Conquest of the Heart (8 page)

He didn’t back down. “I’m not going to stop
just because you might be a little perturbed. You misunderstand my
point. I’ll leave you for now. Have a good afternoon,” he said,
grinning as he turned to go to his office.

“
Batard incorrigible,” she
sighed.
(Incorrigible bastard.)

He stopped. “Cussing me out in French only
turns me on.” He continued toward his office.

Faith laid her forehead on her desk, shaking
it from side to side, whimpering from exhaustion.

CHAPTER FIVE

The following morning, Faith came in early to
review her notes for the meeting about Denver. She had stopped to
get coffee, so she would be alert since she hadn’t been sleeping
well. She put her coffee on her desk, sat down, and read over her
outline. She double-checked the contact names and phone numbers,
verifying that they were current. Once satisfied, she began to work
on next week’s cities. Had Gavin left her alone yesterday, she
would have completed two more outlines.

She couldn’t drink her
coffee on an empty stomach, so before she took in too much, she
decided to have a cup of yogurt and some fruit. After she ate and
had gotten a little more work done, she decided to relax on the
couch for a little while before others began to arrive. She wanted
to clear her mind, and escape to a place far away. Her sabbatical
was disturbed by a familiar voice.
‘Aahh,
hell, it’s too early for this,’
she
thought. Her eyes were still closed, and she didn’t get
up.

“Good morning,” said Gavin.

“What are you doing here so early?” she said,
still not moving, her eyes remaining closed.

“Same as you probably. I wanted to get some
things done before it got too busy around here.” He walked over and
sat down next to where she was lying. As soon as she felt him next
to her, she sat up, stood and walked to her desk. She was still
‘perturbed’ as he had put it.

He watched her walk away from him and
realized he needed to stay clear of certain subjects this morning.
He sighed, got up and walked to her desk.

“I’m sorry for upsetting you yesterday. That
wasn’t my intent. Please know that I would never think of you as
you suggested.”

“Uh huh,” was all she could muster.

He tried to change the subject. “Since we’re
both here, would you like to start working on pulling the data for
next week’s meetings?” He stood there, waiting for her to
respond.

“I’ve had my coffee and my breakfast, and I’m
afraid I still don’t have the energy for you this morning. I prefer
to wait until this afternoon to continue working on those.” She
looked up then, cracking more of a smirk than a smile.

He nodded. “Alright. I’ll leave you to it,
then.” He turned and walked out and down to his office.

She looked down and continued with what she
was doing. Faith knew that later in the afternoon he’d be pouring
on the pressure, and wanted her morning to be quiet.

As time grew closer for the meeting, Gavin
decided to call Carter to his office to see if he was prepared for
the meeting. Carter knocked on the door.

“Come in,” said Gavin.

“You wanted to see me?” Carter asked. He’d
hoped that the rift that had started between them had died
down.

“I’d like an update on your progress for the
promotional aspects of the reviews that we did yesterday, and
today.”

“Sure.” Carter began to list the number of
high profile figures in both Nashville and Denver that could be
involved in sales and advertising campaigns for potential clients.
He also shared his ideas on where and when promotional campaigns
could be held to introduce new products and more.

“Good job. Make sure you’re prepared to share
all of this in the meeting. Adrian will be in attendance.”

“Oh, damn. I’m not good at speaking with him
around.”

“It’s not an official presentation. Faith
will be doing that. Consider what you will be doing a ‘knowledge
share’ of sorts. You’ll be among peers, not complete
strangers.”

“Okay.” He paused. “Hey, are we good, man? I
mean, I really don’t want to lose you as a friend over a
woman.”

Gavin just looked at him. Carter shook his
head and said, “Okay, okay. I really don’t think I can stay away
from her. She intrigues me. I just want to get to know her. Maybe
be friends. That’s all.”

Gavin finally spoke. “You and I both know
that for you it’s more than that. I can’t discuss this right now.
Let’s get to the meeting.”

