Kismet: A Serendipity Novella (2 page)

“The fact that you’re free on such short
notice just backs up my point. You need—”

“—to get to work,” Trevor said. “Tell Emma
I’ll see her on Saturday.”

Before Alex could depart, a knock sounded on
Trevor’s office door. “Come in.”

His secretary, Collette, opened the door.
“Mr. Dane, your nine-thirty appointment is here.”

Trevor nodded. “Show her in, please.”

“I’ll just stay and say hello to the
reporter,” Alex said, puffing out his chest a bit.

Trevor grinned. The man did love
publicity.

“Right this way,” Trevor heard Collette say
before she stepped back in. “Mr. Dane, Mr. Wittman, this is Ms.
Elisabetta Gardelli from the
News Journal
.” Collette
stepped aside.

And the woman who’d haunted his dreams for
the past ten years took his middle-aged secretary’s place in the
doorway.

“Hello, Mr. Wittman.” Elisabetta nodded at
Alex. “Hi, Trevor.” Her husky voice had only grown deeper,
sexier.

He immediately found himself sucked into
those green eyes, the color of freshly cut grass. Just the sight of
her was a sucker punch to his stomach as memories that still had
the power to gut him swept over him like a tsunami. “Oh, no. No
fucking way.”

Lissa paled at the words that slipped from
his mouth.

Alex stepped back, his expression full of
stark disbelief. Trevor was sure the man had never heard him speak
that way.

“You two obviously know each other,” Alex
said.

“From high school,” Lissa said, her voice
not as steady anymore. “It’s been awhile.” She met his gaze, giving
him time to adjust to the shock.

He tried to find his composure but surprise
made it impossible. Since she blatantly stared at him, he returned
the favor. Here in a professional capacity, she wore a simple black
dress obviously meant to give her a professional yet elegant
appearance, but her body outshone any dress and her cropped jacket
showcased her full breasts and indented waist. Time had brought
changes to the girl he’d known—and they were good ones.

Curves he’d felt in his hands as a teenager
had only blossomed over the years. Glossy hair he’d once wrapped
around his fingers fell over her shoulders, while her face had
filled out in a way that highlighted her cheekbones and full lips.
She was still beautiful. And there was no way he could deal with
her on a professional level and remain immune. No way he could let
her trail after him for days and go back to his solitary life
afterward.

“I can’t do this,” Trevor said into the
uncomfortable silence. He didn’t care how juvenile or
unprofessional he sounded.

“You two obviously have some things to work
out,” Alex said. “But Trevor, I don’t need to remind you how
important this interview is to you and to the firm.” With that
parting shot, Alex inclined his head to Lissa and stepped out of
the office, pulling the door closed behind him.

Trevor pulled in a deep breath. “Some
warning would have been nice.”

Lissa had the good grace to duck her head in
embarrassment. “I didn’t think you’d see me if I put my name on the
proposal. And I’d have been right.”

“So you ambushed me.”

“This interview is important for us both.
We’re adults now. Can’t we find a way to get through it?” she
asked.

Trevor knew he didn’t have a choice. Alex
had implied as much and Lissa knew it, too. Now that the shock was
wearing off, he realized what an ass he’d been. Completely
unprofessional—and if Trevor prided himself on anything, it was his
professional demeanor.

“Fine. Have a seat,” he said, gesturing to a
chair.

She’d had time to think about this meeting,
plan for the occasion, and prepare. He hadn’t. In return, he
intended to unsettle her as much as she unsettled him. So, instead
of retreating behind his massive cherry desk, he settled himself on
the corner of the desktop, directly across from Lissa and
definitely in her personal space.

“So how have you been?” he asked, shifting
so his pant leg brushed her bare one.

Her cheeks flushed in response. “I’m good.
And yourself? Is life in the city as fun as I imagine?”

“More,” he lied. It was cold, lonely, and
filled with work—not that he’d give her the satisfaction of that
truth. “So. The
News Journal
. I’m impressed.”

He’d been rocked when he’d read her
interview with Faith Harrington last month, surprised to see her
name after all these years. He’d also been proud of her, at least
until painful memories replaced the warmth he’d been feeling.

