Second Chances

Chapter 7

My eyes shot up as Drew walked to me, giving me a brief, hard hug and dropping a kiss on the top of my head. My stomach clenched at his touch, electricity sliding down to burn between my legs. I briefly closed my eyes and took a deep breath, aware that my cheeks were on fire. "Drew," I acknowledged him. "So good to see you." I noted Brinley's narrowed eyes and clear irritation as she watched Drew's interaction with me, then turned to include everyone else as I calmly said, "Please grab some lunch and bring me up to speed."

Drew was still staring at me, sweeping his eyes downward, hovering over the smidgeon of exposed breast and thigh, his gaze narrowed and thoughtful. He took my arm, walking with me to the sidebar where he released me, grabbed two plates, and loaded them with salads and sandwiches, adding a piece of fruit for each of us.

"You didn't ask me what I wanted," I murmured, aggravated at his presumption, then choked as Drew tilted his head at me, innuendo lacing his words, "Did you think I would forget what you liked?"

Wordlessly, I took the plate he offered and sat at the table across from Jamie. Drew followed, sitting on my other side, Brinley next to him. I noted the way she slid her chair as close to his as possible. Skyler began the meeting while we ate, introducing our new client's company and bringing me up to speed on their needs. Brinley took over as the company's spokesperson, both asking and answering questions, taking every possibility to brush her hand against Drew's or place her hand on his arm.

I heard nothing.

This may have had something to do with the fact that Drew had pushed his leg against mine, and all I could think about was how that hard thigh had moved between my legs a few nights ago. I toyed with the food on my plate, trying to concentrate on the conversation without success and watching Brinley's blatant attempts to lay claim to the man beside her. Drew barely glanced at her. I watched as her irritation and frustration increased.

"Not hungry?" Drew breathed into my ear, his lips barely touching me.

Jamie had clued into my oddly quiet behavior. I wasn't asking questions or commenting as I usually did during these meetings. My usual role was to discuss financial concerns, as well as possible creative or security issues that might arise. Thankfully, Jamie, who would never call me out in front of a client, didn't comment on my unusual behavior and instead, directed more questions toward Brinley. 

Drew's hand dropped to my leg, sliding upward as it followed the slit on my skirt. I swallowed hard, ignored the ripples of delight he was creating on my skin, and forced myself not to react. I dropped my hand to his, moving it back to his own leg. He ignored my attempt to stop him, once again trailing his fingers over my bare thigh.

Pushing my chair back, I calmly turned to Brinley, James, and Skyler, "Would you excuse us please?" I moved to the doorway, indicating that I wanted Drew to follow. I didn't wait for their responses but walked down the hall to the staff bathroom. When Drew entered, I shut the door, turning the lock.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" I hissed.

Drew smiled, his dark gaze locking with mine. He moved closer to me and trailed a finger across the neckline of my blouse. "Why did you run?"

"I didn't. I excused us and left the room." My traitorous nipples were pebbled and sensitive, begging for him to touch them. I stepped away from his hand.

"That's not what I'm talking about, and you know it. Why did you run?" The smile was gone.

I decided to stop pretending I didn't know what he was talking about. "Drew, I don't stay the night. Ever."

He raised his eyebrows and echoed his words from our conversation in the bar a few nights ago. "I remember differently."

"That was a long time ago, and we weren't having sex then. We were kids. We're grown-ups now."

Drew's eyes were focused on the tops of my breasts just peeking from the neckline of my blouse. "I see. So now we don't have sleepovers, just sex. And then you run away."

"Stop it!" I pushed up on his chin, forcing his gaze back to mine. "Now is not the time to talk about that. I just need to know a couple of things."

"Yes?" His smile had returned and that maddening drawl made my thighs clench together.

"First, did you make your appointment with my company before or after we had sex?"

"Before."

"Second, if I call you out on your completely unprofessional behavior and ask you to stop touching me inappropriately during the rest of our meeting, have I put our contract in jeopardy?"

Drew's smile left his mouth and his eyes widened. "Hales, no. That's not what this is."

"Then what is it?" My whisper was becoming louder.

"Look, I was working with Jamie on this deal a couple of weeks ago. He gave me your company schematic and I saw your picture. I was actually going to give you a heads-up about it in the morning after we..." his voice trailed off.

"Had sex," I finished for him. I was calling this what it was.

"Yes," Drew answered. "But then you ran. So I admit to having a bit of fun at your expense. At our meeting this morning, I mentioned we were friends when we were kids, and he thought it would be fun to surprise you."

"You wanted to make me uncomfortable."

"A bit, yes." Drew seemed apologetic. "Haley, we seemed to slip right back into how close we were as kids. I was teasing you today."

"Drew!" I huffed in frustration. "No, we didn't slip right back into that. We never had sex when we were kids. It didn't enter our minds. This is different and it's really inappropriate for you to bring it to this meeting."

He looked at me speculatively. "You don't know what entered my mind back then."

"Irrelevant to this conversation!" I snapped. "You've crossed a line that has put me in a difficult position professionally. Given what happened between us, there is a possible conflict of interest that needs to be addressed. Touching me inappropriately during a meeting is not the way to address it. I don't sleep with my clients. I should not have to tell you this!"

Drew closed his eyes. "Aw, Haley, I'm sorry. Ever since that night, I seem to have lost my mind. Honestly, what just happened in your office - that isn't me. I'm not that guy."

He shook his head, gathering himself, and walked to the door. I felt relief underscored with a tiny current of disappointment as Drew suddenly became all business. "Your point is valid. I apologize. It won't happen again." He turned the lock, opened the door, and I relaxed as he indicated that I should precede him back to my office. Just before we entered, however, he lowered his lips to my ear and whispered, "But I still want to know why you ran," then stepped into the room.

I stopped short. Did he really just say that again? I tamped down my anger, pasting on a professional smile as we approached the office. "Jamie and Skyler," I said from the doorway, "I think it's important that you negotiate this contract without my presence. Drew and I have developed a complicated relationship that I believe will have an adverse effect on my ability to provide quality service to the Summers Resorts company, and quite honestly, you don't need me here. Ms. Davis, it was so good to meet you." Then I turned on my heel, told my assistant that I was giving myself the rest of the day off, and left the building.