The Pitch: City Love 2 (7 page)

She leaned in so her blue eyes could catch mine. “Even in a work setting, you light up when you’re around him.”

I lowered my gaze to the floor and shrugged. “So he’s inspiring. It’s nice to have someone to talk with about my business.”

“It’s more than that,” she said quietly. “In the six years you were with Chris, I never saw you light up like that. I think that’s reason enough to give this a shot.”

I studied my half-eaten sushi, absorbing what she had said. She was being silly. I genuinely liked Paul. I respected him and I enjoyed being in his company because there was a lot he could teach me. She was mistaking my enthusiasm for something romantic. I opened my mouth to tell her that, but she held up a hand.

“I know you’ll try to rationalize it away like you usually do, but rationalize this then. I heard him on his phone at work earlier in the week – ”

“You were spying on him!” Honestly, it was time I locked my girlfriends away as a public service or made some new friends.

“No, of course not,” she replied quickly. “I was coming down the corridor from the toilets and he was waiting for the elevators. He didn’t know I was there.”

“And?”

“And I didn’t want to tell you because I thought it might freak you out.”

“What Christa? Would you please just spit it out?”

“He said:
‘I know it’s wrong of me, but I deliberately left some files in her office. I’m going to ring her during the date to make sure she’s alright.’
”

“Holy crap,” breathed Scarlett.

Even Cate looked shocked but her expression quickly turned to joy. “That’s so sweet! He was looking out for you, Maddy. Do you know what it means? He cares for you.”

“He could care for me like a mentor looks out for his mentee,” I refuted.

“How many mentors do you know who get involved in their mentee’s love life?” Scarlett replied dryly.

“He likes you, Maddy,” Christa said. “So are you going to do something about it?”

“I would prefer it if something happened between us naturally. I don’t want to force it.”

Scarlett raised an eyebrow at me. “So make a move on him, then.”

I scowled and narrowed my eyes at her. “No. He’s going to reject any move I make because he thinks it’s inappropriate.”

“So go out with John then. Raise the stakes.”

I threw up my hands in frustration. “This is ridiculous!”

“All’s fair in love and war,” Scarlett told us.

I stood up and glared down at her. “I won’t do it.”

She shrugged. I turned and stalked down the hallway to the bathroom. Before I closed the door I heard her call out cheerfully, “If you truly want him, you’ll do whatever it takes.”

I slammed the door.

It had been a busy week. It was only when Paul walked in to the foyer of Grounded Marketing on Thursday afternoon I was reminded why I had been so happy to be distracted.

He looked attractive – as expected – in his tailored business suit. A fact I did my best to ignore during our hour-and-a-half internal pitch meeting.

The focus of our week had been altering our pitch to focus on the points we hoped Mia Moss would go for. This involved a complete review of our creative strategy. Fortunately my team had been good-natured about all the extra work and they seemed as hopeful as I was about winning the big account.

“Thanks, team. You’ve created miracles this week,” I told them at the end of our meeting. “Next internal review is early next Tuesday. It’s about refining the details from here on in.”

I watched as the six staff I’d chosen to work on the pitch all gave me reassuring smiles and left the room. I took my time closing my iPad before turning my attention to Paul.

“You’re going to nail it,” he said quietly.

I lit up at his comment, but tried not to show it. “I hope so. It really depends on the other pitches.”

“It always does, but you can’t focus on that. Just focus on your pitch.”

“I have.”

I regarded him for a long moment. If he felt any lingering embarrassment about last week he wasn’t showing it. He sat comfortably, looking directly at me with his usual calm expression.

“Is there anything you’d add or change?” I asked finally.

He stood. “Nothing at all. I’ll be here for the review next week, but it will be for the purposes of an observer trying to pick errors or gaps in the presentation. Nothing more.”

I should have been satisfied with his response, but for some reason I felt unsettled by it. Like I was all on my own again. The thought annoyed me. I’d been on my own since day one running Grounded Marketing. Now, for reasons I couldn’t articulate, I’d come to rely on Paul’s insights and presence in my business.

We walked to reception together. He turned to face me when we reached the glass entrance doors.

“There is one mentorly piece of advice I am going to give you,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“You need to switch off this weekend.” That irreverence I’d first noticed in his eyes twinkled brightly. “Completely.”

I grimaced. “Completely?”

“No work at all this weekend. Give yourself a break for a change.”

“Easy for you to say. You have an empire that you can delegate to.”

“Not true. There’s always something to be done. I’ve just learned to compartmentalize. Time for work, then time for life.”

It sounded like logical advice, but I had no idea how he achieved it. “I’ll try,” I replied.

Paul looked like he was about to say goodbye, then he surprised me by taking a step closer. “Take it from someone who’s been there,” he told me softly. “If you don’t make time for life, one day you’ll wake up and the only thing you’ll have is work. It’s not worth it.”