“Thank you. After my divorce, I didn’t think
I’d get beyond writing obits for the
Serendipity Gazette
,
but Faith Harrington changed my life.”

Trevor couldn’t get past the word
divorce
.

His family, his mother and sister in
particular, filled him in on Serendipity gossip, but they’d both
learned long ago not to try and feed him information about Lissa.
Their phone calls were more enjoyable that way.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “About the divorce.”
Another lie. His heart hadn’t stopped pounding in his chest since
he’d realized she was free.

“I’m not. It was a long time in coming.” She
glanced down, then looked at him again. “It wasn’t love, Trev. It
never was.”

Her honest words startled him. From the
minute she’d told him she was pregnant with Bradley Banks’s baby,
all he could think about was that his greatest fear had come true.
Lissa had gone out with Brad, the high school quarterback and rich
boy, and after they’d broken up, Trevor had made his move on the
girl he’d always wanted. Though they’d fallen in love and made
plans for the future, he’d still been insecure about his place in
her life. Back then he hadn’t been able to give her what Brad
could, the things she deserved that money could buy.

Not that she’d ever asked for or coveted
them, he realized now.

But his inadequacies had always marked him.
It was the way of things in Serendipity and his dad, bless him, was
the high school janitor. It didn’t make Trevor’s life easy. So when
he and Lissa had a stupid teenage argument, they’d broken up. And
when she’d turned back to Brad, even for one night, all Trevor
could think was that she’d proven him right. And when she’d ended
up pregnant, all hope of fixing things came to an abrupt and ugly
end.

Trevor met her gaze. She’d waited quietly as
processed her words. “It’s in the past,” he said gruffly.

But was it?

“So you’ll do the interview?” she asked,
hope shining in her eyes.

While he’d been rehashing the pain, she’d
been worried about her career. Okay, that made sense. It wasn’t
like she was here for a personal reason. “Yeah. I’ll do it.”

“Thank you!” She squealed and impulsively
jumped up from her chair, throwing her arms around him in
gratitude. In that instant, she was the Lissa he remembered, the
full of life, go for the gusto, happy girl he’d fallen for.

And when she pulled him into an embrace, he
buried his face in her hair and her familiar scent enveloped him.
Desire licked at him, scorching him from the inside out. He
remembered how good they’d been together and suddenly he knew what
that empty hole was in his life. He missed her, the girl he’d told
everything, including his dreams, hopes, and secrets. Since Lissa,
he’d never let anyone get that emotionally close, afraid of
experiencing that kind of pain and loss again.

She pulled back, an embarrassed flush on her
cheeks. “Sorry. I got carried away, but this series of interviews
means so much to me. I mean, I didn’t think I’d ever get to stop
slinging coffee for a living and now ...” She trailed off. “I’m
rambling.”

He laughed for the first time since she’d
walked in. “You think?”

He couldn’t stop thinking about her words.
Serving coffee? Didn’t Banks have so much money that after any
divorce settlement, she should be able to sit back and eat bonbons
if she chose?

Clearly Trevor had a lot to catch up on, and
suddenly he wanted to. Now that he’d seen Lissa again, his
curiosity was piqued and he wanted the information he’d
deliberately ignored over the years. Thinking back to the schedule
his secretary had handed him first thing this morning, he figured
they had time. Because if Lissa was going to pump him for
information about who he was and what made him tick, damned if he
wasn’t going to do the same thing to her.

“So when do we get started?” he asked her.
“On the interview.”

Her eyes opened wide. “Right now, if you’re
ready. I’ll do a combination of observing you at work and, when
we’re alone and you aren’t busy, asking questions and talking.”

“Now is fine,” he said, suddenly revved up
and exhilarated. “Did Collette give you a copy of my schedule for
the next few days?”

“She handed me a sheet of paper when I
walked in. I haven’t had time to go over it.”

He nodded. “You might want to. There’s a
formal event on Friday night and a dinner party Saturday,” he said,
deciding that wherever he was going, so was Lissa.

