Risking It All Ch. 02

I could see she was nervous and contemplating what I might be about to say to her. I was nervous too. I had practiced my speech many times over, but in that moment, seeing her tension and uncertainty, I forgot it all. I loosened my tie and pulled it over my head, stuffing it in my pocket. I undid the top button of my dress shirt, using the time to collect my thoughts.

"I've missed you," I said honestly, meeting her timid gaze.

"I've missed you, Alex," she replied quietly.

"I hated where we left things between us," I started. "I don't think you realise what you've come to mean to me."

She went to say something but I gestured for her to let me finish. "I want to hear what you have to tell me, but first I need to get a few things off my chest that I should have said six months ago."

"I'm sorry for the position I put you in. I was absorbed with my own problems and I didn't think about how our relationship was affecting you." Chloe's ears seemed to perk up slightly at the mention of a relationship.

"I didn't want to hurt you." I declared. "I needed to stop making excuses for the mess my personal life was in and make some changes."

I lent back as the waitress placed our drinks on the table and asked if we were ready to order food. I requested a few minutes to consider. As she walked away, I saw that Chloe's eyes had clouded with tears. I reached my hand out and placed it over hers.

"I've told Jess that I'm filing for divorce. I moved out a couple of weeks ago." I continued.

"My decision has nothing to do with you. I should have ended things a long time ago. I'm telling you now because I have something to ask you and I need you to know where things stand with me." I said.

Taking her hand gently between mine I leaned in further. "I want to be with you, Chloe. Could you give me a second chance?"

Chloe was fighting a losing battle to stem the tears. Her mascara was creating inkblots on the napkin. After a few minutes she composed herself enough to speak.

"I feel like such an idiot crying like this," she started. "I thought you'd moved on."

"No, I just didn't want to hurt you any more than I already had. It took a bit of time to resolve how to manage this best for Christine and for the company." I replied. She looked so uncertain, I just wanted to wrap her up in my arms.

"You seemed to pull away from me for months and I didn't know what was going on," she continued. "I thought you must have been angry with me for putting you on the spot like that."

I started to protest, but this time it was Chloe gesturing for me to stop and let her speak.

"This has come as a surprise. I thought it was over for you and I have spent the last few months reconciling that. I fell hard for you and it has been really difficult." She explained looking down at her hands to maintain her fragile composure.

"I need some time to process all of this," she said and I felt my heart sink.

"I understand," I said in resignation. "And I'm sorry for hurting you. But I never moved on and I never stopped caring about you." I offered honestly.

Chloe looked up and met my eyes and I could see the sadness in them.

"Why don't we call it a night. Take whatever time you need to work out what you want to do." My voice sounded deflated to my own ears.

"I'm sorry, Alex." Chloe said meeting my gaze. "I know you have gone through a lot and I'm sure you saw this going differently."

I paid up and walked Chloe out to her car. Despite myself, I couldn't help but marvel at the way the slight stretch fabric caressed her curves as she walked. As she got to the drivers door, she looked back at me uncertainly. I stepped forward and took her in my arms and held her body close.

"Take the time you need. I'll be here," I whispered.

As she drove away, I stood in the dark parking lot, contemplating the prospect of another take-away meal at home alone.

With the award presentation now out of the way, my attention returned to making progress on the major projects we had taken on. First up, I needed to resolve the endless amendments to our design coming from the Carillion board. It had been going on for months and work was now well behind schedule. I called the CEO and enquired as to the board's response to our latest revisions. He sighed and apprised me of the latest round of issues, his exasperation poorly disguised. I again marveled at his inability to manage his board.

Having anticipated this issue, I flagged that we were now overtime and over budget. I suggested that I fly up to the next board meeting and we workshop the remaining issues to find a resolution. He agreed gratefully and informed me that his executive assistant would manage the travel arrangements for me and enquired whether I would be bringing Chloe. She had attended each of the other meetings with the board and I realised I would need the help. I suggested that we arrange the workshop over two days. This would allow me to make any revisions overnight and put them to the board for final agreement the following day.

