I want You Deeper

There was no getting out of tonight’s event.

When the woman had come by and shoved a flyer in front of

Heath, he’d been in the middle of a sales pitch with a guy who had big plans for promoting his brand-new app over the coming year. The guy was going to need some serious booth setups, and he didn’t seem to have an issue spending the money to do it. If he could close this deal, Heath felt like it would be the perfect ending to the trade show part of the reality shoot.

But as soon as his new client was gone, Heath had to deal with what the flyer said. Tonight’s event wasn’t a cocktail party. It was some sort of awards ceremony. He had no idea what they were awarding, but he had a feeling it had something to do with the sessions that were happening while they were hanging out here in the exhibit hall. It wasn’t like they’d award exhibitors or anything.

But he had to go. That was part of the networking he’d failed at so badly the night before. He had to make up for that tonight. This was it. The rest of the shoot would be at his own offices, where he’d go undercover for a few hours as a salesperson, typically working in the field but there to learn as much as he could.

True to her word, Vanessa hadn’t strayed far from the booth that day, even when things had gotten busy. She’d stayed right in front of him, talking to people as they passed, then carrying on conversations with potential clients while they waited their turn to speak to Heath. He was flabbergasted that there was a line, but that seemed to be the way things were going today.

“I need to go get ready,” Vanessa announced, startling Heath. He’d lost track of time once again. The second and last full day of the trade show had come and gone in a flash. He was actually disappointed that it was over.

No, if he was really honest with himself, he’d admit he was disappointed that he wouldn’t have an excuse to spend his days with Vanessa. But maybe he didn’t need an excuse.

“I’ll pick you up,” he blurted spontaneously, not even sure what that meant. But as he stopped to think about it, he had to admit that he liked the idea. It was perfect for their last night of the trade show, mostly because it would set a precedent. After this was all over and they returned home, he could ask her on a real date, no cameras allowed.

“Pick me up?” She glanced over at the cameras. “For the banquet?”

Banquet. That was what it was called. The word hadn’t stuck in his head.

“Yes.” He glanced at his phone screen. “Five forty-five? That will give us fifteen minutes to get down there and find our seats.”

Vanessa nodded, and he couldn’t help but notice there was a big smile on her face. That smile made him feel like smiling, too, but the camera pointed at his face kept that from happening, especially when he heard that near-silent whir that indicated the guy was zooming in on him. He’d grown to dread that sound over the past couple of days.

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to get ready for his date alone. The other camera dude was waiting for him in his suite, along with Josea, who was all prepared to “dress him up” for the event. Mac’s idea of dressing for a banquet and Heath’s were two totally different things, it turned out. He was wearing a button-down shirt instead of a golf shirt for a change, but the blazer and khakis didn’t even match.

“Mac is budget,” Josea explained as Heath stood, staring at himself in the mirror. “It checks.”

Half of what Josea said made no sense to Heath, but it just reminded him how out of touch he was with normal people. He hung around guys who used words like “circle up” and “impact” and “leverage our core competencies.” He would assume “budget” meant that Mac didn’t have a stylist who picked out his clothing, purchased it, and had it delivered to his doorstep.

Well, actually, that was exactly what Josea was, now that he thought about it.

But it did “check.” The look was pure Mac Sutterfield. He just wanted to look more like himself for his first date with Vanessa. He’d have to make up for it once this was over by inviting her for a real date. Maybe rent out his favorite rooftop restaurant and have a driver drop them off. He’d go all out to make up for showing up in khakis to take her to a provided dinner of what was probably tough chicken with bland gravy and mushy roasted potatoes.

“You’re nervous,” Josea said, watching Heath as he just stood there, staring at himself. He hadn’t even realized he’d stalled like that until Josea spoke.

“I guess I am.” Heath was all too aware of the camera pointed at him as he admitted that. “Maybe I should go for a quick run.”

“Don’t do that. You’ll get all sweaty.”

Josea sounded horrified, and Heath smiled. The whole run idea had been a bust for him but lifting those weights had been well worth it because it had ended in a kiss. Maybe weightlifting had improved his energy somehow, but that kiss definitely had thrown his focus off. He’d had a tough time thinking about anything but that kiss all day.

Suddenly, Heath clapped his hands and turned to walk toward the door. “Let’s do this.”

He didn’t give the camera guy much time to keep up, getting to the door in a few long strides. All he wanted was to get this date started.

Actually, all he wanted was to be in Vanessa’s company. He was startled to realize that. He was rushing toward her because he missed her. Absurd, considering it had been less than an hour since she was standing in front of him. After the long drive back home tomorrow, he’d no longer have a reason to be around her, business-wise. Even if they agreed to see each other, they wouldn’t be together all day like they had been here.

He was disappointed to realize that.