We both knew he was referring to his own experiences.

I shrugged, attempting to lighten the mood. “That would require I have a life outside of work to ignore in the first place.”

Paul smiled. “Don’t deprive yourself of opportunities, Madeleine. You’re still young.”

I rolled my eyes. “So you keep reminding me.”

“I wasn’t talking about men, you know,” he said, with a knowing look on his face. “There’s more to life than being in a relationship.”

“Tell that to my girlfriends,” I muttered.

Paul’s smile deepened. “Don’t tell me they have another blind date lined up for you?”

Wouldn’t you like to know?
I thought, then reprimanded myself. For all my girlfriends’ talk on the weekend, I still wasn’t convinced Paul was harboring secret feelings for me. Probably more a fatherly duty of care.

“They’d like to,” I told him, carefully.

“What have you got to lose?”

Ha!
I wanted to shout. If Paul was so interested in me then why encourage me to go on another blind date? A perverse part of me suddenly wanted to agree to Scarlett’s ruse to prove how wrong she was.

“Madeleine?”

I shook myself. I hadn’t answered his question. “I could lose my sanity. Or dignity. Both essential to running a good business.”

“You’re smarter than that. Just go and have some fun,” he advised.

“You’ve got this weekend with your boys, don’t you?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.

He nodded. “Can’t wait. I get to play cricket Dad to Jack on Saturday, then I was going to take him and Noah to the movies and generally spoil them rotten.”

“That sounds so much more fun than risking another dreadful dating experience.”

He grinned unashamedly. “It is.” He leaned down and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. “Have a good work-free weekend, Madeleine,” he said warmly, then turned and walked toward the elevator.

Inexplicably I felt the tension I’d been trying hard all week to ignore lift. I watched as he gave me a brief wave then stepped into the elevator.

I sighed. The thought of Paul Neilsen as something more than my mentor was definitely distracting and a fantasy I didn’t want to relinquish quite yet. However, I was beginning to realize there was too much at stake to indulge in that line of thinking. The business relationship we shared meant a lot to me. I’d never really had anyone to confide in about my business and I was finding Paul’s perspective made such a difference to my state of mind. Not to mention our relaxed, friendly banter – it was something I’d grown really fond of.

I sighed again then turned and walked in the direction of my office.

As tantalizing as Paul Neilsen was, his role as trusted business associate, and possibly now a friend, meant more to me than any deprived single woman fantasy.

Maybe he was right. It was time to get out and have some fun.

*

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

My statement was met with a look of such amusement, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Scarlett appears to have that effect on people.”

The second I’d met John Hart, I’d liked him immediately. Tall and powerfully built, with amused warm brown eyes framed by an unruly fringe of black hair, he was an intriguing blend of Asian and western features. A combination that was almost certainly derived from mixed parentage, and it appeared he’d inherited the best of both cultures. At first glance, I wondered if a blind date wasn’t such a bad idea after all, except infuriatingly, Paul was still on my mind. From the looks leveled John’s way from the other women on the beach, he wouldn’t have any trouble finding a woman to take my place.

“That was a pretty successful first attempt,” he told me, flicking back his dark hair for about the hundredth time in the last half hour. “Next time, try to grab the wave a few seconds earlier and you’ll find you have a better chance of getting up on the board.”

I considered his comment and the waves rolling toward me with deceptive strength. When I told Scarlett the blind date was out of the question, I asked her if she had any ideas about distracting me from work for the weekend instead. She’d teed up a surfing lesson with – you guessed it – John.

Not that I was complaining. I was having fun. John was a good teacher and incredibly calm, not to mention patient.

“Alright, I’ll try again.”

I flipped my body back onto the board. I did my best to paddle to an area where the waves were breaking, but not with such force they’d drown me in my amusing attempts to ride them. Fortunately it was still early and the wind hadn’t picked up yet, so the conditions were pretty good.

I turned the board and waited, while John looked on from the shallows. His impressive form was all strong legs and muscled forearms. A swoon-worthy body nicely defined in a fitted black wet suit. God knows why Scarlett hadn’t gone for him. She went for so many men that I couldn’t determine why this fine specimen of a man had escaped her clutches.

I looked back to see a wave rolling in my direction and started paddling. To my surprise and sheer terror, the wave pushed me and the board forward. My paddling turned frenzied. I took a deep breath and, with all the courage I could muster, grabbed the front of the board. I attempted to heft myself into a standing position, just like John had shown me.

Height was usually a strength of mine when it came to sports. Netball, running, swimming – the length of my torso, arms and legs had always been to my advantage. Right now however, I was finding my length downright frustrating. The requirement that I jump from lying to standing in a confident and coordinated manner while atop a floating board at the mercy of the waves was proving harder than I imagined.

