Finally (9 page)

While she’d felt a bit sorry for the flirtatious worker, Jeff’s reaction had made her heart sing. Was he being possessive of her?

What really thrilled her the most, though, was that when no one was looking, Jeff had touched her. They’d ranged from simple gestures like putting his hand on the small of her back, to naughty acts like squeezing her bottom when they were the last two to leave a room. Once, he'd grabbed her and kissed her among the oak barrels that contained their most expensive wines. He’d been so playful, and she’d enjoyed the winery tour thoroughly.

She’d been having such an unbelievable five days with him that she felt like she was floating on air. That was the effect Jeffrey Carmichael had on her. They were careful enough not to raise Magda’s suspicions, but when they were alone, he was nothing but hot, hot, hot. Just thinking about what they did in the different rooms in his and her suites brought a needy sensation between her legs.

But their time together wasn’t all spent having sex. They talked a lot too, and had gone for a couple of long walks while he showed her around their property. There was this connection between them that made her feel like she’d known him forever. She hoped he felt it too.

In a picturesque part of the world surrounded by breathtaking autumn colours, it was easy to believe that nothing could cut through the magic she was feeling.

But Jeff would be gone in a few hours. He was returning to Sydney after working here for five days, checking out the hotel renovations and various other matters connected to their winery business. He was needed back in the office.

Gosh, he hadn’t even left yet and she was already starting to pine for him.

*****

S
arah watched as Jeff loaded his suitcase in the car. She folded her arms across her chest to stop herself from reaching out and touching him. She wanted to jump into his arms and give him a long kiss, but she shouldn’t. They were by the front of the hotel, waiting for Magda, so they could say goodbye to Jeff before he left for Sydney.

Closing the boot, Jeff turned around and leaned against his car. “I’ll miss you,” he murmured.

Her heart danced madly in her chest. “I’ll miss you, too,” she said softly, acutely aware of the physical distance between them—which was only a few paces. Gosh, what would she be like when he was literally gone? “When will you be back?” she asked, trying hard to look nonchalant.

“By the looks of it, next weekend,” he said with a huge sigh.

“Not this weekend?” she asked, not hiding the disappointment in her voice.

“Unfortunately, it seems like I’ll have too much to do this weekend, especially since I’ve been here for five days.”

“You’d be gone for a while then,” she said with a pout.

Jeff chuckled. “I know, baby. But that means we’ll have really,
really
hot sex when we see each other again.”

She smiled. She wouldn’t just miss the sex, she’d miss
him
. Was it all about sex for Jeff?

“Are you ready to go, dear?” Magda called from the threshold, startling them.

“Yup,” Jeff replied, walking over to his grandmother and giving her a hug.

“Tell your brothers and Rebecca I miss them.”

“I will.”

“You drive safely, you hear? And come back again soon.”

“I will. Next weekend.”

“Oh good. Hopefully, your brothers can visit then too. Tell them I don’t want to wait until the parties to see them again.”

“Yes, Gran. See you, Sarah. Take care.”

“Bye, Jeff,” Sarah responded, giving him a little wave. Oh, she knew how much she’d be yearning for him while he was away. Would he call her from Sydney?

She was desperate to give him a goodbye kiss, but she couldn’t. Not in front of Magda—or anyone. Because for all the steamy moments they’d shared, for all his sweet words, what they had was still only a fling that no one was supposed to know about. Hadn’t Jeff been ultra clear about that? Hadn’t he even made sure she understood perfectly that a fling was all he was after?

So why was she allowing herself a little bit of hope that Jeff was starting to want something more?

Argh, damn it! She knew this would happen. She was already falling in love with him—falling in love with a man who wasn’t the marrying kind.

Bad Sarah.

J
eff couldn’t do anything else but stare at the woman standing in front of him in his office. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

“I know this is a shock, Jeff. It was for me too. They only just told me this morning when I turned up for my first day of work.”

He continued to stare.

“Jeff, please say something.”

He roused himself from his shock. “This was just so unexpected, Bee. Sorry. Please have a seat.”

