Secret Desires (13 page)

Harry Brucker was not at all what she was expecting. He was more youthful looking than most people half his age, and when he spoke he did so with a kind of dynamism that only few people were naturally blessed with. He talked at length about
The Gentleman's Show
and how running a successful business in Las Vegas was in its own stratosphere of importance. He was arrogant but charming and tolerable, not unlike another businessman she was well acquainted with. Harry Brucker was no James Fitzgerald though.

After an hour of speaking Natalie came to the conclusion that she and Joe would definitely be bringing both Harry and his all-male revue into the Brighton family, and that the account would demand every waking moment of their time. Still, it excited her, the prospect of getting her hands dirty on a brand new account. It could open the door to a whole new chapter in her career with Brighton.

Once Harry concluded his keynote speech the room went abuzz with chatter. Joe ushered Natalie to the side of the makeshift stage where Harry was being de-mic'd and waited. He was much more glamorous in person with his bespoke suit, slicked back hair and tan skin. His facial features were all straight lines that came to points, which was softened only by a remarkably clear complexion that did nothing to reveal his actual age.

"Joe Gallo!" Harry beamed once he was free of microphone wiring. "So glad you could make it. What did you think of my speech?"

"Inspiring," Joe replied as he shook the man's hand. "Harry, allow me to introduce you to Natalie Harlow, one of our brightest junior VP's at Brighton."

"So this is the famous Natalie Harlow?" Harry extended his hand to her and she shook it, noting the laser-like efficiency of his stare. She felt like he could tell more about her by just looking than asking.

"Am I famous?" she chuckled as she shook his hand.

"Oh yes! I'm a huge fan of your
Stay at Eden to Sin
campaign. Audra Robertson's done nothing but sing your praises."

Natalie tried not to let her utter surprise show. Audra Robertson
singing
her praises? It didn't seem likely, and while he was certainly a flatterer, one thing she knew immediately Harry Brucker wasn't was a liar.

"I hope you're going to show me a taste of that Vegas spirit today," he continued, his lips pursing into a satisfied smile.

"You won't be disappointed," Joe promised.

"I know I won't be. Why don't we go up to my suite? It's got a great view overlooking the lake."

"Absolutely," Joe nodded. "Natalie, after you."

Natalie followed Harry as they walked the short distance to the elevator and listened as the two men exchanged pleasantries. She slipped her phone from her purse and tried to subtly check the screen, wondering if James had called or texted her back since that morning. He hadn't. The icons for her voicemail and text messages were marked red with notifications; she didn't even know what to do about going through that mess. She had enough nervous energy as it was; there was no need to exacerbate her butterfly-filled stomach. Just as she was about to slip the phone back into her purse it began to vibrate, and the name
Gentleman Twelve
was emblazoned across the screen.

"Natalie?"

She looked up to find both Joe and Harry waiting on her from inside the elevator car.

"Sorry," she smiled apologetically. She dropped the phone back into her purse and joined the men in the elevator, trying to push
her
man out of her thoughts.

The sky above the lake had darkened as the afternoon progressed into early evening, but inside Harry Brucker's lushly appointed suite there was nothing but barely contained bright smiles and the high of success.

"So we'll see you in about an hour?" Joe confirmed as he shook Harry's hand yet again.

"Absolutely. Just don't forget to text me the address." Harry turned to Natalie, his smile matching her own. "Miss Harlow, it was a pleasure."

"Likewise," she mused, so focused on containing her enthusiasm that she didn't mind when he kissed the back of her hand rather than merely shaking her palm.

Neither of them said a word as they exited the suite and walked the few hundred feet to the elevator, but the pulse of their shared excited energy was palpable. As soon as the elevator doors shut Joe turned to Natalie and let out a relieved sigh through a generous smile.

"We got it!"

"You were fantastic!" she beamed.

"No,
you
were amazing."

"We make a great team!"

"I might hug you right now," he warned playfully.

"Bring it in," she teased back, opening her arms to him. He accepted and wrapped his arms around her torso, engulfing her almost entirely. She could barely stretch her chin up high enough to rest on his shoulder rather than having her face bury in his chest.

"You know as soon as that contract is signed we're going to be up in our ears in work?" she asked before pulling away from his embrace.

"That's Monday. We're still on Saturday."

The elevator doors opened and they exited, each of them walking with just a bit more pep in their step as they made their way out to valet. Out of the corner of her eye Natalie spotted Ivy chatting with one of the conference attendants, and before she could think about what she was about to do she changed course.

"Ivy!" she called out as she closed the distance between them.

Ivy smiled politely at the attendant before turning her attention to Natalie and Joe, who had stopped mid-stride in the middle of the lobby.

"Yes?" she asked crisply.

"We're having some people over in about an hour to celebrate our new account. Would you like to join us?"