When I hung up I placed a call to the project liaison officer managing the resort development at Wooyung Beach. I advised I would be in town in just over a week and indicated that it would be good to see the site and meet with her face-to-face to map the process for concept design approval so that we stayed on timeframe. She agreed and we arranged to meet on site the day after my business was concluded with Carillion.

I called Chloe into my office and brought her up to speed with the latest developments on the projects.

"I'm sorry about this, but we are going to have to work closely together to get this business with Carillion finalised. Are you going to be ok with that?" I enquired gently.

"I'm fine with it, Alex," she replied.

We set up shop in my office as we went back and forward on how to deal with the contentious design elements in the presentation. While Chloe pulled the slides together, I mocked up some of the proposed design suggestions the client had made. The treetop restaurant had proven to be the focus of much of the concern. I decided to get Jaimie to work his artistic magic on a couple of renderings to give a better impression of how it would look at completion.

He came into the office more than was strictly necessary, given that he had all the information he needed. Each time, he stopped to look over Chloe's shoulder, using it as a pretext to talk with her. I felt my annoyance bubbling away under the surface and I fought to contain my jealousy. The third time this happened, Chloe looked in my direction as Jaimie walked out of the office and gave an exasperated look. Her reaction to Jaimie's persistent attempts at seduction released the tension and I burst out laughing. Seeing my response, she broke up and it took a few minutes to regain our composure.

Immersed in the drafting process, I distantly registered that staff were leaving, however, it wasn't until I looked up to see that it was dark outside that I realised it was getting late. I turned to see Chloe intently focussed on her laptop.

"It's time to call it a day, Chloe," I said breaking the silence in the room.

She looked up to discover what I had and rubbed her eyes wearily.

"I still have a few things I need to get done before I call it a day," she replied.

"I'll order some dinner then," I offered, picking up my phone.

Forty minutes later we were reclined back in our chairs, each with a slice of pizza. When I finished off my first slice, I made a beeline for the bookshelf that held the bottle of scotch and crystal tumblers. I placed one in front of each of us and poured a generous nip. Wiping the grease off her hands with a napkin, Chloe took the glass and held it between her hands as she leant back relaxing. I admired her appreciatively and she caught my gaze, a hint of a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

I sat back with my own glass swirling the burnished liquid absently.

"Jaimie appears to have taken a shine to you," I teased as I took a sip.

"He's not really my type," she responded dismissively.

"What, a good looking, young guy isn't your type?" I countered. "The other women in the office seem to approve of me hiring him."

"The problem is he knows he is good looking. He is a bit too self-absorbed." She observed.

"So, what is your type?" I asked.

Chloe paused looking up at me searchingly. She took another swig from her glass before responding.

"Someone who uses less product on their face than I do," she said smirking.

I chuckled as I took another sip, letting my eyes stray south to appreciate the way Chloe's red crepe dress hugged her hips and thighs. As I looked back her eyes met mine and I realised I had been caught.

Ruefully, I reached for the bottle to pour myself another nip. I sensed Chloe's eyes still on me. My feeling was confirmed as I sat back with the crystal tumbler.

"Do you ever wonder which of the staff saw us that night?" She said changing topic artfully.

I almost choked on my dram.

"Shit, I never told you, did I?" I squeezed out between coughs. "It wasn't one of the team, it was Jess."

"Oh my God!" She cried out. "You're kidding. I never....Oh God, I'm so sorry Alex!"

"Don't be," I replied. "While I wish I had just told her years ago that it was over, rather than letting her find out that way, I don't regret being with you for one second."

Chloe sipped her drink, deep in thought as she processed this news.

"Why don't we call it a night?" I suggested. "We have another day before we fly out. We can finalise the presentation tomorrow."

Chloe nodded, placing her empty glass down on the table. I followed her as she gathered her personal effects and walked her out to her car. As she reached the driver's side door I wished her a good night and she turned, pressing her soft body against me and placed a feather light kiss on my cheek. My hands went reflexively to her waist and held her against me for a moment, before she gently pulled away.

