and pulled him down to her
level. She lightly kissed him, her lips soft against his. "Sleep
well," she said quietly before letting him go and stepping back.
With one last long look, Sean headed for his car. He sat for a few minutes,
wanting badly to go back into her home, pull her against him, and lose himself
in her softness. She was becoming an addiction, he thought. A drug that he
badly needed to make it through each day. And this was going to be a problem
sooner than later. While she actually improved his productivity in the office,
thanks to her organization and professionalism, she was whacking the hell out
of his social life and his own sense of propriety. If he wasn't careful,
others would soon notice his attraction to her, and that could be devastating
for her reputation, and for general office morale.
He wasn't fooling himself into thinking that his attraction to Allie would go
away, or that he would be able to prevent himself from acting on that
attraction. But he needed a game plan. A way to move forward that wouldn't
hurt her, hurt his business, or affect the way that he worked. Simple to think
about, he knew, but much harder to act on.
EIGHT
"I hate Miami," Allie complained as she stepped out of the airport
and straight into the heat of the city.
Sean shook his head and smiled. "No you don't. You hate the humidity. Miami is fantastic."
"You're right. I hate the humidity. How can people live in this?"
"It's good for the skin," he chuckled. "Or so my sister tells
me."
"Thank goodness for air conditioning," she said firmly.
"There's the car," she said, pointing to the white SUV that was
sitting at the curb. "We have time to go to the hotel before your first
afternoon meeting, if you'd like."
"Let's drop off our luggage and find some lunch. I'd like to go over the
sales figures with you before we meet this afternoon."
As they greeted their driver and loaded their luggage, Allie peeled off her
suit jacket and folded it neatly over her arm. She knew she'd need it again
once the air got cranked, but she didn't need to arrive at the hotel looking
wilted. She waited patiently while Sean talked with the driver about their
afternoon schedule, and then hopped into the back seat. Sean got in next to her,
and pulled out his blackberry to check messages.
Allie waited a few minutes before asking, "Anything we need to take care
of?"
Sean shook his head, looking over at her. "No. Looks like a quiet day
back home, thankfully. So we can concentrate on things here. Do you have the
files in here with you, or are they in back?"
Allie pulled her briefcase toward her and extracted the files. "Here you
go."
For the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, Sean was all business, and
Allie kept him organized and on track with all of his meetings. They took a
quick break to go back to the hotel and freshen up before dinner, and then met
clients for an early meal. After the dinner, Sean and Allie spent a few more
hours working in one of the hotel's small business meeting rooms before they
split up for the night.
The next day was more of the same. After an early breakfast in the hotel
restaurant, they spent the rest of the day in meetings, with only a quick break
for lunch. Allie insisted on finding good pupusas, a specialty tortilla from El
Salvador, stuffed with cheese, beans or meat. Sean indulged her, but after his
first bite, ordered three more to follow.
"You haven't had these before?" Allie asked in surprise.
"No, and I don't know why not. They are delicious. I'll need to log
about ten more miles on the treadmill tomorrow morning," he added.
"Hey, if I have to deal with Miami humidity, at least I can enjoy Miami
food," Allie grinned.
They finished up their meetings at 4:00 that afternoon. Allie offered to look
for flights back that evening, since they had finished sooner than
level. She lightly kissed him, her lips soft against his. "Sleep
well," she said quietly before letting him go and stepping back.
With one last long look, Sean headed for his car. He sat for a few minutes,
wanting badly to go back into her home, pull her against him, and lose himself
in her softness. She was becoming an addiction, he thought. A drug that he
badly needed to make it through each day. And this was going to be a problem
sooner than later. While she actually improved his productivity in the office,
thanks to her organization and professionalism, she was whacking the hell out
of his social life and his own sense of propriety. If he wasn't careful,
others would soon notice his attraction to her, and that could be devastating
for her reputation, and for general office morale.
He wasn't fooling himself into thinking that his attraction to Allie would go
away, or that he would be able to prevent himself from acting on that
attraction. But he needed a game plan. A way to move forward that wouldn't
hurt her, hurt his business, or affect the way that he worked. Simple to think
about, he knew, but much harder to act on.
EIGHT
"I hate Miami," Allie complained as she stepped out of the airport
and straight into the heat of the city.
Sean shook his head and smiled. "No you don't. You hate the humidity. Miami is fantastic."
"You're right. I hate the humidity. How can people live in this?"
"It's good for the skin," he chuckled. "Or so my sister tells
me."
"Thank goodness for air conditioning," she said firmly.
"There's the car," she said, pointing to the white SUV that was
sitting at the curb. "We have time to go to the hotel before your first
afternoon meeting, if you'd like."
"Let's drop off our luggage and find some lunch. I'd like to go over the
sales figures with you before we meet this afternoon."
As they greeted their driver and loaded their luggage, Allie peeled off her
suit jacket and folded it neatly over her arm. She knew she'd need it again
once the air got cranked, but she didn't need to arrive at the hotel looking
wilted. She waited patiently while Sean talked with the driver about their
afternoon schedule, and then hopped into the back seat. Sean got in next to her,
and pulled out his blackberry to check messages.
Allie waited a few minutes before asking, "Anything we need to take care
of?"
Sean shook his head, looking over at her. "No. Looks like a quiet day
back home, thankfully. So we can concentrate on things here. Do you have the
files in here with you, or are they in back?"
Allie pulled her briefcase toward her and extracted the files. "Here you
go."
For the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, Sean was all business, and
Allie kept him organized and on track with all of his meetings. They took a
quick break to go back to the hotel and freshen up before dinner, and then met
clients for an early meal. After the dinner, Sean and Allie spent a few more
hours working in one of the hotel's small business meeting rooms before they
split up for the night.
The next day was more of the same. After an early breakfast in the hotel
restaurant, they spent the rest of the day in meetings, with only a quick break
for lunch. Allie insisted on finding good pupusas, a specialty tortilla from El
Salvador, stuffed with cheese, beans or meat. Sean indulged her, but after his
first bite, ordered three more to follow.
"You haven't had these before?" Allie asked in surprise.
"No, and I don't know why not. They are delicious. I'll need to log
about ten more miles on the treadmill tomorrow morning," he added.
"Hey, if I have to deal with Miami humidity, at least I can enjoy Miami
food," Allie grinned.
They finished up their meetings at 4:00 that afternoon. Allie offered to look
for flights back that evening, since they had finished sooner than
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