Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
I ran my fingers through his hair, the wet locks clinging to my fingers.
As good as the sensation of him blowing me felt, I couldn’t help but feel giddy about Friday.
Something to help me through my own week.
“What are you whistling about?” Elliott asked.
“Whistling? Was I whistling?” I’d hardly noticed until he’d made his remark as we began our morning conference call.
Dax sat beside me, smirking.
“Just excited to start my week,” I said.
“Well, then get ready to be even more excited about your week,” Elliott added. “Guess who’s been invited to the Renovere mansion for Morgan’s birthday party?”
“The Renovere mansion?” I practically shrieked from excitement. Morgan Renovere was like the Martha Stewart of interior design—minus the insider-trading bits.
“Yes, they’ve just given Freyda Inc. the boot and want a new PR company to help them with rebranding their magazine. We need to schmooze, schmooze, schmooze, so of course, I want my number-one schmoozer there—no offense, Dax.”
“None taken.” Dax clearly wasn’t as surprised by this news.
“You already knew about this?” I asked him.
“It was in the works last week, but I hadn’t realized he’d booked a meeting with her.”
“Nothing set in stone,” Elliott said, “but it’s a promising lead to a great opportunity.”
I glanced between Dax and the cell on the desk. “Dax, obviously you’ll be there too.”
“You’re more than capable of going in my place. Hell, look how much you’ve managed the past year with all these new responsibilities. Plus, I’ve already committed to Nance’s barbecue this Friday, and I’m not going to be standing her up.”
“Friday?” I’d been so excited about the opportunity, I hadn’t considered that it might overlap with my date night with Sawyer.
“Yes, Friday, so I figured we’d fly in that morning, and then I can have you back to Fever Falls on Sunday. Or if you want to spend some more time in LA…”
“No, no. I can fly back on Sunday.”
I was pissed that I wouldn’t be able to make my date with Sawyer, but he knew this was part of the job, same as his busy week was a part of his. He would more than understand. It was just a disappointment, considering how much I’d been looking forward to it since he mentioned it that morning.
Elliott discussed some of the details I’d need to attend to in preparation for the event, and then we moved on to other topics. When our meeting ended, Dax asked, “Everything okay, Carter?”
“Of course it is.”
“You just seemed a little surprised by a party I figured you’d be doing cartwheels over.”
“Hell, I’d be doing round-offs to attend Morgan Renovere’s birthday bash. It’s just that Sawyer and I made plans for Friday. But obviously, we can reschedule those.”
His smile returned, as though he was relieved to hear that was all my distress had been about. It was silly, I reminded myself. Hadn’t I already spent enough time with Sawyer since we’d started messing around? Although, I knew the answer to that was an emphatic no.
I was needy for the time we spent together. However, I had a job to do, so I called Sawyer to tell him about the change in plans. He was disappointed, same as me, but similarly realized it wasn’t a huge inconvenience to reschedule for the next week.
So when Friday came, I headed to Los Angeles to attend the party at Morgan Renovere’s impressive estate.
“I think we got it,” Elliott sang as he mixed drinks at the bar in his penthouse suite.
We’d just returned from the party and were enjoying a celebratory cocktail after what had felt like a winning meeting with Morgan.
The celebration had lived up to the Renovere brand name—decorations and furnishings befitting a design guru like Morgan, plus the jugglers, contortionists, and flame-throwers mingling with the guests as famous singers and stand-up comedians performed in the mansion’s 300-seat home theater. After the meal and the birthday song and cake, Morgan slipped into her office with Elliott and me for the low-key meeting that ended with her assuring Elliott she’d be in touch in a way that convinced Elliott and me this was a sure thing.
“If she does choose to team with us,” Elliott said, “her company will take KlineSmart Global to another level.” It’d been a while since I’d seen Elliott beaming like a fucking kid at a carnival. However, as excited as he was, I knew what taking our company to another level meant, and it made me nervous.
He added, “I’m sure you’re enjoying being back in your element.”
“I enjoy attending a good party every once in a while, which that definitely was.”
He finished stirring our cocktails, handed a glass to me, and took a sip from the other. He hesitated for a moment, his gaze shifting about the room like he was considering whether to go on. “Carter, what if I told you that could be happening a lot more frequently?”