Miraculously, I found my footing on the board and did my best to stand up. For one tantalizing second I was almost upright. I started to stretch out my arms for balance. Then the board was unceremoniously flung out from beneath me by the invisible surfing god who commanded the ocean. He was no fool and recognized that Madeleine Spencer might be good at many things, but this was not one of them. Yet.

After being submerged underneath a whirlpool of whitewash and sand, I eventually managed to surface several feet closer to the shore. My hair covered my face and the sting of salt bit at my eyes. A bubble of laughter erupted from my throat. I started to swim after my board floating in the opposite direction.

John swam over in a few swift, sure strokes and efficiently rescued the board for me.

“Better. Your height feels like a disadvantage now. Once you get the hang of it, you won’t notice it.”

He would know. I’d watched him when I’d first arrived earlier that morning. At over six feet, John riding a surfboard was poetry on water, and even a novice like me could appreciate his skill.

“I think it’s time to take a break,” he suggested.

I nodded. I was having fun, but I could do with a drink to wash away the salt and sand stuck between my teeth.

Back on shore we sat dripping pools of water onto the sand. I soaked up the blissful morning sunshine. With a sharp burst of realization, I knew Paul had been right.

I felt so alive.

I felt one hundred percent in the moment. As much as I loved my business, this was energizing in a way the four walls of my office couldn’t achieve. I wondered if Paul had seen something of himself in me, which was why he’d pushed me to think beyond Grounded Marketing.

“Not regretting this morning, are you?”

I shook myself as a gentle gust of wind brought me back to my senses. I turned my attention to John and smiled genuinely. “Not at all. I’m having a great time.”

“You’re doing really well for a first timer. A lot of girls just squeal a lot and wait for me to come rescue them.”

I bit back a smile.
I wonder why?
“Not my style, I’m afraid. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, plus I’m stubborn. The only way you’ll have to rescue me is if I’m really drowning.”

“I can tell. I figured Scarlett’s friends wouldn’t be the squealing type, anyway.”

I grinned. “Whatever gave you that idea?” I teased.

He returned my grin. “Long-term friendships with that woman require staying power, I’m guessing.”

“She’s not that bad. Beneath the tough exterior, she’s one of the most reliable people I know.”

“How do I get past the tough exterior?”

I looked at him curiously. “Not many do.” Lord knew I’d only ever seen the softer, more vulnerable side of Scarlett a handful of times in a decade of knowing her. “It sounds like you find her intriguing,” I observed.

He sighed, running a large hand through his mess of wet hair. “Intrigued? Deranged? They’re the same thing, aren’t they?”

Oh my goodness, this man had the hots for Scarlett. I needed to put him out of his misery now. “John,” I began, choosing my words carefully. “I’ve known Scarlett a long time. She’s not really into relationships.”

“I got that,” he said, with more than a hint of frustration.

Oh dear. This wasn’t just intrigue, it was a genuine case of love sickness. The poor man.

“Look John. You seem like a really nice guy. But – ”

He waved a hand at me dismissively. “I know, I know. You’re not the first person to warn me.”

“It’s for your own sanity.”

“I get that too. Sanity and Scarlett don’t go well together.”

I shrugged. “She’s a creative, what can I say?”

He turned back to me, his brown eyes holding a silent plea. Uh oh.

“Say you’ll put in a good word for me.”

“It doesn’t really work that way – ”

“If she could just get past the fact that I’m a few years younger – ”

“Wait.” I held up a hand. “How much younger?”

“Well, I think she’s almost thirty isn’t she? I’ve just turned twenty-five.”

I couldn’t help it. I started giggling and mentally kicked myself as his beautiful tanned face looked crestfallen. “Sorry. That wasn’t intended to make fun of you. It’s just that Scarlett has something of a penchant for older men,” I told him.

“I’m only five years younger,” he protested.

“And you’re Asian.”

“Wait. What?”

His incredulity was almost soul destroying. The poor guy had no idea what he was up against.

“Scarlett’s parents migrated here from China. She’s first generation Australian-born Chinese. They have very strong views about her settling down with someone of Chinese descent.”

John’s face lit up. “Well, that’s perfect. I’m half-Asian. My mum is from China.”

“Which is exactly the issue. Scarlett hasn’t done anything her parents have wanted her to since she was about twelve.”

“For fuck’s sake,” he muttered. “Are you telling me she is
that
perverse she doesn’t date Asian guys?”

“She doesn’t date,” I corrected. “But yes, in the ten years I’ve known her she’s never once been involved with an Asian guy. She actively avoids them.”

“Christ.”

I watched him shove his hair back brutally. He stood abruptly and picked up his surfboard. “Did you want to go out again?”

I nodded, suddenly feeling the urge to hug the poor guy but I restrained myself. Instead I stood and we walked toward the water together.