Fates Tied (5 page)

“Isn’t that amazing?!” Tiffany cried as she stopped reading.

“Does the guy have a blocked nose?” Suzanne asked dryly, “Because it sounds like he has a blocked nose.”

“No… I was doing an impression,” said Tiffany, “I was doing an impression of a bloke.”

“Oh I see,” Suzanne said. “Well that’s wonderful for you Tiffany, I’m really happy and excited for you. Now remember, you’ve got this one all on your own but if you need some help or advice from a more experienced eye you know where to go.”

“My mother?” Tiffany asked.

“No Tiff,” Suzanne said tiredly. “You just come and talk to me and I’ll get you out of trouble.”

“Who says I get in trouble?” Tiffany asked, insulted, “I’ve watched you do this hundreds of times and it’s only a small event. If it was really important you’d get it but you haven’t.”

“Just treat it like it is important Tiffany,” Suzanne said. “This is the most important event of your career, if you can do this you can do anything.”

Tiffany grinned, giggled and practically skipped out of Suzanne’s office. Suzanne watched her go, shaking her head and laughing before she turned back to her own work. Her phone beeped with a new email and another text. She knew who they were from, Edward, and she knew what they were about, him trying to get her to reconsider her refusal of his drink offer. She ignored it though and continued on with her work.

Finally the day of the big event was upon them all. Tiffany had been working hard to make sure that everything was ready, putting attention in to every detail and letting Suzanne approve things each step of the way.

Suzanne knew what was involved in the event, knew that it had changed into a black tie evening at a hotel with a select group of researchers but she had never looked at the name of the company or who the speakers would be at the evening. She just reassured Tiffany that the choices she had made were the right ones. Edward had continued to text and email her and although they had continued to talk there was not the same ease with which they had previously spoken and Suzanne had stopped pushing for personal details.

Edward prepared himself in the suite of the hotel where the event was being hosted, double checking that his note cards were all in order and neatly numbered just in case. He had learnt from Christian that Suzanne hadn’t actually organised this event, apparently it was below her pay grade from what he could understand, but so far things seemed to be going well. People were arriving and he was pulling on his tuxedo, complete with his customary waist coat. It still stung a little that Suzanne was making no more steps to get closer to him and Edward knew that he would need to make a big effort in order to show her that he was willing to open up to her.

He knew now, after feeling the emptiness that had appeared when she started to pull away from him, that this was going to be much more than a physical relationship for them both. And he needed Suzanne to know it. A knock came at the door. It was time to begin.

Suzanne was at home on the sofa, sipping some wine and watching television. Work had finished early for a change, it was not yet 4pm, and she had decided to relax. And then her phone rang.

“Suzie?!” Tiffany’s desperate voice came down the line. Suzanne could hear shouting coming from the other end. “Suzie I need your help.”

“What’s wrong?” Suzanne asked, suddenly on the edge of her seat. “Is it Dale? Do I need to come and get you?”

“No, no,” Tiffany said. “I can handle Dale by myself. Something’s happened at work with him and I need to stay with him. I know it’s a big ask and I wouldn’t unless I was desperate but do you think you could go to the event and make sure that everything is completely fine? There are just a few bits and pieces left to sort out during the event itself, I’ll email you the information.”

“Yes, yes of course,” Suzanne said quickly, surprised that Tiffany was still concerned about work, “I’ll head right over. Just send the address with the information and I’ll make sure that everything’s sorted for you.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Tiffany said quickly. There was a brief pause. “You realise that it’s black tie right? You’ll need something to wear.”

“Shit!” Suzanne swore. She thought for a moment, “I think I have something.”

“Let me know how it goes,” Tiffany said. The shouting got louder, accompanied by banging sounds, “I have to go. Good luck!”

“Tiffany?!” Suzanne called down the phone.

She was met with only silence. She had no choice now. It was time to get her glad rags on, head to the event and make sure that nothing went wrong with the event that Tiffany had worked so hard on.

CHAPTER 4

Suzanne hurried through the entrance of the hotel, tugging off her coat as she went. She had managed to shower, dress and style her hair and makeup in such a way that she looked smart enough to blend in to the crowds. Inside though her heart was pounding and her skin was flushed and clammy with sweat. She looked around for signs to the conference room, spotting it almost immediately. She followed the arrow, paying no attention to the name of the company or the names of the speakers. Her heels clicked on the polished floor of the corridor and the door to the conference room creaked as she opened it. One or two people turned to look at her but they were near the door. The steady hum of conversation throughout the room masked her entrance from everyone else. Everyone, that is, except Edward.

He spotted her as she slipped in almost immediately, taking in her slim figure and blonde hair. She shone like a diamond in the crowd and he realised that she was wearing the same dress that she had worn the night that they first met at the Captain’s table. His breath caught in his throat, to him she looked more beautiful than ever. She wasn’t supposed to be there, she hadn’t even been involved in organising the event. And yet here she was, in the flesh. He began to head towards her but was stopped by Christian’s hand on his arm.

