Love by Chance (A Contemporary Romance) (2 page)

A shadow fell over them. “May I have the next dance?” asked the pirate in a husky voice.

Alysa looked up and gave him a sweet smile. “Thank you, but I must decline for now while I catch my breath. Perhaps later?”

The pirate glanced at d’Artagnan before turning his attention back to Alysa. “Of course, I’ll look for you later.” He soon disappeared back into the sea of costumes.

“My lady, you may dance with others if that is your wish,” d”Artagnan said.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for sharing that,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

They were inseparable. The evening flew by with champagne, dances and small talk. Alysa didn’t want it to end. It was the most fun she’d had in years. Standing out on the balcony, she let the cool night air caress her skin. Her cheeks were flush with color and not only from their dancing.

d’Artagnan’s finger lightly traced her jaw line. “My Lady, I know it’s against the rules, but may I take the liberty?”

Before Alysa had a chance to ask what liberty he wanted to take, he bent down and kissed her. His lips were soft and the kiss as light as a feather. Her body trembled like a tiny captured bird. She moved closer and returned his kiss, a kiss full of passion and need. He reciprocated and their tongues explored the sweet taste of each other’s mouths. The world disappeared. Nothing else mattered but the magnificent man stirring the fire in her belly. Long moments passed before they parted. She looked into d’Artagnan’s eyes, searching for a sign that he felt the same heart-pounding connection.

His hand brushed against the hollow of her throat as he reached for one of the blonde curls that lay on her shoulder, and twirled it around his finger. “Lovely. I…”

He stopped in mid-sentence, dropped the curl and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his phone and his brow furrowed as he read the text message.

“I’m sorry, I must go.” He gave her a quick bow and turned on his heel.

“Wait, what is …” Alysa’s words were lost on the wind. He didn’t stop, but flew through the sea of dancers and out the door. She stood frozen, watching his retreating back. Her hand went to her heart as a crushing weight threatened to overwhelm her. Her magical night had been ripped from her by an unknown text. What could it have said to make him leave so suddenly?

“Someone must know who he is,” she whispered to no one in particular. She went back inside the ballroom and talked with everyone she could, but no one knew the handsome d’Artagnan’s identity. By the time she left the ballroom, her shoulders sagged in disappointment.

“So how was ball?” Lisa asked on Monday morning when she walked into Alysa’s office.

Alysa was seated at her desk and had been there for long hours before Lisa had arrived. Not being able to find out the handsome stranger’s name affected her more than she cared to admit. She hadn’t realized she was missing something in her life, until he kissed her. That kiss had changed everything. If she couldn’t find him, what good would that perfect memory be? Talking about it was the last thing she wanted to do.

“It was fine.” She glanced up from her computer screen. “Do you have those reports for me?”

Lisa didn’t say anything more, but simply laid the reports on Alysa’s desk. She turned and left the office closing the door softly behind her.

Alysa slumped back in her chair. It wasn’t fair to take out her frustration on Lisa, but she couldn’t help it. The ball had been a fairy tale where the handsome stranger finds her the most beautiful and desirable woman there. He had swept her off her feet and she’d been a willing participant. It was indeed her Cinderella moment. Problem with fairy tales though, they didn’t always have a happy ending. She had exhausted every possibility she could think of to find out who he was and had come up empty. No one knew who he was, although everyone, especially the women, remembered seeing him at the ball. Of course they did; he was the handsome d’Artagnan, the dashing Musketeer.

She sighed and opened the folder Lisa had handed her. There was nothing left to do except concentrate on the work she needed to do before the stockholder’s meeting in six weeks. She tried to work, but it wasn’t going to happen. Her mind was in turmoil. Maybe, it would be better to talk about it. It certainly couldn’t hurt.

She pressed the intercom. “Lisa, could you please come in here?”

“Of course.” Lisa walked back into the office. “Do you need something else?”

Alysa sat up straighter in her chair. “No, I need to apologize to you. I’m sorry for being short with you, but…um…it’s just that I’ve met him.”

“Him?”

“At the ball. He was dressed as d’Artagnan, and we spent most of the evening together.” Alysa’s closed her eyes, remembering floating around the dance floor in his arms.

“That’s wonderful,” Lisa said, sitting in one of the chairs in front of Alysa’s desk. “So, who is he? Must be someone special to sweep you off your feet.”

Alysa opened her eyes and her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know.”

Lisa’s eyes widened in surprise and she leaned forward. “What?”

“He rushed out before I could ask his name.”

“Oh, was it midnight?”

“Midnight?”

“You know, like Cinderella rushing out at midnight.”

Alysa couldn’t help herself. She leaned back in her chair and laughed. “Lisa, you’re too funny. I don’t know what time it was. All I know is that is was the most wonderful, magical night, but no one seems to know who he is.”

Now it was Lisa’s turn to frown. “All the contributions to the charity were anonymous. No names required.”

“Yes, I found that out. I’ve reached a dead end.”

