Chapter Thirty Three

“I’m afraid I am, sir. I wish I could say it was something I regret, but Chloe is one of the brightest minds I’ve encountered. She’s going to single handedly turn my advertising efforts around. I think in a year or two, Packard Enterprises won’t simply be one of the leaders in athletic apparel, but the undisputed leader when it comes to sportswear.

The two brothers eyed Chloe with renewed interest while Chloe just stared at Timothy, her eyes wide with shock. He could almost swear she looked a little teary. He smiled at her and reached for her hand. He didn't even know why he did it, but to his surprise she didn't withdraw as he thought she would. Instead she accepted without complaint and curled her fingers tight around his.

“If you’re meeting Bryce about business, we’ll just scoot on out,” Darell said. “Will you come over for Sunday dinner this time or will you be busy again?”

“I’ll try,” she said as she leaned up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Sorry about the last time. Something came up.”

“It was nice meeting you all,” Timothy said sincerely.

The other men nodded and shook his hand again before departing the room.

“Interesting family,” he said when they’d gone.

Chloe sighed. “I love them dearly, but they’re pretty insufferable.”

“It’s obvious they love you a lot.”

She smiled . “Yeah, and I love them to pieces, too. Warts and all.”

"How did you meet Bryce.... I mean... Them" Timothy asked, unable to stop himself from asking.

"Long story," Chloe replied. "We can talk about it some other time"

Timothy didn't want to wait, but he didn't want to pressure her, so he simply nodded. A moment later, Bryce Collins ambled into the room and once again gave Chloe a bone-crushing hug. Then he turned to Timothy and looked back at Chloe.

“So, is this the man?” he asked her.

“I’d say you’re the man if you agree to front my new line of athletic wear,” Timothy said, taking charge of the meeting.

“Timothy, I’d like you to meet Bryce Collins,” Chloe said as she stepped forward. “Bryce, this is Timothy Packard, owner of Packard Enterprises.”

Timothy eyed them skeptically. He wasn't sure how he felt about how close they were but it wasn't his place to say anything... He cleared his throat. He had to get himself together and focus. Here he’d been granted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he was more concerned with finding out Chloe's secrets than securing a deal with Bryce Collins.

“I thought it might be best if you and Timothy went to dinner and talked about the deal Timothy is offering,” Chloe inserted.

“What about you?” Timothy asked sharply. He hadn’t counted on Chloe leaving him and Bryce.

“I have other plans,” she said lightly. “Besides, I really have nothing to do with this part. You and Bryce need to discuss the possibilities. I’d just be in the way.”

Bryce shrugged then looked at Timothy. “You like barbeque?”

“Love it.” Timothy replied.

“Good. I know this great place just a few blocks from here. We can grab dinner and talk.”

“He came here with me, Bryce, so you’ll need to give him a ride back to his hotel. Is that okay?” Chloe asked. She turned to Timothy. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning. okay?”

“It's fine,” Timothy said. “It’s not a problem.” He glared at Chloe as he said it. The woman was ditching him. After this deal was complete, he knew that there wouldn't be a reason to see her out of work. And although he was surprised at the way he felt, he knew now that he didn't want that to be the case....no matter what he said the last time they spoke to each other.

So far she had not mentioned anything relating to the both of them. All she had talked to him about was business and it was all his fault for pushing her away. He’d deal with her later, though. Right now he had a sports superstar to woo, and he’d be damned if he let his irritation with Chloe interfere.

----------------------------

Chloe paced the Golden Gates promotions conference room. Her nerves were wound tight, and she’d meticulously gone over every little detail of her presentation. The televisions out front had mock-ups created by the media folks. An endless stream of Packard Enterprise promotion ran on the video monitors and the art department had framed several print-ad options and displayed them in the conference room.

With fifteen minutes to go, the other members of her team had assembled.

Tension was high but so was excitement. Godfrey, one of the staff in her office had congratulated her on landing the biggest client for Golden gates thus far, but he’d acted distracted and distant. Chloe wondered if he was indeed having issues with the rumored girlfriend.... Or maybe he was as nervous as she was. The others had all been quick to add their congratulations. No contract had been signed, but they all seemed convinced that after this morning, Packard Enterprises would be in the bag. She hoped they were right.

Bryce had called last night after an extended dinner with Timothy. Apparently after the barbeque the two had gone for beers and spent the evening like old college buddies. Timothy had extended an extremely cushy offer, one that had surprised even a very jaded Bryce. The two were meeting later with their respective lawyers to iron out the details, but Bryce said he’d agreed.

“Okay, we’ve got five minutes,” Chloe said. “Let’s take our places and get ready to knock his socks off.”

They took their seats along the conference table. Evan smiled at Celia and gave her a thumbs-up before taking a seat. Godfrey took a seat too, but there was a frown on his face as he reached into his pocket for his phone.

“Excuse me for a minute,” he said as he rose from his seat. He crossed the room out of earshot to take a phone call.

The intercom buzzed and it was announced that Timothy had arrived.

“Shall I show him back?” Ann, another staff member asked.

Chloe took a deep breath, looked at her coworkers lining the conference table all ready to do their part, and said, “Show him back, Ann.”

When Timothy entered,. Chloe crossed the room and extended a hand to him. Instead of shaking it as she’d intended, he slid his fingers over her palm and held it far too long than necessary. She snatched it away and turned to introduce him down the row, trying not to think about what that gesture meant.