Non-Refundable Groom. Patty Salier
Just as Stanley’s phone rang again, Grace stuck her head in the office. “Elena, a tenant at the Fourth Street apartment building is having a problem and needs to speak to you.”
“Thanks, Grace, I’ll take it at my desk,” she said, wishing she didn’t have to leave at that moment. “I’ll be right back.”
As Stanley took his call, Garrett couldn’t take his eyes off Elena leaving the office.
Her willful competitive nature turned him on. He was impressed that she wasn’t intimidated by his longer experience at the company. He respected her headstrong desire to get the promotion over him at all costs.
The entire time she’d been in the office, Garrett could barely listen to Stanley talk about the promotion. He was totally mesmerized by her enticing blue eyes.
He yearned to run his fingers through her soft, shoulder-length, streaked blond hair. When he had caught a glimpse of the lace of her bra through her accidentally-opened button, he felt a moment of desire for her.
“Garrett, I like Elena’s competitive-account idea,” Stanley said, hanging up the phone.
“She’s incredible,” he said, and then quickly added, “I mean, she’s a clever thinker.”
“Garrett, I want to be very clear about one thing,” his employer went on. “What I said to you a few weeks ago still holds true.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Garrett said.
Stanley’s proposal was etched permanently into his brain. He’d told Garrett that he planned to retire m the near future, but since he was a widower with no children to pass down the business to, he needed a good man to run his company.
Garrett’s goal was to become that man. But first, he needed to earn the vice presidency and prove his abilities to govern the company.
“To be fair to Elena, I’m giving her idea an equitable chance,” Stanley continued. “But I’ll be honest. My eye is on you. I’m sure with your numerous contacts, you’ll acquire plenty of new accounts to make my final decision an easy one.”
“I won’t disappoint you, Stan,” he said firmly.
Yet, to his surprise, Garrett felt hesitant about powerhousing for new accounts. And he knew why. He wished that Elena Martin wasn’t his competition.
Stanley’s phone rang again. Garrett saw Elena walking toward him. His body heat rose at the sight of her. He noticed that she’d safety-pinned her blouse, and the fabric strained across her full breasts. He’d never felt such a powerful reaction to a woman before—not even his ex-wife.
“Did I miss anything?” Elena asked him, her eyes taking in Stanley on the phone with his back to them.
“Stan’s very impressed with your new account proposal,” he said, feeling uneasy about his boss confiding that he favored him over her.
“I’m going to be vice president, Garrett,” she boldly stated.
The fire in her eyes and the sensual way she was standing with her hand on her hip made him want to draw her into his arms and make wild love to her right then and there.
“Elena, have lunch with me,” he said instead in a low voice so Stanley wouldn’t hear.
“Lunch?” she asked, glancing worriedly at Stanley.
“I want to get a better sense of who my competition is.”
He didn’t know what was happening to him. He knew that Stanley was uncomfortable with employees romancing in the office. Yet when he was near her, he momentarily forgot his desire to become vice president. Being in her presence made him want to ignore every rule in the book.
“I can’t have lunch with you,” she told him.
Stanley hung up. “I’m off,” he said, heading toward the door. “Good luck to the both of you.”
The moment Stanley left, Elena nervously clasped her hands behind her back, superconscious of being alone with Garrett. Everything inside of her wanted to tell him yes for lunch. But how could she? She had just met him and already she was aching to spend more time with him.
Hadn’t she learned from her last boyfriend, Ted, how rushing into a relationship spelled disaster for her? Besides, she knew that Stanley would never promote her if she got involved with one of his property managers.
Grace peeked into the office. “Elena, before you leave for lunch, your sister’s on the phone.”
“My sister?” Just being near him made her brain turn into mush. “Oh, sure, thanks.”
“I could wait to go down in the elevator with you,” Garrett suggested.
“You go ahead,” she said. “I might be a while.” She went to her cubicle.
Yet as she picked up the phone, she wanted to hurry so she could get to the elevator, hoping Garrett would still be there. She couldn’t stop thinking about him!
Her sister sounded worried over the phone. “Mrs. Fowler’s ill,” Jan began, explaining that the elderly lady she cared for had to be taken to the doctor. “Tod and Bennie have a half day off from school,” her sister went on. “Can you pick them up? I’ll try to get home in a little while.”
“Sure, don’t worry,” she told her. “I’ll get the kids and meet you at your house.”
She quickly hung up the phone, checking her bag to make sure that she hadn’t forgotten Jan’s house key like she’d forgotten her wallet at home. Relieved, she found the key and rushed out of the office into the hallway.
Her heart pounded when she spotted Garrett waiting for her. When he saw her, his eyes warmed, and a slow heat filtered through her body. The lunch crowd was pushing into the elevator.
He held open the door for her, even though the elevator was packed. Feeling trembly, she fit into the small space he made for her. She was facing him, and her body lightly pressed against his.
As the elevator vibrated going down, his hand gently brushed her waist to steady her. She felt the electricity of his touch through the fabric of her clothing.
She could feel her breathing quicken when his broad, hard chest lightly pressed against her breasts with the movement of the elevator.
The moment the parking garage level appeared, Elena quickly exited the elevator, slightly out of breath from her physical reaction to Garrett.
“See you,” she said, hurrying to her car.
“There’s still time to change your mind about lunch,” he said.
She noticed him heading toward a blue Mustang parked next to her car. Her hand trembled as she put the key into the ignition, thinking about how much she wanted to have lunch with him.
She turned the key and the engine rolled over but wouldn’t start. She tried again, but her car was dead. She stared at the empty gas gauge.
“Oh, no!” she said, panicking.
In the next moment Garrett was at her driver’s window. “Car trouble?” he asked.
“I’m out of gas,” she told him. “I promised my sister I’d pick up my two nephews from school.”
“Come on,” he said. “I’ll give you a lift.”
“I don’t want to put you out.”
He helped her out and then opened the passenger door of his car for her. “I’ll consider it our lunch date,” he said with teasing eyes.
As she slid into the front seat, she saw him take off his jacket and hurl it into the back. Her gaze lingered on the way his white shirt contoured his massive chest and muscular arms.
“Where to?” he asked, climbing into the driver’s seat.