Ivy's eyes shifted from Natalie to Joe, and then back to Natalie again. "Of course, I'd be delighted," she said through an affected smile. "Thank you for the invitation."

"Great! I'll text you the address. See you soon!" Natalie turned in the direction of the exit and joined Joe at his side.

"Just a friendly invitation between co-workers?"

"A success for us is a success for everyone, right?" And she meant it. Though there was the added bonus of having Ivy witness her own success that partially fueled the invitation. She didn't want Ivy to think she could rattle her easily.

"Sure," he laughed. He handed the valet attendant his ticket and then crossed his arms over his chest and looked down on Natalie. "How's that nervous stomach doing?"

She'd forgotten about it completely. "Calm and steady. And ready for a celebratory drink!"

"You and me both."

Once their car arrived Joe palmed the driver a tip and they climbed in, the electricity from landing a huge account still crackling even in the confined space. She relished the feeling of not only doing well, but excelling. She replayed parts of the presentation in her mind as they drove around the lake to Audra's home, watching the line of trees while reliving moments from the meeting where she and Joe volleyed back and forth to one another, united like a true team as Harry Brucker watched. It served as a reminder of how much she loved her job, and how much satisfaction it gave to her. She couldn't give that up, not for anything. Not for James. He would just have to understand. He wouldn't give up his job for her - not that she'd ever ask him to - and shouldn't reasonably expect the same from her.

They'd simply have to find another way to work things out, especially if James was serious about wanting her to move in with him, which she doubted. He was caught up in a moment. Hell he was practically still inside of her when he asked. But even if he did mean it, they would absolutely have to figure something out before moving forward. Maybe she'd have to talk to Graham Martin after all. Explain that she didn't know James was a client when they met and started seeing each other and that the relationship had progressed. Graham was a reasonable man. Surely he could see that violating company policy wasn't intentional on her part?

"I'm going to stop in Blue Jay and pick up a few things. Do you mind?"

Natalie snapped out of her reverie. "Not at all. I'll text the house address to them."

Joe pulled into a parking spot in front of a grocery store and kept the engine running. "Back in a few minutes," he announced before exiting the car.

Natalie picked up her phone and typed out two identical text messages, then stared for a moment at the thread of text with James before finally plucking enough courage to open it. It took several swipes of her thumb to scroll up to the start of her apparently drunken conversation with him the previous evening.

'Hey baby. How's Vegas?'

'Gentleman Twelve: Hey yourself. Vegas is Vegas. How was being fancy on a boat?'

'Sublime. Why don't you have a boat?'

'Gentleman Twelve: Because none of my hotels have space to store one.'

'Ohhhh. Right.'

'Gentleman Twelve: Do you think I need a boat?'

'Yes. Big one. A pontoon like Audra.'

'Gentleman Twelve: I'll keep that in mind.'

There wasn't much of interest after that, just some general back and forth texts, the spelling of which became less and less accurate on Natalie's part.

'Gentleman Twelve: You drinking, baby?'

'Margaritas :)'

There was an image attachment, and when Natalie opened it she nearly recoiled at the sight of her smiling drunkenly to the camera, a sombrero tilted precariously on her head.

'Look it what he made me wear!'

'Gentleman Twelve: He who?'

'Joe! We have matching somborerors."

She opened a second picture attachment: Joe's arm hung comfortably across her shoulders, a half-empty beer in hand. They were both wearing ridiculous looking hats, his partially obscuring his face. She vaguely remembered the moment, but it looked like they were having fun. Although she could definitely see how seeing the photo would rile James' suspicions.

'Gentleman Twelve: I see. Who is Joe?'

'From werk!'

'Gentleman Twelve: I thought you went with Quinn?'

'To Vegas? Nooo. With Joe. His account maybe. I'm helping.'

'It'so pretty here. I miss you.'

There weren't any more replies from him after that. She could imagine what followed next just as Quinn had insinuated. James must have guessed that as a Brighton employee she would utilize her employee perk and stay at Eden, then tracked her down.

Natalie checked the recent calls screen and saw his name again from just before her meeting with Harry, but he hadn't left a voicemail. She contemplated texting him again when Joe opened the driver's side door and set a bag down by her feet before climbing in behind the wheel.

She sent a quick message to James. 'Presentation was a success. We're having some people over to celebrate. Sorry we keep missing each other. What time on Monday will you be back? Miss and love you.'

"All set?" Joe asked as he shifted the gearbox into reverse.

"Yep!" She smiled and secured her seatbelt as Joe pulled out of the parking spot, then casually glanced down into the bag at her feet. "What did you get?"

"Some champagne and a few odds and ends."

She peeked through the diaphanous material of the shopping bag at the myriad of shapes contained within, and one in particular had a very familiar, very recognizable logo prominently on it.

