“Back in a minute,” as she walked as fast as she could to the reception area and the elevator bank.
They stood in silence after she pushed the “down” button. It seemed to be taking forever for the car to arrive. Either time really was relative and was now dragging, or all the cars were on other floors being loaded with all the people and/or furniture on one floor so it could be delivered to another floor, totally bypassing where Taylor and Bella were waiting.
It was torture. Something had to give, and it was apparently not going to be Taylor. So, finally, she spoke. “I want to go over the revisions Nate and I talked about while our conversation is still fresh in my mind. I don’t feel like going back to my cubicle. Is there someplace downstairs I can hang out and read for a bit? Maybe a coffee shop or a bar?”
“There’s a bar on the ground floor. Most of us in the building go there from time to time. They even have decent food.”
“Sounds perfect. It’ll take me an hour or so to go over the changes we made and try to figure out what my next steps should be to get this project on track.” On an impulse that started her mouth moving before she could stop it, she added, “If you’d like to join me, I’ll buy you a glass of wine.”
The invitation was no sooner out than the elevator arrived and she got in, not waiting for Taylor to respond. Her legs were shaking; her mouth was dry. She couldn’t look him in the face. She had no idea why she’d been so bold. No idea if he’d show up. But the ball was in his court. This would show her once and for all if she’d been wrong about his interest.
Chapter Ten
Taylor watched the door of the elevator close but said nothing in reply to Isabella’s invitation. He didn’t know what, exactly, he should say. He knew what he wanted to
do
—in spite of knowing whom she worked for, in spite of swearing it wasn’t the right time and she wasn’t the right woman, he still felt the same electricity when she looked at him as he’d felt the first time they’d locked eyes. It was so powerful he wanted to run down the steps and beat the elevator to the first floor, grab her when she got out, and kiss her.
But he couldn’t. All the reasons he had outlined to himself over the past two weeks on an almost daily basis were still valid. It didn’t matter how attracted he was to her. There were too many things working against them, not the least of which was if she ever found out who he was and what he’d done, she’d either laugh at him or flat out hate him.
No, this wasn’t how he operated. He needed a nice, safe, appropriate woman who would go with him on nice, safe, appropriate dates, which would progress to a place where he could make a nice, safe, appropriate decision about what to do with the relationship. It was how he’d always assumed he’d find a wife.
Right. Look how well it had worked out with Allison. So well, he’d sworn he’d take time off before returning to his plan for finding a wife.
And he couldn’t let Isabella Rodriquez mess it all up. Could he?
His musing was interrupted by a woman’s voice asking him if he was getting on the elevator or not. From the tone of her comment, it wasn’t the first time she’d asked. He apologized, told her he wasn’t getting on, and, with a determined stride, went back to his office. Work was the answer. He’d bury himself in his projects and forget about those big brown eyes, the soft, dark curls, and her seductive smile.
When he saw the folder in his hand, he remembered what he’d wanted to talk to Nate about and, with a relieved sigh, tracked him down, intending to spend a few minutes discussing the details of a report he was responsible for writing.
It didn’t go as he planned.
He had no sooner walked into Nate’s office than his colleague asked, “Well? Did you set something up?”
“Set
what
up?”
“Taking Bella around the city.”
“Were you really serious? I thought it was company
They stood in silence after she pushed the “down” button. It seemed to be taking forever for the car to arrive. Either time really was relative and was now dragging, or all the cars were on other floors being loaded with all the people and/or furniture on one floor so it could be delivered to another floor, totally bypassing where Taylor and Bella were waiting.
It was torture. Something had to give, and it was apparently not going to be Taylor. So, finally, she spoke. “I want to go over the revisions Nate and I talked about while our conversation is still fresh in my mind. I don’t feel like going back to my cubicle. Is there someplace downstairs I can hang out and read for a bit? Maybe a coffee shop or a bar?”
“There’s a bar on the ground floor. Most of us in the building go there from time to time. They even have decent food.”
“Sounds perfect. It’ll take me an hour or so to go over the changes we made and try to figure out what my next steps should be to get this project on track.” On an impulse that started her mouth moving before she could stop it, she added, “If you’d like to join me, I’ll buy you a glass of wine.”
The invitation was no sooner out than the elevator arrived and she got in, not waiting for Taylor to respond. Her legs were shaking; her mouth was dry. She couldn’t look him in the face. She had no idea why she’d been so bold. No idea if he’d show up. But the ball was in his court. This would show her once and for all if she’d been wrong about his interest.
Chapter Ten
Taylor watched the door of the elevator close but said nothing in reply to Isabella’s invitation. He didn’t know what, exactly, he should say. He knew what he wanted to
do
—in spite of knowing whom she worked for, in spite of swearing it wasn’t the right time and she wasn’t the right woman, he still felt the same electricity when she looked at him as he’d felt the first time they’d locked eyes. It was so powerful he wanted to run down the steps and beat the elevator to the first floor, grab her when she got out, and kiss her.
But he couldn’t. All the reasons he had outlined to himself over the past two weeks on an almost daily basis were still valid. It didn’t matter how attracted he was to her. There were too many things working against them, not the least of which was if she ever found out who he was and what he’d done, she’d either laugh at him or flat out hate him.
No, this wasn’t how he operated. He needed a nice, safe, appropriate woman who would go with him on nice, safe, appropriate dates, which would progress to a place where he could make a nice, safe, appropriate decision about what to do with the relationship. It was how he’d always assumed he’d find a wife.
Right. Look how well it had worked out with Allison. So well, he’d sworn he’d take time off before returning to his plan for finding a wife.
And he couldn’t let Isabella Rodriquez mess it all up. Could he?
His musing was interrupted by a woman’s voice asking him if he was getting on the elevator or not. From the tone of her comment, it wasn’t the first time she’d asked. He apologized, told her he wasn’t getting on, and, with a determined stride, went back to his office. Work was the answer. He’d bury himself in his projects and forget about those big brown eyes, the soft, dark curls, and her seductive smile.
When he saw the folder in his hand, he remembered what he’d wanted to talk to Nate about and, with a relieved sigh, tracked him down, intending to spend a few minutes discussing the details of a report he was responsible for writing.
It didn’t go as he planned.
He had no sooner walked into Nate’s office than his colleague asked, “Well? Did you set something up?”
“Set
what
up?”
“Taking Bella around the city.”
“Were you really serious? I thought it was company
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