Soft Focus (32 page)

SHE WAS LATE.

She saw him waiting for her the moment she walked into the Pacific Rim Club restaurant. He was seated in the exact same booth in which he had waited for her on the day after their ill-fated first night together. Not a coincidence, she thought. She smiled to herself.

Hugo, the maître d', hurried over to greet her. “Ah, you're here, Miss Cabot. Mr. Fairfax has already arrived.”

“So I see.”

Hugo escorted her to the booth. Elizabeth sensed several heads turn en route. She caught glimpses of smiles and knew that she was not the only one who was experiencing a mild case of déjà vu. This was the first time that she had met Jack for lunch here since their spectacular scene.

She saw the gleam of amusement in his eyes and knew that he was enjoying watching her walk the elegant gauntlet. When she reached the table, he got to his feet and brushed her mouth in an unmistakably possessive kiss.

“You're late,” he said.

She ignored him to smile at Hugo. “Thank you.”

“Of course, Miss Cabot.” Hugo beamed. “Please allow me
to offer my sincerest congratulations on your engagement. We look forward to holding the reception here on Friday.”

“We're both looking forward to the party, too,” Elizabeth said.

Hugo smiled again and retreated.

Elizabeth refused to acknowledge any of the sidelong looks from the other diners. She set her purse down on the cushion and slipped into the booth. Jack sat down across from her.

“You're probably wondering why I called this meeting,” he said.

She glanced meaningfully around the room. “I assumed it was to make a point.”

He grinned. “Okay, I admit I couldn't resist replaying this particular scene in front of this particular audience. I wanted to get it right.”

“You're doing very well so far. At least I haven't poured ice water over you.”

“Things are definitely looking up,” he agreed.

She helped herself to a bread stick. “By the way, we got an engagement present from Vicky.”

“No kidding? What did she send?”

“An autographed poster of
Fast Company
. I'm going to get it framed for my office.”

“I saw Page this morning. He was excited. Seems that the film has been picked up for foreign distribution and is going to be available on video. It'll never make any money, of course, but at least it's out there.” Jack leaned back in the booth and fixed her with a steady gaze. “Want to order first, or shall we get right down to business?”

“You're starting to scare me, Jack.” She reached for the menu. “What's this all about?”

“While we were in Mirror Springs you offered me a business proposition.”

“You never got back to me on the offer, as I recall.”

“I've been doing a lot of thinking.”

She slowly lowered the menu. “Are you serious? You want to go to work for the Aurora Fund?”

“Not exactly. But something you said at the time you made your offer stuck with me.”

“What was that?”

“You pointed out that the goals of the Fund and the goals of Fairfax Consulting are very similar. You search out small companies that need venture capital. I specialize in turning around small companies that are in serious trouble. Why not join forces and offer a package deal?”

She smiled. “Sounds like a winning combination to me. But I've got to say, I'm a little surprised. I thought that the idea of taking orders from me was more than you could handle.”

“It is.” He sat forward and clasped his hands on the table. He looked directly into her eyes. “I love you more than I have ever loved anyone else in my life, but I don't intend to work for you. Nothing personal. It's just that I don't take orders well. However, I have another arrangement in mind.”

“I knew it. There's a catch.”

“Not a catch, an alternative. I'm proposing a joint venture. Fairfax Consulting and the Aurora Fund will maintain their individual business identities, but they will form a partnership to handle certain selected projects.”

“Hmm.” The muted buzzing of her cell phone interrupted her contemplation of his suggestion. She opened her purse, reached inside, and withdrew the small instrument. “This is Elizabeth.”

“Lizzie?” Merrick's ever-cheerful voice boomed in her ear. “I've been trying to get hold of you all week. Did you get a chance to take a look at my business plan?”

She stifled a small groan. “I did glance at it, but I've been
a little busy lately, Merrick. What with the arrangements for the engagement party and all, I haven't—”

“I know, I know. Congratulations, by the way. But getting back to my plan. This is the big one, Lizzie. I can feel it in my bones.”

“As I said, I haven't gone through the plan in detail, Merrick.” She saw a glint appear in Jack's eyes. She had not discussed Merrick's business plan with him, and she was pretty sure that he could guess why she had not done so. His obvious disapproval irritated her, so she spoke rashly. “But I trust your instincts. I'll have the funds transferred into your account immediately.”

“Hey, Lizzie, that's terrific.” Merrick's enthusiasm was, as usual, contagious. “Fantastic. You won't regret it. Things are going to work this time. You'll see.”

“Give me that phone.” Jack reached across the table and deftly removed it from her fingers.

She glared at him. “What do you think you're doing?”

He paid no attention to her fuming. “Merrick? Jack Fairfax here. Yeah, yeah, I know how lucky I am. Now, about your business plan. The Aurora Fund and Fairfax Consulting are setting up a joint venture. If you take the funding, you also take the consulting.”

Elizabeth felt her jaw drop. She tried to grab the phone out of his hand. “Jack, wait, we haven't really discussed this yet.”

He held the phone out of reach and continued to speak to Merrick. “I'll be working with Elizabeth, not for her. No, we haven't signed the papers yet.”

“We haven't even talked about the details.” Elizabeth stood up and tried again to swipe the phone away from him. “For all you know, I've changed my mind.”

Jack angled his head to indicate the three business
executives seated in the booth across the aisle. She glanced at them and saw that they were watching her with keen expectation.

“I agree,” Jack said. “A good matchup of skills and market niches. Thanks, I thought it was a pretty good idea myself.”

Blushing furiously, Elizabeth subsided back into her seat with ill grace. She tapped one red nail pointedly on the table as Jack concluded the call.

“It's a deal,” he said finally. “I'll be in touch.”

He handed the phone back to Elizabeth. “There you go, our first joint-venture client.”

She glowered at him. “That was a little premature, don't you think? Something tells me that if that's an example of the way you do business, this joint venture of ours is not going to be as easy and smooth as you seem to believe.”

“Are you reneging on your offer?”

“My original offer,” she reminded him very evenly, “involved you working for the Aurora Fund. Not a joint venture.”

“You're just ticked because I won't agree to an organizational chart that has me taking orders from you.”

She started to argue, hesitated, and then reluctantly succumbed to the laughter that was fizzing inside. “Dang. It was such a lovely fantasy.”

He grinned. “You want a good fantasy? Wait until tonight. I bought a book on massage. And if that doesn't work, I think I can come up with something else that will entertain you. What's more, it won't be a fantasy, either. Guaranteed.”

She felt herself grow warm in the glow of love that she saw in his eyes. This was the real thing, she thought. This was the love that would last a lifetime. She knew that as surely as she knew that the sun would rise.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“Just that we lucked out.”

“We sure did.” He smiled. “We got the happy ending.”

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's Imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

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