Page 74 of Forget Me

“Your skirt.” He passed a hand over his mouth. “Tug it down a bit?”

Shit, I must have flashed him during my descent. I smoothed it, back and front. “Better?”

He shook his head but said, “Yes. I’ll see you soon.”

Carefully holding down my skirt and praying the wind wouldn’t cause me to flash my early-arriving coworkers, I scurried to the conference room.

Larissa and Natalie faced the screen at the back of the room, where Natalie projected a floor plan from her laptop. When I clattered to the door, they swiveled to look at me.

Natalie suppressed a grin, but Larissa raised an unamused eyebrow. “So glad you could join us. Natalie was just walking me through the venue arrangements, but we’ll cover the budget next. You dohave the figures?” She stared pointedly at my clutch, obviously too small to contain anything useful.

“I do. I’m ready.” It was a lie, but I pulled up the spreadsheet on my tiny phone screen while Natalie finished talking about coat check and the green room for the speakers.

Mateo wasn’t back by the time Larissa asked for the budget presentation, and she frowned as I started to talk them through the numbers.

“Wait,” she interrupted me. “Don’t you have printouts or anything to show us on the screen?”

“Not—not right now.” My voice quivered. Why had I let Mateo sex me into forgetting my responsibilities, my goals? Last night, I hadn’t remembered my own name, much less that I had to deliver a presentation at seven the next morning.

Larissa thumped her hands on the conference table. “Then why are you even here? If I can’t rely on you, this isn’t going to work, Miriam.”

“She’s got the figures.” Natalie nodded at the phone in my hand. “Mimi, why don’t you write them on the whiteboard?”

“Great idea.” But as it turned out, it was a terrible idea. My bare thighs made a sucking sound on the conference-room chair as I stood.

“Oops.” My cheeks flamed. Quickly, I smoothed down my skirt and turned to the whiteboard.

“I expect foundation members to present a professional appearance, Miriam. That skirt is much too short.”

The marker squeaked on the board. “Yes, of course, Larissa,” I mumbled.

“Ah, good morning to my favorite power trio.” Mateo’s tone was jovial, but I heard the strain in it.

“Mateo!” Larissa’s voice took on a flirtatious lilt. “What are you doing here? You said you had to work.”

Slowly, I turned to the door. Mateo had a tote bag slung over one shoulder and my laptop bag over the other. In one hand he held a cardboard carrier with four cups, and in the other, a sack from the bakery down the street.

“I thought you’d like breakfast at your breakfast meeting.” He set down the coffees and the sack and then gave Larissa air kisses on each cheek. Natalie had stood to investigate the offerings, but she held out a hand for him to shake.

He approached me at the whiteboard and murmured, “I brought a change of clothes. And panties.” Then he placed a smacking kiss on my cheek.

Louder, he said, “I apologize. I made Mimi late this morning. I couldn’t let my angel go. If you had this face on the pillow next to you, could you?”

Heat blasted to my cheeks. “Mateo,” I growled.

He caught the hand that had been about to slap his biceps and brought it to his lips. “Mi tesoro.”

“Swoon,” Natalie said.

Larissa said, “You can make up for it by joining us.”

“Join you?” A frown passed over his face so quickly she might have missed it. But after last night, I had a new sensor for Mateo’s expressions, and he didn’t look pleased.

“We need a consult on the menu. I haven’t been able to choose which dessert to serve.”

That was a lie. We’d chosen the flan last week, but if it distracted her, I was thrilled to let it ride. Mateo handed me my laptop bag, and I powered up my computer and connected it to the projector while they discussed the merits of flan versus tres leches.

When they’d decided—again—on the flan, I cleared my throat. “I’m ready to walk you through the budget figures now.”

---