**********************

The morning of the trip was a flurry of activity. We caught the 7AM flight from Sydney to the Gold Coast and spent the trip putting the final touches on the presentation. It was still early in the day, but as we walked out of the air-conditioned airport terminal we were assailed by a wall of heat. I was grateful for the climate control in the taxi that took us directly to Carillion's headquarters in Tweed Heads.

By the time we were led up to the board room, I had removed my suit jacket. But the heat of a Queensland summer was nothing compared to the reception that awaited us during the presentation with Carillion. I had under-estimated the tone of the board, if not the CEO's capacity to manage them. From the opening slide we were hit with a barrage of questions about the design concept and perceived practicality of various features. I wondered more than once why they had chosen my proposal given the level of unrest about the project. But while I was at home behind an easel, this was Chloe's arena. Although we had role-played this, the antagonism rankled more than I had expected. By contrast, Chloe effortlessly redirected the criticisms, leading the complainants step by step towards the conclusion that she wanted.

By the end of the first session, she had dispatched most of the issues with the cottages, setting up the afternoon to begin negotiations on the restaurant. I was sitting at the window eating the salad wrap that had been provided by the caterer for lunch when the CEO wandered over for a chat.

"You really don't want to lose her, Alex." He said in a matter-of-fact manner.

My eyes followed his gaze to where Chloe was holding court with three of the board members. I looked on with admiration at how easily she had placed them in the palm of her hand.

"You find your own. I found her first," I retorted.

He chuckled good-naturedly.

The afternoon session brought with it some wins and some losses. I suspect it would have brought more losses had it not been for Chloe.

By the time we were en route to our hotel I was spent. I loosened my tie and undid the top button of my shirt and fell back into the seat. Despite the fact the sun was setting, the heat had not abated and I felt it sapping whatever residual energy I had left. Chloe just sat there smiling at me.

"I know," I said. "I'm going to need to give you a bloody huge raise to keep you."

Her smile broadened, but she didn't say a word.

"Seriously, you were incredible in there." I said genuinely. "It was you who won them over."

She turned to look at the coastline as we turned towards Coolangatta, but I noticed that the smile never left her.

As our baggage was being roughly extracted from the boot of the taxi, I suggested to Chloe that we meet up for drinks and dinner in the hotel restaurant in an hour. We caught the lift together. Her room, it turned out, was on the floor below mine.

In spite of my weariness, I couldn't help but be impressed by my apartment. It appeared that Carillion had not cut any corners with our accommodation. The living area was spacious and opened up onto a wide balcony which extended around to the bedroom. But I was too tired to explore further. Instead, I dropped the keys on the kitchenette counter and headed for the bathroom. I undressed and stepped into the chique, open shower stall, with its grey matte travertine tiles. I set the water on cool and stepped under the stream, bringing almost instant relief from the sapping heat. I closed my eyes and let it envelop me, washing away all traces of my day. Gradually, my body temperature returned to normal and I felt somewhat restored. I turned off the water, towelled down and dragged my carry-on luggage into the bedroom. This too was impressive, with a king-size, pillow-top bed, in a cavernous room framed by the floor to ceiling glass that looked out over the balcony and ocean. The darkness obscured the view, but I was sure that I would be duly impressed when I woke the next morning.

I retrieved a burgundy dress shirt and black trousers and got dressed. I still had 15 minutes until I was due to meet Chloe in the restaurant, but with nothing better to do, I decided to get an early start at the bar.

The restaurant and bar were in a separate building across the complex from the accommodation tower. To access it, you had to walk by the resort-style pool, flanked by large stands of dense palm trees that shielded it from neighbouring properties and gave a strange sense of isolation that was incongruous with its location in a large resort complex. A short wooden arch bridge led me across a narrow stretch of the pool, a short distance to the outdoor deck of the restaurant.

The restaurant itself was open, making the most of the gorgeous setting with a well-appointed bar set back from a wall of French doors. As it was late, I was able to pick a table on the deck. The lighting from inside the restaurant was subdued and a candle sat flickering on the table added to the intimate ambience. While it was still surprisingly hot and humid outside, I suspected a seat inside would afford little additional comfort given the open design. Besides, I loved the outlook onto the grounds and pool. I rolled the sleeves up on my dress shirt to just below my elbows and placed an order for a gin and tonic.