Condoms?
She cast a sidelong glance at Joe as he navigated the windy road back to Audra's house. Why would he buy condoms?

Natalie regarded her reflection in the full-length mirror that sat just outside the master suite's bathroom, pleased with what she saw. She'd donned a tee shirt dress in a deep shade of emerald with sleeves that hugged down to her elbows and a hemline that swished satisfactorily around her knees. The dress, paired with metallic gold strappy heels, set off nicely against the bit of sun she'd acquired the previous day. She snapped a photo of her reflection with her phone and sent it off to Quinn, asking if she looked good. She wanted to look chic but appropriate, especially considering she was still technically working.

Not that her mind was focused entirely on work. James was always in the back of her mind, her thoughts fretting over why he wasn't returning her text and if he was still angry (and
why
he was angry). And then there was Joe and his condoms. The only conclusion she could surmise was that they were a general purchase, not a specific one. Either that or he was hoping to get lucky with Ivy. They both worked together in San Francisco and seemed to be on friendly terms, so maybe there was something between them?

Why do you even care? So what if they hook up? They're adults, they can do what they want.

Her phone buzzed in her hand.

'Quinn: Sexy lady!'

Natalie laughed through an autonomous grimace. She didn’t want to look sexy. She wanted to just look nice. Her phone buzzed again.

‘Quinn: Get in touch with Mr. Handsome yet?’

‘Playing phone tag. I’ll just talk to him when he gets home.’

She hoped that in the next 48 hours James would calm down, if he really was that angry. That was the part she couldn’t make sense of, no matter how many ways she thought about it. The hours would give her time to pluck the courage to tell him she was just going to talk to Graham Martin and hope for the best. Of course there was always the possibility he would fire her, but she was counting on her good will and her reputation - including the fact that she just helped bring in a big account - to smooth things over.

At the sound of music coming from the main living space Natalie abandoned her thoughts about her wayward relationship and decided to focus on work. Monday was still two days away.

An entire wall of windows overlooking the sparkling cobalt blue lake under the last dying flames of sunlight had been recessed into the corners of the room, bringing Lake Arrowhead into the room and the room out into Lake Arrowhead. The smell of fresh mountain air was intoxicating, and the moment Joe slipped a glass of chilled champagne into Natalie's hand she was relaxed.
This
, she decided, was living. It was extravagant in its own way to be sure, but the breathtaking beauty, the serene calm of the lake a mile high in the mountains, was better than the riches and luxuries of the modern world she lived in.

Their party of two soon doubled and then tripled with the arrivals of Ivy, another employee from Brighton Natalie recognized, Harry Brucker and the guest he brought with him. Conversation buzzed at an ambient level over upbeat music and continued once the first round of drinks had been consumed and a second was being served. They sat out on the balcony overlooking the lake, Natalie tucked deep into a plush couch next to Joe as they conversed, laughed, and drank.

In the middle of a story Harry was relating about one of the men in
The Gentleman's Show
, Natalie caught a flash of light coming from the driveway.

"I think the pizza is here," she announced in Joe's general direction. He slapped a hand to his knee before standing, beer in hand, and headed back into the house and towards the foyer.

The mood was considerably light. Even Ivy was relaxed and a bit loose thanks to no less than two glasses of champagne, and her veneer of polite snobbery seemed to be dissipating.

"You must have made quite the impression on Audra Robertson for her to offer you her house," Ivy mused. Natalie thought it maybe sounded like a compliment, but wasn't quite sure. "She can be quite intractable."

Natalie laughed to herself at the irony of Ivy's statement. "I suppose that's true. She doesn't show favor easily, or often."

"She certainly doesn't," Ivy agreed, lifting her nearly empty glass as though a toast had been made.

Natalie's ears perked up at what sounded like shouting far in the distance. She looked to Ivy and the others to see if any of them had noticed, but all were engrossed in their drink and conversation.
Must be the wind
, she decided, turning her attention back to Ivy. Maybe she had a shot of ingratiating herself to Ivy now that they were both relaxed and slightly inebriated. It would certainly make working together easier, not to mention lessen any unnecessary rivalry.

"Get the hell out of my way!"

Natalie wasn't the only person to suddenly look up at the sound of shouting coming distinctly from within the house. She stood quickly and tried to offer a reassuring smile at their guests.

"I think he might need my assistance. Help yourselves to more drinks!" She walked briskly into the house and made her way to the foyer hoping the shouting was nothing more than her mind playing tricks on her.

"Joe is everything-" The words stopped as quickly as her feet did, but her heart picked up double time, pounding instantly within her chest. She hadn't misheard at all, and suddenly she recognized the voice responsible for the shouting the moment her eyes met a familiar pair of blue-green.

James
.