She held the check up, blocking out the soft, yellow color of the walls she’d painted the previous year to enhance the orange couch and stared once again at the travel magazine name. She really owed Alec a thank you, her conscience told her. He’d had his office invaded, his staff corralled and brought into the event and his evening disrupted. The least she could do was send him a note letting him know that his patience was rewarded.
She wouldn’t even need to see him, she thought, her mind working a mile a minute. If she just got him a gift, some small token of her appreciation for his patience, she could simply give it to Mick and he could make sure it got to Alec. That wouldn’t be cheating on her promise not to see him anymore, would it?
Boy, she missed…No! she stopped herself. No, no, no! She couldn’t think about how much she missed him. Even arguing with him. That was completely inappropriate. It had been four days and she wouldn’t do anything about it.
She needed to just get him the thank you gift, then stop thinking about him, get on with her life.
She took another sip of wine and thought about how perfect her plan was. Her mother would be proud of her creativity and her father would be glad she hadn’t broken her promise or put herself into a situation where she might be tempted.
She was completely in control, she smiled. No worries if she dropped off a thank you gift and she could just move on after that. There would be no reason to think about him ever again. She could even see Edna when she wanted and not need to ask about Alec. Helen knew that Edna and her mother had formed a fast friendship and were having lunch together next week but Helen wouldn’t need to ask how Alec was, if he was still angry with her or with what had happened while he was out of town. Or if he was okay or if he was getting enough sleep and not working too hard….
But what could she get him? The man had so much money, he could buy just about anything he wanted. She took another sip of wine and contemplated what might be an adequate gift for what he’d done for her.
The flavor burst once more, giving her a sense of contentment and pleasure but her mind was still a blank on a gift. Perhaps one of her pictures? Maybe in a nice frame? She could even give him the sunset picture. That was the whole reason for the gift, wasn’t it?
And a bottle of wine!
Helen sat up, suddenly feeling as if the world were back to spinning properly on the axis she’d set in motion. Yes! A bottle of wine and the sunset picture would be perfect!
She savored the rest of her glass of wine slowly, thinking of all the possibilities when it came to wine and then her mind touched on the perfect bottle.
An hour later, Helen stared at the bottle, hoping inspiration would come to her. She’d gone to her discount supplier, the one down the street that had a store which looked more like a hole in the wall than an actual retail market but he sold some of the best wines, even if they were pricy. The bottle was her favorite red wine, a full bodied pinot grigio that she suspected Alec would appreciate. It had taken all one hundred dollars she’d received for the picture but the sale wasn’t really about the money. It was about recognition and a breakthrough. She didn’t usually spend a hundred dollars on one bottle of wine but what could she do when buying a bottle of wine for a zillionaire? She had to spend a little more simply because he wouldn’t care for something less than the best, she knew.
She bit her lip, considering the nights they’d gone out to dinner. She’d recognized the labels of the other wines and they’d all been excellent but there was no way she could afford those. This one, her favorite, was all she could afford but now that she’d bought it, what should she write on the note? The words had to create the perfect balance between graciousness so he understood how important this event was, and finality so he knew that she couldn’t see him anymore.
“Alec,” she wrote on the light green stationary she had on hand for notes, “Thank you so much for allowing me to invade your office. Just so you know it wasn’t in vain, I’m proud to let you know that one of the pictures will be published in one of the best travel magazines. Thank you for the opportunity. In gratitude, please accept this bottle of wine in appreciation.”
She re-read the note then nodded with satisfaction. Putting it into a darker green envelope along with a smaller copy of the sunset picture, she sealed it and tied it to the bottle of wine with a special ribbon.
She worked hard the next day and her camera bag was especially heavy since it was carrying the bottle of wine. Helen calculated she could make it to her first photo shoot, drop off the bottle during her lunch and then still make it to her afternoon appointment. It was such a simple plan, what could possibly go wrong?
Chapter 6
Alec stormed out of the airport, irritated at the whole world. He wasn’t really angry at the world but at one, cute, irritating, sexy female with eyes that wouldn’t leave his head. He wanted her. And not just her body, he’d realized grimly as he was driven from the airport back to his headquarters two days after his anticipated return. It irritated him that he wanted to talk to her even before he wanted to check in with his office.
When had he ever wanted to talk to a woman? Women served one purpose and one purpose only. They were interesting creatures, soft, lovely, full of interesting curves but not interesting conversation.
And why the hell hadn’t she tried to call him? Even once, dammit! He’d held off calling her during the whole trip only to see if she’d call him first and now he wanted nothing more than to hear her voice and see the laughter in her eyes.
Why in the world would he want to be around her, argue with her, laugh with her and hear her laugh with him? That was unheard of, he thought with burning irritation. He turned on his computer located in the car and forced himself to concentrate on the current acquisition. It would be a simple one, he knew, but strategic. The target company was vulnerable in places the owner didn’t even realize. By the time the markets opened up in three hours in Athens, everything would be all over. The man had left a key part of his small empire vulnerable and so he deserved to lose it all. No man should leave himself open to attack. Keeping his family and possessions safe was the ultimate point of a man and Alec knew that lesson better than anyone else. He had found more vulnerabilities than anyone and knew how to protect his own.
Unfortunately, even the sweeping success in business hadn’t been able to distract him from thoughts of the sexy, impertinent and ever so outrageous woman. As he typed in instructions to one of his vice presidents, he couldn’t stop thinking about Helen.