As my drink arrived at the table a figure approached along the path. My jaw almost hit the table as she came into view. Chloe walked up the steps to the deck in a shimmering black bodycon dress that rode above mid-thigh. The material clung to her spectacular figure as if it were painted on. Thin, spaghetti straps made the dress look more like a slip than an evening dress. Chloe smiled at me and demurely approached the table. I rose to get her seat and felt my cock straining against my dress pants. I shifted as subtly as possible to disguise the outward sign of my admiration.

"You look incredible," I gushed seeing her smile widen. "I feel seriously under-dressed."

She let her gaze roam over me, stopping briefly where the slim-fit dress shirt pulled across my chest.

"I think you look perfect," she volunteered.

At that moment the waitress approached, welcoming us and providing menus. I ordered a bottle of Piper Heidsieck champagne and, after listening to the chef's specials, I asked for some time to look at the menus.

"Champagne?" Chloe asked.

"I want to thank you for everything you've done over the past few months. It's the least I can do given the award nomination, the long hours of prep work for this workshop and the way you salvaged us today." I said earnestly.

"So, no raise then," she pouted.

"Well, there is that too," I chuckled. "I can't afford someone else to snap you up."

I was finding it hard to keep my eyes from wandering down to her chest framed as it was by the exquisitely clingy ensemble. There was no evidence of a strapless bra and her nipples obstinately pushed through the fabric.

Chloe pretended not to notice me admiring her body as she looked at her surroundings.

"It is so beautiful here," she observed. "I want to try that pool out tomorrow if we get the time in the afternoon."

"I'm going to try it tonight," I said tugging at my shirt to circulate some air in the still heat of the evening.

"Not used to the heat, huh?" She smiled turning back to me as our champagne arrived.

We spent a pleasant hour laughing and chatting about nothing and everything and I was reminded how easy I found talking to her and how much I'd missed our time together. She dazzled me with her smile and I was drawn to pull her to me and kiss her passionately. I was torn. She had indicated that she needed space to think about us, yet her body language and choice of attire seemed to signal her interest. For my part I was clear in my intentions. I wanted Chloe in my life. I loved the way I felt when I was around her. I wanted to feel her body pressed against me and her lips on mine. But I didn't want to rush and scare her away, given that it was the issues in my life that had come between us to begin with. I resolved that as hard as it was, I would let her make the first move.

As the plates were taken away, I sat back comfortably in my chair and sipped at the last of my champagne. Chloe was studying me, as she placed her glass down on the table.

"Are you still planning to take that swim tonight?" She enquired quietly. The restaurant had cleared out half an hour before and the staff were waiting on us to finish so they could close up for the night.

"Yes," I replied. "I'm going to struggle to sleep without cooling off and I like the idea of a late night dip."

"Do you mind if I join you?" She asked offhandedly.

"I'd like that," I murmured quietly, my heart climbing into my throat. The uncertainty was driving me crazy. Was she letting me know she was interested or was she simply keen for a swim? I was still lost in confusion as I paid the bill and escorted Chloe from the deck. I rested my hand gently on her lower back and a thrill ran through me at the sight of her and the feel of her supple body under my touch.

We agreed to meet in the lobby in 15 minutes. As she sauntered from the lift, her stilettos in hand, my eyes were fixed like magnets to the gentle curve of her derriere, showcased as it was in the tight dress. God I missed this feeling.

I quickly disrobed, leaving my clothes strewn across the bed as I searched through my luggage for my board shorts. Pulling them on quickly, I grabbed a towel, the key and my phone and headed for the door. Lost in thought, I stepped into the elevator and didn't really register when it stopped the floor below mine. That is until the doors opened on Chloe.

Christ! I thought to myself. I could feel the blood again flowing south as I took her in as she stepped towards me. She was wearing a sarong that came to mid-calf, but with a slit in the front that showcased a lot of leg. She had a white halter top bikini top that stood in contrast to her tanned skin. The triangles of fabric covered about two thirds of her breasts, but left enough exposed skin to appreciate the proud curves. The effect was captivating and I was forced to pull my eyes away as she pulled in alongside me.