Be Mine (4 page)

She sucked in her breath before she frowned, perplexed.

"I thought you said that he was waiting for me. It doesn't look like he's finished."

"I said that he was caught up with something important. I didn't say that he was finished."

She sighed, slightly irritated. "Look, if your boss isn't finished with what he's doing, maybe we should reschedule."

She had never seen him. All of her emails were sent to a Terrence Bartholomew, so when Matt told her that she was meeting with the Luke Bryce and Terrence, she didn't really give it any thought. Maybe he was a hands one sort of CEO, but being late for a meeting that he himself had arranged was borderline unprofessional. Nevertheless, she'd keep her thoughts to herself. This was one account that Matt didn't want to lose.

"Who is he anyway?" Gracie asked the first time Matt gave her the Bryce Engineering account.

"Luke Bryce? A rich playboy, but he works harder so that he can party more." Matt grinned. "People call him a maverick. He's tough but fair," Matt said. "A lot of the big boys don't like him because he always gets what he wants within the rules."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"No. It's a good thing. The shysters in the industry think it's bad, though." Matt winked.

Of all the unprofessional clients to have the misfortune of working with, she didn't need this at the moment. Had she known this was going to happen, she wouldn't have hurried to get things done for this presentation. Damn it, who was she kidding? She wouldn't be able to keep still unless she had prepared everything.

He walked towards the desk and sat down.

Gracie's eyes widened. "What do you think you're doing?"

His stare was wreaking havoc with her panties' absorption element.

"Please have a seat, Mrs. Sinclair."

She stared at him blankly before realization struck. Her throat thickened in mortification, blood draining from her face before rushing up again.

"You're Luke Bryce," she said softly.

"I'm afraid so."

D
isappointment replaced the delicious heat coursing through Gracie’s bloodstream. Not even the rueful grin he gave her to soften the blow diffused the sinking feeling in her gut. The desire fuelled by her wild imagination plummeted so fast it wouldn't have surprised her if she looked down and saw it on the floor, flat as a pancake. She almost gave in to the CEO of Bryce Engineering LLP last night, and she wouldn't have been the wiser. Why didn't he say so? Was he playing with her? Was he getting his kicks keeping his identity a secret? The more she remembered her conversation with Matt, the more her face relaxed, her frown giving way to passivity. To nothingness.

Because in front of her was
the
playboy Luke Bryce.

Did you give him a chance to introduce himself?

Gracie slightly shook her head, responding to the taunting of her brain. She knew that it was unfair to think of Luke that way. She wasn't exactly honest about her marital status last night either, was she? She stopped the scowl that nearly formed on her forehead as she battled to regain her composure. And yet, she couldn't stop thinking that he was no different from his girlfriend. Neither was he different from Jonathan, who kept the biggest secret that made her marriage farcical. At the end of the day, she had no right to assume things about the man who sat in front of her and who made her bring forth needs that she had buried a long time ago. Who was she to expect honesty from him? It wasn't as though they had things going on simply because of the strong attraction she felt. Luke Bryce wasn't answerable to her. Her mind taunted. She didn't ask, he didn't tell. So why did this offend her? She blew out a breath to calm her nerves. She was only thirty-eight, and she already sounded like an old biddy.

Cheeks burning with humiliation, Gracie still resolved to be professional enough to continue with the presentation. She looked at him, her eyes not betraying the turmoil inside her.

"Well then, thank you for seeing me, Mr. Bryce. I have the reports you needed, which reflect the figures for your projects," she started before sitting down on the chair facing him. "I made copies of the report. Isn't Mr. Bartholomew joining us?"

Gracie saw the confusion that marred Luke's features before it disappeared.
Let him think what he wants to think.
She was fuming inside.
How many times will you allow yourself to be taken for a fool?

Luke's visage became stoic. His nod perfunctory.

"He will. You met him last night as well." Luke sat forward on his seat as he took the report, which Gracie placed on his desk. He didn't peruse the file but continued to look at her instead. "We'll wait for him."

"As you wish," she said, giving him a smile she used with clients before she opened her copy of the report to mentally prepare for the presentation. She refused to be rattled. Refused to be affected by the way he was staring at her. Now. She wanted to swear and rant not at Luke, but at herself. Despite her chagrin, she could feel heat suffuse her cheeks, her heart beat against her ribcage, and a frisson of slow languid excitement caressing her spine. She was torn with both hating and needing the way Luke Bryce was making her feel.

Just then, the door opened. Gracie turned to see Luke's companion from the night before enter, who blinked in surprise when he saw her.

"Mrs. Sinclair?"

Gracie stood up and gave him a tight smile before shaking his hand. "Gracie Sinclair. How do you do?"

"Terrence Bartholomew."

Terrence Bartholomew was as muscled and handsome as Luke Bryce, but he had ginger hair and green eyes. His gaze assessed her, not maliciously, but with curiosity and interest.

"Forgive me, Mrs. Sinclair," he started.

"Gracie, please." She smiled at him. At least this man didn't keep his identity secret only to humiliate her later.

"Gracie." He grinned. "Forgive me. I was expecting someone else."

"Someone decrepit with glasses stuck to the bridge of her nose looking as though she spends most of her time cooking and watching soaps," she stated with wry humour.

Terrence almost became as red as his hair as he massaged his nape. He chuckled, at a loss as to what to say.

Gracie smiled, liking the man in front of her. "It happens." She shrugged.

"Can we get back to the report, Mrs. Sinclair?" Luke's sharp voice slashed through their exchange. Even Terrence looked startled before frowning.

"You're absolutely right," Gracie said, feeling like a schoolgirl being admonished by the head teacher.

She started her spiel.

"You have several projects with different companies and each section of the report shows the balance sheets of each job. I've also included the forecasts for each one should the economy continue its downturn or whether it picks up in the next two years."

