Page 41 of Until You're Breathless

Wesley licks his lips, leaning on his prized possession. “I have been in this business a long time, Jagger, and I can spot a fake from a mile away. That’s why I stay out of the spotlight. Because so many of them are fake. Boston is no exception.”

Smartly, Jagger just nods.

“I don’t enjoy doing business with phony people, but it’s a lot like politics. You have to vote for someone, despite the fact that all the candidates are monkeys.”

He smiles. “I’ve never looked at it like that, sir.”

He turns to me. “And, you, my dear, are brilliant. I’ve seen many of the projects that Mister Kruger has tried to pass off as his own, but when you take over and charm the pants off the entire room with your knowledge, it’s easy to see that you were the brains behind all that work.”

His phone rings and he lifts a finger. “Pardon me for one moment. I need to take this.”

“Please.” Jagger says kindly as Wesley leaves the room.

Jagger frowns at me but his eyes are dancing. “You sure have him won over.”

“And you thought he was against women.”

“I stand corrected.”

He places his hand over my shoulder. “I have a good feeling about this. How about you?”

“Me, too. I was purposely staying behind, keeping quiet.”

“But it seems like you have a big fan here.”

“You’re cute when you’re jealous.”

He smirks. “I’m not jealous. This makes our lives a lot easier. We can show our chops now without trepidation. This opens up a whole new opportunity for us, Bowie. We can show him who we really are.”

“But aren’t we doing that already?”

“Sort of. Our whole presentation can be tweaked though.” He tells me what things I explain better and what things he does. “If we sit down after we’re finished here, and rework the presentation, I think we’ve got this licked.”

“I think so, too.”

Truthfully, we’ve both worked equally on this project. Neither one of us have held back about anything. This way we can shine, showing Wesley that. And it’ll be received a whole lot better now. Mr. Hopkins returns a few minutes later and immediately says. “Are you two hungry?”

We look at each other and frown. “We could eat.” Jagger says.

“I know a fantastic restaurant. My colleagues will be waiting there shortly. I’ll let you two get back to the hotel and get cleaned up and meet us there in an hour if that suits you?”

“That suits us just fine, sir.” I say.

Mr. Hopkins smiles at me warmly. “Please call me Wesley, sweetheart.”

“Okay.” I smile.

“I’ll send you with a car. That way you don’t need to worry about a cab to the restaurant.”

“Oh, sir, that’s not necessary. I don’t want to put you out.” Jagger argues kindly.

He waves. “Nonsense. You are my guests. I would have invited you to stay at my home…but my wife is having the main kitchen renovated right now.”

“That's fine. We're happy to join you for dinner at a restaurant." I say.

“Good, good. I’ll send for a driver right away.”

Adjoining rooms makes it easier for us to stay professional, even though I know on the other side of that door is Jagger, changing his clothes. I consider using my battery-operated friend first, before we go, to keep my hormones in check, but I didn’t bring the damn thing. Okay, I’m not a teenager, let’s just focus! I hear a knock at the door and Jagger’s voice. “You ready? The car should be downstairs.”

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