Merger to Marriage (Boardrooms and Billi - By Addison Fox Page 0,27
get to know the people each other cares about?”
He tamped down on the thought of sharing his history with her. If they did marry, sooner or later the subject of his mother would come up, but he’d do his damnedest to shield Mayson and the baby from her. “Of course.”
Mayson’s gaze was wary as she looked at him, but he didn’t miss the distinct invitation in her eyes. “So we move forward, just like that?”
“Just like that. The same way other couples get to know each other.”
“Most of them don’t have a pregnancy hanging over their heads.”
“And some of them do. You play the hand you’re dealt.”
She sighed, whisper-soft in the dark, before nodding. “You’re right.”
“We’ll start on Monday with dinner.”
“What about right now?” She nodded toward the sounds of laughter across the lawn. “We’re ignoring the party and mingling with our friends and my family.”
At least it was a start.
…
The quiet Monday Mayson envisioned for herself never managed to show itself, which was why she had a large cup of soup from the cafeteria steaming in front of her at two-thirty in the afternoon.
“Crazy day,” her assistant, Susan, mumbled as she bustled in with a handful of photos. “Chris in layout just sent these up.”
Mayson put her spoon down and reached for the stack of images. She’d been waiting all afternoon for them because the damn photographer they’d hired had uploaded them to their FTP site on his own timetable.
“Why do we work with Stefano?”
Susan shrugged. “Because he’s the best.”
“He’s also a spoiled pain in the ass.”
“He is that.”
Mayson sighed as she flipped through the photos. “He’s also damn good.”
“Hence the spoiled, pain in the ass routine.”
“Did Chris have any favorites?”
“He said he wanted you to pick first, then he’d tell you.”
She got up and walked to the large table on the far side of her office and spread the photos out, discarding the few that didn’t have the feel they were going for. They could use those as outtakes on the website as extra content, but they weren’t going to make the pages of the piece.
When she had ten laid out, she pointed as she spoke. “This one’s too dark, even though I like the pose. And this one’s damn near perfect, but the model’s eyes have the slightest manic expression.”
“Stefano must have been flirting from behind the lens.”
“Likely,” Mayson agreed dryly. “It’s a shame, too, because the rest of the shot’s really outstanding.”
“Outtake?”
She shook her head. “I won’t embarrass the poor woman that way. We do want her to work with us again.”
With a quick glance through the remaining eight, she pulled three more and put them aside. “These. With this one,” she tapped the second photo, “as the cover.”
“Damn, you and Chris really are on the same wavelength. And for the record, he thought the same thing about the crazy-eyed photo.”
“Stefano loses points on that one. He should have held that one back.”
“Vanity run amok.”
She smiled at that. “No doubt. I’m also sure he thought the framing of the light over the backdrop would make up for it.”
“Not with the discerning eye of Mayson McBride.” Susan patted her back before pointing toward the desk. “Now finish your soup so I don’t have to give you my lecture on good nutrition.”
“I’ve seen the stash of cookies you keep in your desk.”
“Shh.” Susan smiled as she gathered up the photos. “They’re for emergencies.”
“I think I’m having one.”
The echo of Susan’s laughter lingered as Mayson came back around her desk to pick up her soup. The frenetic pace of the day was calming a bit now that she’d given approval on two of the three magazines headed to press that night, and she’d already been given the heads up the third wasn’t coming in for at least another hour. With the time for a real break, Mayson opened up her personal email and scanned what had come in since that morning. And felt her heart give a small lurch when she saw Holt’s name in her inbox.
It was stupid, really, this visceral reaction to an email, but she couldn’t deny the delicious shiver that ran the length of her spine as she clicked on his name. And then felt that shiver slide into a slow melt as she read the contents of his email.
Dear Mayson:
I enjoyed our time together this weekend and look forward to taking you up on an offer to visit Hands, Hearts and Hugs. I looked into their property issue and unfortunately the news is less