"These are best and worst case scenarios," Luke stated more than asked, his forehead furrowed. Terrence also perused his copy of the report, flicking the pages to and fro to look at the different figures.

"Yes," she said. "But if you look at the Belton job, you will see that you're not going to get much income from this."

"That's what I was afraid of," Terrence muttered as he leaned back on his chair. "Luke, we didn't get to finish our discussion last night about this. You said that you sorted this out. What did the manager say?"

Luke rubbed his hand across his forehead. "I told the plant manager that if they continued to keep on changing their specs, we're pulling out. Thought this was a turn-key project. It couldn't be further from the truth."

"The prices of raw materials are going to shoot up any time soon. If we didn't take care of our people the way we do, we'd be filing for bankruptcy in a few years."

"Not going to happen," Luke snapped. "I'm not letting a bloody project bring us down. We're pulling out. Let's cut our losses quick."

"Let me talk to Barry Slater and see what the legal implications of pulling out from the project are going to be," Terrence said, scribbling notes on his copy of the report.

Cold gripped Gracie's chest at the vehemence in Luke's voice, suddenly reminding her of Jonathan. Insidious. Creeping. Paralyzing. She looked down at her report, the figures and words blurring to grey lines. She blinked. Still grey lines. Then she felt it, claustrophobia sweeping slowly like a mist. Her hearing closing like tunnel vision.

Not now.

Gracie concentrated on her breathing.
That's it. Inhale. Exhale. In. Out.
Don't you dare creep over me, you stupid mist. In. Out.

The sounds returned slowly, like she was breaking towards a swimming pool's surface. Luke and Terrence were talking about other projects, procurement of licenses, applications.

God, never had uninteresting topics been such life savers.

All talk flew over her head as she looked up and watched Luke take control. In the middle of the discussions, the receptionist came in with a tray of tea, coffee, and a plate of Krispy Kreme donuts. Gracie smiled while sipping from her mug as she watched Terrence practically clean the plate of the sugary confections, her momentary episode forgotten.

"Hey, leave some for Gracie," Luke mocked, looking up from his report. Warmth spread across her chest when he said her name. As though her name belonged on his lips to do as he pleased. She blew over her warm tea, having a difficult time keeping her mind on the discussions. Luke was making her so aware of him by his mere presence.

Better him than getting locked in.

"You don't want some?" Terrence arched a brow at her.

Gracie laughed. "You can both have all of it."

Something in Luke's eyes made her heart stutter before he concealed it. Gracie placed her mug down to scribble on her report but her mind was on the strength coming through his deep voice soothing her, the conviction of a man in his element, and the way that same voice made her feel like melting chocolate in the middle of a cold day. She wondered how he would sound like before, during, and after he made love. Would he groan or shout his climax? Would he...her eyes flew to the two men talking, her cheeks tinged with embarrassment, relieved they were intent on their discussion. She blew out a relieved breath. That was close. It was wishful thinking, but heck, she could dream, couldn't she?

It was near noon by the time they finished going through the report.

"Terrence, one last thing, arrange for the jobs' audits." Luke said before he closed his copy of the report and placed it on his desk with a soft plop.

"Right," Terrence murmured as he wrote further on his copy. "Thanks, Gracie." Terrence smiled. "Good job. I don't regret one minute of hiring your firm."

Gracie exhaled, pleased that all her hard work paid off. She had answered each and every question Luke or Terrence fired at her, and they were only too happy to fill in the information gaps she needed.

"I'm sure Matt will be happy to hear that." Her mouth lifted in pleasure as she stood up and tucked her papers into the portfolio. "I should be off." She extended her hand to Terrence. "Goodbye, Mr. Bartholomew."

"Terrence, please."

"Terrence." She smiled. Then she turned to Luke and her heart started racing. "Mr. Bryce."

Luke took her hand and there it was again, that thrill of awareness that made her body tense with need. Gracie pulled her hand out from his right away, not wanting to prolong the contact that was already making her body uncooperative.

"Call me Luke."

"Goodbye," she said instead. She walked to the door, feeling his gaze boring into her back, causing goose bumps to appear on her skin. She prayed that her knees didn't buckle as she walked. She gripped the door handle and walked into the corridor, sighing when she closed the door. More relaxed, she walked towards the reception area of the office and out of the building.

This wasn't going to work. She might be childish in thinking that way, but she just couldn't find it in herself to believe that she was good enough for any man, let alone Luke Bryce. He was way beyond her league. Seriously? Why was she even thinking of him as a prospect?

"Get your mind out of the wishful thinking mode, Gracie," she muttered underneath her breath. She gave the receptionist a brief smile before letting herself out of Bryce Engineering offices. The scars over the wounds she carried were too deep to ever heal. Was she indulging in self-pity? Hardly. She just didn't want to go through having her heart trampled upon and fed to the wolves. Giving in to her attraction to Luke wasn't going to do her any favours. She'd only be pining for someone she couldn't have, imagining the 'what if' scenario that could only dash whatever hopes and dreams that might come out of it. She didn't want someone breaking into the fortress she built around her heart, didn't want people to know how easily she could break. The belief that she could never belong to anyone was attached to her epidermis. Removing it might just kill her.

Because she wasn't perfect.

It wasn't exactly an ideal solution and neither did it bring any excitement in her life. But she'd rather have a boring life than a traumatic one. She'd ask Matt to assign someone else to deal with the accounts of Bryce Engineering LLP. Most of the important work had already been done and all her replacement needed to do would be to keep tabs on the accounts. She couldn't risk bumping into Luke Bryce again, if only for her peace of mind.

Nodding resolutely, Gracie walked towards her car. What she was doing was the most prudent thing to do.

Even though the decision made her feel hollow.