Mine to Lose (13 page)

“Morning, Cam.” My voice is quiet in my
greeting.

She wastes no time in joining me at my
desk. She sits on the corner to face me, a huge smile covers her face. I don’t
think I have noticed how beautiful her smile is until now, but as soon as I
notice it, it disappears. “How ya doin’?” Her look is sympathetic, and I feel
bad that I’m bringing her down.

“I’m good,” I lie, thankful I was able to
make myself look presentable enough to back up my words. “It was hard saying
goodbye, but we had so much fun. I’m good, I promise.”

She looks at me and nods, which allows me
to get away with the charade, for now. “What do you have going on today?”

“Oh no you don’t.” I shake my head,
making sure I have her attention. “You don’t get off that easy. You and Dean,
huh? I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. You two disappeared and I
haven’t heard anything from you,” I tease, prompting a laugh from her. “Care to
explain?”

Her smile is one of authentic happiness.
“He’s really funny,” she gushes, which surprises me. Most people would probably
comment on his eyes, or tall stature, but not Cam. It’s all about what’s on the
inside with that girl.

“Funny, huh? Is that all he is?” She
blushes. Cam actually blushes when I put her on the spot about Dean, so of
course I continue. “What else is he?”

“He’s kinda great,” she admits with a shy
smile.

“Ryan’s a good judge of character, and he
and Dean hit it off right away, so I think you’re in good hands.” I wink. “What
did y’all do the rest of the night?”

“We were going to a coffee bar down the
road, but there was some guy playing there. We wanted to talk, so we just ended
up walking around for hours.”

I look at the person who I’ve come to
consider a good friend, and I love seeing her happy. She’s been nice to me
since day one, she’s sobered me with unsolicited advice that I appreciate but
I’ve been so self-involved that I didn’t notice how things were going for her.
I really hope that whatever this is between Dean and Cam works out. They are
pretty opposite; sure, they’re both good looking, but he comes off cocky and
his loud inappropriate comments throw most people off. But then again, Cam
isn’t most people. She’s a quiet observer and one of the most intuitive women I
have met, so yeah, they make sense.

“I’m glad y’all had a good time. So- are
you gonna see him again?”

The smile on her face is the only answer
she gives as she gets up to walk back to her desk, so I push the button to
power my computer on. My coffee mug sits at my desk, and I decide to fill it
while I wait for everything to load on the screen. I haven’t checked my email
since I left work early Friday, so hopefully my inbox won’t be too bad.

With hot coffee in hand, I sit down and
open my email. The first one I spot is from Ryan.

Ryan
Tate
September 16, 2013 6:04 AM
To: Kane, Emogen
Subject: Miss you
Hey baby,

I just wanted to let you know that I
was thinking about you. I thought you might like to have a message from me when
you get to work. I love you, and thank you for this weekend.

Love,
Ry
Ryan Tate
ARK Consulting

I consider a response, but stop when I
see the next one is from Trey. The time stamp says that he sent it early
yesterday morning, which I find odd. The only thing that makes it even stranger
is the content of the email itself.

Trey
Miller
September 15, 2013 1:32 AM
To: Kane, Emogen
Subject: (None)
Emogen,

I need to cancel our meeting this
week. I apologize for the late notice, but I have some things I need to take
care of out of town. If you have any questions, or if there is anything that
needs to be done in the meantime, my new secretary, Hattie should be able to
help you.

Regards,
Trey
Trey Miller
T.M. Enterprises

I’m not sure why, but this email has me confused.
I wonder if I did something wrong. I’m not sure who Hattie is, maybe he finally
found someone to replace Sandy, the woman I was originally working with. But
still, I find the email perplexing, especially given the timing. I think back
to the other night, aside from it being painfully awkward, nothing happened
that sticks out as bad. I have no other emails or texts that would give me any
indication as to what’s going on, but I send a short response anyway.

Emogen
Kane
September 16, 2013 8:13 AM
To: Miller, Trey
Re: (None)
Mr. Miller,

I will be sure to contact Hattie if
there are any problems. Have a good week.

Regards,
Emogen Kane,
Event Planner
Elle E. Grant Events

I debate whether or not I should even hit
the “send” button, because it seems pointless to respond, but business
etiquette deems that I should at least acknowledge. Right?

“Emogen?” Callie calls through the
intercom. “Mr. Miller is on hold for you.”

“Thank you, Callie,” I say; anxiety is
filling me while I wait for her to send the call through.

He wastes no time in speaking when I
answer the phone. “Emogen, it’s Trey.” His voice is hurried, and I can only
assume he’s running late somewhere.

“Good morning, Mr. Miller, is there
something I can do for you?” I answer, bemused that he’s calling, when his
email already said everything, I would think, he needed to say.

“I know my email said I had to cancel the
meeting this week, but can we meet today instead?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure that’s
possible. The entertainers were set to meet with us on Thursday. I’m not sure
how many, if any, we can get on such short notice.”

“That’s fine, we can reschedule that. I
just need to discuss a few changes I’m thinking about making.”

“If you’d like, you can send over a list,
and then we can discuss them when you return,” I offer, more for myself than
for him.

“Em, please, I really would like to
discuss this in person, if that’s okay with you.” It’s not an invitation, but a
request that is rushed. I feel like there is something distracting him, but I can’t
decline, even though I would like to.

I remain quiet, no doubt too long, and I
can tell by his frustrated sigh that there’s something he’s not saying. Part of
me is dying to know what’s going on, and the other part feels like I’m walking
into a trap that has nothing to do with work.

