Spring River Valley: The Winter Collection (Boxed Set) (27 page)

“This is the…ah…best business trip I’ve ever been on.”

“Me too…I guess we should thank the hotel for…screwing up your reservation.”

“Did you just say screwing?”

“Ironic, isn’t it?”

They laughed and rolled over together in a tangle of limbs. Emmy rose above him and stretched herself across his chest. “What happens now?”

He shifted his hips. “I thought you were familiar with this move, but I’d be happy to demonstrate in slow motion if you want to take notes.”

“I mean with us. My flight is at noon. When’s yours?”

“One thirty. I still have an appointment this morning.”

“So we both go back up north and then what?”

“Are you asking if we’re going to see each other again?”

“Outside of work.”

“That was my plan.”

“So this isn’t just a one-time thing?”

Jared stopped moving. He took Emerson’s face in his hands and kissed her once, longingly. “I hope not. This was…amazing. I’m not ready for it to end.”

A pink blush washed over her, and she returned his kiss, deeply, hungrily. “Me neither. How about we meet for lunch on Monday…at Colette’s?”

“I’ll be there or anywhere you want.”

“There’s only place I want you right now.”

“Where’s that?”

She showed him. And by the time they were ready to check out they’d made good use of his three remaining condoms.

* * * *

“Thanks for watching Pauly for me. I hope he wasn’t too much trouble,” Emmy said as she fell into her favorite armchair. Her best friend, Evie Prentice, sat across from her on the couch, sipping the iced tea Emerson had just handed her.

Pauly, Emmy’s three-year-old gray tabby, hopped up on Emerson’s knee and curled himself into a ball on her lap.

“He was no trouble. In fact, he helped me write my article. I was doing a piece on how people treat their pets like children, and he was a big help.”

Emmy laughed. “Why because I spoil him so badly? I hope you didn’t use my name. I don’t want people to know I’m that kind of crazy.”

“I made up a name, but I mentioned the personalized cat bed, the photo album, and how you had to call to talk to him before you got on the plane.”

“I called to talk to you; he just happened to be around.”

Evie rolled her eyes. “So are we done making small talk now? I want to get to the headlines. Tell me everything about this guy you met!”

Emmy stroked Pauly
’s ears as she sketched out the highlights of her business trip. She tried not to giggle like a teenager, but she couldn’t help it when she got to describing how Jared had appeared in what she thought was her room, stark naked and dripping from his shower.

“Oh
, my God. These things only happen to you. It’s not fair.”

“I think it was definitely fair. The universe cheated me out of a hotel room, so I got a hot guy instead.”

“
And
a hotel room and lots of great sex…apparently?”

Emmy’s face heated. She’d been at the mercy of her skin tone her whole life and couldn’t hide her emotions at all. The moment she thought of anything the least bit naughty, it showed from the top of her head to the top of her cleavage. “He was amazing. That’s all I can say.”

Evie groaned. “That can’t be all! You promised me details!”

Emmy covered her face with her hands. “It was perfect, sexy, awesome… He’s incredible.”

“Those aren’t details. Did he seduce you? Was he romantic or macho?”

“Definitely romantic, and I think I sort of seduced him. There’s only one problem.”

“He’s married?”

“God
, no! He works for DenMar Reese, the company I want to recommend to my boss for the ad campaign.”

Evie sat forward and set her drink on the coffee table. “This is getting juicy. Corporate intrigue. Did he try to get any of TCL’s secrets out of you while you were naked?”

“Of course not…but there were a couple of moments when I would have told him anything he wanted to know.”

“I’m getting an idea for a story. Can I get some quotes from you for a piece about the up side of business travel? Yours could be the success story, and I’ll contrast it with that time I went to the hot pepper festival and I passed out in the five-alarm-chili booth.”

“Focus, Evie. This is a problem.”

“Not if you don’t mention it. You know, it might be a good idea not to have lunch in a public place at least until the campaign decision is made.”

Emmy’s stomach flip flopped. “That makes sense. I should change our lunch date. Maybe I could meet him here instead.”

“Ooh, a nooner!”

“Maybe I should just tell Frank I went out with Jared, and we hit it off but that it has no bearing on my decision.”

“Does it?”

“No…but his presentation was the best one. I really wish it wasn’t. Then I wouldn’t feel like I was playing favorites.”

“Tell your boss you can’t decide.”

“That’s what he’s paying me to do, decide.”

“Tell him it was a close call, and you really want his input. Let him make the ultimate decision, then he can’t say you were influenced by anything that happened in the bedroom.”

Emmy still had to wonder if she
had
been influenced. Did Jared’s presentation only seem better because she was utterly besotted with him? “You’re right. I’ll do that. This way Frank can see for himself how good the presentation is.”

“And if he doesn’t choose Jared’s company, it won’t be on your head.”

* * * *

“Do you realize you’re whistling?” Max Shannon, Jared’s roommate, stuck his head into Jared’s room late Sunday afternoon. Jared had been unpacking and thinking how soon would be too soon to call Emerson’s cell phone.

“Was I?”

“So the presentation went well? All those overtime hours paid off?”

Jared eyed his satisfied grin in the mirror above his dresser. “I think they did.”

“Awesome. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. Hey, are you on your way out?”

“I’m picking up Audrey. I’m going to take some pictures by the river, and then we’re going to get something to eat. She won’t mind if you want to come along.”

“Nope, I was just thinking I might invite someone over, if you’re going to be out.”