He walked back to his chair, running a hand over his face. Bianca was back in the country. Not only that, his ex-fiancée was the new account manager their advertising agency had appointed for their campaigns.

“I’ve wondered why my appointment calendar only showed ‘meeting with new account manager’. I thought my PA just didn’t get the full name,” he said.

Bianca smiled. “I deliberately didn’t give my name. I didn’t want you concocting some sort of excuse to sack me from the job before I’ve even started,” she said teasingly although her nervousness was obvious.

“Well, you have to admit this is kind of awkward,” he said with a sigh.

“Your ad agency head-hunted me. Since I was ready to go home anyway, taking their offer was a no-brainer. Imagine my surprise when they said they were going to give me the Carmichael account on the condition that you guys agree. My boss intended to discuss this with you first, but I talked him out of it. He knew about our past relationship, but I assured him we’re both professionals and it shouldn’t be a problem. I told him I’ll talk to you, and after this meeting, you can tell him if you want me in the role or not. So I’m here to plead my case.”

Jeff inhaled deeply, and let it out slowly. He had no idea what to think right now. His mind was still in shock mode.

“Jeff, personal feelings aside, you know I’m a great choice to handle your account. You
know
that.”

Yes, he had to admit that Bianca was an excellent choice for the job. Before she went to New York she’d been their advertising guru, and had been responsible for some of their most successful campaigns in the past. He had no doubts that her talents and skills were much stronger and more honed now after two years of working in New York with one of the world’s biggest advertising firms.

“Would it really be a problem, Jeff? You and me working together again?” Bianca asked in a small voice.

He allowed himself a long moment to consider her questions. To his surprise, he realised that he no longer felt any anger or resentment toward Bianca. He didn’t even feel any remnants of hurt, even if she was right there in front of him and he was staring right at her.

He was still uncomfortable because of their history, but was that enough to decline her as their account manager? This wasn’t just about himself, this was about the company. And Bianca would undoubtedly be a great asset.

“What do you know about our current program?” he finally asked.

Bianca straightened in her seat. “I’ve studied the file. My predecessor has done a great job, but I think more can be done in terms of getting us on covers of more publications. I already have some ideas on how this particular campaign can cross-pollinate with the unveiling of your new development project in a few months’ time.”

They discussed strategies and possibilities for the next half hour, and Jeff had to acknowledge that Bianca was indeed the best person to handle their account. Hearing her suggestions and how she planned to run the campaign made him excited at the thought of working with her again. He’d always had great respect and admiration for her sharpness and skills. The fact that she was already very familiar with their various businesses was a major plus in her favour.

By the end of the meeting, he’d agreed for Bianca to run the advertising campaign for Magda’s Place for the next couple of months. If that went well, he’d consider giving her the whole of the Carmichael account.

“Jeff, since we’ve agreed on this, don’t you think it would be a good idea if we got rid of whatever discomfort we might still have in working with each other again?”

“How do you propose to do that?”

Bianca shrugged. “Maybe we could... you know... start with a friendly dinner or something? I think it’s very important that we find our easygoing relationship of the past.”

He couldn’t see the harm in that. In fact, it was probably a necessary move to ensure the success of their new working relationship. “Sure,” he answered.

*****

Z
ach and Greg stared at Jeff in shock.

“I’m sure that was exactly how I looked when she walked into my office,” Jeff said with a laugh at the expression on his brothers’ faces.

“I can’t believe the agency didn’t even mention her name to us before this all happened,” Greg said.

“They promised us their best account manager. She
is
their best account manager,” Jeff said dryly.

“How do you feel about this?” Zach queried.

“Well, after my shock had worn off, I wasn’t sure if Bianca and me working together again would work. But after going through the campaign with her, my doubts have evaporated. Not only is she still very good at what she does, but her knowledge of our company from working on our programs in the past is a major factor we can’t ignore.”

“She did do a terrific job back then,” Zach mused.

Jeff and Greg nodded in agreement.

“So you’re saying you don’t have a problem with this?” Zach pressed.

