SLOW HANDS

“No” replied Timothy, finally moving away from the wall, and stepping a little closer. “I have other things to do and I would rather make out some time so we can talk properly, Is that okay? How long are you going to be in town?”

With her seated and him standing, he seemed much taller than he actually was, and more intimidating. Chloe didn’t like that at all. The last thing she wanted was to lose her nerve in front of this man, but that was beginning to look really difficult. Timothy Kavell Packard had aged well, and as far as she was concerned, no one should be allowed to look that attractive because he was doing a damn fine job of stealing her breath without even trying.

Chloe placed her hands on her laps and told herself that she was an idiot for feeling lightheaded. He was just a man, flesh and blood… But… what a man!

He was tall, with wide shoulders, long muscular legs and what had to be a washboard stomach under the mint green button-down shirt tucked into a pair of plain black pants. He held a leather jacket in his clenched fist, and hell, his body was off the charts hot, but it was his face that held more of Chloe’s attention. With his strong chin and thick stubble, he looked like he belonged in an action movie, like her all-time favorite Hollywood hotties, Gerard Butler and Tom Hardy.

Chloe pulled her eyes off Mr. Delicious and tried to force her brain to focus on what actually mattered. She wasn’t a kid anymore and so she had to stop thinking like one. She straightened her spine and told herself to act her age. She saw handsome men all the time, and besides this wasn’t just any man. This was Timothy. The last time she had spoken to him, he had made it very clear to her that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with her. Although it was a long time ago, It would still be humiliating to let him know how much he affected her.

Meeting those dark eyes under those straight thick brows, a shade lighter than the color of his hair, she felt pinned to the chair, but finally managed to pull a polite smile onto her face. “Yes. Sure it’s fine. You just tell me where and when you want the meeting and I will be there. And I will be around for as long as you need me to be, so take your time.” she said.

“Good. It’s Friday already, so how about Monday in my office?” he asked, his voice as rich as the dark chocolate tart she’d consumed in a restaurant that morning.

“Sure,” Chloe replied. “Monday is fine with me. I’ll be here by 9 o’clock”

“Great. 9 is fine with me too. See you then.” Timothy said, before he turned to his father. “Dad, I will be leaving now. I’m meeting up with Charles. I’ll let you know how it goes. ”

Without a second glance in Chloe’s direction, he walked out of the room, leaving a very awkward silence between Chloe and Jensen. Jensen was the one who finally broke it.

“I’m sorry about that. I know he seems a bit edgy. Trust me, it has absolutely nothing to do with you. He’s mad at me, that’s all. You know how work can make someone get all tensed up and we really do have a lot going on.”

Chloe nodded and managed a smile. “It’s okay. I completely understand” she replied, even though she suspected that her presence definitely had something to do with Tim’s reaction. The man still hated her and he wasn’t even making any effort to hide it.

________________

“Please give me some good news” Evan Reese said eagerly on the phone when he called Chloe that evening. “Please tell me we have this account for real this time. Is Timothy Packard on board?”

Chloe clutched her phone tighter and wished she could just tell him what he wanted to hear. She wanted them to get this account too. The problem was, anytime a big company like Packard Enterprises fired an agency, it became open season. The other agencies circled like sharks. It was a dog-eat-dog world, with everyone shoving themselves down the throat of the company owners, trying to beat competition.

This was the first time Golden gate promotions had gotten a chance to have a shot with a company as big as Packard Enterprises, and she really didn’t want to blow it. She was close… so close. She could have gotten it by now…. Well if not for Timothy and his stubborn, stubborn head and bruised ego. So his father left him out of the decision making process, why couldn’t he just deal with it and let it go?

She knew why. She knew that no matter how tough Timothy tried to be most of the time, he was also a very sensitive person. He cared a lot about the things that mattered to him, and that was one of the attributes that had attracted her to him. At least, that was the Timothy she knew. Maybe he had changed.

But that still didn’t change the fact that he was being a little ridiculous about the whole thing, and now that he knew it was her agency, a part of her suspected that there was no way in hell that he would agree to give her the account now. The spoiled brat! She also couldn’t help but suspect that he was secretly amused by the attention he was getting from all the agencies fighting to get his attention. She was sure of it.

“Chloe, can you hear me? Have you spoken to Packard’s son yet?”

Chloe returned her attention to her boss. He sounded so worried and she couldn’t blame him. She had to do this. She had assured him that she could.

“Yes I can hear you fine” she replied, “And I’m sorry. I know this isn’t what you hear, but I haven’t spoken to Timothy Packard yet. I mean, I already met with him today but we didn’t really get to talk. He seemed to be in a hurry to go somewhere, but I’m meeting with him on Monday to talk about the account “.

Evan grunted in response, and Chloe could see his lips curling in distaste in her mind’s eye. He always did that whenever he was upset or worried about something.