“Like a
woman?”

“Maybe.”

Max shrugged. “No issue here. Leave a sock on the bedroom door handle if you don’t want to be disturbed.”

Max disappeared before Jared could say more, and he was a bit relieved. As much as he wanted to relive every moment he’d spent with Emerson, he wasn’t sure he wanted to go bragging about his adventure in New York. This
woman was special, and he didn’t want to cheapen their time together by feeding the juicy details to Max, who very likely didn’t even care. Despite his reluctance to talk about her, though, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was talking or at least thinking about him and the amazing night they’d spent in his bed.

Emmy had never been so nervous when speaking to Frank Eckert before. She’d worked with him for years and always found him to be forthright, fair, and decent, but this morning, she felt like a kid being called into the principal’s office.

She’d been thrilled and flattered when he’d designated her as the lead decision-maker for the national ad campaign. “You’ve proven over the years that you know what our customers want,” he’d told her. “You see things from a unique point of view, and I think your mix of intelligence and compassion is exactly what we need to help us mold this campaign.”

She’d never doubted him, and she’d never doubted herself until this morning.

With a wan smile for Frank’s secretary Terry, she scooped up her notes and walked into Frank’s office. He stood at the sideboard pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Good morning, Emmy. How was your flight back?”

“It was fine.”
Lonely without Jared, but fine.
“The weather held.”

“Coffee?”

“No, thanks. I’m already jittery this morning.”

“Why?” Frank sat down at his desk. “You’re not the nervous type.”

“Well, this is a big project, and I want to do the best I can. So I want to propose a little bit of a change in the agenda, if you don’t mind.”

Concern crossed Frank’s face. He set his coffee down and steepled his hands in front of him. “What do you have in mind?”

Emmy took a deep breath and outlined her recommendation that the final decision on the ad campaign be a joint one, not because she hadn’t made a decision, but because she felt the two best candidates’ presentations were both excellent, and she wanted to be a hundred percent sure she made the right choice for TCL. “I really think Mr. Todd should see both the presentation from DenMar Reese and the one from Metro Ads because the difference between them could represent a major development point in the long run,” she concluded, her pulse racing.

Frank studied her reports for a minute, shifting papers around and making some notes of his own. Finally he looked up at her. “I’m impressed.”

“You are?”

“Yes. I expected you to hand me a decision, black and white, case closed, and I was prepared to accept that decision because as I said before, I think you know what our customers want. We can’t go national if we can’t make customers happy. But I’m pleased that you put a little more thought into this decision than just a knee-jerk response to whichever campaign struck you as the coolest or the funniest or whatever emotion they were going for. The subtleties are important. The fact that you think a few words or a couple of phrases or targeting one demographic over another could make a serious difference in the public’s overall perception of TCL means you see the bigger picture. I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m going to speak to Mr. Todd, and I want you to set up appointments with DenMar and Metro as soon as possible so we can compare and contrast their campaigns.”

Emerson thought she might faint for a moment. “Excellent. I’ll contact them right away and get that set up.” She rose just a little unsteadily and straightened her suit jacket.

Frank grinned at her from his seat. “Nice work, Emmy. I’m very pleased.”

“Thanks…I’m…so am I.”

She left Frank’s office on cloud nine. Now she’d have backup, and she wouldn’t have to doubt her instincts. It still bothered her that she was afraid she might be playing favorites. Frank was right about everything he’d said. This national ad campaign was too important to the company not to make every effort to make the perfect choice. The Vice President of Sales, George Todd, incidentally the ‘T’ in TCL, should certainly have a say in the matter. If he chose DenMar as well, Emmy could be sure her instincts were intact and not affected by her feelings for Jared.

Now she just had to decide what her feelings for him were. He’d agreed to “lie low” until the campaign choice was made, so they’d decided to meet for dinner at his apartment rather than a public lunch at Colette’s. The arrangement made her feel sneaky, a bit like a corporate spy, but it was also sexy as hell. Keeping their liaison a secret from everyone they worked with made it just a little bit hotter, but she had to wonder how they’d handle it when they had to be in the same conference room together.

Would she be able to take her eyes off him and force herself not to think about how perfectly they fit together or how he could practically make her come just by whispering naughty things to her?

She’d manage. Somehow she’d manage to keep Jared a secret until the campaign was underway, but until then, she planned to enjoy every sexy, stolen minute they had together.

* * * *

The place had been spotless before she arrived, and within minutes of Emerson’s arrival, there were clothes everywhere. Not that Jared minded getting naked immediately, but he had spent a good hour since getting home from work sprucing the place up for her.

He couldn’t take exception to the fact that she didn’t notice the fresh flowers on the kitchen table or the shining flatware and place settings he’d laid out for dinner. In fact he’d forgotten about them himself the moment he’d opened the door and she’d thrown herself into his arms. He hoped it would always be like this between them.

“I missed you,” she said between kisses as she pulled off her coat and slung her purse onto the nearest chair.

“I missed you too.” He caught her in his arms and ran his hands through her hair, loosening it from the ponytail she wore to work and letting it cascade around her shoulders. He unbuttoned her suit jacket and ran one finger down the demure cleavage of her silky blouse. She moaned and went for his belt buckle.

“Is this wrong? Is it normal to be this handsy after one date?” she demanded while tugging his shirt out of his waistband.

He unzipped her skirt and ran his hands up under her shirt to thumb her nipples through the cups of her bra. “Who wants to be normal?”