Sitting down at his desk, he turned on his computer and was just about to look over his email when there was a tentative knock on his door. He called, ‘Come in,’ and a moment later Benita’s head appeared around the door, her face set in a circumspect smile as if she was a little afraid to enter the room in case he was waiting in there to bite her head off.
‘Benita, come in,’ he said kindly, giving her an encouraging nod.
She shuffled into the room, keeping a good four feet back from the desk where he was sitting.
‘How are you feeling?’ she asked with trepidation in her voice.
‘I’m fine,’ he said, wincing inside as he caught the brusqueness in his tone. ‘Thanks for asking,’ he added and almost laughed at the look of incredulity on her face.
‘So, did Carter’s people get in contact?’ he asked.
She nodded, moving closer to the desk now as if she was beginning to trust his new upbeat attitude. ‘I’ve put the minutes of the Skype meeting onto the DRM and the relevant account managers have been briefed.’
‘Good, good,’ he said, nodding. ‘Thanks.’
She cleared her throat. ‘It’s good to see you back, Señor Araya. We were worried when we heard about your accident. It looks like your friend took good care of you though.’
‘Yes, she did,’ he said, the thought of Elena lying naked in his bed waiting for him distracting him for a moment.
‘Did you work out your differences about partnering with her business?’ Benita asked.
He stared at her like an idiot for a moment, wondering whether his wandering thoughts had somehow made him mix up the words Benita had said to him.
‘What did you say?’
She looked a little taken aback, as if she might have put her foot in it. ‘I just meant—it seemed as though you were getting on well again—after your meeting didn’t go as smoothly as you’d hoped.’
‘Our meeting?’
‘With Señorita Jones. On the morning before your accident.’
She was looking at him as if she was worried that he’d gone insane.
He batted a hand at her, his thoughts swirling and confused as a strange sinking feeling appeared out of nowhere and slid through his chest. ‘Yes, yes, I remember.’ He thought hard for a moment. ‘Benita, did you forward me the supporting documents for that meeting?’
‘Er...no, you asked me not to. I got the impression you weren’t very keen to partner with her company.’
That was strange. Why would he have thought that?
‘Well, send them over to me now, will you? I need to take a look at them.’
‘Yes, of course.’ She paused. ‘Is there anything else I can do for you?’
He shook his head, his confusion about what was going on making his brain hurt. ‘No, no, that’ll be all. Thanks.’
She gave him a nod, then slipped out of the room.
Caleb booted up the DRM programme and clicked on the links that Benita sent through, which connected to a presentation Elena had apparently sent over before a meeting they were meant to be having on Friday.
A meeting he had no memory of.
He read through her proposal with interest, wondering why the hell he’d not jumped at the opportunity she’d put to him. She needed his battery for her cars and it looked to be a very lucrative deal for both of them.
What was wrong with him? Had he really been so blind or so busy with the American deal that he’d not recognised such a good prospect when she brought it directly to him?
When she’d helped him clinch Carter’s business at the meeting the other day he’d been hugely impressed with her knowledge of the industry and her insight into what he did, so much so, he’d made a mental note to look up the company she ran in England, so why had he said no?
He remembered with a sting of conscience that she’d not wanted to discuss the row they’d apparently had right before they’d left for their meeting with the Carters. Had the argument been about him turning the possible partnership between their companies down?
And what had made him do it.
Now he thought about it, whenever he’d pressed her for more information about her business she’d changed the subject. This had surprised him at the time, but he’d written it off as her not wanting to discuss work during her time off.
Or perhaps she’d not wanted to discuss it while she thought he was mentally challenged.
Shutting off his screen, he decided it was time to go home and ask Elena some direct questions before she walked away and went to find someone else to partner with—an idea that filled him with anxiety. After all she’d done for him over the last few days he felt he owed her a debt of gratitude and perhaps this would be the perfect way to repay it.
Walking past Benita’s desk, an idea occurred to him.
‘Benita, could you book a table at Restaurant Hora for tomorrow night for two people? I know it’s Valentine’s night,’ he said before she could say the words of warning that were clearly on her lips, ‘but I know the owner. Just tell him it’s for me and he’ll find a way to fit us in.’
‘Okay, consider it done,’ Benita said with a reverential smile, something he’d not seen on her face before. ‘Your friend’s a lucky lady,’ she called as he walked away.
‘She is,’ he threw back over his shoulder with a wry grin.
Though I think we’ve moved well past the friends stage now, he thought determinedly to himself as he made to set off home.
His apartment was quiet when he arrived back and he wondered whether she’d decided to go out and sightsee on her own after all, but as he strolled to his bedroom his spirits lifted when he saw she was sitting up naked in his bed with just a pair of glasses perched on her nose, tapping away on her laptop.
She was so absorbed in what she was doing she gave a little start when she finally noticed him standing in the doorway watching her and quickly snapped her laptop shut.
‘Did you miss me?’ he asked, shedding his clothes and dropping them on the floor as he moved towards her.
The expression in her eyes softened as he climbed onto the bed next to her and she twisted away for a second to put the laptop carefully by the side of the bed before turning back to face him.
He kissed her hard, feeling her sink against his body as he dragged her closer, the heat and softness of her skin soothing away his tension from being away from her.
‘You were only gone a couple of hours,’ she chided, but couldn’t seem to help herself from smiling and saying, ‘but yes, I missed you.’
‘Good,’ he said, sliding his hands down her body so she made a soft little sighing noise in the back of her throat.
It felt so right having her there in his arms, like nothing he’d ever experienced before. And it wasn’t just lust driving that feeling, it was a sense of belonging too. She belonged here in his bed. He just needed to find a way to keep her there indefinitely now.
‘So, Elena, tell me more about why you need my battery for your car?’ he murmured into her hair as she kissed the spot at the back of his jaw that always sent him wild.
Whipping her head back, she looked at him, startled.
‘What...er...what do you want to know?’ she asked, her expression suddenly guarded.
The wariness in her eyes gave him pause.
‘Why are you so jumpy? What aren’t you telling me? Every time I’ve asked questions about