her ear. Then she slammed it down, took in a deep  steadying breath and declared battle.

She could do this in her sleep.

Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she all but jogged out of her office and down the hallway.

She passed Ash Williams, Maddox's CFO, who held up a finger and opened his mouth to say something to her.

"Not now, Ash, she called as she hustled by. "Late for an important lunch date."

She didn't even look to see his reaction.

She ran past Shelby and hollered back as she punched the button for the elevator.

"If Brock asks, I'm having lunch with Mr. Reese. Just tell him Friday  got moved up. If anyone else asks, just tell them I'll return this  afternoon."

The elevator opened and she ducked in. As she turned around, she saw  Shelby's look of befuddlement just as the doors slid shut again.

When she reached the lobby, she stopped in the bathroom long enough to  check her appearance. She wouldn't stop traffic for sure, but at least  she didn't look as frazzled as she felt.

The heels she'd chosen to complete her outfit were fabulous-as long as  she didn't have to actually walk in them. A trek down the block on  uneven cement sidewalks wasn't what she had in mind. She kept tennis  shoes in her office for just such occasions, but five minutes notice on  the most important lunch date of her career didn't give her time to  worry over footwear. She'd just suck it up.

When she crossed the street to the next block, she realized she never  had gotten where they were supposed to meet. Italian, French or  American. Her gaze scanned the bright umbrellas scattered along the  sidewalk cafés, first on her side of the street and then across.

A vacuum formed, sucking all the oxygen right out of her lungs the  moment she laid eyes on him. He stood in the sunlight, one hand shoved  into the pocket of his slacks, the other holding a phone to his ear.

Power. There was an aura of power that surrounded him, and it drew her  like a magnet. For a moment, she just stood watching him in absolute  girly delight. He was simply. delicious looking.

Then he turned slightly and found her. How, she wasn't sure given how  busy the street was, but he locked onto her immediately almost as if  he'd sensed her perusal.

She straightened and started forward, embarrassed to have been caught staring.

She crossed the street, hugging her briefcase between her arm and her  side. Evan watched her approach, lean hunger gleaming in his eyes. His  features relaxed into a smile as she drew abreast of him.

"Right on time."

She nodded, not wanting to betray how out of breath she was from her flight from her office.