Page 63 of One Bossy Date
They were content here. Me? I wasn’t, and never would be.
Come the new year, I’d be back in South America.
* * *
“Anders?”
I heard Zoe’s voice from the doorway of my home office. Sitting at my desk, I had the Humphries slideshow open in front of me while Ares and Hades slept at my feet.
“Hey, come in.”
She tentatively stepped through the doorway and looked around. I had quite an extensive book collection, and I noticed her immediately scanning the spines. She was wearing a bright-blue jumpsuit with a halter neck. I studied her as she perused the shelves and paced around the room curiously. The jumpsuit was backless from the waist up, reminding me of the moment in the bathroom when I’d seen her nude back and ass in the mirror. While I didn’t love the bright color, I appreciated the cut.
“Ilovebooks,” she said, her fingertips gliding along the spines.
“I know.”
She smiled, then took a seat in one of the armchairs across from my desk. “I have a little stack of my own in my room. But,” her eyes flicked to the shelves, then back, “mine are more…romantic.”
“You won’t find much of that in here.”
“Didn’t think so.” She bit her lip, staring down at her hands. “I thought I’d check in and see how you’re doing. You were supposed to have a big presentation this week?”
“Yeah.” For some reason I liked that she’d remembered, and that she’d come to ask me about it. “It’s tomorrow.”
“Is that why you’re in here?”
“Kind of. Final touches. I know everything I need to say. I’ve had the main idea for a long time, implemented it in my projects in South America, so these slides are just a formality, a visual aid really.”
She nodded, then a small crease above her brow told me she had a thought. “I don’t mean to pry, but what exactly happens if you’re successful? Any change in plans? Will you stay to implement it here?”
“No.” I shook my head. It felt good that I’d already thought this over today. I was definitely going back to Chile. “I’ll have someone else manage the contract. It’ll be enough for me to know that Windham Construction is using my ideas. That they’re moving ahead with the times.”
“Okay, I see.” Her lazy smile was beautiful and more genuine than any I’d seen before. Maybe because it was comfortable. It was there for no other reason than her truly being happy for me. “So, won’t you miss me?”
Before I could answer, my cell phone lit up with a call. It was Caroline. She didn’t usually call me this late in the day so it must be something important. “Do you mind if I get this, Zoe?”
“Not at all.” She hopped up, light on her feet, and playfully bounced out with the dogs on her heels.
“Caroline,” I answered.
“Mr. Windham, I’m sorry to disturb you.”
“Not a problem. What’s up?”
She sighed, indicating her hesitancy. “I, um, got a call from Mr. Humphries’s assistant.”
“Yes?”
“They’ve canceled the presentation.”
What? No.
Fuck.
I stood from my desk and paced to the floor-to-ceiling window behind me. “Why?”
“It’s a personal matter. Mr. Humphries’s daughter-in-law just delivered her baby early, and the family are headed to the hospital. He canceled everything for the rest of the week.”