There is an obnoxious thump on his end of
the phone that snaps me out of my trance and he clears his throat. “Emogen, are
you still there?”

He can’t see me, but I conduct a frantic
search through my work calendar, trying to find any last minute reason that I
can’t go. Truth is, I don’t have a good excuse why I can’t and that leaves me
feeling defeated. “Yes, sir. I can meet you at Chops at noon, will that work?”

“That’s fine, I can pick you up on my
way,” he interjects.

“No,” I answer, eager to get off that track.
“That’s okay, I have some clients to meet with this morning, so I’ll meet you
there when I’m done.” If nothing else, I’ll just help Cam out with whatever
she’s got going on since I’m undoubtedly free.

He’s silent for a moment and offers a
clipped goodbye. I can almost see the words flying from his tightly pressed
lips and I know he doesn’t like my plan to meet him there. The whole
conversation leaves me dreading noon.

* * *

I arrive to the restaurant early to get settled
and wait for Trey to show up. I go through a mental list of what changes he may
want to make, or wonder if he wants someone else to handle his event. As much
as I hate the idea of losing my first client, the thought does leave me feeling
a bit lighter. I check my phone and scroll through emails, and when I look up,
he’s walking past the hostess desk, nodding to people as he passes. His
confidence is evident, but his smile isn’t until he spots me in a booth near
the back. I keep my smile neutral.

“Thank you for meeting me,” he says,
taking a seat and reaching for his menu. He orders an iced tea and waits for
the waitress to walk away before continuing. “First, I want to apologize for
the other night.”

“What about it?” I feign confusion at the
mention of Saturday evening.

Trey’s brow furrows, trying to gauge my
question, but he presses on. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”

I can’t help but laugh at his arrogance.
“You didn’t.”

Shock registers on his face at my words,
but he gives it right back. “Clearly, because Ryan look thrilled to meet me.”

“Mr. Miller?” I ask, giving him a pointed
stare, prompting a raised brow from him at my use of his formal title. “You
said you wanted to discuss some changes to your event, which is in less than three
months.” I pull out my pen and notepad to make sure I have everything covered.
“What’s first?”

His hand reaches for mine and I flinch,
pulling away. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to be able to write this down.”

“I was just going to move your glass,” he
states with a calm voice, pointing to my paper that I didn’t notice was
absorbing the condensation from my glass. I feel my cheeks flame when he leans
back in his chair, his eyes fixed on me, obviously entertained by my reaction
to his innocent gesture. “The truth is, there are no changes; I wanted to speak
with you in person.”

Mr. Miller is a client
, I repeat in my head over and over, until that isn’t
enough.

“Excuse me?” My voice rises to an
annoying level. “Are you serious? This is completely inappropriate,
Mr.
Miller, so if that’s all then I need to get back to work.”

I begin to leave my seat, when he reaches
out again, but as soon as my eyes grow wide, he drops his hand and his voice.
“Please, just give me a second to explain.”

Of all the awkward situations to be put
in, this one has to be the worst. Trey is harmless, so I’m not worried about my
safety. But I don’t take kindly to someone taking advantage of their position.
Then again, this is a client, and to walk away could cause problems for me with
Elle. I ease myself back into the chair before responding. “Please make this
fast.”

“I had no intention of showing up at
Wired Spirits the other night. I was on a date with Vivien, and I just needed a
change; the night was dragging,” he explains. “When she started complaining
that she was bored, I remembered you mentioning that you might be there, so we
headed that way.”

“You wanted to run into me? I don’t get
it. Why would you do that?”

“I think you know the answer to that,” he
says, watching me as though he can read my every thought.

“Okay.” Adrenaline is coursing through my
veins, and my embarrassment is leaving me flustered. “I need to get back to
work.”

“This is why I asked you to meet me. Look,
Em, I don’t make it a habit of going after unavailable women, and you are
clearly
unavailable
. From what I can tell, your fiancé is a good guy,
but I’m attracted to you. I was ready to turn this entire event over to you to
plan, but in all honesty, I enjoyed being with you that first day and the more
time I spend with you, the more I think about you. I went the other night,
because I
wanted
to run into you. Does that make me a jerk? Maybe. But
it’s the truth.”

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

All I can hear is the blood rushing through
my ears, and all I can feel is my skin on fire. I reach for my glass and take a
gulp of the ice cold water, trying to buy myself some time before I answer,
because how do you respond to something like that. It wasn’t a declaration of
love or anything, but hell if it didn’t just throw my world off balance. I set
my glass down and clasp my hands together in my lap to steady my nerves.

“How, exactly, do you expect me to
respond to that? As you’ve mentioned, I
am
unavailable and very much in
love with Ryan. Aside from that, you are my client.”

He shrugs his shoulders, with what I
believe to be defeat, but his voice is assertive. “We’re both adults here,
alright? I figured it was best to address this and move on.”

“Congratulations,” I say in a calm tone, staring
him down. “You have successfully unburdened yourself and have now placed me in the
awkward position.”

He returns my stare a sly smile appearing
at my objection to his words. “Em, there’s nothing to feel awkward about; I’m
just stating something we’re both already aware of.”

“Whatever idea you have of me in your
thoughts has got to be a far better version than the actual. You don’t even
know me, Trey.”

“What I do know,” he interjects, “is that
you are an amazing woman and a friend. A really attractive, taken friend that
I’m glad to know.”

“Trey-”

“Friends, Emogen. I swear, that’s all I
would like from you,” he says with conviction; and I believe him. “Well, that
and to plan the best corporate event.”