As they gathered their things, they saw Faith
heading toward the elevators to go to the conference room. They
both watched her. She purposely stood with her back turned to them
as she waited. When she got on an elevator, and was no longer in
their sight, they looked at each other.

Carter went to speak, but Gavin cut him off.
“Not right now.”

They left and headed in the same direction as
Faith.

At the meeting, Faith shared her outlines of
Denver with the group. Adrian sat amongst them, rather than in the
back, so he could participate.

“Denver, or the Mile High City, is populated
by more the six hundred thousand people, with over two and a half
million people in the metropolitan area. The lower Downtown area,
or LoDo, has grown from what used to be strictly a business
district to a highly desired residential district.” She continued
with her presentation for the next half an hour. As before, in
addition to Adrian, they were impressed with the work she had
done.

When Faith completed her segment, Carter and
Gavin stood to share their findings for both Nashville and Denver.
They discussed the pros and cons of expanding only to Denver, since
they had already talked about Nashville. Gavin did as he had done
the day before, and set up a grid with one side for ‘Pros’ and the
other for ‘Cons’.

“Downtown Denver is definitely an ideal place
for a business. There are several desirable locations, with quick
access to sports venues and business clients,” said Faith.

“It’s also a place where entertainment can
happen throughout the year. The ski resorts attract thousands of
skiers each year. Colorado itself is a very active state, and they
are host to numerous cultural events each year. Many of those
events occur in the Downtown Denver area, where the Convention
Center is located,” added Adrian.

“I see you’ve done your homework, too,
Adrian,” commented Gavin.

“I know a thing or two,” he smiled as they
continued.

“Colorado in general is filled to the brim
with recreational activities. It’s a total sports haven with every
major sport represented by the Broncos, the Nuggets, the Rockies,
the Avalanche, and the Rapids. They also have other professional
sports teams for arena football, lacrosse and rugby. Plus, it is
home to many corporate headquarters like Coors, Qdoba, Chipotle,
and Noodles & Company. Denver is jam-packed with opportunity.”
Carter commented.

They continued to list the pros and cons for
moving to Denver. Adrian was thrilled to be a part of a discussion
like this again. It had been a long time. He was happy to see that
Gavin and Faith were getting along. Little did he know that Gavin
was pulling his usual stunts. He wanted to keep an eye on the two
of them, so as he was sitting there, he wrote a note to himself to
have Agnes report their activity to him on a weekly basis.

So far, Denver had more pros than cons. There
was a good chance that it would make the cut, but they had at least
eighteen more cities to go through. Preparing for each meeting was
going to require a lot of work, possibly extra hours. For Gavin,
that meant more time with Faith. He was looking forward to it. Each
time they were together, he learned a little more about her. He
also managed to irritate her to no end. He figured there must be a
reason behind that, and he was not going to give up until he found
out what it was.

“I think that’s good enough, don’t you all
think?” asked Gavin.

They all agreed.

“Alright. Again, good job everyone. Tomorrow,
we’ll talk about Jacksonville, and cover the agenda for the cities
we’ll need to prepare for next week. Adrian, do you have anything
to add?”

“I concur with Gavin. You have done an
excellent job with all of this. To hear that you might finish
earlier than originally anticipated is an added bonus. I would like
to participate from time to time as these meetings are happening.
It was a good feeling for me to be included and involved in a
project again.”

“I will make sure that Agnes is aware of that
and have her add our upcoming meetings to your calendar where you
are available. Faith, Carter, do you have anything else?”

They both shook their heads no. Gavin thanked
everyone and concluded the meeting. Everyone gathered their things
and returned to their offices. Adrian walked with Faith in the
direction of their offices.

“So how are things going? Are you resting?”
he asked.

“I’m getting some sleep, but you know how
that goes. It’s been a little rough getting into a routine, but
things are starting to settle down.”

“Promise me you’ll let us help if you need
anything.” He looked at her with conviction.