Lisa stood. “Let me see what I can find out. We have to find this mystery man. I haven’t seen you like this in such a long time. I’m determined to find your prince.” She walked out of the office and closed the door behind her.

Alysa smiled before turning back to the reports. If anyone could find out who d’Artagnan was, it was Lisa. That girl was a whiz and knew more people than Alysa could count. With Lisa on his trail, she could concentrate on preparing for the stockholders meeting.

“Alysa, did you hear what I said?” Alan asked.

His voice startled her and Alysa looked up. It was the last meeting with her senior managers before the stockholders meeting tomorrow, and they were working out the glitches in the final presentations.

“Sorry Al, got a bit distracted for a moment. Can you repeat that again?”

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, just tired, like everyone else at the table.”

That got a round of chuckles. They all had been working long hours getting the various presentations finished for the meeting. Her senior managers were as invested in the company as she, and it was gratifying to know they’d supported her leadership from the beginning. In truth, it wasn’t the work that had Alysa tired, it was never finding out who the mystery man was from the ball six weeks earlier. He’d touched a cord in her. She was reluctant to give up her search for him, but everywhere she looked and everyone she talked to was one dead end after another. Lisa was still on the hunt, but so far, she had struck out as well.

well almost everyone.

***

Scott Anderson pulled on his jacket and headed downtown for the stockholder’s meeting of Solar Winds, Inc. He held a large number of shares in the small, but emerging company and he liked their odds for making it, especially since they’d survived the three-year mark without folding. The CEO, Al Stevens, was making smart decisions with the direction of the company and Scott was looking forward to meeting him after the presentation.

As much as he was pleased to see his investments paying off handsomely, his personal life had taken a nosedive since he’d attended that masquerade ball weeks ago. He hadn’t wanted to attend, but when he found out a Three Musketeer’s costume was available, he couldn’t resist. He would go, compliment the women and dance the night away. It was so simple, no commitment, no entanglement, just an evening enjoying the wiles of the fairer sex.

All that changed when he saw
her
. She was exquisite in her black gown and golden mask. He was captivated with her, couldn’t get enough of her. He’d inhaled her sweet scent, and when he kissed her lips he felt the earth move under his feet. It was perfect, too perfect, as luck would have it. The moment he was going to ask for her name, his brother texted him. There’d been a car accident. His brother Michael wasn’t seriously hurt, but Michael’s wife Ellen had been taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Scott had dashed out of the ballroom quickly, and only later realized that he hadn’t gotten her name and he had no way to learn her identity. There was no guest list. After all, it was a masquerade ball for a reason. No one knew who the woman in the golden mask was and though he had tried everything he could think of to find her, he had to admit that he’d have to file that night away as one of his most magical evenings ever, never to be repeated again.

Scott picked up his pace and was soon at the office building downtown. He was thirty minutes early for the meeting, but the room was crowded. Seems like word had gotten out that the reclusive CEO would be making a personal appearance at the meeting.
 
Every shareholder, large or small, was packed into the room. He found a seat near the back and began reading the program materials until the senior executives filed out on stage. One by one the presentations were made recapping the past year, looking forward to the next year and explaining the new products to be developed. It was going to be a fantastic year. Scott had a good feeling about it.

“And now, lastly, I’d like to turn the podium over to our CEO,” Alan said.

Scott looked up and his mouth fell open when a striking blonde woman walked up to the microphone. The rest of the room sat in a hushed silence. Jaws dropped. Obviously, none of the other stockholders knew the CEO was a woman either.
 

She was smartly dressed in a navy suit, white silk blouse and silver hoop earrings completed her outfit. Her hair was pulled back in a chignon at the nape of her neck and it set off her intense blue eyes, high cheekbones and full lips.

“Good morning, everyone.” She paused and looked around the room making eye contact with a number of people in the audience. She flashed a mega-watt smile. “I’m Alysa Stevens, better known to all of you as Al.”

A hammer blow struck Scott’s chest and he didn’t hear another word. It was her; the one he’d been looking for since the charity ball six weeks ago. Was it possible? His dream girl was also the smartest CEO he’d come across in years? He looked at her with fresh eyes, remembering touching the curve of her face, the taste of her kiss from that wonderful magical night. He wanted to rush up to the podium and caress her soft skin.

“…and thank you all for coming out today. I look forward to taking this company to new heights. It’s going to be a banner year.”

The room exploded with applause and it startled him out of his reverie. Scott looked at the podium, but Alysa was already retreating backstage. He got up and tried to reach her, but the throng of people with the same idea of meeting her blocked his path.
 
Before he made it to the front of the room, she was gone. The only comforting thought was this time he knew her name and where she worked. He was determined to meet her one way or another.

He pulled out his phone, looked up the company’s phone number and dialed. Her assistant answered on the second ring.

“Good afternoon, Al Stevens’ office,” she said pleasantly.

“Yes, I would like to make an appointment with her, please.”

“May I ask what your business is, sir?”