Page 3 of The Flirtation
Chapter 2
Avery
Apparently I’d actually managedto fall asleep after my Skype call with Luke after all, because my assistant Natalie woke me up with a maple walnut scone, my third caffeinated drink of that morning, first bottle of water, and a call on line one from my boss Howard Kaplan, who was in Los Angeles to meet with clients. “We were just talking!” I blurted out, wiping the nap drool from myface.
“Sure you were,” Natalie said, winking, without missing abeat.
I gulped down the coffee and took a swig of water while she held the phone headset up for me, her finger hovering over the line one button while she waited for me to get my shit together. If he was calling me this early from L.A. it was not just to check in, it was going to be something that would put a wrench in my day. “What time isit?”
“Nine-fifteen. Yougood?”
“Rock androll.”
She put the call through and somehow my boss was already talking to me before I’d even said “hello.”
“Have you talked to Bucket yettoday?”
“Hi—me? No, I was going to check in with himlater.”
“He’ll be unavailable. I spoke to him a little while ago and here’s the deal: his schedule has changed last minute, so he won’t be able to get to New York or London this week because he’s in the Bahamas. So he wants you and the London guy to meet him there, for fivedays.”
“Meet himwhere?”
“In the Bahamas. He’s renting a private villa for aweek.”
Natalie, who was listening in on the call from her desk, whipped around and watched me for areaction.
“Wait, so…” My brain was still a little slow. “I have to give him the rundown on the London deal in the Bahamas, instead ofhere?”
“No, yougetto give him the rundown in the Bahamas instead of there. It’s also his way of thanking you and the consultant, for not tanking thedeal.”
“Thethe Bahamas? The tropicalisland?”
“No, the other Bahamas, in Wisconsin. Are youokay?”
I could hear Natalie snort-laughing at herdesk.
“Yes, got it, sorry. So you’re saying that Luke Mason will be there for the meeting too? At the same time asme?”
“Yeah, Luke Mason. In the Bahamas. While you’re there. Is that a problem? Is there a restraining order I should knowabout?”
“No! God no, I love Luke Mason. I mean, you know, to work with. He’s a good egg, thatone.”
“Glad you think so,Davis.”
I could hear him typing while he was talking to me. I was wasting his time, and his time really did mean money. “Doesheknow about this meeting in the Bahamastoo?”
“I just got off the phone with him. He had the same bizarre resistance as you’reexhibiting.”
“I’m not resisting. I’ll do whatever you and Buck need me to do, Howard, you knowthat.”
“I knew I could count onyou.”
“Five whole days,really?”
“Probably just a half-day tomorrow and on Monday. You’ll have to leave tomorrow morning, I think. Natalie will have all theinformation.”
“Tomorrow morning?!” I cleared my throat and thought of all of the waxing and tanning and toning up that Iwouldn’thave time to do before the next morning. “I can do that, sure, great,sure.”