“I promise, I will,” she said as she touched
him gently on the arm. They kept walking and talking.

“Now, how are you and Gavin doing?”

As she they walked into her office, she
answered, “Gavin is special.” She smiled.

“Has he made advances toward you, or is he
behaving himself?”

“I’m convinced Gavin doesn’t know how to
behave when he’s not working. He has been relentless when it comes
to his advances. It can be quite exhausting. It’s only been three
days,” she smiled as she walked around her desk.

“If you ever need me to step in, just let me
know. I can put an end to his actions. Remember, I have the final
word around here.”

“No, no. I’m okay. I just didn’t expect so
much so soon. Don’t you worry. Faith has it all under control,
okay?” she said reassuringly.

“You just make sure you come to me if you get
in over your head,” said Adrian, touching her nose like he would a
daughter. With that, he walked out and down the hall to his
office.

Faith just smiled. She was
glad that she had Adrian here with her. He had always been like a
second father to her. Determined not to go running to him crying
wolf, she was going to have to try and get Gavin under control
herself. Just then, Gavin popped his head in.
‘Speak of the devil,’
she
thought.

“Wanna grab lunch?” Gavin asked.

“I’m never going to get a chance to eat the
frozen entree that I brought,” she said.

“Come on. I’ll be nice, I promise.” He was
smiling as innocently as he could.

“Are you just trying to beat Carter to the
punch?” she questioned.

“I am doing no such thing. Carter is not a
prisoner. He’s free to go to lunch with whom he pleases. Except for
you,” he joked. “I’m just kidding.” He wasn’t, and he had already
resolved that issue. “Will you join me? Please?”

“Stop begging, you’re pathetic. Alright, I’ll
go,” she said, rolling her eyes. She grabbed her purse from her
drawer and walked towards him and the door. “People are going to
start talking. We’re spending way too much time together,” she said
as she passed him.

He just grinned. Everything was happening
just as he intended.

As they exited the building, Faith asked,
“Where are we going?”

“I thought we could go to Café du Soleil.
They have a great atmosphere.”

“Okay. Don’t think for one minute that just
because we’re going to a French restaurant that I will lighten up.
I know you’re always up to something.”

“I promised to be nice, and I will. I wolf
out in the office.” Gavin was up to something. His goal today was
to find out why Faith was so uptight. He was going to need to spend
as much time as he could with her to figure it out.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Faith
was impressed with the atmosphere. Gavin was right. It reminded her
of home and it helped her relax a bit. Only a bit.

They were seated at a nice, private table in
the corner. Gavin had called ahead and requested this. He was a
regular at this restaurant, so they knew who he was. Faith,
unsuspecting, followed.

Gavin pulled her chair out for her, and she
said, “I would like to remind you that we are not on a date. We are
two colleagues out for lunch. You didn’t have to pull my chair out
for me.”

He eyed her playfully, “If I have to be nice,
so do you.”

She huffed. “Alright.” She was like a spoiled
little girl. “I don’t have to like it.”

He laughed as he sat down. She was quite cute
when she was forced to do something she didn’t want to do.

Gavin already knew what he wanted, so he just
sat back and people watched as Faith glanced over the menu.

As Faith decided, the server
came to them and asked, “Preferez-vous le francais ou
l’anglais?”
(Do you prefer French or
English?)

“Francais s’il vous plait,”
said Faith. (
French please.)

Gavin was hoping this would happen. He sat,
enjoyed, and got horny. Faith had forgotten that he was aroused by
her speaking French. He was hoping for that as well. If she
remembered, she might stop.

“Que voulez-vous a l’ordre,”
asked the server. (
What would you like to
order?)

Faith looked at Gavin and translated, “What
would you like?”

“I’ll have the Classic Hamburger,” he said.
They already knew what he wanted, but it was exciting to him that
Faith took charge. Good thing there was a table covering him up,
because his manhood was beginning to stand up and take notice.