Page 9 of Down to One

And that right there sent alarm bells pinging in her head. Landon was the total package: attractive, charming,wealthy...but so was Kyle. His control over her had started just like this. Always assuming she would agree before giving her a chance to voice her opinion. Acting like he alone knew the best course of action. Katie needed to follow her own path. She needed to stand on her own. And she really needed this job to do that.

"Wait…" She brought her palms to his chest and turned her head to the side, his lips landing on her cheek and then down her neck. "Landon…I can’t."

"Huh?"

"I think it’s better if we’re just…friends."

"Friends?" His head came up, his confused little laugh confirming that he didn’t have too many "friends" of the female variety.

"Yes, friends," Katie insisted.

She pushed away from the bricks which, for one agonizing second made things worse because it put them so close together that his jeans brushed up against her hip. If he’d pressed her just the slightest bit, she would have melted for him all over again, but Landon stepped back, giving her the space she was obviously asking for.

She immediately missed his warmth. His smell. The way his hands burned into her. She missed him so much that she almost reached out to pull him back.Almost.

Instead, she straightened her hair and clothes so she didn’t have to meet his stare. If she looked at those blue eyes, boring into her with the same intensity he stared down the pitcher, she’d be done for.

"Thank you, I appreciate the tacos. That was a nice gesture, but let’s just leave it at that."

"Tacos? Fuck the tacos, let’s go out for real. Or stay in, whatever, but I want to see you again."

Katie wanted to say yes so badly that another panic attack came barreling down on her like a freight train, screaming at her to get away before she said yes and sabotaged every step forward she’d made in the last year.

"I’m sorry, Landon I’m...please let’s…I…Just forget this ever happened and I promise to do the same."

She fled before he could respond to the promise she already knew she’d be entirely unable to keep.

chapter 6

By quarter to six, Lori had yet to hit on the new theme for the team’s annual charity banquet, but she’d reiterated everyone’s duties for the Takahashi visit at least twice.

"Let’s not forget, people, Mr. Takahashi grew up in Tokyo, but went to Vanderbilt pretty much solely for the baseball team. He’s a huge fan. This isn’t just some random businessman who catches a game every other year. This needs to be an experience that appeals to the fan in him. The VIP box has to be absolutely perfect." The Dragon Lady’s glare honed in on Katie as if she’d already fuckedit all up.

"I’montopofit,"Katieassuredher.

"Good, then let’s move on to discussing the banquet. Anjali and I have been talking and she’s presented some intriguing ideas that we can’t overlook."

Katie and Ellis exchanged glances. Anjali Khatri was in charge of community and charitable relations while the official director was on maternity leave, and she was hungry to take the position permanently. She’d probably get it. She could suck up with the best of them and she was downright prissy, with a buttoned up cashmere cardigan in every color to prove it.

"Anjali, why don’t you fill them in on what we’ve been talking about."

"Of course, Lori." Anjali stood, pulled her tablet out, and an image of St. Vincent’s Children’s Hospital popped up on the screen at the front ofthe room. "As you all know, this year we’re raising money for St. Vincent’s. I’ve been working with the patients to create artwork for the silent auction and, as it turns out, the head of surgery’s wife is on the city’s ACB—that’s the Arts and Culture Board—and she’d like to get involved with our event. She’s been telling me about a group of localartists who create large, whimsical, three-dimensional pieces, as you can see here."

Anjaliclickedatinyremoteinherhandandanimageappearedon the screen of a massive blue bowl filled with bright red cherries as big as beach balls, based on the size of the people standing next to the bowl.

Anjali continued: "These artworks are actually immersive exhibits thatyoucanexploreandtouchand,mostimportantly,takephotoson."

Another click and a good-looking couple now lazed on top of the red fruits, kicked back with laughing smiles. Their young son dangledfromtheside,holdingontoagiantspoonstickingoutofthe bowl. Titters went up around the conference table and Anjali beamed as if she were the artist herself.

"There are seven artists in the group and each is willing to set up an interactive art experience at the banquet. They all have a strong following online so the social media tags alone will be worth their weight in marketing gold."

Lori jumped in. "Exactly, this is just too valuable to pass up. If we don’t do this, someone else will before next year’s banquet. It’s going to take a little extra work given how close we are to this year’s event, but let’s make this happen, people."

Ellis and Katie exchanged another round of undercover eye rolls. A little extra work was changing the time of the event. Hell, even the date. But the theme? That meant changing, well, everything.

Anjali clicked again and the words "You’re invited to a POP! ART Experience" showed up on the screen in a bold, cartoonish graphic, a complete one-eighty from the denim and diamonds design concept. A looming dread crept into Katie’s stomach seconds before Lori nodded at her.

"Obviously, Katie, that means we’re going to have quit working on the invites going out this week. Luckily most of them are e-vites, which is easy to switch out, but those few that we need to send hard copies, we’re going to have to redo completely."

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