Page 23 of Daring to Love You
“Actually, this meeting is with Mr. Mathews,” Shauna said, her fake smile in place. “It should only take us a few more minutes. If you don’t mind leaving us, we can—”
“Oh, but she’s the only reason I’m still sitting here. If she goes, I go,” Lynix ground out, his patience waning. “Now, continue before I change my mind.”
They had only ordered drinks at the start of the meeting, with Lynix planning to offer them lunch since they’d agreed to meet him there, but that wasn’t happening. If it weren’t for Dorian, he would’ve walked away the moment she mentioned quitting her job at their agency.
For the next thirty minutes, he sat there half listening to the rest of Rodney’s presentation, with Shauna interjecting occasionally. Their ideas were good, but Lynix had already made his decision. WBM Enterprise wouldn’t be using this agency. Which was why he had remained silent and let Dorian take over. He was impressed with the follow-up questions she asked, clearly showing her marketing knowledge. If she’d agree, he’d have her sit in on future meetings with other agencies.
“And that’s it,” Rodney said, looking relieved he’d gotten through his spiel. “Any other questions?”
Lynix peeked at Dorian.
She shook her head. “No. Not at this time. One of us will be in touch either way once WBM Enterprise,” she said of Lynix’s family’s holding company, “makes their decision on which agency they’ll be going with.IfWBM does go with your agency, there’s a good chance you’ll be asked to create campaigns for several of their other subsidiary companies.”
Lynix sat stunned and impressed. No doubt she had them shaking inside, or either fuming. She was letting them know that if… Nope not if—because he wasn’t hiring them—but when theydidn’tget his business, they’d be losing out on more than just this project.
He stood and reached for Dorian’s hand. “Thanks for the information. I’ll be in touch in the next few weeks,” Lynix said to Rodney and barely spared Shauna a glance.
“It was our pleasure,” Rodney said, also standing and dropping a few bills on the table that would cover the cost of the drinks. Then he stuck out his hand.
Lynix hesitated, but as he stared into the man’s eyes, he shook the guy’s hand, giving it a firm squeeze and noting the way Rodney clinched his teeth.
“We look forward to hearing from you,” Rodney said after Lynix released his hand. “Dorian, it was nice seeing you again.” She only gave him and Shauna a slight nod, which spoke volumes.
Once they walked away, Lynix, still holding Dorian’s hand, guided her toward the kitchen.
“I can explain,” Dorian hurried to say, her voice low.
Lynix grinned down at her and brought the back of her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I would hope so. I figured you could explain everything over a late lunch with me.”
“I—I actually was supposed to be having brunch with my sisters, but according to the text from Raven about twenty minutes ago, they started without me.”
She glanced around him, and he followed her gaze to where her sisters sat at a table on the other side of the restaurant.
“Let’s go tell them that you’ll be dining with me.”
Surprisingly, she didn’t argue but did try apologizing for interrupting the meeting. She rambled while Lynix guided her along the perimeter of the restaurant instead of cutting across the room to get to her sisters’ table.
“Sweetheart, don’t apologize. You impressed the hell out of me back there. Not only with the way you greeted me, but also with the questions you asked Rodney about his proposal. But we’ll save all that for conversation over lunch.”
As they neared the table, Nyla spotted them first. Her gaze went to their joined hands, but then Dorian eased her hand from his grasp. That didn’t stop a smile from spreading across Nyla’s face, and she winked at him.
Lynix grinned, and though none of the sisters commented on the way he and Dorian had approached the table, he saw approval in their gazes. Even Cree wasn’t glaring at him the way she’d done at Moody Days weeks ago.Progress.
It was good to know that, if Dorian did decide to give him a chance, he wouldn’t have to wonder about approval from her sisters. Zion might be a different story, though Lynix would worry about that if or when the time came.
“I hope you ladies don’t mind, but I’m stealing your sister for the rest of the day,” he said.
“Wait,” Dorian whisper-shouted and jammed her hands on her hips. “You said a late lunch. You didn’t say anything about the rest of the day.”
“Take her. Keep her as long as you want,” Nyla said before anyone else could speak. “As a matter of fact, if you cover our meal, you can keep her for the rest of the weekend.”
“Nyla!” Dorian ground out while everyone else laughed. “You don’t get a say in who I—”
“Tell you what,” Lynix hurried to jump in and placed his hand at the small of Dorian’s back while his gaze went around the table. “Your meal is on me, and I’ll see her home whenever she wants to leave.”
“Deal,” Nyla said and grabbed the small menu in the center of the table. “Now, let me see what type of desserts they have here.”
Chapter Eleven