An image of Sarah flashed through Jeff’s mind, filling him with warmth... and worry.

“On a professional front, I’d be doing the company a great disservice if I don’t find a way to work well with Bianca. So there’s no question that we should at least allow her to work on the campaign for Magda’s Place. Then we decide if we’re happy for her to continue in the role after that.”

“And on a personal front?” Greg asked.

Jeff shrugged. “I don’t have a problem because I don’t see her and me getting personal again. I only see our relationship as being professional this time around.”

“Okay. It’s settled then,” Zach said. “Gran would be very surprised when she hears this.”

“Uh, I’d prefer if we keep this news from Gran in the meantime,” Jeff said. “Remember how upset she got when Bianca and I broke up?”

“Yes, she did take it quite badly,” Greg said. “But I think it was mainly because she didn’t like that you got hurt, especially around that time.”

“So let’s see first how Bianca goes in the next few weeks,” Jeff said. “Who knows, we may decide not to continue with her after a couple of months. No need to let Gran know until we’ve decided that we do want to give Bianca the rest of our account.”

“Okay.”

“And Zach, could you not mention this to Bec?”

Zach raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“Well, I’m sure she’d tell Sarah, and I don’t want Sarah to know either.”

“And why not?”

“I don’t think she’ll be happy with it. Frankly, I don’t know what to tell her.”

“Aren’t you and Sarah just having a fling?” Greg asked. “If she has a problem with Bianca working with you, then shouldn’t you end it with her? Because that would mean she’s getting too clingy and you wouldn’t want that, would you?”

Jeff scowled at his brother, resenting his words. “That part is none of your business, Greg. Let me work that out, okay?” he snapped.

Greg’s lips twitched. “Whoa. I’m just saying, bro.”

“What
is
going on between you and Sarah?” Zach demanded.

Jeff raked his hair with his fingers. “A fling, like Greg said.”

“I thought it ended when the cruise ended.”

“Well, we’ve started again.”

“I hope you’re not leading her on, Jeff,” Zach said, his tone holding a strong warning.

“I’m not. I swear. This is mutual.”

“Why don’t you just tell her about Bianca then?” Greg asked.

Jeff shrugged. The thought actually filled him with dread, but he didn’t want to admit that to his brothers. “I’ll tell Sarah about Bianca only if we decide that Bianca would be working with us for the long term. I don’t see the point in creating a problem with Sarah if we’d be sacking Bianca after a couple of months.”

Greg smirked. “And he calls it a fling,” he said to Zach.

Jeff frowned at the knowing looks exchanged by his brothers. Sometimes, they really annoyed him. “It
is
a fling.”

He might already have moved on from Bianca ages ago, but seeing her again did reinforce something. Flings—not serious relationships—were what worked well for him. So he was sticking with flings. He only hoped that Sarah was open to a very long one with him.

*****

“M
mm. This is just as good as I remember.”

Jeff smiled his agreement. He and Bianca were dining in one of Sydney's popular restaurants, and they’d ordered the dishes that had been their favourites for years.

He was having a pleasant time so far, like he was having dinner with an old friend.

He was relieved with that. It certainly made things less complicated, since it was imperative that he worked well with Bianca.

“So how’ve you been these last two years?” Bianca asked.

“I’ve been well, thanks. You?”

“Not bad,” Bianca said. “I’ve read a lot about you... in the papers and magazines and on the internet.”

He snorted. “I hope you didn’t believe everything you’ve read.”

“Of course not. Some of the claims they made about you were ridiculous.”

“Like what?” He’d stopped reading the gossip that got written about him and his family. Most of it was untrue or grossly exaggerated. It just irritated the hell out of him.

“Well, more than one publication had said that you’re a big playboy—changing girlfriends like you change your clothes,” Bianca teased.

Jeff rolled his eyes in mock frustration. While there were photos to prove that he’d been out with those women, the fact was he hadn’t slept with half of them. Some were just his friends and a few were business acquaintances he’d had lunch meetings with. Of course, the truth didn’t make for juicy stories that sold magazines.