She paled visibly. “Formal events and dinner
parties?”

“All part of the life you need to write
about,” he reminded her. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that ...” She drew a deep breath.
“I didn’t bring those kinds of dress clothes with me. But I’m
staying at the Marriott on Broadway and this is Manhattan, right?
I’m sure I’ll find something.” Her voice trembled and he couldn’t
understand the cause.

“You sure?”

She nodded, putting on a bright but clearly
forced smile. He still knew her well enough to pinpoint that.

“I’ll just leave after lunch and go
shopping.”

“Okay.” He narrowed his gaze, knowing that
as soon as she left, he’d be on the phone with his mother to find
out exactly what had gone on in Lissa’s life that he deliberately
hadn’t wanted to hear.

Now he wanted to know everything.

Trevor didn’t understand his sudden
turnaround, not completely. But one thing was clear. Their forced
time together would provide him with a way to get Lissa out of his
system and allow him to move on with his life.

One way or another.

Lissa checked into her hotel room, needing
time to regroup after this morning. No matter how well she thought
she’d prepared herself, the meeting had been worse than her most
awful nightmare. She’d pictured their reunion often over the years,
sometimes in wistful daydreams, more recently since Trevor had
become her assignment. In none of them had his explosive reaction
been part of the scenario.

Anger she’d accounted for, but one look at
his disgusted expression and Lissa’s knees had nearly buckled and
tears had threatened. Somehow she’d held herself together. Then
he’d surprised her again, going from “No fucking way” to all in—and
she had to wonder why.

But she couldn’t worry about his motives
now. She had a full schedule ahead of her. After their initial
reunion, Lissa had sat through a typical morning in Trevor’s life,
which consisted of nonstop phone calls, paperwork, a few
confidential meetings for which she’d had to step out of the room,
and more phone calls. As a result, she’d had plenty of time to
observe him and view the man he’d become.

Of course Lissa had researched her subject
and she’d read about Trevor’s basic background, much of which she
already knew: scholarships to Columbia undergrad and business
school, where he’d worked his way through, earning the rest of his
way while maintaining stellar grades; internships at the top
financial firms in Manhattan; and a job waiting for him when he
graduated.

The man was brilliant—something she’d always
known—but what he’d accomplished on his own was simply amazing. She
was proud of him. So proud, she couldn’t stop the warmth fluttering
through her even now. But she’d known all about his golden
accomplishments and understood his inner drive to make things
happen. As a kid, the arrogance he projected had been an act, a
cover for insecurities about where he’d come from.

Trevor Dane no longer needed to pretend. An
earned confidence had replaced the old cockiness. Sexiness had
taken the place of what she’d thought of as hunky hotness.

As for his looks, well, she’d seen recent
photos on the company website, but nothing had prepared her for his
impact in person. He was gorgeous, the force of his personality
magnetic. At a glance, the changes in him were obvious. With his
jet-black hair in an expensive cut, a power suit, and a red tie, he
radiated confidence. His blue eyes were still as piercing, his
knowing gaze as raw. His face was leaner, more chiseled, and if
possible, he was even more handsome.

She had no doubt women lined up to date the
eligible, wealthy bachelor, something she figured she’d discover
first-hand the more time she spent with him. Pain shot through her
heart at the thought, but she had no one to blame but herself. No
matter how much she was still drawn to him, they were history.

Even after he’d overcome his shock at seeing
her, wariness remained between them. Still, he insisted she
accompany him, not just for his daily business but on all his
after-hours appointments as well.

Beginning with dinner tonight, a formal
event on Friday evening, and a dinner party on Saturday. That meant
she needed a formal gown and another dress for Saturday night, none
of which she could easily afford. She’d tried to cover her surprise
and dismay and knew she’d failed miserably ... but at least she’d
salvaged her pride and hadn’t let her lack of money slip.

No doubt Trevor assumed she’d received a
nice settlement to end her marriage. She wasn’t about to inform him
how hard she’d had to scrape for life’s little luxuries. Her
marriage and its aftermath were none of his business. She didn’t
want or need his sympathy—if he’d even afford her that, given their
history.