Page 51 of Love.V2
“Don’t worry about it.” My fingers landed on the top of the dresser, palm hanging down to cover the sock drawer. If she wanted to open it, she’d have to go through me.Come on, Angel. Take the hint. Walk away.
Her brows furrowed. An expression. A miracle. “Right.” Her eyes searched my face like she was trying to decipher a piece of art she’d never seen before. “Well, then…have a good trip. I guess.”
“Don’t have too much fun without me.” Another peck and she was gone. I waited until I heard her in the kitchen, checking over my shoulder before opening the drawer to reach into the back. My hand wrapped around the thick winter socks shoved there, fingers pulling the tiny velvet box from the folded bundle. I flipped it open. The diamond glinted back at me.
I wasn’t usually so reckless as to keep something this important in a sock drawer. What a cliché. But I needed it close if I was going to propose on her birthday. And I was going to propose.
This time, for sure.
Chapter 14
Dylan
“I swear, this is the first presentation this week that didn’t make me yawn all the way through it.” Botto’s head of U.S. markets, Angela, pumped Tess’s hand so hard her shoulders shook. I had to stop myself from reaching over to stabilize her.
Then again, I hadn’t had to interfere much during the presentation earlier. Why start now?
Tess had been charming, bright, and smart. She’d led the Botto team through the presentation thoughtfully, her quiet voice forcing the people in the room to sit up and pay attention. The concepts were distinct, well-thought-out, and dramatically different from what any of Botto’s competitors were doing. She even managed to spin Victoria’s metal design into something mildly interesting.
I had to stop underestimating her.
“Obviously, we’ll need to accommodate for our other markets, but as we discussed, we should easily be able to add in the other business verticals. Right?”
Tess’s soft smile hid a wince only I could see. No presentation was perfect, though I knew Tess had been hoping this one would be. The chef character was a hit, but Botto also wanted to continue promoting their other manufacturing products.
“Of course,” Tess agreed, still gripping the other woman’s hand. I was getting seriously concerned about a traumatic brain injury. Angela needed to tone it down. “I already have a few ideas.”
Angela beamed. “Brilliant. We have one more presentation to sit through on Monday morning, but then we’ll make our decision about who we want to present in the next round. Probably Monday afternoon. We’ll give you a call.”
“We’ll keep our phones on,” I assured her, offering my hand, sacrificing myself to spare Tess from any more shaking. And they say chivalry is dead.
“Other products,” Tess groaned the second the elevator doors shut behind us. “I should have added a few sketches and covered those bases.”
“Were we in the same meeting? Where they were glowing about your ideas?”
Our eyes met in the elevator’s reflection, and Tess’s cheeks turned pink.Adorable.
“It was the team’s ideas. Group effort. And you handled all the business-y stuff.”
“Mmhmm. Sure. And was it theteamwho just had Angela practically salivating at the idea of putting this creative out in the market?” A slow grin made its way across Tess’s face. “That’s what I thought. Nailed it, Livingston. Fucking nailed it. Botto is in the bag.”
“You think so?” Her whisper was so high it sounded like a squeak. I bit my lip to keep from smiling as we walked through the big marble-and-glass lobby to stand on the busy New York sidewalk.
“Trust me, Angel. We should start getting the next round presentation ready.” My head tilted towards the building. Tess followed, her eyes tracing up the glass like she’d be able to sneak a peek at the conference room where she’d very likely just doubled Jinx’s annual revenue in a single proposal.
“Yeah.” She had a happy, far-away look in her eyes. “We’re a good team. We should have done this more together at Worther. That was fun.”
“Very fun,” I agreed, just as our car pulled up to the curb. I opened the door and let her slide inside. “And still more to come.”
She stilled as she pulled her seatbelt over her body. The heat of her gaze seared across the seats. “Oh, yeah?” Her lips tugged into another smile. Not quiet, or happy, like before.Hot. The smile of someone who knows they’re about to get something they want.
“Oh, yeah.”
***
“Adjoining rooms? You could have just canceled mine altogether.” Tess thought she knew what was going on, but she had no idea.
The Botto meeting had been late in the day. Too late to hop on a plane and come back afterward. Or at least, that’s what we told ourselves, fiery eyes roaming each other as we booked our flights and rooms. I’d just happened to call ahead this morning and make sure those rooms were as close as possible.
