Scattered Thoughts (Betrayed by Love Book 1) (3 page)

“Did you have a chance to look over the email I sent,” Lily asked, turning her attention to Alec.

“Yes. But I take it you haven’t read my reply.”

“Not
yet,
I’ve
been
in
meetings
all
afternoon…”
her
voice
trailed off as the two of them walked back to the opposite end of the room, leaving me to collect my thoughts and pull my head out of the gutter.

By four o’clock the eight invited executives, and the uninvited control freak, were all seated and waiting for me to start. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves then began. “Good afternoon,” I said in my best Izzy James presentation voice. “For those of you I haven’t met, I’m Izzy James. I’m the lead Issues and Reputation Manager at Dimarco.”

“Oh, I like a woman on top,” Alec whispered.

I resisted the
urge to
scowl
at
him,
knowing
my
cheeks
were
undoubtedly
red.
Is
he
intentionally
trying
to
throw
me
off
my
game?

Shaking
him
off, I continued. “I’ve been assigned to combat the negative effects the recent mechanical failures and illnesses onboard your competitor’s ships are having on your business.” I smiled at
myself, happy my professionalism had returned. “Let me start by saying thank you for the opportunity to help you solve this problem. Ms. Roberts and I have discussed the issue at length and I’ve already prepared a full
analysis.”

I walked to the edge of the table and hit enter on my keypad. The presentation illuminated on the projector screen. “This first slide,
ladies
and
gentlemen,
shows
the
financial
impact
this
problem has
had
on
your
bottom
line this
calendar
year
alone.”
I
paused
to give everyone an opportunity to absorb the figure on the screen before
advancing
to
the
next
slide.

“There’s no denying the problem, so it’s really how we handle
it that’s going to make a difference,” I continued. I pulled the copies of
the
action
plan
from
my
folder
and
passed
them
around
the table.

“Does your plan include changes to our shipboard processes?” The director of operations asked without even looking at the document I’d just handed him.

“Actually, I’m proposing several changes to your current processes.” I glanced around the table to gauge the reactions and was relieved when no one flinched. “All of the changes I’m recommending are designed not only to prevent the spread of illness but also to put your passengers at ease.” I advanced to the next slide that highlighted the changes I was
recommending.

“Are all these changes really necessary? We haven’t had any problems with illness using the processes we already have in place.”

“Just because you haven’t experienced an outbreak of illness doesn’t mean you’ve been problem free, Mr. Payne.” I took a deep breath, doing my best not to sound annoyed. “Your current processes don’t take into consideration public perception, and in many cases perception of a potential issue can be more harmful than the issue itself, sir.” I turned back to the slide that showed the impact on Ultimate’s bottom line. “I’ll admit the cost of resolution is high, but as you can see the cost of not resolving this issue is even
higher.”

A wicked grin crossed Alec’s face. “Fair point, Ms. James.”

I flashed my professional smile, but on the inside I was screaming. Did he honestly think I’d waste my time suggesting changes that weren’t necessary? Clearly Alec had no idea how busy I was.

After answering a multitude of questions surrounding the process changes, I handed out copies of the implementation plan and timeline. “I recommend implementing the changes one ship at a time,” I said as everyone looked over the
documents.

“Why not just rip the Band-Aid off?” Alec asked. I clenched
my jaw, my nostrils flaring as I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “It’s
a figure
of
speech,
Ms.
James.
I
mean
why
wouldn’t
we
implement
the changes all at once and just get it over
with?”

“No shit!”
I wanted to shout but I opted for deep breathing instead.

Alec tilted his head, his eyes never leaving mine.

“Sure, we could do that,” I finally answered. “Of course, we’ll have to decommission your entire fleet to make it happen.”

“Let’s
not
get
ahead
of
ourselves,”
Lily
interjected.
“I
want
to
go over this with our Shipboard Directors before we finalize the details, but I think the timeline will work just fine. Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Payne?”

I tilted my head to the side then too, a
satisfying smile
crossing
my
face
as
I
secretly
celebrated
another
win.
Lily
was on
my
side
and,
luckily,
my
contract
was
with
her.
Alec’s
jaw
visibly clenched but he didn’t
disagree.

With that settled I went over the logistics of implementation,
answering question after question as we went along. When
we reached the last page of the report I invited everyone up to get a closer look at the mockups I brought. Alec stood, whispered something to Lily, and left the room. My body immediately relaxed the second he left. I hadn’t expected the meeting to go off without a hitch, but I also hadn’t expected a battle with an arrogant control freak.

“I love your approach, Izzy,” Lily said, bringing me back
to the here and now. “I’ll review the timeline with our directors this week
so we can get started.”