“Where are you going?” The other man whispered, “The speeches are about to start and you need to take your seat ready to be introduced.”

Edward glanced over at Suzanne one last time, watching as she scanned the crowd and gave some sort of signal to the hotel staff who began moving through everyone else. He turned and took his seat.

Suzanne looked out over the crowds of well-dressed researchers. She smiled to herself as she realised how well things were going but then spotted the suited man at the top, hovering near the stage. Her smile turned into a frown as she realised that he was one of the speakers and he was waiting to talk to the guests who were showing no sign of taking their seats. She quickly gave a signal to one of the nearby hotel workers and watched as people began to hurry to their seats, clutching new glasses of wine. The chairs squeaked and rustled as people made themselves comfortable and the noise died down, broken only by the occasional cough or sniff. Suzanne grabbed an event leaflet and flicked to the itinerary, familiarising herself with the event’s timetable. Tiffany had done an amazing job.

Heels clicked on the stage as a tall, well-built man walked across the stage. He smiled at everyone as he took his place by the microphone.

“Is this thing on?” He said in to it. People tittered with amusement. “Ok good. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for attending our wonderful event. I am Christian Large, CEO of Genesis Research. It gives me great pleasure to be here tonight, talking to you all…”

Suzanne began to blank the introduction out. Instead she focused her attention on the order of the food and drinks courses, the table arrangements which she had had time to print out and the entire design of the room. She was satisfied that nothing else would go wrong tonight and the things that Tiffany had believed needed to be finalised had already been sorted. Suzanne realised that if Tiffany worked like this for all the events that she organised she could possibly be even better than her one day. She was pleased with the young woman, happy and overjoyed that she had put in so much work and done so well.

“And now I’d like to introduce our keynote speaker,” Christian was saying. Suzanne was barely paying any attention. “He is the man that has made all of this possible. Without him our work and our research would not be anywhere near the level it’s at. Ladies and gentlemen please give a big round of applause for Edward Connor.”

The room erupted into applause and one or two cheers.

Suzanne though jerked in shock, almost falling off her chair as she watched Edward stand from his seat and walk across to the stage, waving and smiling at the cheering crowd.

He was just as handsome as she remembered. She cursed herself for not paying more attention to the name of the company, who the event was being organised for. She knew that the name Christian had said in his introduction had rung a bell, something had niggled at her and told her that she knew it but she hadn’t put it together, having decided earlier that day to put all thoughts of Edward from her mind. Normally she would know the names of their clients, normally she paid attention even if she wasn’t directly involved. But she had wanted to show Tiffany that she trusted her and had tried to remain as far away from things as possible. It didn’t excuse it though and she knew that she should have known.

“Thank you Christian for that marvellous introduction,” Edward said, smiling at the other man. He turned back to the crowd and unclipped the microphone from its stand. “Ladies and gentlemen, just as Christian has said, thank you so much for being here tonight. It warms my heart to see so many brilliant minds gathered in the same room to listen to what I have to say.”

Suzanne barely heard the rest of what he said. She just stared at him in shock. She knew her mouth was hanging open and she knew that he had seen her.

The twinkle in his eye and the small dimples that appeared on his cheeks as his smile widened told her all that she needed to know.

He had put this event together to try to get closer to her even though she hadn’t been directly involved. He was going to enormous ends to get closer to her, trying harder than she would have imagined. As she watched him talking, pacing back and forth across the stage and using his hands to emphasise a point, she remembered why she had felt drawn to him in the first place. She knew as she watched the passion on his face and listened to the passion in his voice as he talked about his work that he was equally as passionate elsewhere.

Her heart pounded, her pulse raced and she found her mouth suddenly dry. She grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and downed the entire thing, putting the empty glass back on the tray of the shocked man. What was she going to do?

The event continued with more speakers from Genesis Research and further words from Edward.

She picked at her food and as soon as the plates were cleared from the table she made her way over to the bar. She knew that it was unprofessional to be drinking at an event that her agency had organised and that she was technically there to oversee but she needed the drink. She had managed to put thoughts of Edward from her mind for the most part and now here he was, almost larger than life and right in her face.

Edward smiled as he watched Suzanne hurry across the room. He had spotted her reaction as soon as his name had been said and he knew that she had had no idea what was going on. That was a good thing. He hadn’t asked for her specifically, nor had he continued to pester her even though he wanted to.

But they were in his territory now, surrounded by people that he knew and she was surprised and off balanced. He needed to talk to her, he realised as he watched her order another drink. He needed to explain how he felt and try to get her to talk to him again. He missed their conversations and he needed them back in his life.

He strode through the crowd, accepting handshakes and pats on the backs from people that spoke to him. Now and then one would stop him, trying to get a deeper conversation going and he would direct them over to Christian.

His focus was entirely on Suzanne and he saw the moment she spotted him heading in her direction. He quickly hurried over to her, looking down at her slightly out of breath.

