Page 148 of Lovers' Dance: Vol. 2

Still evading his eyes she sidestepped him and moved towards the door. Matt folded his arms and called out to her back. “You drove the Bugatti, didn’t you? Even after I-”

“Coming!” She quickened her steps, reaching the door and yanking it open.

“Poppet,” Matt strode after her but she had already disappeared through it. Cheeky little thing.

CHAPTER 15

My bohemian outfitfelt out of place as I rode the elevator to the executive floors at Matt’s place of work. I rarely ever came here, in fact, this was only my second time at his office. The two men riding with me kept eyeing the large hamper basket I had hoisted on one arm. The etched F&M on the well-crafted hamper was a testament to my trip to Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly. They eyed the hamper, probably already knowing the sublime delicacies hidden within. Yes, they looked as if they too could afford to shop at Fortnum & Mason. They eyed my hamper and my gaze remained on the closed stainless steel doors.

“Which floor are you heading to?” one of them asked politely.

A sigh left my lips. It was obvious what floor I intended to disembark on, he could damn well see the lit up button on the panel. Of course, my long flowery skirt, white sleeveless t-shirt, and chunky accessories didn’t scream business wear. I bet my hairstyle, a girly rendition of two loose ponytails on each side of my head, didn’t help either.

“The executive floor.” I replied coolly while adjusting the hamper once more. It was heavy and its contents mouth-watering. Mmm. My appetite was growing with each passing second. Matt better be hungry, I’d spent quite a bit, much more than I had intended; but I would challenge anyone to resist the allure of goodies in Fortnum & Mason. Plus Matt, or better said, our household had an account with them…yeah, technicallyIhadn’t even pulled out my wallet.

Ignoring their stares I stole a peek at my watch. Maybe I could stretch my lunch break into two hours instead of one and a half today. The doors slid open and both men exited, still shooting me and the hamper curious looks. My mouth curled into a tight smile as the doors slid shut on their faces.

“Assholes.” I muttered to myself as the metal box jerked into motion again. Upon exiting the elevator I strode towards the imposing doors that would allow entry to Matt’s floor. Fumbling with the temporary pass the guard in reception had given me, a pleasant man who knewwhoI was, I swiped it over the sensor pad before shouldering one side of the door open.

Unlike my previous visit, this time there were people going abouttheir work day. Quite a fair bit of people. I headed down the aisle, if memory served correct, I’d need to go around that far corner and down a hallway, take a right and there would be some more doors leading to Matt’s office. Yeah, I think that was right.

A woman, rocking a dark blue power suit, approached me before I reached the corner. I checked the jacket out, silently admiring the way it nipped around her waist. Maybe I should buy a complete power suit, but when would I ever wear the thing?

“Mrs Bradley,” she gushed. Guess she knew who I was too.

“Hello,” I said, biting back the urge to say DuMont-Bradley and thoroughly unnerved by the almost scary toothy grin on her face.

“Is there anything I can assist you with? Would you like help with your things?”

“Uh, no,” I edged towards the corner, tightening my grip on my bag and the heavy hamper. “I’ve got it, thanks.”

“If there’s anything you need,” she offered as I quickened my pace.

“No, no,” I hurried my words out. That wide grin of hers was really freaking me out. “Thanks. Bye.” I took the corner before glancing back to see her rushing over to some guy and whispering in his ear. Crazy ass.

The hallway was blessedly empty and when I shouldered open the second set of doors the hushed atmosphere was a marked difference from the hustle of the outer office.

In no time I found myself walking up to Rachel’s desk. “Hey, Rachel. How are you?”

Her eyes widened as she glanced at the computer screen on her desk then the desk clock.

“Mrs Bradley,” She pushed back her chair and stood up. Her suit was rocking also. I was definitely going to buy a full business suit. “Mr Bradley is still in a meeting,” she continued. “I’ll let him know you’re here.”

I set the hamper on the edge of her desk. “No, please don’t disturb him. I’ll wait.”

“Coffee?” Rachel offered, adding when she saw my reluctance, “It’s no bother, I was about to get a fresh cup for myself anyway.”

I nodded. Turn down coffee? No way. Rachel gestured to a seating area and with food in tow, I settled down on the comfy seats. There were voices coming from the open door of one of the conferencerooms, I recognized Adam’s tone immediately. A smile tickled my mouth when I heard Matt’s deep voice soon after Adam’s. Leaning forward, I shamelessly tried to listen in on the meeting. The smile on my face disappeared as Matt took his executives to task over some matter, and when he paused Adam picked up the reins. If I was sat in that room with the two brothers, heck, I would be secretly searching for back up jobs on my phone under the table.

Rachel came back with my coffee, shaking her head at my blatant eavesdropping. Forty-five minutes and three cups of coffee later, I was in awe of Matt’s management style. His no-nonsense approach, peppered with the odd burst of camaraderie seemed to draw out the best from the executives. The Bradley brothers knew the strengths and weaknesses of their team, knew when to apply the pressure and when to skilfully ease someone around to their way of thinking.

I was in awe and immensely proud of my husband’s abilities in the boardroom. Yes, he could be a dick when someone didn’t do what he wanted, but his intolerance for mediocrity only made you want to do better, to work harder to satisfy him. Matt deserved every bit of admiration heaped upon him by the media when it came to business. My husband and brother-in-law were bad asses. Shame about the picnic lunch though. I glanced at the hamper on the seat next to me. It had been my idea last night when I heard the weather forecast for sunny skies today and Matt had seemed happy enough to go along with the plan. Although he had given me a bemused look at first. Maybe I should have let Rachel interrupt his meeting instead of sitting here wasting time. Stretching my legs out I yawned and decided to write the lunch date off. There was a pile of work waiting for me back at the studio. I checked the things to do list on my phone, yeah, a whole lot of work needed to be done.

“Rachel, I want you to – poppet?”

My head snapped up the moment I heard Matt’s voice. He stared at me for a second as my gaze hungrily wandered over his tall frame. I’d been half asleep when he left for work this morning, his light kiss across my forehead and murmured goodbye felt a part of my dream. Damn, he looked good enough to eat. Matt’s sexy lips parted slightly as I stood up, and when his gaze rested on the hamper he winced, the frustrated shine in his eyes signified his belated remembrance of our lunch date.

“Hi,” I smiled, breathless at the sight of him.

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