After everyone had returned to their seats, I thanked everyone for their time and concluded the meeting. I smiled a satisfied smile, relieved the presentation was over.

Raul returned to disconnect his equipment from my laptop as I gathered up the rest of the materials I’d brought. I set the mockups on the table first then started breaking down the travel tripods.

A noise behind me caught my attention. I spun around to see what it was. My heart jumped into my throat when I saw him. Alec Payne was standing in the doorway.

“Did you have another question, sir?”

Alec strolled through the door, not saying a word, quickly closing the gap between us. My body tensed; my feet fused firmly to the floor. He reached around me and lifted the mockups off the table, gently brushing my hand as he did. My insides started to tingle. Damn my body.

Alec held up the prints. “I’d like to keep these,” he said. “I might have more questions later.”

“Sure,” I answered, my voice barely above a whisper. I pulled a business card out of my jacket pocket and handed it to him. “You can call me if you think of any more questions.” He took the card slowly from my hand, brushing my fingers once again. My insides were on fire. I looked down and zipped my bag, doing my best to hide my crimson cheeks.

“I can think of a few questions already.”

“I’m
sorry,
Mr.
Payne,
I
thought
I’d
answered
all
the
questions.” I took a deep breath and said a silent prayer that my color had returned to normal before looking up at him again. “Where would you like to
start?”

Alec’s head tilted to one side, a smile spread across his face. “What time is your flight?”

“It’s not until ten o’clock, so I have plenty of time to go over your questions now.”

His
smile
broadened.
“Soon,”
he
said
looking
right
into
my
eyes. He reached up and pressed the button on the Bluetooth earpiece I hadn’t noticed before. “Five minutes,” he said before pressing the button again.

Bringing his attention back to me, he continued. “I’ll meet you in the lobby in five minutes, Isabella.” With that he sauntered out of the room, leaving me standing alone and confused, by both my reaction to him and what he had planned. I’d made plans to meet up with another client for drinks while I was in town and now I was left hoping this wouldn’t take too
long.

Preston appeared out of nowhere and grabbed my bags. “This way, Ms. James,” he said.

I followed him down the hall and back to the lobby where Miss Jet Black was waiting. “You can wait over there,” she said motioning to the only seating area in the room.

Not bothering to respond, I walked over to the white leather loveseat and sat down. Preston put my bags down next to me
before disappearing once again.

I fished my phone out of my bag and typed out a quick text to my client, letting her know my meeting was running late, and then did a quick check of voicemail. Tim had already called looking for an update on the meeting I’d just finished. I laughed quietly at his impatience and deleted the message.

Spencer had left a message too.
He called to tell me he wouldn’t be home tonight after all. Something about an emergency he had to deal with in Chicago, but he hadn’t elaborated on the details, not that he needed to. I was just relieved I wouldn’t have to deal with him
tonight.

“Ready,
Isabella?”

The
sound
of
Alec’s
voice
made
me
jump
and I almost dropped my
phone. “Yeah,” I said quickly, disconnecting from voicemail before tossing my phone inside my bag.

I hopped up off the couch and reached for my bags, only Alec beat me to them. “Allow me,” he said, motioning toward the elevator where Preston was already
waiting.

Deciding not to battle over who carried my bags, I headed toward Preston. “Where are we going?” I asked when the elevator started its descent.

“Do you like sushi?”

I nodded cautiously, unsure where he was going
with
his
question.

Alec
flashed
a
broad
smile.
“I
thought
we’d eat
before
we
go
over
my
questions,”
he
said.
I
opened
my
mouth
to object but my stomach stopped me with a loud rumble, a reminder that I hadn’t eaten all day. “I really don’t think I could concentrate over the rumbling in your
stomach.”

“Sorry, I… um, I skipped lunch today,” I offered as an explanation,
embarrassed
by
the
sound
my
stomach
was
making.

“Good
thing
Oishi
is
close
then,”
Alec
said
with
a
raised
eyebrow that gave the distinct impression he was scolding me somehow. “Especially since you can’t seem to remember to feed yourself,” he added.

I gritted my teeth to still the snarky comment that desperately
wanted
to
escape.
When
I
eat,
or
don’t
eat
for
that matter, was none of his business.

We inched along in silence through the heavy downtown traffic before finally coming to a stop outside the Channelside Bay Plaza. “We’re here,” Alec said before hoping out of the car.

Distracted by the enormous ship anchored a few yards away, I didn’t move, not until Alec opened my door. I accepted his outstretched hand and climbed out, my eyes moving to the ship’s logo. It was one of Ultimate’s.