“Hello Suzanne,” he said softly.

Suzanne only gawped at him, still in shock.

“Are you ok?” Edward asked, reaching out to place a gentle hand on her bare arm, worried about her lack of reaction.

Neither of them could hide the response to the feelings that that simple touch evoked in them both. It felt as though an electric current shot through them both from that point of contact, starting every nerve tingling and jolting with excitement as the current spread through their bodies. Edward looked at Suzanne, saw the surprise but more importantly the desire that was in her eyes. He licked his lips, saw her gaze follow the movement and swallowed.

“I wasn’t expecting you to come,” he said quietly, his voice dry and rasping. He swallowed his drink and ordered another. “I thought it would be that blond colleague of yours, Tiffany.”

“She… she…” Suzanne tried to say. She coughed, cleared her throat and took a large gulp of wine. “She had an emergency in her personal life and asked if I could fill in for her.”

“That’s not very professional,” Edward said with a frown, disapproval obvious in his voice.

“She’s usually very good about this sort of stuff,” Suzanne said defensively. “She never does this normally so I was happy to help her.”

“Ok, ok,” Edward said, holding up his hands in surrender.

They lapsed into silence, both staring at their drinks and glancing at each other. It was awkward, uncomfortable, nothing like the conversations that they had shared until so recently. They opened their mouths and began talking at the same time.

“I’ve missed you,” Edward said.

“How’ve you been?” Suzanne said.

They both stopped talking and blushed as they fell into silence once more. Edward looked around and noticed people watching them, coming closer to talk to him. There were other men looking at Suzanne too, with considerable interest and desire.

“Would you like to go outside and talk in private?” He asked quickly, looking at Suzanne at last.

She looked around and saw the way that men were looking at her, the way that women were looking at Edward. She turned back to him and smiled.

“I think that’s an idea,” she said gently.

Edward let her go first, guiding her wordlessly with a hand on the small of her back.

They slowly made their way through the crowd, stopping now and then so that Edward could greet people before making his excuses. Eventually they reached the corridor, the door shutting behind them and cutting out most of the sound. Now there was only a quiet rumble of voices from the other side, the odd clink of glasses colliding or a sudden barking laugh. Suzanne turned to look at Edward and waited for him to speak.

“Let’s go outside properly,” he said quietly. “I don’t usually smoke but I really need one right now.”

“You never mentioned that you smoke,” Susanne said as they walked down the quiet corridor.

“I don’t normally but I’m a bit on edge,” Edward said with a guilty smile, “I don’t really like public speaking much, it makes me stupidly nervous.”

“You and me both,” Suzanne said smiling.

They stepped out into the coolness of the night air. Suzanne hugged her arms around her body against the chill. Edward quickly shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her.

“I’m sorry, I forgot how cold it was out here,” he said, smiling gently and pulling her close to him.

They stood in silence for a few moments, staring up at the stars and listening to the traffic going around the ring road.

“I’ve missed you,” Edward said quietly as he smoked his cigarette, “I’ve missed emailing you and texting you. I’ve even missed seeing your name appear on my phone.”

Suzanne twisted in his arms to look up at him.

“Is that why you used my agency to create your event?” She asked firmly.

“I was hoping that you’d be the one arranging it yes,” Edward admitted, “I just wanted to see you again, to be sure that you were as beautiful as I remembered and that it wasn’t all in my head.”

“And?” Suzanne asked, expectantly, nervously.

“You are even more beautiful than I remembered,” Edward said quietly.

He tossed his cigarette to the side and began to run his hands up and down her arms, “And the connection between us is still here, it feels even stronger than I thought. Can’t you feel it?”

Suzanne closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of Edward’s hands running up and down her arms. She could feel the rough patches on his skin, the strength in his fingers as he gently squeezed her flesh. More importantly she could feel the currents rushing between them, the way that her skin seemed to spark everywhere that he touched. She could hear him breathing, a sudden increase and heaviness to it, the heat from his body radiated out and warmed her.

She felt the same and when she opened her eyes she wasn’t surprised to find him mere centimetres from her face. She looked up at him, at his wide brown eyes, the fine lines of his face. Then her gaze dropped to his mouth and she found herself transfixed. She licked her lips and Edward gave a barely audible groan.

“Do you feel it?” he whispered.

“Yes,” Suzanne said.

Her gaze dropped to his mouth once more and before she realised what she was doing she leaned forward, standing on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his. He gave a start of surprise but wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her, burying his hands in her hair.

Their mouths slanted together, first one way and then the other. Suzanne groaned gently in the back of her throat, her hands coming up to clutch at Edward’s shoulders. His lips were like velvet, playing and moving against hers with such skill it took her breath away. She could feel his pleasure against her, the strength in his arms barely restrained as he pulled her closer to him. She twisted her hands into his hair, feeling the soft brown strands tickling her palms. She found herself pulling him closer, practically wrapping her body around him and she gasped in surprise as he gently lifted her off her feet.