Page 69 of Easy Reunion
I quickly slip it over my head.
“Follow me, Kelsey. Thank you, Ms. Mitchell.”
“Certainly, Mr. Boudreaux,” she says faintly. I’m not entirely certain if it’s Eli’s impressive looks or the fact the CEO just escorted someone into the building that holds her in shock. It might be a bit of both.
As we make our way over to a bank of elevators, Eli tells me a little about the history of Bayou Enterprises. I’m impressed not only with the history of his family’s empire but with the obvious familial love that radiates from him as he speaks about the business. I wonder if he realizes it?
“Realize what?” When Eli asks me that as he holds the elevator for me, I blush when I realize I spoke aloud, but I soldier on.
“If you realize the pride you speak about the work your family does with the company is only outweighed by the love you have for them.” Eli’s startled. I shrug. “When you mentioned the work your siblings do, your pride was impossible for you to contain.” Thinking I’ve overstepped my bounds, I lean against one side of the elevator. Waiting. After all, Eli Boudreaux isn’t the kind of man to allow for an armchair character analysis without having something to say about it.
It doesn’t take long.
“I’m impressed, Ms. Kennedy. Most people don’t pick up on that,” his whiskey-smooth voice begins. “But if you’re so intuitive, why wouldn’t you understand how important Rierson’s job is to him?”
Rierson, not Ry.
The elevator continues to climb as I face off against Eli. “What makes you think I don’t?” I declare fiercely.
“Oh, the small matter of a missed business meeting that was fairly critical this morning. While the part of me that’s been his friend for years is pleased to see things working out for both of you, his life is different than yours. He doesn’t get to float into the office when the mood strikes him.”
My face flushes hotly as fury infiltrates every cell of my body. “You mean to tell me that you’re perfect?” Before he can respond, I raise a hand to ward off his response. “I sincerely doubt it.”
“There are those who would disagree, I’m sure.” His voice is calm, controlled.
Two things I’m not.
“Mr. Boudreaux, let’s get a few things clear,” I hiss. His dark eyebrows wing upward. “My relationship with Ry is none of your damn business.”
“Except when it impacts mine,” he chides me.
And that’s when I blow my stack. “And second, if it were that urgent, you would have called. You would have tried his cell or his house to make certain he was all right, not sit on a holier-than-thou throne of righteousness! He was appalled when he realized the time. Do you not remember what falling in love is like?” Coldhearted bastard, I think bitterly. Poor Kate. Poor Ry. He’s had to deal with his friend acting like a miserable prick because he was late, likely the only time he was.
Spinning, I realize the elevator doors are open. Ry’s leaning against the jamb with a massive grin on his face. “Damn, Eli. What the hell did you say to her?”
“I think somewhere between ‘hello’ and trying to pull the same crap I did to you, I found out your woman is as protective of you as you are of her.” Eli’s amused smile makes me want to coldcock him. In fact, I can even feel my fist tightening.
Laughing, Ry yanks me out of the elevator. I’m stiff as a board when I crash into his arms. “So, I take it there were no long-term effects for you being late this morning?”
“Oh, there were. Eli ridiculed me for a good twenty minutes,” Ry assures me. He leans down to kiss me, but I pull back. His eyes narrow. “Eli? Seriously? What did you say?”
Stepping off the elevator, Eli breezes by. When he passes, he tells Ry, “Practically nothing. She went on the attack.”
Why that makes Ry’s lips curve, I have no idea. But I won’t forget the way it feels to have him kiss me in the lobby of the executive floor with that smile being the first thing I feel against my lips since he left this morning.
I doubt I’ll ever forget my first unannounced drop-in to Bayou Enterprises.
Ever.
* * *
“Vince,this is Kelsey Kennedy. If she calls for any reason, put her through immediately.” I shake hands with a darkly handsome man who Ry introduced as being his “right and left hand. I couldn’t do a damn thing without him.”
Although I’m thankful Ry has that kind of assistance in what appears to be an enormously stressful job, it just leaves me even more confused. If this was such a big meeting, wouldn’t someone have called him within minutes of his late arrival? But I don’t voice my opinion. I hold out my hand to the grinning man. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“I briefly saw you across the courtyard at the Larruscain celebration the other night,” Vince surprises me. “I was trying to make my way over to be introduced then, but I guess you bailed?” He directs his question to Ry.
“Get back to work,” Ry tells him, laughing.
