Blitz (Blast Brothers #3) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,9
ground and waited for the collision.
No joke. The way it looked, she was about to tackle me right here in my own lobby.
Hell, it wouldn't be the first time.
As she moved, I gave her a good, long look. Over her shoulder, she'd looped a basic brown purse. At her other side, she was clutching a small notebook computer. My guess? She'd brought it with her to pass the time while camping out in the lobby.
Either that, or she was serious about that whole PowerPoint thing. She had mentioned something about PowerPoints, hadn't she?
By now, I didn't know what to think, except that she was just as crazy as the rest of them.
Her smile was a dead giveaway.
It was all wrong, like it belonged on the face of somebody else – someone who stole lunch money from little kids or fleeced the elderly for fun.
I decided that if I ever woke up to that smile, I'd cover my privates and get the hell out of there fast.
I braced myself, but the collision never came. Instead, she skidded to a stop a few feet away and announced, "I'm here for the meeting."
I gave her a look. "What meeting?"
"You promised me a meeting."
"That's not what I remember."
"Well, you should remember." Her chin jerked upward. "You said – and I quote, 'Bring a hundred festivals, and we'll talk.'"
I made a show of looking around. "Yeah? So where are they?"
She hesitated. "Excuse me?"
"You just told me you brought a hundred festivals. Shouldn’t there be a Ferris Wheel or something?" I gave a half shrug. "Maybe some cotton candy? A funnel cake? Anything?"
Her smile vanished. It was a good thing, too, because it was the kind of smile that could freak a guy out.
In a tight voice, she asked, "Was that a joke?"
It was. And it wasn't. "You tell me."
"What, like I'm supposed to read your mind?"
"Sure," I said. "I'm thinking of a number."
"What?"
"It's from one to a hundred. You wanna take a shot?"
Her hand – the one not holding the computer – tightened into a fist. Oh yeah. She wanted to take a shot, alright.
Her fist, my face.
See, crazy, just like I thought.
And now, the smile was back.
I resisted the urge to cover my privates.
The smile was still there when she said, "No. What I brought was a list."
"A list, huh?"
"Yes. A list of festivals." She paused. "For you to sponsor."
I held out my hand, palm up. "Alright, let's see it."
Her smile faded. "I don't have a printout or anything."
"Right," I chuckled. "And I suppose you don't have the commitments either."
She shook her head. "Commitments?"
"Right. From the hundred festivals."
"Not yet," she said. "But I will."
Sure she would. "Oh yeah? When?"
"When you authorize me to do it."
Now, this I had to hear. "To do what?"
"To sponsor them."
"So let me get this straight," I said. "Your proposition is for me to give you a wad of cash for you to spread around?"
"It wouldn't be cash," she said. "It would be checks."
"Uh-huh. And what would I be getting?"
"The same thing you mentioned last week – exposure. A hundred times the exposure, just like you said." She lifted her notebook computer. "I have a presentation."
Ah, the PowerPoints. "Is that so?"
"Yes, and if you'll just give me ten minutes, I'll run through it."
Ten minutes, my ass. I knew how this went. I consulted my watch. "Alright. You've got seven left."
"What?"
"Seven minutes," I said. "You've used three already."
Was I being a dick?
Hell yeah.
But she'd been stalking me, not the other way around.
When her only reply was an irritated look, I made a forwarding motion with my hand. "So go ahead. Make the most of them."
She sighed. "I meant ten minutes for the actual presentation." She glanced toward the elevators. "So…maybe we could go up to your office?"
Normally, I was a decisive guy. And yet, I hesitated.
Crazy or not, there was something about her. And I was curious. Or maybe I was bored. It had been weeks since anything had held my interest.
But she was holding it.
I stared down at her, wondering why she was so different. Sure, she was pretty. But I'd seen prettier. And yeah, she was on the crazy side. But I'd had crazier.
Maybe it was her eyes. Even though her smile was enough to send a guy running, her eyes were the kind you could get lost in if you weren't careful.
I hadn't always been careful.
In fact, I'd been downright reckless.
In the end, my curiosity won out. "Alright. Ten minutes."