Page 23 of Personal Escort

“I’ll be sure to remind you of that next year,” I tease.

He swipes the back of his hand across his forehead. “Thanks.”

“What time is your presentation tomorrow?”

“Noon here, so mid-afternoon for you.”

“I’m going to watch. No pressure.”

He grins at me. “That’s the good kind of pressure. I’ll make sure it’s extra exciting for you.”

“What are you unveiling?”

“A new Bluetooth solid state memory device. I wasn’t sure we’d have it working in time, but it’s pretty slick.”

“Fun!”

“I’ll overnight you a prototype if you want to give it a whirl.”

“I do.” I shift my position, curling my legs up against my chest. I wrap my arms around them and rest my chin on my knees. “But you don’t have to do that, of course.”

“You gotta get some benefit out of being friends with the CEO.”

Right. Friends.

Which means I really should end this call before he finishes his run and pulls that soaking wet t-shirt off his body. “Then I can’t wait to use it.”

I get another wink in response.

“Okay, you’ve made me feel like a total slacker. I’m going to let you go, and get in a run myself.” A total lie. I’m going to end the call and flop out on my bed and replay that wink a dozen times.

He gives me a quick wave. “Talk to you later, then.”

“Definitely. Break a leg tomorrow.”

“It’s not theater.”

“It is in a way. And you’re a star. You’ll slay, I know it.” Then I press the red button that makes him disappear, and toss my iPad aside.

Oh, Toby.

I close my eyes and stretch out. Damp t-shirt, flashing smile, dirty wink.

He hadn’t meant it to be dirty, of course. But too late, my imagination was already running wild and free, looping those images backwards now. A wink, a smile, and then that t-shirt, now peeling up and off his body.

Into the shower with you, Mr. Hunt.

I’ll wash your back.

CHAPTERELEVEN

TOBY

SHAREHOLDER MEETING DAY begins before dawn with a breakfast meeting with the entire executive team. I announce quarterly bonuses that exceed their expectations, but make it clear that the supply chain problems I’m quietly seeing examples of here and there—like the Mike Rodriguez drama, which thankfully got solved quickly, but at great expense.

“We can’t ever get too big to care about our first customers,” I remind them.

And to prove that point, the next meeting I have is coffee with Mr. Rodriguez himself. I invited him out to California on our dime, and before we head to the hotel where the shareholder meeting will be held, I take him to our production facility.

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